THE PERFECT TWIN

Chapter 32: Wangji and I

Xiaozhan did not return to his old room he had shared with Yibo anymore. After that one time finding Xiaozhan sneaking out to sleep next door, Wangji had grown vigilant. The next day, he moved all of Xiaozhan's things to his room instead and locked that room next door that belonged to his brother. Xiaozhan saw what Wangi did and did not disprove of his actions. He thought he needed someone strong to steer him away from that temptation and Wangji was that person, that source of strength that prevented him from straying to that painful path of pining for someone who did not love him back.

In the aftermath of their uneventful one sided breakup, the days crawled slowly by and Wangji never gave him time to mourn for the missing part of his heart. Xiaozhan buried himself in work, and when they were home, Wangji would ask him to cook together or do many other activities together to keep him occupied.

"You know, if you like it, we could repaint the house to make it brighter." Wangji said a couple of days later. Xiaozhan was at a daze when the suggestion came. Wangji wanted to erase traces of Yibo so Xiaozhan could be more comfortable. Feeling somewhat touched, Xiaozhan nodded at the suggestion. Yibo was no longer here. Wangji had been working so hard so Xiaozhan could move on and he would.

The days of their cohabitation passed peacefully by. In the morning, both would fight over who makes breakfast, but in the end, they both enjoyed making breakfast together. Wangji would habitually get up first, watching Xiaozhan's sleeping face beside him. Then when he saw that Xiaozhan's eyelids flutter and was about to wake, he would feign sleep beside him, and enjoy Xiaozhan staring into his profile for a good ten minutes before he actually woke Wangji up. Xiaozhan found it unbelievable that someone like Wangji would actually fall in love with him. Wangji was so good to him in many ways that Xiaozhan was sometimes afraid at the thought that this happiness he held could one day disappear. Sometimes, Xiaozhan had tears in his eyes as he stared at his sleeping face. Wangji would wake up and kissed the tears off his face then hugged him, while whispering to his ears, "its me, Wangji. I'm not Yibo and I will never leave you." Xiaozhan nodded, feeling slightly guilty that he could not whole heartedly love him back yet.

"Its okay. I understand. Take your time." he would say to him.

If they woke up at the same time, they would make breakfast together and eat together. At night when both got home from work, they would cook dinner together and ate together afterwards. The routine was not so much difference compared to how they were before the break up, except that they shared a bed when they sleep at night, enjoying this stablility and trust that Xiaozhan never had before. In the blink of an eye, almost a year passed peacefully this way. During the course of this time, Yibo had been true to his words and never stepped foot in that house again.

Since they were brothers, Wangji did communicate with Yibo from time to time. Yibo had him send his stuff over bit by bit. During the first few times when they were in the same room and Xiaozhan was aware that Wangji was talking to Yibo, he would habitually leave the room. Since those times, Wangji too would take the call elsewhere where Zhan was not present. Even after a year, they did not stop this habit. Wangji never mentioned what they talked about and Xiaozhan was too afraid to reopen that wound so he would move his attention elsewhere. Xiaozhan would feel uneasy and avoided it in the hope he would not be tempted to ask the questions.. Is he doing well? Is he still with A Cheng? Did they get their own house like Yibo said before? Was he curious how Zhan was doing? Those many questions were buried deep in his heart and he was too ashamed to ask Wangji about them. However, Xiaozhan was also glad that because he was with Wangji, he could let go of his curiosity.

The fact remains that he still cringed at Yibo's shadow. Any traces of his calls to Wangji occasionally reminded him of his presence. The hurt left behind left such a deep scar it may never heal. In fact Xiaozhan wasnt sure if it could ever heal in this lifetime. He didn't have any expectations it could. However, he had successfully gone through this period of time without Yibo so it was . Everyone had their fair share of a broken past they wished to forget. This too shall soon pass, and its memories should fade away in the sands of time.