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Chapter 43 - 42

๐‘ฐ ๐’‹๐’–๐’”๐’• ๐’˜๐’‚๐’๐’• ๐’•๐’ ๐’๐’Š๐’† ๐’ƒ๐’†๐’”๐’Š๐’…๐’† ๐’š๐’๐’–โ€ฆ ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐’‚๐’ ๐’Š๐’”๐’๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’Š๐’ ๐’‚ ๐’”๐’†๐’‚ ๐’๐’‡ ๐’„๐’๐’๐’‡๐’–๐’”๐’Š๐’๐’...

๐’€๐’Š๐’ƒ๐’

****

"๐ต๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘ข๐‘ ," Yufei said, watching Zhan as he slowly stirred the food placed in front of him.

"๐ผ๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก, ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘ข๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘›?"

With eyes already swollen from crying, Zhan shot her a sharp glare. It only made Yufei laugh...along with Hanji, her school friend.

"๐ผ ๐‘ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘กโ„Ž," Yufei continued teasingly. "๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘™ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค, ๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘ ...๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘—๐‘œ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘›."

Hanji looked at her in surprise.

"๐‘…๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ?"

"๐‘‰๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘ ๐‘œ," Yufei replied confidently. "๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘ž๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘๐‘˜๐‘™๐‘ฆ. ๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘›๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”."

Another girl nearby added,

"๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š, ๐‘Œ๐‘ข๐‘“๐‘’๐‘–. ๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘โ„Ž, ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘."

Laughing, Yufei said,

"๐ป๐‘ฆ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’. ๐ฟ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’. ๐ผ๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘’...๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’'๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ."

Zhan knew she meant Aji...the one who couldn't attend his wedding because she had given birth just the day before. She had delivered a baby girl, and Zhan had visited her personally. Since it was her first child, she was still recovering and deeply upset that she couldn't attend the wedding.

As he heard Hanji asking Yufei how people overcome that kind of shyness, Zhan let his attention drift away, sinking into his own thoughts.

He was dressed in a dark purple and cream suit. After bathing, he had changed out of his reception outfit. He and Aunty Shui had carefully chosen what he would wear, yet now, with the suit on, it felt unfamiliar... almost unreal. Still, it suited him perfectly, especially the fine tailoring he was only now truly noticing.

Fuyue lifted the curtain at the doorway and stopped there, scanning everyone in the room.

Yufei looked at him and asked,

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘›, ๐น๐‘ข๐‘ฆ๐‘ข๐‘’? ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™."

Standing at the door, Fuyue replied casually, "๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘”. ๐ด ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ, ๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’. ๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜."

Zhan didn't look at Yufei, but from the tone of her voice, he sensed her surprise.

"๐ด ๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ? ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’'๐‘  ๐‘Ž ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ?"

Fuyue answered without hesitation,

"๐‘†๐‘œ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก? ๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ."

Everyone listening could tell Fuyue was just talking for the sake of it.

Yufei didn't hide her reaction; she simply nodded and said,

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘’."

Fuyue then turned to Zhan.

"๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข, ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ค ๐บ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š. ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’. ๐ท๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’."

Zhan looked at him and nodded, his expression calm.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข."

With that, Fuyue gave the room one last glance and left.

Sadi burst into laughter.

"๐ป๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐ธ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘Œ๐‘ข๐‘“๐‘’๐‘–, ๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘™๐‘ฆ."

Naturally, the room's conversation shifted to Fuyue. Those who knew him began sharing stories of things he had done in the past.

In Zhan's mind, Yibo's words from that day about Fuyue resurfaced again and again. No matter how often he replayed them, they still made no clear sense. The only thing he knew for certain was this: whatever was happening...whatever Yibo was hiding...now that their lives were about to intertwine completely, he would eventually know.

Lost in these thoughts, Zhan barely noticed when Aunty Shui entered the room. She walked straight up to him, holding a dark purple netted fabric.

"๐บ๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ฆ," she said firmly. "๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘  if ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’...๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ, ๐‘Œ๐‘ข๐‘“๐‘’๐‘–, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘–๐‘› โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’."

Yufei replied, "๐ด๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ฆ, ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก, ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’๐‘Ÿ."

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘œ'๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘?" Aunty Shui snapped. "๐ป๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’. ๐‘†๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฅ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐บ๐‘’๐‘”๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘‘, ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘”๐‘ข๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’. ๐ป๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘’, ๐น๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘›๐‘–."

She handed the fabric to Fanni, her sister-in-law, then turned back to Zhan.

"๐‘†๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ข๐‘...๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ฆ."

Zhan set the plate aside and stood as she draped the fabric over him. She muttered under her breath,

"๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘ . ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข. ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘Ž๐‘“๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘–'๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘."

The room erupted in laughter... everyone except Zhan.

Just then, Noni walked in holding a bowl of burning incense meant to fragrance the room. At that moment, Zhan's eyes filled again. He discreetly raised his hand to wipe them, but Aunty Shui asked sharply,

"๐ธ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ฅ, ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก? ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”?"

That was all it took.

Zhan could no longer hold back. He nodded as warm tears streamed down his cheeks. Yufei stepped forward and hugged him, saying she hadn't even cried this much when she was sent away to Macau. Zhan himself knew he had cried excessively....but it felt as though no matter how much he cried, there was still more sorrow lodged deep in his chest.

To him, this marriage felt like a doorway...one he was stepping through to face many unknown things. Not just Yibo and his words, not just the new life everyone imagined awaited him.

And so, if asked to count how many times he cried from that moment until he was taken to say goodbye to Nainai, he wouldn't know the number.

From there, he was taken to Uncle Roubing, who stood in for Uncle Elder. The man advised him the way a father would to a son. After that, Zhan was led outside and placed into the car for departure.

Bai stayed close beside him, quietly crying together. All the excitement of the wedding, combined with his wanting to have his tea party...Zhan's uncontrollable tears had drained his strength completely.

Even the expensive makeup he had paid so much for had been ruined.... washed away by tears in front of the many friends he had invited. In the end, he had simply wiped his face clean and carried on with the ceremony.

Over the net covering Zhan's head, Nainai draped an old veil, saying it had belonged to his mother and that she had kept it carefully all these years. With that veil over him, Zhan was led into the house that would now be known as his marital home. His eyes were covered, and though he couldn't see anything, he knew they had taken him upstairs into one of the three rooms he kept hearing people mention.

Gradually, the crowd thinned. The prayers and well-wishes faded as guests left and the cars that brought them returned to pick them up. When the room finally grew quiet, Aunty Gumsu took out a small bottle of perfume from her bag and handed it to Zhan, telling him to apply it later. He accepted it carefully, holding it in his palm as he thanked her.

After she and the other relatives left, only Aunty Shui and Bai remained in the house. Zhan heard voices saying that Aunty Hsiao, Mama Taichen, and her siblings were still downstairs. Aunty Shui complained loudly about why they were still sitting around when nothing of value had tied them together since the wedding began. Because of that, they hesitated and couldn't freely do what they wanted.

Close to ten o'clock, they finally came upstairs, asking how they were supposed to get home since all the cars were gone. With no other choice, Aunty Shui asked Yufei to call Duan, her husband, who was coordinating the vehicles. He returned and sent two cars to pick them up.

After they left, the house was rearranged once more. Bai and Fan helped, while Mimi....Uncle Nanjing's daughter...lit a rich incense burner her mother had gifted Zhan in large bottles: ๐ฌ๐š๐ง๐๐š๐ฅ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐.

Instantly, the entire house...upstairs and downstairs...filled with a deep, warm fragrance reminiscent of India, China, Saudi Arabia, Northern Nigeria and Chad. It gave the house a true sense of newness. Just breathing it in, combined with the neat arrangement of everything, wrapped the heart in a strange wave of nostalgia.

At exactly eleven o'clock, Aunty Shui gathered everyone upstairs and told them to say goodbye to Zhan. She explained that she had already called the driver, and they would all leave together. Only Yufei would stay behind, since her husband would come for her along with the groom.

Just as Aunty Shui finished speaking, Zhan broke down again...opening yet another chapter of tears. This time, he couldn't stop himself. Even Aunty Shui's eyes filled with tears, no matter how hard she tried to stay composed.

Eventually, everyone left. Zhan was alone upstairs with only Yufei beside him. She kept offering advice and reminding him of things he should do. He listened, but very little stayed with him. Now that everything was settled, his mind was fixed on only one thing...seeing Yibo inside this house.

While they were talking, they heard the gate open and a car drive in.

Zhan's heart began to pound violently in his chest. His stomach tightened with hunger, and his hands started to tremble.

"๐ถ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘š ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘›," Yufei said gently, noticing the fear written all over his face.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š."

She held his hand again and continued softly,

"๐ท๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐ผ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก. ๐ต๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ. ๐ผ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก."

Zhan nodded, feeling the weight of emotion settle over him. Just then, Yufei's phone rang. They both looked at the caller ID.

๐‡๐ฎ๐›๐›๐ฒ.

That was how she had saved her husband's number. She released Zhan's hand and answered while he wiped his tears.

"๐‘ฉ๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’š, ๐’˜๐’†'๐’—๐’† ๐’‚๐’“๐’“๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’…. ๐‘พ๐’†'๐’“๐’† ๐’…๐’๐’˜๐’๐’”๐’•๐’‚๐’Š๐’“๐’”."

It was Duan's voice...she had him on speaker.

"๐‘ถ๐’Œ๐’‚๐’š, ๐’˜๐’†'๐’“๐’† ๐’„๐’๐’Ž๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ," she replied.

After ending the call, she looked at Zhan.

"๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘œ? ๐‘‚๐‘Ÿ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘ฅ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก?"

He shook his head slowly. ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜น ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต? ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ? ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜บ ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด?

He stood up. Yufei adjusted the net over his head again, covering his face properly, then held his hand as they walked out of the room. As their feet touched the soft carpet lining the staircase, Zhan felt his heartbeat intensify... especially when he heard something fall and voices speaking nearby.

He heard Duan's voice saying,

"๐ถ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™, ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›โ€ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘˜ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘ ?"

Then he heard Yibo's voice from a distance, though he couldn't make out the words. Duan burst into laughter afterward.

By the time they reached the living room, Yibo was stepping in from outside, holding two shopping bags... clearly just brought in from the car.

Duan sat on one of the three-seater sofas, phone in hand.

What stunned Yufei first was Yibo's appearance. He wore a plain white short-sleeved T-shirt and light brown jeans. Nothing about him looked like a groom welcoming his spouse. If anything, Duan... with his white suit... looked more like one.

So they had all been immersed in the chaos and emotions of the wedding since morning, especially Zhan, whose tears had not stopped...yet Yibo looked calm, as if nothing had happened.

"๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ , ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘™๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’, ๐บ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š," Duan said, smiling at them.

Yibo stepped fully inside, nudged the door closed with his foot, and placed the bags beside the sofa. To Yufei's surprise, he walked straight toward them, smiling. He looked at her and spoke gently.

"๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐ผ? ๐ถ๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐ผ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ?"

She smiled back and nodded. Turning to Zhan... whose head was still covered... she released his hand and went over to her husband.

Yibo approached slowly. He stood before Zhan and gently reached beneath the net, taking both of Zhan's hands in his. Zhan's palms were damp with nervous sweat, making the contact even more intimate. Yibo felt as though his fingers were sinking into Zhan's skin as he carefully slid his own fingers between Zhan's.

Then, softly....right near Zhan's face...he said, "๐‘Š๐‘’๐‘™๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’."

In Zhan's mind, it felt as though those words hadn't simply been spoken aloud. It was as if they had been breathed directly into his heart, passing from there into his soul... loosening the tight knot that had lived in his chest all day, and awakening emotions he never knew were alive inside him.. He closed his eyes beneath the veil and released a deep, trembling breath.

And in that moment, he told himself the truth:

๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ.

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›โ€ฆ"

Yibo spoke the name softly, in that low, resonant voice of his... the kind that made it seem as though he contributed the very act of naming Zhan had been carefully designed to produce that sound.

Zhan didn't respond. Yibo hadn't truly expected him to. He said it only to reassure himself that Zhan was really there, standing before him, wrapped in the symbol of what was now rightfully his. In that moment, he allowed his mind to clear itself, sweeping away every reason, every incident, every road that had led them to this point.

"๐‘ƒ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘–๐‘™," Duan's voice pulled him back to reality. "๐ฟ๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›, ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’."

Yibo smiled and turned to look at him and his wife, who sat beside him.

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’?" he asked.

"๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘Žโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘™๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“," Duan replied. "๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข."

Yibo nodded lightly.

"๐ผ ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›...๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘ก. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’? ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘”๐‘œ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘™๐‘‘, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘’."

Yufei laughed quietly as she watched them.

Duan said, "๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐ผ๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’...๐‘ค๐‘’'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘›."

Still smiling, Yibo nodded. Then he did something Zhan had never anticipated...he pulled him fully into his arms, turning him slightly and holding one shoulder firmly while drawing the rest of him close.

They sat together on the two-seater facing the single chair where Duan and Yufei were seated. After they sat, Zhan instinctively shifted, trying to put a little distance between them...but Yibo reached out, took his hand, and gently threaded their fingers together.

Duan began to speak.

"๐บ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š, ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’. ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ...๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘›."

"๐‘€๐‘š๐‘š, ๐‘›๐‘œ," Yibo interrupted, shaking his head.

"๐ผ๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘. ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘š. ๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’."

Yufei laughed. Duan shot Yibo a look before continuing.

"๐ธ๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ, โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’. ๐ฟ๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ...๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ค...๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘“๐‘“๐‘–๐‘๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข, ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›. ๐ป๐‘’'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘‘๐‘œ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’. ๐‘†๐‘œ ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘˜ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ...๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’, ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘Ž ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’, ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›. ๐ป๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’."

The words echoed through Zhan's mind. Their weight pressed down on him, while their meaning seemed to spread and unravel inside his thoughts, as though they carried more depth than he could yet understand. But his mind was too crowded to respond. So he stayed silent, listening... while at the same time feeling Yibo's fingers gently moving against his palm, slow and reassuring.

Duan spoke for a long time...enough words that would have sufficed for twenty people. He prayed in both Chinese and English, reciting gentle, heartfelt words that passed through each of them, grounding their emotions and carrying hopes upward for every request he made.

When he finished, Yufei smiled at him and said, "๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ."

Before Duan could answer, Yibo shook his head.

"๐ป๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก. ๐ผ๐‘“ ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐ท๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ก."

Even Zhan smiled when Duan replied, "๐ท๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’, ๐‘Œ๐‘–๐‘๐‘œ."

With that, they stood to leave. Yufei stepped closer to Zhan again, holding his hand while the men moved ahead, still talking.

"๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’, ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›," she said softly.

"๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’. ๐‘Š๐‘’'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘˜ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘›."

Zhan could only manage a quiet thank you. When she left and the door finally closed, a deep silence settled over the living room...a silence unlike any Zhan had ever known. It felt as though time itself had paused, as though nothing in the world was moving.

He didn't know how long they stayed that way until the sound of a car starting and the gate opening shattered the stillness. When he heard the gate close again, the weight of the moment returned fully.

Zhan shifted slightly, adjusting his position, his fingers tightening instinctively aroundย each other.

Yibo stepped into the living room, closed the door behind him, then turned to look at Zhan where he had left him... sitting alone, face still covered. Seeing him like that stirred something heavy inside Yibo, something that had been quietly pushing at him for days. Instinctively, he did what he always did: he shoved the feeling aside in his mind and shook his head, as though trying to scatter it completely.

He walked further into the room, his long toes sinking into the softness of the new carpet. When he reached Zhan, he knelt down on both knees in front of him, close enough that Zhan's knees rested against his chest. He took Zhan's hands...joined together...and began to speak what lay in his heart.

"๐‘‚โ„Ž ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘, ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘œ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘–๐‘”๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™'๐‘  ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™. ๐‘ˆ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›'๐‘ . ๐‘‚โ„Ž ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘, ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’. ๐ฟ๐‘’๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘š ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘’, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘’๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š. ๐ต๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐บ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ , ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’, ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ข๐‘ ."

"๐ด๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›."

To his surprise, Zhan's voice joined his almost at the same time, both of them saying Amen together. Smiling, Yibo looked up at him, drew their joined hands toward his face, and brushed them gently against his cheek. He didn't let go. Still holding him, he called his name softly, the way he always did.

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›โ€ฆ"

A few seconds passed before Zhan answered in a quiet voice.

"๐‘Œ๐‘’๐‘ โ€ฆ"

"๐ถ๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐ผ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค?"

Zhan hesitated, then slowly nodded. Yibo noticed the movement and gently placed Zhan's hand on his thigh, clearly reluctant to let go. Then he reached up to where the veil covered Zhan's face and carefully loosened it, drawing it back little by little.

What happened in the instant Zhan's face was revealed, Yibo couldn't fully explain. He only knew his heart skipped, his breath caught...

"๐‘‚โ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘ฆโ€ฆ"

The question slipped out before he could stop it.

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘? ๐ท๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘โ„Ž?"

Zhan didn't answer. Yibo cupped Zhan's face fully in his hands, lifting it gently so he could look at him.

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›โ€ฆ"

He called his name again.

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘? ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ? ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘?"

The question echoed in Zhan's mind. After everything...the tension, the chaos, the emotional strain of the day...this was what he was being asked: What happened?

He slowly raised his eyes to meet Yibo's. They looked even lighter without eyeliner, the whites stark and exposed. Before Zhan could say anything, Yibo closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and said,

"๐‘‚โ„Ž ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘ก...๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘˜ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก. ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’."

Zhan couldn't help it. A small smile tugged at his lips, amused by both Yibo's words and the way he said them, as though Zhan's gaze alone could undo him.

"๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ , ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›," Yibo added. "๐ผ๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ค ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก."

Zhan simply nodded and said softly,

"๐‘‚๐‘˜๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ."

Yibo smiled in return.

"๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘—๐‘œ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”. ๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข. ๐‘†๐‘œ....๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก? ๐ท๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก? ๐‘‚๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐ผ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ง๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”?"

Zhan shook his head.

"๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ."

Yibo nodded.

"๐ผ๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ....๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜. ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘ก. ๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค, ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก. ๐ผ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘˜ ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘œ. ๐ถ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’, ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š."

Zhan nodded again. Yibo stood and held out his hand; Zhan took it, rising with him. They went upstairs together, hand in hand, and entered a second bedroom...one different from the one Zhan had been brought to earlier. Zhan immediately noticed the color scheme: ash and silver everywhere. The furniture, the curtains, even the bath mat by the bathroom door...all matched perfectly.

"๐ป๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐ผ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”? ๐ฟ๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข"

Yibo said as his hand reached toward the veil.

Zhan quickly stepped back and caught his wrist.

"๐‘๐‘œ. ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“."

Yibo studied him briefly, lifted one eyebrow, then withdrew his hand with a nod.

"๐ด๐‘  ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘ โ„Ž, ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘."

Zhan smiled faintly and turned to enter the bathroom. Yibo stood watching as he closed the door gently behind him.

After the door shut, Zhan remained standing inside for a long time, leaning against it, replaying everything that had happened in his mind. It felt unreal...like a story. Was this really him, in a new house, with Yibo as his husband?

He closed his eyes and counted slowly in the darkness, half-expecting that when he opened them, he'd find himself back in his grandmother's home. But when he opened them again, nothing had changed. The scent of fresh paint lingered in the air, grounding him in reality.

He didn't remove the veil. He only washed his face. When he came out, he found Yibo seated on the carpet, clearly waiting for him.

Yibo turned fully toward him, took his hands, and whispered several prayers, Zhan answering them softly. When he finished, he lifted their hands and passed them over his face the same way he had earlier...then lowered them slowly, his eyes fixed on their own hands as he spokeโ€ฆ

"๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘’'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ. ๐‘†๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘’...๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก. ๐ฟ๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘œ๐‘˜๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ?"

"๐‘‚๐‘˜๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ."

Zhan nodded slowly, showing that he understood. At the same time, he felt as though something else had loosened inside his tightly bound chest.

Yibo lifted his gaze and looked directly into his eyes.

"๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š, ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก?"

"๐‘Œ๐‘’๐‘ ," Zhan answered.

Yibo nodded.

"๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘š...๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’. ๐บ๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ , ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜. ๐ผ'๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘›."

"๐ด๐‘™๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก."

Zhan replied, lingering on the word come back as it echoed in his mind.

When he reached the other room, he felt around for a while before finding something suitable to wear...soft cotton sleepwear, a loose shirt and trousers. The shirt was long, almost reaching his knees. He remembered how, after they bought it, Aunty Shui had complained that it was too big, saying they hadn't checked the size properly. Now, that extra looseness felt perfect. Among all his sleepwear, none seemed more appropriate than this.

After he finished changing, he walked to the door...then turned back. He did this four times. On the fifth attempt, he finally gathered the courage to open it and step out.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Yibo seated on the carpet, grocery bags opened, plates set in front of him. Zhan noticed Yibo's eyes slowly scanning his clothes as he came closer.

Zhan didn't know what Yibo was thinking, but his own attention was on the food. He felt full and strangely uninterested in eating, yet he knew Yibo wouldn't allow him to skip the meal. No matter how reluctant he felt, Yibo insisted until he ate.

They didn't talk much while eating, but the few words they exchanged made the night feel longer than it actually was.

Afterward, they carried everything down to the kitchen. When they returned, Yibo told him it was already half past midnight. Zhan was surprised...he'd thought it was closer to two in the morning. They had spent more time in the kitchen than he realized, even rearranging things when the socket near the refrigerator didn't work. They moved kitchen items aside, pulled the fridge toward another outlet, plugged it in, and loaded it with drinks and other items.

When Yibo went into the bathroom, he turned off the bedroom light and told Zhan to lie down. Zhan sat on the bed first, feeling as though his body wouldn't cooperate. Eventually, he lay down, curling his legs slightly, his thoughts drifting.

Life, he thought, moved on without regard for one's plans. Destiny unfolded as it wished, whether you were ready or not. No matter how much you resisted, there were moments you had no choice but to face.

When the bathroom door opened, Zhan instinctively closed his eyes. The light spilled into the dark room, forming an image in his mind of Yibo stepping out bare-chested. Yibo didn't close the door immediately, and Zhan felt as though his gaze might betray him if he opened his eyes. His heart began to race. He told himself he wouldn't open them at all...then finally, the door closed and the light disappeared.

Before his thoughts could settle, he felt Yibo standing behind him at the foot of the bed. Yibo bent down slowly until his lips were close to Zhan's ear and whispered,

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘’๐‘ฆ๐‘’๐‘ ? ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ."

Suddenly, a memory surfaced...long buried. When Zhan was younger, there had been a school he attended with Bai and Fuyue before Uncle Sanxing stopped them from going and changed it to another. Zhan would have sworn he'd forgotten everything about that time. Yet now, Yibo's words pulled him straight back to the first day he'd seen him...back when fate first began weaving their paths together. Back in Yibo's office.

๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ ๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ? ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ? ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ต?

Zhan swallowed hard, his throat tight. Before he could gather himself, he felt the bed shift. Yibo pulled him gently back until Zhan's back rested against his chest. A jolt ran through Zhan as Yibo's hands slipped beneath his sleeping shirt, warmth spreading around his narrow waist. Yibo leaned in close and murmured softly.

"๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ , ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘›. ๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ง๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘’โ€ฆ"

****

"๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก? ๐‘†๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘™๐‘ฆ? ๐‘€๐‘œ๐‘š, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข'๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก?"

Fuyue's eyes were wide with alarm as he stared at Aunty Hsiao. She had just told him that she had checked everywhere...upstairs and downstairs...where she was certain she had placed the hidden charm in Zhan's house, but it was nowhere to be found.

"๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘˜ ๐‘–๐‘ก, ๐น๐‘ข๐‘ฆ๐‘ข๐‘’," she replied. "๐‘Š๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆโ€ฆ ๐ด๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐ผ'๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘™, ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘–, ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘ก."

Fuyue shook his head sharply.

"๐‘€๐‘œ๐‘š, ๐‘–๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘˜ ๐‘–๐‘ก. ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘? ๐ผ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘€๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘‘. ๐ผ'๐‘š ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค, ๐‘€๐‘œ๐‘š. ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ ? ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘ƒ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’?"

Aunty Hsiao shook her head calmly.

"๐‘…๐‘’๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ฅ. ๐ผ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘๐‘›'๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›. ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข... ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘š ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘."

Some of the tension drained from Fuyue's face. He looked at her closely.

"๐‘…๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ, ๐‘€๐‘œ๐‘š? ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘œ?"

๐‘ป๐’‰๐’–๐’“๐’”๐’…๐’‚๐’š, 29 ๐‘ฑ๐’‚๐’๐’–๐’‚๐’“๐’š

2026

๐’๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’™๐’Š๐’‚๐’๐’š๐’Š๐’ƒ๐’๐Ÿ’šโค๐Ÿ’›

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