Act 31: Getting Back Together

Liang Ze: Hang Hang and I are good again!

Sister-in-law: Oh, then I’ll write one more invitation to the baby's 100th day celebration.

Liang Ze: You didn’t invite him?

Sister-in-law: I didn’t invite you.

Liang Ze: …

Sister-in-law: Anything else? If not, I’ll hang up now  since Ming Ming is awake.

Liang Ze: Sister-in-law, why do you sound so tired?

Sister-in-law: Nonsense, wait until you take care of a baby everyday!

Liang Ze: …

Sister-in-law: Airing your own dirty laundry!

Liang Ze hung up the phone and continued to lean against the headboard of the bed smoking his cigarette.  He looked to the other side of the bed that had turned cold long ago, since Hang Hang had left early in the morning. Suddenly Liang Ze reached out his hand to touch the other side, after touching it for a while he rolled over and rubbed his face on the pillow Hang Hang had used. Hang Hang's scent still lingered on the pillow, it was the shop owner's unique scent. Liang Ze smiled like a fool as he snuggled into the pillow.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Liang Ze wrapped himself in a blanket and hugged tightly onto the pillow Hang Hang used last night. Until now Liang Ze had never felt so at ease in his whole life, he really felt so alive and comfortable!

After rolling around on the bed for quite some time, Liang Ze decided to get up.  As he was standing up on the ground, his legs got weak and he had to support himself by holding onto the bedside cabinet. He did not know whether he slept too late yesterday or if they did it too hard last night, but his body was aching all over. Before sloshing into the bathroom, Liang Ze pa.s.sed by the living room and saw on the dinner table a gla.s.s of milk and a bowl of small round buns. A note was placed under the plate: Heat up before eating.

Such a delightful feeling!  Even when Liang Ze stood under the shower head, the hot water raining down on him could not wash away such a wonderful feeling from him.

Humming a little song Liang Ze applied the body wash on himself and then looked down at his awake little brother, "You're very full of life!" =.=

Up until today, Liang Ze realized that he had been so unreasonable.  Yesterday was really good, how come he was being so awkward before?  Thinking back on yesterday and the arms that wrapped around him or even better those kisses, all of which belonged to Hang Hang was enough to send him into ecstasy! Although it was painful at first and his back felt very uncomfortable this morning, he received great psychological satisfaction, a kind of pleasure that he could not achieve with physical contact alone.

"You're up again!" Stroking his little brother, Liang Ze felt absolutely rejoiceful.

***

Hang Hang got back to the store some time before 10 o'clock and opened the shop.  He brought Long Long and Ikkyu downstairs then turned on his laptop and logged onto w.a.n.g w.a.n.g.

Ying Ying came to work a little bit late but the moment she entered the shop she explained that she was stuck in heavy traffic, Hang Hang only smiled and waved his hand saying it's ok.

It had been such a long time since Ying Ying had seen Hang Hang smiling like that, she was wondering what happened to make him so happy today.

Hang Hang sipped on his large cup of tea as he browsed around TaoBao. When Zhong Yue Wen's baby reached his full moon (one month), Hang Hang had bought a longevity lock for the baby.  Once Zhong Yue Wen received the present she called Hang Hang to tell him that they would not have the baby's full-moon celebration according to her parents' suggestion.  Instead, they would invite their relatives to celebrate the baby's 100th day and she did not forget to tell him that he must come to the baby's 100th day to celebrate. At the time, Hang Hang reluctantly accepted the invitation because he was feeling that there was no point for him to be there; but Yue Sis had been treating him very well so he could not afford to decline her right on the spot. But now, everything seemed to fit into place, he was now back together with Liang Ze.

Longevity Lock – also know as the “Baijiabao lock”, wich a baby wears on its hand or neck, expresses people’s good wishes that the lock will bring health and good luck to the child.

Remembering yesterday, Hang Hang felt like it was all just a dream. Although at first the two of them were very stiff and distant from each other, it only took a little while before everything started to flow very naturally. They were able to speak freely with each other and became even more intimate. The significant change from the past was that Liang Ze took the initiative to ask to have s.e.x. At first he was thinking that if Liang Ze were to refuse him again he would beat him up and bury his body in the backyard.  When they began to start there were some twists and turns (they both tried to be on top of each other many times) but it ended with an unexpectedly good result. Even though Hang Hang had done it with Liang Ze many times and aside from that one time Liang Ze suddenly got all h.o.r.n.y and attacked him in his room (that one time when Liang Ze got a b.o.n.e.r from meeting Xie Jin Yan), it was only this time that Hang Hang felt secured and at ease with Liang Ze's behavior. He could feel Liang Ze's deep desire and enthusiasm in their love making. The one thing that pleased Hang Hang the most was that Liang Ze was not against being on the bottom. Previously it would be Liang Ze forcing himself or trying to tolerate being on the bottom, but now he showed no resistance as it is not a matter for him (Liang Ze) for being the uke. Marvelous!

What should I buy for the baby's 100th day? This thought just reminded Hang Hang that he has not seen the baby yet, so he was quite looking forward to it; he was wondering if the baby would somewhat look like Liang Ze.  After all the brothers grew up to somewhat resemble each other in the looks department. Thinking about that, Hang Hang felt b.u.t.terflies fluttering in his stomach.  Liang Ze seems to really like kids, if he was to be with him then there was no way Liang Ze would have children of his own. Is he going to be ok with it?

{Translator Input: If the baby were to look like Liang Ze, Yue Sis would want to bang her head. She did say that she wishes her baby to not inherit Liang Ze's airheaded and imbecilic straits, and we all have witnessed how that can cause us all a headache. Face it, if we were to have a partner like Liang Ze, who the man himself doesn't know what he wants, then we would feel really frustrated and exhausted >.> trust me, it ain't a happy thing. Just because it hasn't happened to you yet, you might find Liang Ze's personality to be cute, but trust me, when he is yours, you will be like Hang Hang. Gotta look at things in a different perspective ^^}

In order to shake off this uneasy feeling, Hang Hang placed his full attention on picking out the perfect gift for the baby.  After browsing the whole morning, he still could not find the perfect present to buy for the baby, there were only the usual items like clothes, longevity lock, small bracelets and the likes.

After finished his lunch, Hang Hang wanted to try looking once more in the afternoon when suddenly his phone rang loudly; he took a look and it was from Liang Ze.

"h.e.l.lo?" Hang Hang answered, his tone was quite cheery.

"Shuaige! Drag my w.a.n.g w.a.n.g ID out of your blacklist ah!" Liang Ze sounded very urgent.

"Oh, ahem, hehe." Hang Hang had completely forgotten about this so he opened the blacklist and looked for "I'm Handsome"  to drag it out of the list, but w.a.n.g w.a.n.g would not let him.  He had to delete the ID and then add it back in again, "Accept the friend request."

"Ok." Liang Ze received the request message and clicked accept, "Yay, the light is on!"

"What useless stuff were you looking at on Taobao again?" Hang Hang suddenly remembered this person tends to go to Taobao to buy things that ordinary people usually don't =.=

"I'm not looking at useless things!" Liang Ze threw a reb.u.t.tal as he was squatting down on the sofa playing with his chinchillas, "My brother's baby's 100th day is coming, I want to buy something for the baby!"

"That sounds reasonable."

"Oh, talking about it! My sister-in-law was not being nice!"

"Oh?"

"This morning I called to give her the good news that we're back together and then she said she would write one more invitation for the baby's 100th day.  I asked if she forgot to invite you, but she said no, she just didn’t invite me! That’s messed up!"

"Hahahaha…" Hang Hang held onto the phone laughing his heart out, but he really wanted to say that Yue Sis sure has a high sense of justice!

"You're laughing!"

"Which gift have you picked?"

"I picked out a few.  I'm on TaoBao now so I was wanting to ask your opinion on them, but you just laughed at me."

"Send me the links."

"I sent them, have a look."

Hang Hang clicked each link, the selection seemed to be getting progressively more and more inappropriate — Transformers, indoor fishing toys, intellectual castle…

"How old do you think your nephew is?"

"Ack…"

"These toys are all for ages five or above!"

"That…"

"Ah!" Hang Hang suddenly saw something, "take a look at this." Hang Hang immediately sent the link to Liang Ze as he said that.

Liang Ze opened the link, "What's this?"

"It's written in the description!"

"Don't get angry, let me see."

"Ok, just take a look and let's talk on w.a.n.g w.a.n.g."

"Ok."

Hang Hang was about to hang up when  Liang Ze shouted on the other line, "Hey, the meat buns were really yummy!"

"Silly Idiot." Hang Hang hung up.

After a while, Liang Ze logged into w.a.n.g w.a.n.g when he finished reading the description.

I'm Handsome: This is a baby's hand and footprint maker?

Love 123: Ah, yes, they even have one for a b.u.t.tprint ^_^

I'm Handsome: It looks good! Very outstanding!

Love 123: Hehe, I also think it looks good and to let the baby print his hands and feet on his 100th day, it's very commemorative!

I'm Handsome: Awesome! You're so creative~

Love 123: This praise is very pleasant!

I'm Handsome: Ah, do they have adult hand and footprint makers?

Love 123: For adults? You want one?

I'm Handsome: I also want to make two handprints to give them to you!

Love 123: =.=

I'm Handsome: Or do you want me to make a print of my well endowed family jewel "little Liang Ze" to give to you?

Love 123: If you dare to make it, I will buy it =.=

I'm Handsome: Oh, you think I'm kidding!

Love 123: I'll buy them all!

I'm Handsome: Sure! Oh, wait no, I'll buy it.

Love 123: Why?

I'm Handsome: We're together now, I don't want you to spend money.

Love 123: No really, it's something I should do.

I'm Handsome: I'll buy it!

Love 123: Don't! I'm quite worried since you asked if they have adult sizes or not.  I'm afraid you might order a huge number of baby prints instead.

I'm Handsome: You know me too well, but too bad I already ordered it, hahaha, I've just paid for them…large size! Wait for my vigorous little brother print to be sent your way!

Love 123: Crumble!

The Liang Bin couple celebrated the baby's 100th Day on December 16th, and booked 20 tables. The moment Liang Ze and Hang Hang arrived they were both really surprised, the whole place was crowded with people.

"You have that many relatives in your family?"

"This…impossible…"

"Then they're Yue Sis's relatives?"

"I really can't remember, none of them look familiar…"

"It's useless to ask you." said Hang Hang and then walked up to the check-in table where he handed in his invitation, signed his name in the guestbook and dropped a red pocket into the gifting box.

{Translator Input: Some of you might have been familiar with this if you have Chinese friends (I said Chinese because not all Asian countries are doing this and I don't want to generalize everyone) and you have an invitation to their wedding (most likely).  You will see at the reception area a table with about two or three people standing by it and all the guests line up in front of that table to say their name, drop their invitation envelop with money/check inside and then sign their name in the guestbook. Of course on their envelop there is their name on it too. It's the tradition where it has many meanings: 1. To pay for your meal since you come to the wedding, and it's not for free (my dad told me that), 2. To financially help the new bride and groom out, since they must have paid a lot for their wedding, so this money will be used to help them pay for the wedding (my mom's explanation), 3. In the old days, people don't go empty handed to any party invitation either it's a birthday, wedding, or baby shower; they would always come with something. However, in modern days, it's hard to figure out what the new groom and bride really need in their new home and we can't just give them something repeatedly, so they resort back to giving money, where the newlyweds can use the money however they like (my explanation). The main point here: if you're being invited to a Chinese wedding, don't come empty hand or you will be looked at like a petty guest.}

Liang Ze carried a bunch of the hand and footprint makers into the place.

"Come back here! You haven't signed yet!"

"Oh." Liang Ze went back and was about to sign his name next to Hang Hang's.

Hang Hang knocked on Liang Ze's head, "You dare to write your name here!" he really should give up on Liang Ze, the Idiot even wanted to write his name in the "friend" guestbook. Liang Bin would go crazy for sure!

"Ah?"

"Excuse me, please give him the family guestbook."

At the check in table, Zhong Yue Wen's aunts were laughing haha at the incident.

"Then why did you sign in the friend guestbook?" Liang Ze looked up.

"Nonsense!"

Liang Ze quickly wrote down his name, but did not give up on his intention, "Sign your name again, sign it next to mine!"

Hang Hang was very unwilling but seeing Liang Ze's att.i.tude here, if he didn't sign his name now Liang Ze would stand here and reason it out with him. Hang Hang really did not want to leave such an impressive image to the people here at Yue Sis's baby's 100th Day celebration, so he helplessly wrote his name again.

"Are you going to leave the gift here?" A girl asked with a wink.

"Ah, no, we are bringing it in." Hang Hang smiled gently

At a later time, when Zhong Yue Wen heard the story about the guestbook sign-in she was laughing heartily in content.

More and more people were coming to the celebration banquet and it got even nosier. Liang Ze and Hang Hang walked up to the front tables looking at the name tags on each table as they went, but they still could not find where their a.s.signed seats were.

{Translator Input: At a Chinese celebration party like this, the host has already made a seating chart for every guest. They want everything to be organized and every seat to be filled.  The most important part is the guests will be sitting with people they know so they can chit chat and have fun during the party. So there will be one person in charge of seating the guest, they will ask either the guest name or the guest's number (depending on how the groom and bride want to do it), then they will look through the list to know which table to sit the guests. This system of seating chart works very well, because for a wedding, and especially chinese weddings, you don't  just have the relatives from your side but you also have your partner's side too.  Not to mention you also have your family's friends and the like. So think of a lecture hall of 400 people or more, it'll be chaotic if people are allowed to freely sit everywhere.}

"Uncle!" It was Xiao Cui who saw Liang Ze first and then shouted as she ran over to him.

"Aiyo, it's our Xiao Cui~" Liang Ze picked up his niece.

"I've been waiting for you all day!" Xiao Cui gave a brilliant smile, but she did not forget to greet Hang Hang, "h.e.l.lo uncle!"

"Hi there, our Xiao Cui." Hang Hang patted Xiao Cui's small head.

"How long have you been here?" Liang Bin came over as he saw his little brother.

"We just got here! Brother, where do we sit!"

"That first table over there." Liang Bin said as led them towards the table.

{Translator Input: For this table/seating chart arrangement, the closer you are to the front means you're a much more direct relative to the hosts like mother/father, brothers/sisters (both in-laws of course), sons/daughters (you never know, nowadays remarried is not something new), and so on and so forth. The farther the distance the guests are from the main host, the less blood-related they are to the host. It's quite a stereotypical way of indicating the guest's closeness to the main host ^^}

Hang Hang looked at the table outline ahead…Well, they're all elders. Obviously, this is…

"Hang Hang…" Zhong Yue Wen was holding her baby sitting next to her mother, when she saw Hang Hang she waved him over, "Come, sit next to me!"

This family…is quite admirable. {Translator Input: he means her family seems to be ok with him (a man) sitting next to Yue Sis instead of her husband}

Zhong Yue Wen made a very brief and convincing introduction, saying that Hang Hang is her sworn brother.  Zhong Yue Wen's mother was very pleased and even said that Hang Hang should come by their home so she can officially introduce him to the family. During this exchange Liang Ze had been playing with Xiao Cui, after all he still has some trouble communicating with his sister-in-law's family.

Everyone was very excited about the baby's hand and footprint makers. Hang Hang held the baby for a short moment, he was such a little cute being wrapped in a small blankie; yet he was a very playful and naughty one. When Hang Hang handed the baby over to Liang Ze, the little guy raised his small fist and smacked it at Liang Ze, and then smiled innocently at him.

"That's my son." Zhong Yue Wen said with satisfaction.

The feast was still ongoing, but Liang Ze had to leave early due to the workload that was recently placed on him.  Hang Hang also wanted to go back with him, but Zhong Yue Wen was very persistent in wanting him to stay with them a bit longer.  She told him that the whole family will have dinner later and he can go after that is done. Liang Bin was speechless at his wife's action…my wife ah, in the end who is our real brother, don't tell me you don't know ah!

Helplessly, Hang Hang had to act like the host to send Liang Ze out.

"You should go back in." Liang Ze got into the car, "just imagine that you're talking to demons and goblins (with Yue sis family), I don't think you can make sense out of anything they say; however, the mother-in-law's cooking is very delicious, so you should eat a lot at dinner." {Translator Input: Liang Ze meant that everyone is so drunk right now, that they are just talking about random things that usually don't make sense, so Hang Hang should be aware and try to get through it for the good meal at a later time}

Hang Hang got all solemn, this person…

"I'll go back now, but I'll come back to pick you up in the evening." These days Liang Ze had started a habit of writing during the day and around 11 o'clock in the evening he would come over to Hang Hang's place.  He kept up with this routine every day and did not even feel one bit tired.

"Do you really want me to stay here to have dinner with them?"

"Why not, we're family after all."

"…"

"Go back in, it's getting cold now and you aren't even wearing a jacket."

"Hey." Hang Hang opened the car door and sat down on the backseat.

"Why are you getting in?"

"We won't be able to have children…are you going to regret it?"

"Children?"

"Yeah, I can see that you really like little kids."

"I like to play with other people’s children." Liang Ze leaned back, resting his head on the headrest.

"I'm talking serious stuff here!" Hang Hang frowned.

Liang Ze lit a cigarette, "It's true, I'm being very honest here! If I were to have my own, it would be so troublesome."

"Not sincere, I won't say anymore." Hang Hang opened the door.

"I still have Ikkyu, Small Leaf and a baby chinchilla! Talking about it now, why hasn't Ikkyu given birth yet?"

"I really don't know." Hang Hang got out of the car.

"Hey." Liang Ze rolled down the window and stretched out his hand to grab Hang Hang's arm, "I also have you."

Hang Hang smiled, "If you're not busy in a few days, then move in with me."

"Ah?"

"You shouldn't be going back and forth like that.  I'll vacate the bedroom to turn it into your study room and we can sleep in the living room."

"Shuaige!" Liang Ze stared in disbelief, "You mean, to live together with you!" His eyes were filled with happiness..

"Ah, yes."

"Ah! That's great! Sure!"

"Let go of my arm now and go back to write your column."

"Ok!! Blow a kiss, I'll go back first. See you tonight!!"

Proofread: Jesse