In Between Us || Zhanyi

Untitled Part 31

Last Worked: 20/09/2024

Zhan strode through the university halls with a simmering anticipation, his eyes sharp as he scanned the crowd, searching for that familiar figure. He had risen early, heart racing with a strange, irrational hope that Yibo would be waiting in his office, perhaps with a guarded expression, maybe even some anger—but he would be there. He would face him, talk to him, even if he was furious. But when he opened the door to his cabin, he found nothing but emptiness. A cold void stared back at him, as silent and unforgiving as Yibo's absence.

Disappointment hit him, and with it, a gnawing frustration. Zhan's jaw clenched as he let out a slow breath, steadying himself. Of course, Yibo would be avoiding him after last night, maybe even hating him. The thought twisted inside him, a bitter ache he couldn't ignore. But he couldn't leave things like this—not when the distance was already stretching wider than he could stand. He had to find Yibo, had to make him listen, even if all he got in return was silence. He couldn't bear this emptiness.

Zhan left his office, his gaze sweeping the hallway—and then he saw him. Just ahead, Yibo's dark hair gleamed under the corridor lights, and for a breathless second, Zhan thought Yibo was coming toward him. But then, with a slight turn of his head, Yibo changed directions, slipping into another hallway without so much as a glance in Zhan's direction.

Zhan's heart sank, anger and hurt flaring all at once. He knew Yibo was avoiding him, but seeing it so blatantly lit a fuse within him. Determination took over as he moved forward, following Yibo without a single ounce of hesitation, his steps steady and silent. He didn't know what he would say when he reached him, but that didn't matter now. Yibo was his, and he wouldn't let anyone—anything—stand in his way.

But as he followed, his gaze fixed ahead, a different figure appeared by Yibo's side. Zhan's stomach clenched as he saw Kuan approach him, a familiar, too-warm smile lighting his face. Zhan stopped dead in his tracks, watching with narrowed eyes as Kuan reached out, his hand curling around Yibo's wrist, pulling him gently yet firmly aside. The sight of Yibo's wrist in Kuan's grip sent a flash of dark, possessive anger through Zhan.

He felt his vision sharpen, narrowing on the two of them, every other sound fading away. He couldn't look away, not when Kuan's touch lingered, not when Yibo allowed himself to be led with that familiar, obedient silence. Two things he hated here, one Yibo didn't resist, he wasn't just a student but a married man, how could he allow other man to be so close? Will he accept if Zhan let someone come close? If Zhan didn't set boundaries and be as friendly as he used to be before his marriage?

Another point, not only boiled his blood but also filled him with endless insecurity...if Yibo's silence was so indifferent to everyone, was it means Zhan was nothing special for Yibo, the right Zhan believed as his own, only his...did Yibo believe it could be shared or it could be given to anyone. The thought that Yibo's submission, his surrender was nothing so exclusive for Zhan made his possessive instincts to get kicked. The aspect that he wasn't held anything in Yibo's life as exclusive made him more sucker for a possessive claim.

Zhan already lost his rationality, and sadly he had no sense to grip himself back. This new anger – this destructive energy felt very satisfying. In the language of science, this releases so much dopamine inside one's mind, that any person would like to indulge rather rationalize to stop. And Zhan was not an expectation here.