Married Strangers (complete)

11. Yibo has been taken hostage

This is the final part

"Come son, come help me adjust my chair a little".

Yibo was sitting at the beach with his father in law, tapping the keypad on his phone, having a deep argument with his husband. This trip was to last only 3 days but they had been gone for 3 whole weeks. Yibo had yet again been dragged in the middle of this father and son war.

Xiao Zhan had been running the company while his father recovered slowly. Now, he was almost fully recovered. He had regained functions of most of his legs but they still felt weak. He needed therapy and exercise but the moment the doctor declared him 'fit', Xiao Zhan had dumped a heap of work on his table.

The older Xiao had plans to retire but Xiao Zhan said he wasn't going to let that happen for at least another 10 years. He claimed the work was too much and he needed a mentor, who better than his father.

Papa Xiao on the other hand was a little difficult to win as he had a few tricks up his sleeves. Xiao Zhan sent him on a 3-day business trip and he dragged Yibo along. Well, 3 days had turned to 3 weeks.

Xiao Zhan missed his husband, Yibo missed his husband. The distance was killing them. They were more than 12 hours away, he was sure Xiao Zhan would have run over to come see what was delaying them so much. The only one having a time of his life was papa Xiao.

First, he got a funny haircut. He said his reason was to embarrass Xiao Zhan. If he came to the office looking like this, he was sure to be fired. Then he dragged Yibo on a shopping spree. They shopped for almost everything they could fit into a plane to fly back home.

This particular day, he said he wanted to go to the beach. Yibo had been on the phone trying to convince Xiao Zhan to let the man retire. Yibo had been working for another company all this time and it was just concluded that he was going to join Xiao Zhan at the company to reduce the workload. He was sure the old man could retire but Xiao Zhan pleaded with him to hang in there, claiming they couldn't lose to this man. He couldn't stay away forever. When they returned, Xiao Zhan was going to make sure he didn't travel anymore, at least not with his husband.

"Son, I saw some adverts in the newspaper I was reading this morning. How about we go shopping for a house by the beach tomorrow?"

"..."

Yibo had finally reached a conclusion, this man had no plans to return home!

......

" A house by the beach? Are you serious?"

Xiao Zhan always wanted a house by the beach but he never got one. His father did this to punish him, he was sure of that. He was spending so recklessly and buying and furnishing a house simply meant he had no plans to return anytime soon. As long as he had his hostage; Yibo, he knew Xiao Zhan was not going to be at peace.

"Yes. A duplex with 5 rooms each with a bathroom en suite, 2 living rooms, 2 large kitchens. He talked about adopting a pet and hiring a live-in nanny. Sweetheart, allow this man retire so I can come back home. Don't you miss me?"

Xiao Zhan knew his father was bluffing, he couldn't hold on to Yibo forever. Forever was impossible but it was almost a month already. Xiao Zhan had a lot of work and he couldn't travel for the time being. If this man kept up with this attitude, he would end up holding Yibo his hostage for months.

Thinking about that, Xiao Zhan held his hands in a fist. If only he had a way to win against the man. He tried to call several times but the man never answered his calls. Running and hiding from his problems, like father like son.

Xiao Zhan wanted to hold his ground for a while longer, he visited his mother for some moral support but what he met there made him lose hope of winning.