After that, it was a long and lonely life of more than twenty years.
Zhou Li set up a skewer stall again in Gu City. Business was neither good nor bad, but he seemed to have lost all interest in life, living like a walking corpse day after day and year after year.
Only on weekends when he visited Gu Changheng’s grave would Zhou Li show a hint of a smile. He would say at his tombstone, “Changheng, I’m doing well. I miss you very much.”
But he never said again that he didn’t want to live again. Every holiday, he would visit Gu Changheng’s parents and talk to them about happy things.
Those elderly parents, who once looked down on homosexuality, seemed to age a lot after Gu Changheng’s death. They showed little resistance to Zhou Li’s presence, perhaps hoping to find a trace of their son in him.
In front of Gu Changheng’s parents, Zhou Li took on most of the responsibilities of their son, encouraging them to be in a good mood and to reach out to him if they needed anything. He also urged them to live well and told them that the world was still beautiful.
Zhou Li fulfilled his promise to Gu Changheng to take care of his parents, but no one knew that while he patiently comforted them to live well, he was the one who didn’t want to live the most.
After several years of getting along, Gu Changheng’s parents recognized Zhou Li’s sincerity and qualities. Seeing that he was young, they couldn’t bear to see him die alone. They tried to introduce him to some suitable young men or women, but Zhou Li rejected all of them.
Zhou Li said, “I’m stubborn and can’t love anyone else, and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
Father Gu passed away at 72 and Mother Gu at 76. Zhou Li helped arrange their funerals. They left a considerable inheritance for him, which he did not refuse.
There were many rumors outside.
Some people were jealous of the large inheritance he received, some mocked him for pretending to be deeply in love for twenty years just to get the money, and others predicted that he would soon reveal his true self and squander the inheritance willfully.
On the day of Mother Gu’s burial, Zhou Li, who was now in his fifties, was in a good mood. He went to the market to buy a whole box of charcoal, two bottles of white wine, and a roast chicken.
After returning home, Zhou Li securely closed all the doors and windows, leaving no gaps. He placed the charcoal in a basin in the center of the room and lit it.
Humming a tune, Zhou Li set the white wine and roast chicken on the coffee table and turned on the TV to watch the latest news, eating and drinking while listening to the news.
That evening was exactly 22 years after Gu Changheng’s death. After fulfilling his promise to send Mother Gu off, with a smile on his lips and tightly holding onto the priceless jade pendant that Gu Changheng had given him, Zhou Li committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.
That evening, the sunset was beautiful.
…
Watching all of this, Gu Changheng felt a sharp pain in his heart.
It hurt so much that he could hardly breathe.
He wanted to hug Zhou Li but couldn’t. He wanted to stop Zhou Li from committing suicide but was powerless. No matter how much he shouted, no one could hear him.
His eyes stung, and two tears rolled down from the corners of Gu Changheng’s eyes.
Around him, he heard his mother’s anxious voice, “We’ve used cold water. Why hasn’t Xiao Heng woken up from heat stroke? Should we take him to the hospital? Oh my, is Changheng crying from pain? Why is he shedding tears?”
Hearing this, Father Gu quickly leaned over, patted Gu Changheng’s cheek with his face, and asked, “Changheng, wake up, wake up!”
Gu Changheng slowly opened his eyes and looked at his father and mother who appeared much younger in front of him. For a moment, he was a bit confused about the situation.