Silent and lonely world (Dark clouds before sunny weather - Book 1)

Chapter 31

A-Yuan was worried since Mo Xuanyu was not at school today. His dad only told them in the morning that his friend had to go to a hospital, A-Yuan thought that perhaps Mo Xuanyu had been more sick than he had assumed. Why else would he have to go see a doctor?

So when his father and A-Yi came to pick him up, he could not wait to be home already and see for himself that his friend was indeed alright. It never hurt to double check. He was hoping that the other would feel better today and would finally be able to play with him and his brother, making up for the lost fun during the birthday party. Since he did not know for how long Mo Xuanyu would be staying with them, he should use this opportunity before it would be too late.

So when he came home and saw that his friend's and his dad's shoes were in the hallway, he immediately kicked off his own and run into the house, searching for A-Yu. He could not find him anywhere, not even in the garden. The only place that he had not yet checked was his own room where he and Mo Xuanyu had slept the night before.

The door was closed even though he distinctly remembered leaving it open before going to school; his dad and Mo Xuanyu were nowhere else so logically they had to be inside. As a good boy A-Yuan was, he first knocked on the door before opening it quietly. He stepped into his room and could feel his mouth slightly opening in surprise.

He came upon a pretty unusual scene: Mo Xuanyu was sleeping on the mattress and A-Yuan's dad was sleeping right beside him, holding his hand. Just as he would do to A-Yuan or A-Yi when they were sick or could not fall asleep due to a nightmare to let them know that they were not alone. He immediately realized that he should not disturb them, his friend was probably still not feeling well if he was sleeping in the middle of the day and having his dad attend to him.

He felt a big and warm hand on his shoulder and he knew that his father had come after him and was now standing behind him. He looked up and saw him smiling fondly while looking at the two sleeping figures. He gestured to A-Yuan to go out of the room which A-Yuan promptly and quietly did, he did not want to wake them.

His father went closer to the mattress and the bed beside it, picked up the spare blanket from the bed and put it around his dad's shoulders. Then he leaned down and kissed Mo Xuanyu's forehead. And no, A-Yuan was not jealous that his friend was treated the same way he and his brother were, he was glad instead because the second his father had done that, Mo Xuanyu's lips twitched upwards and then settled into a small smile. He stirred a little in the bed, looking for a more comfortable position while also shuffling closer to his dad and drawing their intertwined hands closer to him, curling around them a bit. It looked extremely adorable, A-Yuan could not help himself but to think that.

His father also smiled a bit and then he leaned down once again, kissing A-Yuan's dad this time. Although A-Yuan knew what was coming, he did not close his eyes in time so he saw that this kiss was not delivered onto a forehead but on his dad's lips instead. He knew that his parents loved each other very much and this was one of the most frequent signs of that, he however never liked to intrude on their precious moments.

He did not mind sharing his parents' kisses with Mo Xuanyu either, they had enough for the three of them. They always liked to show their love for their children openly, well more his dad than his father but still, even if it sometimes embarrassed A-Yuan in front of his friends. Though he was secretly very happy to know that his parents loved him this much.

He stepped a little bit further into the hallway so he could not see inside his room anymore. He could however not not overhear his dad's sleepy voice calling for his father, mumbling lovingly: "Lan Zhan..."

A-Yuan wondered whether his dad was now awake seeing that he was talking and everything. But when his father came out of the room a second later and closed to door behind himself carefully, he thought that perhaps not. His father's next words confirmed this as well: "A-Yuan, let us go downstairs. We should let A-Yu and your dad sleep a little longer. They had a busy day."

A-Yuan nodded and went down the stairs first. Since his room was currently occupied, not that he minded at all, he sat down at the kitchen table and started doing his homework. When he was getting the papers from his back, he also took out the materials he had requested for Mo Xuanyu. He would give them to his friend later so he would not have such a hard time catching up at school on Monday. He had been also paying extra attention to his teachers today so he would be able to help his friend with everything.

He had just finished with all his school work when his dad came down the stairs, yawning a bit and stretching out his hands. Mo Xuanyu followed just after him, only in a less vivid way, or perhaps just less theatrical but that, A-Yuan could not tell. Still, the sleep apparently did much good for A-Yu, he was looking less tired and there was already more colour in his cheeks. He looked somehow happier too although he was not smiling anymore, and more relaxed as well. All in all, he was way better than A-Yuan had ever seen him at school.

If anyone asked, he would not be able to tell exactly what made him think this way. His classmate still looked kind of sheepish and uneasy. His shoulders were still drawn into himself and his eyes were still scanning the room as if there was danger lurking in every corner, just waiting to ambush him. However, something was definitely different, and in a good sense of the word.

Cheerful as ever, his dad asked: "Who would like to go play in the park now?"

A-Yi immediately run inside the house from the garden and started shouting while jumping up and down excitedly: "Me! Me! I want to go to the park!"

A-Yuan stood up, quickly closing the school book he had just been copying notes from, he had finished already. This was the perfect opportunity to go have fun with Mo Xuanyu. If his dad was proposing to go to the playground, then A-Yu could not have been feeling too bad anymore. He was also excited at the prospects.

"I would like to go as well. I have already finished all of my school work." He assured when his dad patted A-Yi's head and looked at him. He had earned himself a ruffling of his hair as well.

Then both him and his dad turned towards Mo Xuanyu, waiting for his decision. A-Yu looked a bit lost for a moment, his expression frozen in surprise, then he smiled a little – that small but sweet smile that A-Yuan was just starting to discover – and replied, his usual stutter a lot less prominent this time: "I would like to go too." Although his voice was very quiet and perhaps a bit unsure, A-yuan did not mind, he had only heard that his friend was coming too and was satisfied with that.

A-Yuan's dad skipped towards Mo Xuanyu and patted his head while praising him: "Good boy, it is important to speak your mind and tell us what you like and do not like and what you would enjoy doing."

He patted A-Yu's head for a second longer before turning to A-Yuan's father: "Lan Zhan, are you coming with us?"

"Mn," agreed the man in question.

"Alright, let us go then!"