BIAC CH 9

Chapter 9: Do You Know What It Means to Meet the Parents?

“Xiao You?” Du Jianyou stiffened the moment he heard the voice. He reflexively took a step back, and the smile on his face vanished.

Tang He, whose hand was still mid-air wiping sweat, froze for a moment before quickly pulling his hand back and turning to see which neighbor was greeting them again.

“Is that you?” The other person stepped forward. “It really is you! Why didn’t you notify us before coming home? We didn’t cook today! What should we do? Have you eaten? Or should I go buy a few more dishes?” The neighbor greeted them happily.

“No need, Uncle Ke,” Du Jianyou gave an awkward smile and greeted back. “I’ve eaten. I just came to stroll around the night market, so I won’t bother anyone by going home today.” Du Jianyou didn’t want to go back.

“Hey, how is going home considered bothering?” Uncle Ke complained unhappily, then glanced at Tang He. “Who is this?” His tone was hesitant.

“A friend,” Du Jianyou answered.

He didn’t want to go home, nor did he plan to introduce Tang He. The atmosphere chilled for a moment.

“So…?” Uncle Ke glanced at Tang He quietly, wanting to say something but holding back.

“No,” Du Jianyou said firmly.

What is it? What isn’t it? Tang He was confused and had no idea what the two were playing at.

“Oh! That, I came out to buy herbal soup ribs for your mom. She hasn’t eaten it in a while and was craving some,” Uncle Ke awkwardly scratched his head. “You should really go check on your mom!” Seeing Du Jianyou still hesitating, Uncle Ke added, “Your mom caught a cold last week and kept coughing badly, so I took her to the hospital for a full checkup, and the results…”

“What happened? How is my mom?” Du Jianyou suddenly became emotional and took a quick step toward Uncle Ke.

“It’s nothing, nothing. Your mom is fine,” Uncle Ke quickly reassured the anxious young man in front of him, patting his shoulder. “Your mom just dragged out her cold a bit. Plus, she’s a bit older now and her airways are weaker, so the cough won’t go away easily. After some rest and care, she’ll be fine.” Du Jianyou felt a little relieved. Uncle Ke then continued, “But about that health check…”

“What about the checkup?” Du Jianyou shouted again, getting worked up.

“Nothing really, nothing,” Uncle Ke patted him again. “They just found she has high blood pressure. Now she not only needs to watch her diet but also take medication to control it.”

“Oh my goodness, Uncle Ke, can you say it all in one go? You scared Tutu so much, and I was right here listening with my heart almost jumping out of my chest,” Tang He muttered quietly, sweating nervously along with Du Jianyou.

Du Jianyou was visibly shaken by Uncle Ke’s news, his face looked pale and worried.

“Maybe we should go home and see Auntie? It’s so close to here anyway,” Tang He suggested. He didn’t understand why Du Jianyou didn’t want to go home, but he could tell he was very worried about his mother.

Du Jianyou hesitated, looking at Tang He. “Sorry, I promised to take you out for a walk, but now I have to go home. How about I call a cab for you, and you can go back first?”

“It’s okay, I’ll go see Auntie too.” Tang He turned to Uncle Ke. “Uncle, sorry for the sudden visit. Hope we’re not disturbing you?”

“Not at all, you’re very welcome. Xiao You rarely brings friends home. You should come in and sit. Your mom will be very happy.” Uncle Ke said this while nervously stepping forward as if worried Du Jianyou might change his mind, calling for them to follow.

Seeing that they had agreed, Du Jianyou resignedly followed at the back.

Walking along the way, Tang He spotted a fruit shop. While Uncle Ke wasn’t paying attention, Tang He quickly went in and picked out a gift box of apples.

“What are you doing?” Du Jianyou asked, puzzled.

“This is my first time visiting your home. I can’t come empty-handed, can I?” Tang He said matter-of-factly.

“First time?” It sounded like he was implying he’d be coming often.

“Well, you don’t really have to…” Du Jianyou scratched his head, embarrassed about Tang He spending money.

“What do you mean I don’t have to? I know a bit about guest etiquette. Meeting the parents for the first time, you have to make a good impression. Otherwise, what if they won’t let you be with me later?” Tang He said awkwardly.

Du Jianyou frowned, staring at Tang He’s back as he quickly paid and carried the gift box ahead.

Meeting the parents. Being together. Could you be any more vague? Do you know what that means? Du Jianyou couldn’t help but smile deeper and feel a bit warm on his face. What a fool.

Tang He had gone abroad to study right after high school and stayed overseas for over ten years. He only vaguely understood the hometown customs, and he usually had an assistant to remind him. Now, he had caused a misunderstanding. Whatever — meeting the parents is meeting the parents!

Uncle Ke led them into the courtyard of his home. The moonlight was dim, and although it was hard to see clearly, the small yard was carefully tended with flourishing plants. There was a faint, cool, and fresh scent in the air — not quite a flower fragrance but a clean smell of plants breathing dew and mist, very comforting. Tang He unknowingly took a few deep breaths.

As they entered the house from the yard, Uncle Ke called out loudly, “Shuling, come out quickly! Guess who I just ran into at the night market?”

Du Jianyou was changing shoes at the door with Tang He when he heard footsteps. “Who is it? Cough cough… You’re so excited…” Then a voice came from the room, “Xiao You? You’re back.” Du Jianyou’s mother sounded happy and quickly came over to hug him.

“Mom, Uncle Ke said you had a cold. How are you feeling now? Still coughing?” Du Jianyou asked, patting her back worriedly. Looking closely, he saw that his mom looked okay, and he finally relaxed a bit.

Du’s mother shot a glance at Uncle Ke. “You talk too much. It’s just a little cold, no need to make a fuss. People eat all kinds of food — how can they never get sick…” She muttered as she glanced at the man quietly standing behind Du Jianyou with a slight smile, startled.

“Oh! A guest? Sorry, I didn’t notice before. Please come in. Who is he?” Du’s mother looked at Du Jianyou, her tone hesitant.

“He’s… a friend, and also a client from my company. He said he’s never been to the night market, so I brought him along for a walk,” Du Jianyou introduced awkwardly.

“Hello, Uncle and Auntie, I’m Tang He. Sorry for coming unannounced and disturbing you,” Tang He politely greeted the elders and handed the box of apples to Du’s mother.

“No, no, you’re not disturbing us. We’re very happy to have Xiao You’s friend visit,” Uncle Ke warmly accepted the gift box from Du’s mother and led them to the living room.

Du’s mother followed quietly behind, whispering, “Is he…?” but stopped herself.

“No,” Du Jianyou and Uncle Ke answered in unison.

Du Jianyou felt helpless.

Tang He was once again completely confused, not knowing what kind of silent puzzle the three of them were playing.

“Oh, you all, please sit first. I’ll go cut some fruit and make tea. There’s nothing special to serve at home, sorry…” Du’s mother awkwardly tried to find something to do, pacing between the living room and the kitchen.

“Auntie, please don’t trouble yourself. We just came to check on you. If you keep busy like this, we’ll feel bad,” Tang He quickly stood up and invited Du’s mother to come and sit down as well.

“That’s right, Mom, please don’t bother. We just came back to rest a bit and check on your health. Uncle Ke said you have high blood pressure from your recent checkup? Did the doctor give you medicine? Are you taking it on time?” Uncle Ke carried some herbal soup ribs to the kitchen and gently guided Du’s mother back to the living room so Du Jianyou could help her sit properly on the sofa.

“Sit, sit, everyone sit,” Du’s mother saw Tang He still standing and immediately invited him to sit comfortably without restraint.

“My blood pressure is actually okay. The doctor said it’s only a little high, mainly because of age, so I need to pay attention. Uncle Ke, didn’t you tell him it was serious? Look at how you scared him…” Du’s mother glared unhappily at Uncle Ke, who was busy bringing out tea utensils to brew tea. “Why do you have to scare my son like that?”

“Mom, Uncle Ke didn’t scare me. Don’t scold him, he’s just worried about you,” Du Jianyou quickly defended Uncle Ke.

Uncle Ke smiled broadly, “Exactly. I didn’t say anything too much. It’s just that Xiao You is filial. As soon as he heard you weren’t feeling well, he got anxious.” While speaking, Uncle Ke skillfully rinsed the kettle and cups and brewed four cups of tea in no time.

“Here, have some tea. Mr. Tang, please have some tea.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” Tang He took the cup, sniffed it first, then took a small sip. “Such fragrant tea.” His delicate way of drinking tea amused Uncle Ke, who found a kindred spirit.

“Mr. Tang can appreciate tea too? This is Zhulu tea^[1] from Alishan’s Shizhao area, the champion tea of this year’s harvest. Look at the tea leaves — bright green and shaped like little spheres. Its specialty is that all the tea buds are hand-picked. I heard the roasting method is quite unique,” Uncle Ke excitedly took the tea canister and poured a small handful of tea leaves for Tang He to see.

“Look at the tea soup; it’s honey-green. The moment it touches your tongue, you get that unique high-mountain tea aroma and a sweet aftertaste,” Uncle Ke couldn’t stop talking and kept sharing his tea knowledge with Tang He.

“I wouldn’t dare say I’m an expert. My father drinks tea too, and I followed him for a while as a kid. This really is good tea, the aftertaste is endless,” Tang He chatted with Uncle Ke about tea. Uncle Ke even took Tang He to see his collection of teapots.

Du’s mother watched Tang He standing by the tea cabinet from behind, her expression a little complicated. She quietly pulled Du Jianyou’s hand and softly called, “Xiao You…”

Du Jianyou absentmindedly looked at Tang He’s bright profile. Seeing him chatting warmly with Uncle Ke, without any hint of pretense, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Du’s mother was watching the lively conversation from the other side, unaware they noticed her. She bit her lip, then made up her mind to speak up.

“Xiao You, Mom doesn’t ask for much. I just want you to be healthy and happy. As for everything else, both me and Uncle Ke can accept it. I’m really glad you brought your friend here,” she said, focusing on Du Jianyou, her eyes shimmering with pain, reluctance, helplessness, and unconditional love.

“…” Du Jianyou turned around, surprised to hear his mother speak like this. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He looked at his mother, Uncle Ke, and Tang He in confusion, then back at his mother.

They had never talked about this before. Never.

But somehow, they all understood.

Concerned parents always notice the faintest clues.

From a child’s every movement, their hesitant words and flickering eyes when questioned, never dating girls, to the queer movies hidden in his room—they guessed their son’s sexual orientation.

A few years ago, during the year-end deep cleaning, Uncle Ke had stumbled upon those DVDs. At first, he enthusiastically told Du’s mother, “We haven’t watched movies in a long time. You used to love movies. After we finish cleaning, want to watch some? Xiao You has good taste—any movie he keeps must be good. Look, The Wedding Banquet and Brokeback Mountain^[2]—that famous director, what’s his name… Ang Lee? We just saw an interview with him on a show.”

After the cleaning, Uncle Ke really started watching The Wedding Banquet with Du’s mother.

They both thought the movie was quite good, but they found it a bit sad—how could the male lead love a man? And wasn’t the female lead very pretty? Uncle Ke wanted to watch another movie, so they kept watching in silence.

Brokeback Mountain, Happy Together, Lan Yu^[3]…

They silently watched one after another through the whole night until dawn.

When Lan Yu showed the frontal nude kissing scene, Du’s mother finally couldn’t take it. Trembling, she grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, mumbling in a daze, “Every single one… every single one. Xiao You… is he like that?” Tears kept falling uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Uncle Ke said, “No, no. Xiao You… wouldn’t be like that.” But he was trembling even more than she was.

How could Xiao You be like that?

That year, the three of them went through a quiet and awkward Lunar New Year. Du Jianyou found his DVDs had been touched, and judging by the silence and hesitation at home, he knew they had guessed.

He didn’t want to lie. If they asked, he would tell them. He thought.

But since they didn’t ask, he could only say nothing.

They didn’t bring it up at first because they still held hope.

Later, it was because they couldn’t bear it.

They couldn’t bear that such a good, obedient son would remain single, hiding behind his parents’ expectations.

So they accepted it.

Du Jianyou knew they knew. But he never imagined they would accept it willingly.

“Mom, he’s really just a friend,” Du Jianyou said hesitantly, patting his mother’s hand, trying to reassure her not to overthink.

His mother shook her head. “Whether it’s him, or someone else, find someone who cherishes you, loves you, and treats you well. Live your life together. You deserve that.”

“Mom…” Du Jianyou looked at his aging mother, unsure how to feel at that moment.

His eyes wanted to rain, but inside his heart, the sun was shining brightly.

“In the future, if you have someone, bring him home. We will love him too,” his mother said, looking at her stunned son and adding this.

“All right.” His eyes unconsciously drifted toward Tang He.

See my parents? Will you come back to see them next time?

(To be continued…)

T/L: Awww I love Du Jianyou’s parents already. ૮₍ ˃ . ˂ ₎ა <33