BOSF 048: Spoiling Him

On New Year’s Eve, Xiang Yang returned.

Ji Yan had been in constant contact with Shen Xiuqing during this time, so he knew about Xiang Yang’s return. He had timed it perfectly but didn’t go out to greet him. That would be too deliberate and would look strange to others.

The streets were bustling during the day on New Year’s Eve. Lin Yueqin went in and out of the house several times while shopping, naturally picking up a lot of gossip to share—which family’s child had returned, what happened in which household, what so-and-so was up to now—nothing escaped her ears.

Ji Yan listened to her ramble on for a long time before he finally heard Xiang Yang’s name. This was the moment he was waiting for. He immediately jumped up from his chair. “I’m going to find Xiang Yang.”

Lin Yueqin watched Ji Yan’s retreating back and shook her head. “Why is he still such a child even though he’s all grown up?”

Sitting on the sofa, Ji Qiuyuan overheard and asked curiously, “You said the kid from across the street is back?”

“Yeah, I ran into him on the road. A driver dropped him off at the village entrance. He was dressed very respectably, too.”

When Xiang Yang first left the village for work, it had caused quite a stir. Xiang Yang had been a topic of village gossip since he was a child, and no one had ever imagined that a mentally handicapped person could actually find a job. They were dying of curiosity. Many were skeptical, but most were scornful and sarcastic.

Ji Qiuyuan, for example, was very curious. As a middle-aged, unemployed man without a steady job, he found it hard to believe Xiang Yang could achieve anything. “He was gone for two months. Did he make any money?”

“How would I know? Why don’t you go ask him yourself,” Lin Yueqin said. She was also curious, but she had no idea how to communicate with Xiang Yang. When she tried to pry information from Li Lilian, Li Lilian would always just say she didn’t know.

Ji Qiuyuan scoffed. “It doesn’t matter if he didn’t make money. As long as he wasn’t scammed.”

Human psychology is a subtle thing. In the past, when Xiang Yang was little, Ji Qiuyuan mostly just pitied the boy because of his autism and his parents’ lack of affection, displaying the sympathy of the strong for the weak. But after Xiang Yang grew up, the situation suddenly reversed. Not only did someone personally come to invite him away, but a job had also fallen from the sky. Compared to his own sorry state, Ji Qiuyuan’s sour grapes mentality kicked in, unable to stand seeing others do well. It wasn’t just Ji Qiuyuan; many people in the village probably thought the same way. The image of weakness was so deeply ingrained in their minds that it was hard to change. Small-minded people just wished for such individuals to remain failures for life, never to have a chance to turn things around.

Ji Yan didn’t hear his parents’ conversation. He rang the doorbell, already impatient to see Xiang Yang.

He waited outside for quite a while, so long that he began to wonder if anyone was home. Finally, Li Lilian slowly opened the door. Her expression wasn’t pleasant, but she didn’t stop Ji Yan from entering.

Ji Yan keenly sensed that the atmosphere was off. Looking inside, he saw Xiang Yang standing in the living room, dressed in a shirt and trousers, holding a luggage bag. A bank passbook lay on the floor. A passbook wouldn’t just fall on the floor for no reason; it must have been thrown there.

What was going on? Did they have a fight?

No, it looked more like Xiang Yang was being unilaterally scolded.

Ji Yan hadn’t figured out what was happening, but he could tell Li Lilian was furious. He quickly walked to Xiang Yang’s side, wanting to mediate. “Aunty…”

Li Lilian had clearly let Ji Yan in because she had something to say. She interrupted Ji Yan, speaking first. “Ji Yan, you’re close to Xiang Yang. Help me talk some sense into him. If he’s not making money, he should stop embarrassing himself out there and just stay home. The neighbors keep asking me, and I’m sick of it… I can’t bring myself to say that Xiang Yang spent the last two months living off someone else’s money… That… that girl who came for Xiang Yang, I don’t know what she sees in him… It… it feels like she’s keeping him…”

Ji Yan was stunned. Even for a biological mother, those words were far too cruel. What’s more, she had never spent any effort trying to understand her own son or care about what he was doing.

Ji Yan’s first instinct wasn’t to comfort Li Lilian, but to look at Xiang Yang. He was afraid Xiang Yang would be hurt by her words.

However, Xiang Yang showed no reaction at all, his expression vacant.

Ji Yan’s heart tightened. Disregarding Li Lilian’s presence, he quickly grabbed Xiang Yang’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Fortunately, Li Lilian was in the heat of her anger and didn’t notice Ji Yan’s small gesture.

It was no wonder Li Lilian would think that way. Xiang Yang was already handsome, and in this new outfit, he looked even more charming and attractive. When Xiang Yang had left the village, he was still wearing plain clothes. To see him return with a completely changed image, coupled with the fact that there were no deposits in the passbook, led Li Lilian’s thoughts in that direction. She felt that while Xiang Yang might be a good-for-nothing, their family could still support him. But if he were being kept by someone, it would be an utter disgrace to their family.

Ji Yan didn’t know what Shen Xiuqing had discussed with Li Lilian initially, so he could only try to smooth things over. “Aunty, this might be a misunderstanding…”

“What misunderstanding could there be? What normal person would ever take a liking to Xiang Yang?” Because Xiang Yang had never given her any reaction, Li Lilian dared to say anything, completely disregarding his feelings.

Those words made Ji Yan feel extremely pained. He didn’t argue with Li Lilian further. Instead, he pulled Xiang Yang back to his room.

The moment the door closed, Ji Yan couldn’t help but cry, both angry and sad. Xiang Yang wouldn’t cry, so he had to cry for him. “Xiang Yang, don’t mind her. You’re great… Mmm…”

Just as Ji Yan turned his head, Xiang Yang immediately leaned in and kissed him, wiping away his tears as he did.

At this moment, Xiang Yang showed none of the dazed look he had earlier. The way he looked at Ji Yan was incredibly gentle.

Ji Yan stared at him blankly, momentarily forgetting to cry, with only the built-up tears continuing to slide from the corners of his eyes. He felt that he should be the one comforting Xiang Yang, but instead, he was the one being comforted.

Xiang Yang was still kissing him. It wasn’t a passionate kiss; whenever Ji Yan looked like he was about to cry, he would just keep kissing and kissing him…

The sadness quickly faded, and Ji Yan started to feel shy from all the kissing, his tears stopping. His eyes were still a little red, as if tinged with bashfulness. “Xiang Yang… were you pretending?”

Back in the living room, Ji Yan had already noticed something was off. Xiang Yang had clearly made great progress; he could take care of himself and looked almost no different from an ordinary person. But in front of Li Lilian, he had clearly acted dim-witted. That’s why Ji Yan had been so nervous, thinking Xiang Yang had suffered a setback.

Xiang Yang tilted his head slightly to look at him, not understanding what “pretending” meant.

Ji Yan asked in a more direct way, “You did that on purpose, right? You don’t want your mom to know?”

This time, Xiang Yang finally hummed in agreement.

Xiang Yang’s thoughts, however, weren’t as complex as Ji Yan imagined. He simply felt there was no need to pay Li Lilian any mind, regardless of whether they were related by blood or if she was his biological mother. He didn’t care about things that didn’t matter to him, nor did he care what others thought of him. He wouldn’t waste time worrying about it, let alone feel any superfluous emotions. Just because he could communicate with people now didn’t mean he could empathize with everyone. His personality had long been formed, creating an indestructible wall during his years of self-isolation. It wouldn’t be shaken by Li Lilian’s harsh words, and nothing could hurt him. His world still contained only Ji Yan; that had never changed.

Ji Yan’s gaze lingered on Xiang Yang’s face for a few seconds, and he said no more.

Xiang Yang didn’t need to prove anything to anyone, because the rumors and gossip had always been things others had arbitrarily imposed on him. He didn’t need to explain himself, nor did he need to take responsibility for the words and actions of others.

After calming down, Ji Yan called Shen Xiuqing and tactfully told her what had just happened.

Shen Xiuqing was still on her way back to her hometown. Hearing the story, she laughed with exasperation. Her well-rounded personality allowed her to reply humorously, “Me, keeping Xiang Yang? I wish I could. If I weren’t still young and hadn’t had enough of dating, I’d have adopted him as my son.”

Ji Yan burst out laughing.

Some people are naturally cheerful and easy to be around. Shen Xiuqing was one of them, able to defuse awkward situations with ease.

The signal was poor on the road, and Shen Xiuqing’s voice was cutting in and out. Before hanging up, she added a few more instructions. “Ji Yan, don’t worry. Leave this to me. I’ll explain everything clearly when I come to pick Xiang Yang up after the New Year. Also, don’t indulge Xiang Yang too much. You’ll spoil him.”

Ji Yan froze for a moment, then secretly glanced at Xiang Yang. “I’m not…”

“I certainly hope you’re not.”

Shen Xiuqing’s tone was filled with teasing laughter, reminding Ji Yan of the time she had winked at him, and he inexplicably blushed again. He… wasn’t, right?

After hanging up, Ji Yan’s eyes met Xiang Yang’s.

Xiang Yang leaned in again, first kissing Ji Yan’s cheek, then his lips. Ji Yan tried to push him away but couldn’t, and he soon gave up struggling.

And in the time that followed, the spoiled Xiang Yang learned another idiom from Ji Yan: give him an inch and he’ll take a yard.