BOSF 053: Marriage

After lunch, Ji Yan helped clean up the dishes, feeling it was about time to find Xiang Yang. Xiang Hongxiu had left after eating, and it was Li Lilian who opened the door for Ji Yan. Xiang Jie was holed up in his room, doing who-knows-what, leaving the house unusually quiet.

Ji Yan didn’t know what their family had discussed, but the atmosphere felt strange. Li Lilian looked at him, hesitant to speak. Ji Yan broke the silence. “Auntie, what’s wrong?”

“Well, Ji Yan…” Li Lilian recalled Xiang Hongxiu’s instructions. She wanted to ask but felt awkward, yet had to. “Do you know… how much money Xiang Yang has earned?”

“What?”

It was absurd for a mother to ask this, but it was happening. Ji Yan couldn’t fathom why these adults kept prying into Xiang Yang’s affairs. Even when he went shopping, neighbors would stop him with nosy questions, assuming he’d know everything.

Since Li Lilian had started, continuing wasn’t so hard—especially after she’d once questioned in front of Ji Yan whether Xiang Yang was being kept by someone. Having already embarrassed herself, this seemed minor. “I thought, since you and Xiang Yang are close… He doesn’t even know how much he’s earned. I’m worried he’s being scammed.”

Her words sounded reasonable, like a mother’s concern. But Ji Yan knew Xiang Yang too well. “Sorry, Auntie, he hasn’t told me, and I don’t know.”

Li Lilian pressed, “Could you ask him for me?”

Ji Yan smiled. “It’s not really my place as an outsider. If even you can’t ask, what could I get out of him?”

Li Lilian froze, his logic leaving her no room to insist. Did his words carry a hint of sarcasm, or was she overthinking?

Before she could respond, Ji Yan headed toward Xiang Yang’s room. “Auntie, I’m going to find Xiang Yang.”

Knocking and entering, Ji Yan saw Xiang Yang unpacking clothes from his suitcase, placing them in the wardrobe. Each time he returned, he brought only essentials, but when leaving, he took more, gradually erasing his presence from this house, treating the studio dorm as his true home. If Li Lilian had been attentive, she’d have noticed while rummaging through his luggage. Neither she nor Xiang Hongxiu had—they only cared about what served their interests, not Xiang Yang’s well-being.

Seeing Ji Yan, Xiang Yang dropped what he was doing and walked straight to him.

At twenty-two, Xiang Yang stood at 185 cm, his frame almost too large for the cramped room, his head nearly brushing the ceiling. Ji Yan felt a pang of heartache.

As Xiang Yang approached, Ji Yan met him halfway, wrapping him in a hug.

“Xiang Yang…” Knowing Xiang Yang had returned for him, and recalling Li Lilian’s questions, Ji Yan’s heart ached more. He didn’t have to come back and face this treatment.

Unfazed, Xiang Yang leaned down for a kiss.

Ji Yan cupped his face, gently kissing his lips, deepening it as their breaths mingled. But with the door unlocked, he didn’t dare go too far. Reluctantly, he kissed Xiang Yang’s jaw before stepping back.

Before, when Li Lilian ignored Xiang Yang, they could do whatever they wanted in his room. Now, with her sudden attentiveness, she’d knock frequently to check on him, limiting them to simple kisses and hugs despite having only holidays to be together.

Perhaps out of indignation for Xiang Yang, or driven by the moment, Ji Yan felt compelled to make a promise, to push himself harder. Words he’d long considered spilled out. “Xiang Yang, after I graduate… let’s leave here and live together, okay?”

He didn’t want Xiang Yang to endure this anymore. Ji Yan resolved to be proactive after the semester started—take interviews, even for jobs he disliked, to achieve financial independence.

Xiang Yang suddenly asked, “Marry?”

Ji Yan’s face flushed. Reflecting on his words, they did sound like a proposal. Meeting Xiang Yang’s earnest gaze, he realized talking about marriage was premature, but he didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. “Mhm.”

Xiang Yang nodded. “Good, marry.”

Ji Yan wondered where Xiang Yang had picked up the word—perhaps Shen Xiuqing had planted odd ideas again. Xiang Yang seemed fixated on “marriage,” like when he’d mentioned it mid-act last time…

Though Xiang Yang could communicate normally now, his understanding differed from others, sometimes seeming like he was talking to himself or missing the point. But Ji Yan knew he understood; his expression was just unique. Autism wouldn’t vanish—it was lifelong—but Xiang Yang was improving, nearing a “normal” level. Ji Yan found this version of him endearing, his single-minded pursuit of what he loved, looking at Ji Yan like he was his entire world.

Ji Yan couldn’t help but be moved. Each time he saw Xiang Yang, his love grew, overwhelming him.

After a kiss, Xiang Yang rummaged through his luggage, puzzling Ji Yan.

He pulled out a shiny gold sheet with cloud patterns, folding it into a ring and slipping it onto Ji Yan’s ring finger. It was the cheapest ring in the world, yet unique, outshining any diamond.

This was Xiang Yang’s sense of ceremony.

Ji Yan stared, overwhelmed with emotion, tears welling up. It was just a casual mention, yet Xiang Yang took it so seriously.

Looking at Xiang Yang, who gazed back even more earnestly, he said, “Bankbook… at the studio. I’ll give it to you… wife…”

Ji Yan understood, blushing at the word “wife.” Xiang Yang meant that after marriage, the wife manages the finances. Ji Yan wanted to protest he wasn’t the wife, but under Xiang Yang’s expectant gaze, he couldn’t. Returning a kiss, he said earnestly, “I don’t want your bankbook. I just want you.”

Xiang Yang nodded, still looking expectant.

“What?”

Xiang Yang said matter-of-factly, “Call me husband?”

Ji Yan was mortified, unable to say it. But having accepted the ring, what could he do?

“Hus… husband…”

He buried his face in his hands, unable to meet Xiang Yang’s eyes, missing the gentle smile on his face.

They “married” so casually, like kids playing house. But Ji Yan would always remember this day—their wedding day.

After the New Year, Xiang Yang returned to work. His parents tried everything but couldn’t learn how much he earned. Xiang Yang played dumb, leaving them helpless. They shifted tactics, trying to please him to make up for past neglect. But no amount of affection or incentives could hold him now.

They’d only ever get what they earned raising him—nothing more.

Ji Yan, resolute, confronted his parents, declaring he’d rent a place and find work after graduation, not returning home.

Lin Yueqin was furious. “Ji Yan, have you thought about your parents?”

In her plan, Ji Yan, her only child, would return home after graduation, work nearby, marry a docile girl, and live together, even if it meant upgrading to a bigger house.

This was common for her generation—family togetherness, or less charitably, keeping children close for security. It was her hope, not Ji Yan’s.

Ji Yan had always been obedient, never defying his parents, but he was grown now and wanted his own life. “Have you thought about what I want?”

Lin Yueqin was stunned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t like my major. Even my teachers asked if I want to switch. I don’t know what I want to do.”

“You… you never told me!” She was shocked, not just by this revelation but by his defiance.

“Would you have listened? You just tell me to work harder, dismissing everything I say.”

Regaining her composure, she grew angry. “You’re blaming me? Everything I do is for you, and now you blame me?”

Ji Yan expected this reaction and stayed calm. “I’m not blaming you. I’m blaming myself for not sticking to what I wanted.”

“So this time, I won’t listen to you anymore.”