Your Distance

Area C, 5 minutes before the start of the live report.

Sitting next to Zhu Ao, Ting Shuang, for the first time, felt as if Zhu Ao radiated… doubt about the vicissitudes of life.

It had just been ten minutes, what could have caused such a big change…

“Dad…” Ting Shuang turned his head slightly in Zhu Ao’s direction and said in a low voice, “Did something go wrong with the company?”

“What can happen to the company?” Zhu Ao flipped open a magazine from the exhibition, looking as if he didn’t want to entertain Ting Shuang.

“Oh…” Ting Shuang thought for a while and said, “Dad, I’m taking the train back to school at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Why don’t we talk after lunch?”

They hadn’t reached a consensus yet, so he couldn’t leave just yet.

Zhu Ao didn’t look up, “It’s been a year since we last met, and you don’t even call home. Now that you’re leaving, you suddenly want to talk? What is there to talk about?”

Ting Shuang was just educated by Professor Bai yesterday on good communication and working towards solving the problem, so his attitude was much better than before, “Dad, I didn’t know better before. Today, let’s talk and solve the problem together. My professor came over earlier, so we didn’t finish our conversation. Weren’t we talking about—”

“It’s fine,” Zhu Ao waved his hand, his voice filled with impatience, “I don’t feel like listening.”

The last thing Zhu Ao wanted to discuss was his son’s sexual orientation; the last three words he wanted to hear were “solve the problem.”

Solving the problem……

After living for fifty years, Zhu Ao realized for the first time that he might have a psychological problem.

After so long, it turned out his son wasn’t the problem; it was the old man who had something to solve.

After returning to China, should he or should he not contact those psychiatrists…

Zhu Ao gazed at the magazine, but he couldn’t take anything in at all.

What more did Ting Shuang want to talk about… Zhu Ao kept his voice low and said irritably, “Ting Shuang, can you stop for a while? That thing… I’ll think about it again.”

‘Think about it again’ was, out of everything Ting Shuang had ever heard from Zhu Ao, the closest thing to agreement.

This was something he could settle for. He advised himself to settle for something if it was good enough, and to take it slow and steady.

It seemed like Bai Laoban was right. After communicating better, asking people why, and asking them for their thoughts…

Then maybe they’d be willing to reconsider?

Bai Laoban really was amazing and wise, long live Bai Laoban!

At ten o’clock, Bai Changyi’s report officially began.

Although the number of people there far exceeded the number of people in a regular lesson, and those sitting in the auditorium and standing around were not students, Ting Shuang still felt Bai Changyi’s control over the audience.

The content, his gaze, knowledge in the field, and aura, nothing was missing.

He made people think, and made them bend over.

Time passed by quickly, and before he realised, the report was ending.

Ting Shuang subconsciously felt fear in his heart: the suffocating moment had arrived. Class was over, and Prof. Bai was going to pick him to answer questions again…

Oh, that’s not right.

This time, Bai Laoban was giving the report. The audience listening to the report should be the ones asking the questions…

Ting Shuang’s fear only continued increasing: the suffocating moment had come. Prof. Bai was going to pick him again and ask him to bring up a meaningful question…

Ting Shuang lowered his head, lest he met Bai Changyi’s eyes. He didn’t raise his head until others started asking questions. Only then did he realize that it was a false alarm. Too many people wanted to discuss and ask questions, and it would never come to his turn.

He listened carefully to the interaction between Bai Changyi and the audience for a while, when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

After taking it out for a look, the name of the caller was displayed on the screen: Liang Zhengxuan’s mother.

The phone kept vibrating, making quite a bit of noise.

Zhu Ao glanced towards him, saw the words on the screen, and whispered, “Either hang up, or go out and pick it up.”

Ting Shuang hesitated for two seconds, before quickly leaving area C while bending over. He ran out of the exhibition hall to pick up the call.

Even before he broke up with Liang Zhengxuan, Liang Zhengxuan’s parents didn’t really contact him. They’d quickly accepted the fact that their son was gay, but they just didn’t like Ting Shuang, and felt like he didn’t do any housework, and would always depend on Liang Zhengxuan to take care of him. They didn’t think he was someone Liang Zhengxuan should marry and spend his life with. Ting Shuang knew that he was unlikable, so he didn’t take the initiative to contact them. He only texted them new year greetings every year.

This would be the first time Liang Zhengxuan’s mother called him since they went abroad.

If it wasn’t an emergency, the other party wouldn’t have made this overseas call to him after he broke up with Liang Zhengxuan.

And it wasn’t just one phone call. It took Ting Shuang several minutes to get out of Area C, and when he didn’t answer, the other party kept calling him repeatedly.

Finally, Ting Shuang left the exhibition hall and picked up the call.

“Auntie.”

“Ting Shuang, you finally picked up–” The voice coming from the other side sounded anxious, “Zhengxuan got into a car accident. Quick, go to the hospital to see him.”

“Auntie, slow down.” Ting Shuang was calm, “Which hospital is he in? Do you know the specifics?”

“He was hit by a car when he was cycling to school in the morning. He is conscious now, but he can’t move. I’m afraid that something might happen to him while he’s in the hospital… He doesn’t even have a person to take care of him. No one would be there to help him register, or help him pay. What will he do all by himself…” Mother Liang urged, “Quick, go to the hospital to see him. It’s the hospital affiliated with your university. He just called over. The nurse helped him call over, and he didn’t answer our calls afterwards. After you arrive at the hospital, call me back and tell me about Zhengxuan’s condition.”

He was able to talk on the phone, which means he was conscious and the situation shouldn’t be serious.

“Auntie, I’m in Hannover right now. It would take four hours for me to reach the hospital even if I leave immediately,” Ting Shuang comforted Mother Liang, “but you can rest assured. The hospital doesn’t need us to register for payment. We bought medical insurance, so the bill will be sent to the insurance company, and paid for by them. They wouldn’t delay treatment.”

After hearing that, Mother Liang once again told Ting Shuang that he had to visit Zhengxuan. Before hanging up, she talked about how she didn’t know anyone else, so she could only trouble him to do so.

Ting Shuang made a call to Zhu Ao as he walked towards the exit of the exhibition centre, briefly explaining the matter. He had to trouble Zhu Ao to ask the driver to drive the car out of the parking lot, pick him up at the entrance, and send him to the train station.

From the start, Zhu Ao didn’t like Liang Zhengxuan at all, so he said, “Liang Zhengxuan doesn’t have any of his own friends? You have to be the one to go? What’s your relationship with him now?”

Ting Shuang said helplessly, “His mother even called me, how could I not check up on him? If I don’t go, his mother will definitely keep calling me. And for this kind of thing, even if it wasn’t Liang Zhengxuan but just one of my classmates, I would also go to the hospital for a visit. I’m leaving in the afternoon anyways. It’s just a few hours, I’m just going back half a day earlier.”

The car drove from the exhibition center to the central railway station. When it reached the city center, Ting Shuang successively saw the spire of the New City Hall, several different museums, and the bell tower of the Church on the Market through the car window…

Yesterday, Bai Changyi told him that when he brought him to the train station that afternoon, they could stroll around the old town together.

What a pity.

After getting out of the car, he sent a message to Bai Changyi as he walked into the train station: Bai Laoban, are you done on your side?

Soon after, Bai Changyi called over, “It just ended. Where are you?”

“I’m at the train station,” Ting Shuang paused.

How was he going to tell Bai Laoban about why he was returning early…

If he said he was rushing to the hospital to see his ex-boyfriend, would Bai Laoban be angry…

Actually, even if it was any other classmate’s mother who had asked him to visit them in the hospital after a car accident, he would still go. It wasn’t just because it was Liang Zhengxuan…

Liang Zhengxuan was just an ordinary classmate…

“Train station?” Bai Changyi asked, “Wasn’t your train at 5:36 in the afternoon.”

“I have to go back early…” Ting Shuang hesitated for a second, and decided it was better if he had less to worry about(1). One of my classmates got into a car accident and was admitted into the hospital. His mother back in China was worried, so she asked me to visit the hospital to take a look.”

Bai Changyi said, “Mm, then tell me when you arrive. Be safe on the road.”

“Okay…” Ting Shuang said, “My suitcase is still in the room. Hold on to it for me, I’m not going back to the hotel.”

Bai Changyi said, “Okay.”

Ting Shuang said to the phone, “Mua.”

Bai Changyi chuckled, “Got it.”

After hanging up, Bai Changyi prepared to go out for lunch with representatives of the two cooperating enterprises.

Zhu Ao just happened to exit the exhibition hall. Bai Changyi didn’t know if Ting Shuang had informed Zhu Ao about his return, so he said, “Ting Shuang went back early.”

Zhu Ao nodded, sighing, “I know, I just got the driver to drive him to the train station. This kid had such a good learning opportunity, but didn’t cherish it. Instead of staying here to look at the exhibition, he just had to go to the hospital to see that ex— Sigh, I can’t be bothered. Why am I still worrying about it when they’ve broken up.”