Married Strangers (complete)

6. Getting divorced

Back at the motel, both men had dinner. For once, they seemed to agree on the same thing, the food tasted especially bland. Xiao Zhan's phone had been off since the previous night and he finally found a way to charge his battery. As soon as he turned on the phone, it beeped incessantly for 2 whole minutes. Yibo was seated beside him, hearing his phone beep for so long but the owner of the phone didn't seem to be moved by the fact that he had so many messages.

"Are you not going to check it? It might be important".

Xiao Zhan could guess those messages were either from his father or his best friend/PA; Darren Wang. Either way, he was not ready to read them, he was not in the right state of mind to respond to his father's coercion. If it was Darren, it was either work or him trying to convince Zhan to come back home. He still was in no mood to respond to any of that.

"I know it's important but I'm not going to check it just yet. Just think of it as me avoiding my responsibilities". Yibo could sense the sarcasm in his tone. When Xiao Zhan arrived, he somehow brought with him a keg of petrol. It turned out he came across a gas station when he walked away. With that, they were able to drive to the motel but from the look on Xiao Zhan's face, Yibo could not bring himself to speak. The beeping phone brought the opportunity he was looking for.

"Gege, I'm sorry...", Yibo tried to apologise but he heard Xiao Zhan snicker lightly.

"So you can call me gege?"

"..."

Yibo was unable to say anything else.

"No need to apologise, everyone has their freedom to say whatever they want to say. You were only saying what you had in the deepest part of your heart"

"No, I...", Yibo couldn't help but stammer. "...I was...nervous. All I said, I didn't mean".

"Yibo, no need to apologise. I took no offense. You were right you know... I dragged you into this mess by dragging you into that chapel. For that, I apologise", as he said so, he bowed his head slightly. This gesture made Yibo stand on his feet. He was sure Xiao Zhan wasn't wrong, he didn't have to...

"I apologise for getting us lost. You were right. I figured we should have arrived but I just didn't notice we were out of coverage. I blame my childish attitude for that. I'm almost 30 but I don't act my age. I'm sorry"

Yibo felt bad hearing Xiao Zhan speak like this. "Gege..."

"I have a question to ask though. I know I'm gay, I'm unable to love a woman. Would it be best to marry one just to keep up appearances and satisfy my father's wishes? In my opinion, that woman is bound to live a life she didn't bargain for. My father pushed too hard this time hence I felt it was better to stay away but it turns out I was wrong. I should face my challenges rather than avoid them. I have you to thank for opening my eyes Yibo. I have only one wish right now, to leave you a free man. I brought you into this mess, I hope we can fix it as soon as possible".

Having said all of that, Xiao Zhan's emotions were all over the place. He sincerely wasn't unhappy with Yibo. He just felt a little disappointed. He turned around and walked out of the room.

Yibo had only known Xiao Zhan for a short time but the light that was usually in his eyes seemed to have dimmed. The handsome cheerful man he met...had changed all of a sudden. Yibo knew this was temporary but he was unhappy as he was the cause. Their time together was short, he hoped he could fix things between them as he wouldn't want this to be their last time talking to each other. He wanted Xiao Zhan to be...happy.

Indeed their time together was short but what they didn't know was that their time together was even shorter than they had imagined.

......

Yibo was left alone with his thoughts. He had finally figured out what to say to Xiao Zhan when he returned.  He figured he was going to hold him in a tight hug and tell it was okay, okay to be gay and getting married to a woman just because of pressure would be the wrong move to make. He also wanted to tell his gege that he was right when he said Yibo lacked experience. In his life he had only been with a woman so he believed he was straight but meeting Xiao Zhan, though briefly, he knew it...that he was capable of liking a man also. He liked Xiao Zhan.

He wanted to tell Xiao Zhan that he was a breath of fresh air. He was choking, unable to let out the things that bugged him deep in his heart but Zhan came along, Zhan understood him, played with him and accompanied him.

As for the marriage, Xiao Zhan was not at fault, in fact, he was a little more sober and remembered everything clearly. As much as he was drunk, he had a bit of clarity and he could have said no. As for why he didn't stop it, he still could not figure that out.

The thought of him liking Xiao Zhan got Yibo all excited. Good thing Zhan was gay, he could go ahead and pursue him. He hugged his pillow in excitement, waiting for Xiao Zhan to return and tell him all he had in mind.

Yibo didn't know when he fell asleep, he woke up when he heard someone open the door. Xiao Zhan was back. He didn't know how long he had slept but when he looked at the window, It was bright outside. Zhan didn't return till morning.

Zhan's eyes were red, with visible bags underneath. Yibo could tell he didn't catch any sleep. Soon, he heard Xiao Zhan sneeze. He must have caught a cold being in the rain the previous night.

Yibo himself didn't get much sleep. Their destination was still 2 hours away as they had to drive back the route they took the previous day. Both men were in no condition to drive so Yibo suggested they spent another night but Zhan had it all covered. He had found someone to drive them to their destination in their own hired vehicle.

......

The driver could not help looking at both men through his rear view mirror. Yibo had his eyes fixed on Xiao Zhan. He had a lot to say but he preferred to say them in private. Xiao Zhan on the other hand had his eyes fixed outside. He wasn't looking in Yibo's direction. One could not easily tell that though his eyes were on the window, in actual fact, his mind was far away.

"Sorry to interrupt your quiet time but the air the both of you are emitting is quite cold. You look like a pair of lovers who got into a fight". What he said was not totally untrue and Yibo planned to use this situation to his advantage, to bring up the issue and say sorry but Xiao Zhan was faster.

"Hahaha, close. We're a pair of husbands going to get a divorce".

The driver, seeing how the younger of the pair of husbands looked downcast immediately he said those words, felt regretful thinking his joke had touched their sore spots and decided never to speak if he wasn't called upon.

........................

They finally arrived at the lawyer's office. They just had to sign a few papers and he would take it up from there. They might both be asked to show up in court so it was better if they stuck around for a few days. Xiao Zhan was reading through the papers when his phone rang, it was Darren. He had ignored his messages all through the previous day so he excused himself to pick up the call. The office had a balcony which was separated from the office by a sliding glass door. Yibo could see but could not hear Xiao Zhan.

He saw Zhan answer the call and his complexion paled. In less than a minute, Xiao Zhan walked in. He signed everywhere he was asked to and announced he was taking his leave, going back home. There was a family emergency and Zhan was unaware as he didn't read Darren's messages. He collected the lawyers card, nodded towards Yibo and left. Everything happened so fast, before Yibo could get out of his daze, Xiao Zhan was gone.