Is Mr. Ling doing well today?

Two thin snowfalls in city A sealed the tail of the twelfth lunar month, and it was already the thirty of the new year in a flash.

This morning, Liang Zhao was sitting in the waiting hall of the airport, preparing to take a flight home for the New Year.While browsing recent information on his mobile phone, a WeChat message from Ling Xuan suddenly flashed on the screen.

[Have you already set off? ]

[It's about to board the plane. ]

[It’s great that I can have a reunion dinner with my family. ]

There was a hint of bitterness in the envious tone of this sentence.

Liang Zhao pinched the corners of his eyes, clicked the nine-key grid, and sent a message.

[How about you, what are the arrangements for New Year's Eve? ]

[Work overtime on New Year's Eve.I don't rest on other people's rest, I don't rely on beauty and beauty, and I focus on making money to support my family. ]

Just reading between the lines, Liang Zhao could imagine the stubborn expression on Ling Xuan's face at the moment.

[It sounds bleak. ]

[No, but... if Lianggong promised to bring me special products back, it might not be so bleak. ]

[it is good. ]

After Liang Zhao readily agreed, a new message was sent back from the other end of the network.

[Then, all the best. ]

It takes a total of two hours to travel from city A to city H.In the afternoon, Liang Zhao's taxi stopped outside his house.

Before entering the door, I heard the familiar barking of dogs.When the entrance elevator opened automatically, two sturdy adult German Shepherds were already standing in front of them.

Seeing the return of the owner whom he hadn't seen for a long time, the mighty-looking Dongde rushed up like an excited child, and rushed back Liang Zhao who had just stepped half a step out of the elevator door.

"Okay, okay...be quiet and sit down."

Amidst the dogs barking and welcoming, Liang Zhao raised his hand and rubbed the clean and fluffy fur of the dogs, and gave instructions soothingly.Then turn around and say hello to the still busy family.

"Dad, Auntie, I'm back."

A dignified middle-aged lady stood by the dining table in the living room. Before she had time to take off her apron, she showed a gentle smile.

"Hey, the time is just right. Your dad and I were worried that you would not be in time for the New Year's Eve dinner."

"I'm sorry, auntie, I came back a little late, and I really can't buy a ticket for an earlier flight."

Liang Zhao changed his shoes and entered the door, put down the gifts he bought for everyone in the family, walked to the table covered with delicacies, vegetables and fruits and asked, "Is there anything else I can help with?"

Aunt Lin pointed to Professor Liang who was sitting on the sofa reading a book, and said in a gentle tone, "No need, you are tired enough just after getting off the plane, and Ah He has already helped to get ready. Sit down and rest, and you will be ready later." It's time to eat."

Taking a detour to the side of the sofa, Liang Zhao nodded humbly when he met his father's scrutinizing gaze.He leaned over and picked up the teapot on the low table, poured a cup and handed it over.

"Dad, how is your back injury recently? Are you still using the traditional Chinese medicine patch I sent last time?"

"It's almost ready." The good father looked indifferent, and took the tea from his son.

Seeing the tall figure sitting next to him, the old man sighed softly, and said helplessly after a while: "Are you back alone again?"

if not?

Liang Zhao smiled wryly in his heart, every time he returned home, the first thing he faced was such an idea.However, there was no expression on his face, and he nodded respectfully.

"Should you be able to stay at home for a few more days when you come back this time?"

"Yes, the institute is not too busy recently."

Liang Zhao lowered his head and played with the teacup. At first he thought it was just a casual question from his father, but soon he heard him say again: "Well, then don't arrange other things tomorrow. It just happens that you can accompany me to visit some old friends during the New Year's Eve. Visit home."

"Okay." Even though he felt strange, Liang Zhao didn't ask, but just clapped his hands and stood up, "Sit down for a while, I'll go to the kitchen to see Auntie."

Having said that, Liang Zhao, who walked into the kitchen, did not help Lawyer Lin, but took advantage of her inattention, and pulled out Liang Xihe, who was washing fruit seriously inside.

"Ouch, brother."

The younger brother was stuffed into the secluded tea room in a daze, leaning against the white wall, recalling the fear of being dominated by the elder brother's education when he was young, he raised his head in panic.

"Mom... Mom said that you are not allowed to beat children during the Chinese New Year. Have you forgotten? Besides, I have done nothing wrong. Don't come here. If you touch me again, I will call someone, Mom! Help..."

"To shut up."

Looking at the guy with a strong desire to survive and perform, Liang Zhao impatiently rubbed his ears, frowned and said, "Why are you panicking if you haven't committed a crime?"

After speaking, he glanced at the direction of the living room, and tentatively said, "I want to ask you, is there anything special at home recently?"

Hearing this sentence, Liang Xihe put away the death-defying look on his face, and asked softly, "Special? What do you mean?"

"For example, the old man has always disliked the excitement of congratulations. Why would he want to take the initiative to come to the door this time and bring me with him?"

Under Liang Zhao's reminder, Liang Xi and Huan Ran showed embarrassment on their handsome faces, "... Dad won't let me tell you about this in advance."

Liang Zhao remained calm, just lowered his head, and unhurriedly rolled up his sleeves.Before he could hold on to the other hand, the younger brother who knew the times and acted as a hero surrendered.

"Don't, don't, I'm cowardly... In fact, you can guess it."

"Yesterday morning, colleagues from my father's school came to our house to pay their respects to the early years, and the youngest daughter of his old friend's family also came together. It's just... I am studying for a doctorate at Z University, and I haven't found a date at the age of 25. It should be, I don't need to continue. Have you said it?"

Liang Xihe tested the elder brother's expression while talking.

Liang Zhao's eyes gradually darkened, and it was indeed a forced blind date.Exactly as expected, the old man is afraid that he has acquired the bad habit of leading his son.

A lively New Year's Eve dinner has come to an end, and it's still early to watch the New Year's Eve.

Liang Zhao was kicked out of the kitchen by Lawyer Lin as soon as he finished packing the dishes.Walking back to the living room, he saw his father sitting quietly in front of the chess table, so he went up to ask.

"Want to play next?"

"kindness."

Professor Liang lowered his head to pick up the white chess pieces.The two quietly held one side each, and with the layout of the moves, the situation on the chessboard gradually became clear.

Since his son learned chess when he was young, his good father is no longer his opponent.If it wasn't for Liang Zhao's deliberate concession, there would be no way to persist in these rounds.

When Liangzhao was coping well in the game, he unconsciously remembered what he heard from his younger brother just now.

Straightening his back, he hinted while playing chess: "Dad's chess skills are not as good as this time last year. Thinking too much will cause you more unnecessary troubles."

The bland tone made the good father's chess hand pause, and he floated in the air for a few seconds before falling down, and he understood the meaning of it.

"What's so strange about this? I'm old. I'm afraid I'll think about it more when I retire in two years, so you better hurry up."

The words have already reached this point, and Liang Zhao has no intention of avoiding it.

With the arrow of the bow opened, he opened his mouth to discuss: "Can you let Ah He accompany you for the visit tomorrow? I don't want to go, and your arrangement makes me uncomfortable."

Faced with his son's refusal, Professor Liang held his breath slightly, but his tone remained calm: "Think I'm willing to worry about this for you? You arrange it yourself. It's been almost three years since you were demobilized. Have you ever had a girlfriend? "

"But I don't want to. Is it really so important to marry or not? It has reached the point where I don't care if I want to or not?"

Liang Zhao and his father have always been cautious when talking, if they are not really conflicting, they will not use two rhetorical questions in a row.

After speaking, the living room fell silent.

The good father stared at the table and board for a moment, hesitantly, even though he knew it would be a dead game, he still dropped the chess in place.Then, accompanied by a few soft "dang lang" sounds, he put the remaining white pieces back into the barrel.

"If you don't want to play chess, just accept it. As for other things, you should think about it carefully."

"No need." Liang Zhao let out an inaudible breath: "I can have a showdown with you now, lest the longer the time drags on, the greater the accumulation of disappointment. I really have no idea of ​​falling in love and getting married. Not now, nor in the future There will be."

Finally, Professor Liang's always kind expression froze, and even his gaze became a little colder. "You want me, as a father, to agree that you will be alone forever. Is that what you mean? Liang Zhao."

"I'm just expressing my thoughts, I don't mean to offend you, and I don't want to upset you by your side. In addition, there is an aid project in the institute recently, which I have considered for a long time. If you agree, I want to go Wait a while."

As soon as the words fell, there was a crackling sound in the living room.The good father got angry, knocked down the chessboard, and spilled the tea on the table.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Dad, don't get excited..." Liang Zhao quickly reached out to straighten the teacup, but he pushed it away forcefully.

Lawyer Lin who stayed in the inner hall heard the movement outside, but did not come out to check.In her heart, her husband and stepson are two rational and well-organized people. The friction between father and son can be resolved by themselves, and it would be embarrassing to come out to persuade them immediately.

The atmosphere instantly cools down.

Liang Zhao pursed his thin lips, bent his knees silently, and knelt on the edge of the chessboard regardless of the pain of the black and white chess pieces.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

The good father was so angry that his wrists trembled, he gripped the corner of the table tightly, and looked down at the son in front of him, moistening his lips several times before making a sound.

"When I was young...you wanted to give up Go, and I agreed; you wanted to take the military doctor exam, and I also supported it; later, I didn't agree with it at all, but I still didn't stop it; I finally waited to recover, and you said you didn't like it. Be a teacher and go to work in a research institute, I didn't force you..."

"But Liangzhao, did I give you too much freedom all the time? As a result, you can do whatever you want now, and act recklessly without any scruples in your eyes!"

Liang Zhao didn't know what else to say, so he simply didn't open his mouth, lowered his gaze, and knelt quietly until his father calmed down before talking.

The good father who was standing by the side also had a bad feeling in his heart. Too many words were choked together and he couldn't speak. After a long while, he only said "you think about it for me" before throwing up his sleeves and going back to the room.

The pain under Liang Zhao's knees spread gradually, and while the tiny chess pieces tortured his flesh, they also upset him.

"Puff hiss—"

After kneeling for an unknown amount of time, Liang Xihe suddenly poked his head out from behind the screen, looking at the mess on the ground in shock. "What's the matter, Boss, have you been served by the family law?"

"Get lost." Liang Zhao snorted coldly.

The younger brother snorted lightly, turned around and complained, "Dad, my brother didn't reflect on himself at all..."

Halfway through the conversation, he turned his head and peeked at Liang Zhao, but he didn't respond, it seemed that he really didn't care about it.

The boy stopped making trouble, approached lightly, lifted the teacup, wiped the overflowing tea, then squatted down beside the eldest brother, sighing.

"Hey, why don't you tell him directly, and you still engage in a roundabout policy, stepping on the thunder?"

"Ahe, one of his sons has come out of the closet." Liang Zhao said in a low tone, "Before you had a showdown with your family, when did you see the old man arrange a blind date for me?"

"He's actually panicking now."

When Dad accepted the matter between his younger brother and Ye Bai, he had mixed feelings in his heart.Although he can tolerate and understand same-sex love, he is also convinced that this is not ethical.

If the two sons are like this, the father will definitely suspect that there is a problem with his family education, and he will even be ashamed of his wife who died early.Because her only wish is for her son to be safe and healthy, marry a wife and have children.

Besides, I am not exactly the same as Ah He.The younger brother's sexual orientation was not a problem at first, he just fell in love with a special person, he was willing to love whether it was a man or a woman.

After a moment of silence, Liang Zhao said helplessly, "Even if I didn't say that, he would have guessed it now."

"Then you really plan to go to Africa and not come back?"

As soon as Liang Xihe's words came out of his mouth, he realized that he had exposed the fact that he had been listening to the corner just now. Fortunately, Liang Zhao didn't care.

"How is it possible, hide for a while."

When the old man's anger dissipated, he realized that as long as his son was by his side, he would not be as embarrassed as today.

"Hey, Lianggong, are you also in this embarrassment? I thought I was the only one who could do such a coercive thing."

Liangxi and hippie grinned and sighed, then got up and said: "I know that if you want to bring someone back directly, half the success is half the success if you are satisfied with the candidate. You are good, you are tough here. Come on, let me help you spy on the military situation, see See if you can persuade me not to make the old man angry again."

After his younger brother left, Liang Zhao was in a daze again quietly, until the sound of lively firecrackers sounded outside the window.

In the pitch-black night, colorful light spots dragged trails into the air, bursting into colorful fireworks, as if stars were falling.

Ding--

Liang Zhao was watching the fireworks indifferently, when suddenly a message came from his younger brother's cell phone.

[Report to the boss: Persuasion failed.With the character of the old man, he will never leave you at home for the New Year.Hurry up and book your flight ticket, otherwise it will be too late. ]

Liang Zhao narrowed his eyes and replied indifferently.

[Liang Xihe, are you looking for a fight? ]

Before the message was sent out, the faint sound of footsteps approached.Liang Zhao looked up and saw his father standing not far away with a tired face.

He stood still for a moment, and finally said in a low voice, in a compromised voice: "Get up. Do whatever you like, and don't dangle in front of me."

Probably not everyone can have the experience of being kicked out of the house on New Year's Day.

Twenty hours later, Liang Zhao sat in the waiting hall again.While rummaging through the package I carried with me, my fingers touched a box that was still warm.

It's homemade steamed dumplings, with a post-it note written by Aunt Lin on it.

[The father who gave you absolute freedom since you were a child has become more verbose and difficult now, right?

Because people, once they get older, they only have children in their hearts, and they always hope to have a family relationship around their knees.Don't worry too much about it, just give him some more time.

"It's New Year's Eve after eating dumplings, bring him a box, he likes stuffed shrimp and cabbage", your dad said. 】