Winter Wind (YiZhan)

52. Victim

The drive back to the bar is a quiet one, however internally, Xiao Zhan is brimming with apprehension.

Cutting off all communication with Yibo has calmed him down just enough to think, but the timer of everything completely toppling over is still running in his heart.

His hand is supporting his chin as he ponders on the next step to take, while his gaze is fixated on the window and the golden glow beyond of the lit streets amidst the darkness.

Once again, Yibo's words replay in his mind

'Ge I don't want to leave things open ended between us."

His throat constricts at the implication of these words, and as a result his breathing turns ragged.

Yibo once again had been about to break up with him, but this time around, his mind was completely settled on the matter. This makes Xiao Zhan think back to all the times in the past when all communication had temporarily stopped between them.

It had always been abrupt and open ended, so none of the instances had ever truly felt final.

Thus, there had always lingered the hope that either of them could easily reach out once again to the other, to restore their relationship, and he'd never realized this until Yibo had said those words to him tonight.

'Ge I don't want to leave things open ended between us."

He realizes now that he would have preferred it a million times over if Yibo hadn't picked up his call. The worst that could have happened would be that Yibo wouldn't contact him for a couple of weeks, or even months, but eventually, they would reconnect.

However this time around, and for the first time, Yibo had called him to say goodbye.

He is still astounded beyond belief by the nightmare that this evening is turning out to be.

He feels as though he is near physical collapse, his bones sore and his body aching with the need to shut his eyes for even just a few minutes so that he can rest.

With a deep inhale, he manages to stabilize his breathing and then shuts his eyes.

However Li Ping suddenly speaks.

"Why did you destroy your phone?" he asks quietly.

Xiao Zhan reopens his eyes, however he doesn't know how to respond to this question.

At his silence, Li Ping continues.

"I thought you wanted to contact Wang Yibo. Well, you definitely won't be able to do that now but perhaps you can use my phone? Or any of ours?"

They come to a halt at a stoplight then, so Li Ping turns to look at him.

Xiao Zhan finally decides on his answer. "I don't want to speak to him over the phone. I'm going to speak to him in person."

"Okay..." Li Ping seems confused. "So why didn't you just tell him that?"

Xiao Zhan sighs. "It's complicated."

He doesn't say anymore beyond this, so Li Ping moves on with his questions.

"Wang Yibo is in Beijing right? Are you going to fly there?"

"Mm," Xiao Zhan replies. "I'll head over on the first flight tomorrow morning."

If he had the choice it would be tonight, but the last flight for the day was an hour earlier so he will have to wallow in this crippling anxiety until the following morning. He gives up all hope then of getting any rest, and this worries him because he needs to be able to think clearly when he sees Yibo the following day.