Remember When...(YiZhan)

Chapter 13

     Weeks had gone by and neither one had called the other. Zhan spent most of his days running from one photoshoot to another for all the brands that he was ambassador to. When he wasn't shooting or filming he was practicing for his routines for, Our Song. Keeping himself busy had helped maintain his sanity, but he couldn't rid himself of the heaviness in his heart.

     His manager noting Zhan was pale and listless asked if something was wrong and if he needed some time off. To which the latter had flashed a huge smile and shook his head. She hadn't pushed further, but silently noted that even when Zhan had smiled, it hadn't quite reached his eyes. Quite honestly, she felt the light had been taken right out of those orbs that usually glowed so brilliantly.

     Today he sat apart from the rest of the crew with the excuse of wanting to practice the lyrics to one of the songs he needed to perform. He started to stick in his earphones, wanting to shut out the rest of the world, when he felt someone sit down beside him. A bottle of green tea was stuck in front of him and he turned to the person that had intruded on his quiet.

     "What are you listening to?" Yang Zi asked, smiling sweetly.

     "Just wanted to practice one of my songs." Taking the tea that she offered he opened it and took a sip. He remained silent after, hoping that she'd notice he wanted to be alone and go away.

     Instead of leaving, she nudged him with her elbow and brought up the one subject he had been trying to avoid. "He still hasn't called yet," she deduced. "I can tell because you're still gloomy."

     After finding out that the selfie she had posted had caused the fallout between them, the actress had been extremely apologetic.

     Zhan sighed. "He said, we're done...it can't get more final than that. You really need to go find another couple to ship."

     "I'm sorry..."

     "I told you, it's not your fault. Let's just not talk about it anymore, okay?" Zhan said, interrupting what must have been Yang Zi's one-hundredth apology.

     They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Yang Zi decided to speak. "No," she declared.

     "No what?"

     "No, I refuse to find another ship to sail," she stated. "You will fix this. I believe when love is strong enough, it'll find a way."

     "You're a romantic," scoffed Zhan. "That doesn't happen in real life."

     Yang Zi studied Zhan for a second and then put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe that's what the problem has been for you, Xiao Zhan. You've been too much of a realist through this whole relationship. Maybe you need to be more of a romantic, like me."

     Zhan shook his head adamantly. "You didn't hear how angry he was," he stated.

     "That just shows how much he loves you, Zhan," Yang Zi said, trying to convince him.

     He rolled his eyes in frustration. "Yeah, he loves me so much that he ended it, Yang Zi."

     She sighed and got up to stand in front of him with her arms crossed. "Go and get him back Xiao Zhan... at least try."

     It wasn't like he hadn't considered trying to reconcile with Yibo, but each time he picked up his phone to call him, he remembered the pain and then the coldness in Yibo's voice. He was barely hanging on right now and being rejected by Yibo would absolutely break him. There were too many people relying on him and he had too many responsibilities to have a breakdown. "No it's better this way," he uttered.

     She stomped her foot when what she really wanted to do was kick Zhan in the leg. "At least let him know that you loved him," she scolded. "If you don't have the courage to face him, then sing him something Zhan."

     Zhan put his head in his hands and covered his weary eyes with his palms. He was just too tired to argue with her. "Yang Zi, I want to be alone now," he said. Only after hearing her leave, Zhan lifted his head, and looked off into the distance, searching for some sort of solace to ease his aching heart.