This is Us

Chapter: 十

Qian Rui froze up when she heard the front door open, and her mother and father walk in. She swallowed, already dreading the moment she would see them.

Her mother walked in first, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Qian Rui smiled softly, trying to hide every lie in her face.

"Good morning, mother, how was your night?" She asked, acting innocent as if she didn't already know.

"My daughter." Her mother sat down, taking Qian Rui's hand in hers. "Please don't tell me you knew that Zi Xuan was hanging around with that sinful boy." Qian Rui smiled sweetly, even though she knew Yu Hao too well. She had known about their relationship for longer than anyone else.

"No, of course I didn't." She said, keeping her cute face.

"Oh good." She replied. "I cannot believe that after all we've done for him..." she let her head fall into her free hand. "Gosh, I cannot even finish the sentence. It's just terrible, that's what it is. I can't even look at him."

Good thing you don't have to, anymore.

"But... ma, don't you think that... since times are changing and all, maybe we should change our views? I mean, Zi Xuan has put in so much effort in volleyball and school to make us happy, maybe we should accept this. He's happy, after all."

She seemed to think about it for a second, but the thoughts went to waste. "No, I don't... I don't think so. Why would god give me a son if he won't even gift me grandchildren to love? Have I been that much of a sinner in my life?"
Qian Rui loves her mom, but when she was acting like this it made her crazy.

Her dad burst into the room, his eyes wide with a mix between fear and surprise. "Zi Xuan's gone."

Qian Rui manipulated her face to seem surprised, even though she knew where he was and exactly why. Her mother looked up from her hands.

"What do you mean, gone?"

"He's gone. His room is mostly empty." Her father looked genuinely afraid, watching as her mother turned to her, face contorted in anger.
"Did you know about this?"

"No, I just woke up." She lied effortlessly. She was used to doing it so she could sneak out and meet up with boys, but now, all she wanted to do was keep her brother and Yu Hao safe. "I didn't even hear them leave."

Her mother shook her head, face falling to her hands once again. "Sinner boy." She repeated over and over again, until the words began to mean nothing to Qian Rui.

•••

Yu Hao had been best friends with his mom since he was seven. That's when his dad had left, leaving both him and his mom to fend for themselves. At first it was a struggle. His mom picked up multiple jobs to support him, and he did his best at school to try to impress her, even though he was never the smartest. They used to have movie nights every Saturday, and she would let him stay up late.

He knew it wasn't going to be easy coming out to his mom right now, but he knew she was going to love him no matter what. And, he knew he had to keep Zi Xuan safe no matter what happened.

He opened the door to his house, squeezing Zi Xuan's hand as his mom came to the door in an apron. Her expression turned from happy to confused in a single second, seeing her son holding the boy's hand.

"Ma." He said, his voice slightly shaking. "I need to tell you something."

She glanced up at his face, then back down at their hands, clasped together.

"What is it?"

"This is Zi Xuan... he... he's my boyfriend." Yu Hao glanced at the older, obviously stressed. "I planned to tell you later, but his parents found out, and... they're super religious..." Zi Xuan watched as his boyfriend's eyes filled with tears, and he stutters the next words, trying and failing to get them.

His mother, shaking her head slightly, moved close to Yu Hao, pulling him into a tight embrace. He let go of Zi Xuan's hand, putting both his arms around his mother and holding her tight.

He wasn't sure if it was just the stress of the pressure of hiding it for so long, but it meant so much to him he was getting over-emotional, the access feelings spilling out onto her shirt through his eyes.

When his mom pulled away, she put a hand against his cheek. "Oh Yu Hao, I knew something was going on when your grades got so much better and you joined volleyball. I just didn't know it was this." She smiled, moving her hand to her sons back and looking at Zi Xuan, who had a shy smile on his face.
"Hi." He smiled, making her smile back.
"I think a introduction would be much better over a good breakfast, don't you boys?"

A/N:
Some pretty heavy stuff I'm writing about and trying to make it more funny. The sad reality is that a lot of gay people in countries like China go through this. We have to have that awareness, because if not, nothing will change.
If only I was this good at talking in my Social Studies class 😂😂
Vote, comment and please stay tuned for next chapter!