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Chapter 173 Childhood Friends (28)

With only a few days left in the winter vacation, Chen Ye and Zhou Ying returned home.

Every day Zhou Ying guarded against him going out as if he were a thief.

As soon as Chen Ye opened the bedroom door, Zhou Ying sat up from the sofa.

"where are you going?"

Chen was also helpless, "Mom, I'm going to the supermarket downstairs to buy a bottle of Coke."

"Go quickly and come back after you buy it. It's 8:30 pm now, you need to be back before 9 pm."

Chen nodded, "Okay."

The supermarket was just downstairs in the community. Chen Ye took a bottle of Coke from the shelf and turned around to see Duan Xu. Duan Xu was wearing a black loose cotton coat, jeans, and a black hat, but Chen Ye still recognized him at a glance.

Chen was also a little excited, "Brother, you didn't go back to the capital?"

Yesterday Zhou Ying forced Chen Ye to delete all of Duan Xu's contact information. The two could not get in touch. Although he remembered Duan Xu's number, Chen did not dare to call secretly at home.

Duan Xu hugged Chen Ye, his embrace was cold. Because he was not sure whether or when Chen Ye would come downstairs, Duan Xu had been waiting downstairs in the community.

"No, I opened a hotel nearby."

At this time, there were almost no customers in the community supermarket, so no one saw their intimate actions.

Chen Ye buried his head in Duan Xu's arms, "Then you stay in the hotel for a while, and we'll go back together when school starts."

"Yeah." Duan Xu's voice was a little dull. Chen Ye keenly heard that Duan Xu was in a bad mood. He raised his head and looked at Duan Xu, "What's wrong with you? Are you worried that I will break up with you because of my family relationship?"

The word "break up" irritated Duan Xu. He held Chen Ye's arm tightly and said, "Guo Guo, no matter what happens, we will not break up."

Chen Ye, "Don't worry, I won't break up with you. Mom is just hard on the outside but soft on the inside. She kept all your things and even the family photos we took."

"It's just that she suddenly found out about our relationship, and for a while she couldn't accept it. Let's give her some time, she will definitely be able to accept it. As long as we persist and let Mom know that we are not joking, and let her know that you and I are serious, she won't stop us."

Chen Ye's words were somewhat taken for granted, but he didn't want Duan Xu to have wild thoughts and just wanted to try his best to comfort him.

"I see."

Duan Xu knew this day would come, and had already prepared himself mentally. In this matter, the most important thing was to hold out until Zhou Ying compromised.

"I have to go back. I promised Mom I would be back before nine o'clock."

Duan Xu accompanied Chen Ye all the way out of the supermarket and arrived downstairs of the community. When they parted, the two were reluctant to leave, and Chen Ye threw himself into Duan Xu's arms.

Duan Xu hugged him tightly, "Eat on time. It's cold now. Don't catch a cold."

"Okay." Chen Ye sniffed and got out of Duan Xu's arms, "Goodbye, brother."

"Goodbye."

Duan Xu waved at him and watched Chen Ye's back disappear into the corridor.

When he got home, Zhou Ying stared at him coldly on the sofa, "Why did you take so long?"

Chen also said: "I also bought something else."

Seeing the bulging shopping bag in Chen Ye's hand, Zhou Ying said nothing.

There were still five days left before school started, and the atmosphere at home was very tense. Zhou Ying didn't treat Chen Ye well. Chen Ye wanted to have a good talk with her several times, but Zhou Ying always avoided the topic.

The night before going to school, Zhou Ying said that she and Li Lijun would send him there together, but Chen said, "No need, I'm already an adult."

Zhou Ying, "I want to see you go through the formalities of living on campus and live there, otherwise I won't be at ease."

"Forget it," Li Lijun said, "Xiaoguo is already grown up, he knows what's appropriate for him."

"He knows his limits. If he knew his limits, would he be with Duan Xu?" Zhou Ying's mood has been getting more and more unstable recently. "If we hadn't been watching him, he would have run off with Duan Xu a long time ago! Li Lijun, do you know that your eldest sister calls home every few days and asks about Li Guo in a roundabout way? Is she concerned? Is she curious? She finally caught us doing something wrong and is deliberately embarrassing me! Do you know what the relatives at home are saying about Li Guo and us now?"

The familiar quarreling sound rang out, and Chen Ye slowly asked, "Mom, does the fact that I like men make you feel ashamed? Does it make you feel that I am making a mistake?"

Zhou Ying was stunned, and there was a flash of guilt in her tearful eyes. She almost choked up, "I have never suppressed you and Duan Xu. I know you are both good children. But mom doesn't want you to be gay. Mom just hopes that you can get married, have children, and live a normal life."

"You are still young and have no idea what it means to take a different path. I am a teacher and I know that times are changing quickly, but most people still cannot accept homosexuality. Whether in your future life or work, you will be discriminated against because of your sexual orientation."

Zhou Ying stroked Chen Ye's face and said, "When you reach mom's age, you will understand that love is not everything. Can you guarantee that your love will always be there?"

Chen also said: "Even if it is a man and a woman, it is impossible to guarantee that they will love each other for a lifetime. I think the relationship between Duan Xu and I is no less than that of heterosexuals. We just love each other. Maybe you think that he and I have the relationship today just because we have been together since childhood, but even if we didn't know each other when we were young, we would fall in love with each other when we met when we grew up."

Because Duan Xu is that person, Chen Ye unconditionally believes that they will eventually meet and fall in love.

Seeing the determination in Chen Ye's eyes, Zhou Ying realized for a moment that he had indeed underestimated Chen Ye's feelings for Duan Xu.

She was a little dazed. In her heart, she always regarded Chen Ye as a child who had not grown up, but she never expected that one day Chen Ye would grow up and have his own ideas and persistence.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Ying compromised and said, "Pack your luggage first, and we'll send you to school tomorrow. We can talk about the future after you graduate."

After Chen Ye entered the room, Zhou Ying was sitting on the sofa, staring at the TV, but his eyes didn't move, and he was distracted.

Zhou Ying has lived a very conventional life since childhood. She grew up peacefully and ordinary, met the right person at the right age, got married, and then had children.

She herself lives a smooth life and hopes that Chen can live an ordinary life like her.

The path taken by ordinary people is the broad road. Does that mean the path taken by a minority is wrong?

Li Lijun, who was sitting next to Zhou Ying, hesitated to speak, and finally said, "Wife, I think the two children are serious."

Zhou Ying said, "I know Xiaoguo is unstable, but don't I know Duan Xu? He always thinks carefully before doing anything, and I know he is serious."

After sighing, Zhou Ying said uncomfortably: "I hope they are just young and ignorant."

"Or we can just let them be. The children are grown up and we can't control them anymore."

Zhou Ying poked Li Lijun's head and said, "You are so soft-hearted! If we let them do whatever they want, they will be in big trouble. Duan Xu's mother is my friend, and his father runs a company. What if his family disagrees? Do you think our family can fight against them? In the end, won't Xiaoguo be the one who gets hurt?"

"Wife, you think long-term."

Zhou Ying rolled her eyes at him and said, "Let them separate for a while, at least until Xiaoguo graduates. If they are still like this by then, I won't say anything. If they can't even stand this test, then it means that I was right to separate them!"

"My wife is wise."

"What did Mom and Dad say? They've always wanted to have a great-grandson, but now it's like this..."

Li Lijun said: "I will talk to them. Although the old couple are from the countryside, they love their children and will definitely put Xiaoguo's happiness first."

Zhou Ying glared at him. "What? Are you saying that I don't love Xiaoguo?"

"How dare I? You are definitely doing this for their own good. They will understand in the future. I mean, my parents are old now, they have seen through everything, so it's easy to persuade them."

Zhou Ying snorted coldly, "That's more like it."

Early the next morning, Li Lijun drove Chen Ye to the capital. Fortunately, Chen Ye secretly sent a text message to Duan Xu last night and did not let Duan Xu wait for him.

When they arrived at the school, Zhou Ying watched Chen Ye go through the procedures for living on campus.

Li Lijun said, "Xiaoguo, your mom and I discussed it last night. You should break up with Xiaoxu first. If you and Xiaoxu still like each other after graduation, your mom and I will relent."

Chen Ye looked at Zhou Ying in surprise, "Really?"

Zhou Ying said unhappily, "It's fake."

Chen Ye hugged Zhou Ying's arm and said, "Mom, I know you are the best."

"Remember what your dad said. After you break up, have less contact with Xiao Xu and definitely don't live together. I'll tell Xiao Xu that if you really want to be together, just hold back. Don't tell me your relationship has faded after a few months of separation."

"Don't worry, we won't."

Zhou Ying tapped Chen Ye's head, "Are you happy now? Eat well. Look at you. You have lost so much weight in the past two days."

"I will."

Chen Ye felt relieved from the pressure he had felt for the past few days. He said to Zhou Ying, "Thank you, Mom."

Zhou Ying turned her back and wiped away her tears, "Mom just wants you to be happy."

Seeing that Chen Ye was upset because of Duan Xu, Zhou Ying felt bad too.

After Zhou Ying and Li Lijun went back, Chen also received a message from Duan Xu, "Auntie has sent me a message, I will comply."

Chen also messaged him back, "Me too. Since we broke up and don't live together anymore, we're still friends, so we can still chat every day."

"Ah."

"I'll bring you lunch boxes at noon and in the evening. You can take them back to the dormitory and eat them. Just think of it as taking care of a friend."

Chen Ye’s smile was reflected on the screen, “Okay.”