Blessings (A YiZhan Short Story)

Chapter 4: A Cold Reunion

Xiao Zhan POV

A week after I returned from my business trip, I contacted Nie HuaiSang and asked him to look into Wang Xiao's finances again. My YiBo must surely be getting royalties from his books, and if that were the case, then there should be banking transactions. The last private investigator couldn't find anything. Not a damn clue. NDAs are a bitch.

Three days later, I got my answer. Not the one I wanted, but at least I could now check off another box on my list. A list that was getting shorter and shorter as time passed. I really was running out of ideas. Damn my freakishly-smarty-pants-YiBo. He really did think of everything. Damn him!

"Ahhhhh!" I half-grunted, half-moaned. Seriously, I didn't know whether to strangle his smart ass or kiss him senseless.

I just wish he wasn't so thorough in hiding his tracks. As a writer, and one who was trying to write his own thriller, he would have researched the topic to death and then worked it to his advantage. Integral when writing a book, yes, but to use that skill on me?

"Ballsy move, my dear boy, but when I find you, I am going to string up your balls and hang it on my rear-view mirror," I muttered. "That'll teach you to pull this kind of stunt on me again." Then guilt suffused me, and I closed my eyes and muttered, "I'm sorry." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Fuck! Just come back to me!"

Letting out a frustrated breath, marveling at his well-thought-out plan, I thought about what my Bo-di did before he left. A trust fund to deposit all his royalty payments along with any advances he negotiated with the publishing house. And a bulldog lawyer who will not disclose his client's information. Especially to one whose name was Xiao Zhan.

That knowledge fucking gutted me, tore another hole in my heart and I swallowed the pain as it rippled through my chest. A never-ending pain. My Wang YiBo, my oh-so-clever Bo-di, knew I would do everything in my power to find him, so he made damn sure this road was a dead end. I was at an impasse. With no other traces of his whereabouts, I was left floundering like a fish out of water.

Sighing, because there really wasn't much I could do, I got up and poured myself a drink. I was in desperate need of some mind-numbing elixirs. Not a good idea in my condition, but what point was living life to the fullest when I can't be fucking happy?

Pulling back the curtains, I stood and stared at the vanishing sun. With its orange glow bathing me in a warm caress, I thought back to our first meeting and smiled fondly at the memory that crept in. He was the embodiment of carnal sin and innocence all rolled into one body. Sex on wheels.

He was eighteen, a freshman in college, and I was the current volunteer for the welcoming committee for all the newbies on campus. At twenty-four, I was a little older than most in my peer group and had yet to finish my bachelor's degree. My wretched circumstances occasionally prevented me from attending classes like the other students, though I managed all the same. Difficult, yes, but still doable.

And today was one of my lucid moments. Thank heavens for that because I wouldn't have missed this meeting for the world.

I stared into his dark, expressive orbs, and felt my heartbeat stumble into each other before righting itself. It took everything within me to hold steady. His eyes captivated me, and I couldn't tear myself away from the liquid fire that pooled in the depths of his gaze. In retrospect, I think I fell for him right at that moment because life for me was never the same after that.

As I continued to gawk at him, he smiled shyly at me then lowered his gaze. He began fidgeting with his backpack, and I could see a hint of pink fanning the tips of his ears. Unzipping one of the many pockets on his backpack, he pulled out his cell phone, but it snagged on something and fell to the ground with a thud. Quickly bending to retrieve his phone, he inadvertently flashed his pert ass in my direction. When he straightened his five-foot-eleven-inch frame, I couldn't help but notice a rather large package and arousal hit me. Hard and fast.