The second recent good news was that Fang Jie finally agreed to Chen Kai’s proposal. After dating for more than half a year, the two planned to get married during the Spring Festival.
“The date is set well!” Jiang Fan said over the phone. “It just so happens that Jia Yi and I will both come back for the festival, so there’s no need to plan a special trip.”
“Are they having the wedding during the Spring Festival?” Liang Jia Yi’s voice came faintly: “Won’t it be too cold? How can she wear a wedding dress?”
“It will be a Chinese-style wedding, so it won’t be too cold.” Shu Ran said with a smile.
Both the Chen and Fang families were well-off, and Fang Jie was an only child, the true apple of her parent’s eyes. Her wedding was bound to be unprecedentedly grand, attracting a lot of attention.
Among them, only Xu Shen was not “officially” married. Originally, Chen Kai wanted to kidnap him as the best man, but when he heard that the best man must interact with the bridesmaid, Xu Shen was unwilling to do it.
Anyway, Chen Kai didn’t dare to force him. After all, Xu Shen looked so outstanding… Wouldn’t putting him on stage steal the groom’s limelight?!
After all, it was indeed an unwritten rule not to steal the spotlight from the newlyweds at their wedding… Therefore, Shu Ran prepared two sets of plain but decent clothes for the two of them, avoiding Chen Kai’s objections.
Even so, when they appeared side by side, they still seemed to be accompanied by two spotlights, attracting attention from all directions.
One was the CEO of the group, acting low-key and introverted all year round, but always giving people the impression of being very mysterious and difficult to approach. The other was a romantic and talented person who became a newspaper staple, with many interviews and news. The two of them were silent but moved in the same direction, a sight that was hard not to remember.
After all, ridiculous speculations were circulating in the market, saying that they were business partners on the surface, but in fact… They were same-sex lovers who shared a bed for a long time.
That rumor was very…
Everyone was surprised when they first heard it, but then suddenly realized that there were traces to follow, so it might actually be true. And there were also those who despised them, thinking that two men getting together was shameful, something that needed to be exposed and punished.
But no one was stupid. Those two people were in high positions, with both wealth and fame. Before thinking about exposing them, one should first lower their heads and think about the pros and cons…
If it wasn’t for deep hatred, who would be willing to take that risk in the first place?!
And it might not necessarily be possible… After all, exposing someone also required evidence.
Without evidence, would the police send someone to jail based on just their words? How could that even happen?! And so, many people were watching the excitement, but no one dared to bring that matter to the table.
However, on the other side, there was another group of people who were also romantic at heart… They truly thought that two people with outstanding looks made a good couple and also… Sharing the same bed for so many years… That was a story they wanted to read!
If a romantic person like Writer Shu really had such a romantic affair, it was a perfect match when they thought about it. Otherwise, he would be too ordinary. After all, there was no such thing as a “perfect” person in reality…
…Since he did everything in line with the demands of the masses, then there must be one rebellious thing! That was the law!
Now that those two appeared together again, those who were interested carefully observed them, looking at what they were wearing, their movements and demeanor, how many times they looked at each other in a while, etc.
And there was no need to look too carefully either. Anyone who had little contact with Boss Xu would know that he was someone who cherished his words like gold. He was serious and cold, truly difficult to feel his warmth. But he was different when interacting with Writer Shu. He now carefully led the way and pulled out chairs, handed out tissues left and right, and even poured tea! And the list could go on and on!
Even when he was simply talking to Writer Shu, his eyes were not cold at all! In other words, they were affectionate, so gentle that it made people cry!
That might be a privilege between good friends, but Boss Xu had more than one good friend! How come he was not so attentive to his other business partners?!
It made no sense!
In the end, both of them were one-of-a-kind characters and no one dared to imagine further. Even if the relationship between them was true, it kinda seemed reasonable.
The main table was very big, seating Shu Ran and Xu Shen, followed by Jiang Fan and his wife. The wedding ceremony will be going on for a while, and it was estimated that the food won’t be served anytime soon.
“Brother Ran, are you hungry?” Liang Jia Yi handed over two pieces of chocolate and whispered: “I’m very hungry, shall we eat something?”
“Yes, hide and eat.” Shu Ran took the chocolate and whispered back, and then the two of them turned into little hamsters, covering their mouths with their hands and eating secretly.
Xu Shen and Jiang Fan looked at them and shook their heads helplessly, but the wedding ceremony was indeed way too long.
“Wipe your hands.” Xu Shen waited for his wife to finish eating and then handed over a hot towel to help erase the evidence.
Shu Ran took it naturally, without even saying “thank you”.
That scene was seen by everyone who was interested, and they were even more sure of the close relationship between the two. When the banquet finally started, several pairs of eyes saw Xu Shen serving food to Shu Ran, but only to Shu Ran alone…
And what was even more outrageous was that his hand rested on the back of Shu Ran’s chair most of the time!
No matter how one looked at it, they were undoubtedly a real couple!
…But so what? It still didn’t count as real evidence, since that kind of behavior could always be explained as being “good brothers”. And also, if they dared to say a few more words, the people who supported Writer Shu would become angry, with one person having the ability to draw any whistleblower with a single drop of spit!
As for Shu Ran, he peacefully drank the wedding wine, discussing with Xu Shen in a low voice: “Brother Kai… Is this considered as marrying into his wife’s family?”
“I don’t know either.” Xu Shen glanced at the newlyweds who were walking around the room to toast everyone: “I don’t think they mentioned it so don’t worry about them.”
The two families were evenly matched, so no one thought that Chen Kai was marrying in. However, it was also well-known to everyone that the Fang family was looking for a son-in-law.
Wait and see how they’ll discuss it internally. Anyway, the Chen family definitely didn’t care. All was great as long as Chen Kai could find a wife!
At that same time, Shu Ran glanced at Chen Kai’s parents. Both of them were smiling so hard that their eyes met their teeth, visibly happy.
That day, many celebrities and businessmen also came to attend the wedding, treating it as a social venue. After the newlyweds finished toasting everyone, they all shuttled around the banquet like butterflies.
Xu Shen and the others also had many people appear in front of them, wanting to socialize. Unfortunately, Xu Shen was not keen on talking with strangers, and his responses were always cold and indifferent.
And if the person that came wanted to talk with Shu Ran instead, he would not only be cold but also have daggers hidden in his eyes.
Little did he know that in the middle of everyone, there were a few narrow-minded ghosts who came specifically to test their relationship. After the test, they went back, clapped their thighs, and chatted lively with their companions, acting suspiciously happy…
Those who were hurt by Boss Xu before were absolutely sure and convinced that they were indeed involved in a romantic scandal. If that rumor ended up getting debunked, they were even willing to write their names backward!
However, Xu Shen had no interest in any sort of petty tests. He only knew that if he didn’t squint his eyes at the approaching people, Shu Ran would be happy to make friends with everyone. Hell, someone might even end up climbing the ladder and becoming the second Lu Di!
Lu Di was probably menopausal, calling Shu Ran every now and then, having a lot to say!
Didn’t he have a wife of his own?!
Regarding that question, Lu Di liked to reply with a smile: “What can I even say to my wife in private since we’re now middle-aged and old? You’ll know when you reach our age.”
Well no, Xu Shen didn’t take it to heart. How could they even compare to Lu Di and his wife?! They were nowhere close to being such an ordinary couple! Xu Shen believed that even after a few more decades, he and Shu Ran would still be the best choice for each other to confide in.
The newlyweds finally returned to the main table. Chen Kai, who was in high spirits, caught several brothers and friends for a session of drinking.
“Finally finished! It’s time to have a drink with my brothers!” Chen Kai then pointed at Shu Ran: “And you too! Drink!”
Shu Ran participated in many weddings, but that was the first time he saw such a cruel groom! Other grooms had no problem with drinking by themselves, okay?!
“Brother Kai, it’s not good to drink so much on your big day.” Shu Ran advised.
“Stop talking nonsense and drink!” Chen Kai didn’t seem to understand the meaning of Shu Ran’s words at all.
Shu Ran: “…”
“Don’t be surprised.” Xu Shen said with a smile. “It’s Chen Kai after all.”
Shu Ran snorted: “Huh, makes sense.”
With Chen Kai also getting married, now all of their brothers had their own families, living their lives to the fullest. Shu Ran felt very happy thinking about it and also drank a lot.
And with too much drinking came bad behavior. He started frequently touching Xu Shen’s cup, pulling Xu Shen to drink with him and making him feel totally confused.
Everyone laughed, but Xu Shen still had to come and deal with his drunk wife since that was not a job for anyone else.
“One more drink, let’s have a drink together…” Shu Ran looked at Xu Shen’s handsome face with charming, hot eyes.
Xu Shen felt both sweet and helpless, saying patiently: “This is Kaizi’s wedding, not your wedding…”
“Just give me a kiss…” Shu Ran muttered.
“You’re drunk.” Xu Shen smiled with a rare shyness. He was happy, but he also couldn’t let Shu Ran do anything random: “I’ll take you back. You can kiss as much as you want when we get home.”
“Hey, he’s drunk!” The big guys also said. “Send him back quickly!”
“That’s how Shu Ran is!” Chen Kai, the one who still stood firm, explained to the elders arrogantly: “This is what he’s like when drunk, and it hasn’t changed in ten years!”
When drunk, Shu Ran became extremely promiscuous. How could Xu Shen resist?!
Xu Shen half-supported and half-carried Shu Ran out, taking him out of the restaurant and into the car. The driver had long been accustomed to the closeness between them. No matter what happened in the back seat, he only had eyes for the road in front.
Two tall adult men were squeezed into the cramped space of the back row. No matter how tightly they hugged each other, there was no room left to move.
Shu Ran’s mouth and nose were filled with Xu Shen’s breath, feeling that even his lungs were filled with him, becoming an inseparable part of his body. Since it was inconvenient to share a kiss at the table, Xu Shen complied with Shu Ran’s request in the car. After all, he was known as a man who never said no to his wife!
He could only wonder… Would a 10-minute-long kiss be enough?!
Shu Ran, the one who felt like he was running out of oxygen: That’s enough!
If that was allowed to continue, he might really pass out from being kissed!
In a half-drunk state, Shu Ran placed a weak palm against Xu Shen’s chest. However, Xu Shen didn’t regard that as rejection at all. Maybe he even thought it was flirting.
“…”
After their lips parted, the two looked at each other, one full of resentment, the other affectionate. Since the driver was driving in the front seat, it was inconvenient to say dirty words, so they could only look at each other with their eyes.
Shu Ran glared at Xu Shen and…
…Xu Shen looked down and kissed him again.
It was a blatant provocation!
“…” Shu Ran no longer dared to stare. It wasn’t that he was cowardly, he just thought the two of them were childish. Altogether, they were 60 years old, so that kind of behavior was crazy!
When they got home, Xu Shen left the car first: “Come, I’ll take you back.”
“I can do it myself!” Shu Ran said, then quickly found out that he couldn’t even get up. “I’m sorry, I just spoke too loudly…”
Xu Shen smiled and took his wife back.
“You take a rest and I’ll make you a bowl of hangover soup.” When Xu Shen went to the kitchen, he found that the cooking aunt had already prepared it, so he just filled a bowl and brought it over.
Shu Ran drank the hangover soup and was then carried by Xu Shen to take a bath until the smell of alcohol was almost gone from his body.
He heard that after drinking, the sense of touch would become very dull, but Shu Ran didn’t feel that he became dull in any way… Getting touched by Xu Shen still made him feel very sensitive.
“Are you coming?” Just when Shu Ran thought he could finally rest, Xu Shen came to tease him again. “What a happy day…” He even dared to say it with high spirits!
“It was Brother Kai’s big day!” Shu Ran laughed angrily, stared at him, and said: “Does it have anything to do with you?!”
“Comrade, what’s with all this talk?” Xu Shen pressed Shu Ran and refused to leave: “I want to be intimate with my wife, do I still need a reason?”
Anyway, he was reasonable, and Shu Ran also couldn’t bear to refuse him, accompanying his husband for half a night.
Happiness was real, but so were the pain and soreness in his back and legs the next day… As a man, if he wanted to enjoy intimacy with the same sex, he couldn’t do it without paying some price.
…………
The next day, the wedding of the Chen-Fang families appeared in the newspapers. Shu Ran was sitting on the bed, drinking hot milk and reading the news when he suddenly found that he and Xu Shen were also in there, with their photos and articles occupying half of the page.
“Oh, the writing is so ambiguous…” Shu Ran said after reading it.
Xu Shen took a look at it and said with a smile: “This newspaper is quite serious. Forget it, read this one.”
He brought an entertainment tabloid over. The photo above was of Xu Shen placing one hand on the back of Shu Ran’s chair while talking with him. The two happened to be facing each other, and the distance was no more than 10 centimeters… It was better than what was published in that so-called “serious newspaper”. That photo alone was 100 times more ambiguous!
And the content of the text was even more explicit, something about a “lingering affection and the connection of hearts”… Fortunately, it was only description and speculation, without any use of unbearable or accusatory words.
“I wonder what everyone’s reaction will be after reading this.” Shu Ran blushed. The tabloid editor liked writing about the two of them so much. Was it true suspicion or just for traffic?
Could it also become a problem in the future?
“What kind of reaction can there be? It’s not the first time they read about it.” Xu Shen didn’t care. Rumors about him and Shu Ran had been flying around in the past few years, appearing in tabloids every now and then. He could guess that by now, everyone was already used to it. “If this continues and someday we take the initiative to admit it, there won’t be any big splash.”
Shu Ran nodded: “Screaming about the wolf.”
If something was said over and over again, it became meaningless.
“I guess it’s because the people like to read it that they like to write about it.” Xu Shen compared his feelings. He also liked buying those tabloids and magazines, even feeling that the “Xu Shen” who lived on those pages was more romantic than himself!
Indeed, people loved to read stories about them, and it was even better if they could include photos every time! It was only because those types of entertainment news always sold well, so editors loved every single piece of gossip they could get their hands on.
Moreover, the journalists quickly found out that neither Xu Shen nor Shu Ran cared about what they published. Anyway, their companies never received any warning or clarification from the parties involved.
However, some book fans still liked to reflect on it and ask them not to write randomly… But at the same time, other book fans asked for clear confirmation of their relationship! No matter what sentiment, no one sounded like they resisted the truth, full of a fascinated and slightly weird attitude.
In the end, the editor just wanted to catch some eyeballs… No matter how many entertainment tabloids lived off news about Writer Shu, his photos were still too difficult to attain. Many times, the only thing he could do was to expose the ambiguous affairs between him and Xu Shen, over and over again.
Now that series of photos from the wedding was enough for them to use for a long time!
Therefore, in addition to the book fans who had a favorable impression of Shu Ran, media people also had a particularly soft spot for him since he always provided materials and traffic, but no trouble.
Occasionally, when they met in person, paparazzi would even shake hands and ask for an autograph after taking his photos. After all, “elegance and gentleness” seemed to be words specifically born for Shu Ran.
And no one disliked such a great talent.
Moreover, it was a pity that he never held any autograph sessions… It was said that he promised his lover to never do that after becoming famous. Now everyone suspected that the domineering and jealous person who did not allow Shu Ran to hold book signings was Xu Shen himself!
Soon, everyone got their hands on new evidence. But it couldn’t be called new since that evidence actually existed for a long time! It was just that they never discovered it before!
That piece of evidence was precisely the signature Shu Ran’s lover used for his crazy love letters. “Sincere”… Wasn’t that just “Shen”?!1Once again, he used “sincere”, by breaking the “Shen” in his name which means “prudent”. “Prudent” is written as 谨慎 – Jǐnshèn-, with 谨 Jǐn- sincerely/solemnly and 慎 Shèn- cautious
How blatant!!!
Those two people were so brave! They were going back and forth and secretly flirting with each other in front of the eyes of the whole country, having such a good time!
And after playing for so many years, they were sure others couldn’t do anything to them!
…However, it was true that no one could do anything to them!
Even if they knew it was Xu Shen who actually wrote those replies, everyone could only watch as they expressed their feelings to each other in the newspapers!
Literary men were very sensitive about writing, and Xu Shen also knew that his pen name was exposed, but so what?
If someone asked him for confirmation, he could just say that was not the case, nee~
Could anyone press his head and make him admit he was “Sincere”?!
After Xu Shen’s pen name was exposed, he even dared to write and publish yet another love letter, with the express intention of angering those who were watching the excitement!
Before that big reveal, everyone’s impression of him was that he was cold and serious. However, now, when everyone went back to read those straightforward and passionate love letters, everyone suddenly felt that they couldn’t bear to look at him directly! Where was their cold and deep Boss Xu?! Who was that clingy man?! That confused guy was not Boss Xu, right?!
During that period, they were also approached by the authorities for a talk, but the form was very gentle, very gentle indeed…
One simple denial and the matter was sure to be over!
“Does this count as a staged victory?” On their way back, Shu Ran leaned against Xu Shen and said with a smile.
He felt like everyone was being boiled by the two of them and the day they could finally come out to the world was getting closer and closer, making his good mood explode.
“Everyone likes you and is always very tolerant towards you.” Xu Shen said, holding his hand.
Indeed, when people heard that the police actually came to ask questions, everyone started sweating for them. For a while, the tabloids also calmed down a lot. However, after waiting for the spotlight to dim a little bit and seeing that nothing happened to Writer Shu and Boss Xu, well… They started writing again, even more boldly!
After all, the official response was that the rumor was false, and no matter how much they wrote about it, it could never become true, right? And so, the ambiguous story of Writer Shu and Boss Xu continued to circulate intermittently in the writings of tabloid editors and people’s mouths without interruption.
They have always been the center of attention, watched by countless people. So what if the officials denied it? Their secret relationship was no longer a secret and no one really believed that they were completely innocent.
In that era, there were of course many other people like them. But they felt very sad and no one dared to take the opportunity or have the courage to express their differences like them. They were both envied and admired by those who were also different.
Not to mention that Shu Ran only dared to be truthful to his heart now that they were in a high position and not back when they started from scratch. Maybe the two of them even joined hands step by step to get to where they were now, only to protect that guilty relationship.
Just shouting about wanting love and being different, but not working hard for it, and even behaving despicably and doing things that lowered the reputation of the entire group… How could one blame others for not understanding them?
…………..
In 1994, for the first time in China, a writer published a book discussing homosexuality, the first academic book on that subject, making it the first mention of the idea that both heterosexuals and homosexuals deserve equal rights2Zhang Beichuan (Chinese: 张北川; pinyin: zhāng běi chuān) is a Chinese researcher, dermatologist, LGBT activist, and AIDS prevention specialist. He originally studied dermatology under the dermatologist Qin Shide at Qingdao University but decided to branch off and pursue the study of LGBT issues after seeing his teacher being discriminated against based on sexual orientation. In 1994, he published the book Homosexual Love (Chinese: 同性爱), the first comprehensive study on homosexuality in modern China. After publishing the book, he received around 1,000 letters from gay people all around China. These letters and the support of Qin Shide finally made him decide to quit his career as a dermatologist and start focusing on preventive healthcare for the homosexual population, especially in response to the AIDS pandemic.
In 1995, around the time of the World Conference for Women, many gay bars appeared one after another in the country. More and more literary writers were also paying attention to that huge group of people through writing, pointing out that the domestic understanding of homosexual issues was improving.3The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China was the most important of the four conferences on women held between 1975 and 1995, because it built on political agreements that had been reached at the three previous global conferences on women, and it consolidated five decades of legal advances aimed at securing the equality of women with men in law and in practice. Read about it here https://www.un.org/en/conferences/women/beijing1995.
In 1996, Hong Kong held the Rainbow Conference, and representatives from China were sent to participate4About 200 Chinese tongzhi (lesbians, bisexuals, gays, and transgendered people) from different regions gathered in Hong Kong to participate in the “1996 Chinese Tongzhi Conference” from Dec 6 – 8, 1996. The Conference discussed a number of tongzhi-related issues, including culture and arts, social services, AIDS issues, bisexuality, and lesbian politics. There was an extensive discussion regarding the specificity of the cultural context and needs of Chinese tongzhi. Participants concluded that it is unnecessary to copy the model of les-bi-gay liberation movement in the Anglo-Saxon societies, which is characterized by individualism and confrontational politics, and agreed that the Chinese tongzhi movement should be cultural-specific. Read the manifesto here https://www.utopia-asia.com/tongzhi.htm. And by 1997, on an ordinary working day, the country promulgated a new criminal law, deleting the crime of hooliganism commonly used to incriminate homosexuality, decriminalizing it.
Since it was a new criminal law, not many people paid attention to it, but it was something Shu Ran and Xu Shen had been looking forward to for a long time.
After the dust settled, the two of them could no longer act calm. For a while, they didn’t know what to do except hugging and kissing every day.
“It’s no longer a sin.” Shu Ran said with a smile. “Brother Shen, do you want to hold hands and go for a walk?”
“Is that good?” Xu Shen also laughed. “The country has just promulgated the new law, if we do this now, won’t it be too high-profile?”
Let’s wait for a while…
“Then two days’ delay?” Shu Ran couldn’t hold back the smile on his lips.
“Okay, wait for two days.” Xu Shen nodded. He also smiled so hard that one could no longer find his eyes. Instantly, he felt that the air was fresh, the sky was blue, and there was freedom everywhere…
…All the way until his phone started ringing.
Shu Ran had a hunch: “It must be those guys calling to congratulate us.”
He knew it without even answering the phone. After picking up the call, it turned out to be true. As the day went on, they did nothing else but answer the phone all day long.
“Please let’s go out and eat, go out and eat, go out and eat…” Chen Kai kept mumbling like a repeater.
“You’re already a family man, can you be more steady?” Xu Shen said.
“Brother Shen?!” Chen Kai glanced at the screen of his phone: “Didn’t I call Shu Ran?!”
“And what, I can’t come?” Xu Shen rolled his eyes.
“Please go out and eat!” Chen Kai didn’t care who he was talking to. It was the same anyway!
“What’s wrong? Are you hungry at Fang Jie’s house?” Xu Shen said mockingly.
However, that was a meal they still had to pay for.
After all, it was a big happy event, not only worth treating everyone to a meal but also worth setting off two strings of firecrackers! Shu Ran had no problem with inviting everyone to dinner. After all, they always had a lot of fun together and it had also been a long time since they last met.
But was Xu Shen really going to buy firecrackers?!
“Ah, I’ve found something to do! Are you coming?” Xu Shen asked.
“How silly!” Shu Ran felt his toes dig into the ground just thinking about it.
“Not silly!” Xu Shen kept laughing.
Okay then… Shu Ran also went with him and bought firecrackers. A lot of them in fact, but they didn’t set them all off immediately, taking the rest to the hotel to celebrate with their friends.
So the reporters soon discovered that after the country promulgated the new criminal law, Shu Ran and Xu Shen immediately invited their relatives to dinner and even set off firecrackers to celebrate!!!
It was real, it truly was real!
Shu Ran and Xu Shen were still eating with their family at the banquet when a bodyguard came over and told them in a low voice that there was a circle of reporters outside, asking if they should arrange to exit through the back door later.
“No need!” Xu Shen waved his hand. “Isn’t that just having a guilty conscience?”
“Yeah, just go through the front door. There’s no need to hide anymore.” Shu Ran’s attitude was particularly crazy.
Everyone at the table laughed. Since it was no longer a crime, what did it matter if they wanted to act a little crazy? Those two people were now very rich and did not rely on others for their livelihood. The public could never understand how they’ve lived their lives anyway.
“Yo, Brother Shen?!” Jiang Fan noticed that Xu Shen had a ring on his finger: “You bought a ring so soon?”
“No.” Xu Shen, who was picking up vegetables, also glanced at his hands: “I bought it a long time ago, but Shu Ran was finally willing to put it on me.”
“Thank you to the country…” Chen Sen also said. “If the country didn’t approve of this, Brother Shen could only continue to be depressed.”
“Okay!” Shu Ran laughed. “There are children here, don’t mention it anymore! Just be happy, eat, and drink well!”
“Yes, let’s not talk about anything else. Congratulations, let’s have a drink!” Chen Kai stood up with a glass in his hands. He was always the most happy on such occasions: “Let’s all come together. Congratulations to Mr. Shu and Mr. Xu for finally being able to fall in love freely! Listen! It’s been so desolate and pitiful to witness!”
“You talk a lot!” Shu Ran laughed and scolded, then happily stood up and drank with everyone.
After the banquet ended, they asked everyone to leave first so as not to be blocked by reporters on the way out.
“Then we’ll go, you two can figure it out…”
“Yes, don’t worry!”
Everyone left one after another, leaving Shu Ran and Xu Shen sitting where they were, drinking tea slowly, with no words to describe their current mood. Apart from being relaxed, maybe one could say that their whole bodies felt elated.
After drinking two cups of tea, Xu Shen smiled and said to Shu Ran: “Comrade Shu Ran, are you ready? We’re going out.”
“Ready!” Shu Ran handed his hand to Xu Shen: “Comrade Xu Shen, lead the way!”
The two of them wore very fancy clothes that day. They were both handsome without comparison, in the prime of their early thirties, feeling that everything that caught their eye was romantic.
Xu Shen clasped Shu Ran’s hand, with a smile on his lips, and walked proudly on the road to freedom together.
“The new dishes made by the new chef are quite delicious. Let’s invite friends over in a few days.” Shu Ran discussed with him. That day they hosted a party only for their family, without inviting any friends over.
“It’s up to you.” Xu Shen nodded.
While talking, the door opened. The group of reporters outside had been staring at it for a long time. The moment they saw the two of them coming out holding hands, everyone felt it was unexpected, but reasonable. At that moment, there was no time to think too much, and they all kept pressing the shutter with their fingers.
Shu Ran and Xu Shen just stood there generously, letting them take pictures. Those who didn’t know better might even think it was a staged press conference. Even their expressions were on point, taking care of every camera angle.
“Everyone, please stop crowding and shoot slowly!” Shu Ran even controlled the scene: “Be careful of falling, Xiao Liu, please maintain order…” He turned to the bodyguard and said.
“Mr. Xu, why are you holding hands?!” One of the reporters recovered quickly and already jumped to interview Xu Shen.
“Didn’t you already know why?” Xu Shen first teased the reporters who had been writing about their romantic affairs for years, and then answered their questions seriously: “Because we’re together.”
Someone in the crowd seemed to be screaming.
Those two people were so cooperative, and their eagerness to go public was almost overflowing!
Before the new criminal law was promulgated, there was no way to stop them… However, now that the new criminal law had been promulgated, there was nothing to stop them!
“How long have you two been together?!” Another reporter asked the most curious question in everyone’s mind.
“14 years.” The person who answered that time was Shu Ran.
Every sentence came like bombshell news, and the reporter couldn’t recover from the explosion. He never expected that answer, which turned out to be a full 14 years!
“Mr. Xu, is it really you publishing those letters in the newspaper?!”
“It’s me.”
“You’re the one who didn’t let Writer Shu’s hold a book signing?!”
“That’s me also.”
“Excuse me, who chased whom?!”
“No one… Chased anyone.” Shu Ran answered. “We got married first and then fell in love.”
The reporters thought to themselves, aren’t you two both men?! How come you got married first and fell in love later?!
“Well…” Xu Shen said. “To be precise, I chased him. Before he said he liked me, I confessed to him three times a day.”
Shu Ran pushed Xu Shen. Too shameless! Don’t mention such details!
But obviously, the friendly reporters really liked and wanted him to talk more, as detailed as possible, as if hoping to dig out all the details of their relationship on the spot!
“Writer Shu, aren’t you afraid of disappointing your book fans by making your relationship public like this?”
That was a very acute question, but one that must be faced sooner rather than later. Shu Ran smiled and held Xu Shen’s hand: “Falling for him was my personal preference. I have a clear conscience when I look at him and I also have a clear conscience when it comes to my book fans. I tried my best to do what I should do.”
Xu Shen touched his head with his other hand, and the reporter filmed the scene of him protecting his partner.
“I know there will be a lot of people disgusted by us, but so what?” Those scolding voices were not meant to be heard. In the end, only the person who spoke was affected, and it had no impact on them.
That night, Shu Ran and Xu Shen were blocked at the door by reporters and interviewed for a long time. In the end, Xu Shen ended the interview claiming his wife was tired, and then escorted Shu Ran into the car and went home.
“It’s much better than I thought.” Shu Ran sat in the car and breathed a sigh of relief: “I thought there would be bad words.”
“How could that be?” Xu Shen squeezed his hand: “Who would be willing to say bad things to you?”
Shu Ran always had a good relationship with everyone in the media.
“It’s just an example…” Shu Ran shook his head: “I’ve seen a lot of people kissing, hugging, and lifting each other up one moment, and then falling out the next second.”
No matter how good someone was, as long as they did one thing wrong, they would immediately be thrown into the abyss, forced to accept the counterattack of various people’s negative emotions. That was how human nature was.
Fortunately, he and Xu Shen were lucky.
But it was still too early to breathe in relief. They won’t know the final results until the newspapers hit the streets tomorrow. The worst was just that, Shu Ran thought to himself. At worst, he would just learn from Xu Shen and keep a low profile in the future.
However, Xu Shen made up his mind to stop buying and reading future newspapers. There was nothing good in there to read anyway. And so, no matter how the outside world commented or viewed their relationship, it was all those people’s personal emotions, something that had nothing to do with them.
“I wonder if there will be some radical people looking for trouble.” Xu Shen said, out of caution. “How about we go out to play and come back later?”
“Where to go?” Shu Ran said.
“Find a beautiful place that doesn’t require a visa and go for a walk.” Xu Shen said.
“Okay, you haven’t had a vacation recently.” Shu Ran said with a smile. “Just treat it as our honeymoon then.”
The author has something to say:
Brother Shen: Seal Applause.jpg! I finally have an identity!
T.N: I’m both happy and sad that we’ve finally come to this point! I’m happy to see them finally free to express their love, but sad that there’s only 1 chapter and 2 extras left 😭
