Thread That Binds Us

Chapter-24

Update time!😎 *potato dance* (~‾▿‾)~

HOWEVER, this was so far the most hastily written, unplanned, forced out chapter I have done for this story. The reason is: due to my allergies acting up I fell ill and even had a fever for a few days earlier this week (I thought it was Corona and almost wrote a goodbye note for y'all🤧). My back pain was killing me, making it hard for me to stay upright and write; my meds were fucking with my brain. So, I apologize for any inconsistency in quality, typos or if the chapter feels messy in general.😖

Read the author's note at the end of the chapter. Also, the pic will be attached there as well.

IMPORTANT: Someone DM'd me asking if the term 'Ge' is pronounced as 'gay' and I wept for a bit.😭 Are you telling me you've been reading it as GayGay till now?😭 It's pronounced like "guh" with a softer 'uh' (mouth less open). Type 'brother' on google translate, choose Chinese as the output language and listen to the voice translation.😭 Bloody hell!

Teabags who comment and vote are my favourites and will receive my squishy squashy hugsies, with snots added to the groove!😍😘

A warm welcome to the peeps who followed my profile!(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

Hope you guys are doing okay. Stay safe and take every precaution while going out.💜

I forgot what else I intended to say.😒

Off ya go!

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Chapter-24

YiBo wasn't sure what was happening. He was beside himself when he left Zhan's house last night. He still could not believe that Zhan had actually responded to YiBo's flirting! And that little ember of hope burned within him for a long time.

Till he received that Thank You text. Well, he was not surprised, per say; Zhan responding to him voluntarily was something surely to be happy about but he did feel a tiny little bite of disappointment in his heart. He had put a lot of hope in that care package. But this time he absolutely refused to lead his heart by expectations. He had been reading a lot about Zhan's medical conditions and the more he knew the guiltier he felt. It would take way more than some petty disappointment to discourage him now.

So, at the end of a tiring, hectic day that was filled with meeting strangers, putting on fake smiles and happy acts, convincing the people that he was so eager to join the show when the truth could not have been further from it, he sat in his hotel room and dialled for a video call. He was dying to see the two faces that did not let him focus on anything else the whole day.

While Zhan did receive the call, and YiBo's heart jumped up seeing his face, he was gone just as soon. He answered YiBo's "How are you?" with "I'm fine, thanks" and immediately put Xing on the call, not even giving YiBo the chance to ask if he liked the gift.

However, YiBo got his chance. When his talk with his son came to an end and it was time for Zhan to take over and disconnect, YiBo grabbed the opportunity and asked, "Did you like the gift? Would they be helpful?"

For some reason unknown to him, Zhan looked very withdrawn, "That were very generous of you, thank you."

YiBo blinked. What? "Generous? But....but I didn't do it out of some generosity. I honestly thought they would be of some help." YiBo could hear the slight hurt in his own voice.

Apparently Zhan heard it too as he made a brief eye contact before saying, "I meant, that was a very thoughtful gift. Thank you."

He did not know what to say to that. It felt like hitting a dead end. Desperate for anything, he blurted out, "Let me know if they run out or you need anything else."