Spite the Odds (HIATUS)

CHAPTER 1

"JieJie!"

Yibo's voice sobbed to his Jie, "I love him, I love him so much Jie! So much so that it pains me, it pains me so bad that not one string in this fist size organ in this chest of mine is not pulled. My head aches, when it remembers that look in his eyes that held mine in the means of yearning.
Jie! You didn't see it! You didn't feel it! It was one look, a two second glance, but it spoke more words than any Chinese dialect could ever manage. He never even opened his mouth but I knew, I knew it the minute that he looked down and walked away..."

Yibo's broken eyes looked down, recalling that heart crushing scene before returning to stare at the freshly bought lilies resting on his Jie's grave, his voice taking a heartbreaking soft tone,
"JieJie....He drew the line. He drew the line JieJie, he drew the line.... What am I supposed to do now? I can't cross it, crossing it will just hurt him. And hurting him is hurting me, and I'm already hurt but I can't bear to think that I failed him to where he's deeply and utterly wronged. Tell me what to do Jie, I need you."

In a break down moment,
Yibo spent the next ten minutes or so in his own gut wrenching thoughts as the water of his eyes gave itself to the fires of hell after being squeezed out dry till they started to itch.

In an industry where all dreams are possible, everything was still felt to be impossible. It's not that he was ungrateful to what he has; he is, more than ever really. But answers to questions that have been eating him up are yet to be seen, and in this moment, it is more crucial than ever.

"Yibo, let's go! Your next photo shoot is in twenty minutes, hurry up!"
Yibo's ears perked up at the sound of his manager Liao Miao telling him that it's time to go.

Slowly, he got up wiping whatever tear leftovers were rolling down his cheeks before wearing his mask, and walking to the black Armortek custom armored car that Liao Miao was standing right next to the door of as if he didn't just have a full on breakdown on his sister's grave.

After settling down in the car and getting on the main road, Lia Miao turned to her elite star and asked him, "Yibo, are you alright? You don't look very well."

Concerned, Liao Miao reached out her right hand to Yibo's forehead to check his temperature. "Are you getting a fever? Should I call someone to fetch you some medicine?"

"I don't have a fever, just a bit worn out that's all. Nothing some make-up and camera lighting can't fix, really."
Yibo dismissed his manager's worries, and tapped away the hand on his forehead before turning to look out the window as everything passed in a blur.

"Yibo," her manager called him again during the drive out of nowhere. "I have something to tell you."
Yibo turned his eyes away from the busy life outside, to give his manager a look of What is it? "I'm taking 4 months off." Miss Liao said on a whim.

Yibo paid no mind to whatever the person in the seat beside him just said, as he simply dismissed it with a "Mmm." and went back to looking at the world outside.
That is, until the words that Liao Miao said have finally registered in his head, did his neck almost get a whiplash from turning so fast.

"Wait, what?!" Miss Liao sank in her seat wanting nothing but for it to swallow her whole.

"Miao Jie, you can't be serious right now. Wha- when did this even happen?!" The superstar felt distressed at the news of losing his most trusted manager, with her gone, it'd be as if he lost another person who is important to him.

"The company needs me at the headquarters for the four months manager training." Miss Liao began explaining, "I've been putting it off for quite some time now, but they called last night saying that it's extremely important for me to be there. I hope you understand, dear."

Yibo made a face of dissatisfaction at her explanation, "But what am I supposed to do without you? You know I can't do this without you."

"Don't worry," Liao Miao said, "I already called a friend of mine to be your temporary manager while I'm gone."
Yibo looked at her like she has gone crazy, and was on the verge of saying something before she beat him to it.
"Her name is Chun Zhen, she's 25, is super nice and understanding, and I trust her. So, I'm going to need you to trust me and trust her too. Plus, it's only going to be for four months, I'll be back in no time."

Yibo couldn't help but sigh, ugh, I can't believe this is happening right now. "Fine, whatever."

___________________________________

"Good morning there, handsome." A man that looked to be in his mid-forties spoke.

"Ah, Good morning Fang Laoshi, it's a pleasure to work with you." Xiao Zhan said, scratching the back of his neck as his ears turned red.

"The pleasure is all mine, and don't worry, you'll love working with us." Fang Xu said smiling mischievously, while ushering him to the changing room.

When the door to the changing room closed, he stood there not knowing what to do next. Seconds later, his mind started drifting.
All he was ever able to think about is how he hated this, how he was tired of doing a shoot after a shoot, tired of fake smiling everywhere he went, tired of pretending that everything was fine, tired of pretending that he was fine. He just wants to go home, to his Yibo. But how could he ever, he doesn't want Yibo's career to end, it just started. Being with him is good for neither of them, so pushing him away is the best choice for both.

Xiao Zhan felt the blood rushing to his head as it pounded in his ears. His chest tightened, as his heart started beating to the speed of a hundred miles an hour.
His vision of the room surrounding him disfigured as he felt its walls closing in on him.
He could no longer breathe. He felt hot, and sweat started dripping down his face. His knees hit the floor with a thud as his legs could no longer hold him. He tried reaching out to hold on to something, but there was nothing in front of him so he tripped and fell to the floor.

"Zhan-Zhan!!" A faint yell of someone calling his name was all he heard, before everything went black.

Minutes later, Zhan was greeted with a bright light hitting his eyes. As he woke up, he found himself lying on the couch of the changing room that he was shoved into with Lee Hua beside him wiping his face with a wet towel. Shifting his weight a little, he tried speaking," Jie-"

"Shut up and lie down Zhan." Lee Hua said, holding his body back down on the couch lightly as she continued to wipe his face.

"Thank the heavens that we came thirty minutes before the shoot, and that the photographer is stuck in traffic. Honestly Zhan, what would have happened if I didn't come sooner?! Why aren't you taking care of yourself?" Lee Hua's eyebrows furrowed as she felt worried and frustrated at the lack of care that Xiao Zhan has been giving his body.

"Jie Jie I'm fine, truly." Zhan said, in hopes of calming down her worry. "It was just a minor attack, and now I'm alright. I'll take my pills now, and everything will be just fine." He smiled, throwing her his signature bunny smile.

"A-Zhan, you're shivering. It was not just a 'minor attack'," she scolded him. "Stop stressing yourself out, and start taking care of yourself. I'm your make-up artist, I can't be your part-time doctor too."

"Okay, I will take more care of myself." Zhan said, slowly sitting up. "Now be a good part-time doctor and hand me my pills."

"Boy, I'll kill you." Lee Hua said, but nonetheless got up to hand him his pills, before heading to set up her make-up area.

If you only knew Jie, if you only knew. Zhan thought, before swallowing down his pills.

And here we go. Same shit, different day. Yibo sighed.

"Sir, your shot is ready." Someone knocked at his door.

To that, Yibo stood up and walked out of the room.

In another room, Zhan heard someone yelling that the shot is ready, so with one last look at himself in the mirror, he got up and walked out.