Xia family’s house.
Living room, punishment hall.
The wind blew ominously, creating a scary atmosphere.
Xia Dachuan knelt on a hard washboard.
Xia Xiaoye knelt on a soft, fluffy cushion.
Mama Xia sat in front of them, arms crossed. “Tell me, what did you do wrong?”
Papa Xia responded promptly and conscientiously, “I shouldn’t have let Xia Zhiye sit on my lap while watching TV every day, causing him to learn some strange things without proper guidance.”
His attitude was very upright, and he quickly acknowledged his mistake.
Mama Xia raised her chin slightly. “Stand up.”
“Yes, dear. I’ll make you some tea.”
Papa Xia quickly got up, leaving his own son to face the punishment alone, and swiftly escaped the scene.
Mama Xia looked at Xia Zhiye, who was obediently kneeling on the soft cushion, and softened her tone, “Do you know what you did wrong, Xiaxia?”
Xia Zhiye shook his head innocently, “Xiaxia doesn’t know.”
Mama Xia understood her child. She knew that Xia Zhiye didn’t knowingly make a mistake but had entered one of his peculiar thought patterns. She patiently guided him, “Can you tell Mama why you kissed Xiao Yan?”
“Because I like Songsong.” Xia Zhiye answered without hesitation and with great seriousness, “Papa likes Mama, so Papa kisses Mama. Mama likes Xiaxia, so Mama kisses Xiaxia. Xiaxia likes Songsong, so Xiaxia kisses Songsong.”
A child’s thinking was straightforward and simple.
It even sounded logical at first.
“But it’s different. Papa can kiss Mama because Mama also likes Papa, so Mama agrees to let Papa kiss her. Mama can kiss Xiaxia because Xiaxia also likes Mama, so Xiaxia agrees to let Mama kiss him. But did you ask Songsong if you could kiss him before you did?” Mama Xia looked into Xia Zhiye’s eyes, patiently communicating like an adult.
Xia Zhiye honestly shook his head. “No.”
“So what you did was wrong. You are still children and cannot kiss others randomly. If you want to express your liking, you can hug or hold hands, but before hugging or holding hands, you must ask if the other child is willing. Only if they agree can you do it. If they don’t agree, you mustn’t do it. Especially when dealing with girls, you must be more polite and ask first, and be a little gentleman, understand?”
Mama Xia’s tone and demeanor were perfectly balanced between seriousness and gentleness.
Xia Zhiye, who always listened well to his parents’ teachings, nodded obediently. “Xiaxia understands!”
Hearing this, Mama Xia felt very relieved.
Although her son was mischievous, he was generally well-behaved and not an impudent little rascal. With this thought, she extended her arms, intending to lift Xia Zhiye up and praise him.
However, just as she reached out, Xia Zhiye cheerfully added. “Xiaxia understands. Because Songsong is a girl, even if she’s my wife, I can’t kiss her casually. I must be a little gentleman!”
Mama Xia’s extended hand froze in mid-air, “…?”
Song Yan is a girl?!
How did she not know?!
Wasn’t Song Yan a boy?!
Wait a minute.
Did Xia Zhiye always think Song Yan was a girl???
Is that why he always smiled at Song Yan like a blooming flower?
Is that why he was willing to share his favorite chocolates with Song Yan?
Is that why he always insisted on playing the role of the father while making Song Yan the mother?
Is that why he acted heartbroken when he had a fight with Song Yan?
Is that why he called Song Yan his wife?
“……”
The moment Mama Xia realized the truth, her gaze toward her son was filled with an indescribable mixture of heartache and pity.
When Papa Xia came out carrying the tea, he immediately noticed Mama Xia’s expression and was a bit confused. “Honey, what’s going on? Did Xiaxia make a big mistake again?”
Mama Xia lovingly patted Xia Zhiye’s head and sighed deeply, her voice filled with the gentleness of the world’s kindest mother, “Xia Dachuan.”
“Hmm?”
“Get ready to comfort your son.”
“?”
“His first love, which lasted all winter, is about to be shattered.”
“?”
“The little girl next door, Song Xiao Yan, is actually a boy.”
“???” Xia Dachuan looked at Xia Zhiye with sympathy, “Son, I’m sorry…”
Xia Zhiye: “?”
“Daddy forgot to teach you that not everyone who looks pretty and cute is a girl…”
Ten minutes later, Xia Zhiye, with red eyes, knocked on the neighbor’s door, “Songsong! Songsong!”
When Song Yan opened the door and saw Xia Zhiye’s tearful face, he panicked and cupped Xia Zhiye’s cheeks, “Why are you crying? Did your mom scold you? I’ll go tell her not to scold you. I wasn’t upset because you kissed me. I’m okay with you kissing me.”
“Sob sob sob, it’s not that. My mom didn’t scold me.” Xia Zhiye hiccupped through his tears.
Song Yan asked anxiously, “Then why are you crying?”
“Because she said you’re not a little girl, you’re a boy!”
Xia Zhiye’s face was filled with heartbroken disbelief.
Song Yan’s hands, cupping Xia Zhiye’s face, paused, and then he blinked in confusion, “But I’ve always been a boy.”
As soon as those words registered in Xia Zhiye’s brain, he froze in place.
Three seconds later, he burst into desperate sobs, “You’re not a little girl! How can you be a boy! Waaaaahh…”
Seeing him cry, Song Yan panicked again, “Why are you crying because I’m a boy?”
“Because boys can’t be my wife! That means we’ll have to separate! When we grow up, we’ll have to separate! Waaaahhh, I don’t want to be separated from Songsong. When I’m apart from you for even a day, I miss you so much. Waaaaahh…”
Five-and-a-half-year-old Xia Zhiye cried as if he were the tragic hero in a life-and-death power struggle drama, heartbroken and inconsolable.
Children’s emotions were highly contagious.
Seeing him cry, Song Yan’s eyes also turned red, and he hugged Xia Zhiye tightly, “Waahh, I don’t want to be separated from Xiaxia either. Being apart from you for even a day is so hard. Waahh…”
The two children stood at the gate of the courtyard, holding each other and crying loudly, causing quite a commotion. The neighbors, curious and holding snacks, came out to watch, wondering if the kids were being punished for some misdeed.
What they saw were two little kids clinging to each other at the gate, crying their hearts out, shouting, “We don’t want to be separated! We don’t want to be separated for our whole lives! Waaaahh…”
The scene was reminiscent of a tragic fairy tale, evoking the same kind of emotion as the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl when the Queen Mother separated the two lovers apart.
Their crying brought out their concerned parents, who anxiously asked, “What’s going on?”
Xia Zhiye looked up at the sky and howled in sorrow, “Songsong is a boy, so he can’t be my wife anymore! We’ll have to be separated! Sob sob, I don’t want to be separated from Songsong…”
Song Yan, pitifully clinging to Xia Zhiye’s shoulder, sobbed, “I don’t want to be separated from Xiaxia either. Why can’t I be Xiaxia’s wife just because I’m a boy?”
Papa Xia: “…”
Mama Xia: “…”
Mama Song: “…”
The crowd: “…”
Indeed, the little minds of toddlers never fail to surprise.
Mama Xia sighed, walked over to separate the two little crying babies, wiped their tears and snot clean, and then said, “Boys can stay together forever, too. You can be lifelong good brothers, take care of each other, help each other, and protect each other until you can handle brief separations. Understand?”
Xia Zhiye half-understood, “So as long as Songsong and I don’t want to be apart, we can always be together?”
“Yes, as long as both people want to be together, you can stay together forever, whether it’s a relationship like Mama and Papa, or a friendship like yours and Songsong’s. You don’t have to be apart.” Mama Xia tried to explain the bonds between people in terms a child could understand.
Perhaps Xia Zhiye didn’t fully grasp everything, but he understood one thing: as long as he and Songsong didn’t want to be apart, they never had to be.
So he looked at Song Yan and said, “Let’s be good brothers, okay? I’ll be the big brother, I’ll always take care of you, give you the best food, the best toys, and protect you. Then we’ll never, ever be apart, okay?”
Song Yan’s long, dark eyelashes were wet with tears, and the deep sadness of possibly being separated from Xia Zhiye made him not hear the earlier words. He only caught the last part: “We’ll never be apart, okay?” He nodded his head earnestly, his voice thick with tears, “Okay.”
In the next moment, the two children hugged tightly again, crying as if they had finally secured the promise of never being separated.
The adults around them didn’t know whether to comfort them or not, so they watched with a mix of amusement and tenderness. It was a lovely sight.
The little children, not yet burdened by understanding everything, simply followed their pure hearts, choosing who they liked and didn’t like without reservation, expressing their most sincere and passionate feelings through tight hugs.
Regarding this memory, grown-up Xia Zhiye always fondly reminisced about the young Song Yan.
Every day, Song Yan would hold his hand, sweetly calling him “Xiaxia” and “Gege” , and would often sneak into his bed at night, hugging him tightly, saying he always wanted Xia Zhiye to be his older brother.
Soft and sweet, it was wonderful.
Unlike now, Song Yan had grown taller, more mature, less sweet, and more aloof, always carrying a cool expression that attracted a flock of girls at school. He wouldn’t even allow Xia Zhiye to kiss him in public. It was truly frustrating.
Thinking about it, eighteen-year-old Xia Zhiye lazily slung his arm around the young man beside him and sighed, “Things were better when we were kids. Back then, you promised to always call me Gege, but now if I ask you to call me that even once, I get beaten.”
Song Yan didn’t even glance at him, responding coldly, “And someone promised to be my good brother for life. Did that happen?”
Xia Zhiye: “…”
Obviously not.
From the first moment he decided Song Yan would be his ‘wife,’ Song Yan could only be his ‘wife.’ After all, a person should stay true to their first intentions.
“No…” Xia Zhiye hugged Song Yan tighter, smiling as he lowered his head to whisper, “You agreed to be my ‘wife’ when we were kids. When will you agree again? My mom’s already prepared the betrothal gifts, just waiting for her daughter-in-law… Hey, why are you hitting me?”
“You’re asking for it, you shameless rogue.”
Song Yan lifted his foot and kicked.
Xia Zhiye quickly dodged to the side, laughing, “If that doesn’t work, how about treating the betrothal gift as a dowry? I’ll be the live-in son-in-law.”
“Dream on! My mom wouldn’t want you as a live-in son-in-law!” Song Yan swung his bag at Xia Zhiye.
Xia Zhiye dodged again.
Song Yan threw another punch.
One boy laughing and teasing while running out of the school building, and the other, ears red, chasing after him.
When they finally couldn’t run anymore and collapsed on the playground lawn, Xia Zhiye lay next to Song Yan, holding his hand. Gasping for breath, he smiled and coaxed, “I’m serious. Both our moms are turning a blind eye now. My dad doesn’t have much say at home, so how about we just come clean after the college entrance exams? Then we can openly rent a place together.”
Song Yan couldn’t even be bothered to respond, “Who said we’ll definitely end up at the same university?”
“With our grades, Peking University and Tsinghua University are begging us to choose.”
“Shameless.”
“How can telling the truth be shameless?” Xia Zhiye held Song Yan’s hand tighter, their fingers interlaced, and smiled, “And we promised as kids to never be apart. We should at least keep one promise, right?”
On this matter, Xia Zhiye was indeed a man of his word.
From childhood to adulthood, he always gave Song Yan the best food first, the best toys first, and beat up anyone who bullied Song Yan. Even when they got into trouble together, Xia Zhiye always took the blame.
Of course, every time he took the blame without consulting Song Yan, he would then playfully act pitiful to get Song Yan’s comforting kisses and hugs.
In the past thirteen years, Song Yan had never imagined a life without Xia Zhiye.
And for the decades to come, he still couldn’t imagine a life without Xia Zhiye.
It seemed like Xia Zhiye was destined to be a part of his entire life, from their innocent childhood to growing old together.
Looking at the vast blue sky and the changing clouds, Song Yan suddenly said, “Xia Zhiye.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think if my mom and I hadn’t moved to Wine Alley, we wouldn’t be together in this lifetime?”
“No,” Xia Zhiye also looked at the sky, answering casually yet confidently, “because we are meant to be together.”
Meant to be together, destined to be with each other.
No matter the time, place, or age at which they met, regardless of the experiences they had before meeting, and the separations they might endure, they would ultimately appear in each other’s lives in the most beautiful way, and stay together for a lifetime.
This was a fate that even the butterfly effect couldn’t change.
“So, Song Yan, we are definitely meant to be together.”
No matter the time or space, no matter the fate, we are definitely meant to be together.
“Because I love you.”
