Outrun The World

Chapter 4

That was the best sleep he ever had in ages. It might be because he was too tired to dream or maybe everything's too strange for his brain and too much information to process that it completely shut down last night. Now he's afraid to open his eyes because he feels like he's going to return to his old room to deal with his old miserable life.

But he can't ignore the sound of barking puppies somewhere, nor the chirping birds and the wake up calls from roosters. Countless roosters echoing each other like a spam alert.

Pets weren't allowed in their apartment so he risked opening his eyes and looked around to search for He Tian. All he saw were blankets and pillows and a wide glass window. Panic welled inside him as he bolted right up and thundered across the room to search for his only connection to sanity.

He found him outside, busily feeding three puppies and their fat mother. He's wearing a black tank top and his toned shoulders enticed him to stare and imagine things that would make his mother faint.

"Yours?" he asked just to hold down his urge to tackle him for leaving his sight. He Tian turned to look at him.

"Morning love," he said with a teasing smile. "They're not mine. But you can choose a puppy to keep if you want."

Mo Guan Shan stepped out from the concrete bungalow to see the view from outside. They were in the middle of a vast green dewy field covered with grass he was not familiar with. Scattered in uniform distances were coconut trees and more coconut trees. No other houses that he can see from where they were.

"This ain't right."

"What's wrong?"

"We're on a mountain. I was expecting a different kind of house. Like that one we saw on the way here."

Mo Guan Shan was thinking about the beach cottages made from wood, bamboo and some sort of leaves for the roof. The one they saw on the way was the same but with full walls, windows propped up with bamboo sticks, a bamboo veranda and wooden stairs. Underneath the raised floor were hens and chicks.

"You sure you would like that?"

"It's not a complete experience if the house isn't rustic."

"But this is comfortable," He Tian said. "Screw your aesthetics, I'd hate to be eaten alive by mosquitoes."

"All right, forget it," Mo Guan Shan said and went back inside. He Tian caught up with him and forced him to eat breakfast together before they go somewhere "fun".

The breakfast consisted of homemade bread that tasted so good Mo Guan Shan finished three. He Tian said that he especially requested an elder resident to bake a bunch so he could taste it. And that there's a tastier version stuffed with caramelized coconut meat and sugar.

Then there's hot chocolate that tasted different from the usual chocolate but tasty just the same. The slight bitterness and addictive aroma made him drink several cups before He Tian warned him to slow down because it might get him drunk. The usual breakfast foods were completely forgotten.

"What do you want to do after this?"

"I dunno. All I wanna do with my life is end it," Mo Guan Shan answered nonchalantly without bothering to see He Tian's reaction. 

"Granted. Get dressed, we'll go die!" He Tian stood up while sipping from his cup. Then he put it down and smiled. "Wear something that you don't mind getting dirty."

Last night when they arrived, He Tian carried him on his back when Mo Guan Shan said his knees might have grown weaker. It was the kiss. He was positively turned on by it that he lost all his will to walk that dreadful path.