Blessings (A YiZhan Short Story)

Chapter 7: Shameless Fantasies

Wang YiBo POV

I was feeling rather miserable after the visit with my parents and was in need of a distraction. I didn't want to go home, nor did I want to deal with a crowd right now. I just needed something to do. Then it dawned on me.

Having reached this decision, I executed a U-turn then drove for about ten minutes before parking behind a three-story building. I got out and followed the sidewalk until I reached a gated alcove on the side of the building. I could have picked the lock, but instead, I vaulted over the six-foot-fence to land quietly on the other side. Glancing around to see if anyone witnessed the start of my criminal career, and seeing no one, I stealthily moved along the shadows until I came across a glass door. With great care, I leaned over just enough to peer into the room.

A man sat at his desk with stacks of papers surrounding him. He was in the middle of raising one of those stacks when he paused, tilted his head then all of a sudden, he swirled and shot at me! The bullet hit the glass door with a thunk but it didn't shatter. I pulled out my own gun and waited for the door to open. But it never did.

I waited. I was getting antsy, but I knew the man was going to force me to open the door. After all, it was to his advantage not to open the door. With a sigh, I leaned against the building, my gun locked and loaded. Carefully testing the knob, I found it unlocked so I cracked it open. A round struck the edge of the door then bounced off in a wild arc across the room.

But that was all I needed. I now knew where the man was hiding based on the trajectory of the bullet. With a wicked smile, I pushed the door open and fired several times.

"Ow!"

"Shit!" The bullet struck me square in the chest and I rubbed at it.

Lowering my Nerf gun, I sauntered into Hua Cheng's office and plopped my ass in the chair in front of his desk. This had been my usual routine whenever I wanted to see him. Well, not the cloak and dagger stuff. That was just me having fun while doing research for my books and Hua Cheng being a good sport about it. Actually, I think he secretly enjoys these games.

But as a ghost writer, I didn't want anyone other than Xie Lian and Hua Cheng knowing who I was or what I looked like. At least, that's what I told them. Truthfully though, I didn't want anyone seeing me in case my Zhan-ge did figure out the clues I'd left him. I couldn't help it. A part of me wanted him to find me, to come for me. The other? Well, his parents had a lot to do with it, but that wasn't something I wanted to drudge up right now. And so, after bandying around a few ideas, we decided that I would use this side entrance rather than the front door should I need to make an appearance.

Hua Cheng's grunt brought my head up and I noticed he was rubbing his forehead. A chuckle slipped from my mouth before I could stop it.

"Shut up!" He groused before pulling out his chair and dropping unceremoniously into it. "You just got a lucky shot in, that's all."

"Right," I teased, my voice still full of mirth. "Where is Lian-gege? I didn't see his car out back."

I teased Hua Cheng knowing full well that he hated anyone calling his Xie Lian "gege." The first time I did that, I could have sworn I saw black smoke swirling around him. It was thick and palpable. Dangerous. Like I said, Hua Cheng was a scary man, but I didn't let that stop me from teasing him every now and then. He was actually a softy on the inside, though to tell it to his face would get you scalped and hung upside-down in a forest somewhere. The memory made me smirk.

"He's working from home today."

I looked at Hua Cheng. His voice sounded a little dejected. The poor man.