Wang Yibo's POV:

Waiting.

I look up at the poster stuck in front of me, on the hospital wall and I laugh inwardly.

"Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering."     
                                                 ....Paulo Coelho

True that. This saying should be the moto of my sad life. I am yet to know which is more painful, waiting for the man inside who is currently unconscious and bleeding or me wanting to forget everything that is associated with him?

Trust me, I have tried both. I have failed both times.

How could I forget him? Even in the most darkest time of my life, I would never want to forget those moments, even if they continue to haunt me, because in every single one of them, he's always been there.

Xiao Zhan.

I am alive, because of him. I owe it to him.

"Wang" I hear Adrian call my name and my gaze lands on him. Seeing a file in his hand, he nods and hands it over to me "we got the security footage. Seems Mr. Xiao was just an unfortunate victim. Here are the photographs and the video has been sent to us via mail" I take the file and pull out the contents. My eyes eat up the picture in front of me.

The first picture shows a man entering the house. Time Stamp: 14:00

The second picture shows Xiao Zhan hurriedly entering but not exiting. Time Stamp: 16:00

The third picture however shows another shadow sneaking from the back entrance with a small but heavy bundle in their arms. Time Stamp: 16:05

"Do you think it's the child inside that heavy bundle?" He hands me another file "these are the autopsy reports. The TOD (Time of Death) is estimated to be around 15:15" he looks at me "and your brother spoke to me, he said at that time when the murder would have occurred, he was having a session with Mr. Xiao. He's not the murderer Wang" he assures me and I let out an imperceptible sigh that I was holding within.

I nod and squeeze my eyes. Relief. Pure relief. But, the next question that bothers me is who is behind all this? How did Xiao Zhan reach that place? Nothing makes sense  here.

"Wang?" Adrian calls my name softly.

"Hm?"

"The man in there, Xiao Zhan, he's the same guy who..." it was not a question as he trails off and looks as dejected as me. I nod.

"Oh man" he whispers.

Adrian, is one of the most humble person I have ever known, who I trust with my life with, knows my present as well as my history. Being friends from childhood, probably does that to you. He was there when I was rescued. He was the first person to cry and hug me. He was there when I came to the hospital. He was there when I was discharged. He was there when I had nightmares, held my hand and gave me the strength to fight back when I was lost. He has always been there. Period. One such night, when things became unbearable, I opened up and he was there to listen.

10 year old Yibo:

"Wang?" Adrian calls my name as he finds me huddled inside the closet "hey man, can I join you?". I nod.

The silence between us is comfortable. He doesn't talk much and I am glad. As time slips by, my resolution breaks and a rouge tear slips out and I break down.

"He touched me, Dre" I whisper "and I didn't like it one bit. When he asked me for help, I swear I did not know he was a bad man. I just wanted to help him".

Adrian slowly takes my hand in his and squeezes it tightly, assuring me, he was there "What happened Wang?"

"I don't know" I pause and hiccup "one moment he was asking me for some direction and the next, I was bound to some bed in an unknown room" I slowly look back at Adrian with a fear that he might be disgusted, but what I saw shocked me. He was crying too. He was silently bearing my pain within him.

"Dre" I whisper and he wipes his tears and musters a small smile "go one Wang, I am listening. Just tell me everything" he pulls me into a warm hug and I do tell him everything. Every bit of detail, which probably, even my parents or brother were unaware, Adrian knew.

***

"Dre, I met someone there" I smile when I think of him "he was the only ray of hope for me. He too was kidnapped and brought there. I heard that man killed his parents".

"What?" Adrian gasps and I nod.

"He spoke to me Dre, when that man was not around, that boy spoke to me. He has such a sweet voice. When I would be..." I pause and take a deep breath "when I would be all bruised, he would sing for me. His small fingers used to caress my hair. He said he was good with piano, maybe he used my hair as keys. Dre, the only time I slept peacefully was when he was around". 

I felt another squeeze in my hand and I carried on "I hated when that man touched him" my voice breaks "he made me watch, how could someone so horrible exist?" I start crying again.

This time Adrian pulls me in for a hug but gives me the space I require to check my emotions.

"To make us feel safe, I tied a red String around us" I look at Adrian and smile, "there was a red ribbon lying around. The tassles were hanging from the red ribbon, so I used it to tie around my small finger and his".

Adrian smiles back "I remember, brother Huan did tell us about that mythology. Once the fated one ties the Red String of Fate, they are bound for eternity" he looks at me "are you bound to him?"

I look away and shrug "I don't know Dre, but I want to be sure he is safe. I always want him to be safe".

Tapping my thighs, Adrian looks back and grins "then together we'll make sure, he is safe, you have my word. What's his name?".

I smile warmly as the name rolls on my tongue "Xiao Zhan".

The promise Adrian made when we were young, he has always kept up the promise. Whenever I was unable to keep an eye on Xiao Zhan, Adrian was always there for us. As I said, I can entrust him with my life. Literally and figuratively.

"He does not remember who you are" Adrian sighs and I nod.

Looking back at me, he grins "Well Boss, you have me and together let's bring Mr. Xiao Zhan back into your life".

"Dre" I warn him but stop when we see my brother approaching us and the look on his face has me dreading already.

(Let me stop here and just say, it's such an amazing feeling to have a friend who is there for you, so a big shout out to each and every Adrian/ Dre's in your life).