I'm in Delingha tonight

The hard-won communication did not have the good result that Chi Nian had imagined. He hung up the video with Lao Chi, and he lay on the table, feeling lost like the tide rising from the river, leaving a wet mark and then disappearing quickly.

The blue wall covering is gentle and pure, enveloping his anxiety.

Ding Li and Lao Chi still couldn't accept it, but Chi Nian could already vaguely guess it.

Although his parents loved him, indulged and spoiled him, and were willing to listen to him tell a lot of secrets in their hearts, it didn't mean that they could really accept everything about themselves.

Homosexuality is still like a dark cloud in conservative families, which cannot be easily cleared.

Chi Nian knew that his parents had already made concessions, and for them, "You go home, we won't care about the past" is a rare compromise.If he had been more obedient, or longed for the old life, he would have gone down the donkey just now, packed his things and returned to the house in the Asian Games Village.

Chi Nian was unbelievably well-behaved in adolescence, he didn't go clubbing, he didn't go to the game hall, and he came home at night, more punctual than the little girl who was forced to enter the gate.He thinks now, maybe it was because he was too obedient at the time, what he did later made his parents feel like an enemy.

In fact, he just awakened his self-awareness and knew what he wanted.

That's it.

Last June, he wanted the understanding of his parents and the support of his family, and after he failed, he attempted to threaten Lao Chi and Ding Li by running away from home; now he doesn't care about that, he just wants to be with Xi Shan.

In the 22 years since his life, Chi Nian rebelled for the first time, gaining recognition for his orientation.

This is barely the second time.

As Chi Nian said to Ding Li, Xi Shan is a very good person, and it is worth his staying in Chongqing so firmly.This city has beautiful mountains and rivers, and Chi Nian has been here until now, occasionally thinking that Beijing seems to be like that.

All the things in Beijing that make him nostalgic add up, and they can't compare with Xi Shan.

On the mobile phone, Chi Xiao finally sent a gentle greeting: "Brother, pay attention to your body, let's talk about it when you get homesick, and I'll help you with some persuasion."

"No need, study hard." Chi Nian replied to her.

The little episode didn't really affect Chi Nian's mood. He had read a book before, which said that parents' expectations of their children were often greater than what they said.

So Chi Nian thought that he might not be able to fulfill Ding Li's high hopes.

After entering January, time seems to be fast forwarded.

Chi Nian works step by step every day, and his life is very regular.He walks the dog in the morning, takes the light rail to the studio for class, eats, occasionally has a few dinners with Tao Zi after get off work, walks the dog home, picks up Coke in Lanshan, and at night catches up with the latest hit TV series, gets under the covers and talks to Xi Shan Video until too sleepy to fall asleep.

On Xishan's side, because his uncle's condition was miraculously stabilized, after several more examinations, the attending doctor ruled out the need for a heart stent, and he stayed in Delingha Hospital.

Chi Nian did not tell Xi Shan about contacting his family. He thought it was not worth mentioning, and it would not have any substantial changes in their lives. It was not as important as when Xi Shan came back to Chongqing.

As soon as Laba is over, New Year's Eve seems to be just around the corner.

"Are you coming back on Friday?" Chi Nian has already got under the covers, hugging Coke, regardless of the other party's cat fur of various colors on his body, his surprise immediately overflowed, "Really, I'll pick you up at the airport!"

Xi Shan was outdoors, and he closed his hat: "Well, the ticket is bought, but it should be evening when we arrive in Jiangbei."

The cold wind on the plateau roared past, pouring into Chi Nian's ears.

"It's okay, I'll pick you up after get off work, I'll drive!" Chi Nian said briskly, he observed the scenery around Xishan, the lights were dim, and he couldn't help asking, "It's so late, what are you doing outside?"

Xi Shan said concisely: "Take a stroll."

He probably felt that talking too much would take the wind, so he took two steps forward, turned sideways, and showed Chi Nian where he was.

The colorful lights are hung, changing colors from time to time, and the familiar guardrails maintain their summer appearance.It's just that the flowing water has frozen, and the aspens that were still lush at that time have lost all their leaves, and the snow has just fallen. At night, the lights reflect the snow, which is soft and hazy.

"Are you by the Bayin River?" Chi Nian asked.

Xi Shan nodded, and raised the fireworks stick in his other hand towards him.

The reason for the stroll was too blunt, Chi Nian didn't know why he suddenly thought of it, but the common memory made him feel soft: "It's cold at this point, there aren't many people by the river, right?"

"Just me." After Xi Shan finished speaking, he put his phone somewhere casually.

The sound continued, but the picture Chi Nian saw was dark.He heard the creaking sound of his feet on the snow, and couldn't help touching the Coke, regretting that he hadn't built a snowman this year.

Coke let out a slender cry, and played a series of small snores with great enjoyment.

The screen came back on, and Xi Shan took a step back. He leaned against the railing along the river, holding two or three fireworks sticks that were lit together, and showed them to Chi Nian.The firework stick burns slowly, and the golden color is like a small sun, jumping at Xi Shan's fingertips. The frozen river, cold wind, and dead trees in the distance make this light like the only moving point in the long winter night.

Neither of them spoke, waiting for the firework sticks to burn out together.

When the last light was about to go out, Xi Shan’s voice came—the signal seemed distorted through the wind, and it seemed that it had finally arrived after a long delay——

"Tonight, I am in Delingha, and the night is shrouded."

The golden flower was fleeting, and was immediately submerged in darkness.

"I don't care about humans tonight," he said.

"I miss you."

After saying this, the video camera was switched to the front-facing one. Xi Shan was surrounded by only a pair of deep black eyes. He buried his head and buried the ashes of the burned firework sticks in snow.

Chi Nian laughed softly: "I thought about whether to finish memorizing it at the time, but I always felt that I was not familiar enough."

"Very good." Xi Shan said inexplicably, "There is a beginning and an end."

"Brother Xi." Chi Nian called him.

"Ok?"

Actually, I've thought about this question before, but I'm not ashamed to ask.The atmosphere is quite good now, and Chi Nian asked logically: "Did you have a crush on me since then? In a word, I remembered it for so long."

It was rare for Xi Shan not to answer immediately, he lowered his head, took two steps forward, and said, "No."

"Huh?" Chi Nian was disappointed.

How is it different from what you said!

"I just thought, it's nice to meet you."

Seeing that Chi Nian was suddenly sluggish, Xi Shan smiled and pulled the mask up a little more. His eyebrows were stained with snow, a bit like a naive Santa Claus: "As for the others, I didn't think about it that much. But I can't say it... …Just because I didn’t realize it doesn’t mean I’m not moved.”

Only then did Chi Nian return to normal from the state of eggplant beaten by Shuang, but his mouth was still raised high, as if he could hang a soy sauce bottle, and was very dissatisfied with Xi Shan's answer:

"But I have liked you since a long time ago."

He has always spoken straightforwardly, but he was a little timid when he told "like".

Xi Shan was made dizzy by this strong medicine, and after a long while, he finally said "um".He walked back to the bridge and walked slowly towards the hotel where he was staying along the deserted street: "I can feel it."

"Really?"

"real."

"Then why have you been avoiding me?"

"Because I don't dare to confirm it." Xi Shan spoke very softly, and Chi Nian didn't dare to miss a word, "I think you may be impulsive. I brought you back from the Gobi to a safe place, so this 'good impression' It's normal and understandable. But after that? I'm not the most special factor."

"You are!" Chi Nian interrupted him, replacing the heaviness in Xi Shan's words, "I never thought that if it wasn't you that day, who else would there be?"

Xi Shan let out a long "hmm": "That's right—children are unique in the world, and the sunset is also unique. The day we met was also different from the other 364 days."

"The probability of meeting is 100%, right?"

"Although it's very vulgar to say so, I really think..." Xi Shan couldn't help laughing, "Maybe luck has accumulated to a certain level, you met me, and I also met you."

They are not perfect, they have flaws, they have regrets, and they have gone through a period of hopelessness and darkness when they didn't know each other.Chi Nian said "a blessing in disguise", and Xi Shan said "luck has accumulated to a certain extent", as if the hard work and difficult days for them to meet each other were nothing.

Chi Nian is an atheist, and he dare not agree with some "destined" rhetoric of fatalism.Only in the story between him and Xi Shan, Chi Nian is sometimes willing to believe that this is an arrangement of fate——

Otherwise, why is everything just right?

The sound of the wind became quieter in his ears, and seeing Xi Shan walk into the hotel lobby, Chi Nian pulled up the quilt to cover the lower half of his face.

"I wish it was Friday in the blink of an eye."

"I hope too." Xi Shan coaxed him, "Go to bed early, it's only a few days away."

Chi Nian nodded obediently, and said good night to him.

Five days before New Year's Eve, Xi Shan finally returned to Chongqing.

Chi Nian has no intention of going to work, and has been counting down the clock since the morning.In the afternoon, Tao Zi really couldn't bear this absent-minded look, so she told him to pack up his things and leave.

After casually eating a bowl of hot and sour noodles, Chi Nian went back to Yuzhong to drive.Xi Shan's flight arrived in Jiangbei at about nine o'clock, but he was restless, staying at home for an extra second was torture, and finally pinched his palms to force himself to take Sprite for a walk, ran back and forth several times, and put the big bed All bedding has been changed.

As soon as eight o'clock arrived, Chi Nian seemed to be on fire and couldn't stay any longer, so he took the car keys and rushed out the door.

The traffic jam was severe on Friday, so he left early and arrived at the airport later than expected.Chi Nian parked the car, went straight to the arrival hall, and at the same time sent a voice message to Xi Shan: "I'm here!"

What Xi Shan replied was a text message: "Slide."

At least he didn't make the other party wait, Chi Nian calmed down a little, and was about to make a few jokes when suddenly, the phone vibrated abnormally at a high speed as if it was connected to some device.

Seeing the caller ID clearly, Chi Nian almost threw the phone ten meters away!

At the same moment, the airport broadcast sounded without losing the opportunity: "Passengers, please note that flight CA10XX from Beijing to this station is about to land at this station..."

A terrible thought suddenly became true in the next moment——

"Baby, send me a location where you live." Ding Li could vaguely hear the noise of people after the plane landed, "I'm already at Jiangbei Airport, I have a surprise for you!"

Chi Nian: "..."

His throat was hard, and the joy of meeting his boyfriend was like being drowned out by a handful of cold water in his pocket.Chi Nian looked at the top of the phone screen, and Xi Shan popped up "I'm out of the cabin, I'll be there soon", feeling very uncomfortable.

"Baby?" Ding Li asked again, "Are you listening?"

"...Mom," Chi Nian didn't know how he could organize his words, "I'm also at the airport, you can just come out."