Waking up seemingly after a long sleep, Yibo couldn't realize where he was at first. After all, the last thing that remained in his memory was him piercing his enemy's heart with a sharp sword... It was the moment their places changed. Now he was the one looking down from above at the terrified eyes across the room that begged for his life to be spared...
It was all in the past. Revenge was done... but... but why didn't he feel peace of mind? Why wasn't he happy about it? He had killed the murderer of his parents, so why couldn't he feel the happiness he dreamed of?
Yes... revenge had been taken. But it couldn't bring back his father and mother. It was really all in the past... perhaps Master Li was right when he convinced him away from this idea? He had thought about it for so many years that now that he had finally gotten his way, he felt nothing but emptiness in his soul... Is this what revenge was like? What should he do now?
- You're awake at last, - a voice suddenly came from someone else and for a second he froze in fear, but then relaxed when he saw the owner of the voice. Only now does Yibo remember what happened after he fell to the ground without strength... Xiao Zhan... he came after him. His voice that desperately called out to him desperately clutching him tightly in his arms, while tears rolled down his cheeks. Remembering the warmth that emanated from him back then, Yibo only wondered... what was Xiao Zhan feeling back then?
- Where is he? - He turns to Mingde. But all he gets in response is "I can't say."
Yibo doesn't pay much attention to it. Perhaps something secret related to their clan? Yes... he should wait a little longer and Xiao Zhan will be here. He's always been here.
But an hour, two, three... ten... a day... two... he was still gone. At some point, he began to think that Xiao Zhan finding out about his deception for the moment was angry with him. But if that was the case, would he have left his assistant by his side?
Mingde refused to answer any questions, so there was nothing left but waiting. But luckily on the second day, Xiao Zhan was already here. Seeing him rushing to him, all doubts and worries went away, and his heart finally stopped being so anxious. Strangely enough, just looking at him made Yibo feel so calm...
- You're awake, - Xiao Zhan smiled, coming closer to him.
- I've been waiting for you, - bursts out of Yibo's mouth before he himself has time to digest the thought. It is only after a soft smile from the man across from him that he realizes that he has... indeed waited. So much so that he started counting not hours or days, but seconds until he came... perhaps that's how love comes... without making itself known.
***
- What's wrong? - He heard Xiao Zhan's voice and realized that his anxiety was quite evident. They were sitting on the roof of the house again, admiring the stars as they had a few days earlier...
- I knew you were Xiao Zhan from the beginning, - the words that he had been unable to utter the entire time they had been sitting there finally came out of his mouth. Yibo realized that things were already different between them... They were both in love with each other and he didn't want to start this relationship with a lie, but he was also afraid. He was afraid that with this truth he might alienate the person he loved, but... but in response he heard completely different words.
- Yibo, listen to me, - Xiao Zhan pauses, turning all his attention to himself, - Let's leave the past in the past, okay? I don't want to think about anything else right now. All that matters to me right now is that you're around...
He was looked at with such a tender gaze that he suddenly realized how he thought such moments would never happen again. That day, just like that, admiring the stars, Yibo had thought their paths would part forever. But now it was different... now they would be together...
They would sit there for a long time before going to bed...
***
When he wakes up in the morning, he goes to Xiao Zhan's room first thing, but he doesn't find him there. Instead, he sees Mingde, who is walking briskly from one side of the room to the other, muttering something to himself. He looked so worried about something that he didn't even respond to Yibo's calls. It was only on his fifth or sixth attempt that he managed it. But what he was hearing from his lips...
- Young Master forbade you to say that. But... the Cheng clan attacked. Head Xiao refused to help and Young Master went into battle alone.
Yibo immediately dashed off... There wasn't even a single thought in his head before he got there. The barrier was almost broken and people were attacking from all sides. And among them, there was only one person who was fighting alone and along with all this was trying to fix the barrier... Yibo rushes to help. His mind was a mess. He wanted to ask Xiao Zhan right now why he didn't tell him everything, but he realizes that it's not the time to do so. His heart simultaneously bleeds realizing the fact that he was just wanted to protect... to keep him safe... The one who protected was always him.
After the death of his parents, he had always had to take care of his younger brother and replace his father and mother for him. And in all that time, he had even forgotten what it was like... to stand behind someone and know that you wouldn't get hurt... and now when it all seemed to suddenly fall on his head, he didn't know what exactly to feel. Gratitude? Calm? Happiness? Or all of them. There was only one thing that mattered... that it was all Xiao Zhan.
As he tried to fight off the attacking people, he noticed Xiao Zhan was injured. But even so, he continued to try to close the barrier. Yibo wanted to run up to him, just grab his hand and run away from this place. To shelter him from this pain and hide him somewhere, but it seemed like the whole world was against it. He had to clear a path to him, but with each passing second, it seemed that Xiao Zhan was getting farther and farther away, as if it was impossible to reach him. In his thoughts was only him and trying to get a step closer to him, Yibo doesn't immediately notice how the barrier is already closed. Only at the last moment he manages to finally grab... his favorite and together with him in his hands falls to the ground.
- Xiao Zhan, - he says fearfully, looking at him and his closed eyes. He isn't answered and he continues to call out to him... only faint breathing was heard and nothing else. And now Yibo realizes...
He wondered what Xiao Zhan felt at that moment, when he clutched his body in his arms and tried to call him. And now being in that position himself now, Yibo understood everything. The fear of losing the one you love. All you want is for the one lying in your arms to open his eyes and look at you. To hug you back and just... just breathe. You want to take their pain away if it will help them.
Yibo can't remember how he came back. His heart was filled with nothing but fear and he wasn't able to memorize his actions. Only prayed, quietly, in a whisper... praying that the Gods would not take Xiao Zhan away from him. He had lost his father, he had lost his mother, but he couldn't... he couldn't lose his beloved now.
