Winter Wind (YiZhan)

57. Ugly

Yibo does not respond, but at his silence, all is confirmed.

She gasps. "Yibo."

When he still doesn't spare her any reactions whatsoever, she leans back into the sofa, stunned and exasperated. "No wonder. Now it all makes sense. This started recently didn't it?"

The studio turns even more frigid at his glare.

"You're not going to answer me?" her tone rises.

Yibo's hand clenches into a fist, the reigns of his temper slipping. "Why should I? You haven't answered any of my questions directly either."

She huffs, completely flabbergasted. "Wow. Wow. You're truly on the verge of disaster."

He looks away in annoyance so she takes the moment to inhale and exhale, deeply.

"Yibo," she calls again, her tone now softer. "I've been in charge of your welfare for a long time, and I've treated you like my own, so I hope that you will pay attention to everything that I'm about to say to you. Relationships are fickle, even more than friendships. Most of the time it leads nowhere but in the moment, it will always manage to convince you otherwise. It will bring your guards down and make you careless. You cannot afford this." She sighs, her gaze filled with pity. "It makes sense now why you're suddenly so devastated and affected. You even dismissed Jiaping, and she's been working with you for the last four years. Even longer than you've known Xiao Zhan!"

At this, Yibo's gaze returns to hers, now ablaze with anger.

She however straightens, unintimidated. "Yibo, you cannot have a romantic relationship with Xiao Zhan, because besides the obvious dangers, the world will always regard you both as each other's competition."

"So?" he seethes, and she is slightly taken aback.

"This means that one of you will always be placed above the other. Do you think that your egos can survive that? You'll end up breaking up, and that's if you aren't even exposed before then. Don't you see that either way you slice it, nothing can come of this? It can only end up destroying you both!"

Yibo's response is laced with steel. "I don't have to be above him. It's alright if he's in the lead."

At this, she is stunned speechless, her eyes agape. "Yibo, you've forgotten who you are. When have you ever wanted to be below anyone? In anything? Has this relationship made you completely irrational?"

Yibo rises to his feet, however she doesn't stop.

"You've forgotten what it feels like to be number two haven't you? To be second best. That was what you were until he disappeared from the limelight."

"Disappeared?" Yibo spins back to face her, the rein on his control slipping. "Weren't you the one that chased him away?"

"For your own good!" she yells, and Yibo's eyes nearly pops out of their sockets.

"For my own good?"

"Of course!"

His chest begins to heave, and he is seething so much that although his lips part to speak, no words come out. So he picks up his phone and starts to walk away.

She lets him, equally as irate, but just before he reaches the door she calls out to him again.

"Yibo."

He doesn't respond.

Instead he wrenches the door open, and storms out. Frustrated, she jumps to her feet and goes after him, her heels clicking hastily against the floor.