Walking Through Open Doors

Chapter 4 - The Rule Of Three

It's the fourth fucking time that he's driving down to the village today. The tension in the car is increasingly awkward, filling the space between him and Wen Ke Xing like a gigantic, expanding water balloon. He feels like if he so much as breathes a bit too harsh, it's going to burst and dose him with cold water.

He sneaks glances at the man sitting next to him. Wen Ke Xing is relaxed against the seat, head slightly tilting against the headrest, strong legs stretched straight, ankles crossed. The man's lips are curled into a smile and intermittently huffs a bit, like little puffs of laughter-or maybe frustration-from time to time, as if he's reacting to the voices in his head. Zhou Zi Shu is both curious and terrified at what kind of conversation is going on behind that handsome face.

He's surprised that someone can laugh at this because it is fucking embarrassing. He would choose one hundred sex talks over this conversation. Hell, he would even throw in a few dildos and condoms for practice. Not that the sex talk is going to happen this decade, because Zhou Cheng Ling is grounded until he is twenty. Maybe even twenty-five. He will decide once he has calmed down. Which he hopes will be before he returns back home to have a conversation with his son about lying, boundaries, and respect for other people's feelings.

He's not sure that if the roles were reversed, that he would be as calm as Wen Ke Xing is, or at least seems to be. Out of all the adrenalin-pumping situations in his life, it turns out that it's being a dad that's going to give him gray hair. The underground fighters; the corrupt police officers; or that particularly nasty official in Shenzhen who had actual Triad connections, neither of those undercover situations has got anything on Zhou Cheng Ling.

"Look, I'm really sorry about this. I honestly have no idea what has gotten into him lately. A'Ling has never done anything like this before. I didn't even know that he thought I was lo-" Zhou Zi Shu's eyes widen in horror at the words just randomly vomiting out of his mouth without his permission. Why on earth is he talking about his non-existent love life?

He grips the steering wheel a bit tighter because his mental strength is desperate to hold onto something and his options are limited. At least until he gets home and can take out some of today's emotions in the home gym. Nothing grounds him more than beating up the free-standing punching bag until he's sweating so hard it stings his eyes.

Wen Ke Xing just hums in response, as if he's thinking about it, and Zhou Zi Shu has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep more words from hurling through his lips to fill the silence. How should he even start to unpack the fact that this man has flown across part of the country and then taken a one-hour train, to spend the week with him? HIM?! Well, the two of them he guesses? Wait, should he ask if Wen Ke Xing even knew about Zhou Cheng Ling? No, that would be weird. Still, a bigger part than he is willing to acknowledge wonders if the man knew he had a child and was willing to date a single dad. He blames it on the reporter in him.

He sneaks another glance and finds Wen Ke Xing looking back at him with dark eyes and Zhou Zi Shu's pulse starts to vibrate to the same rhythm of the gravel road they are driving on. It even matches the occasional pothole.

Wen Ke Xing tilts his head and responds to Zhou Zi Shu's babbling words, "Look, don't worry about it. Kids can do some crazy things sometimes. I should know, I was pretty reckless as a teenager myself. Not that I did anything like this, but I did plenty of other things..."

Wen Ke Xing trails off and turns his gaze back towards the winding road. The sun beams filter through the tall pine trees and flickers across his face and Zhou Zi Shu just keeps staring. Something pops at the back of his mind, but it's not the water balloon. This is more like the first crack in a flower bud, like a silent promise of more to come.