To My Youth [BL]

[32] You Now Walk on a Different Road (1/2)

When Gu Xiao came home, their father was already sitting on the floor. 

It appeared Gu Heiyu and their father had already been talking quite a bit, but had not reached the main point since they were waiting for Gu Xiao to come first.

 Their father's face carried an intense wave of nervousness that it couldn't be concealed by the darkness of the night. Whatever their father was going to tell them determined their entire future.

"Gu Xiao, Gu Heiyu. There's something I must tell you," their father said.

With only a vague idea of what he would tell them, it still surprised them that their father decided to speak about that person. 

Whilst Gu Xiao sat before their father, he was still pondering about his confession.

If his family situation wasn't so complicated, would he have found it much easier to express his feelings earlier on?

After all, the reason his past romantic relationships never worked out was because he refused to reveal all of himself. 

He was afraid that once he revealed how listless he was and how impoverished his family was, their view of him would immediately change into something pitiful, and they would feel a great burden to take care of him.

"I heard you have met Miss Luo today?"

"I met her. Gu Xiao didn't," Gu Heiyu said.

"The truth is..."

No matter how hard their father tried to let these words leave his dry throat, he didn't know how to correlate his thoughts and arrange them into proper sentences without sounding improper. 

A bird occasionally broke the silence within this tiny home. Other sounds filtered in, things they couldn't precisely identify. 

Something was trampling on fallen leaves. Something heavy rustling the branches. The sound of the deep breaths of their father inhaling and exhaling. 

With the wind knocking on their windows, the occasional creaks of the walls sounded.

His mixes of 'um' and 'ah' continued for a while until Gu Xiao spoke. "Dad, how long have you been seeing Miss Luo?"

An advertisement break filled the gaps of the quietness. Long, heavy silences reigned over the house that the atmosphere within this small home became strained.

"One year?"

Both of them widened their eyes, and their mouths dropped.

"One, one year?"

"It was a speculation we had around six months ago, but we didn't know you have been seeing Miss Luo for one year," Gu Heiyu blabbered.

"I'm sorry."

The two scratched their necks, completely speechless.

"Well, if dad is happy, then I am fine with it," Gu Heiyu said hesitantly.

Gu Xiao fiddled with the edges of her sleeves, unsure of how to speak his thoughts, yet he allowed a few words to leave his lips.

"I know we are talking about her, but what about your debt?"

What if this woman was simply playing around with their father? Looking at his father's state, what could he possibly offer her? 

Judging by what Gu Heiyu said, Luo appeared to be someone who was well off, so why would she fall for a married man who already had two grown children and had a piling debt constantly chasing him like cat and dog?