Do you believe in mer people COMPLETE

Chapter 6: Wang Yibo, I like you

Xiao Zhan froze suddenly. How was that possible? How did Yibo remember he gave those pearls to him. Yibo certainly lost every memory of him, was it possible to recover them so soon?

"What pearls? They're just 4 of them. Purse? Yibo, do you have a fever?".

Xiao Zhan stretched out his hands to touch Yibo's forehead as he tried to deny but Yibo didn't miss his initial reaction. Still he couldn't make any sense out of it. He wanted to keep digging. He wanted answers. That void in his heart only got better when he saw this man. How could Xiao Zhan have so much influence over his emotions. Could it be that he suffered an accident and lost some of his memories?

"About your divorce, I'm sorry. You went through a lot, it must have been hard".

"That's okay. I like it back home. I had no idea how much I had missed it here. Meeting you has made it even better", Xiao Zhan had successfully diverted the topic. "You give me a familiar feeling, as if we've known each other for a long time".

"You're wrong. I only just met you a few days ago. Maybe you were away for too long and everything you see back home gives you a familiar feeling, don't you think so Wang Yibo?"

Xiao Zhan tried to hide his emotions even though his heart was beating rapidly. He knew Yibo was going to recover some of his memories with time if he kept coming around. He was okay with that but if that happened, he might end up incurring his uncle's wrath. It was better to stay away. He resolved to visit less often. He liked it by the sea as it reminded him of the time he spent with Yibo. Also, he wasn't like other merpeople. He could stay just fine in and out of water. Having spent time with a human in the past, he found life in the sea a little boring. He had encountered everything that he could, he just had the human world left to explore.

Xiao Zhan felt he did a good job concealing his emotions but Yibo wasn't fooled. He clearly noticed those micro expressions, he noticed Zhan flinch and exhale deeply. He noticed Zhan tremble when he said he had a familiar feeling around him. He was convinced there was more to this person that he admitted to. He remembered his mother's words. His mother wasn't a superstitious person and he never heard her mention merpeople when he was young. He wondered where this sudden belief came from. Perhaps, she encountered something in the past few years.

"Hmm, anyway, thank you for those pearls. They are very valuable in case you didn't know. Just one was more than enough to cover for the damages caused to those nets. You shouldn't give them out randomly".

"That's okay. I have a lot more where that came from...", Xiao Zhan recalled Yibo telling him in the past how pearls were relatively rare to casually come across. "...I've come across a few in my lifetime and I've kept every single one of them".

Yibo saw through his bad attempt to hide his previous statement of having a lot of those gems. Yibo knew Zhan's origins were strange, he just couldn't pinpoint it. He was eager, he was interested in knowing more about this person. He was keeping a secret and Yibo was willing to keep that secret along with him.

As for those pearls, Zhan came across a lot where he lived but the ones in his possession were the ones he shed when Yibo forgot about him. He spent a whole lot of time doing nothing but crying and regretting his actions. At first, his uncle was lenient with him but a few days later, he wasn't having it anymore and forced Xiao Zhan to snap out of it which caused Zhan to go away for a while.

Xiao Zhan wanted nothing more but to leave his group. Not that he hated them, he wanted to explore, he had come of age but he found himself unable to leave because his beloved might one day come back. When he found Yibo was back, he planned to watch him from afar. How would he know staying away from Yibo was going to be an almost impossible task.

"My mother said some pearls are the tears of mermen and mermaids".

Xiao Zhan chucked, "And you believe that? Do they exist?"

"You tell me Xiao Zhan", Yibo turned to look at Zhan in the eyes. "Do merpeople exist?". Their eyes remained fixed for some time until Xiao Zhan turned away shyly, trying to calm him pounding heart.

"How should I know? I don't go around coming up with such tales".

"I want a simple yes or no Xiao Zhan. Do merpeople exist?"

Xiao Zhan felt a knot in his heart. He had held on for too long. Around Yibo, he was always like this. He couldn't keep a secret but this wasn't the right time. He kept quiet, completely avoiding the question.

"Xiao Zhan, where exactly do you come from?"

Again, Xiao Zhan pointed towards the sea and replied, "In that direction. It would take you approximately 3 hours to get there". He smiled as if trying to tease Yibo, "You have to take a boat to get there".

'You have to take a boat to get there', those words were casually said by Zhan but he had no idea how much they affected Wang Yibo.

Xiao Zhan noticed Yibo's face display a range of emotions. This person had grown up but he hadn't changed much. He was still as tender and as friendly as he was back then. One often forgot how much time had gone by when they were with Yibo. He sighed inwardly, lying on the sand and looking up at the gradually brightening sky. 'Wang Yibo, I like you and I've done nothing but miss you these past few years. I'm afraid we cannot really be together'.