Stand By Me || beefleaf

6. Ming Yi's House

Both of them walked through the narrow paths to reach the cycle parking area. They entered the parking lot through the back door.

First they gazed outside, the Lamborghini was still there and his brother was inside the car.

Both of them nodded at each other with mutual understanding. They slowly dragged the cycle through the back door.

Ming Yi sat on the cycle ready to ride it. Shi QingXuan sat on the back seat and grabbed Ming Yi's waist.

Ming Yi, "..."

"Lets go Ming xiong." Shi QingXuan reminded.

"Uh yeah..." Ming Yi said before starting to paddle hi bicycle.

At first he paddled in full speed. Then after the turn of roads he paced down.

Shi QingXuan said, "So, for your home we need to turn left."

"Yeah." Ming Yi replied.

"For mine, we need to go straight."  Shi QingXuan said.

"Ohhh" Ming Yi responded.

The journey was soothing. During the spring, the cherry blossoms that were on both sides of the road had blossomed. It really looked like a garden of paradise.

After fifteen minutes or so Ming Yi stopped in front of an old apartment.

He asked, " Are you sure you want to come in?"

Shi QingXuan tilted his head, "I am sure. But you don't look sure..."

Ming Yi sighed, "Its not that."

"Then?"

"I just don't want you to...umm." Ming Yi said, "The apartment is kinda messed up."

Shi QingXuan got down the cycle, "Ming xiong you live in this apartment. This is your home–"

Ming Yi plainly said, "Living in an apartment doen't mean its my home."

Shi QingXuan said, "Don't worry, I won't be uncomfortable or if you think that I'll disturb you, then you're totally wrong." Then he tilted his head up and grinned, "Infact if your room is dirty, I'll help you clean it."

Ming Yi stayed as how he was for a moment. After a little while he said, "Fine."

He parked his cycle under a shelter and entered the apartment. They climbed up the stairs, while stepping on each wooden stair case it made a creak sound.

Room 69 said the door infront of which they stopped. Ming Yi unlocked the door and pushed it to open. He entered the room followed by Shi QingXuan behind him.

The atmosphere of inside and outside of the room was six feet apart. It was so damp and cold. Even the corridor that they passed by which must have rarely seen the sun was much better than this room.

The windows were closed, so it was quite dark. But still it was visible that the room was  messier then Shi QingXuan had thought.

He directly walked towards the window and opened it.

Empty cup of noodles, packet of chips and biscuits, bits of paper were all littered over the floor. Dust had already assembled over the shelf. Even the bed wasn't fixed yet.

Ming Yi said, "I told you already."

"I know." Shi QingXuan replied.

Then he went to the kitchen. Thankfully there weren't any dishes left to be washed in the basin, rather it looked like no one had entered the kitchen since ages. Except for the fridge, dust was accumulated everywhere even on the stove.

Suddenly, Shi QingXuan asked, "Won't your mother scold you when she sees your room's condition, Ming xiong?"

Out of blue, Ming Yi replied, "No, she won't."

Shi QingXuan was perplexed because which motger in this world won't bother their kids for hygiene. It would be rarer than a diamond for a mother not to nag her child.

"Then.." he said, "Your father?"

Ming Yi replied, "He too won't scold me."

"Huh?!" Shi QingXuan was shocked. A typical asian dad is the most dangerous human being whenever he encounters with unclean stuffs in his house. And here, the entire room was dirty.

"What about your brother or sister?" He asked, "Do you have any sibling?"

Ming Yi answered, "Yes, I've a little sister." There was an unfathomable smile on his face when he talked about his sister.

"Oh wow! How is she? Is she preety?" Shi QingXuan excitedly asked.

Ming Yi thought for a while before replying, "Might be...because when last time I saw her, she was cute. I don't know about now."

"That means" Shi QingXuan turned around and walked towards bed, "You've been staying away from your family since a long time?"

"Yeah" Ming Yi said while throwing his bag on the study table.

"Where are they?" Shi QingXuan asked.

Ming Yi was silent. He too sat on the bed beside Shi QingXuan, gazed at the unattractive cieling and replied, "Happy Land maybe..."

"Happy Land?"

"Yes, Happy Land. Its a place where the people living will never feel sad." Ming Yi said.

"Honestly, you think I'm a kid?" Shi QingXuan chirped, "This theory is just imaginary. There is no such place where every people are happy. Even the richest and the kindest people have there own problems."

Ming Yi, "..."

He turned his head towards Shi QingXuan, "You're correct." Then he seemed to have smiled a little, a gentle expression formed in his face. But that gentleness remained only for a fraction of seconds.

Again that coldness was plastered on his face. He said, "Indeed the happiest person hides most sorrows."

The coldness in his eyes was mixed with fierceness. He took out a cigarette and a lighter to lit it up. He inhaled the smoke and exhaled it. He walked over the window, rested his palm over the window sill and smoked.

"Ming xiong..." Shi QingXuan slowly murmured to himself.

Now that he saw this place properly, he noticed that there wasn't a single family photoframe anywhere in the room. And there was only one room and one kitchen and an attached bathroom.

He stood up and went towards the another window. He pushed open it and gazed outside towards the sky and thought of the way Ming Yi spoke before. Though his tone was calm, but Shi QingXuan wasn't that of a fool that he wouldn't notice the restrainment of his emotion in his voice.

There was a pain in his voice that came through his heart.

Was he staying away from his family for some reason?

A breeze passed by him moving the strands of his hair. He closed his eyes and tugged them behind his ear.

The moment was totally aesthetic but not until the cigar's smoke flew in his direction almost choking him. He coughed until tears started leaking through his eyes.

Ming Yi gazed at him in dilemma whether to throw away that smoke or not. At the end he minced that cigarette and threw it out of the window.

He tried to call Shi QingXuan, "Umm..."

"You said something–ahem– Ming xiong?"

Ming Yi scrathched the back of his neck. After a while he said, "In a way you still are a kid, you know."

"....."

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A/n
Unedited