NOVEL NEXT 45
Chapter 45: Let’s go together
Soon, after finishing his phone call, Xi Tian returned to the room with a relaxed expression.
When Xi Tian came back, the boys acted as enthusiastic as before, but to Ellis, their smiles seemed like clown masks, making them appear inexplicably hideous.
When he began to feel disgusted, all his irritation showed on his face. Xi Tian quickly noticed his change and advised him, “If you’re feeling uncomfortable, go rest.”
The boys heckled from behind.
Ellis went straight to the bedroom and, before closing the door, heard one of the boys make a pointed comment, “Brother Xi has such a good temperament. As expected from someone from a big city. Here, females are supposed to always help out.”
Around dinnertime, Xi Tian saw the boys off. He was in a good mood and, as Ellis cooked dinner, he came over like before, hugging him from behind and whispering about the amusing events earlier.
Ellis thought for a moment but decided not to spoil his partner’s good mood.
After dinner, Ellis noticed that the lights were on in the neighbor’s house. He took some baked cookies from the supermarket and went to visit the landlord.
Ellis knocked on Rutherford’s door. Rutherford was holding a large bag of chips, watching a soap opera on TV.
Rutherford looked questioningly at his tenant.
Ellis gave a wry smile and, following a method he learned from forums, blamed himself for a mistake to gain sympathy: “I messed up dinner and upset my partner. He kept talking about how delicious the cheesy baked corn you brought to the party was, so I’m here to ask for your recipe.”
Rutherford’s expression relaxed, and he invited Ellis inside.
Rutherford sighed, saying that male partners are all delicate and pleasing them is a lot of work.
Ellis handed over the cookies at the right moment and smiled, agreeing with him.
To get information from someone, the most natural way is to start with daily small talk and then gently steer the conversation toward what you want to know.
From Rutherford, Ellis learned about Bill.
Bill himself wasn’t from the Kenna Star but from a small town on another secondary planet. His partner was originally from Kenna Star, who brought Bill back after going to university, ignoring others’ advice to marry him.
Their life was good, but when Bill was pregnant with their first child, they didn’t realize it and he miscarried. After that, his partner always believed it was because Bill wasn’t careful enough and insisted on working.
Kenna Star has a very important tradition: they highly value children’s growth, placing children’s status far above adults in a family. Losing the first child left his partner depressed, even making him cry for three days at his father’s home.
After that, there was a rift between them. His disheartened partner started drinking and, being comforted by another sub-female, ended up having an affair.
“Did Bill’s relationship with his partner really end just because of the child’s loss?”
“Losing a child is a huge blow. It’s not easy for the male either.”
“Did Bill and his partner really lose all feelings for each other?”
Ellis pressed on the topic of emotions.
“Feelings don’t put food on the table. Which family in this town isn’t staying together for the kids? Children need a complete home to grow up healthy.”
“Last night at the party, I saw Binger’s partner hugging someone else…”
“You’re from a big city, so you don’t understand the customs here. When couples first get married, their feelings are often great. But after a few years, the novelty wears off, and they fight. The males get bored.
Males are creatures driven by their lower bodies. They’re always looking for something new. You can’t control them, so you might as well let them be, as long as the family stays intact. Binger is a good female. He keeps his home tidy, his kids are well-mannered, and even his male respects him.”
“If his partner respects him, why would he hug someone else in front of him?”
“You must be young and inexperienced. Respect and hugging someone else are two different things.
I don’t know how it is in the big city, but here we have a saying: ‘He is the happiest in the world because his family is harmonious.’
What the males do isn’t important. What matters is the harmony among the family members.”
Rutherford said this with a distant look, as if seeing into the past.
As Ellis left, Rutherford’s words kept ringing in his ears. They made sense but conflicted with the values he grew up with.
Females grow up hearing love stories and have romantic fantasies about love and marriage. They keep a sense of romance around the opposite sex and strive to be with the one they love.
Love is about two people stepping out of their own worlds to create a new one together.
Love is the foundation of marriage, and marriage is the culmination of love.
But in Boulder Town, people didn’t value love as much as they valued the upbringing of children and family harmony.
This led to males being irresponsible to the family, while females shifted their focus from the husband-wife relationship to the parent-child relationship.
They might raise well-mannered children in public but can’t stop them from mimicking the adults’ disrespect for females.
Thinking about Bill, Ellis felt a sense of sorrow.
When he got home, the kitchen was filled with the sounds of cooking. Xi Tian was there, beating egg whites and reading a baking tutorial. After what Ellis had just experienced, he felt a warmth in his heart.
Xi Tian saw Ellis and immediately handed him the egg whites, asking him to help stir.
Ellis took it and stirred in a clockwise direction.
Under the warm yellow light, Xi Tian was wearing a light-colored apron from the supermarket, which made a rustling sound as he moved.
He was concentrating on practicing piping cream patterns on a plate beside him, his head lowered.
The light cast on his face, highlighting one side with a beautiful curve.
He was blessed by the heavens; despite spending every day together, Ellis still couldn’t help but marvel at his delicacy when looking closely.
Ellis put down what he was holding, walked behind Xi Tian, and embraced him.
At this moment, he suddenly understood why males loved this kind of hug so much.
Their body temperatures touched, their breaths mingled.
No one was closer to them; no one was dearer.
If a marriage lost its love, the intimacy of words and touch from the partner, the trust and support of each other, Ellis couldn’t imagine how terrible that would be.
He whispered in Xi Tian’s ear, “Thank goodness I have you, my love.”
Xi Tian, having his flower pattern ruined by Ellis’s actions, patted the hands hugging him from behind and teased:
“Just realizing my worth now?”
“Yes.”
Ellis’s voice was muffled.
Perhaps he wasn’t the most outstanding partner, but Xi Tian chose him and stayed with him until now.
Misunderstanding and guessing, understanding and tolerance.
He should also learn to trust and communicate, just as Xi Tian treated him.
He had no reason to place all the responsibility on Xi Tian alone.
This was their life together, their future.
As the sun once again shone on the earth, everything sprouted, birds sang, and life was everywhere.
Ellis, holding a shovel, planted flower seeds in the garden.
Xi Tian had a strong obsession with flowers. Moving into their new home had made them miss the planting season, and now he was determined to grow some himself.
However, Xi Tian got tired easily and couldn’t squat for long, so Ellis took over this task.
Outside the yard, a fashionably dressed person with a sun hat and large sunglasses, obviously different from Boulder Town locals, stood by the mailbox, looking around. He checked his surroundings and, seeing no one, examined the accessory on his chest carefully.
Ellis could recognize that this was a clear characteristic of people from Star #24, who often lived outside their home planet. They made their terminals into various shiny accessories, and this person was evidently from Star #24.
He seemed a bit hesitant, his steps moving forward and then back, but finally, he walked up to Ellis and asked, “Hello, could I have a glass of water?”
His voice was soft and gentle, clearly that of an sub-female.
Ellis nodded, went inside, and filled a glass with water.
The sub-female took the glass and sipped it delicately, looking delicate and endearing.
“Thank you. Without you, I really wouldn’t know what to do.
My terminal’s map hasn’t updated, and I couldn’t find the hotel. I was so thirsty.”
Hearing the commotion, Xi Tian, who was easily distracted by outside noises, curiously came out to see what was happening.
At that moment, the sub-female suddenly exclaimed in delight, “Xi Tian! It’s you!”
Xi Tian looked puzzled.
The sub-female took off his sunglasses. “It’s me, Posie!”
Xi Tian recalled for a second and then suddenly realized, “Oh my gosh, what brings you here?”
Then he enthusiastically hugged Posie.
Hearing this name, Ellis’s inner alarm bells began to ring loudly.
This sub-female was none other than his partner’s former boyfriend.
The one who, during college, was very enthusiastic about running marathons.