Free Web NovelChapter 216: HOW ABNORMAL THAT SOUNDED
When Guiying woke up, the room was still wrapped in a peaceful silence. Warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the arm resting around his waist hadn’t moved in the slightest. He turned his head slightly and smiled when he realized Liuxian was still sleeping soundly.
The dark circles beneath Liuxian’s eyes were still there, although they no longer looked as frightening as they had earlier. Remembering everything his husband had gone through during the past month, Guiying decided to let him sleep a little longer instead of waking him up.
Carefully lifting Liuxian’s arm away from his waist, Guiying slipped out of bed as quietly as he could. Liuxian frowned slightly in his sleep, but thankfully he didn’t wake up, allowing Guiying to quietly make his way toward the walk-in closet.
The moment he stepped inside, he stopped in his tracks.
The closet was unbelievably spacious, almost resembling a luxury boutique more than a dressing room. Every wall was lined with neatly arranged clothing, while an enormous island counter occupied the center of the room with several stools placed around it, making it look like a place where someone could genuinely sit down and think about what to wear.
Guiying slowly looked around the room before laughing to himself.
"Who puts stools inside a closet?"
He wandered through the rows of clothes at an unhurried pace, occasionally stopping to inspect a jacket or run his fingers across a neatly folded shirt. Most of the clothes were obviously brand new, and judging by the untouched tags still hanging from several of them, Liuxian had gone shopping again while he was away.
After browsing for a while, Guiying finally settled on something comfortable. He changed into a black tank top and a pair of athletic shorts, and the outfit immediately reminded him of his high school days with Limo.
Back then, the two of them had suddenly become obsessed with basketball after watching a championship game on television. They had confidently signed up for tryouts together, only for reality to humble them almost immediately.
Guiying had been ruled out almost from the start.
Part of it was because he was too short, and the other part was because he was an Omega. Limo, on the other hand, had effortlessly made the team, proving once again that life was unfairly biased in favor of tall people.
After changing, Guiying picked up his laptop and carried it onto the balcony. He settled comfortably into the hanging chair and allowed the cool afternoon breeze to wash over him while he opened the laptop to catch up on the work that had piled up during his disappearance.
His inbox looked exactly as terrifying as he had expected.
There were emails from TongShu, messages from other brands, reminders and countless notifications from people wondering where he had disappeared to. He spent a while sorting through the most urgent ones before finally reaching for his phone.
The moment he opened his chat with Limo, he realized his best friend had replied to every message he had sent earlier.
The latest message had arrived only a few minutes ago.
"Guiying... are you really okay?"
His fingers paused above the screen.
Reading the messages one after another, he slowly realized that Limo hadn’t been angry.
He had been terrified.
Every message carried the same worry in different words, and Guiying suddenly felt guilty for disappearing without telling him anything. After everything they had been through together, Limo deserved more than a short text message.
Guiying sighed softly before pressing the call button.
The phone barely rang once before the call connected.
Neither of them spoke immediately.
It was Limo who finally broke the silence.
"...You’re really okay?"
His voice was noticeably hoarse, as though he hadn’t been sleeping much either.
Guiying leaned back against the hanging chair.
"I’m okay."
Limo let out a shaky breath.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Guiying closed his eyes briefly.
"I know. I’m sorry."
"No, you don’t."
Limo’s voice remained calm, but the hurt behind it was impossible to miss.
"For an entire month, nobody knew where you were. Liuxian was looking for you like crazy, your agency was looking for you, and I kept wondering whether something had happened to you."
Guiying lowered his head.
"I’m sorry."
Limo laughed bitterly.
"Do you know what hurt the most?"
Guiying remained silent.
"It wasn’t that you disappeared."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.
"It was that you disappeared without trusting me enough to tell me anything."
Guiying’s grip around the phone tightened.
"I wasn’t trying to push you away."
"Then why didn’t you call me?"
Limo’s question was gentle.
That somehow made it hurt even more.
Guiying looked out across the gardens stretching beyond the balcony before finally answering.
"Because I wasn’t in the right state of mind."
His voice was quiet.
"I was angry, heartbroken and confused. I didn’t know how to explain what I was feeling, so I shut everyone out."
Another silence followed.
This time, Limo spoke first.
"You shut me out too."
Guiying swallowed.
"I know."
Limo sighed softly.
"I’ve never asked you to tell me everything, Guiying. But we’re best friends. If you’re hurting, let me hurt with you instead of making me wonder whether you’re still alive."
Guiying felt his chest tighten.
"I’m sorry."
The apology came more sincerely this time.
"I really am."
Limo didn’t answer immediately.
When he finally spoke again, the hurt in his voice had softened considerably.
"Don’t do that again."
Guiying smiled faintly.
"I won’t."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Only then did Limo finally let out the breath he had apparently been holding for an entire month.
"Good."
A small smile found its way onto Guiying’s face as he looked out over the gardens.
"I’m home now."
"No shit sherlock, sure took your sweet time."
Limo’s voice finally carried a trace of relief.
"Welcome back, idiot."
Guiying laughed quietly.
"It’s good to be back."
The conversation continued for another twenty minutes, and by the time the call was nearing its end, Limo’s voice had finally returned to normal.
The knot that had been hanging over both of them since Guiying disappeared had loosened slightly, even if neither of them could pretend everything was completely fine.
"So," Limo said as he leaned back in his chair, "when exactly am I seeing you? I’ve been saving a month’s worth of gossip because I refused to waste it over text."
Guiying laughed softly.
"I’ve only just gotten home."
"I know," Limo replied. "That’s why I’m not asking you to come today. How about the third week of the month? That should give you enough time to settle back in."
Guiying thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. The third week it is."
Limo smiled to himself.
"Good. And don’t disappear again before then because I’ll genuinely come looking for you this time."
Guiying smiled, he had a lot of apologizing to do.
"I won’t."
"You’d better not."
After saying their goodbyes, the call finally ended.
He stood up and walked to the railing.
Guiying placed his phone beside the laptop before resting both hands against the balcony railing. The breeze carried the faint scent of flowers from the gardens below, and for the first time in what felt like forever, his mind felt unexpectedly peaceful.
"You woke up rather quickly."
A familiar chuckle reached his ears.
"I should be asking you the same thing."
Guiying turned around and found Liuxian standing just inside the balcony doors. His hair was slightly messy from sleep, and the first thing he had done after waking wasn’t checking his phone or looking around the room.
He had come straight to the balcony.
Guiying smiled.
"I wanted you to sleep a little longer."
Liuxian walked over until he was standing beside him before resting a hand lightly against the balcony railing. His gaze never once wandered away from Guiying’s face.
"That was the plan."
A helpless smile appeared on his lips.
"Unfortunately, you shouldn’t have left the bed. I’m still too restless to sleep if you’re not nearby, although I suppose that was more sleep than I’ve managed in the past month."
Guiying’s fingers tightened slightly around the railing.
The words had been spoken so naturally that Liuxian himself didn’t seem to realize how abnormal they sounded.
He reached over and straightened the slightly crooked collar of Liuxian’s shirt before speaking quietly.
"Let’s go see your cousin tomorrow, the one who’s a doctor."
Liuxian blinked.
"My cousin?"
Guiying nodded.
"I think we both need to talk to someone."
Liuxian looked as though he wanted to object.
Instead, he quietly stepped forward and wrapped both arms around Guiying, pulling him into a tight embrace.
His forehead rested against Guiying’s shoulder while both arms settled securely around his waist.
The hug wasn’t painfully tight, but it lingered just a little too long, and when Guiying shifted slightly, Liuxian’s hold unconsciously tightened as though afraid he might slip away again.
