32 THE VOID IN HIS HEART THAT ONLY ONE PERSON CAN FILL (1/2)
Having fought with his boyfriend and having nowhere else to go, Xuan Tianyi soon found himself at the door of his archenemy turned best friend, Tan Yao.
”To what do I owe the honor of your visit today?” Tan Yao asked sarcastically after they had both taken their seats.
”Well, I'm just visiting?”
”You're... Just visiting.”
Nothing about Xuan Tianyi 'just visiting' made any sense to Tan Yao.
”We're friends now, aren't we? You don't visit me doesn't mean I shouldn't visit you,” Xuan Tianyi said. In a manner that suggested that no truer sentence was ever spoken.
”Err... First, you stay at my boss' house. Thanks, but I'm not visiting you. Second, when was the last time you called me?”
”When was the last time you called me?”
After pondering on it for a second, Tan Yao shrugged. ”We're both shitty friends to each other. What can I offer you?”
Xuan Tianyi sighed theatrically.
Tan Yao wasn't particularly interested in knowing what Xuan Tianyi's problem was. In the hope that he could avoid learning about it, again, he asked, ”So, what can I offer you?”
Xuan Tianyi sighed even more dramatically this time. Irritating Tan Yao.
”Just say what you want to say, for fuck's sake.”
”I... I...” Xuan Tianyi sighed again.
”For fuck's sake,” Tan Yao rolled his eyes and collapsed on the couch.
”Fine,” Xuan Tianyi surrendered. ”Hua Zhendan and I had a fight.”
Tan Yao shook his head, ”I'm not really sure I want to know what's going on in my boss' bedroom.”
Xuan Tianyi ignored him and started ranting, ”He's been totally unreasonable. And I'm the one who has to apologize even though I've done nothing wrong. Why am I always the one who apologizes first?”
Tan Yao opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could come out, Xuan Tianyi continued, ”I think it's because I'm the one who loves him more. That has to be it, right?”
Aware Xuan Tianyi wouldn't let him speak, Tan Yao only nodded.
”I'm such a fool. What was I doing thinking I could make this relationship work? We're both so different. I should just walk away from all of it. That's what I should do.”
”Okay. If that's what you want,” Tan Yao said nonchalantly.
”Are you crazy? Did you just suggest I break up with Hua Zhendan?”
”No, I didn't,” Tan Yao shook his head.
”Yes, you did. You just said I should break up with him if that's what I want. Are you trying to kill me? I'll die if I don't have Hua Zhendan. I'll die, I tell you.”
Tan Yao shook his head in disbelief. In all of his life, having Xuan Tianyi—of all people—invade his personal space, he'd never before felt as ill-fated as he felt at this moment. ”Do you want to break up with him?”
”Of course not.”
”Then don't. It's that simple.”
”No, it's not. He asked me to leave his office. No matter how many times we fought before, he's never asked me to leave his presence. He'll break up with me, I can see it. How do I get him to forgive me before he can ask to break up?”
”What did you do?”
”Nothing.”
”Nothing?”
”Yes.”
”Alright. You know what?” Tan Yao sat up as he spoke, ”If I have to deal with any of your nonsense, I might have to shoot myself in the head first. You should leave.”
Xuan Tianyi shook his head, ”But you don't know what happened. Maybe you can advise me.”
”Advice? What do I know about dating a man.”
”It's not that much different from dating a female, I guess.”
”Of course,” Tan Yao said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Xuan Tianyi didn't take the hint. ”Yeah. Anyway, you know about the magazine, right?”
”Of course, you're a hotshot now. Its posters are everywhere on Shenhua Modelling.”
”I know. So this guy asked for my autograph—”
”Wow! That's big,” Tan Yao said. Excited.
”Don't interrupt.”
”Okay,” Tan Yao said while shaking his head.
”Yeah. This guy asked for my autograph. He specifically asked I sighed on his singlet. While I was doing that, Hua Zhendan saw us, and he thought I was flirting with the man.”
”I can see how that'd be easy to misunderstand.”
”I tried to explain but he won't calm down. He got so mad he asked me to leave his office.”
”Did he actually ask you to leave or did you conclude he did?”
”He did.”
”Okay. Here's what's going to happen.”
”What?”
”I think Hua Zhendan needs his space—”
”That's not going to happen.”
”Ai! Hear me out first. You came to me for advice, didn't you?”
Xuan Tianyi nodded.
”Well, I used to have this friend in high school who was really into me. She'd invade my space at school until I felt like I was suffocating. One day, I got so frustrated, I yelled at her and asked her to stay away from me. Surprisingly, she complied.”
Xuan Tianyi shook his head sadly.
”At first, I was relieved. But she didn't come around the next day either. I started to think about how much I might've hurt her for her to stay away. Then I started missing her invading my space. And I'm a very private person.”
”You're not that private. The first time you saw me, you asked me to room with you.”
”Well, I got a roommate before because I didn't have a choice. Then I got used to it. So, when he left, I needed a replacement.”
Xuan Tianyi shrugged, ”I'm sure I don't need to stay away for Hua Zhendan to come around. He always forgives me eventually.”
”But forgiveness isn't what you should be looking for.”
”What—”
”You didn't do anything wrong, right?”
Xuan Tianyi nodded, ”Right.”
”Then you shouldn't even be apologizing.”
”I think so too.”
”It sounds like you're too available so he takes you for granted. He loves you, no doubt. If I am to judge by what happened at the beach. But he takes you for granted nevertheless.”
”So, you want me to stay away?”
”Yeah. Rent a hotel room or something. Or go to your dorm.”
”I could go to my sister's. She'd be delighted to see me.”
”Great. Even better. That'd fill the void in your heart so you don't think about him too much.”
”And you think this is going to work.”
”I swear on my abs that it's going to work.”
Xuan Tianyi stared at Tan Yao. He's never known anyone to swear on their abs before. The more he thought about it, the funnier it sounded. For a moment, he forgot about his troubles and burst into laughter.
Tan Yao smiled and waited for him to stop laughing.
Xuan Tianyi shook his head and muttered, ”You're crazy. You.”
Tan Yao smiled and nodded, ”If you say so.”
Xuan Tianyi seemed to suddenly remember his problems. His face got serious and he asked, ”This staying away from Hua Zhendan thingy. How long do I have to do it?”
”Three days.”
”Three days? Are you crazy? What makes you think I would want to stay away from him for three days?”
”Ai!” Tan Yao wasn't exhausted. He had forgotten he'd been talking to completely crazy. ”It won't take three days for him to call you, of course. Maybe a day or two.”
”A day or two? Are you mad?”
”I'm sure he'll call you soon enough. But in case he doesn't, you should wait three days before you call him.”
”This is a stupid plan.”