Not Enough (complete)

18. Acceptance 1

In all his life, Yibo had never been more sincere than he was with Xiao Zhan on that day but due to his past streaks, Xiao Zhan did not believe him. He tried hard to convince him but no matter what he said or did, Xiao Zhan kept trying to console him, almost as if he was sure Yibo just needed to talk to someone.

He understood that it would take time, probably a lot more time than he anticipated to convince Xiao Zhan but he believed, from the look in Xiao Zhan's eyes, that there was still a place in his heart for him.

He returned home, all the way, he kept thinking about how to fix this mess he had put himself. When he arrived home, he found his mother and Aunt Li having a conversation. She wasn't aware her son was back yet.

"Bo, what's the matter? Why do you look so troubled?"

Seeing her son that way, Wang Lu couldn't help but worry. Yibo intended to go straight to his bedroom, he had a lot on his mind but his mother's voice interrupted his thought process.

He stood for a bit, thinking of how to answer her question but he couldn't find the right words. Instead he turned to Xiao Li and spoke, "Aunt Li, A-Zhan is back. I just returned from your place...".

From this statement, Xiao Li could figure out that he had a discussion with Xiao Zhan and things didn't go well. She suddenly lost interest in the discussion she was having with her friend and got up to take her leave.

"Allow me walk you for a bit".

Yibo's mum had figured out that both boys got into some kind of fight. Seeing the way Xiao Li looked, she knew her friend knew a lot more than she did.

"A-Li, what's going on?"

"..."

"Talk to me. Is it about our kids? I know it has something to do with them, why don't you let me in on it? Yibo... that brat would never tell me anything but I know Xiao Zhan would talk to you. I'm worried also".

Apart from being Yibo's mum, Wang Lu was her only friend. This issue had been eating her up for some time and if it didn't involve her son, she'd have told her long ago.

"Okay, I'd tell you but you're not allowed to freak out. Don't confront Yibo, let him come to you on his own. Is that okay?"

Wang Lu nodded in agreement.

Xiao Li took a deep breath. There was a lot to say but where was she to start from? "Our boys are in love with each other..."

......

Wang Lu recalled the day Yang Zi came over. She had been so engrossed in talking with the girl that she failed to notice the tension around her. Thinking back, Xiao Zhan was indeed quiet on that day, so was Yibo. So it turns out it was all like this? Yibo was cheating on Xiao Zhan.

Yibo was cheating on Xiao Zhan!
That was the conclusion she was able to arrive at as all Xiao Li said to her was "our boys are in love with each other".

She had been cheated on by her ex-husband so she knew how much it hurt, she could imagine how bad Xiao Zhan felt and she kept on adding to the fuel. She wanted nothing more than to spank this son of hers, give him some talking to but... she already made a promise not to interfere, not to confront Yibo. She decided to wait patiently, wait for Yibo to bring up the issue. If in a few days, he doesn't, she would ask of Yang Zi and see how Yibo would reply. In the meantime, she started to feel a bit guilty towards Xiao Zhan.

Yes, she felt a bit guilty because she knew how much it hurt to be cheated on but... that didn't mean she was very comfortable with their relationship.

Yibo was her only child and she hoped she could one day get grandkids. She was open to people who were into same sex relationships but coming from her own son, it wasn't as easy to accept.

But the person he was in love with was Xiao Zhan. If her son was going to be with a boy, the only boy she sincerely approved of was Xiao Zhan. She knew almost all there was to know about him and in terms of character, he was even more well behaved than her son but... she didn't know how she felt about this news.

......

Yibo had a job, Xiao Zhan was in the process of starting his own company. Both men did not have as much time as they used to. Coupled with the fact that Xiao Zhan put in a little bit of effort to avoid crossing paths with Yibo unless it was absolutely necessary, more than 2 months had passed and apart from occasionally running into each other, both boys hadn't spent time together. Not to talk of a relationship, Yibo didn't even know whether they could still be considered friends.

Darren was back home now and wanted to get married. First, he held an engagement party while they slowly prepared for the wedding . He had been dating this girl for more than 6 years and they had their lives planned. Xiao Zhan was one of his closest friends, of course he was invited. Yibo was an old classmate, he was also invited so for the first time in a long while, both men finally had the chance to meet.

Xiao Zhan was a little occupied during the ceremony but it was almost over and he was less busy. Seeing that he had nothing else to do, Yibo summoned up the courage and walked up to him.

"A-Zhan, can I talk to you outside?"

He had no reason to refuse so he followed Yibo out.

Xiao Zhan had seemingly been busy but he didn't fail to notice Yibo's presence. In fact, from the moment Yibo arrived, Xiao Zhan had subconsciously had his eyes on him. Not that he was taking notes but he knew everyone Yibo talked to, everytime Yibo stood up or moved from one place to another, he was aware. He was also aware of the fact that Yibo has had his eyes on him the whole time. He didn't know why but being given so much attention by Yibo made him feel slightly... warm at heart.

He knew it was only a matter of time before Yibo walked up to him for a chat. In fact, it took longer than he expected.

"I heard you got a car... congratulations".

Xiao Zhan's new office was a little far from home so getting a car was more convenient than taking the bus.

"Thank you...".

Silence

Both men realized they had nothing else to say. Yibo simply wanted to spend a bit of time with him. He on the other hand, well, he wanted that also but he secretly hoped for something more.

Seeing their silence, both men spoke at the same time.

Xiao Zhan, "You want to see it?"

Wang Yibo, "Why don't you show me?"

Slowly, they both walked, side by side towards the car park. In their hearts they both knew they didn't care much about the car, it was just a way for the both of them to spend some time together, to make small talk and if they were lucky, there would be some progress in their 'friendship'.

It was no longer news that Yibo liked him and he was ready to be with him. Apart from when he confessed in person the first time, he also tried to reach out to Xiao Zhan on many occasions but he was avoided at every turn. Xiao Zhan's own mum had said her bit. She felt Yibo was sincere but now, it was all up to Xiao Zhan. If he was ready to take the risk once more, he could give Yibo a chance.

"Here...", Xiao Zhan pointed to a medium sized SUV. "Bo, can you even drive?"

Yibo chuckled. Of course he could drive. With his father, he had to drive so many times, he almost became their driver at one point but here, he didn't have a license.

"Yes I can but I'm yet to get my license".

"Hmm", Xiao Zhan nodded in understanding. "Come in, I want to show you something".

Whatever that 'something' was, Yibo was happy to see it.

Yibo got in the car and they drove out of the parking lot. For close to an hour until Xiao Zhan drove into the parking lot of an office building. Yibo had figured where this place was. All through the trip, the words exchanged between them were very few but Yibo didn't ask where they were going and Xiao Zhan didn't say either.

"My new office is on the 12th floor. Work hasn't fully started but I'm still putting things together. It's a lot more difficult than I imagined".

Xiao Zhan was willing to talk about his work, Yibo was delighted to listen.

"You've worked hard. Why didn't you ask me to help? I thought we were... friends".

The 'friends' was said almost inaudibly as if Yibo was afraid to refer to him as just a friend but at the same time, he didn't know what else to call him.

"I didn't ask for your help because I was mad at you. But guess what... I kept your share of the work".

After saying that, Xiao Zhan got off the car. He didn't say a word but as if they had a tactic understanding, Yibo followed behind him, smiling all the way. He knew Xiao Zhan, he knew the storm had passed and he knew there was hope for them. He knew this was Xiao Zhan giving them a chance. He wasn't going to ruin it anymore. He wasn't going to wait for Xiao Zhan to chase after him either, he was going to shamelessly chase after this man.

He kept smiling as he walked behind Xiao Zhan, little did he know that Xiao Zhan had an even bigger smile on his face