Chasing Happiness

Chapter 7 : Meeting the Lao Xie

The man smiles at Xie Yuchen and places his head on the young man's head. Hei Yan Jing was told that the man was bedridden many times this past year. But he had a strong body, and he did not look that old. But his eyes looked tired, and showed the stress of this field. The man lets go of Xie Yuchen's hand and locks eyes with Hei Yan Jing.

"You must be his roommate", he says. He walks up to Hei Yan Jing and grabs his hand, firmly shaking it.

Hei Yan Jing smiles at him. "Nice to meet you, I am Hei Yan Jing".

"I know of you, the son of Qi Tiezui", the older Xie says. Xie Yuchen grows tense behind him, his eyes focused on the back of his head. Hei Yan Jing stammers a bit and then chuckles trying to his nervousness.

"You know my father?' he asks.

"I used to bounce you on my leg", the man says with a laugh. Hei Yan Jing raises an eyebrow. He does not remember coming to the Xie mansion as a child but it could have been right after he was adopted. He doesn't say anything else, not sure what else to say. "I need to head out to a meeting so I leave you two to dine".

He takes his leave and Hei Yan Jing releases a breath he did not know he was holding. Xie Yuchen walks up to him and laughs at him. "You okay?" he asks. His face is glowing even though it shows some stress around his eyebrows.

"Yea yea your father scares the shit out of me", Hei Yan Jing admits. Xie Yuchen laughs loudly and grabs Hei Yan Jing's wrist. He pulls him into the dining room where there are plates of food laid out for them. The house was still lively as preparation for tomorrow. Xie Yuchen sits down at the head of the table and Hei Yan Jing sits adjacent to him. They eat dinner in silence realizing how hungry they were. They did not get to eat lunch today, and a home cooked meal was just what they needed. They finish and sit in silence.

"We should retire early tonight, tomorrow will be a long day", Xie Yuchen says. He stands up and looks at Hei Yan Jing. He sees that the older man did not want to get away from the table. He laughs and grabs his hand. "Come on, we can have some snacks".

They head to the living room where a servant is preparing tea and a small tray of fruit. They sit down on the couches and Xie Yuchen pours Hei Yan Jing a cup of tea. "I am sorry if this all seems monotonous", Xie Yuchen says. Hei Yan Jing smiles at him sipping his tea.

"It is fine, it is nice to have a break", he explains. Xie Yuchen smiles and sits next to Hei Yan Jing on the couch. He did not realize how close they physically were when they lived with one another. While they did not date, they still shared their personal space with one another. The most they did in public was link arms though, he was afraid of Hei Yan Jing's fans. Xie Yuchen sips his tea looking at the wall. Hei Yan Jing sighs and Xie Yuchen looks up at him.

"Is something wrong?" Xie Yuchen asks. His eyes are bright and wide. Hei Yan Jing shakes his head no and Xie Yuchen smiles in return. Hei Yan Jing's heart beats. This past month he has been thinking about what Xie Yuchen means to him. He knows. He likes Xie Yuchen.... a lot. Too much maybe. He has been having these urges to grab the man's face and kiss him. He has been thinking about it too much. And he wants to tell him how he feels but he's scared. He is so scared of being told no, and then their relationship changing. He looks at his hands and suddenly a hand wraps around his. He looks up and Xie Yuchen is looking at him.

"Are you okay?" he asks. He looks worried, his eyes looking at him...seeing him.

"I am fine", Hei Yan Jing whispers. "Sorry I am just tired". Xie Yuchen nods his head. He takes the teapot out of the man's hand and places it on the table. He wraps both of his hands around Hei Yan Jing's hands. He does not think much of it, his thumbs rubbing his skin over and over.