No matter how hard their parting is, they must face it.

Lin Yuyan returned from the cold winters of Mostine to the midsummer of Linzhou, starting his new busy senior year in high school. He and Gu Yaoyang made an appointment to have a video call daily and would talk about the interesting things that happened around them. Gu Yaoyang had already started to prepare for the competition. The work Lin Yuyan completed will be carefully framed by Mr. Zeng, covered in a dust proof cloth, and sent back to China. He’s planning to show it to his parents when they come over together.

On days when they couldn’t video call each other, they would still make time to voice call through their phones. Lin Yuyan was so clingy he would watch Gu Yaoyang training while he laid on his bed. Sometimes when it was too late into the night, he’d fall asleep with his phone in his arms. Gu Yaoyang could see his sleeping face when he finished his training. Lin Yuyan’s eyelashes were brushed against the screen, and his mouth would open slightly as drool dripped over his lips. He’d take a screenshot and send it to him the next morning with a drawing of a pig’s nose he drew with his own hands. Lin Yuyan was so angry that he took a picture of his face, that he especially prepared into a mask and planned to wear it before going to bed.

“Are you going to have closed training the day after tomorrow?” Lin Yuyan asked as he laid on his bed. His fingers ran through the beads of sweat on Gu Yaoyang’s body on the screen, stopping on the other’s collarbone.

Gu Yaoyang nodded as he took off his bandage and asked, “How do you know?” The most powerful boxing organization, headquartered in NASCAR, will hold a world-class fighting competition every two years. Gu Yaoyang is about to participate in this event, and there will be a closed pre-match pre-selection next month. They’ll have less time to contact each other.

Gu Yaoyang asked, “Do you want to come over and see?” The first match of the promotion match just happened to be at the same time as his winter vacation. Lin Yuyan answered, “Of course, I’ll go. I did say I’ll visit you during winter vacation, and I meant what I said. I also told the teacher that I have an appointment, and I’ll be going on the set to cheer you on!”

Gu Yaoyang asked, “Do you dare to watch the game?”

Lin Yuyan answered with distress, “I don’t.”

Gu Yaoyang said, “Then how will you cheer for me?”

Lin Yuyan said, “I can close my eyes and cheer for you.”

“Then I’ll be waiting for you.” Gu Yaoyang smiled and flicked the camera. He had something to discuss with Mr. Zeng, so he ended the video call ahead of time.

Lin Yuyan glanced at the time, it was around eight o’clock in the evening. He was actually planning to talk for a while after he finished his homework, even though he had nothing interesting to say. He felt at ease when he was on a call with Gu Yaoyang, even if he could only listen to his breathing. Today, the aunt who took care of him had asked to take a leave because of a matter. Lin Yuyan placed his phone down and went downstairs to get a drink. Just as he was about to return upstairs, he heard someone rustling a bunch of keys outside and opening the door.

“Mom?”

Lin Yuyan turned his head around and instantly burst into a bright smile once he saw the person standing at the doorway. Standing by the door was an elegant and beautiful woman in a well-tailored light blue suit. She was Lin Yuyan’s mother, Xu Jinglan.

“Why are you back?” Lin Yuyan rushed over to hug her, happily bouncing on the spot as he asked that question. He looked up and saw Lin Zhiyuan standing outside the door, asking in disbelief, ” Could it be my birthday today? No, there are? two days left until then.”

Xu Jinglan was initially faintly smiling as she looked at her son, but she felt sad when she heard this sentence. She stroked his back as she said, “I’m sorry, baby.” Lin Yuyan hurriedly shook his head, letting go of his mother’s embrace to make way for Lin Zhiyuan. His father looked serious as always, Lin Yuyan didn’t think much of it and pulled his mother to sit on the sofa.

“By the way, I have something to show you!” After saying that, he couldn’t even wait to hear his parents’ reply before jumping up the sofa and hurrying upstairs.

Lin Zhiyuan frowned and looked at his back, leaving the extra newspaper on the table.

“If you have anything to say, please say it gently.” Xu Jinglan said as she flipped through the news from six or seven years ago, sighing softly at the end.

“How should I?” Lin Zhiyuan was suppressing his anger as he continued, “It was you who indulged him all these years. If you hadn’t promised him that we’ll go out and play, would he have caused such a mess?”

Xu Jinglan frowned and lowered her voice as much as possible, ” What? I indulged him?? Have you ever taken care of him all this time? What else are you thinking about besides work? Me? Our son? You’ll just order a nanny to take care of him and monitor him around. You’re such a great father.”

“You have the face to criticize Me?” Lin Zhiyuan said, “Don’t forget, you were the one who gave up on him because of work..”

“You..” Xu Jinglan fell silent for few a moments and calmed herself down after a few seconds, “This matter could wait until he becomes an adult, besides..”

When Lin Yuyan returned downstairs with his painting in his arms, he noticed that the atmosphere between his parents wasn’t right. Just when he was about to ask what was wrong, his father coldly asked, “Who’s Gu Yaoyang?”

He didn’t seem to want to waste any time, getting straight to the point.

Lin Yuyan was startled by his question, almost dropping his painting to the ground.

“Talk.”

“He..”

“Who is it?”

“He- he is my..”

“Boyfriend?” Lin Zhiyuan took out an envelope containing a thick stack of photos that weren’t taken on the spot. They were taken by street cameras, many of which are photos of him and Gu Yaoyang hugging and kissing abroad. There’s also a long series of communication records, which are his and Gu Yaoyang’s contact records during their dating period.

His father is rich, so it’s very easy for him to collect these information.

Lin Yuyan’s face was pale, he never thought that his father would find out about this. He was completely unprepared, and he didn’t even have time to think about how his parents would react to his relationship with Gu Yaoyang.

Right now, he could only ask Xu Jinglan for help. He thought that his mother was open-minded since there were many homosexuals in contact with her, so she’ll definitely help him.

But unexpectedly, Xu Jinglan stepped forwards, taking his hands in hers as she asked, “Yanyan, mother has no objections to you liking boys, but this classmate of yours, Gu Yaoyang. Do you know about his background?”

Lin Yuyan answered, “I- I know.”

“You know?” Lin Zhiyuan threw the newspaper on the table in front of him and growled, “Do you know what his father did?”

The newspaper fell onto the ground in front of Lin Yuyan, it was a piece of old news about the suppression of black dens, and it filled the large pages.

“Smuggling, drug trafficking, the biggest black force in Linzhou City is the Gu family! You know yet you still dare to hang out with him?! Are you crazy?!”

Lin Yuyan had never seen his father lose his temper. He was so frightened that he couldn’t help but back up a few steps. A corner of the newspaper had been drawn to his face. At that moment he reddened and tremblingly said, “But- but his father is long gone, and Gu Yaoyang has never been involved in their affairs. Even if his father is wrong, he’s innocent..”

“He is not innocent! The offspring of such a dangerous person should not exist! I’m warning you, Lin Yuyan. Cut off all contact with him immediately.” Lin Yuyan hastily shook his head, “I- I don’t want to.”

He said to his mother with reddening eyes, “Mom, he’s a good person. He’s been out of that background for a long time. He’s just an ordinary person now..”

Xu Jinglan replied, “Yanyan, it’s not that mother disagrees, but this classmate is very dangerous.” Lin Yuyan hastily said, “He’s not dangerous, he’s really good.”

Holding the painting in his hand, he said, “This is him, He’d climb trees to rescue injured kittens, and gently bandage kittens, and he’s really..”

Before he could even finish his words, his painting suddenly got snatched by his father. Lin Zhiyuan smashed it on the ground. With a loud crash, the glass on the frame was shattered, and the wooden frame was also broken.? Lin Zhiyuan stepped on the painting with his leather shoes, and said in a stern voice, “I don’t care what happens to him. Good or bad. From now on you can no longer have any contact with him.”

After he finished talking with Mr. Zeng, Gu Yaoyang sent a few videos to Lin Yuyan, but none of them got through. He guessed that Lin Yuyan might’ve gone to take a shower, so he decided to call again later. Mr. Zeng came over and said, “Are you really planning to back right now? It takes more than 20 hours to fly back and forth, and you only have less than half an hour to meet up. Isn’t this too rushed?”

Gu Yaoyang replied, “It’s fine as long as I don’t delay my training.”

Mr. Zeng asked in a gossipy tone, “Can I ask what you’re going to do when you get back? What’s the big emergency?” Gu Yaoyang took an exquisite small box from his suitcase. Mr. Zeng saw the box and asked, “A gift? Is it his birthday?”

Gu Yaoyang answered with a short, “Yes.”

Gu Yaoyang raised his eyebrows as he looked at Mr, Zeng, he said with a faint smile on his lips, “Going back and saying happy birthday to him is a big emergency.”