Lack of Love

 

Two months later, Zhong Qiran finally freed up two weeks to return to his home country.

He informed Yan Hao about his plan to return home, and Yan Hao immediately replied with a message: “I’ll come pick you up.”

Before Zhong Qiran left Yan’s home last time, he gave Yan Hao his new phone number. During the days they couldn’t meet in person, they occasionally exchanged messages. The tone was not particularly unfamiliar nor particularly enthusiastic. After Yan Hao recovered from his illness, he couldn’t stay idle at home and started working again. Zhong Qiran was also busy, deliberately organizing his schedule and internship to make time to return home.

In addition to their conflicting schedules, they had barely exchanged a few sentences in the past two months.

Their current relationship was still somewhat complicated. They had opened up, but in reality, they hadn’t said much. The reconciliation before the broken relationship always felt a bit awkward.

Zhong Qiran repeatedly looked at those four characters and found himself undecided for a moment. After thinking about it, he finally replied with a simple “okay.”

He informed Yan Hao of his estimated arrival time, packed his luggage a few days later, and took a flight back home.

Normally, Zhong Qiran slept little due to rushing to complete reports. As soon as he got on the plane, he fell asleep from exhaustion. When he woke up, they were already nearing their destination, and he didn’t have time to think about what to say when they met. Last time they just met by coincidence, so this time he was unusually nervous.

After getting off the plane and arriving at the immigration hall, Zhong Qiran noticed Yan Hao standing at the designated spot waiting for him.

Yan Hao wasn’t a public figure, but his news occasionally appeared in newspapers and magazines. Although he wore sunglasses and slightly altered his appearance, he still carried that presence, which could easily be recognized.

Zhong Qiran hurriedly walked over, his head lowered, forgetting all about his nervousness. “Why did you come by yourself?” he asked.

“I told you I would come pick you up,” Yan Hao naturally took the luggage from his hands and led him towards the exit.

Zhong Qiran said, “You could have sent a driver.”

“If I had a driver waiting, you might not have come with me.”

Zhong Qiran paused for a moment, realizing that Yan Hao still understood him well. Initially, he hesitated whether to let Yan Hao pick him up for this reason. Yan Hao was determined once he made up his mind, and if he had come to pick him up, he might have directly brought him back home, not letting him stay outside.

After getting in the car with him, Zhong Qiran asked, “Where are we going?”

Yan Hao replied as expected, “To my house.” He seemed to remember something and added, “If you don’t want to, we can stay elsewhere or go to your place.”

Mentioning that house, Zhong Qiran couldn’t help but think about their divorce. “We’re not in that kind of relationship at the moment, right?”

“But you promised to accompany me,” Yan Hao said.

Zhong Qiran had nothing to say and could only respond, “Then let’s go to your house.”

“Why?” Yan Hao asked directly, probably not expecting Zhong Qiran to choose that option. “Don’t you dislike my mother?”

“I can’t avoid her forever.”

Yan Hao looked at Zhong Qiran for a while, not saying anything further, and made a phone call home. On the other end of the phone, Yan’s mother’s voice sounded extremely excited, and even through the phone, one could feel her emotional reaction.

Zhong Qiran suddenly remembered what he had said to Yan’s mother last time and couldn’t help but find it a bit funny.

After Yan Hao hung up the phone, he asked, “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing,” Zhong Qiran shook his head. “I was just thinking that now that I’ve done it, it doesn’t feel difficult at all. The most difficult part was hesitating to take the first step.”

The statement lacked context, but Yan Hao still understood. He knew that when Zhong Qiran agreed to visit him last time, it was because Yan’s mother personally went to invite him. Given his mother’s character, it wouldn’t be like her if she didn’t make any requests. Yan Hao said, “You don’t have to worry about me. If there’s really a conflict between you two, I’ll support you.”

“She’s still your mother. Won’t you get caught in the middle?”

Yan Hao, being a smooth-talking businessperson, could perhaps say soothing words to comfort Zhong Qiran or persuade him to prioritize harmony. However, he didn’t. He simply expressed his thoughts, “ I trust my own judgment.”

Zhong Qiran was taken aback and fell silent, but he should have understood earlier that no matter what happened, Yan Hao would always stand by his side. In the end, it was his lack of trust in him. If they could start over, would the outcome be different now?  Yan Hao shouldn’t have had to suffer  the car accident, and gone through all that just to realize they couldn’t be separated.

When the two arrived at Yan’s home, it was dinner time. Yan’s father was still working overtime at the company, so Zhong Qiran first greeted Yan’s mother.

Although Yan’s mother didn’t think highly of Zhong Qiran, she still remained civil. Moreover, it was because of him that her son recovered so quickly. From both a logical and emotional standpoint, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to have a fall out with Zhong Qiran right now. However, whenever she thought about the phone call last time, she felt angry inside. She responded with a perfunctory tone, ignoring him. Zhong Qiran was accustomed to her displeased expression, hence he didn’t care that much

.After the driver helped Zhong Qiran unload his luggage, he handed it over to the butler. Following the instructions of Yan’s mother, the butler carried the luggage to the guest room. Yan Hao saw this and called the butler, saying, “Just bring it directly to my room.”

The butler didn’t respond immediately but instead showed a hesitant expression and looked towards Yan’s mother.

Yan’s mother, of course, wasn’t willing to give Zhong Qiran any opportunity and spoke up, saying, “Xiao Hao, we still have guest rooms in our house. Moreover, considering your current relationship, it might not be suitable.”

She deliberately exposed the nature of their relationship, wanting Zhong Qiran to recognize his current status. She hoped that by constantly targeting his weaknesses, he would back off.

But she was mistaken.

Zhong Qiran not only wasn’t angry but also followed her words, saying to Yan Hao, “Staying in a guest room is fine.”

Yan’s mother clearly didn’t expect this response. She was stunned for a while and couldn’t even utter the sarcastic remarks she had prepared to counter.

Yan’s mother had never taken the time to understand Zhong Qiran as a person. She still thought he was the submissive and silent type who wouldn’t dare to speak up even if mistreated.

Only Yan Hao knew that while Zhong Qiran was easy-going and didn’t seek attention, he wasn’t someone who couldn’t fight back or retort. Upon hearing Zhong Qiran’s reply, Yan Hao knew that he had crossed paths with his mother.

Yan Hao had promised to help Zhong Qiran, but Zhong Qiran did not necessarily need his assistance. The more gentle a person is, the more terrifying they are when they get angry.

Yan Hao had experienced this firsthand; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to regain Zhong Qiran’s affection during his illness.

The three of them had dinner.

Zhong Qiran behaved like a guest, making it difficult for Yan’s mother to find any faults.

The more Yan’s mother looked, the more she felt something was different about Zhong Qiran. The more she couldn’t understand, the more curious she became.

Instead of eating fruits and watching TV as usual after dinner, she secretly followed the two of them to the courtyard, wanting to know if Zhong Qiran was saying anything bad about her son.

Zhong Qiran caught a glimpse of a sneaky figure behind him and smiled inwardly.

He suddenly called out Yan Hao’s name. When Yan Hao turned his head, Zhong Qiran pulled him down and kissed him.

Yan Hao just froze and didn’t move.

Zhong Qiran teasingly brushed his tongue over Yan Hao’s lips, creating an extremely passionate and ambiguous moment.

Yan’s mother witnessed this scene and found it extremely distasteful. She almost screamed in shock and frantically tapped her chest to prevent her blood pressure from skyrocketing. She couldn’t bear to watch any longer and angrily retreated back inside the house.

Just as Zhong Qiran was about to retract his actions, he felt his hand being grabbed, and his entire body was held tightly in the person’s embrace.

Yan Hao pressed his lips against Zhong Qiran’s and said, “Is it over just like this?”