Chapter 57: Meeting an old friend

It was a stark contrast to her earlier village shrew appearance, making Grandpa Wang almost spurt out the tea he had just drunk.

He coughed violently, along with the other elders, who almost choked on melon seeds at the old lady’s sudden transformation.

A head peeked out from behind the old man.

"Grandma Tan, it’s me, Xiao Feng. I came to apologize for yesterday’s shock."

"What are you talking about, our dearest Xiao Feng? You’re the one who received the greatest shock, so why should you apologize? Come here, my dear little boy. Were you hurt last night? Let Grandma take a look at you."

Grandma Tan’s voice was cloyingly sweet and affectionate as she walked forward and pulled Lin Feng towards her, making Lin Feng turn around as she checked his body all over.

However, the old woman’s eyes kept glancing at Grandpa Bai’s figure every few seconds.

It was so obvious that Lin Feng was speechless and forgot his previous awkwardness.

Perhaps Grandma Tan’s antics had helped ease the awkwardness between the two parties. The subsequent greetings and apologies went smoothly, and everyone welcomed each other warmly.

"Don’t be so polite, Old Bai. Lin Feng is a good boy, and what happened last night won’t change how we treat him as a lovely junior."

Despite his composed appearance, Lin Feng was still worried about how the elders would react after discovering his secrets. Seeing how open-minded everyone was, whether their acceptance was sincere or not, still brought him some comfort.

When the elders learned that Lin Feng would be returning to Beijing, they were all surprised.

Grandma Tan immediately asked, "Is it because of what happened last night? Actually, I think it would be better if you stayed here in Bohai Town. It’s much quieter here compared to Beijing. Once the festival is over, everything will return to normal."

"Listen to yourself!" one of the elders interrupted, rolling his eyes at the old lady. "Beijing is Lin Feng’s real home. Now that his family is taking him back, isn’t that for the best?"

Grandma Tan pouted, then suddenly turned her gaze toward Grandpa Bai, her eyes filling with sorrow.

Alas, I’ve seen you for the first time today, but I have to bid you farewell today too. What a tragedy!

Pretending not to notice the intense gaze fixed on him, Grandpa Bai remained composed as he turned to Grandpa Wang.

"I heard your advice helped Lin Feng a great deal. Would you mind if we had a private conversation?"

Grandpa Wang stood up smoothly and gestured toward the greenhouse. "Of course. Please, follow me."

Lin Feng and Grandpa Bai followed him. However, just as Lin Feng was about to enter the greenhouse, Grandpa Bai raised a hand to stop him.

"Ah Feng, please stay by the door and keep watch."

Lin Feng paused, glancing at Grandpa Bai before looking at Grandpa Wang. After a moment, he nodded obediently and stepped back.

The greenhouse door closed behind the two elders. Inside, they strolled among the flowers, admiring them in silence.

Nearly a minute passed before Grandpa Wang finally broke the silence.

"What do you want to ask me? Don’t keep the child waiting too long. I’m an old man already. You don’t have to worry about offending me."

Grandpa Bai paused before finally asking his questions. "Old Wang, how should a family treat someone like Xiao Feng? I mean, we want to support him, but wouldn’t treating him differently only make things more awkward?"

Grandpa Wang warned him, "Don’t treat him differently. He’s still the same person he was before."

"What if our relatives say something unpleasant and hurt his feelings?"

"Have you gone senile?" Grandpa Wang rolled his eyes. "You’re the head of the family. Tell them to watch their mouths. There’s no need to make a big scene, but you shouldn’t let them get away with hurting him, either."

Grandpa Bai ignored the man’s sour words. "I suppose that’s true. But what about his future? Marriage, children, all those things..."

Grandpa Bai continued with one question after another. Although Grandpa Wang’s answers were often laced with barbs, he still patiently shared his thoughts based on his own experiences.

It was nothing more than how a family ought to deal with societal pressure, what he should do in certain situations, and other topics related to homosexuality.

What Grandpa Wang found infuriating was that Old Bai even dared to ask how to properly advise Lin Feng on protecting himself during sex and whether he should tell the boy to take the initiative to be the top!

Grandpa Wang wanted to hit this old bastard several times but held back.

However, the other went on and on until finally, Grandpa Wang glared at him several times before losing his patience.

"You used to be a fierce wolf back in the day. How did you become so soft-hearted? You would never have asked these questions before."

"You already said it. That was then; now is different. It’s not your kid, so you don’t understand."

"Are you looking for a fight?"

The pair of old men glared at each other for a while before realizing that their conversation had gone astray.

Grandpa Bai let out a long and heavy sigh. "...Fine. You’re right. I suppose I worry too much now that I’ve gotten old."

"It’s precisely why I never agreed to surrogacy or adoption," Grandpa Wang said, waving a hand. "How nice it is to live a carefree life!"

After a brief silence, Grandpa Bai asked, "You’ve lived through all this yourself. Back then, I can still remember when you threw away the chance to inherit your family business and turned the Rong family upside down. Did you regret it?"

Grandpa Wang smiled and shook his head. "No, not at all. I’ve earned my own money with my own hands."

He paused, remembering something, and then advised his old friend. "Xiao Feng felt very insecure before because he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He didn’t have the means to support himself and only relied on others. Because of this, he always felt uncertain about his future. I told him he should earn his own money."

Grandpa Bai frowned. "The Bai family can afford to support him."

Grandpa Wang shook his head. "It’s not enough, it won’t give him the sense of security he needs. He must learn to stand on his own two feet."

Grandpa Bai: "He is entitled to inherit shares in the company. The dividends are more than enough to secure a luxurious lifestyle."

"You’re missing the point. What he needs is spiritual sustenance for himself."

The air became quiet.

Then an old man’s sigh sounded. "What can I do, then?"

Grandpa Wang’s gaze was wistful.

"You’re doing quite well right now," he murmured.

Much better than my own family, he added inwardly.

"What matters most is knowing that he doesn’t have to hide who he is from the people closest to him."

It was also what he truly wanted back then, during his youth.

In this regard, Lin Feng was lucky.

Grandpa Bai looked toward the boy standing outside the greenhouse.

"Then I suppose I should stop worrying so much about what his life will look like. I’ll just have to make sure he knows he can count on us, his grandfather and his uncle."

Grandpa Wang smiled and nodded in satisfaction, walking past the old man and heading to the door while saying, "Exactly. Sometimes, that’s all a person needs."

Lin Feng was staring wide-eyed at the message on his phone when he heard the greenhouse door open.

He was flustered for a moment as he pressed the lock button, but he calmed down when he turned around to smile at the elders.

Only his red ears showed signs of his racing heart.