Chapter 18: The Mahjong Game and a Plea for Love

After dinner, to Guan Qing’s astonishment, they produced a mahjong table. The four of them then proceeded to play mahjong right there in the Michelin three-star restaurant.

Guan Qing had been constantly assailed by various events throughout the evening, and by this point, he felt utterly numb. He had initially assumed they were merely playing for amusement, and thus hadn’t bothered to count cards with any seriousness.

Yet, to his surprise, once the game concluded, the family of three meticulously tallied their scores, counting on their fingers with earnest precision.

Then, all three of them turned their gazes towards him in unison.

“Qingqing, you have the lowest score,” Xie Qing announced, a radiant smile gracing his lips.

“Little Qingqing, you lose,” Chris declared, playfully blowing a kiss in his direction.

“…”

Guan Qing rubbed his arm, a bewildered expression on his face, as he fumbled for his wallet. “How exactly is it calculated? Are ‘all one suit’ and ‘kong’ doubled?”

Xie Qing, much like those officials at banquets who might say, ‘I don’t accept red packets,’ gently pushed his hand away. “No, how could we possibly ask you to bear such an expense?”

Chris echoed his sentiment, their voices blending in perfect harmony. “Exactly. We merely have another request.”

****

–”We’d like to ask you to give Xie Xu another chance.”

Chris’s green eyes, brimming with tenderness, gazed at him.

“Do you know,” he began, “we’ve all witnessed Xie Xu’s state recently.”

“A person he loves this deeply, he won’t encounter another like them in his entire life.”

Love is not a journey where missing one scenic view guarantees an even more breathtaking panorama ahead. It is not true that the people one meets later are necessarily inferior.

It’s simply that all his wholehearted love was given to you—all the passion, all the romantic fantasies, and all the fervent zeal he possessed for love. It was like the cherry atop a cake, or the sweetest bite from the heart of a watermelon; such things, once given, will never be again.

“Child, we understand your concerns,” Chris said, gently caressing his cheek with a smile. “In truth, you are exactly as I once was.”

At twenty, Chris had been utterly destitute, merely a college dropout working as a chef. He and Xie Qing had met and fallen in love only after Xie Qing’s divorce, and his restaurant had been established without any reliance on the Xie family’s influence.

Nevertheless, the rumors began to spread. They called him a homewrecker, a vixen, claiming he was a good-for-nothing who would ultimately rely on a man.

“Where does love ever begin by growing in the most perfectly correct manner?”

It is simply that whenever it sprouts a stray branch or grows a little off course, they both strive to mend it, providing support and spraying pest repellent.

Is it not exhausting? Indeed, it is.

However, to abandon their love for each other simply out of weariness—that was something they could not do.

“You must understand, no one is born an expert in love. We all make mistakes; we all stumble forward. Some hesitate, some give up halfway—just like with anything else in the world, those who persevere to the very end are always a minority.”

“But the scenery visible to those few individuals is something others can never truly imagine.”

“And then, as you worked hard to improve yourself, did the rumors vanish?” Guan Qing asked Chris.

Chris chuckled. “Haha, of course not. Just yesterday, I read an article that deeply investigated the rise of a certain restaurant owner, claiming they gained fame by sleeping with men—”

“People entirely unrelated to me expressed opinions that had absolutely no impact on me,” Chris said, winking. Guan Qing found him incredibly cool. “Why should I care?”

“They’re just jealous you have such a wonderful husband,” Xie Qing interjected, delivering his conclusion.

“Precisely,” Chris agreed, nodding.

“I…” Guan Qing stared at him, feeling lost. He knew he couldn’t miss out on Xie Xu, but he—

He didn’t know what to do. That sense of inferiority was etched into his very bones. Even if he knew that, by persisting, perhaps one day he and Xie Xu could be like Chris and Xie Qing.

Hadn’t Chris, too, transformed from an obscure, impoverished young man into someone worthy of Xie Qing? But he was afraid…

What if he tried his hardest and it still wasn’t enough? Would he then have to give up?

It was like those students in high school who performed poorly, always dismissing the top students. They would all outwardly declare, ‘I’m just too lazy to try; otherwise, I’d score better than all of them.’

Who was truly too lazy to try? They were simply too afraid. What if they tried their best and still didn’t do well?

He was like a prisoner who didn’t know what lay ahead, unwilling to move forward. Even if there was a ninety-nine percent chance of acquittal, he dared not gamble on that one percent chance of a death sentence.

There were so many ordinary people in this world; not everyone possessed talent, not everyone could change themselves through effort. So, what made him believe he could be the special one?

“Child, you still haven’t understood,” Chris said, his gentle eyes fixed on Guan Qing, a gaze somewhat akin to Xie Xu’s when he looked at him. However, Xie Xu’s eyes were always filled with tender love, while Chris’s conveyed the fond affection of an elder towards a junior.

“Are Xie Qing and I of equal social standing? No. Even now, many people say I married above my station.”

“Of course, some also say I’m shameless, a second marriage with a child, and an old cow eating tender grass,” Xie Qing remarked with a laugh.

“Love is the most unfair thing in the world. Perhaps marriage requires matching social status, but love does not—in fact, differences can sometimes be the very catalyst for love.”

“So, there are always poor boys falling for rich girls, good students falling for bad students—” Xie Qing added from the side, in a tone reminiscent of reciting poetry.

“Pfft,” Guan Qing couldn’t help but want to laugh again.

He vaguely felt something stirring and gradually surfacing within his heart.

“As long as you are equals in love. Social status is for outsiders to see; your wealth, power, and reputation are meant to protect your beloved, not to make your beloved envious or fearful.”

We often speak of pursuing matching social status simply because equal conditions make it easier to achieve equality in love. However, to pursue equality for that reason would be putting the cart before the horse.

People who are unequal in love, even if they have the same annual income, will then scrutinize their savings. If their savings are equal, they will then care about the opinions of others.

“For instance, many women complain about being housewives. I, however, believe there’s nothing wrong with being a housewife—if merely lacking a profession and income creates psychological inequality in love, then the fundamentals are not solid enough.”

“Moreover, if one person handles external affairs and another manages internal ones, there’s more time left for loving each other, isn’t there?”

“So,” Xie Qing shrugged, “Mr. Chris, an interview question: when do you plan to be promoted to househusband?”

“If there’s a promotion, shouldn’t it be you getting promoted?” Chris retorted, not to be outdone.

Guan Qing couldn’t help but laugh along with them. A fog still obscured his vision, yet something was gradually becoming clearer. Suddenly—

A hand took his. He looked over to see Xie Xu, who had been conspicuously absent until now. Xie Xu’s hair was slightly disheveled, and he was sweating. His suit jacket was nowhere to be seen, and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up.

Even in this unkempt state, he was strikingly handsome. He looked at Guan Qing, a hint of shyness in his smile, and said, “The helicopter is on the rooftop.”

From somewhere, he produced a single rose, extending it tentatively towards Guan Qing. “Would you… elope with me, Mr. Guan?”

Even though the opulent restaurant lobby was still before them, with skyscrapers towering outside the window, just another ordinary night in the city, Guan Qing felt an abrupt light ignite in the boundless night sky.

A myriad of stars simultaneously twinkled before his eyes. Amidst the dizzying surprise and joy, he heard the beating of his own heart. One beat, then another; it wasn’t insignificant at all.

He seemed to hear fireworks exploding in his ears, and he closed his eyes briefly, feeling a faint ringing. It took him a long while to find his voice, so ordinary, yet not out of place in this magical night.

He heard himself say:

“…Alright.”

****

As he boarded the helicopter, Guan Qing was still enveloped in a sense of unreality.

Xie Xu handed him a glass of orange juice. “Are you tired? Perhaps you should rest for a while.”

Guan Qing shook his head.

After experiencing such a series of events, how could he possibly fall asleep?

“Hmm, then let’s chat,” Xie Xu said, smiling as he looked at Guan Qing, his gaze incredibly gentle.

Amidst the sensation of weightlessness as the helicopter ascended, Xie Xu took his hand, and did not release it thereafter.

“Your two fathers are truly interesting people,” Guan Qing remarked, a smile involuntarily gracing his lips as he recalled the evening’s events.

He had been prejudiced. How could someone like Xie Xu possibly be the child raised by that rigid, old-fashioned, and acrimonious Xie family matriarch?

He was free, passionate, and kind, embracing all things with curiosity and acceptance, and possessing an unparalleled love and steadfastness for his chosen goals. He possessed an almost perfectly sound personality, and in every facet, one could glimpse the reflections of Xie Qing and Chris. Only a healthy love and a loving family could raise such a child.

He, however, was different.

“They’re actually quite unreliable,” Xie Xu recalled, chuckling. “On Valentine’s Day, they went out to celebrate, and even the nanny and housekeepers were given the day off to celebrate. I was left alone in the house, starving.”

The two talked for a while about Xie Xu’s childhood.

Xie Xu only recounted some of Xie Qing and Chris’s peculiar anecdotes, and Guan Qing knew he was doing so to lift his spirits. His own childhood was steeped in bitterness; reflecting on it now, there was almost nothing sweet to recall.

Cold, hunger, the discrimination and suspicion of neighbors, countless malicious conjectures.

“At least they loved you,” Guan Qing said with a smile.

Xie Xu paused, then leaned closer, gently stroking Guan Qing’s hair. He lowered his head, looking into Guan Qing’s eyes.

“No one can choose their birth. Some are fortunate, others are not. My fortune was to receive my father’s love from birth…”

His eyes brimmed with profound tenderness, like a night sky studded with stars, softly enveloping all of Guan Qing’s emotions:

“But you will surely be loved by many.

“Because you are good enough.

“You don’t need to do anything; you are already good enough.”

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