Mo Yufei led a terrible life after being taken away by his country relatives.

He had to help with a lot of work every day before and after school, and couldn’t spare any time to do schoolwork or review his homework. But even more frightening was the attitude of the people around them.

Everyone in the village and in the school knew that he was a “child of a prisoned criminal.” Adults were only whispering in the background, but children were not disguising it at all.

“My dad said I couldn’t play with you.”

“Your mother committed suicide? Why did she kill herself?”

“I heard that your mother was actually pushed into the river by you!”

Mo Yufei was at a loss at the beginning, but later he just went along with their stories and start talking nonsense.

That restaurant leaflet that Chen Xuan used to write his phone number on was the only light in his life.

When Chen Xuan finally found out about all this, Mo Yufei was busy competing with Chen Keyao for his love.

These two boys had never been friendly to each other from their first encounter. Or to be more specific, it was Mo Yufei who refused to be friendly with Chen Keyao. After all, Chen Keyao had a good temper and rarely took the initiative to fight with others.

But Mo Yufei was also a particularly accommodating person most of the time.

He was only very fussy in front of Chen Keyao, being very competitive openly and secretly. He also liked to snitch on people like a real mean person.

Chen Keyao was rather straightforward. Naturally he would not be completely unaware if he had been targeted for a long time, so unsurprisingly he did not want to play nice at first.

And Yao Lan, who had been unhappy with Mo Yufei’s existence, made Chen Xuan’s head ache every day.

He had no choice but to talk to Mo Yufei in private.

“Why don’t you like your brother so much?” He asked.

Mo Yufei shook his head: “I don’t dislike him at all.”

“Then why are you always antagonising him?” Chen Xuan said, “I know Yaoyao very well. He has a straightforward personality and not very good with words. Sometimes he hurts people without knowing, but in fact he has never meant to do evil. If he’s done anything wrong, please do not take it to heart, for the sake of me, your uncle, okay?”

Mo Yufei looked down, remained silent for a long time and finally said: “He’s my brother. He calls you father, and I can only call you uncle.”

“…”

“It’s not fair,” he said. “Why couldn’t I be born your child?”

Chen Xuan flicked on his head: “Even if your mother had been with me, we wouldn’t have got you.”

The rivalry between the two little boys ended in a relationship that made Chen Xuan’s head ache even more.

Chen Xuan didn’t think much when he noticed the atmosphere between them was becoming odd. Until he stumbled upon them hand in hand in the garden near the neighbourhood.

Chen Keyao was looking down, mumbling something, while Mo Yufei was looking at one side of his face with a very gentle smile.

The innocent look of teenagers falling in love was the most touching.

But Chen Xuan was not happy at all.

.

The anxious old father had to take turns talking to the two children.

Chen Keyao was a very easy child from childhood. At one point when he was a child, he was too energetic to manage, but he was cured as soon as he was sent to a juniors’ martial arts class.

He had a well-behaved childhood and adulthood, but only around that time it happened to hit a brief period of rebellion in his life.

The more Chen Xuan opposed, the more he wanted true love.

Chen Keyao and Mo Yufei were different. Mo Yufei would soften his attitude and snuggle up to him, but Chen Keyao did not understand those tricks. He was so stubborn that the father and the son both slammed on the table and yelled at each other, until they finally broke up.

Chen Xuan was never a strict father, and was somewhat lacking in authority in front of his son. He had no choice but to start from Mo Yufei.

As expected, Mo Yufei had a completely different attitude.

After hearing Chen Xuan’s intention, he immediately bowed his head and asked: “Am I not worthy of my brother?”

“Of course not,” Chen Xuan said. “You’re very good, Feifei. You and Yaoyao are both very good. But you’re of the same sex after all, you understand?”

“I don’t understand,” Mo Yufei said. “My dad and my mom were of different sexes. But were they any better than me and my brother together?”

Chen Xuan couldn’t respond.

“Or do you worry that you won’t have any grandchildren?” Mo Yufei said, “It can be easily resolved. My brother can find someone to have a baby with him.”

“… What are you talking about?” Chen Xuan frowned.

Mo Yufei was totally taking it for granted: “I will treat him as my own child. When we get married, he can call me dad too.”

“No……” Chen Xuan tried to interrupt him, “Have you spoken to Yaoyao about these?”

“No, but he has no reason not to accept it, right?” Mo Yufei said with a smile, “Uncle, can I call you Dad as well by that time?”

Chen Xuan shook his head with a sigh: “Feifei, if you really want to be my child, you do not necessarily……”

“I like him,” Mo Yufei said. “I’m serious.”

“I don’t care if you have kids,” Chen Xuan said. “But this road will be too difficult for you. Uncle wants you two to live happily ever after, you understand?”

“I’m happy now,” Mo Yufei said. “Why overthink about it? How long is the so-called forever? Maybe I’ll die tomorrow, so if I don’t choose to break up with my brother today, then I’ll be happy forever.”

“Feifei, what are you talking about?!” Chen Xuan was feeling helpless, “Why are you making such assumptions.”

“I’ve already died once,” Mo Yufei looked at him. “I just follow my heart right now. Is it really so bad?”

Chen Xuan was finally speechless.

.

Mo Yufei did walk through the gate of death once.

His mother took him with her when she jumped into the river in despair. He had stopped breathing when he was pulled out of the water by a good man.

Chen Xuan found out about all this, because many years later someone found him and wanted to ask him for the hospital fees he had paid in advance.

It was the first time Mo Yufei himself had mentioned the episode to him, not in a solemn tone, but in a mood that left him unable to refute anything.

.

He finally asked Mo Yufei: “Why do you like Yaoyao?”

Mo Yufei didn’t answer. He just smiled.

At the time, Chen Xuan thought it was just the shyness that teenagers would inevitably have when they referred to their loved ones.

It wasn’t until a few years later, when the two children broke apart, that he finally heard the answer from Mo Yufei.

Mo Yufei was a lot calmer, compared to Chen Keyao’s anger and ruthless determination. Until the very end, he was still trying to retrieve Chen Keyao’s love, and his attitude could be described almost as stooping low.

But it didn’t work. The more moderate the man is at other times, the more frightening he is when he is angered.

“He said he was disgusted by me telling him that I love him.” Mo Yufei told Chen Xuan, “Actually, I also feel heart broken.”

Chen Xuan didn’t know what to say.

“Uncle.” Mo Yufei looked indeed in deep pain, “I really don’t seem to have a chance to call you father anymore.”

“I’m not taking his side, but what you did this time was really wrong,” Chen Xuan said. “If you put yourself in his shoes, wouldn’t you be angry if you found he was having an affair with someone else?”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Mo Yufei said.

Chen Xuan was instantly speechless and even laughed: “Maybe it’s because not everyone has been killed once and can think that way.”

Mo Yufei shook his head: “I know what most people think. They bound themselves up with some inexplicable rules, and then call the offending people immoral. Uncle, do you think I’m immoral?”

Chen Xuan shook his head.

He actually thought Mo Yufei was abnormal. His upbringing had turned him into a man alien to this world. He had to cover himself up in this world, full of unhappiness.

Chen Xuan could not bear to blame him.

“So you want to always do what you want to do?” He asked.

Mo Yufei hesitated and shook his head.

“No, there are things that I’m afraid to do.”

“Really?” Chen Xuan raised his eyebrows.

After a long silence, Mo Yufei suddenly said: “Uncle, do you know that actually brother is really similar to you.”

“…So?”

“Really, it’s not just the faces. Your tones, manners and voices are all very similar.” Mo Yufei said, “So I like him whenever I look at him.”

Every adult knows how to pretend not to understand when appropriate.

So Chen Xuan laughed at his little friend, and then changed the topic.

.

At one point, Chen Xuan was worried that Chen Keyao would seek another gay man.

Not everyone was willing to spend their lives in Plato style with what they call true love. He after all would like his son to choose a simpler and more fulfilling lifestyle.

He had a failed marriage and he didn’t want Chen Keyao to make the same mistake. That long, cage-like life really would make people look completely different.

Chen Xuan even hated Yao Lan for a period of time.

If he hadn’t been influenced by her, he would have had a different life. He even felt that Mo Yufei’s mother would not have been doomed because of her marriage to the wrong man.

When they finally parted, Chen Xuan suddenly realized that Yao Lan had been hating him for the same reason all the time.

They had both become so ugly in the mutual torture. It wasn’t until the final relief that they realized how much they had done wrong.

Marriages without a real union due to physical expulsion were difficult to sustain for long. He didn’t want Chen Keyao to go through it as well.

Chen Xuan was worried about it until Mo Yufei called him as usual and told him that he had been told off by Chen Keyao again.

“But his current partner looks pretty good,” He said. “Uncle, don’t worry about him all the time. Can you care more about me please?”

“Don’t I care enough about you?” Chen Xuan thought to himself.

But he didn’t say it out loud, as this kid would seize the opportunity to make more requests.

“Since he looks good, don’t meddle with them.” He said.

Mo Yufei went quiet for a while, and then replied: “Oh, I’ll listen to you.”

.

After that, it all went very well.

Chen Keyao called out of blue, saying that his partner’s parents wanted to meet up. At the meet-up, they found each other very reasonable and agreeable people. Rong Yi himself also made Chen Xuan very happy. Straightforward, generous without affectation. The more he looked at Rong Yi, the more he liked him.

Although Chen Keyao couldn’t even spend the New Year with him, Chen Xuan didn’t find it that bad.

After a child grew up, he must have his own family and life. At this age, he didn’t care much about the festive holidays. With no one around to keep him company, he would just enjoy them like normal days.

That said, he still cooked himself a few extra dishes on New Year’s Eve.

Sitting at the dinner table thinking that the leftovers might last at least two days, he suddenly got a call.

“Uncle, please come down quickly. I’ve got too much to carry on my own. I need you to give me a hand,” Mo Yufei was shouting down the phone in a really happy and excited tone. “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you in advance to get ready for me.”