FSGOR Ch77

As the New Year approaches, Jiang Tian and his sister usually make a trip back to their hometown.

They go twice a year and don’t have much contact with their relatives. The main reason is to visit their parents’ graves.

In the past, they either stayed at the homes of other relatives with whom they had a good relationship or temporarily stayed in hotels. But this time, their uncle’s family had the audacity to ask through other relatives if they were willing to stay at “home” for a few more days.

That family had been quiet for a while, but they were still up to no good. They were just putting on a false pretense to get more money.

Fortunately, Chu Xuyu had already arranged for someone to intervene. Their uncle didn’t dare to offend that important figure and didn’t dare to cause trouble for the siblings again. After dealing with them, the matter was settled.

Jiang Tian and his sister had discussed that Chu Xuyu wouldn’t be in Los Angeles for the New Year and planned to accompany them back to their hometown.

Jiang Qing was still considering how to entertain her former boss and now her younger brother’s lover since they had a fixed residence in their hometown.

At this moment, Jiang Tian revealed a secret. He had secretly investigated the inside story of the plane crash that year through Chu Xuyu’s connections.

Back then, the siblings made the news headlines and covers because their uncle collaborated with unscrupulous media, staging photos and shows, and made a considerable amount of money from it.

Jiang Qing was extremely shocked and angry, but she was also surprised that her younger brother could secretly investigate the old incident. All of this was thanks to the man who had the ability to support and cultivate her younger brother’s lover.

Otherwise, the siblings would never have known about the conspiracy of that year. All along, their uncle claimed that it was not easy to raise them and had the right to ask for money.

In fact, they had embezzled the property of the Jiang family’s parents and used the two pitiful children’s experiences to make even more money that couldn’t be counted. They should have returned that money.

Under the operation of Chu Xuyu and Jiang Tian, the money was indeed returned with interest and entered Jiang Qing’s bank account balance. Her younger brother suggested that she buy a new house in the old hometown.

“It will be more convenient to visit Mom and Dad in the future.”

The once extremely frugal young man now had mature ideas and investment acumen. “Chu-Ge told me that the new district in Rong County will usher in many new business opportunities. Buying a house there has the most potential for appreciation.”

He was so sensible and said that he would be able to pay off the mortgage for his sister’s Xingfu Port house after graduation. In the future, he would work hard to let his sister live a better life.

Hearing him say these things, Jiang Qing’s eyes turned red. She felt her younger brother’s rapid growth and didn’t know how to thank Chu Xuyu.

“It seems like I’m always holding you back…”

She thought about the various things that had happened in the past year. The most sorry thing was that she had once privately opposed them being together.

Jiang Tian interrupted, “Jie, don’t say that.”

“So many years, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have worked so hard.”

“I know you love me the most.”

Those sentimental words, especially after drinking, kept pouring out. The siblings ordered fried chicken and beer, had a long talk, and spent a warm night before returning to their hometown.

The next morning.

Jiang Tian had something to give to Lu Qiao, and Chu Xuyu came early and met him. He just happened to sit in the living room and chat with Jiang Qing.

Both of them knew that the atmosphere between them had been strange for a while, and there was something awkward everywhere.

But after this time, Jiang Qing had become much more open-minded and would no longer show that restrained side when facing this man who was once her boss and now her younger brother’s partner.

And Chu Xuyu could also feel her change. Compared to the cautious Jiang Qing, he was naturally more relaxed on that side.

The two of them were originally familiar work partners. Now that there were no more knots, they got along more like close friends.

Jiang Qing enthusiastically suggested, “The city construction in the county is not very good, and there are no fun places to go. But I remember a strawberry garden. I can let Xiao Tian take you there to play.”

“Okay,” Chu Xuyu smiled, “Jiang Tian has also mentioned it. I will go there with him later.”

Jiang Qing showed a decent smile and said frankly that she had to busy herself with socializing. She would probably be sleeping all day and naturally left the task of accompanying him to play to her younger brother.

Although what she said seemed complete, between smart people, there was no need to make everything clear.

Chu Xuyu knew that she meant to entrust her younger brother to him. This simple detail was full of trust and blessings for the two of them.

Everything seemed to have settled.

From the expressway in Ningcheng to the old hometown, due to the congestion during the New Year, the siblings who were familiar with the road conditions took turns driving, and Chu Xuyu, who was used to a comfortable life, didn’t feel bored at all.

The family of three listened to music, admired the roadside scenery, and chatted casually.

Although it was winter, the sunlight bathed the earth, giving people a sense of prosperity, as if the future would only be as beautiful and bright as this sunny day.

After arriving at the old hometown and moving into the newly purchased house, Jiang Qing had already arranged for someone to clean it and added a lot of furniture, making it warm and beautiful everywhere.

They settled down like this.

Jiang Qing went to high school in the county and had many old classmates who invited her out to play, so she didn’t spend much time at home. 

Jiang Tian went to Ningcheng to study since junior high school and didn’t have many friends in the county. But he didn’t know where he borrowed a ghostly electric car and insisted on taking Chu Xuyu for a ride. 

The latter was so happy that he said he didn’t want to sit on it with his mouth, but he didn’t refuse. The two of them went out to play. The county was very small.

 Apart from the commercial circle under construction in the new district, there was only the old movie theater building in the old district. 

Nearby, there was an affordable food street and a clothing mall, which was a new place for Chu Xuyu who had never been there before. It was considered to experience the local customs.

Some old-fashioned clothes, when worn by Chu Xuyu, became a retro trend. The boss’s eyes lit up, and under the pretext of giving red envelopes and drinking milk tea, he wanted to invite the two of them to be models to promote the unsalable goods in the store.

He thought he was going to take photos at the photo studio base, but he never expected to be taken to the backyard and take a few photos with a flip phone. The president himself also received retro photos in the Y2K style. Jiang Tian also thought that he would despise the photos for being too non-mainstream. 

Chu Xuyu responded, “This is my high EQ way of saying it. You can learn from it in the future.”

Jiang Tian was speechless. But the two of them stayed like this, and just looking at each other was full of sweetness. After all, Chu Xuyu didn’t mind these details. Staying by his side made him feel satisfied.

Jiang Tian did his best as the host, went to the supermarket for a while, bought some fresh food and planned to cook. As soon as he returned to the new house and put on his apron to start cooking, Chu Xuyu came over mischievously.

“…What’s wrong?”

He was busy with his hands and didn’t have time to pay attention to other things. Even if the sky fell, he couldn’t burn the dishes. “Ge, don’t make trouble. There are photos of me when I was a child in the cabinet. You can go and have a look if you’re bored.”

“Hmm?”

Chu Xuyu became interested and quickly went to flip through the photo album. Sure enough, he found something good.

It was an old-style photo album, and the cover had not turned yellow. The person who kept it cherished it very much, and the person who created this souvenir was also full of love.

Since the two children were born, the Jiang family’s parents often took photos of them. After the photos were developed, they carefully placed them in the album.

Chu Xuyu was very much looking forward to it. He opened the well-preserved photos, and his pupils suddenly shrank. He recognized the little Jiang Tian at a glance.

“Why is it so cute…”

Chu Xuyu muttered to himself, all because the little Jiang Tian was really too cute. His face was like a soft and sticky rice dumpling, and water would overflow with a gentle pinch.

Not only in that photo, but in every photo, whether it was a group photo or a personal photo of Jiang Tian, Chu Xuyu could recognize him at a glance. That lively and cute face was aggressive and only gave people a sense of cuteness.

He really didn’t expect that after growing up, in front of people who didn’t know him, most people would think that Jiang Tian was cold and difficult to approach.

In fact, Jiang Tian was quite double-standard. He showed his personality in front of Chu Xuyu, which outsiders couldn’t imagine no matter how hard they tried.

Originally, he was still sticking to the young chef Jiang, but after looking at the photo album, he flipped through it from beginning to end, and then from the end to the beginning. He made two dishes with meat and one with vegetables, but he didn’t have the idea of eating.

Jiang Tian leaned over and asked him what he was looking at. He was taking pictures of the photos one by one with his phone.

Jiang Tian: “…”

Is it necessary to go to this extent?

That night.

Jiang Tian found that he had underestimated the magic of the photos. His sister came home somehow, and this person actually started to make moves on him in the new house.

His lover’s lips lightly bit his earlobe, as if tempting him, insisting that he wear overalls similar to those from his childhood. He said that he loved him to the core and wanted to see it with his own eyes in the next few days.

Jiang Tian was so ashamed that he couldn’t bear it. “I won’t wear it again.”

Chu Xuyu: “Don’t even want to wear it at home?”

Jiang Tian: “Mmm.”

He almost never refused Chu Xuyu. Even in bed, he would try his best to satisfy him. Only this time, he was unwilling to follow the arrangement no matter what.

Chu Xuyu paused, thinking that the pants were a special gift from his parents. He forced him to wear them, which made his little baby uncomfortable.

Before he could apologize, Jiang Tian explained, “The crotch of those pants…”

“Has an elephant trunk.”

Chu Xuyu almost laughed. “How did I not see it?”

Jiang Tian’s face leaned against his shoulder. Every time he was embarrassed, he would do this. His voice was muffled. “I tore it off.”

“When I was a child, I felt it was strange. The children in kindergarten always wanted to touch it…”

Chu Xuyu’s reaction was not small. He could even feel jealous during the kindergarten period and insisted on asking if those little kids had succeeded.

Jiang Tian listened and felt even more embarrassed. He thought that children at that age didn’t understand these things.

But he did let those children of the same age succeed. In kindergarten, he was curiously surrounded by his little friends and could only cover the elephant trunk and quickly run to a safe place.

When he got home, he didn’t know where he got the strength. He tore off the elephant trunk in one go and talked about his experience at school, which scared his parents and sister into thinking that he had been bullied at school.

It was actually a funny thing, but when it came to his parents, even Chu Xuyu couldn’t help but feel sad, let alone his beloved baby who was loved by his parents.

Later, no matter what they did, they just hugged each other and absorbed each other’s body temperature, as if those wounds could be easily healed.

That night, Jiang Tian had a beautiful dream. In his dream, his parents were all there and were very satisfied with the partner he brought home. The family had a reunion dinner.

The next day when he woke up.

The weather in Rong County was even better than the previous day. The sunlight poured through the window and warmed his body.

They wore ordinary thin jackets and didn’t feel cold at all. They drove his sister’s Toyota and arrived at a small ridge in the suburbs.

The road was bumpy all the way. Jiang Tian drove very slowly. When passing by a contracted orchard, he suddenly introduced, “This was my parents’ orchard when I was a child.”

“Later… it was managed by my uncle for a few years and always lost money. He simply sold it.”

Chu Xuyu responded lightly and looked at his lover’s expression. Time had passed, and he didn’t feel much pain, but there was still some regret.

Not far away.

There were still some workers who were exploited to pick fruits. They wore dirty work clothes and couldn’t go home even though the New Year was approaching.

The road was not easy to drive. Jiang Tian planned to stop the car and casually said, “I don’t have a deep impression of the orchard, but my sister said that before the New Year, my parents would give the workers a holiday very early.”

Chu Xuyu followed his gaze and saw a middle-aged couple who seemed to be husband and wife. While working, they chatted with smiles on their faces. From their lip shapes, it seemed that they were looking forward to finishing work quickly and going home early to see their children at home for the New Year.

After getting out of the car.

Chu Xuyu stood in a place with gullies and seemed out of place. He took the initiative to hold Jiang Tian’s hand and pinched his palm with his fingertips. “Do you want to buy the orchard back?”

“It’s not that meaningful.”

Jiang Tian smiled in the sunlight, looking refreshed. He held his hand and said to him in a relieved tone, “Jie and Sister Lu will come over later.”

“Let’s go up first.”

Jiang Tian held his hand like this and led Chu Xuyu along the rugged mountain path upwards. He spoke to him and also seemed to be speaking to himself.

“I only looked back frequently when I was a child. At that time, I should have been the most afraid of planes.”

“But looking back now, if I could have been a little braver, my parents would have been relieved.”

“…People always have to move forward.”

Chu Xuyu walked behind him, looking at his round back of the head, and couldn’t help but rub it. He sincerely said, “They would be proud of you and your sister.”

With limited resources in the county, their careers were thriving, and they treated their employees with great care. Such a couple gave birth to two excellent and kind children, and they should have had a happy and fulfilling life in their later years.

Loving someone makes you want to give them more.

Chu Xuyu accompanied Jiang Tian to climb to the destination and stood on the top of the mountain. The wind blew towards them, bringing a comfortable warmth.

When he stood in front of the tombstone of Jiang’s parents, what he most wanted to say was, “I will take good care of Jiang Tian and his sister for you in the future.”

“Mom and Dad.”

Jiang Tian spoke first and introduced his lover to his parents. He smiled lightly, “I have met a partner who is very good to me and loves me very much.”

“His name is Chu Xuyu. If you were still here, you would be very satisfied with him.”

“I am very happy now.”

“Mom and Dad, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”