Understandable that Wang Yibo was able to fall asleep late, only at the time the daylight was already seeping through the curtains.

Yibo's breath hitched when he felt a light kiss on the cheek, but maybe it was still a dream, maybe it was just the happy ending of the beautiful dream that his mind produced right away he fell asleep: it was that he confessed the truth to Xiao Zhan and to the whole family , and they not only understood him but even forgave him and invited him to be part of their family.
Thus he plucked up the courage and also confessed to Xiao Zhan that he is his first and only love. And in response he tousled his hair like he did a long time ago on the bridge, whispering in his ear "I love you, too, my gouzaizai!" ...And kissed him on the cheek.
 

When Yibo had finally open his eyes,  his sight was welcomed by a bubbly and sunny Xiao Zhan, who could light up any room he was in:
"Rise and shine, Wang Yibo, you are expected for breakfast. By everyone, but especially by the criminal LingLing who was caught in the act, when trying to steal one of NaiNai's freshly baked youtiao (A/n: deep-fried dough sticks in Chinese) before washing his hands, ha, ha!
Good morning, Meifu (A/n: husband of the younger sister in Chinese)!" 

 

"I apologize for oversleeping, I very rarely do, but now I just…
Good morning, Xiao Zhan Ge, but you shouldn't call me Meifu, I am not, we are not…", Yibo replied,  hurrying to jump off the bed.

"You are not yet, but soon you will be…
Easy, easy,  take it easy, no hurry. 
And you don't need to apologize, did you forget that you were sick last night?
At least the fever seems to be gone, thank god!", Xiao Zhan said while  plastering his palm on Yibo's forehead.
Yibo hurried to the bathroom, or else Xiao Zhan would think again  that he was sick, given to his ears that caught on fire again.

"He doesn't like me, he doesn't want me in his family, he  must hate me! Maybe the whole family hates me, just that they are too nice and kind people to show it to me.
Or else why did  he sound  kind of upset when saying 'You are not yet, but soon you will be'?", Yibo mused while splashing a large amount of cold water on his hot face.

But do people who hate someone act like the Jin family members acted towards him, gravitating all of them around Yibo, overwhelming him with their attention, care and lots of advice for treating  his so-called cold?
 

 

During breakfast, Xiao Zhan suggested that Yibo should call the office to announce that he caught a cold and would be taking the day off. 
But Yibo rejected the idea because his colleague would be called to replace him, Jiao Jie who has  plans with her family.
"I don't want to ruin Jiao Jie's holidays. I know that only tomorrow is Christmas, but today she's surely busy with the preparations.
Besides,  you  checked me out! I don't even have a fever anymore!", Yibo smiled.

"Yeah, you're not feverish, thank god, but I noticed that you still have difficulties swallowing. Don't forget to take with you those pills that NaiNai gave to you."

"Oh, I'd also like to go to the hospital to see MianMian, before going to work.", Yibo said after thanking for the wonderful meal and starting to get dressed in his winter jacket.
 
"We all  planned to do that, but I called the hospital and they told me that it would be better to come later, because now they are doing some medical investigations on MeiMei, and we can't see her anyway.
When we'll go visit her later, I will tell her that you couldn't come with us because you're working, don't worry. The nurse said that even if she is not conscious yet, maybe she hears and understands what we are talking to her. 
Anyways I'll accompany you to work then, to make sure you're alright.  I have to go to town for some last-minute shopping, anyways.", Xiao Zhan smiled.

"I have to stop by at home first, to get my working badge.
If you say that you have some free time to accompany me, it would be a good opportunity for me to give you the box of MianMian's personal belongings, which the hospital gave to me, but it should have been given to her family.", Yibo replied.

Missis Jin Sanren excused herself, explaining that she has much to do for the Christmas preparation, but not before hugging goodbye Wang Yibo:
"So, you work tomorrow, too, my dear Yibo?
We are waiting for you tomorrow after work, then, to spend the Christmas dinner together with all of us."

"Yes, the Spaniards will be here by then, too!
We're waiting for you, son.
I'm going now, to help  laopo (A/n: wife in Chinese) in the kitchen. You know, to open a jar, to chop a carrot, or to taste here and there , manly tasks like these! You, son,  will experience them, soon, ha, ha.", Mister Jin GuangShan laughed, hugging Yibo, too.
   

"Would you like to walk or should we take a cab?", Xiao Zhan asked while reaching out  to open the front door.

'Oh my god,  you two are standing exactly under the mistletoe!", Guan Yao shouted, snapping a photo of the two men,  with his phone.
You have no choice now, but to kiss, otherwise you will attract bad luck to  this family and house! And  this is the last thing we want, especially now when MianMian is the most in need of good and lucky vibes!"

"What bulls are you talking there GeGe? Hello! They are two men, wtf?", LingLing laughed, but his laughter died when NaiNai's hard palm landed on the back of his nape.

"Jin Guan Ling!
First of all, don't talk disrespectfully to your older brother, and language please!
And secondly, so what if they are both men? Nobody asked them for a whole making-out session, but a simple peck wouldn't harm anyone, wouldn't it? Just for letting in happiness and good energy into the house and for chasing away the bad luck. 
And even if it would be a making-out action with tongues involved and all that jazz, so what? 
Did this family educate you into being a homophobic , pardon my language?! I don't think so, and I don't think that you're stupid, either!
Homophobia is not only stupid, but very wrong, unjust and unfair!
I know that it's deeply ingrained  in our society's spirit and culture, but  it's unacceptable in the spirit of this family!
I have a question for you, my dear grandson, what would you do if  your GeGe, either GuangYao, or ZhanZhan, would tell you that he is a homoual? I am asking hypothetically, of course...Would you stop loving him, or would you love him less because of that?
I didn't tell you much about my brother, except that he died young. He was such a smart, handsome and lovely boy... 
I was only 11 and he was at your age, LingLing, when he took his own life. And you know why? Because he ascertained that he is a homoual, and in  his naivety and his pure heart, he thought that it would be more fair to the world to not hide himself behind lies and pretenses.
Just that when he came out, he found out that the world was not the same as he was.
He was chased away from home by his parents, persecuted by teachers, abandoned by his loved ones and bullied by friends.
He lived  on the streets, beaten up and rejected even by the homeless. I saw that with my own eyes, when I managed to escape from my room where mother locked me up to not meet my brother. GeGe was lying to the ground in the foetus position, and a bunch of dirty homeless were kicking him all over while  screaming at him "Die, ! Die!" I will never forget...I tried shouting at them that I called the police, but they didn't get scared, because I was just a harmless little girl. 
My dearest GeGe tried to survive,  until one day when he couldn't bear anymore...And he simply hung himself! 
It was me who found him hanging from the tree across the street, strangled with the whip that his own father used for beating him up after he tried to enter home to ask for a piece of bread.
I have never  forgiven our parents, I hated them!
I was just a kid, but, still,  I ran away from home, along with a friend, who luckily had a distant relative who accepted to take us both to her home. 
That friend later became my husband, rest in peace his soul, he was a good and a loving man! 
And rest in peace my dearest GeGe, too!
Now stop crying all of you, and just honor my beautiful and pure GeGe's memory by  never being homophobic s!", NaiNai wiped the tears flowing down her cheeks, ending her impressive speech and taking out a pill from her pocket.

They were all crying indeed, maybe each of them for different reasons added to NaiNai's tragic life story. 
Guang Yao identified himself in those who bullied NaiNai's brother.
Xiao Zhan shed  bitter tears for that poor homoual teen who was  not as lucky as he was. When he came to his father and his step mother, they acted as he was telling them nothing extraordinary. Nothing had changed in their love for him. But maybe because they were living in Spain, where the society was more open minded in this matter. After all, Spain was the third country in the world to legalize same gender marriage.
He still didn't have the courage to tell the truth to his family from China, but who knows, maybe the other members of the family would have the same set of mind as NaiNai's.
Wang Yibo was crying with hiccups, anyone  could figure out why, if they would know the truth... 

After wiping his tears and blowing his nose in a napkin, Guan Ling hugged his grandmother:
"I am so sorry, NaiNai!
No, I don't want to be an ! No I will never be a homophobic , please forgive me, I love you NaiNai! I am so sorry for what happened to you and to your beloved GeGe!"
Then he hugged his older brother:
"Forgive me please YaoYao Ge, I don't disrespect you, I really don't!
And if you ever want to tell me something, anything, please do, because I would never judge you in any way, I love you Ge and will always do, no matter what!"

"Xiao Zhan Ge, I love you, please don't hate me, I am not an , I'm really not, I promise!
Wang Yibo Ge, I love you, too. I am honored and proud that I am soon to become your  related DiDi!
Now, you two, please kiss!
On the lips! For the best of luck!!!", the teenager smiled between tears, pushing the two men from under the mistletoe, against each other. 

 

 

It couldn't even be called a kiss, it was just a short lips lock, but the level of its intensity had almost got Yibo fainted.

"I apologize." Yibo spoke in a voice breathier than he intended.

"For what?", Xiao Zhan finally spoke, too, after exhaling hard.

 

 

                                                                                      

 

"Oh, look, it's snowing so beautifully! We'll have a white Christmas!", Xiao Zhan exclaimed, running his hand through the thin blanket of snow already settled on NaiNai's plants from the yard.

"God, you're beautiful!", Yibo couldn't refrain from whispering aloud.

"What did you say?"

"I was saying that I don't know if it's only an impression, but you seem to me to be upset, even though you're smiling.
Allow me to apologize once again. It's just that I was worried about NaiNai, because…", Yibo tried to speak, but he was shushed by Xiao Zhan's cold  finger pressed over his shivering lips.

"I am not upset, I have no reason to be. If you're disturbed about that peck, you're right, we did it for the sake of NaiNai. I love her very much, and I don't want anything bad to happen to her, never again!
But, on the other hand,  is it only an impression that you seem scared of me after that kiss, peck or whatever?"
 

  

 

"You have no idea!
You're damn scary! And really dangerous!"

"Seriously? But why?"

"I was just kidding, ha, ha, look at your dispirited, cute, little face!
Jeez, you're killing me!
Let's walk, you're right that it's too beautiful outside, to take the cab!", Yibo tried too late to cover his loose mouth.

Xiao Zhan thought that Yibo was trying to get his hands warm.
"Oh, look I have in my pocket these woolen gloves kneaded by NaiNai. Don't worry,  I don't feel cold, and you need them more, take them!
Also, you should  make use of that hoodie you wear and pull the hood over the cap.
And why on earth do you wear such a small winter jacket?  The sleeves are too short for you, the whole jacket is a smaller size than you'd need, actually. No wonder you caught a cold,", Xiao Zhan pulled the zipper of Yibo's jacket higher and fixed his collar with something like parental affection.
Nothing biggy, Xiao Zhan  was accustomed to do that  when taking care of his little twin siblings, probably, yet Yibo felt extremely warm inside his heart.
 

"I have other winter clothes that are thicker, bigger and more suitable, only that I love wearing this particular jacket because it has a sentimental and priceless value to me. 
It was worn for a long time by my father, it was his favorite. I sometimes take long walks, dressed in this jacket, in the park where he used to take me when I was a small boy, for building snowmen together, and I feel like he is with me again. 
If I could, I would also wear his favorite sweater that he used to wear at home when reading stories to his little son,  but it is too torn and shabby."

"You must have loved your father a lot, I am so sorry that you lost him.
But, let's not get sad! Now you will have not one father, but two, along with a whole bunch of crazy family members, who will give you lots of happy moments to cherish, besides  lots of nagging moments, of course, They all love you, we all love you…
Just that…"

"Just that?", Yibo flinched.

"Just that my guts are telling me that something is off about your love story with MeiMei. I feel like you're hiding something, don't feel offended, please. But maybe it's just that my guts are getting older and start to glitch, just don't mind  me."

"But why?
Tell me more, please!", Yibo asked in a shaking voice…Maybe it would be the right moment to come out about the whole truth!

"The way you kissed me was...hmm, how can I put it…", Xiao Zhan stuttered.

"I didn't kiss you, you kissed me…", Yibo changed his mind about telling the truth.

"Okay, if you say so, then the way you responded to my kiss…", Xiao Zhan murmured, feeling regretful about bringing up the topic, at Yibo's slightly  angry reaction.

"If you mean the trembling of my voice after the kiss, it was because of the cold, you yourself said that you noticed that I was still  swallowing hard."

"But why did your legs  tremble like that, also because of the cold?"