LIAH 31. I Miss You

Over the weekend, Pei Siyin spent his days either putting on a skirt or taking it off. By the end of it, he was so drained he collapsed on the bed and slept straight through until Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, after Song Shengyang had someone deliver the skirts, word somehow reached Lou Wanqing. She had just returned from a temple visit, and her expression was filled with hopeful anticipation for her future daughter-in-law.

“This one looks promising. He might actually bring them home this time,” Lou Wanqing said while standing at the window, phone pressed to her ear as she spoke to her husband. “You shouldn’t spend all your time working either. You should show a little interest in your son’s life.”

Father and son talked business all day at the company, then rushed home after work to see their partners.

Song Shengyang had always been the wild one. Song Cangyuan never took it seriously. His son’s fascination with new things could vanish any day now, so the idea of him settling down for real had always seemed far-fetched.

The May Day holiday started on Tuesday. After finishing his last class on Monday, Pei Siyin packed his things and got ready to head home. Song Shengyang drove him to the airport and brought it up again on the way.

“You’re really staying home for a whole week?”

Pei Siyin unbuckled his seatbelt and turned his head with a smile. “You’ve asked me so many times already. It’s a five-day holiday, and after that it’s my niece’s birthday. Of course I’m staying home.”

Song Shengyang didn’t respond. Pei Siyin reached over and cupped his face, rubbing and squeezing it. “It’ll go by fast. Just one week.”

“One week is not fast. It’s so damn slow,” Song Shengyang muttered, catching his hand with an obvious sulk in his voice.

Pei Siyin laughed. “Really? Weren’t you the one who said a week was too short before?”

Song Shengyang’s expression shifted. Just within the span of two weeks, his whole attitude had swung to the opposite extreme.

The phone alarm rang again. Pei Siyin glanced at it, then hooked his fingers around Song Shengyang’s and gave them a shake. “Come on, it’s time.”

A lot of people were traveling home ahead of the holiday, and the airport was packed with a sea of people. The sky outside had already gone dark. At the terminal entrance, Song Shengyang stalled for a final two minutes.

“Let me know when you’re coming back. I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay.” Pei Siyin cupped his face and kissed him. “Don’t miss me too much.”

That part was going to be hard. It felt like he started missing him the moment Pei Siyin turned and walked away. At the security checkpoint, Pei Siyin waved at him, and then he was gone.

Still standing by the entrance, Song Shengyang was just about to check something on his phone when a call came in from Lou Wanqing.

“Mom,” he answered.

Lou Wanqing was arranging flowers on the other end of the line. “Everyone’s off starting tomorrow. It’s so late already, why aren’t you home yet?”

The noise at the airport was overwhelming. Song Shengyang walked forward a few steps. “I had something to take care of today. I’ll come home tomorrow night.”

“What could you possibly have going on?” Lou Wanqing put down the flowers, her smile slipping into her voice. “Ah, you’re spending time with your girlfriend, aren’t you? I get it, I get it. Mom won’t bother you two.”

The moment she said “girlfriend,” he suddenly realized he had never told Lou Wanqing or Song Cangyuan that he was in love with a man. He had no idea how they would react. For all he knew, they might tear him in two on the spot.

“Mom,” Song Shengyang hesitated.

Lou Wanqing held up her phone with a beaming smile. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

Song Shengyang asked, “…Have you ever thought about having a second child?”

There was a long silence on the other end. Then came Lou Wanqing’s firecracker of a voice. “Song Shengyang, are you out of your damn mind? You want your mother to pop out another one at this age? Have you completely lost it?”

Thankfully, Song Shengyang had the foresight to hold his phone far away from his ear. Once her shouting died down, he obediently prepared to end the call. “Okay, Mom. Bye-bye, Mom.”

After hanging up, Lou Wanqing returned to her usual refined self. Next to her, Song Cangyuan held up a newspaper to cover his face and said nothing.

“There’s something off about that boy,” Lou Wanqing muttered, analyzing like she was solving a case. “He’s definitely hiding something from me.”

The bedside lamp clicked on. Song Cangyuan put down the newspaper and removed his glasses. “Just ask him when he comes back.”

Lou Wanqing shot him a look, as if to say, You see him at work every day and can’t even dig up a thing, and now I’m supposed to get answers?

Song Cangyuan suddenly felt parched. He reached for a glass on the nightstand and took a sip to ease his dry throat.

Lou Wanqing got under the covers and thought for a moment before saying, “He’ll be back tomorrow night anyway. I’ll ask then.”

“Exactly. And if he doesn’t say anything, just ask Yan Ting or Tao You. Those two probably know something.”

The curtains were drawn tight. Lou Wanqing rubbed her temples. “Those three grew up in the same pair of pants. If there’s a secret, they’re the last people who’d tell us.”

She wasn’t feeling sleepy. Her mind was still stuck on solving the case. “Your son just asked me if I ever thought about having another baby. You know what that means? He thinks he’s no use anymore and wants us to try again while we still can.”

“But he’s been doing great at work lately. And I haven’t heard anything about him getting mixed up in anything illegal,” she continued, voice trailing with worry. The more she thought about it, the colder her back felt. She nudged Song Cangyuan’s shoulder, her tone uneasy. “It has to be relationship trouble. He must feel like he’s let us down somehow.”

Song Cangyuan, already past the age where he could take such emotional bombs in stride, stared in shock. “What trouble? You just told me the other night his assistant delivered an entire floor’s worth of skirts to his place. Sounds like the relationship’s going great.”

Lou Wanqing stayed quiet. After a long pause, she said, “Who says skirts are only for women?”

---

In first class, Pei Siyin stretched out his long legs and relaxed his lower back. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Song Shengyang.

[PSY]: I’m in my seat. So comfy [cute emoji]

The reply came almost immediately.

[SSY]: Two hours on a plane. That’s way too long.

[PSY]: Long? [smirk emoji]

[SSY]: I won’t be able to reach you for two hours. What if you miss me?

Pei Siyin laughed aloud, amused. He tucked a U-shaped pillow behind his neck and bounced his toes.

[PSY]: I already miss you [cry emoji]

[PSY]: Do you miss me? [pleading emoji]

[SSY]: Eh. A little.

Pei Siyin let out a soft hum of dissatisfaction.

[PSY]: [pout emoji] I miss you.

This time, there was no instant reply. Two minutes passed before the message came.

[SSY]: Look up.

In the next second, Pei Siyin nearly jumped out of his seat. He spun around, heart lifting and lurching like it was being pulled in every direction, slamming so hard in his chest it almost hurt.

Song Shengyang was standing right behind his seat, phone held to his chin, smiling as he looked at him.

Emotion swelled hot and fast in Pei Siyin’s chest, rising until his eyes burned. Song Shengyang leaned in, their cheeks brushing as he helped him back into his seat and buckled the seatbelt for him. “Stunned?”

Pei Siyin sniffled, his voice trembling. “What are you doing here?”

Song Shengyang pinched his cheek gently, then pulled him into a hug. “Because someone said they missed me.”