Chinese ship across the ocean

AD [-], Yuen Long District, Hong Kong, night.

On the street outside the public housing, a man lit a row of heart-shaped candles, the flames were blown by the wind, and the flames swayed erratically.

"Wow... Gan is old-fashioned..."

"Did I make a mistake... What year is it..."

In the corridor on the fifth floor, there was a person standing quietly. Lu Shaorong turned on his mobile phone, and there was a dense row of missed calls, and the blue light reflected on his face.

The man finished lighting the candles, straightened up, folded his hands in front of his face, and made a gesture of shouting.

"Lu-shao-rong-"

In the public housing building, hundreds of onlookers were instantly thundered, and everyone turned their heads in unison to look at Lu Shaorong who was standing alone on the fifth floor.

"I like you—I pulled it by mistake—come back with me—" the man shouted loudly, "Shaorong—I am willing to accompany you for the rest of my life—"

The crowd was in an uproar: "Fuck, gay confession!"

Lu Shaorong stopped laughing and sighed: "Gays also have love, but... your way of apologizing is really old-fashioned."

"I don't know you—!" Lu Shaorong yelled at the man.

Five years later.

No. [-] typhoon Natasha swept across the city, Victoria Harbor was closed to navigation, lights went out along the criss-crossing streets, and the whole of Hong Kong fell into a brief power outage.

A huge poster of the virtual game "Sword of Shu" fluttered crazily on the building opposite the apartment, and then the rope broke and was blown into the sky.

There was a power outage, and the room was pitch black. Lu Shaorong closed the curtains and pressed a few buttons on his phone.

The call is connected.

Lu Shaorong hesitated for a moment, and asked, "You... haven't crossed the sea yet? Shall I pick you up?"

The other end of the phone beeped, and the wind could be heard, and the man's voice replied: "Don't call anymore, Shaorong, we have already broken up... It's troublesome..."

"The ferry service is suspended...there are three left for KMB..." the man on the other end of the phone babbled, and finally the wind died down. He lowered his voice and concluded: "I'm with my girlfriend, so don't call me anymore , I really want to marry her this time... She has already begun to doubt, so I will pull it first, bye."

Lu Shaorong said: "Wait! You..."

The phone hangs up.

Lu Shaorong was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath, and smashed the phone into pieces.

He walked into the kitchen in the dark, took out a can of beer, went out of the living room and lay down on the sofa, drank a few sips of beer wearily, and touched his forehead with a half-cold soda can.

A moment later, Lu Shaorong curled up in pain and sobbed.

The power was restored, and the TV screen was full of snowflakes. Lu Shaorong had a splitting headache, lay on the sofa, and fell asleep drowsily.

The next day, Lu Shaorong developed a high fever and the typhoon passed through. After everything returned to normal, he was fired.

The rental contract expired, he broke up with his boyfriend, and was fired. He no longer had any nostalgia for this small apartment. That afternoon, he packed up and left Tai Po with a cardboard box full of small items.

With nowhere to go, he sat in a daze on the bus, finally got off at a certain platform, subconsciously returned to the place he was most familiar with, and rang a certain family's doorbell.

There was crackling sound of mahjong in the room, the woman came to open the door with a cigarette in her mouth, and opened the door a crack, the anti-theft chain was still fastened, she looked out vigilantly.

Lu Shaorong swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and squeezed out a word that he hadn't said for many years in his dry throat: "Mom."

The woman frowned, and finally Fang reluctantly opened the door for Lu Shaorong.

The sound of mahjong in the house stopped, Shaorong looked around, and found that the house was still the same as when he left, the woman said: "Go to the guest room, I will call your father and tell him to come back in the afternoon."

Lu Shaorong forced a smile, nodded to a few strangers at the mahjong table, and walked into the guest room.

Lu Shaorong's mother divorced when he was very young, and went across the ocean to get married in Canada, leaving four-year-old Shaorong and his alcoholic husband in Hong Kong.

Not long after, Father Lu married a woman from the Mainland who came to work in Hong Kong. It is strange to say that since his first wife left the father and son, Father Lu found a job with a good salary and was employed by a Japanese company. A few years later, he gave up drinking and started to work alone, and the business was doing well.

The father continued to drink when he had money, but his son was quite unhappy. Lu Shaorong occasionally quarreled with his father and tried to persuade his mother to leave his father. Lu's father simply attributed it to "your mother Kefu".

So divorce is a good thing for Lu Shaorong's father, but not for him.Because the second half of the subtext is: "Your stepmother Wangfu."

As a result, Cinderella suffered from the cold eyes of her stepmother, and could no longer feel affection in this family. Lu Shaorong left Yuen Long after graduating from high school, and went out to make a living alone.

When he was 19 years old, he worked as a lifeguard on the beach and rescued a college student who came to swim. He was taken home by the kid in the name of thanking him, and then he got drunk and broke up.

They broke up and reunited, and Lu Shaorong went home once every two years, and the college student personally chased him downstairs to apologize and confess his mistakes to coax others.

It is the scene at the beginning of the story, and it is also a scene that Lu Shaorong will always remember in his heart.

Perhaps in this life, no one would light a candle downstairs and utter such a corny and romantic confession aloud like him.

Although this behavior caused rumors that the Lu family's son was gay, Lu Shaorong felt that this was what he wanted.

Just be stupid.

Of course, Lu's father didn't want it at all. Instead, he acted as if he never gave birth to this disobedient son who likes to be ridden by men.

Afterwards, Lu Shaorong lived with his man for five years. During Chinese New Years and holidays, he would still take his boyfriend home to visit his father, and basically provided some new conversation material every time he went home.

After that, Lu's father couldn't bear the neighbor's comments, so he said to him, "You can come back, but don't bring that man with you." '

Feeling his father's disgust, Lu Shaorong never went home again.

After that, until today, he had nowhere to go, and in the end he had no choice but to go home.

Lying on the bed in the guest room, he recalled his failed life, and listened to the unscrupulous discussions coming from the sound of mahjong in the hall.

"Old Lu's gay son..."

"...There are a lot of gangsters these days, I don't know what these men think, it's a pity, it's a pity...[-]."

"I heard that the only son of Lao Zhan who lived across the street was also a gay... Why are there so many gays in this world... Jiu Suo, you said that all men are going to be gay, but we women..."

"OK OK……"

The teachers and wives are usually boring, but when they encounter something new, they are as excited as a festival, scrambling to offer advice to Lu Shaorong's stepmother, talking non-stop.

Lu Shaorong covered his ears with the pillow in pain, but the women's voices were too sharp, penetrating into his thoughts.

Until the doorbell rang again, Father Lu's return saved his son's life.

The mistresses greeted Father Lu flatteringly, and the familiar deep voice was still outside the door.

Lu Shaorong's stepmother took over the vegetables her husband bought and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. When the son came home, his father should add a few more dishes.

The card game outside the hall broke up, and Father Lu knocked on the door of the guest room.

"Why is the phone turned off?" Father Lu moved a low sofa and sat down.

Lu Shaorong lay motionless on the bed, looked at the ceiling, and replied, "I fell."

Lu's father opened two cans of beer, and Lu Shaorong said: "Don't drink, drinking is a mistake."

Father Lu said: "You can't miss anything, drink some."

Lu Shaorong had no choice but to sit up, took a sip, let out a long sigh, held the beer in both hands, and said indifferently: "I broke up with him."

Father Lu couldn't even remember the name of his son's lover. After thinking about it, he planned to comfort Lu Shaorong, but Shaorong said: "Dad, I want... to move back for a few days, change jobs, and start over."

Father Lu felt very relieved, and looked carefully at the appearance of his own son. Shaorong looked very similar to his mother, both had thin lips, and people with thin lips were ruthless. Thinking of this, Father Lu began to feel disgusted again.

The youngest son born with his current wife is better, with thick lips, big earlobes, big nose, and good fortune.

Father Lu wanted to say a few words of comfort, but the father and son hadn't seen each other for several years, and after all, they still couldn't speak a few Qiong Yao accents. Father Lu just said lightly: "Okay, you can rest for a while. For work, Dad will give you a few words." You go ask."

Lu Shaorong nodded gratefully, and the conversation between father and son ended here.

Lu Shaorong was used to his stepmother's strange and wary eyes, and he didn't feel uncomfortable after staying at home for a few days.After all, this is where he has lived since he was a child.

But there was only one small thing that made him very uncomfortable. Shaorong had a half brother who was only seven years old, who seemed to have inherited the vigilance of the woman, watching and guarding against him all the time.

The younger brother stared closely at his every move, the things he touched, the place he sat on. Lu Shaorong reached out to take a mango, and his gaze moved from the coffee table to Shaorong's hand, and then to his face.

Lu Shaorong was baffled, but he still liked children very much. One afternoon, when his stepmother went out to buy groceries, he and his younger brother were left at home. Lu Shaorong took the initiative to express his closeness, walked to the TV, sat next to the child, and reached out to hug him shoulder, bowed his head and asked, "Brother, will I take you to Disney on Sunday?"

His younger brother avoided it like an electric shock, took a few steps back, and said, "Stay away from me! Gay, you have AIDS!"

"..."

Lu Shaorong's only thought was to curse a few words such as "I x your mother", but then he thought about it, if he really xed his stepmother, he really couldn't get excited, and couldn't get harder, so he could only clenched his fists and entered the room angrily. The hammer hit the wall and slammed the door hard.

I'm moving tomorrow, and I can't stay here even if I'm a stray dog.Young master Lu couldn't bear it anymore, and made up his mind to hold the cardboard box tomorrow and get out of here.

That night, Lu's father was talking on the phone in the living room. Lu Shaorong was thinking about how to tell his father about leaving, but when Lu's father mentioned his name, he paid attention.

Father Lu's voice became softer, Lu Shaorong frowned, and opened the door openly.

Father Lu held the phone receiver in one hand, gave his son a guilty look, and then said with a smile: "Shaorong, do you remember Uncle Zhan who used to live in the building opposite us?"

Shao Rong said: "Remember."

Lu's father joked: "Uncle Zhan's whole family immigrated, in New York State, USA, you can get you there with a same-sex couple visa."

Lu Shaorong asked doubtfully, "Same-sex couple visa?"

Lu's father hadn't hung up the phone yet, and said, "When his son Zhanyang was young..."

Lu Shaorong lazily said: "Brother Zhan, I also remember the one who played football with me when I was young. Is he okay?"

Lu's father said: "He wants to find a Chinese gay lover..."

Lu Shaorong couldn't help but shudder, the face of the neighbor's Zhan Yang in his memory was blurred, and he only vaguely remembered this person.

Zhan Yang in Shaorong's memory back then was a little fat man, only ten years old, fat and dark, half a head shorter than the seven-year-old Lu Shaorong, but he was very ruthless in fights.Shao Rong remembered that when the two were playing football downstairs in the public housing, they were robbed of the field once, and Zhan Yang dared to fight three junior high school students without risking his life.

Lu Shaorong began to imagine the little black fat man growing into a big black fat man, pressing himself under his body and dancing happily...or asking him to press the black fat man under his body... This made him shiver.

It's wrong to judge people by their appearance, but often everyone can't avoid it. The law of mate selection in nature is to choose individuals who are stronger and more handsome than themselves, so as to ensure the survival of their offspring.

Zhan Yang fits the first rule, but the second rule is a bit...

Shaorong was distracted, and his father didn't listen to what he said next. He only heard Lu's father say again: "... After you go there, you must marry him first, live with him for a few years, and then you can discuss divorce after you get a green card."

Shaorong's stepmother watched the TV and smiled without losing the opportunity: "The Zhan family runs a company, and the divorce property has to be notarized and divided equally, is that okay—"

The voice was a little louder, and it was transmitted to the receiver, and a hearty laughter came from the other end of the phone.

Father Lu's expression darkened, and he mouthed a threat to his step-wife.

On the phone, he said something with a smile. Father Lu smiled and said, "Anyway, you are all gay... Well, we have been together since we were young. Although we haven't seen each other for more than ten years, now we get to know each other again, let's get along?"

Lu Shaorong looked indifferent, suddenly felt that he was very sad, he was too lazy to explain to his enthusiastic father, even homosexuals have their own right to choose marriage, there are so many homosexuals in the world, it is not possible to just find two gay men and make them together Married and living together.

Lu Shaorong picked up the kettle on the table and replied, "Don't cause trouble to others, I'll leave tomorrow."

Shaorong's stepmother smiled sarcastically: "Yo, I'm not happy to let him climb high."

Lu Shaorong only felt that his suppressed emotions had the urge to explode these days, and he said something on the other end of the phone. Father Lu seemed to realize something, and relayed: "Hey, isn't it just a fake marriage..."

Lu Shaorong discovered something, which led to his final decision.

On the dining table, his used teacups were picked out and placed alone on the other end of the table, away from the tea tray, with a can of disinfectant next to it—his stepmother was afraid that the five or six cups in the tea tray contracted AIDS.

Lu Shaorong looked at it for a few seconds and said, "Okay, just get married if you get married. I am willing to cultivate a relationship with Big Brother Zhan seriously. We will live together and support each other in the future. No matter what happens, we will not propose a divorce."

The other end of the phone burst into laughter, and Lu's father said, "Did you hear that?"

After talking on the phone for a long time, Lu's father nodded frequently, then raised his head and said to Lu Shaorong:

"He needs a photo of you to decide..."

On the phone, he said "Hi" embarrassingly, interrupting Father Lu's words, looking very nervous.

Lu Shaorong knew that the parents of the other party also had the idea of ​​judging people by their appearance, so that's fine, the man who paid the money was always the uncle, and the one surnamed Zhan even helped him to apply for a visa, even if he didn't live for a long time, this favor had to be kept in mind.

He went back to his room and picked up a photo with his ex-boyfriend, tore up the other half, and handed it to Father Lu. Father Lu faxed it, and there was a low "ah" on the phone, obviously very surprised.

Father Lu smiled and said, "Yes, Shaorong looks like his mother, with pretty features and handsome looks!"

Shaorong's stepmother snorted coldly.

Lu's father added: "Shaorong is good at everything, but has a bad temper."

The other end of the phone talked for a long time, and finally seemed very satisfied, and laughed again.

Lu's father was overjoyed and said, "OK! That's it! I'll apply for Shao Rong's visa tomorrow! I'll let you know then!"

So half a month later, Lu Shaorong took out a lighter outside the Hong Kong International Airport, burned half a photo of his ex-boyfriend into ashes, left his hometown, and flew to the other side of the ocean alone to welcome his new life.