"What are you doing here?" Only then did Zhan lift his head slightly upon hearing Tin's voice. He couldn't meet her gaze, and Tin's heart raced as she looked at him, feeling as though this was a dream. Had her brother really brought him to his house?
Her phone began ringing suddenly, the same number her mother had called her on earlier. She glanced at Zhan and said, "Get up." Zhan looked back at her, speechless. Observing his condition, Tin paused for a moment. His lips and eyes were both red, and he looked extremely unwell. Finally, she asked, "Are you okay?" Zhan didn't respond, and when Tin touched his forehead, she quickly withdrew her hand, startled by his high temperature. Just then, her mother Lily called again, and Tin answered.
From the other end, Lily snapped, "What on earth are you doing in that room? Are you all just planning to stay and have the place locked up?"
At first, Tin hesitated to answer, still processing her confusion. Lily demanded, "Hello? Didn't you hear me?" Finally, Tin managed to say softly, "Mom, he's really sick." Lily's heart skipped a beat. "Sick? So he can't come out?" Tin remained silent, and Lily ended the call abruptly.
Tin moved closer to Zhan and took his hand. "Come on, you need to get up. We have to leave as Father instructed," she urged. Zhan shook his head weakly, but said nothing. Tin removed the heavy, overheated duvet covering him just as Lily opened the bedroom door... and what she saw stopped her in her tracks.
Lily's breath caught in her throat, her heartbeat roaring in her ears as she stared at Zhan lying there. She felt as though her world had momentarily halted. Wait... could Ai Bo really do this to her? Was he playing her for a fool? This was the person he called his "wife" is he taking Weed? And he'd brought him into their home all this time, covering it up with a lie? Realization struck hard. She now remembered that he had referred to Zhan as "HE" from the beginning, and so had Tin.
In disbelief, she muttered aloud, "What am I seeing here?" Zhan still couldn't bring himself to look at her. Lily raised her voice, "What are you doing here?
Tin looked between her mother and Zhan, suddenly realizing that her mother didn't even know it was Zhan in the room. Hurrying over to her mother, Tin said quickly, "Mom, he's very sick."
Lily ignored her and, fuming, fixed her eyes on Zhan. "Then get up and leave," she ordered. Though Zhan felt too weak even to sit up, he made an effort to get out of bed. Suddenly, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, followed by a sharp, agonizing pain up his back. Before he knew it, he let out a gasp and collapsed onto the floor.
Lily simply watched, trying to keep her anger under control, lest she say something that might backfire on her son. She'd never felt such profound disappointment in him.
Tin knelt beside Zhan, noticing that he wasn't moving. "Mom, I think he fainted," she said worriedly. But Lily, still furious, replied, "Gather his things and get him out of here. If he wants to faint, he can do it outside…"
Tin, clearly distressed, collected Zhan's belongings. She hesitated when she noticed the bedsheet, then glanced over at her mother, who was also eyeing it intently. Lily approached, her gaze locked on the bedspread, and after a few moments, she muttered, "Leave his things and tell the guards to wait; we'll be out soon."
Tin left the room to relay her mother's instructions, and Lily, now alone with Zhan, kneeled down by him. Forcing herself to remain composed, she asked, "What's wrong with you?" Zhan opened his bloodshot eyes slightly, meeting her gaze, but couldn't muster a word.
"Sit up," she demanded, though he only shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. Reluctantly, Lily reached out, noting how hot he was to the touch, and helped him back onto the bed. It was as if her strength left her as she backed out of the room, returning downstairs, where Tin was waiting in the living room.
"Do you have Dr. Chao's number?" she asked Tin, who nodded, "Yes, I have it." Lily replied, "Call him for me." Tin dialed, and when it began to ring, she handed the phone to her mother.
Dr. Chao picked up, and after exchanging greetings, Lily said, "It's Mrs. Wang. Dr., could you come and see a patient? But not at our home; I'll send you the address."
Dr. Chao agreed, and Lily quickly sent him the location of YiBo's house before handing the phone back to Tin. She returned upstairs, her mind swirling in confusion. What does all this mean?
For the next twenty minutes, Lily paced the hallway outside the room. Finally, Dr. Chao arrived, and Tin led him upstairs before excusing herself. Lily and the doctor exchanged a brief greeting, then entered the room together. Dr. Chao looked over at Zhan and asked, "What's wrong, young man?"
Zhan could only look back at him, too weak to respond. Noting his frailty, Dr. Chao turned to Lily and asked, "Ma'am, how long has he been ill? He seems to be in considerable pain."
Lily swallowed hard. "I don't know precisely, Doctor. Just... please see what you can do."
The doctor looked at Zhan calmly and said, "Just show me where you're feeling pain…" Zhan pointed to his head, then his leg and back. Observing him closely, the doctor asked, "Where does it hurt specifically?" Zhan gestured from his lower back down to his foot. Lily leaned against the wall, feeling faint, struggling to stay on her feet. The doctor, after a long pause, looked at Lily and asked, "Is he gay and recently married?"
Lily was at a loss for words and felt an urge to break down into tears. The doctor noticed some blood stains on the towel Zhan was wrapped in. He looked at Lily, who simply turned and left the room, her eyes welling up. Puzzled, the doctor asked Zhan, "Are you… gay and married?" Zhan managed a weak nod. The doctor stood up, went to the bathroom, and after inspecting the bedsheet there, he confirmed his suspicion. He prepared warm water in the bathtub, then went to Lily and asked, "Could you bring some salt, ma'am?"
Lily forced herself to nod before the doctor returned to the bathroom, trying his best to help Zhan into the tub. Zhan resisted, tears in his eyes, likely haunted by his experiences from the day before. After five minutes of gentle persuasion, with Zhan still reluctant, the doctor added more hot water to the tub and left the bathroom to speak with Lily.
Looking at her, the doctor said, "He really needs to soak in hot water. I'm not sure if you could convince him, but he's not cooperating." Lily nodded, too lost in her own thoughts to respond verbally. "I'll go out now to get some medication and an injection," he added before heading downstairs.
Lily went back to Zhan's room, standing at the bathroom door for a moment before gently nudging it open. Zhan regretted not soaking himself as he realized the doctor had likely called YiBo's's mother. He felt ashamed seeing her there, too overwhelmed even to protest, tears streaming down his face as he got into the water, barely finding the strength to keep himself steady.
Lily changed the bath water three times, silently helping him as he soaked, and finally prepared a fresh basin for a full bath. Through it all, she never met his eyes, and neither could he face her out of sheer embarrassment.
Once he'd finished, Lily washed the bedsheet and left the bathroom. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she held her head in her hands, devastated by YiBo's deception. She struggled to think of anything she could say or do to find peace. How could she even start to face this? Tears spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head, wishing this were just a bad dream. At last, she left the room and went to another.
When Zhan finally emerged from the bathtub, he felt somewhat relieved but still feverish. Hobbling with all his strength, he wrapped himself in a towel and lay curled up on the bed, shivering with cold.
A short while later, Lily wiped her tears, went downstairs, and looked at Tin. "Please check if there's any tea you could make him in the kitchen. If not, go to a restaurant and bring him congee or something light until the doctor returns."
"Yes, Mom," Tin replied, as Lily returned upstairs, feeling deeply unsettled. She opened the door to Zhan's room and saw he was already asleep. Entering quietly, she gazed at him, her mind racing with thoughts. She opened the closet but found it empty, so she approached his suitcase, searching through his clothes. She pulled out a shirt, pants, and some underwear, then went to the bed.
The sound of her unzipping his suitcase woke Zhan. She placed the clothes at the edge of the bed without meeting his eyes. "Put these on," she said, turning and leaving the room.
Tears streamed down Zhan's face. All he could think about was how YiBo had abandoned him in this state, not even checking on him. He hadn't felt such hurt toward YiBo since the day he first arrived at their family Mansion.
***
Around 1 p.m., Zhan was still asleep from the medication and injections Dr. Chao had given him. Lily had taken a sleeping pill herself, feeling unwell and suspecting her blood pressure was rising. She slept in a spare room until nearly 1 p.m. as well, with Tin staying at the house. When Lily came downstairs, she looked at Tin and said, "I'll call you later. I'm heading home now."
Tin nodded, "Alright, Mom."
With that, Lily left, accompanied by two guards who escorted her back home. As she arrived, she headed directly to the guard room. One of the soldiers quickly approached her, saying, "Ma'am, He's out, General is back. He's inside."
Lily felt her heart sink as she saw the General's car parked outside. Gathering herself, she asked, "Where is he?" The soldier replied, "He's inside."
Rushing into the main living room, she saw Aunty Yu, who sneered, "Well, it looks like your plan worked."
Lily gave her a quick glance before heading straight to YiBo's section of the house. Finding his room empty, she started to leave when Ru approached her. "Mom, he's in Dad's room. He's very sick," Ru said.
Lily asked, "What's he doing there?" without waiting for Ru's answer. She hurried to her husband's part, opening the door to find Leo standing and listening to the General, who paced the living room, speaking to Leo about an upcoming business trip to Germany.
Scanning the room, Lily didn't see YiBo. Leo looked down, greeted her with a soft, "Good afternoon, Aunty," and indicated where YiBo was resting. She hurriedly opened the door and saw him lying on the bed, asleep, with syringes, medication on the bedside table, and a drip connected to his arm. He still had one hand in handcuffs. YiBo slowly opened his eyes, waking at the sound of the door opening. When he saw his mother, he sat up quickly, visibly shaken.
She stared at him before stepping inside, closing the door with a frustrated shake of her head. "So, YiBo, you think you can make a fool of me? Do you take me for an idiot, some foolish old woman? You've completely disappointed me. I thought I'd raised you with values, but now? Now I can't even look at you. I never thought I'd live to see the day you'd bring a…man into this family and dare to call him your husband."
YiBo interrupted quickly, shaking his head, his heart pounding. "Mom, please don't lose faith in me. I'm not what you think. I've never done that, and I never will. I just…didn't know how to bring it up. But I'm legally married to Zhan. I brought him to our home because of our marriage. Dad and Aunty Bella know that I'm bi. And like you said, without the marriage, his parents would never have let him come with me…"
His mother's face was expressionless, her shock only deepening. Suddenly, she broke down, her voice trembling with fury, "If you want to live with him as your husband, it will have to be after I'm gone. As long as I'm alive, there is no marriage between you two. You will never stay with him."
The door suddenly opened, and Lily quickly wiped her tears as Mr. Wang entered, his expression fierce. "Who's this 'husband' of yours?" he demanded.
Lily's tears fell freely now as she shook her head. "I never thought I'd regret bringing you into this world until today, YiBo. Now, I am giving you a choice... me or him. I will not tolerate having any connection to that boy. And be ready, because this time, whatever punishment your father decides for you, he has my full support. I'll remind you who's the parent here."
With that, she stormed out of the room. YiBo felt a cold sweat break out as his headache intensified and his fever returned. Mr. Wang, watching him with a hard expression, asked, "Who is this boy she's talking about?"
Tears filled YiBo's eyes as he struggled to speak, fearing no one would support him after this. He finally said, "I met him in Beijing, where his family agreed to our marriage. They took me in when I felt no place here. I couldn't refuse them."
The General continued pacing furiously, then stopped. "And you thought you'd hide all this from us?"
YiBo slowly looked up at his father, his eyes pleading, but Mr. Wang only nodded, saying, "Then you're going to take me to his family in Beijing so I can confirm it myself. And if I find out you've been lying, I'll break your legs, I promise. If he is indeed your husband…very well. I know exactly how to crush your pride."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door, leaving YiBo trembling, realizing that his father was planning something devastating for either him, Zhan, or maybe even both....
Short chapter as well, and earlier too. 😔
Zhanxianyibo❤️💚💛