A BITTER LIFE

PART 29

"It’s obvious you find me attractive," Yibo said. "Oh, by the way, if you’re uncomfortable in those clothes, I have some extras upstairs."

Gu Wei stood up. "Thanks," he replied and started walking towards the stairs. Eros was about to tell him which room to go to, but he could only watch in disbelief as Gu Wei confidently opened the door to his room. Yibo stood there, stunned, staring at the closed door.

"Did I ever tell him where my room is?" Yibo wondered. "This is only the second time he’s been here, yet he acts like he owns the place" Yibo thought to himself as he returned to what he was doing.

A few minutes later, he heard footsteps and glanced towards the stairs. His eyes widened in shock. He immediately approached Gu Wei and grabbed his arm. "Why are you wearing that shirt? Who told you it was okay to wear that?" Yibo demanded, his voice filled with anger. Gu Wei raised an eyebrow, unable to hide the hurt he felt.

"Is he so against me that he can’t even stand to see me wearing something that belonged to Zhan?" Gu Wei thought.

"Let go of me. What’s wrong with me wearing this?" Gu Wei retorted, pulling his arm free. "If I’m not mistaken, this shirt belonged to your husband," Gu Wei continued, noticing Yibo look away. "Are you so mad at him that you can’t even bear to see his clothes?" Gu Wei asked, almost out of nowhere.

Eros turned away from him and remained silent for a few minutes. "I’m starting to believe even more that you and Ebisu are the same person" Eros said quietly, still not facing Gu Wei. "Every time I see you, I’m reminded of the huge mistake I made with him, one I still can’t admit to myself" he added.

"I’ll just take it off, then," Gu Wei said, turning to head back upstairs. But before he could leave, Yibo grabbed his hand again.

"Maybe it’s time for me to face the mistake I made, the one I’ve been trying to convince myself was his betrayal" Eros said, his voice trembling, on the verge of tears. Gu Wei looked away.

"Let’s eat first. We might lose our appetite if you keep talking like this," Gu Wei suggested, gently removing Yibo’s hand from his. "Just some advice, Mr. Wang. I know you see him in me, and you might think you could win me over, just like how you were ready to leave your family for me" Gu Wei said, looking into Yibo’s eyes.

"If I were Ebisu, I wouldn’t forgive you so easily. And if I were Ebisu, don’t ask me for forgiveness right away. Instead, find out why things ended up this way and what the real cost was for all the foolish things you believed in," Gu Wei said, sitting down at the dining table. "Don’t worry, I’m not Ebisu, and the dead don’t come back to life—unless, of course, they never died at all" he added, making Eros turn to look at him.

"What are you waiting for? Come on, let’s eat. The food’s getting cold, and I’ve been hungry for a while," Gu Wei said, his back turned to Yibo.

Yibo remained silent and simply sat in front of Gu Wei, but even as they ate, he couldn’t help but glance at Gu Wei. "Finish your food before you start staring at me" Gu Wei teased.

"You're right, I should revisit everything that happened to accept that I was the first to make a mistake," Yibo replied, causing Gu Wei to pause mid-bite, though he said nothing. Sensing the sudden quiet, Yibo changed the subject. "Do you want to cool off in the backyard before bed?" Yibo asked. Gu Wei responded with a nod.

A few hours later, they found themselves sitting in the backyard. Neither spoke, but the silence between them felt comfortable. Gu Wei lit a cigarette.

After several minutes of silence, Gu Wei finally broke it. "Can I ask you something?" he asked Yibo without looking at him. "Sure," Yibo replied. Gu Wei took a drag from his cigarette before continuing. "Why did you marry the sister of your first husband? I mean, Lay said he passed away, but what I want to know is how it led to you getting married?" Gu Wei struggled to keep his voice calm as he asked.

"It's a long story" Yibo answered. "Make it short" Gu Wei demanded, now looking directly at Eros, who also met his gaze. "Nine months after we found out he was d@ad, Liying came to me and told me she was pr@gnant." Gu Wei clenched his fists to suppress his anger. "Nine months? That fast?" he couldn't help but ask.

Yibo looked off into the distance and took a sip of his beer before continuing. "Yes, I also couldn't understand why everything happened so quickly. Liying and I became close after he was gone." Gu Wei closed his eyes to stop his tears from falling.

"At first, I couldn't accept the child and denied it was mine, but I remembered one day waking up with her beside me, and maybe because I was too drunk, I couldn't recall what had happened," Eros explained, still staring into the distance. Gu Wei tightened his grip on his cigarette until it broke.

He took a deep breath before asking again. "Did anything happen between you and Liying while you were still with... Ebisu?" Gu Wei tried to keep his voice steady, but he failed, barely able to get the words out. This time, Yibo's tears began to fall, and he broke down in sobs.

...

The next morning, Gu Wei didn't go to work and didn't leave his room, which worried their helpers and even his friends who came over but couldn't do anything. "It's not easy to accept what he heard from Yibo," Jiyang said sadly. "Even if we say Yibo was dr@gged, shouldn't he have talked to Zhan?" he added.

They knocked on Gu Wei's door, but he didn’t answer. "Isn’t A-yuan supposed to be released today? Why don't we have him come here to get Gu Wei out?" Haoxuan suggested, and Jiyang agreed.

Meanwhile, Eros hadn’t slept, and his eyes were swollen from crying. "What should I do? Where do I start?" he asked himself tearfully. Suddenly, he stood up. "Mom, maybe she knows something."

Flashback last night.

"We slept together, while Ebisu was pr@gnant with A-yuan" Eros stammered between his sobs, then knelt in front of Gu Wei, wrapping his hand around Gu Wei's waist.

Thank you for reading it 💚 ❤️ 😍 😊