You Qi frowned in confusion when Old Father Yang told him that his son wasn't home. Where had he gone, he wondered. Was he avoiding him again? He bowed slightly and left. Yes, he was determined to fix things between Yang Meng and himself. When you love someone, you always fought to keep them in your life. It didn't matter how hard things got between you both, a love like theirs was worth fighting to keep. Whatever was going on between them was a small problem in his eyes, something that he knew in his heart could be repaired.
His cell rang. He fished it out of his pocket, looked at who was calling, and ignored his agent. He was well established in life now and didn't have any movies or TV shows to commit to at the moment. He was more than capable of taking some time off of work to tend to his personal life.
He recalled all of the questions his siblings had asked when Yang Meng had left abruptly. He couldn't answer any of them and he wondered if his siblings even liked Yang Meng. None of them had commented on what they had thought of Yang Meng after their first meeting and it worried him. Did they like him at all?
After giving it a couple minutes of thought, he shrugged. Did he care if they liked him?
Gu Hai suggested that Yan Ya Jing finish the meeting with their clients. After, he sat back in his chair and listened as Yang Meng went into great detail about why he had really paid him a visit in the middle of a busy work day. After some time, he inhaled, exhaled, clasped his hands together, and said, "It seems to me that you're scared. I think you need to allow what is happening in your life to play out. You're overthinking things before they even happen." His voice was as calm as he could keep it. He really didn't want to be bothered with Yang Meng's personal problems, but Yan Ya Jing had noted that Bai LuoYin had asked him to do it. He quickly thought about his lover's swollen rump and he smiled internally.
Yang Meng made a face. He thought for a while. Deep down inside, he was terrified, but he did his best to hide it. He didn't want Gu Hai to see it, there was a chance that this man would use his emotions against him someday and laugh at him like he always did. He watched as Gu Hai got a bit more comfortable in his chair, his eyes looking as if he was studying him, and asked, "Do you love him?"
His jaw dropped. The question was so blunt. Especially coming from Gu Hai. He looked around the room as he fought to keep from blushing. He met Gu Hai's eyes and nodded confidently. Their conversation was becoming very deep and personal. Was this kind of friendship with Gu Hai going to make him feel like this every time they spoke? Was it possible that their 'almost' friendship would change after this kind of conversation? He noted how very different it was to talk to Bai LuoYin than it was to talk with Gu Hai. The man in front of him oozed intimidation.
"Then you should be able to get through this. Love is not easy. Trust me. It takes work, lots of work." Gu Hai said, his expression serious.
"I do trust you, kind of," Yang Meng said, telling the truth.
"Then let your love guide you. Trust your feelings when it comes to You Qi," Gu Hai said. Hearing that Yang Meng trusted him made him feel good. He wanted everyone in Bai LuoYin's life to always be one their toes. He was a very unpredictable man and he liked being this way. It was better to keep people guessing, he thought to himself. But it was still good to hear that Yang Meng trusted him.
"I just met his siblings," Yang Meng said, bringing him back out of his thoughts.
Gu Hai's eyebrows rose and fell. "What are they like? Did you all get along? I never met his siblings before, even when we went to school together. They are all much older than him."
Yang Meng made a sour face. "I don't really know how it went to tell you the truth. It felt as if they doubted that we would make it as a couple." He watched as Gu Hai thought for a moment.
Jiang Yifei was thrilled when Wang Wei smiled at her from the front doorway. She was sitting in the kitchen eating something when she had spotted him. Their eyes met briefly and he had smiled and acknowledged her. She fought to keep her emotions from erupting across her face. She took a breath and slowly exhaled. She glanced at Ying Yue, who was watching her with a pleasant smile on her face. "Did you do this?" she asked, her voice low. She watched as her friend nodded and her insides tickled as if she were a teenager again. She had longed for Wang Wei to forgive himself and talk to her. She slightly bowed her head and thanked her friend.
"Make sure and talk to him," Ying Yue stated with a firm tone.
Jiang Yifei nodded and half smiled. She felt nice when Ying Yue treated her as if she were her real older sister. They might not have been blood related, but their bond was strong. "I will," she said, "and thank you for doing this for me."
Ying Yue placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't mention it," she said and went back to eating.
Bai LuoYin was attacked with lots of questions when he arrived at his father's house. Aunt Zhou was the first to hug him and ask about Ying Yue, Jiang Yifei, and the babies. His father asked how come he wanted to spend the night at their house and gave him a suspicious look. Tong Tian was there also and asked, "Is Gu Hai coming too?"
He cringed internally, shook his head, and said, "Gu Hai is busy at work. He has so much work to do today that he will be staying overnight at the office to get it done." He made a serious face so that he would look believable.
Bai Han Qi frowned harshly, turned back to the plate of food in front of him, and continued to eat, unable to entertain his son's lies. He could see right through him and he wanted no part of it!
This made Bai LuoYin laugh nervously. He tried his best to act, but failed. He should have known better. His father knew him too well. He tried to change the subject by saying, "I haven't seen you all in so long! How is everyone?" He hugged Tong Tian and then sat down to eat. They ate for a while in silence and then Bai LuoYin went into the guest room to relax.
A light knock on the guest bedroom door and Aunt Zhou popped her head inside. He smiled at her from the bed and she entered with blankets and more pillows. He looked over at the ones on the bed already and frowned. "Why did you bring more pillows?" he asked.
She placed the items carefully on the bed and stepped back to say, "Gu Hai will need them when he comes by later on tonight. I want him to be comfortable."
"I told you he's not coming. He has work to do and he'll be at the office all night." Bai LuoYin said, looking at her as if she were forgetful.
Aunt Zhou fiddled with her fingers. She looked worried for a second, then said, "Are you sure everything is okay between you two?"
He smiled, nodded, then went to embrace her. He couldn't tell her that Gu Hai had pounded his poor butt into next week, that the pain was still fresh and that it hurted when he sat down to eat with them. He was scared that he wouldn't be able to fight off Gu Hai's advances if he came over tonight. Instead, he hugged her, kissed her gently on the cheek, and went to watch TV with her in the living room.
"What are his siblings like?" Gu Hai asked. He was beyond interested now.
Yang Meng frowned and sat back hard in his chair. He folded his arms across his chest and said, "They're all scary. I don't want to talk about them."
Gu Hai rolled his eyes, disapointed, and then stood up. He adjusted his belt and shirt and said, "Well, it's time to get back to work. It was nice talking to you. I hope that I helped you out in some way."
Yang Meng stood up also. He extended his hand.
Gu Hai looked down at his hand and then met his eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Yang Meng looked embarrassed. "I thought I should shake your hand or something," he confessed.
Gu Hai laughed. "Did we do business that I'm not aware of?"
Yang Meng laughed nervously. "No," he said and dropped his hand.
Gu Hai looked at the man and shook his head. He thought for a second, then said, "You know what, Yang Meng, you should have more confidence in yourself."
Yang Meng scatched the back of his head. "What do you mean? I have lots of confidence."
Gu Hai squinted his eyes and looked at him sideways. "No, you don't. People would take you more seriously if you had more confidence when you spoke. If you showed people a more serious side of you, they would think twice about taking advantage of you at times."
Yang Meng took in the words. He listen to what Gu Hai had just said and watched as he walked away after, returning back to running a billion dollar company.
Later on that night, after Gu Hai had caught up with his work, he leaned back in his desk chair and pulled out his cellphone. He dialed Bai LuoYin and listened as the phone rang and rang. Where was his lover, he thought. Why wasn't he answering? He tried calling a few more times and then frowned as the call went to voice mail. Did his lover go to bed early? Did he go to sleep without meeting him? He dialed the home number, got no answer, then dialed Yang Meng, who answered on the first ring. "Is Bai LuoYin with you?" he asked.
"No, I'm home watching TV by myself," Yang Meng said robotically and confused.
Gu Hai hung up and called You Qi, who also answered on the first ring. He asked the same question and You Qi said that he was alone. He hung up and went to find Yan Ya Jing, maybe Bai LuoYin had come to the office to meet them, he thought.
He walked into her office and found that she had left for the day. He sighed, pulled his phone out, and sent a text message to his lover. 'Where are you? Are you okay? Call me when you get this message.' He stared at his screen and waited for the message to be seen. He waited for at least five minutes and got no reply. He dropped his hands and leaned against the door, staring out into the distance through the windows in the office. He thought for a second and then his eyes lit up. He dialed Bai Han Qi.
At fourty seven minutes past ten, while everyone was in their beds, sound asleep, Gu Hai shoved the key that his father-in-law had given him into the lock and turned it. He pushed the front door open without making a single sound and crept into the living room. He placed his briefcase down on the carpet, slid out of his jacket and shoes, moved through the living room while he undid his tie, and made his way towards the guest room.
He entered the room to find Bai LuoYin already fast asleep, moonlight casting a glow across his face. He stood a few feet away, stunned at how handsome his lover's face was. He smiled, continued to undo his tie, and inched his way towards the bed. A warmness caressed his heart at the thought of embracing Bai LuoYin. Next to him, he thought, all he wanted to be was next to him. Tonight, he would not wake him. Tonight, he would let him rest. He crept into the bed, snuggled up close to his other half, and wrapped his arm around his waist, pulling him into the puzzle piece that was their bodies. And just like a puzzle piece, their bodies snapped into place and Gu Hai closed his eyes. In no time, he fell into deep sleep.
Bai LouYin awoke to someone laughing. He rubbed at his eyes, slowly became aware, lifted his head off of the pillow, and noticed Aunt Zhou was standing in the doorway with his father. They both were laughing as if watching him sleep was something amusing.
"What's so funny?" he groaned and dropped his head back down.
"We are leaving to go to the restaurant," Aunt Zhou said and giggled.
"We will see you two later," said his father.
Bai LuoYin looked over at them again and they rushed out the door. What was up with them? What did his father mean when he said, i'll see you two later? Was Tong Tian not feeling well today? He usually helped at the restaurant when he wasn't busy with his studies. Then he felt movement on the bed and his eyes went wide. He pulled the covers from his chest and looked down to see a hand wrapped around his waist. He practically jump off the bed and looked down to see Gu Hai wiping at his own eyes.
"Morning," Gu Hai smiled up at him.
"Morning? How did you get in here!" Bai LuoYin yelled in disbelief.
"Baba," Gu Hai mumbled and stretched his arms and legs. He made sure that as he stretched Bai LuoYin could see that he was very much hard as a rock and standing straighter than an arrow under the sheets, which was half-way covering his crotch area.
Bai LuoYin watched as an unbothered Gu Hai propped his head up with the palm of his hand and gave him a mischievous grin. He was intantly irritated. First of all, how did Gu Hai get into the house?
As if Gu Hai could read minds, he said, "Baba made a key for us. I have it on my key ring," he said, his eyes trailing off to the side as if he were talking to the bunch of keys and it would pop up to say something in turn.
There it was again, the word Baba. Why did it irritate him to hear Gu Hai say that word? It was what you would call your father-in-law, but hearing his husband say it made him feel a type of way. Why?
"What's wrong?" Gu Hai asked, eyeing him suspiciously. He could see that something was bothering his love.
"Nothing," Bai LuoYin spat and left the room.
Gu Hai was left with his own thoughts.
Bai LuoYin went into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He looked at himself in the mirror and studied his own reflection. Was he being dramatic? So many thoughts ran through his mind. Gu Hai saying baba shouldn't have made him feel this way, so why was he so annoyed? My dad, ran through his mind. He looked down into the sink. My dad. Gu Hai has his own father. Gu Hai already takes everything that is yours and keeps it for himself. Why can't you have something that's just yours? The ugly thoughts invaded his mind like the devil planting a seed. He shook his head and took a deep breath. He turned on the faucet, splashed some water on his face, and inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly.
But the thoughts kept coming. Why doesn't Gu Hai let you top him? Is it because he wants to control your life? He takes everything from you and you can never have something that is just yours! Your body is not your own! Gu Hai is too controlling! He shook his head again and looked back into the mirror. Why was he having these thoughts?
Gu Hai lightly knocked on the door. "I'm going to make us something to eat," he said.
He doesn't even ask. He demands, commands, orders, what he says is what must happen, came more thoughts.
Another knock and Gu Hai noticed that his lover wasn't responding. He frowned. "I'll leave it in the kitchen. When you're hungry you can eat it."
Bai LuoYin heard when Gu Hai left and he breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like he wanted to be left alone. Should he be left alone, he thought. He did not like the thoughts that had leaked into his mind. It was as if slowly, a very toxic poison was infecting his brain.
In the kitchen, Gu Hai prepared breakfast, but his own thoughts were running wild. Was Bai LuoYin upset with him? Beside the obvious need to heal his plump rump, did he do something else to his lover that he wasn't aware of? Whatever it was, he was going to have to deal with it. If the love of his life wasn't happy, he wouldn't be either. It must be something small, he thought to himself as he started to cut the vegetables. Since marriage, they have had very little fights when it came to living together as two people in a committed relationship.
As he continued to make the food, he heard Bai LuoYin in the other rooms, moving about. It wasn't until he heard the front door open and shut did he frown and call out Bai LuoYin's name.