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They sat in silence for a few minutes, which was unusual for them.
Having worked as a policeman for many years, Luo Cheng embodied a man who had seen a great deal in life, had gone through hardships, and whose character had hardened to a certain firmness. Even when Luo Weizhao was a child, his father always demanded discipline and order. He called his son Comrade Luo and gave him tasks around the house like police orders. Luo Weizhao thought it was a fun game.
Once Luo Weizhao became a policeman, he was able to fully understand why his father was like that. Having the entire Bureau under his responsibility, Luo Weizhao also realized that order was the foundation of their good work. But unlike his father and the entire older generation of the Bureau, what Luo Weizhao had always put first was that they were a team. He was not above others, others were not below him. Only by being on par could they achieve the results they had achieved in the past few years when Luo Weizhao had been the captain.
Growing up, Luo Weizhao's relationship with his father became better. Seeing him as a younger version of himself, Luo Cheng figured his son would be fine. His youthful hotheadedness and irresponsibility slowly changed to collectedness and intelligence. Their evening conversations, when Luo Weizhao's parents came to visit on Fridays, dragged on well past midnight, filled with deliberation and alcohol.
They had long since left the harsh conversation phase behind, and the awkward silence between them was almost nonexistent. This was the reason why, now, sitting in the middle of the quiet plaza outside the Bureau and being silent, Luo Weizhao felt a bit of uneasiness. But no matter how awkward he felt, he wasn't going to be the first to speak.
Luo Weizhao cracked all of his knuckles in turn, lowering his head and looking at the ground. His mind was full of heavy thoughts, even though there was not much time left until New Year's Eve. Pei Su was about to be discharged from the hospital, which meant they were going to have a long talk at home, and Luo Weizhao didn't know if he was ready to say what was on his mind yet. He would deal with it later when, hopefully, he could finally fall asleep with Pei Su in his arms and sleep at least one night without nightmares about his breathless body.
“Your mom asked me to tell you that she'll be expecting you for New Year's dinner tonight,” Luo Cheng finally spoke.
“I'm not coming.” Luo Weizhao didn't look at his father. “Pei Su is being discharged from the hospital today. I'm taking him home.”
“You'll choose him over your family?”
“He is my family, whether you like it or not.”
A silence hung between them.
“Luo Weizhao, he is...” Luo Cheng stopped. “He's a man.”
“It was always going to be a man.” Luo Weizhao's voice was flat. "I told you this years ago, and you accepted it. Your problem isn't that he's a man. Your problem is that it's Pei Su."
“He's an Apath,” Luo Cheng said as if that explanation was enough.
"He has more empathy in him than all of you put together. He was willing to sacrifice himself so that we could solve this case. You should all be grateful to him for what he's done. But for some reason, I didn't see any of you in his hospital room while he was fighting for his life."
Luo Weizhao was there the whole time. Even when the doctors were scolding him, because visiting hours were over, and when Tao Ze was trying to get him to go home and rest. Luo Weizhao only shook his head and didn't move from his uncomfortable chair outside Pei Su's room.
“You know that he was the one who asked to keep his involvement a secret from you, right?” asked Luo Cheng.
Luo Weizhao assumed. Pei Su would never tell him about his plan because Luo Weizhao would lock him at home and keep an eye on him. Then, none of this would have happened. Then, Luo Weizhao wouldn't have had to crack his knuckles just to get his hands to stop shaking.
"Because he knew I would have stopped him and ruined your whole plan. It's so easy for you to blame Pei Su, but you didn't tell me about your plans either. None of you thought to let me know! Because one casualty is worth solving the case, isn't it?"
“Luo Weizhao!” Luo Cheng raised his voice. "You're a police officer, and more than anyone should know that using a bait is a normal practice. No one sent him to his certain death. He had a tracking device and a communication channel with us."
"Baits are people who have been trained for this job for months, not the first person to volunteer to go to their death. And those people are given the means of self-defense. What did you give him? A tracker that was taken off him immediately? What incredible care!"
“Calm down.” Luo Cheng clenched his fists, then raised his head and looked up at the sky. "I didn't have a say in it. I was informed that it was Pei Su when I could no longer affect anything."
“If you had known, would you have let them?” Luo Weizhao waited for an answer with a certain fear.
“I would have...” Luo Cheng wasn't the type to stammer out words. He was just picking which answer wouldn't ruin their relationship with Luo Weizhao. “I would think it over one more time before letting him go there.”
This answer didn't make Luo Weizhao feel better, but at least it let him know that his father wasn't the kind of person who would just throw Pei Su to his death without a second thought. 'Pei Su' and ‘death’ in the same sentence gave Luo Weizhao a headache, and he looked at his watch. Pei Su was supposed to be discharged in a few hours, and Luo Weizhao wasn't ready to face him just yet.
Luo Cheng was silent for a while, feeling the heavy aura around his son.
"Mu Xiaoqing likes him. But she likes everyone, so it's not a high bar."
Luo Weizhao turned his head and looked at his father. When he was younger, he thought about what it would be like to introduce his partner to his father. Luo Weizhao thought that the hardest part would be getting his father to believe that Luo Weizhao really was committed to a serious relationship. He didn't think that he would have to fight so hard just for Luo Cheng to accept Pei Su.
“What about you?” Luo Weizhao spoke slowly. “Can I hope that you can reconsider your views on him?”
“Weizhao, you're still so young...”
"Don't. Don't even think of saying that I don't know what I'm doing." Luo Weizhao took a deep breath before continuing. "Pei Su is the person I want to spend my life with. I'm not saying this because I'm emotional or haven't gotten over the shock. I've known it for some time now. That won't change."
Luo Cheng pressed his lips together. His eyebrows slightly frowned, and veins protruded on his temples, showing that he didn't like what he was hearing.
“I can't give you an answer right now,” was Luo Cheng's reply.
"I don’t expect you to. It will be enough if you just think about it for now." Luo Weizhao looked at his watch again. "Tell mom not to be offended that I won't come today. I'll celebrate with the Bureau members today."
Luo Cheng didn't reply.
“And don't come next Friday, Pei Su needs peace and rest,” Luo Weizhao said. "But, after a week, we will be waiting for you and mom. Come if you can get over your pride."
Luo Cheng didn't reply.
The following Friday, Luo Weizhao's parents indeed didn't come, for which Luo Weizhao was grateful. Pei Su slept for most of the day because of the prescribed medicine. Luo Weizhao had been doing documentation while he was given some vacation time. When the reports and numbers gave him a headache, Luo Weizhao pushed Ping Diguo from the bed and crawled under the blanket. Pei Su slowly opened his eyes, looked at Luo Weizhao, then moved closer and snuggled into the warmth, wrapping his arms and legs around him. Luo Weizhao ran his fingers through Pei Su's hair and stroked his head until Pei Su fell asleep again.
A week later, the doorbell rang at six o'clock in the evening as usual. Mu Xiaoqing stood on the doorstep. Alone. Luo Weizhao felt only a slight prick in his chest.
"Your dad sends his great apologies for not being able to come. There was an unforeseen emergency," she explained, but everyone in the room knew it was a lie.
While Luo Weizhao made them tea, he left Pei Su and Mu Xiaoqing alone in the room, peeking in periodically to make sure everything was alright. Pei Su was good at sweet talk, he always knew how to talk to women, but finding himself alone with the one who was now his relative, he didn't know what to do.
"Auntie, how are you? Since the last time I saw you, you've become even more beautiful."
Mu Xiaoqing laughed, covering her mouth with her palm.
"Ah, there's no need for flattery. We're family, you shouldn't try to get me to like you." She pouted a little. "Moreover, why am I suddenly an auntie again? You don't need to remind me so much of my age. You can just call me mom."
Pei Su's eyes immediately darted to the kitchen door, trying to find support. Luo Weizhao, perhaps because he overheard their conversation, or perhaps because he knew when Pei Su needed him, appeared in the doorway. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Luo Weizhao smiled. Pei Su felt that everything was fine.
“Yes, of course... mom.”
Mu Xiaoqing smiled contentedly, not knowing what it meant to Pei Su just to say that word. When Luo Weizhao brought them tea and sat next to him, his arm wrapped around Pei Su's waist, providing support. Even Ping Diguo made one lap around the couch, deciding whose lap he liked better, and eventually jumped into Pei Su's arms, leaving him completely surrounded by his family.
The next week, Mu Xiaoqing came on her own again. And the week after that, too.
A month later, when the doorbell rang and Pei Su opened the door, he met Luo Cheng's stern eyes. Mu Xiaoqing pushed her husband to the side, forcing him to say hello. Luo Weizhao appeared behind Pei Su's back, exchanging long stares with his father.
That day, there wasn't much talking in their living room. Mu Xiaoqing tried to keep the conversation going, and Pei Su answered her out of politeness while father and son silently looked at each other, getting used to their presence in the same space.
Luo Cheng only spoke when they were about to leave.
''Next Friday, come over to our place. Xiaoqing wanted to prepare a family dinner." He paused and added, “Both of you are welcome.”
It was only when he was falling asleep that Luo Weizhao realized the significance of his father's words. Pei Su was invited to a “family” dinner at Luo Weizhao's childhood home. As part of the family.
Pei Su understood this as well. He rose up on his elbows and kissed Luo Weizhao until they both had no more energy and strength left.
The following Friday, after they spent more than an hour choosing a gift for Luo Weizhao's parents because Pei Su insisted on it, and when they had already eaten dinner at the family home, Luo Cheng called Pei Su to his office. They spent more than half an hour talking, while Luo Weizhao spent all of that time nervously pacing around the hall and pissing Mu Xiaoqing off.
When Luo Cheng and Pei Su finally came out of the room, Pei Su was holding one of the books from Luo Cheng's personal library. Passing by Luo Weizhao, Luo Cheng patted him on the shoulder, leaving him completely speechless.
This took a while. Friday dinners together, family holidays, and at least half a year of their relationship for Luo Cheng to make sure that his son was completely serious when he said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Pei Su. He spent a long time watching how his son felt about this relationship and how different he became when someone he cared so much about came into his life. Luo Weizhao was finally starting to resemble a real decent human who was ready to start a family and settle down. Luo Cheng's heart calmed down little by little.
About Pei Su, it wasn't so easy. Having worked in the SID for a long time, Luo Cheng had many not-so-great experiences with Apaths. He had seen what people to whom human emotions were alien were capable of. But Pei Su... Once the investigation was over, he turned out to be just an ordinary man. He was still so young yet very intelligent, easily supported Luo Cheng's every discourse, and was open to discussion.
But most importantly, Pei Su loved his son. Even when Luo Cheng tried to ignore it, it was obvious. He saw how much Pei Su cared for Luo Weizhao even though he was younger. Sometimes, while watching Pei Su hand Luo Weizhao more food, or apologizing that they needed to leave earlier because Luo Weizhao was too tired after work, but couldn't admit it to himself, Luo Cheng couldn't help but discreetly smile. At such moments, Mu Xiaoqing would nudge his side with her elbow, beaming.
Luo Cheng would never admit it, but one of the turning points was when he saw how much Ping Diguo trusted Pei Su. This cat didn't like his son much and wouldn't let strangers near him, but in a room full of their family, Ping Diguo always chose Pei Su. Even when Luo Cheng, who used to be his favorite, was around.
Yes, he had trusted that cat too much. But now, Luo Cheng was finally sure that his son would be fine.
Luo Weizhao had grown so much.