Xiao. Zhan. Fiance.
 
He looked at her with a cold expression, and she looked at him back with an equal cold expression.
 
The staring contest happened for at least five minutes, when finally she broke out into a laugh. Her voice was as clear as a wind chime on a windy day.
 
"Jesus, you're gonna stare me to death aren't you?" She stood up and walked to the minibar to get some alcohol. "Drink?" She offered him, which he declined politely.
 
"What do you want? How did you find me?" He was in a defensive mode. He did not want to be reminded of why he couldn't be together with the love of his life. Especially by the one person who was supposedly to be the root of all his problems.
 
"Oh, will you relax boy, I looked for you as I knew that Zhanzhan must be too infatuated to talk properly to explain everything to you." She took a sip from a mini bottle of vodka "And your towel is slipping down, not that I mind." She winked at him when he grabbed the loose towel, preventing it from slipping down and exposing him.
 
He quickly walked back to the bathroom to dress himself before having a showdown, throwdown, or whatever it was with her. Xiao Zhan's fucking fiance. The fuck did she want from him?
 
"How did you find me? Did he tell you?" He crosses his arms in front of his chest in a defensive mode.
 
"Well, this hotel is mine, so when you checked in, I was alerted, and here I am." She drank leisurely from another mini bottle. "And no, Zhanzhan did not tell me anything about you. I found you out by myself."
 
He was stunned. She looked for him?
 
Why?
 
"Why, you said? Well, I need to gouge my competitor. You do understand, don't you? Being a businessman yourself?"
 
"What competitor? You said yourself you're his fucking fiance. I'm just… nobody. His plaything, I guess, once in a blue moon." He couldn't hold back his emotion, so he walked to the bar and took a couple of mini bottles for himself.
 
"Hmm…" she looked at him with her piercing gaze. "You really loved him, didn't you?"
 
Yibo took a seat in front of her, opened a bottle and drank it in one movement. 
 
It burnt.
 
"What is love?" He scoffed while looking at the empty bottle. "If you meant that I want to fuck him, yes I do. Want to fuck him. And kiss him. And touch him. Hug him. Talk to him about my days, about my problems. I want him to cook for me. Only for me. If I could, I want to chain him in my basement and never let him go at all, lest of all being married. To anyone but me. No offense."
 
"None taken."
 
"It might sound selfish, but I want him for myself. I burn with jealousy everytime any of my bartenders talked to him. Looked at him." He drank the second bottle. "And why does this interest you? You have claimed him anyway, and there's no way he will break his promise."
 
He was pouring his heart out to an unknown woman. His mortal enemy nonetheless. 
 
Why? He had no idea. 
 
Guess he was that masochist Ji Li always told him about.
 
"What if I told you that I want to sponsor you? I heard about your bar and your show. Purgatory is it? And I see a lot of potential there. I have a lot of hotels, here and overseas. You can run away for the rest of your life, not seeing Zhanzhan anymore if you wish for it."
 
She gave him a look that was hard to decipher.
 
"Why? Are you afraid that I will come between you and him? That he will… visit me?" He tilted his head, trying to read this woman. "Rest assured, I'm not interested in a married man. However much in love I am with him."
 
He felt a bit dizzy from the alcohol and he just realized that he hadn't had lunch, when the woman in front of him suddenly laughed again, startling him.
 
"Yibo, ah Yibo… may I call you Yibo?" She gave him a big grin and it made her look younger.
 
"Sure… not that we'd meet again after this… rendezvous."
 
"So pessimist, baby." She laughed again with her clear voice. "Anyway, I'm just here to check on the one who broke my Zhanzhan's heart, after all that he's done for you." She stood up and got ready to leave. "Anyway, you should ask Zhanzhan his explanation. It's not for me to tell you the truth. But I still want you to work for me, if you want to." She took a name card from her purse. "Here's my card. Call me. After you talk with Zhanzhan. Please just… talk. You both are just like kids, running away from nonexistent problems."
 
With that, she left, leaving a trace of expensive perfume and confusion behind.

-----

"A carnival?" 
 
Xiao Zhan's eyes widened at the sight of colorful lights and buzzing sounds of people talking, selling food and everything. 
 
After that disastrous expensive brunch, he took Xiao Zhan along the pier to the newly arrived carnival.
 
"Yes. Have you been to one?" 
 
"Mm… not that I remember…"
 
He dragged Xiao Zhan to one of the shooting booths and paid for a game. He won a bunny doll and he gave that to the older man.
 
"For me?" Xiao Zhan was delighted to receive such a cute gift.
 
"Yes, it reminds me of you."
 
He loved to see how Xiao Zhan blushed.
 
"Do you want to eat something?" He dragged him to the endless food stalls and bought many delicacies exclusive to carnival. Carnival food. Greasy, oily, sickeningly sweet junk food. Hotdogs, cotton candy, popcorn, corn dogs, ice cream and many other things.
 
And they both ate them with glee, like five years old kids, eating, yelling, and playing games until the sundown.
 
They ended the day riding the ferris wheel.
 
Xiao Zhan was entranced by the sunset when they stopped at the top, and he was entranced by Xiao Zhan's face.
 
"What are you thinking about?"
 
He looked at Xiao Zhan, smiled, and interlaced their fingers together.
 
"You." 
 
He kissed the knuckles softly.
 
"Are you having fun today?" He looked at Xiao Zhan with soft eyes, not letting go of their hands.
 
"This is the best day I have ever had in my life."

-----

He went back to his apartment three days later, to find Xiao Zhan was sleeping on the couch, laptop opened on the table, notes everywhere, and empty takeaway containers on the table.
 
He sighed and took a blanket from the guest room to cover the older man. He stopped for a while to carve the beautiful face into his mind. Not that he would ever forget him in this lifetime.
 
At the end of the day, he could not deny his love for this man, even though it's impossible for them to be together. But there's a tiny voice in his heart, telling him to not give up hope.
 
Masochist much?
 
He scoffed, and turned around to leave when a hand shot out from under the blanket, caught his hand and pulled him down on top of the other one.
 
"Mm… miss you." 
 
Xiao Zhan nuzzled his nose into Yibo's hair, sniffing him, a trait he picked up back in their days together when they haven't seen each other for more than two days.
 
His heart clenched at the memory, and he tried to shove the older man away from him, not wanting Xiao Zhan to know about his feelings. But Xiao Zhan held on to his arm.
 
"Yibo? You're back." 
 
Xiao Zhan gave him a sleepy smile, which put his heart on overdrive. It was the smile he always gave him when he woke up from sleep. The innocent smile that he remembered from back then.
 
"Why are you sleeping on the couch? And eating takeaways?" He tried to shift the conversation away from the smile.
 
"Ah, I had a conference call just now. Time difference. And I'm not in the mood to cook. Not when you're not here."
 
Xiao Zhan yawned and stretched his body languidly, making him drool.
 
"So, how's your trip? Having fun?"
 
"Well, I had a very interesting guest come into my room at the Lotus Pier Hotel." He looked straight at Xiao Zhan. "Three guesses of who it was. And the first two don't count."
 
"Hm? How would I know…" he jerked straight up and paled. "Lotus Pier Hotel? Xuan Lu?"
 
"Ding ding ding! You got the first prize!" He said sarcastically and walked up to the fridge to pour himself a cold drink. There was a pitcher of iced tea and he took it out.
 
"Did… what did she say to you?"
 
"Ah, nothing much, only gave me a warning that I shouldn't touch what's hers, and to tell me to stay away from her fiance. Although her wording seemed a bit off. Oh, and she told me to talk it out with you, about a … nonexistent problems? I guess she knows that you are hers and I'm not worthy of any jealousy." He shrugged nonchalantly, acting like it didn't affect him, while in reality his heart was bleeding. Again.
 
He might accept her offer after all. To just… escape. 
 
"Yibo, listen to me." Xiao Zhan was standing behind him, and turned him around, forcing him to face him.
 
"I guess it's time for me to explain it all."