What if... another Weilan story [bxb] [✔]

Chapter 10

Yunlan was taciturn. He still had his school ambitions, his family and his friends, everything should be just fine, but it wasn't. Something was missing.

He had never liked it to dwell too much on his own thoughts, never really spent much time considering the "why" of feelings. He always enjoyed his life, being left in peace, allowing only Hong to come close, he had never needed anything more.

Now he felt Wei’s absence and it was bothering him.

He had never dated before, never really wanted to, he didn’t even know what ‘being interested in someone’ really felt like. Was this what he was feeling? Was he ‘interested’ in Shen Wei like that? Or was he simply missing his friendship? He didn’t have much experience in friendship either, so he didn’t know how to decipher what he was feeling inside.

Wei had left their group. Yunlan would see him with Ren from time to time, they greeted each other when they met in the corridor, but they hardly spoke anymore. There was always Ren with him, and it irked Yunlan to think that ‘it should be me’.

Once, he saw Wei and Ren outside school, they were walking side by side then Ren stopped and hugged him and then kissed him. Yunlan stood frozen. He had stopped so suddenly that Hong bumped into him, then she saw his frozen expression and turned to follow his gaze.

She had to do something, so she took his arm and pulled him away. He let her. Without a word to their friends, they went home together, to talk in private.

Before she could ask him what was going on, he let himself fall on the bed and asked her, "What is going on? what’s happening to me?"

Hong stared at him long and hard.
"You don’t know?"

“I... I think I miss him... why do I miss him so much? What’s the matter with me?”

Hong handled it with the utmost care, this kind of talk was unknown territory between them. In the past, when she liked someone, she would tell him, talking about her crush with typical girl-enthusiasm, while his reaction was always to tease her endlessly for it.

But it had always been her. Not once had Yunlan talked about somebody he liked.

Now that her feelings were more serious and she thought that she really liked Jin, Hong talked less about it so he couldn't tease her as much, but the consequence was that they didn't have much experience in "serious talks".

She sighed inwardly and just went for it.
"Have you ever given a thought to the possibility that maybe you like him?"

He didn't say a word.

Not receiving the reaction she was waiting for, she thought it better to clarify.
"And I mean: like like him, as in ‘you want to date him’ like, as in ‘you want to be in Ren’s place and be the one to kiss him’ like, as in..."

“I don’t know!” he stopped her, then looked helplessly at her.
"Maybe... yes... I don’t know! But what I do know is that I want him with me, next to me, not far away with..."

She sat down next to him, and put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.

He didn't move, appreciating the gesture, which calmed him down a bit, then said in a low voice, "I miss talking to him, why did he have to leave?"

She kept silent for a while, then she said, "If you want him... to talk to you again, then we should try to get him back."

He sat up.
"What? How can we do that?"

"I will apologise, and ask him to join the group again."

“You? Apologise?”

“After that, though, it will be totally up to you two,” she said, ignoring his remark. She was not looking forward to it at all.