Chapter 97 – Free

New York, America.

Shen Fubai returned to his home in America with Ethan, where he had spent his entire childhood.

Jiang Heng bought a bouquet of flowers at a nearby florist and brought specialties from China that had traveled thousands of miles. This was also his first time meeting his mother-in-law, and he couldn’t help but feel nervous deep down.

Shen Fubai was even more nervous than him.

Perhaps it was the psychological effect of fearing the familiar, but the closer they got to the once familiar streets, the more bewildered he felt. After so many years, the landscapes he had seen countless times in his childhood now seemed strange, like an illusion.

Had he really lived here for so long?

“Good afternoon, Ethan.”

“Good afternoon, Ethan.”

The neighbors warmly greeted Ethan, and he responded to each one, “Good afternoon.”

“Is this your friend?” A curious neighbor looked over Shen Fubai and Jiang Heng, “Did you meet him in Chinatown? Or a work partner? He’s really good-looking.”

Ethan worked as a model, which wasn’t a secret among the neighbors. Due to his work, Ethan often met friends of various nationalities and skin colors who were all strikingly attractive and had outstanding charisma.

Before Ethan could answer, Shen Fubai said, “Aunt Catherine, do you remember me?”

Catherine was taken aback. She looked at the extraordinarily handsome young man of Eastern descent, her expression gradually becoming disbelieving. “…Madeira?! You’re Madeira!”

Shen Fubai suddenly felt like the saying ‘a child leaves home when young and returns old, his accent unchanged but his hair gray; children meeting him do not know him, laughing and asking where he comes from’ applied to him.

…Chinese ancient poetry was truly a good thing. The sentiments he found hard to express had been conveyed through the verses of his predecessors.

Shen Fubai nodded. “Yes, it’s me. I’m back.”

Catherine was their next-door neighbor when Shen Fubai left. At that time, she was just thirty years old, a mature woman with lingering charm. Now, twelve years later, Catherine’s body had aged like most middle-aged Caucasian women, gaining weight and developing wrinkles and freckles on her face, making her look older. But Shen Fubai could still see the shadow of the woman’s youth in those pale green eyes.

Catherine stared at Shen Fubai in surprise. “Madeira, you came back from China? We heard from your mother that you went to live with your father and never came back… You’ve grown so much! You were always good-looking since you were little, but now… I’ll go tell my old John! Who is this? A friend you met in China?” She glanced at Jiang Heng.

Shen Fubai didn’t hide it. “He’s my boyfriend.”

John and his wife had also watched Shen Fubai grow up, and they showed considerable joy at his return. Soon, the news that Madeira had come back and brought a boyfriend spread among the neighbors.

Ethan unlocked the door to his family’s villa with his key. “Mother is preparing dinner to welcome you… She probably didn’t expect us to arrive in the afternoon. Father is still working at the company and will be back tonight. Our family can have a reunion dinner… together with my sister-in-law.”

Sister-in-law Jiang: “…OK, fine.”

Ethan opened the door. “Brother, welcome home.”

The familiar scent of home greeted them.

Actually, things had become somewhat unfamiliar. He had been away from home for twelve years, and many furnishings in the house had changed. For example, the new sofa, the shiny shoe rack… Many things were ones he had never seen before.

But there were also many old items that hadn’t changed. For example, the old cabinet where he and Ethan used to play hide-and-seek when they were kids. Or the decorative trinkets on the cabinet that he had bought for a few cents from a street vendor when he was young. Or the crucifix on the wall that he had once prayed to devoutly…

None of these had changed.

Those illusions suddenly became real the moment he pushed open the door.

From the kitchen came the clattering sounds of utensils. Hearing the noise of the door opening, the woman didn’t turn around. “Ethan, you’re back! Didn’t you say you’d arrive tonight—”

The woman suddenly froze, remembering that Ethan had mentioned he would return with her eldest son.

Shen Fubai softly called out, “…Mom.”

In a fluster, the woman turned off the stove. She was preparing a lavish Chinese dinner for her son.

She hastily took off her apron, washed her hands, dried them with a towel, and then dared to turn around.

The black-haired, dark-eyed Chinese woman could still be seen as beautiful in her younger days. But she had aged too much and had endured too much hardship.

Lina rushed over and hugged him tightly without uttering a sound, remaining silent for a long time.

After the long-separated mother and son had calmed down, Lina finally noticed Jiang Heng. “We have guests, let’s all go sit in the living room. I’ll make you some coffee.”

When Ethan was in China, he had already sent messages to his mother about his brother’s fiancé, describing the situation and saying many good things about Jiang Heng. Therefore, Lina could be considered quite enthusiastic toward Jiang Heng.

To summarize, Lina was very satisfied with Jiang Heng.

Then she went back to continue cooking so the food wouldn’t get cold. Ethan led Shen Fubai around to show him the changes in the house over the years. “Do you remember the attic on the fourth floor? We used to go up there to play a lot when we were kids.”

“I remember. One time you fell from upstairs and started crying loudly. No matter how much I tried to comfort you, it didn’t work. Then I told you that if you kept crying, I’d get scolded by Mom, and you immediately stopped crying.” Shen Fubai smiled at the memory.

“There’s also your room.” Ethan handed him the key. “Open it yourself. Mother has always kept it for you and often comes to clean it.”

“She sometimes sits on your bed and looks at your pictures for an entire afternoon.”

Shen Fubai took the key and replied with an “Mm.”

The old room was opened, like photos from the past floating gently out, and memories long sealed away suddenly overflowed.

The furnishings throughout the house had more or less changed, except for his room, which hadn’t changed at all.

What it looked like when he left was what it looked like now.

A small bed piled high with large and small stuffed animals. Their family wasn’t short on money, and Shen Fubai had never lacked material comforts.

Xiong Heng Heng had once been among these stuffed animals. When he left home at eleven years old, he didn’t bring much luggage, but he took this big bear that was one meter eighty tall.

Xiong Heng Heng had accompanied him for many years. From when he was one year old, as a birthday gift, his parents gave it to him. Back then, they weren’t divorced yet, and they were still a happy family.

A one-meter-eighty toy bear, a baby several dozen centimeters tall.

A one-meter-eighty toy bear, a child one meter twenty tall.

A one-meter-eighty toy bear, a teenager one meter seventy tall.

A one-meter-eighty toy bear, a young adult one meter eighty tall.

…How could Xiong Heng Heng not have a soul?

Before the age of twenty, Xiong Heng Heng didn’t have a fixed name. Sometimes Shen Fubai called him “Mom,” sometimes “Dad,” sometimes “Hey, buddy,” sometimes “My brother, my friend,” or simply “Big Bear.”

Big Bear, Daxiong. Do you think I can have a Doraemon to accompany me too?

Until one day, it received a fixed name.

“You’ll be called Heng Heng. I watched a movie today, and I fell in love with him.”

The familiar bedroom, everything familiar. Including the windowsill where he once carried Ethan down, which now had fragile glass that hadn’t been replaced.

The stickers on the wall remained as well, none of them torn off.

Seeing Shen Fubai staring at the windowsill, Ethan couldn’t help but say, “I still remember when brother carried me down from there…”

“You still dare to mention it. That was three stories up. Every time I recall it, I want to scold you.” Shen Fubai looked at him again. “Now that you’re so tall, I can’t carry you anymore.”

Ethan chuckled. “Then let me carry my brother instead.”

Jiang Heng coughed discreetly. “Not necessary. He has me.”

Shen Fubai sat on the bed, flipping through photo albums but smiling without speaking.

Most of these photos were group shots of Ethan’s family of three, occasionally featuring Shen Fubai. They were either solo shots of him or distant from the rest of the family, a representation of the past him.

Now it was different.

He was no longer alone.

That evening, Ethan’s biological father returned from work. He was a handsome American man, and given that he had produced someone as beautiful as Ethan, he naturally wasn’t unattractive.

Shen Fubai’s relationship with this stepfather wasn’t bad, but they were estranged. So estranged that the American man didn’t even have the right to comment on Shen Fubai’s boyfriend, Jiang Heng.

During dinner, the family sat around the dining table. The usually silent stepfather uncorked a bottle of brandy and said, “Madeira, welcome home.”

Shen Fubai paused in his movements and clinked glasses with him.

The consequence of clinking glasses was that Shen Fubai got drunk that night.

Jiang Heng had a headache as he helped him back to the room. “You, clearly unable to hold your liquor, followed others’ lead in clinking glasses. You’re so drunk, how will you catch tomorrow’s flight?”

They had to fly to Los Angeles the next day to meet up with Xavier. When Lina learned of this, she was stunned. “…Can’t you stay another night?”

Jiang Heng shook his head. “We’re just passing through. Our main purpose is to participate in the filming in Los Angeles. Both of your sons have roles in the film ‘Paradise,’ and I believe you’ll feel very proud when you see them on the big screen.”

Lina merely smiled. “I know. My two sons are equally excellent.”

…

Jiang Heng supported Shen Fubai with one hand and closed the door with the other. As soon as the door was shut, Shen Fubai kissed him.

Shen Fubai wrapped his arms around Jiang Heng’s neck and delivered a passionate kiss.

“Because I’m happy.” Shen Fubai opened his half-drunk eyes and giggled. “I used to think… I was the loneliest, most unhappy child in the world.”

“But now, I’m the happiest adult in the world.”

“Heng Heng, do you think this counts as turning misfortune into blessing?”

“Yes, yes, turning misfortune into blessing.” Jiang Heng, heart aching for the hardships Shen Fubai had endured as a child, cooed to soothe him. “All the bitterness is in the past. The flavors from now on will all be sweet.”

“Are they all sweet? Won’t it be cloying?” People who were drunk were notoriously unreasonable, and Shen Fubai was no exception.

Jiang Heng humored him. “It won’t be cloying. I’ll never tire of you in this lifetime.”

“Not just this lifetime, but the next one, and the one after that.” Shen Fubai gazed intently at him, then sighed and nestled into his arms. “I’m afraid I won’t meet you in the next life. Someone as good as you shouldn’t cheapen yourself for others.”

“It won’t happen.” Jiang Heng took Shen Fubai’s hand adorned with the diamond ring. “Have you forgotten what the salesperson said? Wearing this ring means we’ll be together forever, life after life. If we accidentally get separated, just stand where you are, and wait for me to find you.”

“This isn’t right.” Shen Fubai shook his head while sitting on the bed. “Haven’t you been arguing with me a lot lately? Suddenly showering me with sweet talk feels weird.”

Jiang Heng chuckled softly. “You always tell me to get lost, but now you want to tie yourself to me for eternity? You’re also fickle.”

“I’m very devoted.” Shen Fubai’s peach blossom eyes were misty with intoxication. “Shen Fubai only loves Jiang Heng Heng, once in a lifetime, seven hours at a time, two hundred dollars per hour…”

“…” Jiang Heng realized Shen Fubai was completely drunk. “You’re even putting a price tag on it?”

“No, love is priceless. So for you…” Shen Fubai scrutinized him and declared solemnly, “Free.”