It Seems Like My Senior Seems to Like Me - Chapter 102

That night, Chen Meijuan stayed awake all night, dragging Ye Hua along as they used her clumsy smartphone to search through every term related to same-sex relationships.

They saw Qu Tang confessing her love on the award stage, and the line “The moon rises above the willow, you are the galaxy that recklessly destroys me” made countless audience members cry.

They saw a girl, misunderstood by her parents, being driven out into the rain and taking shelter under a simple building.

They saw people bullied for liking the same sex, and those who said they would have to climb to the very top of society just to enjoy the most ordinary treatment.

“Ye Ge, do you think the child looks a lot like you?”

Chen Meijuan leaned against her husband, her sickly face streaked with dried tears.

“I have this illness, I’m disabled, I can’t have children. Back then… why did you marry me?”

After an entire night of turmoil, Ye Hua felt like smoking, but then remembered Chen Meijuan’s frail body, so he held back and exhaled a heavy breath:

“In truth, life is pretty short. Finding someone you want to spend your whole life with isn’t easy. Back then, Jia Jia’s mother entrusted her to me, and I was panicking. I was just a small-time chef, I couldn’t provide her with the best environment to grow up in. All I hoped for was that she would be happy—that was enough.”

On New Year’s Eve, snow fell, feather-like flakes covering the world, blanketing everything in pure white. It was as if many of the troubles of the world had settled along with the snow.

Across from the station, Pei Suye woke up early in the hotel and went out alone. By eleven, she called Ye Wanxia to wake her.

“Mm…”

Half-asleep, Ye Wanxia reached for her phone. She opened her eyes a sliver and saw the incoming call. She rolled over to her side—no one was there.

“Where did you go…?”

Her voice, still thick with sleep, was like a lazy cat.

“You little sleepyhead, wake up.”

The gentle voice from the phone instantly brightened her mood. Ye Wanxia hid in the blanket, giggling, then coquettishly lifted her chin.

“You’re the little sleepyhead.”

They spent a few days together, and both their moods improved significantly. Seeing her talk back, Pei Suye felt a weight lift off her heart. She urged:

“Quick, wash up and get dressed. I’m waiting downstairs.”

Pulling back the curtains, Ye Wanxia saw a world of white. The grand transport hub was evenly covered in snow, under a clear blue sky—the view crisp and clean.

Feeling renewed, she ran to the bathroom to freshen up, then hurried downstairs.

In the hotel lobby, Pei Suye stood by the front desk. Her slate-gray stand-collar coat reached her knees, and a white scarf was wrapped once around her neck, the ends hanging long in front. She held a bouquet of full blue roses in her right hand, her gaze toward Ye Wanxia soft and tender.

“Dr. Ye, Happy New Year.”

Ye Wanxia took small, quick steps, took the flowers into her arms, and tilted her head coquettishly.

“Good performance. Full marks.”

Pei Suye raised an eyebrow: “Only a verbal reward?”

Ye Wanxia glanced around—the front desk staff had gone to get water, and the lobby was empty. She pressed a kiss to Pei Suye’s cheek.

Smack!

The first beauty of New Year’s Eve.

They gazed into each other’s eyes. Ye Wanxia felt this person was becoming more and more handsome, and with satisfaction said:

“Tomorrow begins the new year. I wonder how you’ll be next New Year—maybe even more handsome?”

Pei Suye playfully pinched her nose: “What do you mean? Same as this year.”

Holding hands, they walked, their fingers intertwined inside Pei Suye’s coat pockets, occasionally scratching at her palms.

In Tong City, the New Year’s atmosphere was thicker than in the big cities. Vendors set up firework stalls everywhere, greeting with the local dialect: the first words always “Happy New Year.”

“Xiao Yezi,” Ye Wanxia said along the snowy sidewalk, leaving a trail of footprints. “Should we buy some gifts and visit home?”

Hearing this, Ye Wanxia’s hand tightened, and she lowered her gaze. “I’m afraid going back will make them unhappy again.”

Pei Suye slowed, turned her to face her, and said:

“But after all, they are your family. And they love you, don’t they?”

Ye Wanxia pursed her lips, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Pei Suye continued: “Your uncle has been messaging me these past two days, asking if you’ve been eating well. They’re worried about you. Your aunt and uncle seem very reasonable. How about we buy some New Year goods and go see them?”

After all, they hadn’t been home for two years while they were abroad.

Ye Wanxia lifted her eyes. In the biting wind, a snowflake drifted down and landed on Pei Suye’s brow, melting instantly.

Pei Suye always made her feel like this—not a blazing sun, but enough to melt the glaciers in her heart.

With their decision made, the two took a taxi to the nearest mall. By coincidence, after three full days of thought, Ye Hua and Chen Meijuan also arrived on New Year’s Eve to pick up Ye Wanxia and Pei Suye for the family reunion dinner.

At the hotel entrance, Ye Hua helped Chen Meijuan ask the front desk. Ye Wanxia and Pei Suye were tall and slim, with pretty faces; a brief description was enough to identify them.

Unexpectedly, the front desk woman looked mysterious, as if she were about to help the parents catch a rebellious child.

“Is this your child?”

The forty-year-old woman’s facial expression revealed more than her inner thoughts.

“She was just here, kissing another girl! What a corruption of social morals! But don’t worry, nobody else saw it, only me. You should take her home, discipline her, and let her go out when she’s ‘normal’ again!”

“Corrupting social morals,” “not normal,” “discipline”—every word stabbed at Chen Meijuan’s ears like a needle.

At that moment, all she had read these past two days about discrimination against same-sex couples flooded her mind. She stared at the front desk, her slightly swollen face twitching, a trembling breath escaping her throat:

“Not normal? You’re the one who’s not normal!”

She limped forward—if Ye Hua hadn’t supported her, she wouldn’t have stood—hands pressed against the front desk, voice shaking as she accused:

“Social morals are being ruined by people like you! Do you know my daughter is a graduate student? She studied in the US, do you know what the US is like? Can you even afford her plane tickets? My daughter has a brilliant future—working as a doctor in a top veterinary hospital! And you—you can only be a front desk clerk! What gives you the right to scold her?!”

No one expected normally meek Chen Meijuan to shout like this. The other person had hit her soft spot, touched her bottom line.

She stared at the stunned front desk clerk and delivered her final words:

“I support everything my daughter does!”

As soon as she finished, a trembling, disbelieving voice came from the doorway:

“Mom.”

At the entrance were Ye Wanxia and Pei Suye, who had just returned from buying gifts. They heard every word, watched their mother argue without hesitation, and saw her resolutely declare her support.

In the end, mother and daughter cried as they hugged. Her mother’s frail hands, like tree bark—dry and rough—still held all the tenderness of a lifetime.

“My body isn’t well, I can’t stay with you for long. While I’m alive, I hope you can be happy.”

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