Awake

chapter 8

Zhan woke up around 3 pm. Despite all the drama that happened that morning, he was surprised that he was able to get good sleep.

He still had another 3 hours before he would need to get to work. After tonight, he would have 4 days off.

He took Yibo home a day earlier than he wanted because the hospital needed the bed, and to be honest, Yibo didn't need it anymore. Zhan had no choice either because he had already delayed by a whole week.

He would have loved to stay home and not leave Yibo alone the first day in a foreign place, but work calls.

Zhan tried to listen for any sounds from outside so he could hear if Yibo was watching TV or in the kitchen, anything, but he couldn't hear anything.

Soon, his stomach forced him out of his room because it was growling from hunger.

Zhan was a very rational and calm person. He never let things bother him for longer than necessary, but this time, he really couldn't get himself to act right.

He paced a bit in his room, and he finally decided he was way too hungry to be petty.

When he walked out of his room just like in the morning, food was already set on the dining table covered neatly. From touching the dishes, Zhan could tell it hadn't been long since the food was prepared because it was still warm.

Not only that, the house was spotless as well. The magazines that are normally left laying around everywhere were neatly packed on the table. His shoes that he always leaves scattered around were also neatly packed in the shoe cardboard by the door. The kitchen was clean as well.

"When did Yibo do all this, and with the state his body was in, where did he even get the strength to act like a house maid?" Zhan thought to himself.

Zhan was starting to feel like he was the one being hosted in his own house, but he couldn't entertain those feelings for too long before his stomach growled again.

The food tasted amazing. The dishes were simple and not heavy at all, but very satisfying. Zhan was now wondering if Yibo was a chef before, because even though the dishes were simple, the presentation was very decorative. Zhan knew that the ingredients were from his own pantry because he bought all this stuff, but he didn't know they could be made this way. Noodles were his go-to dish, but what lay before him was Noodles on steroids. He was even tempted to call them fancy.

After he finished eating, he packed the leftovers into his lunch box to eat later at work. He hated wasting food, so nothing was going to go to waste.

After a while, he gathered enough courage to go knock at Yibo's door, and this time, he was determined not to walk away until he spoke to Yibo.

Zhan knew they couldn't continue avoiding each other like this. It wouldn't be helpful to Yibo's healing, and Zhan was responsible for that as well while he stayed with him.

He went and knocked at the door and knocked the second knock, Yibo answered.

"Come in."

"No, I don't need to come in. I just wanted to ask you if you have enough energy to go on a walk with me. There is a nice walking trail behind my house. It would be good for you to build strength back into your muscles and aid healing, but if you are not up to it, It's OK we can go another time."

The door opened, and without thinking, Zhan took a huge step back. This action just made Yibo sigh. It was clear Zhan didn't feel comfortable with him too close, and he knew it was all his fault.

"I would love to come with you but I don't have outside shoes."

Zhan wasn't even aware that this action had saddened Yibo. He moved back because he thought Yibo was going to step out of the room, and he was clearly blocking the door.