XiYou Deal Chapter Story

Deal: Chapter 15

“DEAL”

Chapter 15

Four months have passed since that incident at the balcony. Four months since Xi Men have not seen Xiao You. He ran after her and tried talk to her again but she was downright refusing him. Whenever he visited his son it was either Xiao You was out of the apartment or she dropped Xiao Tian at their house. Clearly, she was avoiding him.

At a bar in downtown Shanghai, Xi Men and Mei Zuo were indulging in a few drinks.

“... and then she left. And won’t even see me or talk to me.” Seated on a corner cubicle of a bar Xi Men was muttering to Mei Zuo about Xiao You.
“Hey Xi Men! I think you have one drink too many already.” Mei Zuo put his arm around his friend’s shoulders.
“Noooo. Let’s have one more.” Xi Men was clearly drunk.
Mei Zuo pushed away the bottle of whiskey which Xi Men attempted to reach.
“Hey! Enough already.” Mei Zuo scolded him. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”

Xi Men was so drunk he could barely stand on his own. Mei Zuo had to help Xi Men to stand. He had no choice but to drag Xi Men out of the bar and into his car. After fastening both their seat belts, Mei Zuo drove towards the Xi Men residence. He glanced at his passenger who was by now passed out.

In twenty minutes’ time Mei Zuo arrived there. He rang the door bell. He was immediately recognized by the detailed security guard and let him in. One of the servants assisted him to bring Xi Men to his bedroom. They put him down on the bed.

“Where am I?” Xi Men slurred.
“You’re in your house.” Mei Zuo replied.
“House?”
“Yes.”
“Who brought me here?”
“Me, you idiot.”
“Eh? Mei Zuo?” Xi Men looked at him. “Let’s make a pact.”
“No.” Mei Zuo declined.
“But you haven’t even heard what I’m gonna say.” Xi Men said.
“You’re drunk, Xi Men. That’s alcohol talking nonsense right now.”
“I’m not drunk.” Xi Men pointed at himself. “I’m feeling good. See?” Then he flashed a smile.
“Wipe that ugly smile off your ugly face.”
The servant who was tending to Xi Men couldn’t help but laugh.
Xi Men glared at him.
“Sorry Young Master.”
“Get some sleep Xi Men. We will talk tomorrow.” Mei Zuo said. Xi Men had passed out again on his bed. Turning to the male servant, “Prepare some herbal tea when he wakes up. He’s gonna need it tomorrow for his hangover.”

The servant nodded. Together, they left Xi Men’s bedroom.

The following morning, Xi Men woke up with a terrible headache and a bad case of hangover. He was glad the kitchen staff had already prepared a pitcher of herbal tea when he went to the family dining hall to eat breakfast.

His phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and read Mei Zuo’s name on the screen. He answered the call.

“Mei Zuo.” He greeted as their video call connected.
“You’re finally awake.”
“What happened last night?” He asked as he massaged his temples.
“Tsk! You know, you really shouldn’t drink too much. You talk a lot of nonsense when you’re drunk and you woke up the next day not remembering anything.”
“Spare me the lecture.”
“Fine. Just wanted to check if you’re okay.”
“My head is in terrible pain. Other than that, I’m okay.” Xi Men replied.
“And your heart?”
“What about my heart? It’s healthy.”
“Tsk. Healthy your ass! Last night you blew my ear off talking about Xiao You.”
Xi Men winced. “Why ask me if you knew the answer already?”
“It’s nice to see you tortured.” And Mei Zuo grinned.
“Is that supposed to be funny?”
“Geez, you’re really in a foul mood when you have a bad hangover.”
“If you knew that why do you keep teasing me?” He retorted.
“Fine. I’m hanging up. But I just want to inform you that Lei and I will be at Ah Si’s place tonight. He’s gonna teach us what he’s learned at the Lamaze class he and Shan Cai are attending.”
“Huh?”
“Come if you’re interested. This should be a good distraction for you.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you guys there tonight.”
“Okidoki.”

And their video call ended.

That evening at the Dao Ming Mansion, Xi Men arrived thirty minutes past seven. He was brought to the living room where his friends were gathered.

“Great! Xi Men is finally here.” Dao Ming Si said. “Come and join Lei and Mei Zuo over there.”

Xi Men scanned the room and found his two best friends on the floor and with them a human-sized pregnant dummies.

“What the-?”

Lei had a blank expression on his face. Mei Zuo was grinning from ear to ear.

“There’s one dummy behind you. Take it and place it in front of you.” Dao Ming Si ordered.
“What is going on here?!” Xi Men demanded.
“We’re having a Lamaze tutorial.” Dao Ming Si explained somewhat annoyed. “Sit down and let me continue on with the lecture.”
“What’s a Lamaze?” Xi Men wondered. Still standing.

Dao Ming Si put both of his hands on his waist.

Mei Zuo and Lei watched in silence as Dao Ming Si explained briefly to Xi Men what Lamaze meant.

“Why do you need us three to learn?” Xi Men asked.
“In case I’m not around. In case I don’t make it in time when Shan Cai is going to give birth.” Dao Ming Si was losing his cool. “Gets?”
Xi Men scratched his head. “What are those dummies for?” He pointed at the dummies.
“Obviously, they’re the pregnant mothers.” Dao Ming Si replied sarcastically.
“Where’s Shan Cai? Shouldn’t we be practicing on her? Since she’s the one who’s going to give birth?”
Lei answered Xi Men’s questions this time. “Can you imagine me and Shan Cai this close,” he gestured to the dummy he was hugging, “and not have Ah Si breathing down on my neck in jealousy?”
Dao Ming Si rolled his eyes.
“Point taken.”
“Now will you sit and join Lei and Mei Zuo over there?” Dao Ming Si commanded.
“You’re so bossy.” Xi Men grabbed the spare dummy and sat on the floor beside Mei Zuo. He put the dummy in front of him too.
“And you’re late and grumpy.” Lei remarked.
Xi Men was about to smack Lei when a heavily pregnant Shan Cai arrived carrying a tray with food in it.

“I saw that Xi Men.” She said.
“Too bad.” He muttered.

Shan Cai placed the tray on the center table and sat on the couch, munching food nonstop.

“Have you already taught them about the breathing techniques?” Her question was directed at her husband.
He looked at her. “I was about to teach them that but grumpy pants here arrived late and disrupted my class momentarily.”
Xi Men glared at Ah Si. “Why is everyone on my case tonight?” He grumbled.
“Because you’re sulking and it’s making you ugly which is contagious to Ah Si.” Lei stated nonchalantly.

Mei Zuo burst out laughing. This time Xi Men managed to smack Mei Zuo on the back of his head.

“Hey!”
“You think it’s funny?”
“Isn’t what Lei said true?”
“Ah! It’s no use! I’m no longer in the mood to teach.” Ah Si complained as he sat beside Shan Cai. “We’ll resume the class tomorrow night at seven.” He looked directly at Xi Men.
“Is my presence - rather - attendance in this Lamaze class necessary?” Xi Men inquired.
“Yes. You of all people should know better how important this is. I want Shan Cai to have the support group she needed in case I couldn’t be there when she’s going to give birth.” Dao Ming Si pointed out.
“How would I know?” Xi Men hissed. “I didn’t know Xiao You was pregnant. I didn’t know she gave birth to our son. I didn’t know she was hurting so much because of me. I didn’t know we missed our ‘once in a lifetime’ so many times.”

Everyone was quiet as Xi Men ranted.

“Now if you all will excuse me.” He stood up and left.
“Is it really over between them?” Lei asked.

Nobody dared to answer.

© Franzz P. Follow on Instagram @onceinalifetimearc2018
Date written: December 22, 2018

Note: The previous chapter was too much for me to write. It was breaking my heart. So for this chapter I wanted to write something light and funny and have another XiZuo or MeiMen (Caina-inspired a little bit) and F4 moment. Why do I always end up writing #SavageLei dialogues?