stepping into the night

Walking from the teaching building all the way to the east gate, Ruan Chu couldn't help wondering what Lin Jiang's words "bring you home" meant. Nervousness mixed with unbelievable joy made Ruan Chu's palms sweat .

But when he arrived at the east gate and saw Lin Jiang who was waiting for him by the side of the road, Ruan Chu suddenly calmed down again.

This is the first birthday he and Lin Jiang have celebrated together. To Ruan Chu, it has a very important meaning, and it is a witness of their companionship.

But at the same time, this is the No. 20 years when Lin Jiang's mother worked so hard to raise him. This birthday also has an extraordinary meaning for Lin Jiang's mother and son.

If it was really what he guessed, Ruan Chu didn't know what relationship Lin Jiang would use to bring him home to celebrate his 20th birthday with his mother.

They have already gone to college and are adults who have just entered the society. The term "puppy love" has gone far away from them, but their love relationship is still not generally recognized by the public. Ruan Chu naturally does not expect Lin Jiang's mother to be able to do so. Very open to accept.

It is very unfilial to force a mother to compromise because of her love for her children.

Ruan Chu didn't want to embarrass Lin Jiang.

"Why are you so sullen?" Lin Jiang looked at him for a moment, then with a light smile, she touched the glasses frame on Ruan Chu's nose with her fingertips.

"Happy birthday." Ruan Chu thought for a while, and tried his best to raise a bright smile, sent blessings to Lin Jiang, took off the schoolbag on his shoulder, unzipped it, and took out a gift box inside. It should be Ruan Chu deliberately went to a store outside to buy the box and packed it himself when he came back.

"You remember." Lin Jiang was not surprised, but the smile on his face was more visible to the naked eye, "He raised his hand to take the brown gift box, weighed it and felt a little heavy, "Thank you, Ruan Ruan, This is the best gift I've ever received. "

"...But you know it's the best without even looking at it." Ruan Chu blinked, a little embarrassed.

"What you give me is the best." Lin Jiang looked at him, put the gift box in his left arm, and stretched out his right hand to hold Ruan Chu's wrist, but Ruan Chu's gaze was a little erratic avoided.

The smile on Lin Jiang's face faltered, she looked up at Ruan Chu in confusion, thought for a while and felt that she should explain, and said, "I've already arranged for both of us to come back to the dormitory tonight. It's off, I'll ask your colleague to change the time for the duty over there in the office, and I'll replace it later."

"This is the second ten years of my life, the first year we were together," Lin Jiang said sincerely, "Ruan Ruan, can you...can you go home with me?"

Of course Ruan Chu wanted to live with him.

But no, whether as a friend or as a boyfriend, it is inappropriate to go to Lin Jiang's house for a birthday. Ruan Chu pursed his lips, lowered his eyelashes and shook his head slightly.

"Why?" The smile on Lin Jiang's face disappeared.

"This is not good." Ruan Chu pursed his lips and explained in a low voice, "You should celebrate with your family when you go home. It's not appropriate to bring outsiders home."

"You are my boyfriend. Even if we don't get the officially certified little red book in the future, you will still be my lover and family." Lin Jiang's serious tone slowed down, "I have already told my mother Now, you don't have to worry."

Ruan Chu was uncertain.

There are people coming and going at the school gate, and the two big boys will attract attention if they are stiff for a long time, not to mention that Ruan Chu's ears are soft when facing Lin Jiang, which is not at all like his usual firmness of making up his mind quietly, so he had to give up struggling He was led away by Lin Jiang.

Although this is not a formal meeting with parents, in Ruan Chu's mind, it is also the first time to visit her boyfriend's house. No matter what, she has to bring some gifts to visit.Lin Jiang couldn't resist him, so she had to take someone to buy a good-looking and affordable fruit basket, and Ruan Chu's uneasiness eased a little.

Ruan Chu was so nervous that he forgot to ask Lin Jiang how he mentioned his relationship with his mother, so that when Lin Jiang's mother came to open the door and gently greeted the two children to enter the house, Lin Ran panicked when she saw it. The fruit basket in his hand was passed to Lin Ran, and he introduced himself not very quickly:

"Auntie, hello, I...my name is Ruan Chu, and I'm Lin Jiang's classmate... Junior, excuse me."

Ruan Chu is a person who is very good at hiding his true emotions. When he is nervous, the tips of his ears are red. After introducing himself, he falls into a mood of self-annoyance. He is really bad, and he feels that he looks very petty. , not at all generous and flattering.

Lin Ran looked at him for a moment, remembering that this was a very important person whom her son had mentioned to her with a serious expression, but felt that this child was very cute, and was not at all different from her son who always had a cold and dull face.

"Xiao Jiang mentioned it to me, Ruan Ruan, right? Come here, don't bother to bring any gifts, come in and have a seat." Lin Ran smiled, took the fruit basket from Ruan Chu, and let Lin Jiang go Get the new slippers for Ruan Chu.

The nickname "Ruan Ruan" from Lin Ran's mouth is completely different from that from Lin Jiang's mouth. It is an intimacy with warm and strong maternal love. Ruan Chu's nose tingles when he hears it, and he thinks of his mother.

He thought, the senior's mother is really kind, no wonder she can also raise such a gentle person as the senior.

The slippers were newly prepared, but when Ruan Chu put them on, he found that the size was exactly the same as his own, which made him look up at Lin Jiang in surprise.

"Before you were drunk, I saw it when I took you back to the dormitory to take off your clothes and change your shoes for a shower, so I remembered it." Lin Jiang smiled at him, and led Ruan Chu to sit on the sofa, his voice was very soft, Lin Ran couldn't really hear what Ruan Chu said with his head slightly lowered.

But this kind of close distance doesn't look like what Ruan Chu just introduced between ordinary juniors and seniors. Ruan Chu panicked and hurriedly moved away from Lin Jiang, fearing that Lin Jiang would be caught. Mother saw something.

Although Lin Ran didn't know what they were talking about, she could see the interaction between the two of them clearly, but she didn't say anything, she got up and walked towards the kitchen: "The dishes are ready, I'll start cooking when you come back, Let Xiao Jiang talk to Ruan Ruan for a while, don't let her feel alienated when she comes to the house for the first time."

How could Ruan Chu dare to let Lin Jiang's mother cook, but he was having a love affair with his son in the living room. Hearing this, he hurriedly stood up, followed Lin Ran to the kitchen without thinking, and said eagerly: "Auntie, I can cook too, let me help."

Lin Ran put on her apron while turning her head to look at Ruan Chu, then with a smile on her face, she shifted her gaze to Lin Jiang who followed helplessly, she hesitated for a moment but did not refuse, she only looked at Ruan Chu jokingly for a moment, then nodded and said: " There is no reason for guests to come and cook, but maybe it will be a family in the future, so I won’t see you anymore, let’s choose dishes for auntie.”

She said this gently, but the amount of information contained in the words made the two young people standing at the door stunned.

Ruan Chu was stunned for a moment, and didn't dare to ask her what she meant. She pursed her lips and stood silently by the sink, and took a bag of rattan vegetables that Lin Ran had placed by the sink in advance, and began to choose.

It was a fresh vegetable that Lin Ran went to the vegetable market to buy when Lin Ran came back from work early. After a few sections, I quickly chose to put them in the sink for cleaning, and put the discarded leaves and roots in plastic bags and threw them into the trash can.

Because it was at her boyfriend's house or next to his mother, Ruan Chu was extremely serious when choosing dishes, so she didn't notice Lin Jiang who was leaning on the door with her arms folded and watching her tenderly, and Lin Jiang who looked at her from time to time Ran.

Lin Jiang mentioned her 20th birthday arrangements to Lin Ran one week in advance.

In addition to the customary Lin Jiang who will ask for leave to go home, and Lin Ran who will come home from work early to cook, the mother and son celebrate their birthday together, Lin Jiang paused, and said to Lin Ran alone: ​​"Mom, on my birthday... Want to bring someone back to celebrate with you, okay?"

Lin Ran knew that her son was not a character who would take the initiative to have deep relationships with others since he was a child. Maybe it was because of the family environment that didn't look glamorous, or maybe he didn't want to burden his hard-working mother. Never brought friends and classmates home.

This is the first time Lin Jiang has asked Lin Ran for something in such a begging tone since she grew up. He doesn't know how much his mother knows about homosexuality, and he doesn't know whether it is a monster or a ghost in his mother's eyes. He didn't want his mother to understand him, but he didn't want to hide it from his mother, nor did he want to wrong Ruan Chu.

Lin Jiang has always been the most sensible child, and he understood very early how difficult it was for his mother to raise him. He never asked for anything from his mother, but tried his best to share the pressure of life for his mother under the silent and indifferent surface.

When he heard the sentence he added, "He is a very, very important person to me", Lin Ran was heartbroken.

She doesn't object to Lin Jiang falling in love, unlike those parents who guard their children's emotional relationships with a cautious attitude, she even hopes that Lin Jiang can fall in love early, at least so that he doesn't have to be so sensible and bitter.

But until college, Lin Jiang never had any friendship with any girl beyond the most basic classmate relationship, which made Lin Ran a little worried, and also guessed some possibility that she had heard in the gossip of the neighbors.

What else does it matter, it is above his classmates and friends, who are very important to him, but it is obviously not his girlfriend?

Lin Ran didn't ask any further questions, and after a moment of silence, she just said gently as always: "Then bring him back and ask him if there is anything he should not eat."

She was used to all kinds of speculation among the neighbors about her as a single mother who left early and came home late, so what?No matter what others say, isn't life still going on?

Once when she was on the phone with Lin Jiang, she overheard her son calling Ruan Chu who was beside her, she explained to him a few words and then talked to herself, which she had never heard a few times With a gentle and cheerful tone, he called him "Ruan Ruan".

——It must be a very cute child, who can make Lin Jiang soften without knowing it.

Her mind may not be enlightened enough to accept the relationship between Lin Jiang and that boy without any grievances, but her greatest wish is that her child can relax and be happier.

Let's take a look, Lin Ran thought, maybe we can have another very considerate son?