章節 41: THE PREVIOUS DAY
While Hua Zhendan sat on his bedroom wondering if he should indeed call Xuan Tianyi or not, Xuan Tianyi sat at a table at The French Red Wine Pub. Nursing a half-empty bottle of alcohol. "Women are cruel creatures." He muttered under his breath.
A man sitting beside him threw him a critical look. Then a scrutinizing look. Both of which went unnoticed by a tipsy Xuan Tianyi.
"Shit! I now understand why he hates her so much. " Xuan Tianyi muttered under his breath.
"Who hates who?" A man who was sitting beside him asked.
Xuan Tianyi threw him a glance and was pissed for one moment. This talking-to-a-stranger-at-the-bar was his and Hua Zhendan's thing. Immediately he recalled his predicament though, he shrugged off that thought. None of that really mattered now. More politely than he anticipated, he replied. "Someone."
"That. Narrows it down," the man said with an almost nervous snicker.
Xuan Tianyi stared at the other man again. His frame was neither small nor burly; his punch could carry a force that might break someone's jaw, but not knock him unconscious. He was probably an athlete, and definitely a student of Bulang University.
What Xuan Tianyi couldn't guess though was if this man were gay. His gaydar used to be so accurate that he almost felt ashamed of himself.
The man cleared his throat and spoke. "Actually, if you're who I think you are, then I'm a big fan of yours."
"En?" Xuan Tianyi hadn't expected that.
"I saw you on The Men Issue and I have fantasized about you every minute of my day since then. Actually brought myself to an orgasm a few times when looking through that magazine."
"I did not need to know that." Xuan Tianyi said with a frown.
The man chuckled. "Yeah. I'm sorry."
Xuan Tianyi nodded and drank a gulp from the bottle.
"So, are you seeing someone?" The man asked.
"I don't know." He shook his head. Then added, "It's complicated."
The other man laughed.
"What's funny?".
"I had this girlfriend once. But I wasn't into her. So that was my Facebook relationship status for a while."
Xuan Tianyi nodded.
"Is it anything like that?"
Xuan Tianyi shook his head.
"Do you use Facebook?"
"No. Just Weibo."
"Well, I grew up in the USA. My family only moved back here a couple of years back. I don't even have a Weibo account."
Xuan Tianyi nodded.
"But of course, I can get one. Perhaps if you told me your username…?"
Xuan Tianyi gave him a scrutinizing look. Looking away, he muttered, "I have The Clap."
"What?" The man asked with a surprised look on his face.
Xuan Tianyi shook his head. "It's stupid to start a conversation like that, isn't it?"
"I suppose." The man relaxed.
"Well, it is stupid. Just like my friend, Tan Yao."
***
THE PREVIOUS DAY
"I have The Clap." Tan Yao said after chewing a mouthful of vegetable salad.
"What?"
"I have The Clap." Tan Yao reiterated.
"I'm not paying for your breakfast to listen to your crap. It's not my business if you have an STD." Xuan Tianyi said firmly.
"Aren't we friends? Why do you think your problems are more important than mine?" Tan Yao shoved some more salad in his mouth.
"Because my problems are more important than yours. This particular problem, at least. Plus, I did advise you to use protection."
"I did use protection." He took a sip from his glass of water. "Sometimes."
"Shit, Tan Yao. You're a self-absorbed, self-important idiot. I can't talk to you about my problems." Xuan Tianyi grumbled.
Tan Yao smiled. His plan had worked. He knew Xuan Tianyi's problems were always connected to Hua Zhendan and he really didn't want to know more about his boss's life than he already did. With a faked nonchalant shrug, he said, "Well, if you don't want to, you don't have to."
Tan Yao ate in silence for about a minute, while Xuan Tianyi who hadn't order any food, quietly took a sip from his glass of orange juice.
Suddenly, Xuan Tianyi spoke, "Why won't he call me, Tan Yao?"
Tan Yao rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I don't know." He drank more water before he continued speaking. "My symptoms are pretty severe. I have lower abdominal pain when I urinate. And I urinate frequently. And—"
Xuan Tianyi sighed. Obviously, he wasn't listening to Tan Yao's symptoms.
"You know," Tan Yao decided to take Xuan Tianyi seriously when he saw his mood. He shoved his plate of salad to a corner of the table and said, "You guys saw each other last night. Maybe he's busy."
"But he's never been too busy to call me before. What if he wants to break up?"
"Don't you want to break up? I mean this whole situation is pretty fucked up."
Xuan Tianyi sighed. "It is, isn't it?"
"Yes. And it's going to be really weird if you two still go on dating."
Wistfully, Xuan Tianyi said, "The last time we saw, we talked about getting married."
"What?"
"This weekend. You were going to be one of our witnesses."
Tan Yao smiled broadly. "Aww! That makes me feel so special."
"You were actually the first person that came to mind."
"Stop it. You're making me blush so hard."
"What will I do if I don't have him in my life?"
"I'm sorry." Tan Yao said with a sympathetic smile.
"I love him so much, Tan Yao. How can that be wrong?"
Tan Yao said nothing.
"I know we can't date anymore. But I just want to hear his voice. Why won't he call me?" Xuan Tianyi whined.
"If you're that desperate, why don't you call him?"
"Are you crazy? What if when I call him, we end up breaking up? I don't want this to be the reason we break up."
"You don't want this to be the reason you break up?" Tan Yao blinked. "This is the reason you should break up."
Xuan Tianyi sighed. "I know there's no other way around it. But—"
"I think it'll be better if you two keep it down. I can hear every word of what you guys are saying from over here." A guy with a brilliant smirk spoke from the table closest to them. Interrupting Xuan Tianyi.
"Oh! We're sorry." Tan Yao apologized. Wearing a small, polite smile.
"No need to apologize." The guy returned his smile. "I was bored over here. I actually appreciate the conversation. I added my input here and there in my head."
"Oh!"
"Can I join your table?"
"Of course." Tan Yao replied earnestly.
"By the way," The man with the brilliant smirk said when he sat down. "You don't have The Clap. You may have a UTI though."
Tan Yao smiled embarrassedly. "Are you a doctor?"
"Yes."
"Wow! I've never met a real doctor before."
Xuan Tianyi opened his mouth to speak but kept quiet at the smitten look on Tan Yao's face.
The stranger chuckled. "Really?"
"No. Yes. I mean, I have met doctors before. But never out of the hospital."
The stranger nodded with a smile. "I'm not a medical doctor."
"So, you're not actually a doctor." Tan Yao raised a brow at him.
"I am a doctor." The stranger defended himself. "For computer-related issues."
"Oh!"
"Yes. I'm a software developer and a hardware engineer."
"Wow! A rare combination."
"True. And I also have a doctorate. So..."
"So?"
"I am a doctor."
Tan Yao laughed. He wondered why it was so important to the stranger that he was a doctor.
Tan Yao was unsettled by the fact that 'the doctor' hadn't ordered anything to eat or drink. "Do you want anything?"
The stranger hesitated. "A... Chocolate frappe."
The stranger watched Tan Yao leave. Then he turned his attention to Xuan Tianyi. "Hi."
"Hi." Xuan Tianyi replied; his tone solemn.
"I think you should call him." The stranger said.
"Excuse me?"
"It obviously bothers you so much that you haven't heard from him. You should call him. To ease your mind."
"I can't just call him. We're going through a very complicated phase right now."
"It doesn't matter. If you'll be relieved after hearing his voice, then call him. You don't want to end up like me."
"How?"
"Well, I was in this awesome relationship. And like it happens in relationships, a lot of complications arose. Disturbing the peace of our relationship. When I should have, I didn't call. Now, several years later, I still love this person as much as I did the first time I laid my eyes on him."
"Wow! Is this person with someone else now?"
"Maybe, I don't know. But I'll find out soon, I guess."
"You don't know?"
"No. I just came returned to Beijing. With the intention of finding this person. If they have someone else and they've moved on, I guess I can get closure and finally move on. Else, I have every intention of winning this person back."
"Wow!"
"Yeah. So, you should call. If you can't fix whatever issues you have, you might get some closure. That's also very important."
"Thanks. I'll call. By the way, you know my friend is into you, right?"
"Obviously. But I have just one type. My ex."
"That's sweet. Well, I've got to go now. Help me tell him I left already."
"You're leaving him for me?"
"He has a UTI. He needs a doctor. Take care of him." Xuan Tianyi tapped the stranger on the back as he spoke.
As soon as he left, Tan Yao returned. "Where's my friend?"
"He left." The stranger said to Tan Yao. His smirk and earlier smile, both now gone.
"Oh!" Tan Yao passed the stranger the drink. "Here's your drink."
"Thanks." The stranger said politely. "But I have to leave. I've got some important business to do."
As the stranger stood up, Tan Yao ran after him and stopped him at the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
The stranger smiled. "It's Qiu Dawei."
Immediately Xuan Tianyi got outside, he had gathered his courage and called up Hua Zhendan. The phone had rung for a while. When someone finally picked up, it wasn't Hua Zhendan's voice he heard but a woman's. It had said, "Hello."
"Hello. Sorry. Can I speak to Hua Zhendan?"
"No, you can't."
Xuan Tianyi was puzzled. He asked, "Who's this?"
The person on the other end paused. "This is Shen Rui."
"Oh!"
"I can't believe you'll still call him after what you found out." Her voice was very calm as she spoke.
"I... It's nothing. I just want to talk to him. About something important."
"Do you know Hua Zhendan was born with a hole in his heart?"
Xuan Tianyi paused for a while before replying. "No. I didn't know that."
"Apparently. You don't know that much about him."
"I—"
"But he was. And it almost cost him his life in his childhood." Shen Rui paused so the information had time to sink in. "He had a surgery that fixed the hole. But he developed a heart problem that he might very well need a transplant for some time in the future."
"I... Didn't know any of that." Xuan Tianyi mumbled.
Shen Rui sighed on the other end of the line. "That's not important. What's important is that you're aware now."
"I..." Xuan Tianyi couldn't find the right words to say. He was surprised at this new information, to say the least. "Okay."
"Before I continue, I want you to understand that I'm not speaking on behalf of Hua Zhendan and my words do not reflect his thoughts. But I am speaking in his best interest."
"Yes, ma'am."
"This whole thing is really complicated. And Hua Zhendan isn't really equipped with the strength to handle such emotional complexities."
"I... Understand."
"No, you don't. Hua Zhendan passed out when I revealed the truth to him. And he hasn't blinked in over twelve hours. That's how weak he is. God knows that if I could keep it away from him forever, I would so he wouldn't hurt."
"I... Understand."
"To make sure you do, I'll put this as plainly as I can manage. It'll be better if you don't call him anymore. Don't complicate his emotions. He can't handle it."
"I understand, ma'am." Xuan Tianyi said after another pause.
"I'm sorry I'm asking this of you. But if you love him in the same way he loves you, you'll do this for him."
"What... What if he calls me?"
"I'll erase this call record. I know my son. If he wakes up and thinks you didn't call him, he'll be so distraught, he wouldn't call you. No matter how much he wants to. But that's all the pain he needs to feel."
"How's his health?"
"He's with his mother. He'll be fine. You don't worry about it."
"Okay, ma'am."
"Okay, my dear. Take care of yourself."
"Okay, ma'am."
"Wait!" Shen Rui said before Xuan Tianyi could hang up.
"Yes, ma'am?" Xuan Tianyi asked.
"I'm doing this with your consent, right? Because if you don't agree, I won't dare erase your call history from Hua Zhendan's phone."
"Yes, ma'am. You have my consent."
"Well, thank you."
"You're welcome." Xuan Tianyi replied.
"Can you tell me his password?"
Xuan Tianyi paused. After a moment, he called out six digits after which he hung up the call. thirty-two hours later, unable to come to terms with the consequences of what he had done, he had wind up at The French Red Wine Pub, attempting to drink his sorrow away.
***
"Okay... I have so many questions." The man sitting beside him at the bar said.
Xuan Tianyi shot him a lot that suggested he wasn't interested. Still, he said, "Shoot."
"So, what's your Weibo handle?"
Xuan Tianyi was annoyed but lacked the energy to show it. "I need to pee." He said to the stranger.
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