The boys threw themselves on the mattresses carelessly without covering their bodies. The only extra source of heat was the one being exuded by the one sleeping next to them. Gu Shan snuggled closer to the one sleeping beside him. Right now he was in no state to follow his personal space rules. He felt a characteristic warmth as his head lay on the broad chest of the man beside him. Li Yunxi instinctively wrapped his hands around Gu Shan's small waist and pulled him closer.
Gu Shan squinted his eyes open adjusting to the bright daylight in the room. He stirred a little and felt something binding his waist. He sprang up and pushed Li Yunxi away waking him up.
"What do you think you're doing?"Gu Shan yelled angrily making the others groan in frustration at the disturbance.
"What did I do?" Li Yunxi questioned back innocently.
"You were hugging me!"Gu Shan shouted.
"But you're the one who snuggled closer to me last night so I just hugged you to keep you warm,"Li Yunxi defended himself.
"ShanShan doesn't like skinship. He refused to even sleep in the same bed with me,"Liu Daxun explained.
"Then I'm sorry I won't do that again,"Li Yunxi apologized feeling remorseful.
The sound of Li Yunxi's phone ringing irritated their ears and they all looked at him as he picked up his phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Yunxi you need to come to the hospital right now. Something happened,"a familiar voice informed at the other end of the line.
"What happened?" Li Yunxi asked feeling his chest rising nervously.
"Your mother...She is...gone,"Doctor Ai uttered bitterly."I'm sorry."
"I- I'll be there,"Li Yunxi muttered breathing chaotically.
Li Yunxi disconnected the call and sprang up to his feet.
"Guys I have to go,"he informed them trying to calm his breaths.
"What happened?"Xiao Hui asked shooting a worried look at him.
"Something happened to my mom. I have to go."
"I'll come with you and don't say no,"Xiao Hui said leaving no room for protest.
Okay."
The two friends walked out of the apartment leaving the others in a sombre mood. Gu Shan felt sad now that he was aware of Li Yunxi's mother's health condition.
"Let's tidy up a bit,"Liu Daxun finally broke the silence and began collecting the empty beer cans.
*****
When Li Yunxi and Xiao Hui arrived at the hospital,his mother's corpse was being moved out of the room . She was to be moved into the mortuary. Li Yunxi broke down in tears seeing his mother's motionless body covered with a white sheet. Xiao Hui held him in his arms not minding Li Yunxi wetting his clothes with his tears.
Then Ai Jia came to the scene. He was heartbroken seeing the boy sobbing loudly. He rubbed soothing circles on his back comforting him while Li Yunxi's head sank into Xiao Hui's chest.
"Why don't you take him out for fresh air ? It's not snowing heavily today,"Ai Jia instructed Xiao Hui and with immediate action Xiao Hui dragged his friend outside still comforting him.
"It'll be alright,"Xiao Hui said in a warm soothing voice.
"Why didn't she wait for me to come? " Li Yunxi sobbed loudly.
Xiao Hui tightened the hug and caressed his back.
"We'll get through this together, okay?"
When Li Yunxi finally calmed down, Xiao Hui called Liu Daxun who had been left in suspense and informed him the details of the actual situation. Right now they were sitting in a coffee shop and Xiao Hui was trying his best to get his friend to have a sip of the hot chocolate they had just ordered. He knew how hard it was to even swallow anything in that state but he still wanted his friend to regain the strength to be able to go through this.
*****
For the rest of the week Li Yunxi was busy with funeral preparations with the help of Xiao Hui. He even contacted his mother's second family and informed them of the news. He knew they didn't care but he thought it wise to tell them anyway. He also got to know his mother had given birth to a boy in his second family and the boy was in highschool now. Li Yunxi had no interest in forming any ties with them .
On the day of the burial,his friends attended the session, Doctor Ai and a few nurses who had served his mother while at the hospice and miraculously his mother's so called husband and son attended as well. He wanted to lash out at them for neglecting her all this while especially her son but Xiao Hui advised him to hold back.
Over the week,Gu Shan had barely spoken to him . He didn't know what the boy was thinking but he was dying to hear his voice.
"You guys can leave first I will come back later,"Li Yunxi said to his friends. He wanted to be alone for a while and they respected that so they left. Li Yunxi crouched down and stretched his fingers outlining the engraved words on his mother's grave stone. He didn't mind the snowflakes falling on his black suit even drenching it a little. All he knew was that he was too emotional to think rationally at that moment. His mother was snatched away when he was still a kid by another man who promised to give her a better life and ended up dumping her. And when he finally received the maternal love he had been missing all this while his mother got snatched away again. Maybe it was the fate of his family to be left by the people they love the most . His father was left by the love of his life and his mother was left by the man she came to love after his father. And he was abandoned by his parents.
Li Yunxi rose up to his feet staring blankly at the gravestone. He felt a snow proof jacket bring draped over his shoulders. He turned around to face the benevolent individual who had come to rescue him out of his vulnerability. His eyes were blinded with tears so he didn't see clearly who it was because he was pulled into the arms of that person. For a moment he thought it was Xiao Hui but the person's figure was slim and a few inches shorter. They hugged so tight that their nostrils had the chance to have a taste of each other's scent.
For Li Yunxi the guy's scent was uplifting and irresistibly inviting - a sweet , fruity fragrance with a mouthwatering fragrance of fresh strawberries. The scent embodied a burst of juicy ripe strawberries as the heart of the fragrance,a subtle hint of vanilla adding warmth and depth,making the fragrance cozy and comforting, almost like a delicious strawberry dessert. A touch of citrus notes and a whisper of jasmine notes were incorporated into the overall fragrance. To Yunxi it was the most beautiful scent he had ever come into contact with.
For the other guy,scent of the man in his arms exuded strength and rugged charm, enveloping you like a warm embrace. It was a masculine musky scent which typically combined earthy, woody, and spicy notes creating a deep and complex fragrance. The base of the scent was built on grounding notes of what smelled like sandalwood , animalistic sensual undertone due to musk which was warm and inviting giving a subtle hint of raw,primal allure. Spicy notes comprising of black pepper and cardamom completed the scent adding intrigue.
Even when they parted Gu Shan could still feel Li Yunxi's lingering scent on himself. That was actually the first time they consciously got so close, taking in each other's scent greedily. In the past Gu Shan preferred the vanilla fragrance that many girls used but now he had changed his mind feeling how Yunxi's scent caressed his nostrils awakening his senses. At first he didn't intend to hug him because of his little rules but seeing the lachrymose sight in front of him and how vulnerable Li Yunxi seemed . He was swept over by humanity and he did what his instincts told him to do in such a situation.
Li Yunxi was still in surprise after getting in to contact with the heavenly scent and the fact that the owner of the scent was one he least expected. The guy was a walking tree of strawberries.
"Where are the others?"Li Yunxi asked his eyes searching around.
"They are waiting in the lobby of the funeral house."
"You guys didn't leave?"Li Yunxi asked managing a slight smile.
"My uncle said he'll drop us off so we'll be waiting for you at the lobby."
"No need to wait I'll come with you."
"Are you sure you're done here?"
Li Yunxi nodded.
They walked together back to the lobby where the others were patiently waiting for him. They rushed immediately towards him to examine him. Then Ai Jia guided them into the car.
*****
Liu Daxun had already befriended Ai Jia and the latter had conceived an affection for him. He was proud his nephew had such good friends. Liu Daxun wanted to occupy the front seat to continue chatting with Ai Jia but dithered considering Gu Shan would most definitely want to occupy the same seat. Ai Jia as if reading his mind urged him to get in. Gu Shan and the other two sat in the backseat with Li Yunxi sandwiched between them as a way to comfort him. Li Yunxi still felt a surging itch to lean onto Gu Shan and absorb that wonderful scent once again but he wasn't sure if he had the rights to do so.