Chapter 58

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The 30th Event of Being Gay: Use Your Whole Life to Love Each Other\nAfter the meal, Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi left in a huff.\n

Papa Wang was at the dining table, smoking. Mama Wang watched him and sighed to herself: “Old Wang, why did you have to put them in such a bind!”\n

Papa Wang didn’t say a word. Mama Wang spoke up again: “Actually, that kid seems pretty good. Though he’s a boy, I can tell he looks like someone you can get along with.”\n

Papa Wang got impatient: “On what basis can you tell he’s someone you can get along with?”\n

Now Mama Wang was riled up too. She stood up and started clearing the dishes from the table: “On the basis that he’s the one who made this meal.”\n

Papa Wang choked on his cigarette smoke and coughed for quite a while: “Did you just say he made this meal?”\n

Papa Wang was in a bad mood today, and his appetite was poor as well. But he could still taste a difference to the dinner tonight. He’d thought Mama Wang had bought the food from outside — so it turned out Zhang Lingyi actually made it.\n

Mama Wang: “Yes, and I watched him do it.”\n

Papa Wang no longer uttered a sound.\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nWhen Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi left the family home, it was already dark. Zhang Lingyi looked over at Wang Guangning, and smiled helplessly: “What should we do now? Return to G City?”\n

Wang Guangning looked around — the weather was really good today. It was fine and cloudless. He replied: “Do you want to see the stars?”\n

Zhang Lingyi: “……”\n

Wang Guangning looked back at him and laughed: “Have you forgotten? That time we were at Moon Lake watching the stars, I’d promised to bring you to my hometown to see the stars there.”\n

Zhang Lingyi recalled it right then — when they were on that agreement of being gay, when they were at Moon lake, when they had made that promise.\n

“OK, all right, let’s go and have a look.” Zhang Lingyi reached over to kiss Wang Guangning. Wang Guangning left the car to buy some snacks and beer, before they started off.\n

Wang Guangning’s hometown was about four hours by car from S City. It was a backward little mountain village. Fortunately, a few years ago, the roads had been repaired, so cars could at least enter the area.\n

By the time the two arrived at the village outskirts, it was past 11. Villagers tended to sleep early, so the whole place was pitch black. Only the road that went past the village entrance had a streetlamp, casting down an amber light.\n

As the whole village was in darkness, Zhang Lingyi followed Wang Guangning’s directions to stop the car at the village entrance. The two of them alighted. Across the sky, a million stars were glittering. There was even a full moon. Under the bright moonlight, they could vaguely make out the village contours and undulating hills in the distance. It was quiet all around, except for the low humming of insects. If they listened carefully, they could even make out the sound of running water; there must be a brook nearby.\n

“Afraid?” Wang Guangning grinned at Zhang Lingyi. This sort of remote and quiet village — if it wasn’t someone who was already familiar with the place, to stay outside here at night for long, it can indeed make your hair stand on end.\n

Zhang Lingyi smiled back: “You’re here. Not afraid.”\n

Wang Guangning’s left hand was holding the snacks and beer, so he reached out with his right hand: “Come. Gege [older brother] will take you star-gazing.”\n

Zhang Lingyi placed his left hand on Wang Guangning’s hand, then held it tightly, interlocking their fingers.\n

“Suddenly, I kind of miss the days when we were ‘being gay’,” said Wang Guangning. They were so young then, muddle-headed as they tested each other out. That winter, they had also interlocked their fingers and placed their hands in one pocket. Though what happened later on became even more muddled, holding each other’s hands felt really warm.\n

“Me too.” Zhang Lingyi stole a kiss. “I’ve never forgotten a single moment we had together.”\n

Wang Guangning held him by the hand and turned into a little lane that meandered through the middle of a piece of land. It was about a metre wide and bordered by a canal that had been dug out manually. Now and then, a frog or two would leap past. On both sides of the lane was farmland filled with rice fields and vegetable patches. The land was divided into parcels by ridges and the knee-high rice plants were gently swaying with the night breeze, rippling like water.\n

Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi strolled slowly, hand in hand. There was no streetlamp, but the whole lane was lit up by the silvery moonlight. After adjusting to this lighting, they could see even more clearly.\n

A summer’s night felt really comfortable, especially in the open country — the air was filled only with the fresh fragrance of flora and running water, and only the natural sound of insects could be heard. None of this could be experienced in a big city.\n

At the end of the lane was a man-made embankment. Wang Guangning led Zhang Lingyi over it. On the other side of the embankment was yet another sight.\n

It was a wide brook, with flat grassland on either side of it.\n

The two walked toward the brook. Zhang Lingyi found that although the brook was wide, it was shallow — just up to the knee. Under the bright moonlight, the brook appeared exceptionally clear. You could even make out the rocks on the bed of the brook.\n

Wang Guangning pulled Zhang Lingyi with him to the side of the brook, only stopping when they arrived next to a large rock.\n

It was a rock about two metres across and one metre high, and steeped in the brook. The part above the water reached as high as their thigh, but the top of the rock turned out to be flat.\n

“Here’s the best place to gaze at the stars.” Wang Guangning went ahead and sat on top of the rock. Zhang Lingyi followed and sat down beside him.\n

They took off their shoes and placed them on the grass behind the rock, then placed their bare feet in the water.\n

The water was a little chilly, so soaking their feet felt really good.\n

Zhang Lingyi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.\n

There was a dense canopy of stars above them, as though someone had scattered small diamonds across a dark blue curtain.\n

The night breeze was intoxicating, and the brook water was cooling.\n

“So beautiful,” Zhang Lingyi said. “Thank you for bringing me here to witness this sight.”\n

Wang Guangning handed him a can of cold beer.\n

Zhang Lingyi received the can, opened it, and took in a mouthful. Then he quickly shifted over and sealed Wang Guangning’s lips, flowing the beer into his mouth.\n

The two of them entangled in a kiss for a long while.\n

When they parted, a trace of silver lingered between them.\n

“We will be together for a very, very long time. And we’ll witness many, many more sights together,” said Wang Guangning, as he licked off the beer that dribbled from the corner of Zhang Lingyi’s mouth.\n

“Yes,” replied Zhang Lingyi. Abruptly, he set down the beer can, then tugged Wang Guangning’s left hand over. Something cold was slipped over his ring finger.\n

Wang Guangning looked down — it was the pull ring of the beer can.\n

“Does this count as a proposal?” Wang Guangning cocked an eyebrow.\n

“This is the promise first.” Zhang Lingyi smiled: “Maybe we won’t be able to become partners in the eyes of the law, but I will promise to use my whole life to love you. Do you accept?”\n

“All right, then.” Wang Guangning also opened a can of beer, and slipped the pull ring onto Zhang Lingyi: “I accept.”\n

After a moment, he added: “When we get back to G City, you have to buy a real one to make up for this.”\n

The night was long, but the time that could be spent together was short.\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nWhen the sky began to brighten, the two of them started their journey back while the villagers were still asleep. Departing the village, and not having slept the whole night, Wang Guangning was worried that Zhang Lingyi would exhaust himself driving. He only allowed him to drive as far as a small town nearby, before finding an inn to sleep for a while.\n

They only awoke at noon.\n

Zhang Lingyi washed up simply in the bathroom. He came out, only to see Wang Guangning staring blankly at his phone.\n

“What happened?” Zhang Lingyi asked.\n

Wang Guangning turned to him, still unbelieving, but overjoyed: “My dad is telling us to go back for a meal.”\n

Zhang Lingyi was ecstatic: “Really?”\n

Wang Guangning nodded.\n

Zhang Lingyi leapt over to embrace him: “That’s wonderful.”\n

Our love has finally been accepted by everyone.\n

Nothing else can stop us from being together.\n

In the long years ahead of us, we will walk together as one, into our old age.

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