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Jiang Cheng glares at Mingjue. “You wanna run that by me again?”
Mingjue grins at him. “I said, Asgard is not a place. It’s a people.”
“Dork,” Jiang Cheng scoffs. “And it does’t answer my question. Do you want to go look at that old farm Zonghui sent the listing for or not?”
“Of course it answers your questions,” Mingjue says. He leans closes his laptop and leans back in his chair. “Wherever my people go, I’ll go. You’re my home.”
Jiang Cheng sighs and rolls his eyes. He shoves the paper at Mingjue. “Yes, yes, very romantic. But are you going to be so sanguine when I just buy the place and then we have to use a hot plate for a few months while the kitchen’s renovated? Or when you have to use a bucket instead of a shower? Because if you don’t give me a serious answer, I will buy this property and move out there next week, damn the consequences.”
Mingjue takes the paper, expression chastened. “Sorry, my heart. Let me take a look.” He makes a show of seriously examining the papers and studying the few grainy photos before setting the papers aside. “Okay, look. I am serious. I will go wherever you want, although you’re right. I would prefer a functioning kitchen and bathroom. Practical questions — can we get internet that far out of town? How many bedrooms are there? Will Jingyi be upset if we move that far away from his friends?”
Jiang Cheng finishes brewing the tea and sets a pot and two cups on the table before joining Mingjue. “Zonghui said that in general, Wi-Fi is spotty, but there are cables in place, so as long as we’re in the house, it’s fine. The family who owns the property had it converted for a guest house five or so years ago. We shouldn’t have to do a lot of renovations, unless you don’t like the appliances already in there. We’ll probably want to paint and update the carpet, but it’s solid.”
“And the farm?”
“It’s not actually a working farm anymore. There’s a pretty decent yard and space for a vegetable garden. The fields around the place are rented out. Zonghui says the working part of the farm is certified organic, so we won’t have to worry about chemicals.”
“Bedrooms?” Mingjue asks.
“Four,” Jiang Cheng says, and it’s only because they’ve been together so long that Mingjue picks up on the undercurrent of uncertainty in his response and posture.
“Four?” He reaches for Jiang Cheng’s hand. “Really?”
Jiang Cheng nods. “One for us, one for Jingyi, one for an office, and one for a guest room.”
“Or a nursery?”
Jiang Cheng smiles. “Or a nursery.”
Mingjue squeezes his hand. “And what does Jingyi think?”
“We’d only be a fifteen minute drive from town. I figure, if we upgrade my two-door to something larger, he can use my old car to get around when he’s home on break. He said he could come out with us on Saturday afternoon to look at the place, but he sounded enthusiastic.” Jiang Cheng laughs. “Well, as enthusiastic as he can be, given that he’s currently mired in mid-term and application hell.”
“It sounds to me like you’ve already said yes to this place, my heart.”
“It’s meant to be our home, Mingjue. I don’t want to be the only one making the decision.”
“And I already told you, wherever you go, I’ll go. If you say this is our next step, then it’s our next step. I trust you.”
“Yeah, but Mingjue, I don’t want to make a choice and have you resent me ten years down the road.”
Mingjue scoots his chair closer to Jiang Cheng’s, puts his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders, and holds him close. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about it that way.” He kisses Jiang Cheng’s temple. “I can’t imagine resenting you, but it’s also not fair of me to put all the decisions on you.”
Jiang Cheng sighs again, and this time, it’s fond and content as he leans into Mingjue’s embrace. “Thank you. You have to promise you’ll tell me if you don’t like it, or if there’s anything you want to change.”
“I promise. In fact,” he goes on, “I’d like to make one request right now. If there’s room, I’ve always wanted a hammock or swing. And a basketball hoop in the driveway.”
“Those are very reasonable requests,” Jiang Cheng says. “If this place doesn’t have space, we’ll make sure we find a place that does.”
They lean into each other, enjoying the quiet of the afternoon for a bit before Mingjue pulls back so he can look at Jiang Cheng.
“A nursery,” he says, hope caught in his words.
Jiang Cheng smiles.
“I think I’m ready,” he tells Mingjue. “What about you?”
“Yeah,” Mingjue says. “I think I am, too. Let’s look at the house first, though, before we call A-Yao. He’s terrifyingly efficient. If we asked, I bet he’d acquire a baby for us by the end of the week.”
Jiang Cheng laughs. “Tomorrow, if we weren’t too fussed about the legality of the whole thing.”
“God, you’re right. Okay.” He kisses Jiang Cheng’s cheek and pushes away from the table. “We’ll look at the house on Saturday. In the meantime, how do you feel about soup for dinner?”