ABOES 37: Your Room

Chi Yunxing stood there, visibly flustered while casting a helpless look toward Tan Yao.

Tan Yao only smiled and said, “What a pity. If I were still strong enough to carry you, I would’ve wanted to carry you home too.”

If you listened closely, you could hear a trace of regret in her voice.

Chi Xiwen unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, laughing. “Actually, I could carry Yunxing home too.”

Chi Ling glared at him. “What are you getting involved for?”

Then he turned back and bent down again, looking at Chi Yunxing with expectation in his eyes. “Come on, Yunxing. Hop down.”

“No, that’s okay…” Chi Yunxing tried to decline, wanting to say he could walk just fine. Yet when he met Chi Ling’s expectant gaze, the rest of his sentence stuck in his throat. He couldn’t get it out.

Chi Ling could see his hesitation and reassured him with a smile, “Don’t worry, I work out every day, your dad’s in great shape. Come on up.”

Chi Yunxing hesitated. “I…”

Before he could finish, Tan Yao gently patted his shoulder, her voice soft with a smile. “Go on, Yunxing. When you were little, your dad used to carry you all the time.”

Chi Xiwen, standing beside the car, also smiled and chimed in, “It’s fine. If Dad gets tired, your big brother can carry you the rest of the way.”

Everyone looked at him with patient anticipation, waiting for what he would do next.

Something tender inside Chi Yunxing’s heart was quietly touched. His eyes grew misty.

He couldn’t say no.

At last, Chi Yunxing moved. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, then walked to stand behind Chi Ling.

Chi Ling’s smile deepened, and in a gentle, encouraging tone, he said, “Jump on, Yunxing. Dad will catch you.”

Chi Yunxing nodded slightly and gently placed his hands on Chi Ling’s back. He didn’t dare use too much force and gave only a light hop. His body lifted into the air and then settled onto a broad, steady back.

Despite carrying the full weight of an adult, Chi Ling didn’t wobble. He straightened up a bit, arms reaching around to support Yunxing’s legs.

“All set?” Chi Ling asked.

Tan Yao had also gotten out of the car by then. She smiled. “All set. Let’s go.”

“Alright,” Chi Ling grinned, “Yunxing, we’re going home now.”

Chi Yunxing couldn’t hold back the burning in his nose. His eyes were red as he nodded, answering in a quiet voice, “Mm.”

His feet dangled in the air, all his weight resting on Chi Ling. It was a strange sensation—entrusting his whole self to someone else—but Chi Yunxing didn’t feel uneasy at all. He wasn’t afraid of falling, not one bit.

Chi Ling walked steadily. His arms were strong and sure, supporting Yunxing’s legs with ease. His broad back was firm and secure, just like the kind of fatherly strength Yunxing had always imagined. It made him feel safe. 

Tan Yao stood some distance back, watching the scene unfold. She couldn’t hold back her tears.

Chi Xiwen’s eyes were red too. He choked out, “This is… really something.”

Chi Ling carried Yunxing for quite a distance before suddenly turning around.

“Hurry up, you two! I’m carrying Yunxing and I’m still faster than you,” he called out.

Yunxing looked up and saw their silhouettes under the streetlamp not far behind.

Tan Yao broke into laughter through her tears.

“We’re coming!” Chi Xiwen shouted back.

The two of them picked up their pace.

Chi Ling turned forward again, shaking his head, then said to the boy on his back, “Yunxing, let’s go!”

Chi Yunxing’s eyes were still red, but the corners of his mouth curled high. “Mm.”

The Chi family’s old house was a standalone villa. From the gate to the front door was a large garden. Chi Ling walked slowly, chatting with Yunxing as they went.

“When your mom was pregnant with you, she had bad morning sickness. I was always busy with work, and your brother was a little troublemaker, always running around with Zhi Yan. I didn’t want your mom to be lonely, so I bought her a puppy to keep her company.”

Chi Ling paused, adjusting Yunxing on his back, then pointed ahead. “See that little wooden house over there?”

Following his gaze, Yunxing first spotted a gazebo. He blinked for a moment before noticing a small and slightly weathered wooden house placed on the table inside.

The tiny house was quaint. Yunxing studied it for a couple of seconds and couldn’t help asking, “It was for a puppy?”

Chi Ling burst out laughing.

Tan Yao and Chi Xiwen had caught up by then. Hearing that, Tan Yao also laughed. “No, it was a golden retriever.”

Chi Yunxing stared in surprise, glancing back at the little wooden house, trying to imagine a golden retriever fitting inside.

Tan Yao knew what he was thinking and explained with a chuckle, “You were the one who insisted on building that little house. Your brother and Zhi Yan couldn’t say no, so they helped you make it. But you were just over a year old then and only knew how to stack blocks. Most of the work was done by your brother and Zhi Yan.”

“Though, they were also still really young at the time,” she added with a smile. “So the end result was just that little house.”

Chi Xiwen joined in, “Yeah, and in the end, Qiuqiu’s head wouldn’t even fit inside. You cried for days about it.”

“Qiuqiu?” Yunxing murmured.

“That was the golden retriever’s name,” Chi Xiwen said with a grin. “He lived to be fifteen, pretty long-lived for a dog. After he passed, we had the gazebo built and moved his little house there.”

“There are pictures of him in the photo albums too. You can look later,” Tan Yao said fondly. “We’ve got tons of photos of you when you were little!”

Yunxing nodded. “Okay.”

While they talked, the group reached the front door.

Chi Ling looked over his shoulder. “Yunxing, I’m putting you down now.”

“Mm.” Yunxing answered softly.

Chi Ling bent and carefully set him down. As he straightened up, Yunxing thought he heard a soft grunt of pain.

He turned to look, but Chi Xiwen stepped in, slinging an arm around his shoulder and saying loudly, almost ceremonially, “Welcome home, Yunxing!”

Tan Yao’s eyes were brimming with tears again, but she smiled through them. “Welcome home, Yunxing.”

Chi Ling turned around at last. His temples were damp with a sheen of sweat across his brow. His eyes were red, and his voice hoarse. “Welcome home, Yunxing.”

Yunxing had lost count of how many times he’d teared up today. All he knew was that when he looked up again, his vision was blurred with mist.

The summer night was still and quiet.

Chi Xiwen was the first to laugh and break the silence. “Alright, it’s late. No need to keep standing around outside. Come on, Yunxing, let me give you a tour of our home.”

He led Yunxing inside, beginning to introduce the house that Yunxing had only lived in for two short years.

Chi Ling and Tan Yao followed behind, occasionally adding details.

They recounted the times Chi Xiwen and Duan Zhiyan had fought over toys in this very house. Every little memory, every dusty corner of their past—they handed it over to Yunxing with care and joy.

Eventually, Chi Xiwen opened another door. This time, he stepped aside and gently pushed Yunxing forward with both hands.

“Yunxing, this is your room.”

It was a large children’s bedroom. The moment he stepped in, Yunxing saw the walls covered with comic stickers. In the center stood a big child’s bed, with safety railings on all sides. The bed was piled high with plush toys and several nearly life-sized Ultraman figures.

Next to the bed was a little tent, with toy cars parked inside.

“Go take a look,” Tan Yao said softly.

Yunxing walked forward a few steps.

Across from the bed was a shelf, packed with Ultraman figurines. Though seventeen years had passed, the toys looked perfectly intact.

He reached out and touched one gently.

It was clean—no dust at all.

Clearly, someone had been coming in to tidy this room regularly.

Yunxing’s lashes trembled slightly.

“Want to take it down and look?” Tan Yao asked.

Yunxing shook his head. As he lowered his gaze, he noticed a framed photo on the second shelf.

He picked it up.

The photo was a little blurry—technology back then wasn’t what it is now—but he recognized the child instantly.

It was him.

A chubby little boy holding a cake in one hand and an Ultraman figure in the other, grinning wide with a mouth full of baby teeth.

Tan Yao walked up beside him, her eyes soft. “That was taken when you turned one. Oh, the photo albums…”

“I’ll get them,” Chi Xiwen said.

He soon returned with a thick album.

Tan Yao sat with Yunxing on the sofa, opened the album, and flipped to the first page.

There were so many photos. Yunxing guessed well over a thousand.

He saw pictures of himself and Chi Xiwen as children, photos of little Duan Zhiyan, and of Qiuqiu.

Every time they turned a page, Tan Yao would tell him when it was taken, who took it, and what funny thing happened that day. She remembered every detail.

Chi Ling occasionally added a comment, and Chi Xiwen would chime in with the few memories he had, which, of course, were all about Yunxing.

Yunxing’s eyes stung again.

By the time they finished the album, it was already late into the night.

Tan Yao looked apologetic. “Oh no, we completely lost track of time… that’s on me.”

“It’s okay,” Yunxing smiled. “I thought it was really fun.”

The people in the photos were clearly him but the stories were so unfamiliar that he listened with rapt attention.

“If you want to know more, we can keep telling you tomorrow. But for now, why don’t you rest?” Chi Ling suggested. “You must be exhausted today.”

“Right, rest first,” Tan Yao said, putting the album aside. “Your room is just next door. Come on, let’s go.”

They headed to the room next door together.

Before entering, Yunxing had assumed it was just a guest room but once he stepped inside, he finally understood what Tan Yao meant when she said “Your room.”