LIAH 37. Come to My Place

Thankfully, it was broad daylight. Even with the bathroom lights off, it wasn’t completely dark.

Pei Siyin was pulled inside. The warm mist from the shower hadn’t dispersed yet. Song Shengyang had a towel wrapped around his waist, and the water dripping from his hair landed right onto the clothes Pei Siyin was holding.

“What are you doing?” Pei Siyin’s ears were flushed red, but even so, his hand still wandered up to press against Song Shengyang’s firm chest. “It’s so springy.”

Song Shengyang didn’t stop him. He even looked a little smug. “Not bad, right?”

“It really is,” Pei Siyin replied, then turned to shut the bathroom door and stuffed the clothes into his hands. “Put these on.”

Song Shengyang didn’t take them immediately. In the increasingly humid air, he placed one hand on Pei Siyin’s waist and leaned in to gently brush their lips together, the tip of his tongue sliding lightly across. “Shower, then sleep.”

Pei Siyin tightened his grip on the clothes. He looked up. “That’s it?”

For some reason, he sounded a little disappointed. Song Shengyang nuzzled his nose and asked, “What were you expecting?”

His thoughts were written all over his face, and they were dangerously close to being exposed. Pei Siyin avoided his gaze, turned to leave, and came back a moment later with another outfit he pulled from the shopping bags. He placed it on the clean shelf beside the shower and asked, “Then why didn’t you ask me to shower with you?”

Song Shengyang smiled. “I forgot.”

They took a shower and didn’t do much else, just kissed and touched a little.

By the time they dried their hair, Pei Siyin had barely laid down before he fell asleep. Haha slept on the outer edge of the bed, wrapped in Pei Siyin’s arms, and Song Shengyang curled around both of them from behind.

With the thick curtains drawn, all three of them slept until six in the evening.

Song Shengyang was the first to wake up. The phone he had tucked under his pillow was vibrating nonstop. Worried it might wake the other two, he gently lifted the blanket and slipped out of bed to take the call.

Pei Siyin had been covered with a heavy blanket. He woke up not long after from the heat. There were muffled voices coming from the other room. He washed his face in the bathroom and stepped outside.

“You’re up,” Song Shengyang said as he hung up the call. Before Pei Siyin could say anything, he patted his thigh from where he sat on the sofa. “Come here.”

Pei Siyin gave a soft laugh. He walked over and dropped to his knees between Song Shengyang’s legs, lowered his head, and gave him a kiss. “Baby, when did you wake up?”

“Maybe five minutes before you did,” Song Shengyang said.

Pei Siyin wrapped himself around him, pressing close with his eyes closed and a muffled voice. “Still tired.”

At this distance, the warm breath from Pei Siyin’s mouth landed directly on the side of Song Shengyang’s neck. He held him by the waist, idly tapping his fingers against his skin. “It’s past six. Are you planning to stay up all night again?”

“Good point,” Pei Siyin murmured with a smile. After a few more seconds of rest, he finally sat up and shifted to sit beside Song Shengyang, leaning against his arm. “I’m kinda hungry.”

“Want to eat out or order something?” Song Shengyang asked.

“Let’s order.” Pei Siyin honestly didn’t think he had the energy to walk anywhere.

They’d both had poor sleep the past two days, and they had been together the entire time, in bed or out shopping, but somehow, Song Shengyang still looked completely refreshed. Meanwhile, Pei Siyin felt like he was falling apart.

He sighed inwardly. His stamina really needed work. He made a quiet resolution to start exercising once he got back to campus.

While they were eating, Song Shengyang carried Haha out. The little one was still half-asleep, her cheeks puffy and eyes bleary. Song Shengyang fed her one spoonful at a time.

Halfway through, Pei Siyin got a call from his parents. They said they were already back home and that he could bring Haha over. Then, in a not-so-subtle tone, they added, “If your boyfriend’s free, you can bring him too.”

That didn’t need any explaining. Pei Zhile had clearly shared all the gossip ahead of time, already giving their parents a heads-up.

In the living room, Song Shengyang was playing with Haha. Pei Siyin stepped aside to the window and lowered his voice. “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll ask him.”

Song Shengyang had already noticed the hushed phone call. After Pei Siyin hung up, he was crouched on the floor fixing the hem of Haha’s dress. “What was that about?”

Pei Siyin hesitated, but quickly let it go. He hadn’t forgotten what had caused tension between them last time, so this time, after only two minutes of wavering, he wrapped his arms around Song Shengyang’s neck and warmly invited him, “Baby, come to my place later.”

Haha, full and content, was rubbing her little belly. She looked at the two of them, now eye-level with her since they were crouching, and mimicked Pei Siyin by throwing her arms around Song Shengyang’s neck. She let out a little burp and said, “Mhm, Uncle-in-law, come to my house.”

The visit was rushed again, but this time, Song Shengyang came prepared.

So when the hotel room door opened, and Pei Siyin saw several men standing there in uniform suits, white gloves on their hands and black boxes in their arms, he froze on the spot.

He was holding Haha’s hand and glanced at Song Shengyang, eyes full of suspicion. “What’s all this?”

Song Shengyang was nervous, but didn’t show it. He raised his chin slightly and gestured for the men at the door to open the boxes.

If they hadn’t, it might have been fine. But the moment the lids came off, even Haha squinted from the glare.

“Wow! Jewels!” Haha broke free from Pei Siyin’s hand and jumped up, eyes sparkling. She clung to Song Shengyang’s leg and started climbing. “Pretty! I wanna see!”

Pei Siyin couldn’t look away. He stepped forward and saw inside the cases a full set of aquamarine earrings and a matching necklace.

The deep-sea-colored stones shimmered under the lights like rippling waves. The gem cuts resembled miniature planets, their surfaces etched with delicate, crisscrossed lines that glimmered like stars.

To the right was a finely designed, uniquely crafted bracelet, with a string of pale violet gems and pearls hanging from it, each one crystal clear and luminous.

And beside that was a diamond watch for men. Pei Siyin didn’t bother questioning whether they were real. After scanning all of it from end to end, he finally pointed at the boxes of ginseng and bird’s nest at the end. He stared for several seconds before he managed to say, “Don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“It’s alright,” Song Shengyang said with a frown. Truthfully, he felt it was a bit underwhelming. If he weren’t in a city he wasn’t familiar with, the first round of gifts would’ve been at least ten times more expensive. “Do you think it’s okay?”

Okay? It was more than okay. It was ridiculous.

Haha clung to Song Shengyang, patted his shoulder with a serious look, and said with admiration, “Uncle-in-law, you’re really rich.”

Song Shengyang couldn’t hide the grin spreading across his face. He shot a proud glance at Pei Siyin and gave a little cough. “Just a little pocket change.”

It was over the top, sure. But this was still something Song Shengyang had prepared with sincerity. If Pei Siyin rejected it outright, he knew it would only make him feel bad. So in the end, he swallowed the words he had wanted to say.

Song Shengyang held the boxes tightly in his arms, his cheek brushing against the top of Pei Siyin’s head. “It’s really not that extravagant. My mom gives way more than this when she visits someone. If she finds out I only brought this to your place, she’ll definitely scold me for being stingy.”

This must be how capitalists are made.

Pei Siyin stopped himself from saying anything else. After they got out of the car, he focused on holding Haha’s hand, while Song Shengyang was left carrying the entire pile of gifts.

“I’ll help you carry something,” Pei Siyin offered.

“No need,” Song Shengyang refused. His heart was pounding in his chest. He swallowed hard, and once they were in the elevator, he finally gave in and asked, “Your parents… they’re not scary, right?”

“They’re not,” Pei Siyin said with a smile. Then he seemed to remember something. His brow furrowed and he lowered his voice, “But… they’re really enthusiastic. When you meet them, don’t get too startled.”

Enthusiastic? Song Shengyang had already seen that from both Pei Siyin and Haha, and so far it was still within tolerable range.

“I won’t,” he said confidently. “I like enthusiastic people.”

Pei Siyin lowered his head and said nothing, lips pressed together as he braced himself for what was coming.

The doorbell rang, but no one answered for a long time.

“I thought they said they were home,” Pei Siyin muttered as he pulled out his phone to call.

The moment the call went through, the door suddenly opened.

Right as they looked up, two loud bangs exploded at the door, blasting right next to Song Shengyang’s ears. Gold streamers rained down from above, landing on both of their shoulders like they were a newlywed couple making a grand entrance.

Before they could even recover, a pre-recorded announcement boomed out from a loudspeaker inside the house. It was Pei Zhile and her husband’s voices, perfectly timed with the giant red banner held up by Pei Siyin’s parents at the door.

It was the same banner they had used at the airport to welcome Pei Siyin home. The word “warmly” in “Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome” was already half peeled off, and the loudspeaker kept repeating the same phrase again and again.

Pei Siyin brushed the streamers off Song Shengyang’s shoulders, then turned to face the four people lined up inside. Through clenched teeth, he muttered, “This is way too much.”