SKY-HIGH AIRPORT.
The name suited Gu Wei's mood. He was high, not on the sky but on Zhai Mei.
The memory of her, the lingering tingles she'd left him with, and the strand of her hair Gu Wei had found on his lint-observing sweater she'd playfully told him to keep as a token.
Gu Wei had taken it seriously, and had permanently wrapped it around his finger.
Gu Wei wanted to stay high forever.
Unfortunately for him, he was picking up his parents at this Sky High Airport.
The day he'd dreaded for so long had arrived, knocking Gu Wei's high to the side.
The only problem was, Gu Wei didn't have a car, but who cared?
Picking up parents from the airport when they came to visit was a normal thing and a responsibility for the children.
Gu Wei would've been happy to do so if his parents classified as guardians or anything close to it.
Their yearly visits and prompt absence afterwards proved them to be anything but.
Normally, Gu Wei would've used Ha Xing's car, considering the owner never drove it except for long trips, and Gu Wei had been given free rein to do whatever he wanted with it.
But with Ha Xing ignoring him and Gu Wei doing the same, borrowing the car wasn't an option.
So with no other choice, renting a car was the only solution he had, and Gu Wei did it as unpleasantly as he felt.
It was just that his expression wouldn't pull into what he wanted it to be, and he found himself smiling and grinning without his control.
He wasn't complaining though, but being happy had its quirks.
The moments of warmth in his chest, the organ squeezing fondly at a memory, a small secret smile stuck on his lips, were all pleasant in their own way, and Gu Wei cherished them close
Gu Wei didn't want to miss a single moment.
He wanted to feel that way again, and remember the details to the smallest fragments.
But he would've been elated to dump his present moment along the hollows of his brain.
Driving to get his parents was not something Gu Wei wished or wanted to remember.
Although, the car did remind him of his heartfelt conversation with Zhai Mei in hers, and Gu Wei's lips twitched into one of those unstoppable smiles as he parked.
Gu Wei got out of the car in a daze and headed into the full, crowded airport, his mind long gone into Zhai Mei's presence in his mind.
"Gu Wei! Gu Wei-ah! Here!"
Voices called out his name, and Gu Wei frowned as he searched the crowd, only to turn the way he'd come to finally find the source of his name.
Gu Wei's smile wiped off his face as he came upon the figure of his parents waving at him.
Gu Wei sighed.
He walked back the way he'd come, pulling his coat tighter as the early morning wind wheezed over him.
"Mom, Dad." Gu Wei inclined his head in greeting, reaching the two smiling people.
Gu Shi Lu, Gu Wei's mother, was the exact same copy of him.
Thick eyebrows, the same face shape, and the same dark pupils in their eyes.
The only difference was the hair.
Gu Wei's was the thick black of his father's, while his mother's was more a deep brown than a black colour.
Gu Shi Lu was in corduroy trousers with thick pockets on the sides, with a long-sleeve shirt tucked perfectly in.
Gu Bao Jing wore the same style, but with a different colour.
His trousers were the color of Gu Shi Lu's shirt, cream, while his shirt was the color of Gu Shi Lu's trousers, dark green.
Two partner tourists indeed.
They complimented themselves well like the perfect couple they were. Gu Wei resisted rolling his eyes at them.
Instead, offering a formal greeting to draw the line then and there.
His mother frowned and wrapped her arms around him, pulling Gu Wei into a reluctant hug.
"What's with the head? Come here and give me a hug. I haven't seen you for so long and you're bowing?? See this child, seriously…"
Gu Wei was stiff at first, refusing to let his hard-built walls down.
But the second his mother patted a hand on his back, Gu Wei's hands automatically hugged her back, his body warming with the heat of hers.
Gu Wei clutched her shirt like a lost child, burying his face briefly in her hair, letting the hope in his chest fester for a moment.
Hope that his parents were staying this time.
Hope that they'd changed and would have more time for Gu Wei.
Hope that they would actually be the parents they were supposed to be this time.
But that hope had been squashed so many times, festering into a permanent wound in Gu Wei's chest.
Never leaving but never expanding.
Gu Wei was the one to pull away from the hug first, not even two seconds after his brief reaction.
Gu Shi Lu said nothing at the abrupt pull, moving out of the way as Gu Wei grabbed their luggage and led them to the car, not a single look at his father.
That parent had a special wound of his own.
Gu Bao Jing made to protest at the frosty treatment, but Shi Lu grabbed his arms and shook her head, intertwining their fingers together and dragged him along Gu Wei's fast walk.
Gu Shi Lu frowned at the unfamiliar car, her eyes widening in a happy surprise.
"Wei Wei-ah, did you buy a car? This isn't Xing-er's, is it?"
Gu Wei paused in his luggage stuffing for a moment, then continued.
"It's Gu Wei… Also, no, I rented it." Gu Shi Lu gave a displeased 'oh' and rubbed her arms coldly.
The three families got in the car.
Gu Wei cranked up the heater, turning off the music in the next second.
Zhai Mei's 'Mother Nature' was playing in the car as Gu Wei had listened to it on his way.
Starting up the car, Gu Wei ignored his mother's raised eyebrows from the backseat at his hasty movement.
Gu Shi Lu's eyes lingered on his bruised lip, and before she could comment, Gu Wei spoke up.
"Did you bring coats? Scarves? It's terribly cold here now."
Gu Shi Lu's eyenbows raised higher, but she let him off, smacking his father's arm. The latter let out a pained sound at the unjust slap.
"That's what I kept telling him. But he insisted, saying, 'they're just exaggerating, children nowadays can't take the cold'. I shouldn't have listened to your rubbish. Now we'll have to buy new ones. Thank god I left a scarf last time. Is it still with you, Gu Wei-ah?"
Gu Wei almost choked on air, "What-umm… What scarf?"
He said as innocently as he could, avoiding his mother's gaze in the rearview mirror.
"That scarf I forgot to pack. The one with the uhh… frizly edges? Smooth cotton? Red?"
Gu Wei's hands tightened on the wheel.
He cleared his throat, replying as neutrally as he could. "I don't know. I don't think I have it with me. Maybe at Nana's?"
Gu Shi Lu shook her head.
"We stayed at your place last time, remember? So it's definitely there. Maybe Ha Xing took it? He's always admiring my clothes."
"Maybe."
Humming at his reply, Gu Shi Lu mumbled something about shopping and smacked her husband again.
Gu Wei relaxed as the threat wore off.
The car was warmer than usual at that moment, and Gu Wei was tempted to take off his coat as his face warmed with supernatural heat.
The drive was silent after that. Gu Shi Lu humming a song and tapping her fingers to it.
Gu Wei's phone pinged loudly, and he closed his eyes briefly in annoyance.
Shut up, let peace be.
Another ping sounded twice in a row, then four times.
Gu Wei took out his phone at the next red light and tapped the screen aggressively, muting it immediately.
The pinging stopped.
Gu Wei glanced at the lights again and checked the numerous pings.
The Best Of Class 13 had 15 notifications, which kept increasing, and one message from Zhai Mei.
Gu Wei dismissed the chat and tapped on Zhai Mei's first, he could check whatever perverted conversation they were having on the chat later..
Zhai Mei: Sneaky boy! You truly met my mom. I had a chance today and asked her about it, and she confirmed. But then she asked how you were to me…
Gu Wei: What did you say?
Zhai Mei: …Special friend?
Gu Wei laughed out loud before he could stop himself, sealing his mouth shut in the next second.
Gu Shi Lu peeked curiously at his screen, craning her neck.
Gu Wei shut his phone immediately, tossing it in the seat next to him so it wouldn't keep vibing in his pocket.
"Who're you texting?" Gu Shi Lu asked, staring suspiciously at her son.
Gu Wei set his expression straight, "Ha Xing."
The lie sneaked out of him before he could think, and Gu Wei praised his smart reflexes.
Gu Shi lu hummed again and leaned back in her seat.
"I see. So we're staying at Hao Shui Jiao this time too, right?"
Hao Shui Jiao, meaning Gu Wei's and Ha Xing's apartment.
Wanting to laugh at the not-so-innocent question his mother was asking, Gu Wei stopped at another red light. Driving was so annoying.
"No. At Nana's."
There was silence behind him for a while, then, "Why? Is it too inconvenient? You have a guest room, it should be fine for everyone. We did that last year, and it was fun, remember?"
Silence came from Gu Wei's side this time. Last year may have been fun for them, but the fun was quickly replaced by bitterness when the people you had fun with left as quickly as they came.
Gu Shi Lu retraced her steps, trying another method.
"Also, your Nana's place is so far, how will we get to the tourist centre from there? Your apartment is more convenient, it's close to the city, and we'll spend less money on transport. But… we don't want to impose, so you decide. Mom and Dad won't mind either way."
Now feeling guilty, Gu Wei glanced at the mirror, meeting his mother's eyes.
Dark on dark, thick eyebrows equally scrunched in a small frown.
He looked away, his fingers digging into the steering wheel's leather.
His guilt got the better of him and he was adding his address to the GPS, only to be interrupted by his father.