Taming The Tiger

25. A Merry Day Until...

Yu Hua dashed out of the cafe to see his brother and as expected, Yu Lan froze seeing his brother in front of him.

"Excuse us for a minute," Yu Hua said politely to the boys, trying not to embarrass his brother and pulled him to a corner.

"What are you doing here?" the actor asked his brother with wide open eyes.

A hint of guilt passed through the younger man's eyes before his expression grew defiant, "hanging out with my friends, is it a crime?"

Yu Hua exhaled sharply, "of course it is not, but how about father?" he asked softly, yet his brother snapped at him with hostility.

"I am not his nanny, you know! If you worry about him going gambling this much, you should be at home, not here!" Yu Lan shouted at his brother and the latter felt a tinge of sadness in his heart.

"You are right, I shouldn't indulge myself with a cup of coffee," he said with disappointment and slammed the shopping bag, which he took out with him unwittingly, on Yu Lan's chest. Then he turned around and went back to the cafe to pay for his coffee.

"What's wrong?" Ming Lei asked, seeing the dejected look on his friend's face.

Yu Hua shook his head and said "I have to go now, you two should stay, it is still early," he said with a forced smile, feeling bad to ruin the nice atmosphere, "I will cover the bill."

"No way," Jing Yong stood up and snatched the bill before Yu Hua, "I will cover the bill and take you two home."

"No need," Yu Hua tried to refuse, but Ming Lei pinched his arm, silencing him.

"That would be awesome, thank you, A'Yong."

Jing Yong beamed at the pet name silently and rushed to the cashier while Ming Lei dragged Yu Hua toward the exit.

The road back home was silent. Yu Hua was sad, Ming Lei was angry and Jing Yong was worried. When they finally arrived at Yu Hua's neighbourhood, Jing Yong kept his confusion to himself about the neighbourhood not being the same as the last time he dropped Yu Hua home. Unaware of the mistake he made, Yu Hua thanked the duo for the lovely day and rushed back home to check if his father was at home.

"Can we wait here for a while?"

Jing Yong looked at the owner of the question, who was looking at his friend's receding back.

"As you wish, but can I ask for the reason?" the actor replied as he killed the engine.

Ming Lei heaved a sigh and looked at the actor, "I want to talk with Yu Lan, Yu Hua's brother. He needs to get his shit together or I will kick the life out of him."

"I see," Jing Yong pouted. He thought Yu Hua had only problems at the set, but apparently his personal life was not any better. He pitied his ge, as he was such an angel.

"SHIT!" Ming Lei's exclamation snapped the younger out of his reverie.

"What happened?" Jing Yong asked with worry, seeing the older man slap his own forehead.

"We forgot about our shift!" Ming Lei wanted to slap himself one more time, but a firm hand prevented him from doing so.

"What shift?"

Ming Lei hesitated for a second, then his gaze shifted to the warm hand still holding his hand and he spilled out "Yu Hua and I work part-time at 7/11 in LaoDao."

Jing Yong fidgeted uncomfortably and it broke Ming Lei's heart. Saving his hand from the younger's grip, he said "is it too low for you, Mr. Yong?"

"What?" the actor didn't understand the accusation.

Ming Lei pushed his hair back, irritated, and clicked his tongue, "you looked highly uncomfortable after hearing our part-time job."

"Oh no!" Jing Yong shook his head, almost snapping his head, "I just..."

"You just?" Ming Lei challenged him coldly.

Jing Yong's shoulder drooped, "I don't know if I should tell you this," he said with a low voice.

"Tell me," Ming Lei said, but now his tone was milder.

"Yu ge always so tired when he comes to the set, he is always sleeping during ten minutes breaks we have. He even has nosebleeds sometimes."

"What?!" Ming Lei was terrified. Of course he knew Yu Hua was tired most of the time and he even tried to make him quit the job, but his friend needed money, so he was adamant to keep the job. If Ming Lei knew his condition was that serious, he would have written a resignation letter on behalf of him already!

"He said it wasn't something serious, but now I know the reason," Jing Yong said with salient self-guilt as if he was the reason for the situation.

Seeing the young actor blaming himself, Ming Lei's heart filled with compassion. He patted the younger's hair softly and said "thanks for telling me, I will talk with him."

Jing Yong nodded, then asked "does he need a lot of money?"

Ming Lei nodded with a sigh, making the actor understand he didn't want to talk about the matter. Therefore, he changed the topic, "what will happen to you if he quits the job?"

"What do you mean?" Ming Lei was more cooperative this time.

"You will be alone in the store for a while if he quits, right? Isn't it dangerous?"

"Wait, are you worried for me?" Ming Lei asked with astonishment as he wasn't used to having someone worry for him, other than that worrywart Yu Hua.

"Yes" was the resolute answer and it made funny things to the smaller man's heart.

Maybe...

SHIT! THE SHIFT!