Not Enough (complete)

12. Kiss... again

A smiley emoji?

Xiao Zhan had never actively confessed to anyone like this but he was sure a smiley emoji was not the kind of response one should look forward to as a response to this kind of message.

He had a lot to help his mother with and by the time he was done, it was already way past noon. He headed out to Yibo, to talk about what happened the previous night.

Knowing Yibo's personality, Xiao Zhan knew he was having a hard time changing their status from 'best friends' to 'boyfriends'. Well, he didn't have such a problem. He wanted Yibo to know that he was in this all the way and there was no need to be worried.

He wanted Yibo to know that he had it all figured out, he had figured things out since their teenage years. At a time, he thought about forgetting him but now, he had accepted the fact that there was no one else for him other than Yibo. He wanted Yibo to know that even if he wasn't ready, if he had doubts, he could always talk to him. It was no longer hidden, he was sure Yibo had feelings for him.

He knew he might take some time but he was sure he could wait, he was willing to wait. Like he said earlier, he wasn't going to give up, he couldn't afford to give up. Back then, he let go because Yibo had no feelings for him but now he did, there was no giving up.

As he approached Yibo's house, met his mother along the way, he hadn't seen her since he returned. She heard Zhan was back but she hadn't set her eyes on him.

She was more than happy to see him, going on and on about how tall he had become and how handsome he had grown. She was carrying a few bags of groceries and Xiao Zhan helped her carry them.

Her house was about 10 minutes away from where they met. They chatted along the way, she wanted to know everything about him for the past 5 years. The friends he made, how school treated him, what he ate in a foreign land. He had even learned to speak a foreign language. She had lived abroad for a long time so she spoke the language also, she was so excited speaking to someone else apart from Yibo.

Xiao Zhan was sincerely happy to see her again, he couldn't help treating her with a lot more respect. If things went well, she was going to be his mother in law in the future. She had always had a good impression of Xiao Zhan but there was nothing bad if her impression of him got even better. Xiao Zhan was happy with the way things were going. He knew she was going to be easy to win over, easier than her son.

They both walked towards the house until... Wang Lu came to an abrupt stop. "Who is that person Yibo is kissing?"

......

Yibo was still trying to come to terms with what happened the previous day when he heard a knock on the door. He could swear it was Xiao Zhan and he couldn't deny, he was a little excited. He rushed to open the door.

"Yang Zi... I wasn't expecting you".

"Ah, sorry for showing up like that. I didn't have your contact, I wasn't sure you still lived here to I decided to come over. I'm sorry".

"That's okay", Yibo moved aside and gestured for her to come in.

Yang Zi and Yibo didn't keep in touch all this while. In fact, from the day they broke up, they hadn't spoken. Even the previous night, she spoke mainly to Xiao Zhan. Yibo believed she still had feelings for Xiao Zhan and the reason she was here today was to try to get Yibo to talk to him on her behalf.

Yibo felt somewhat unhappy that she hadn't given up on him but he decided to listen anyway. He was going to let her speak but he wasn't going to pass the message along. After all, he knew the person Xiao Zhan really liked.

Thinking of the 'person' Xiao Zhan liked made him smile a bit.

"I know you have something to say, why not just go ahead and say it, no need to beat around the bush". Seeing that she wasn't going straight to the point, Yibo tried to move things along.

Yang Zi didn't know her intentions were so obvious but since it had become like this, she decided to go straight to the point.

"Back then in school, I liked Xiao Zhan, I liked him a lot. You see, my parents got divorced just before I moved to this city with my mum. I was young but I understood everything. My father didn't fight for my custody, he wanted me gone along with my mother so he sent us both away".

Yibo was drawn to her conversation. He knew all too well how it felt for one parent to not want you anymore. He was older when he experienced it but Yang Zi was way younger. He felt a little sorry for her.

"When I got here, a lot of people made fun of me. They called me all sorts of names, many people called me fat simply because I was a little cheekier than most people. Even though I know it wasn't true, I couldn't help feeling bad. The only person who liked me was my mother, my own father didn't even want me. Well, all of that was true until Xiao Zhan came into the picture".

"Back then, when people were avoiding me, they were all throwing themselves at Xiao Zhan. I mean, it obvious why but the one person I expected to look down on me was the only person who didn't look down on me".

Yibo didn't know why but he felt he understood, without her speaking any further, he understood why she fell for Xiao Zhan.

"How was I to stop myself from falling for him? Like everyone else, I fell for him. I told him how I felt but I got rejected. The rejection didn't make me feel bad about myself, he rejected everyone else, not just me. I was the one person he was nice to so other than what I termed love back then, I felt loyalty towards him. When you asked me out, I said yes because I wanted to be close to him, I admit that was wrong but you found out about my previous advances. When you asked me if I still liked him, I said yes. Truth is I was young, I couldn't understand my feelings. What I felt was gratitude and loyalty, not love".

Feelings.

Yibo knew all about feelings that could not be described. At this age, he still couldn't describe how he felt for this same man so he understood Yang Zi's mistakes.

"I know you're wondering why I'm saying all of this. I want you to understand the whole situation and why I responded to you the way I did in the past. I liked you, I really did. I still do. It's just that back then, my sense of loyalty held me back. I'm sorry Yibo, I really am".

Yang Zi had been sitting all along but at this point she walked to Yibo and squatted in front of him, holding his hands. "I don't know if I came back too late. I lost my self-esteem long ago, it took me a lot of courage to say these words. So please consider them seriously. If there is still the tiniest bit of feelings for me in your heart, I hope you'd be able to forgive me, to accept me with my flaws and mistakes I have made. I've learned my lesson Yibo, I like you, I really really like you".

The reason they ended things was because Yang Zi liked someone else, who knew she was just a confused little girl. She had been through a lot. Her parents' divorce affected her so much and he could understand. He felt his heart melting, he wished he hadn't broken up with her back then. So... she still liked him all this time?

"I...I don't know what to say. Can I think about it?"

Yang Zi who looked like she was about to cry took a deep breath and smiled. "Of course".

She stood up to take a leave. When they got to the door, she suddenly stopped, turned arounds, stood on her toes and kissed him... on the lips... and Yibo, he didn't flinch. Instead, he held her waist and kissed her back.

This was the scene Xiao Zhan and Wang Li met.

Author's note

🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫