Chương 41: Chapter 41- With Roses, Come Thorns
The smell of steamed buns and fresh porridge tickled Mei awake. Eyes closed and following his nose, he rolled over and abruptly froze.
"Ouch."
He hurt. Flopping face first into the pillow, he muffled his groan. No one said it would hurt this much! As much as he would have been capable of wallowing in bed, grumbling all day, the tantalising smell of breakfast had woken his stomach which was now grumbling louder than Mei could himself. He shuffled sideways on the bed and let his legs fall to the floor- it was easier to push himself upright when he was already half way there. Hobbling like an old man, he made it to the ensuite and let the hot water pound into his aching shoulders.
"Shit..."
Steam filled the bathroom and Mei slowly felt the aches in his shoulders and back ease, as if the hot water was washing them down the drain. He'd expected pain in a very specific region, and to his surprise while it definitely felt... well... exercised... there wasn't the anticipated pain. What neither Will or Tom had thought to warn him about though, was how sore his whole body would feel. It was worse than a gym session after taking time off; his muscles were complaining to the point of threatening to go on strike and he wasn't all that sure about sitting in a computer chair all day. Rather than think about it too much, he stuck his head under the stream of hot water. Maybe he could just stay in the shower all day? Or at least until the water ran cold?
His stomach rumbled loudly, vetoing that idea. Food. He needed food. And why did he feel as if he hadn't eaten for days? Memory slowly dawned on him and he quickly blamed the hot water for the heat rising in his face. He hadn't eaten much at the "wedding banquet" and then they'd been distracted when they got home and... he covered his face with hands. How could I be so shameless???? He remembered KO getting up at some point to feed them but he'd been so distracted by the shirtless man, with sweatpants hanging low- so deliciously low- that he'd dragged him back to bed and the food had been forgotten. Again. Small wonder his body felt like he'd gone a few rounds in a cage fight...
His stomach rumbled and admitted defeat, turning the shower off and wandering out to the lounge area with a towel slung around his hips and using another to dry his hair. The hotel suite was conspicuously empty, but two covered bowls on the table called Mei over. A note was taped to the top of one of the bowls and he pulled it off, reading it as he helped himself to one of the steamed buns inside the bowl.
<<XN rang. Day off. Call him back.
Going to my place to get a change of clothes.
Eat. Will be home with lunch.
<3 >>
Mei choked on the bun. A love heart? Was the man trying to kill him? Chimes sounded from his phone, distracting him from trying to decide if signing off with a heart made it a love letter or not.
Text from: Laosan
[Your red packet arrived. Meet you at your old place in 30 minutes.]
A quick glance at the time sent Mei rushing to throw clothes on- forcing him to move quickly despite his aching body. With a steamed bun in each hand, he ate on the run even as his stomach churned and nausea threatened to return every bite.
Xiao Nai was waiting for him in the foyer of his old apartment building. Several tall, burly men in uniforms were talking amongst themselves while the security guard eyed them nervously. When he saw Hao Mei rush in, relief lightened his face and he hurried over, wiping sweaty hands on his navy pants.
"Hao Mei, you're here, Sir. These men... they say they were waiting for you?"
Mei nodded. "Yes, yes. No need to worry."
The security guard leaned closer to Mei and his voice dropped to a whisper. "They say they are here for your furniture. You're not in any trouble are you? Do I need to call the police?"
It took a moment for Mei's sleep deprived brain to catch on to what the man was suggesting, but when he did, he laughed. "No! No, nothing like that. The apartment is on the market so I'm putting my furniture in storage. More convenient to sell it empty. Oh... there'll be cleaners coming this afternoon: will you be able to let them in? I have to return to work and can't wait for them."
It hurt to smile as he reassured the security guard who had become familiar in just a short amount of time. The whole situation was surreal and he was glad he had Laosan there with him. Under the guise of forgetting his keys at the office, Mei borrowed the spare key from security and led Xiao Nai and the removalists up to the apartment. As they walked down the hallway, Xiao Nei put his hand on Mei's shoulder, silently offering him support.
That support was needed when they turned the corner and caught sight of the graffiti on Mei's door. It appeared as though Whats-her-face had returned and vented some more. One of the removalists whistled at the variety of insults scrawled across his door.
"Looks like you dodged a bullet with that one. Crazy breeds crazy and you'd have ended up surrounded with the insane!"
Mei barked a laugh. "You're more right than you know..."
He sighed, pausing with his hand on the door handle. "I don't know what we're going to find in there..."
"The Boss gave us enough information to not be surprised at anything."
Mei shot Xiao Nai a grateful look. "Any furniture that has been vandalised, I'm not interested in. If it requires cleaning before storage then I don't want it."
"What do you want us to do with it then?"
"I don't care. Throw it, or clean it up and sell it. It's yours."
The men shared smiles and nodded their heads at each other. This one was as generous as the Boss who'd paid them extra to come in on short notice. If only all their rich clients were as considerate.
Taking a deep breath, Mei pushed the door open.
The apartment was empty.
Not completely empty but echoing with disuse all the same. The dirty dishes from that night were still in the sink, but the cupboards had been emptied of all the clean plates and cups. There was a dusty space where the fridge had been and the kitchen table and chairs were gone. The lounge room had been stripped of everything, even the curtains, and when Mei looked into the laundry that was empty of all bar a few piles of dust. Heart in his throat, he pushed open the bedroom door.
The bed was gone but everything else remained: the vanity with lipstick graffiti, clothes dumped out of wardrobes and drawers and still smelling of that heavy perfume, the wardrobe with a door hanging loose on its hinges. Mei looked around at everything and felt numb. Xiao Nai looked into the room over his shoulder.
"Your parents had the same idea?"
"Hmm. Force me out and into the place they have chosen." His voice was flat, expressionless, and the lack of response cause Xiao Nai to look at him in concern. It wasn't like Mei to hide his feelings.
"Boss?"
"I don't need anything from here. Whatever you want to salvage, you can. I don't want it." Mei turned away from the bedroom and walked past the removalists standing awkwardly in the empty lounge room.
"But.. some of those clothes..."
"If you can get rid of the stink then do what you want with them."
"But..."
Xiao Nai shushed the man with a shake of the head, passing him his business card. "He means what he's saying."
The big man rubbed the back of his head and shifted his feet. "It doesn't feel right, being paid for a job we're not doing. Tell you what- cancel the cleaners. We'll call in our wives and they'll help us sort this place out. We'll take whatever is left here as payment for the cleaning. I've got an eye for value and the vanity in that bedroom is more than worth our time. So we owe the guy a move. Let us know when he finds somewhere new and needs help moving in, and we've got him covered."
Xiao Nai clapped the man on the back as the rest of the removal team murmured their agreement to the terms. "You're good men. I'll recommend you."
By the time he got down to the foyer, Mei had disappeared and all Xiao Nai could do was send KO a text. His brother didn't need to be alone while he processed everything.
Somehow, Mei made it back to the hotel. His head felt like it was full of cottonwool and there was a log lodged in his throat, making it difficult to swallow. Before he could realise he'd left his room key inside the suite, the door opened and KO's arms wrapped around him. The older man held him tight, pressing Mei's head to his shoulder.
"I'm here for you, love. I'm here."
Mei closed his eyes and burrowed his nose into KO's neck- let the familiar spices chase away the perfume from his apartment. His hands slid inside KO's shirt and fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders.
"Mei..."
"KO... please. I really don't want to talk, or even think, right now. Maybe later. But not now." His nails pricked at KO's skin and the man sucked in a breath.
"If that's what you need. But promise me... when you need to talk, you'll talk to me?"
"Promise."
KO twitched when Mei breathed his response into the sensitive skin beneath his ear. "I thought you'd be too sore..."
"Just muscle sore... and you know what the westerners say about the hair of the dog that bit you..."
KO laughed as he lifted Mei, hands under his butt while the younger man wrapped his legs around his waist. "I don't, actually. But if it means "shut up and distract me" then I'm good for that."
"Not quite... but I like the idea. KO..." Mei cupped his lover's face and felt the cottonwool in his head disappear. "... shut up and distract me...."
The door swung shut behind them.
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