"Goodbye mother and father! Hu Xin, make sure you treat mother and father well." Zi You said his goodbyes to his mother and father before jokingly saying these words to his sister.
"First of all, I have always been treating them like a queen and a king, brother, and I will gladly continue to do so. You just have to continue being my butler." As Hu Xin said the last part, she flipped her hair back, and added a smirk onto her face.
"Drama queen," Zi You muttered under his breath, holding onto Lui Yun's hand.
"I heard that!" Hu Xin glared at Zi You before smiling.
"Take good care of my dumb brother, brother-in-law. I'll be waiting for good news from you two soon. And if you have time, Lui Yun, call me. I'll make sure to give you some juicy information about my brother. Bye!" Hu Xin quickly entered the car after she said those words, a smile lingering at the corner of her lips.
Lui Yun turned to look at Zi You, his eyes unable to hide the love in them.
"Ready to go?" Lui Yun asked Zi You, who was staring off into the distance as his family got further and further away.
Zi You turned and looked deeply into Lui Yun's eyes.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Zi You said, now feeling much lighter than when he had first come. Although he had come prepared with the thought of being rejected, it seemed like his family had already suspected something long ago.
As Zi You sat in the car, he couldn't help but worry about Lui Yun now. Although Zi You had solved his problem, Lui Yun was still going through a rough time, even the smile on his face couldn't hide the turmoil within his eyes.
"Are you okay, Lui Yun?" Zi You spent a few seconds thinking before he finally asked this. It couldn't hurt to try.
Zi You could see that Lui Yun had unconsciously flinch before he replied to his question.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just, some troubles came up but you don't have to worry, it'll be gone soon." Lui Yun reassured Zi You, silently yelling at himself for slipping up on his act. Maybe he had been showing his real emotions without knowing.
Zi You didn't believe him, not even one bit, but he still showed relief on the outside. "Just know that I will always be here for you if you have something to tell me one day."
"Yeah, maybe I will be able to tell you one day," Lui Yun whispered underneath his breath.
Zi You knew that Lui Yun was going through a rough time. But the one thing he knew
was that when someone said they're fine, most likely, the chances were higher that they aren't fine. He also knew that when people said don't worry, that was only to make sure that the other person doesn't ask more questions, it was either to protect the other person or themselves.
Zi You could tell that Lui Yun was tensed, even as he pretended not to, he couldn't stop himself. He merely shook his head a bit, wondering how long everything would take to fall back in place.
Lui Yun held onto the steering wheel tightly, trying to calm the emotions running wild inside him. He wanted to tell Zi You, but something inside him just wouldn't let him. He wished he could say the truth, to tell him everything that he had been going through, but he didn't want to do so. He didn't want to burden Zi You with his own struggles, he didn't want for him to know the deepest, darkest secrets that he had never told to anyone.
Maybe it was selfish of him to want to hide something like this, but he didn't want Zi You to be worried about him. After all, though he had friends, he had been alone for most of his life. Being betrayed had left a mark in him that turned into a scar, unwilling to fade away. Even though he knew that Zi You wouldn't do something like that, something like leaving him, Lui Yun still wanted to take precautions. After all, if he lost Zi You, he wouldn't know what to do with his life.
Truth was, before Lui Yun had even knew it, Zi You had become his everything. Zi You had taught him love, had taught him what yearning was like, had taught him that sometimes, you must fight against your own fate to get through your struggles. For the first time, Lui Yun experienced true happiness and what it meant to trust, but he experienced the fear of losing someone precious, someone who could never be replaced.
Maybe Lui Yun was running away from his past, but his past had never been a pleasant one anyways, it was always something that would torture him for as long as he lived. That's why, everyday he spent with Zi You eased it all, because he knew that Zi You would never betray him.
"Hey, Lui Yun?" Zi You asked, seeing that Lui Yun seemed a little out of it.
"Yes?" Lui Yun answered back, snapping out of his thoughts. Only then did he realize that his thoughts had gotten really out of hand.
"If it's fine with you, can we make a stop somewhere?" Zi You asked hiding the smile on his face as he watched Lui Yun's reaction.
Lui Yun had a look of confusion on, but he didn't say no. "Where do you want to go?"
"That's a secret. Just keep driving, I'll tell you where to turn." Zi You said, a mischievous smile displayed in his face now and Lui Yun could only smile lightly, his mood brightening up by a bit.
"Okay, then. Don't get us lost, I'm leaving this up to you." Lui Yun said as he waited for Zi You's direction.
"Don't worry, I know exactly where we will be going."
Lui Yun looked up at the sign, his eyes questioning Zi You.
"You wanted to go to the amusement park?" Lui Yun asked, staring at the park filled with many different things to do.
"I thought that the both of us needed to have some fun today and since we had nothing to do, we should come here and have some fun. Have you ever been to an amusement park before?" Zi You explained before he asked another question as he saw how Lui Yun was still looking confused.
"No, this is my first time ever," Lui Yun replied. This was really his first time being at an amusement park. His family had never took him out to anything like this, and since he didn't have many friends, he had never experienced what an amusement park really was.
Zi You didn't want to step on a bomb so he could only reply, "That's fine, I'll teach you everything about all the different things you can at this kind of place. Be prepared, we're going to spend a lot of time walking and enjoying ourselves." Zi You winked as he got out of the car.
Lui Yun could only sigh as he saw how happy Zi You seemed to be before he got out of the car too.
Zi You dragged Lui Yun to many stalls, taking advantage of this moment to indulge in their fun. Although Lui Yun was still feeling a bit down, with Zi You's doings, he also began to smile brighter.
"Thank you," Lui Yun suddenly said.
Zi You turned back, furrowing his brows with a questioning look. "For what?"
"Everything. I tried to hide it as best as I could, but it seems like you realized that something was off about me. Zi You, I promise that I will tell you soon, not now, but soon. For now, let's just enjoy this moment. Thank you so much," As Lui Yun said that, it was as if a burden was lifted off of his chest.
To his words, Zi You only smiled even brighter as he said, "To thank me for something like this, I don't know if I should praise you or yell at you. Just know that when you feel ready, I will always be here for you. Just like how I have always been, just like how you have always been by me."
"I will tell you, I definitely will. But I don't want to ruin our moment right now, so when we return, I will tell you then. I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't bring myself to speak about it either." Lui Yun tried to dismiss the feeling that came upon him, and focused on Zi You.
"Even if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have treated you any different. Just remember, you can't let the past hold you back, and that you now have me. Lui Yun, you are no longer alone and I will never let you be alone." With Zi You's words, it was easily noticeable how Lui Yun lightened up. Seeing this, Zi You also felt better.
"Now, let's enjoy ourselves to our heart's content, hubby," Zi You winked at the end of his sentence, obviously having fun with his teasing.
"Yeah, let's do that," To Zi You's joyful teasing, Lui Yun only played along, his heart much lighter now.
In the dark of the night, the two sat next to each other, Lui Yun's head leaned onto Zi You's shoulder and he held his hand tightly in his own.
"Well, where should I even begin, the story is far too long to be told so quickly." Lui Yun only said this to spend a quick moment to sort out his thoughts, but he didn't expect Zi You's soft and gentle voice to answer right away.
"From the beginning, from the moment it had begun."
Hearing this, Lui Yun closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he began talking.
"From young, I had already knew how different I was treated from my brother. The preferential treatment between the two of us wasn't hard to tell, and honestly, even though I was young, I knew it all too well. My existence to that family was merely because they wanted to use me, they thought of me as something they could easily dispose of after using. Of course, back then, I was still naive. Even though I knew about that, I still thought that as long as I showed my worth, they might grow to love me just like they loved my brother."
"I went through the extremes to get their love, to get their attention, but I was always compared to my brother. Even though outsiders agreed that I was much more outstanding than my brother, my parents always dismissed that thought. I lived my life being compared to my brother, not understanding why I wasn't on the same level as him, why I couldn't be like him. Everything I wanted, those were given to my brother. Though I won countless awards, countless medals and trophies, nothing could fill the void of watching from the sidelines as my parents showered their love onto my brother and only him."
"At the time that I was so confused, so lost, and utterly destroyed, when I met Se Moon, he became my light. He taught me that I was enough, that I was worth everything I could have thought about. I was foolish, not even noticing just how weird it was that he had stuck to my side. I fell in love with him, deeper and deeper, he drew me in until I was completely fooled by his acts, not even noticing as cracks appeared within the mask he put on."
"Even when he had betrayed me, when he tried to kill me, helping my brother and my family in getting rid of me, I still didn't even know. Se Moon was the first person who showed me warmth, showed me what it meant to love, how love felt like....or at least what I though it was. When he betrayed me, everything in my world collapsed. Though I survived, I was lost in this world. It wasn't until some time later that I picked myself up and began working my way towards becoming well known."
Saying this, Lui Yun's face that was dark became lighter, a small smile tugging on his lips as his eyes grew softer in the light.
"I met another man when I had least expected it. He dug his way into my heart, remaining there, not willing to move. It was a one-sided love at first before he began to look at me the same as I looked at him. At first, I was afraid. I was afraid that I would be betrayed once more, that I would end up losing everything once again, but he showed me that he would always be by my side. He told me his secrets, his fears, his identity, he showed me what it really meant to have someone by your side who you could trust with your life."
"Soon enough, he became my world. He taught me that love was something wonderful, something exceptionally beautiful. In return, I promised to love him forever, to give him the world with my own two hands. That person is by my side right now, looking much too beautiful that my heart can barely keep a calm pace." Lui Yun grinned a bit as he got to the last of his sentence and Zi You lightly pinched Lui Yun's hand.
"You sweet talker," Zi You complained, even though he clearly enjoyed it.
"I learnt from the best," Lui Yun kissed Zi You's cheek, staring into his eyes with an adoring expression.
"Zi You, from this moment on, I swear to love only you. I will grown old with you, I will experience the turbulence of this life with you by my side. Under the rain, we will both stand, under the sunshine, we will both stand. No matter how much danger lies ahead, no matter how shaky this road get, I promise to withstand it it for you."
"Alright then, if so, you'll have to be patient with me then. After all, I'm also a mess myself."
With the sudden sentence, the sound of laughter was heard in the room.
"Zi You, would you marry me?"
"No fancy rings or flowers, anything at all?" Zi You obviously did not mean what he said.
"If you wanted the world, I would give it to you, but right now, I want to know if you would marry me even if I had nothing in this life."
"Silly, even if you did, I would still choose you in a million lifetimes. To me, fancy rings and beautiful flowers will now have as much worth as you do. Give me all of you and I will agree."
Lui Yun smiled, a content light in his eyes, "Alright then, in exchange for all of me, Zi You, would you marry me."
"Yes, Lui Yun."
Five weeks later, a letter was sentenced out.
It read:
Dear Reader,
You have been invited to Lui Yun and Zi You's wedding, as we all know that their entanglement will last a lifetime. As you have personally witness their journey, you will be given the chance to speak at their wedding. With all blessings, hoping that this couple will remain as sweet and loving as ever.
Sincerely, Author.
The End