A BITTER LIFE

PART 25

(⚠️🤧🥹)

Yibo: Eros
Zhan: Ebisu

Eros didn’t speak, but he held Gu Wei’s hand with his free one. “Aren’t you going to ask if I could leave my fiancé for you?” Gu Wei asked, without removing his hand held by Eros.

Eros remained silent, and Gu Wei stopped questioning him. “I don’t want to ask because I’m afraid your answer will hurt me” Yibo thought.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Gu Wei’s house. Gu Wei didn’t invite Yibo in since it was already late. He simply thanked him and went inside, while Eros waited outside until he was sure Gu Wei was safely indoors. He stayed a moment longer before heading back to the hospital. “If I go home, there’ll just be another argument” he muttered.

When Gu Wei entered his house, he found the helpers still awake. “Why are you still up?” he asked. The helpers smiled at him. “Oh, nothing, sir. We were just chatting,” they explained, though the truth was they had waited for Gu Wei. “Alright, get some sleep after you’re done. You’ve worked hard” he said, heading to his room.

In his room, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Katrina recognized him until he finally fell asleep.

“Please, don’t do this to me. I have a husband” Ebisu pleaded while the man ripped his clothes. “Please, no, no, no,” he cried, tears streaming down his face. “You don’t have a husband anymore. He's married to someone else” the man whispered, trying to remove Ebisu’s clothes. “No, my husband wouldn’t do that. He loves me, he wouldn’t betray me, he loves me” Ebisu shouted, struggling. The man punched Zhan in the stomach, making him wince in pain. “If you don’t behave, I’ll hurt your child. I’ll make your child suffer” the man threatened, choking Ebisu.

“Please, do whatever you want to me, just don’t involve my child” Ebisu begged, crying as the man stuffed a cloth into his mouth to silence him. While the man on top of him was grinning like a lunatic.

“NOOOOO!” Gu Wei screamed, sitting up drenched in sweat. He hugged his knees, tears falling uncontrollably. “I’m disgusting” he whispered, running to the bathroom to turn on the shower and let the water drench him. He grabbed soap and scrubbed his body as if trying to remove an invisible dirt. “I’m dirty, I’m dirty, I’m dirty” He repeated, scrubbing his skin raw. He left the bathroom, smashing everything in sight while shouting. “I’m dirty!”

The helpers, who were still awake, rushed to Gu Wei’s room but couldn’t open the door. They called Lay, who answered immediately.

“What’s wrong? Why are you calling at this hour?” Lay asked urgently.

“Sir Gu Wei is shouting, and we hear things breaking inside” they explained.

“Stay there. Two men will be there soon. Let them in” Lay instructed before ending the call.

He then called Haoxuan, who answered after three rings. “Check the CCTV in Gu Wei’s room” Lay ordered.

“Sh@t!” Haoxuan cursed at what he saw, immediately running out of their house. Fortunately, they lived just three blocks away from Gu Wei. “Did you bring the injection?” he asked Jiyang as they drove. "Yup"

Minutes later, they arrived at Gu Wei’s house and quickly entered. They had a key to Gu Wei’s room, so they got in immediately and were horrified by the scene. Gu Wei was soaking wet, with bloodstains on his clothes. “Ahhh, I’m dirty, I don’t want this, i hate myself, I'm disgusting.” Gu Wei screamed. Jiyang approached and injected him with a
sedative. Within seconds, Gu Wei started to calm down. “I’m dirty, he won’t want me anymore” he whispered before losing consciousness.

Carefully, Haoxuan and Jiyang carried Gu Wei to his bed and gently laid him down. Haoxuan ran to the bathroom to turn off the shower. “I’ll change his clothes. You get some cold water” Jiyang said, gently removing Gu Wei’s wet clothes to dress him in clean ones.

Meanwhile, when Yibo arrived at the hospital, A-yuan was asleep. He sat in front of A-yuan, watching him. After a while, his phone rang, but he didn’t answer it and let it ring.

“Answer the call. We need to talk,” read a message that appeared on his notifications. He opened it. “Liying, give me some time to think. I’m tired of fighting every day,” he replied, then turned off the phone.

He recalled what his brother had said. “Before you make another decision you’ll regret, make sure of your true feelings. What if the reason you like Gu Wei is that he looks like Zhan? Isn’t that unfair? And remember, he’s our cousin’s fiancé. Your life is already chaotic, it’s better to sort it out before you make another headache-inducing decision.”

“Zhan and Gu Wei are one and the same, I’m sure of it” he whispered, slowly succumbing to sleep.

Elsewhere, “You know, this is the hardest thing to witness as his friend, tying his hands so he doesn’t hurt himself” Jiyang said, looking at the sleeping Gu Wei with his hands tied together.

“Even when we’ve given him a sedative, he often wakes up suddenly,” Haoxuan said, sighing. “It’s almost 3 AM. Let’s stay here for now,” Jiyang said, sitting down next to Gu Wei. “Have you called Lay yet?”

Haoxuan: "I just finished talking to him, I also told him that Gu Wei is okay"

..

The next morning, when Eros opened his phone, he received a call from Lay. At first, he hesitated to answer the call, but in the end, he did.

Eros: "Hello."

Lay: "Yibo, how are you?"

"I'm doing well" Yibo replied, feeling a bit nervous.

"That's good to hear. By the way, Gu Wei can't come in today; he has something to take care of" Lay said, which made Yibo raise an eyebrow.

"Is he too busy that you have to tell me yourself?" asked Eros

"Yes, well, I still have something to do. Please tell A-yuan that I miss him."

"Okay." Yibo remained silent, feeling a tightness in his chest.

Meanwhile, when Gu Wei woke up, the first thing he saw was Jiyang and Haoxuan sitting beside him. Before they could speak, Gu Wei glanced at his injured hand, but it is no longer tied.

No one spoke, and it had become a habit not to mention or ask about what had happened. "Mnn. I’m going to be late" Gu Wei said as he tried to get up, but Jiyang stopped him. "You should rest first."

"I still have a lot of work to finish."

"Lay already called Yibo, telling him you won’t be going to work because you’re busy" Haoxuan explained, causing Gu Wei to lie back down. "But we have somewhere to go tonight."

"That’s why you need to rest, so you have energy later" Jiyang added. Gu Wei glanced at him. "I mean, to argue with your sister" Gu Wei rolled his eyes. "I have no sister; I am Gu Wei."

Jiyang: "Yes, you are."

Haoxuan: "By the way, why is she coming?"

"Liying? The event wouldn't be exciting without a little drama" Gu Wei replied with a grin. "Then we’ll take care of everything. All you need to do is sleep" Jiyang said, covering Gu Wei with a blanket. Gu Wei  chuckled. "Can I really sleep?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. "Of course," Haoxuan said confidently as Gu Wei slowly smelled a calming scent. "He still hasn't changed his perfume until now:  he whispered, but Jiyang and Haoxuan could still hear him.

Before Gu Wei could fall asleep, his phone beeped, indicating a message. "Hand me my phone, please."

"Are you too busy for Lay to call here to say you can't come to work?"

THANKS FOR READING IT 💚 ❤️ 😍