QUACK!
QUACK!
QUACK!
Pressing the rubber duck continuously with his cleanly bandaged hand, Yang Xiu emerged from the bathroom dressed in a robe. The bright smile on his face was brought on by the rubber duck's quack.
When he reached his room, he threw the duck against the wall, groaned loudly, and dug his fingers into his damp hair. "So hungryyyyyy!"
Heading to his closet, he pulled on a blue polo shirt and loose-fitting jeans, but stopped short of drying his hair. Upon retiring to his room and making his way to the door, it dawned on him that he had not seen his phone since coming back from the tour.
"What the hell?" His hands went into his pockets, and when he took one out, a second pocket knife emerged. "Where did I keep my phone?" he thoughtfully brushed the knife's cold steel against his lower lip.
At that very instant, a loud glass crash that sounded all the way from the kitchen echoed.
"Huh?" Shocked, Yang Xiu snapped out of his reverie. He opened the door, racing down the stairs to the kitchen to see Chang Li, the person who was meant to be cooking for him, looking panicked and widening eyes at his phone.
"Hey! Is that my phone?" Yang Xiu approached Chang Li and snatched the phone from him. His face turned drab. "Oh it's not."
Chang Li grabbed his phone back giving Yang Xiu a horrified look. "Why would you snatch my phone like that?!"
"Why are you screaming at me?" Yang Xiu mumbled indifferently. "You've been twitchy for some time now. What possessed you to shatter my expensive vintage plates?" And again, he grabbed the phone.
"Stop!" Just as Yang Xiu opened the phone to have a look at it, Chang Li yelled and grabbed it back.
Yang Xiu's eyes narrowed. "I am extremely eager to eat so I can have the energy to question you."
Chang Li gave a heavy sigh. "Will you please go sit down while I serve you the dishes? I want to tidy up the shattered dishes."
Yang Xiu raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. "I'm not wearing any shoes."
"So?" Confused, Chang Li enquired.
"Hehe." Yang Xiu trod on the glass fragments and exhaled a sigh of satisfaction as he moved his legs to let the shards lodge in his foot.
Chang Li's eyes twitched as he stared in horror. He suddenly realized that despite his tight relationship with Yang Xiu, he had never received an invitation to his condo. He was aware that Yang Xiu was crazy, but nonetheless...
"Ha!" Yang Xiu grabbed his phone once more and glared at the screen with wide eyes. "Goddamn! He's fuck worthy."
Meanwhile, Chang Li was about to yell, but those words caught him off guard, making his face flush with shame. "How can you say that to a photo?!"
Yang Xiu gave a spooky smile. "Better yet, he should fuck me."
Chang Li nearly fainted, but regained consciousness and attempted to take his phone. But Yang Xiu forced him to stop by pointing his pocket knife at his forehead.
"Seriously?!"
"Wait." Yang Xiu whispered, the phone's light bouncing off his eyes. Tall, strong, with immaculate porcelain complexion, piercing dark eyes that spilled for danger, and an unusually pricey-looking historical robe. "Let's adopt him."
"Huh?!" Chang Li couldn't believe his ears.
Yang Xiu nodded enthusiastically. "I've never had this kind of reaction to a photo of someone before. I'm feeling tingly. I want him."
Chang Li saw the end of his universe. "H.. how can you say this to me?"
"Because I need your assistance! We will postpone the questioning until later." Yang Xiu stated with a cunning sneer, glancing back at the phone. "That harsh look, though. He looks enraged."
Chang Li saw that Yang Xiu was displaying intense interest in the picture. He inhaled deeply to drive out all of the hurt and jealousy that was building inside of him.
He coughed a little. "Since you have terminated your contract with your company, you have no access to your bodyguards anymore."
Yang Xiu frowned and cast him a sidelong glance. "I do not need bodyguards."
Chang Li sighed. "I think you've forgotten that three gangs from the three main mafia organizations of Yueging are out for your head."
"Really?!" That information took Yang Xiu by surprise. But he ignored that impulse and looked back at the man in the picture. Why did a picture hold such power? He looked so... unearthly. "He is incredibly popular. I'm envious."
"You are worried about that?! As a result of terminating all of your contracts, you are now just a regular person in Yueging who was caught up in a gunfight between those gangs six months ago!" Chang Li yelled.
Yang Xiu rolled his eyes irately. "I'm not bothered. They must also have forgotten about it, as I have."
Chang Li let out a heavy sigh. "I hope that's the case."
"I hope so too." Yang Xiu laughed. He obviously remembered, but he didn't want to think about anything or anyone other than the popular man and food.
...
After finishing his meal, Yang Xiu let Chang Li remove all the shards from his foot while still glancing at the photographs of the hot unknown man that were trending online.
When he was finished, he and Chang Li exited the building and went to the parking lot.
Yang Xiu was still staring at the photo while Chang Li walked behind him, frowning.
"How long are you going to keep staring at that picture?"
"Until I adopt him." Yang Xiu burst out squealing.
"Don't you mean abduct?" Chang Li questioned crossing his arms over his chest.
Yang Xiu stopped and faced him, his wide eyes making him appear wonderfully innocent. "Don't they mean the same thing?"
Chang Li arched an incredulous brow. "No."
"They are." Yang Xiu hissed and turned back to the phone. "Adopt or abduct? That's irrelevant."
Chang Li sighed profoundly. "Let's just go back to the company for the final requirement of your termination."
Yang Xiu nodded. "Thank you for your help!"
Chang Li's face turned red. "Anything for you."
They entered the car. Yang Xiu was still fixated on the picture, so Chang Li made the decision to drive.
Unknown to him, Yang Xiu was examining him closely, almost like a book. He was aware that Chang Li was concealing a significant secret and that the reason he was so moved by this man was not envy over his attention-grabbing aura, but rather another factor.
But, what was it?
Chang Li was a cautious person. He couldn't have casually broken plates because of a man who was trending on the internet.
Yang Xiu shot him a glance, a sly smile curving his lips. "Adopt or abduct?" He laughed heartily, causing Chang Li to groan sharply in disapproval.