Blessings (A YiZhan Short Story)

Chapter 11: The Writing on the Wall

Wang YiBo POV

"Bo-di, I'm nervous," Xiao Zhan repeated for the umpteenth time. Apprehension had dimmed his usually bright and cheery smile. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"Of course! What's there not to like?" My eyes raked his body up and down in a slow lewd manner before refocusing on the road, but he was too worried to notice.

I smiled at him knowing he had nothing to worry about because I had already confessed everything to my parents a month ago. They were shocked at first and refused to accept the fact their only child was gay. Surprisingly, their disapproval wasn't as heartfelt as I thought it would be, but then again, I think they've always known I was different. They just didn't want to acknowledge the truth.

Regardless, I was just as relentless with them as I was with my pursuit of Xiao Zhan. And gradually, over the next couple of weeks, I was finally able to win them over with examples after examples of how good he was for me—minus the sex, that was. I told them how he made me a better person, more open to the world... Well, not that open. I was an introvert after all. But rather, he made me see the world in a different light.

My parents and I had always been affectionate with each other; I had no problems showing the love I had for them. However, it was voicing that love aloud that was the issue. I didn't know the reasoning behind my inability to say the words "I love you," but the therapist had inferred it was because I saw my best friend die from anaphylactic shock right in front of me. It happened just after he said those very same words to his parents. I was just seven years old.

I never understood what happened to him or why a bee could be so deadly. But at that time, my young and traumatized mind thought that if one were to utter the words "I love you," that meant they would die. From then on, the fear of dying, of leaving my parents heartbroken like it did with my best friend's parents, made me so deathly afraid that I stopped saying "I love you" to my parents. Only on rare occasions did I tell them I loved them, but that was when I was sick and delirious.

But all that changed when I met Xiao Zhan, when I discovered his predicament—and the reason why he had rejected me all those times—the words just flowed out of me. And I could not stop saying the words.

Here was the one person who I loved beyond measure, the one person to whom I could not live without, and yet he could die at any time. Suddenly, my hang up with those dreaded words didn't matter anymore. So that day, when my parents finally gave their approval and agreed to meet him, I shocked them once more by telling him how much I loved them. Over and over again. We cried. We hugged. They accepted.

And then I told them about his medical condition and how even though it was painfully debilitating at times, he always smiled. After every hospital visit, no matter how much pain he was in, he would look to the bright side and say he was still alive, and that was good enough for him. He was on borrowed time but still, he kept a positive attitude. That last bit worried my parents, and I told them I would rather die than leave him. Love does not abandon, no matter how dire the situation. And if I only have a few months with him, then I would gladly spend every second of every day with him, despite the pain I know I will suffer should things go south.

I just hope that day never comes.

"YiBo!"

I jerked from my musings to look at the nervous wreck of a boyfriend—no, fiancé. God, I love that word! I smiled at him, only to be whacked on the arm by a frustrated man.

"YiBo! Get that smirk off your face right now! I mean it!" He scowled prettily, then a second later, his anxiety returned. "Are you sure they'll like me? What if they disagree?"