"THE ten years we spent together as a couple was not all filled with rainbows and butterflies," Shen Yi Mu said. "It would probably be easier it we were just an ordinary couple. But we’re not. We’re a gay couple living in a country where people would immediately condemn us the moment they found out about our relationship. So, we kept it hidden. As if we’re doing something immoral.
"It was fine at first. Because we were still high on the fact that we were in love, we didn’t care about much else. Everyday felt like we were on cloud nine. It continued on like that for a year. A year full of bliss. Everything was going well. I established my gaming company and was just about to launch the PC version of Arcadia. Ah Yue was doing well in his studies. Then we were suddenly hit by reality.
"Months after Arcadia was launched, it became a huge hit. Surpassing a lot of older and more popular online games in the country. Other rival gaming companies, of course, felt threatened. But one gaming company in particular was so threatened that they did everything to discredit my company. And the best and fastest way to do that was to target me, the president and CEO of the company.
"They hired someone to dig up some black materials against me. What else could they dig up but the relationship between me and Ah Yue? A lot of ambiguous photos of us were taken. Although they didn’t directly show us kissing or doing something compromising, it could be seen from the photos that we were not simple close friends. There’s one that showed us going to my apartment, one where we were leaning against each other, one where my arm was around Ah Yue’s shoulders.
"These photos were posted on Weibo by some anonymous account. Along with the caption, ’President of Moonlight Media in a homosexual relationship?!’. Then it described on how I had a secret relationship with a younger man. Although Weibo was still relatively new back then, it already had a lot of users. Especially young people who were also playing Arcadia. It generated a lot of negative comments to the point that it even affected the company’s stocks. The only thing I was thankful for in that incident was that they mosaiced Ah Yue’s face. Almost as if they were warning me that if my game continued to flourish, they would be attacking him next.
"How could I just let them get their way? But the worst thing was, this news reached my father’s ears. Before I could even make a move, he had my eldest brother took care of everything. Then I was summoned to the old house. I had to deny everything to him. Because I knew that if my father thought, even for a second, that those rumors were true, Ah Yue would bear the brunt of it. You know how your grandfather is. He’s not the type of man who could tolerate homosexuality. He would definitely so something extreme to the man who ’seduced’ his son.
"So, I had to tell him that I have a girlfriend and the young man on the picture was just my junior in college. I asked a close friend of mine, who just happened to be a lesbian, if she could act as my fake girlfriend. It happened that she was also in a relationship with another woman at that time. So, the arrangement was perfect for us. She was also from a very prominent family. That’s why when I took her home and introduced her as my girlfriend to everyone, Dad was finally satisfied and he was no longer suspicious."
Hearing that, Shen Ji Yun remembered people talking before about his uncle’s ex-girlfriend that he had been in a relationship with for five years. Until the other suddenly broke up with his uncle and left the country to live abroad. That was before his uncle became his guardian. What was her name again? Ah, Zeng Rou! No, wait- that was not the point. The point was that they maintain that charade for five years!
"How did Uncle Yue react?" he asked, the other would definitely not be happy with that.
Shen Yi Mu showed a bitter smile. "I explained everything to Ah Yue. We even went to a double date with Xiao Rou and her partner. He said that he understood everything and that he was not angry. Our relationship was not something we could proudly show to others. People would mock us and treat us like abnormalities if they knew. So, it’s already good that we could still stay together despite all that."
But Shen Yi Mu knew that it remained a thorn in Jiang Yue’s heart. But he still forced himself to understand because that was their reality.
Jiang Yue was an orphan and was raised by his grandparents. They were very loving and understanding people. But even so, Jiang Yue still couldn’t tell them about his relationship with him. Even when they left him one after the other, he still wasn’t able to tell them his secret.
"Our relationship continued on. But after that incident, we became even more careful. Doing everything secretly. From us meeting to going on vacation, everything had to be done in secret. We were happy, yes. But it was very tiring. Even more so for Jiang Yue. That thorn in his heart probably just grew bigger and bigger as years passed by. Then a little bit more than seven years ago, when I was busy preparing for the release of the holographic version of Arcadia, he broke up with me."
Shen Ji Yun was startled to hear that. Although he already kind of expected it, considering the fact that Uncle Yue no longer visited the house, it was still kind of surprising. Especially after finding out that their relationship started 17 years ago. He couldn’t believe that he simply got ’tired’ of the relationship.
But then again, what exactly did he know? Maybe that kind of underground relationship could really tire someone out. For some reason, he couldn’t help but be scared of the future.
"Why did he break up with you?" he asked his uncle.
Shen Yi Mu leaned back and then looked up at the ceiling, recalling that moment when Jiang Yue told him that he no longer wanted to be with him.
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