Yingqu Liuzi was pampered by her wealthy daddy.

The Christmas holiday is still almost two weeks away.

After staying at the ancestral home for a few days, Shen Yu'an told Xize that she wanted to go back to China. It had been a long time since she had been back, so she decided to take advantage of the holiday to visit her parents.

Xize said, "Okay, I'll go with you."

Shen Yu'an was taken aback: "You're going too?"

"Yes, meet your parents."

Shen Yu'an opened his mouth, wanting to say, "You're meeting my parents so soon," but the words seemed a little too soon. They had been together for more than half a year, and he had met Xize's grandmother. Xize had introduced him to everyone at the family dinner, so it was only right and proper for him to go back and meet his parents.

"Then I'll tell them first." Shen Yu'an took out his phone and sent a message to his mother, saying that he was bringing his boyfriend home for the Chinese New Year.

Mom replied instantly with a string of exclamation marks, followed by a voice message. Shen Yu'an clicked on it and heard Mom say, "Really? When are you arriving? Should I come pick you up?"

Shen Yu'an breathed a sigh of relief when her mother sounded very happy. She turned to Xize and said, "My mom is really looking forward to it, but it's a bit sudden."

Xize said it was okay, he was ready.

On the day of departure, Shen Yu'an packed his luggage.

Mom sent the flight information twice to confirm. Dad asked in the group chat if she needed a car to pick her up. Shen Yu'an said no, she didn't need to, taking a taxi was fine.

On the plane, Shen Yu'an sat by the window, looking at the vast expanse of clouds outside, feeling a little uneasy.

He'd been with Caesar for so long, but he hadn't really told his family much about it. His parents only knew that he had a British boyfriend who was older than him and seemed quite wealthy.

As for words like noble or duke, he didn't dare to say them.

Xize sat next to him, flipping through a beginner's Chinese book, reading it very attentively.

Shen Yu'an leaned over and glanced at it, and found that it contained pinyin and simple sentences, such as "hello," "thank you," and "I love you."

"Are you learning Chinese?" Shen Yu'an asked.

Xize closed the book: "I'll look at it occasionally."

Shen Yu'an wanted to reach out and take the book to see how much he had learned, but Xize put the book in the bag in front of his seat and said, "No rush, you'll find out later."

Shen Yu'an glanced at him, the corners of her mouth curving slightly, but she didn't ask any further questions.

But he began to look forward to it, wondering what Xize would say.

The plane landed at Shen Yu'an's hometown airport in the afternoon. As soon as Shen Yu'an stepped out of the arrival gate, he saw his mother.

My mother stood in front of the crowd waiting to pick up passengers, wearing a dark blue down jacket, her hair tied up, craning her neck to look inside.

She smiled immediately when she saw Shen Yu'an and waved.

My dad was standing next to me, wearing a black coat and holding car keys. He looked calmer than my mom, but he was also looking this way.

Shen Yu'an walked over quickly, and his mother hugged him first, saying that he had lost weight.

Then she looked at Xize behind Shen Yu'an, her gaze lingered on him for two seconds, then she smiled and said "Hello".

Xize stood very straight, bowed slightly, and said in Chinese, "Hello, Auntie. Hello, Uncle."

The pronunciation wasn't perfect, but you could tell he was serious.

Shen Yu'an was stunned; he hadn't expected Xize to speak Chinese right away. His mother was also taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your Chinese is quite good."

Xize didn't understand and glanced at Shen Yu'an.

Shen Yu'an translated, "Mom is praising you." Xize nodded and said, "Thank you."

Dad stood beside him and looked Xize up and down a few times.

Xize was very tall, half a head taller than his father, and he wore a dark gray coat with a very upright posture.

After looking at it for a few seconds, Dad held out his hand and said, "Welcome to China."

Xize grasped his hand, nodded, and said in Chinese, "Thank you, Uncle."

The pronunciation was still not quite accurate, but it was better than the "hello" from before. Shen Yu'an watched from the side, feeling both warm inside and wanting to smile.

Dad was driving, Mom was in the passenger seat, and Shen Yu'an and Xize were in the back.

The mother turned around and spoke to them, asking Xize how he felt about his first time in China, while Shen Yu'an translated.

Xize said it was great; the airport was huge and the streets were lively. Mom smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."

Shen Yu'an listened from the side and thought Xize's Chinese was kind of cute.

When he speaks English, his pronunciation is very standard, with a typical British accent, and he is cool and composed.

Now when I speak Chinese, my tongue is a bit straight, like a primary school student reading a text, which is very different from my usual appearance.

When he arrived at his building, Shen Yu'an looked up at the building.

It's not tall, six stories, with white tiles on the exterior walls, and it looks quite old. But it's in the city center.

My parents live on the third floor in a two-bedroom apartment, which was allocated to them by their work unit back then. After Shen Yu'an went abroad, my parents renovated the living room, but it still has that familiar old feel to it.

When going upstairs, Xize was the last to walk.

The stairwell was a bit narrow, and he was tall, so he walked with his head down.

Shen Yu'an glanced back at him, worried that he might not be used to the environment of this old house. Xize met his gaze, shook his head slightly, and indicated that he was fine.

Once inside, her mother asked them to sit down while she went to pour tea. Shen Yu'an asked Xize to sit on the sofa, and then sat down next to him.

The sofa wasn't big, and the two sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Shen Yu'an said softly, "My place is a bit small, please don't mind." Xize said, "No, it's fine."

Dad brought out a box of tea from the study, saying it was good tea to brew for our distinguished guest.

Xize took the cup, smelled it, and said in English, "It smells good." His parents only knew basic English, and because they rarely spoke it in China, they had gradually forgotten it.

Shen Yu'an translated it to her father, who laughed and said that British tea is always served with milk, so how could they understand the aroma of pure tea?

Xize didn't quite understand, but seeing his father's smile, he nodded along.

Mom cooked a table full of dishes for dinner. There was braised pork ribs with potatoes, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, braised fish, and tomato and egg soup, all of which Shen Yu'an used to love to eat at home.

Xize sat at the dining table with chopsticks in front of him. Shen Yu'an, worried that he wouldn't be used to them, reached for a knife and fork, but Xize said no need, he had practiced. He then picked up the chopsticks and took a piece of potato; although his movements were a little unsteady, he managed to pick it up.

Mom said, "Wow, you're really good at using chopsticks!"

Shen Yu'an translated for Xize, who smiled slightly and said in Chinese, "Thank you, Auntie." His pronunciation wasn't quite accurate, but everyone understood.

Shen Yu'an sat beside Xize, watching him struggle to pick up food with his chopsticks. Seeing his parents' expressions gradually relax, Shen Yu'an finally felt a weight lifted from his heart.

He knew he would have a lot of conversations and time to spend with others tomorrow and the day after, but today's start was much better than he had imagined.

That evening, Shen Yu'an took Xize to her old room.

The room wasn't big, containing a single bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. Posters he drew in high school were still on the wall, and several old sketchbooks were on the desk.

Shen Yu'an stood in the room, feeling a little embarrassed, and said that my room was very small. He then asked if I wanted to stay at a hotel.

Xize stood next to him and said no, because he wanted to know about Shen Yu'an's past.

He looked around and his gaze settled on the painting on the wall.

The painting depicts a school playground with trees and a running track, and the brushstrokes are quite immature.

"Did you draw this?"

"Yeah, back in high school."

Xize looked at him for a few seconds, then turned to him and said in English, "You've been good at drawing since you were little."

Shen Yu'an laughed and said that it was drawn in the past, and now he felt that there were many problems with it.

Outside the window, I could occasionally hear the sounds of cars in the distance and children playing downstairs. Unlike London nights, the nights here were much more lively.

Shen Yu'an stood in the room where she had grown up, with Xize standing next to her, feeling as if two worlds had overlapped here.

He reached out and shook Xize's hand, saying in Chinese, "Welcome to my home."

Xize understood some of it, but not all of it. He looked down at Shen Yu'an and asked him what he had said.

Shen Yu'an smiled and repeated it again, this time slowing down his speech and reading it word by word.

Xize repeated after him, "Welcome... to my home."

Still no, but seeing his serious expression, Shen Yu'an stood on tiptoe and kissed him.