Bab 18: World 1.17

Vacation came..

It has been almost a month since Qui Yuan last saw Jiang Rui, after he was released from the hospital, he heard nothing about the male.

"Yuan..?"

Qui Yuan jolted, his eyes fixated on the car window turned to the driver's seat. He smiled "Thank you.."

Min Jiwoo clicked the door lock "Should I fetch you after work?" he asked

The male holding the car handle smiled "No need, I can go home on my own.." he replied as he put on his bag on his shoulders

Qui Yuan exited the car and waved his hands to Min Jiwoo, he waited until the car vanished from his sight before entering the establishment. He had decided to take a part-time job while it's vacation, it was a small supermarket. He wanted to freshen up his mind.

"Good morning boss!" Qui Yuan greeted the lady who was sitting in the small desk "You're early today, Yuan.." she replied back

Qui Yuan just bowed his head, he was going to turn around when his boss called him once again "Yuan…We have a new recruit today, he was also a part timer and a student so I'm hoping that you can teach him some tips here…" she smiled

"Of course,boss! Leave it to me…" he replied cheerfully

"He was still in the staff room" the lady pulled his palm and put a paper bag "This is his uniform, he was patiently waiting there, thank you" she said

Qui Yuan left her post and strided the hallway towards the staff room. Before opening the door, an uneasy feeling was already conquering his system

"Why am I feeling like this?" he whispered to himself

Qui Yuan let go a heavy sigh as he twitched the doorknob and opened the entrance. He saw a male standing in front of the lockers. His gray hair grew longer and his physique was still the same, although his shoulders turned broad.

Qui Yuan stiffened, gathering all the courage to utter his name "Jiang Rui?" he called out

'BREAKMETER RAISED TO 80%'

Jiang Rui froze the moment he saw the male at the entrance, their eyes met and locked each other's faces like a vivid memory of them playing.

He slowly walked towards Qui Yuan and pulled the paper bag hanging from his hand "Is this my uniform?" he asked as he made a peek inside the bag "Thank you…" he smiled as he turned around

Although confused, Qui Yuan managed to reached out his hand in the air and called a name "Jiang Rui!" he uttered

The man stopped and looked back at him "Yes? Is there something wrong?" he asked with a confused face

Qui Yuan bit his lower lip and lowered his head "N-Nothing.." he said

[Is this true? Why doesn't he seem to know me? What's wrong with his head?]

DICCU: I don't know

[But the breakmeter just raised to 80%']

"Yuan?"

He jolted in surprise "Yes!?" he exclaimed, showing a shocked expression. Jiang Rui saw it so he immediately apologized "Did I startle you? I'm sorry" he said

The other male took a step back "I-It's fine, do you need something?" he blabbed out

Jiang Rui walked passed through him and tapped his shoulders, leveling his lips to Qui Yuan's ear as he whispered "Act like you didn't know me, I don't want to remember a thing with you anymore"

When Qui Yuan turned around he saw Jiang Rui wearing a smile "Let's do our best, Yuan" he said before totally leaving him alone

The door closed on it's own, leaving Qui Yuan's eyes wide open. He was still processing the words Jiang Rui left for him. He fell down and on his knees like he was totally weakened, a lonely gasp escaped his lips "How could you say that?.."

***

"Yuan are you okay?"

The male dazing into nothingness with his eyes outside the window flinched onto his seat "Y-Yeah!" he blurted "Why?"

Min Jiwoo who was driving as they both waited for the green light tapped Qui Yuan's shoulder "Do you want something?" he asked

Qui Yuan shake his head "I'm fine, I just got exhausted from work earlier…" he replied

He stayed silent until they reached home, he bid goodbye to Min Jiwoo and waited for him to vanish in his sight before entering the house.

As he turned on the lights he saw a small note pinned on the fridge from his mom saying that she will come back home tomorrow evening, he opened the fridge and it had no food.

Qui Yuan had no choice but to head out to the nearest convenience store to buy some ramen and other necessities. He quickly put on his jacket and locked the house before leaving.

While he was walking home, rain started to pour down. He started running down the streets gasping for his breath until he accidentally stepped on a small rock.

When he was going to hit the ground, a warm body embraced him immediately. His heart was beating so rapidly because of panic. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up "J-Jiang Rui?" he utters

Jiang Rui threw his umbrella in the middle of the rain to catch Qui Yuan, so they were both soaked now. They immediately took shelter at the nearest bus stop, waiting for the rain to subside.

It was already late at night, the streets were quiet and the rain was fading. Jiang Rui held his umbrella to Qui Yuan that was already dry "Take this and go home.." he said

Qui Yuan jolted "But It's yours?" he said

Jiang Rui averted his gaze "You helped me at work so take this as my gratitude" he mumbled then after a second he sneezed very hard

"..pfftt.." Qui Yuan chuckled, it caused the other male to look at him with embarrassment. He realized it so he stop as he wiped the tears of joy from his eyes "You're always acting like a stone but you are so cute.." he stood up

Jiang Rui's eyes widened when he felt Qui Yuan's warm hand around his wrist, "Come with me.." the male said

"Where?"

Qui Yuan turned back and smiled "To my house, just you and me…"