140 Mr. Twiggles

“No, anything else but this,” he said hiding the shark plushy behind his back.

The faint spark in Yi Chen’s heart extinguished. When he was pulled into this tiny closet by Zi Han he had thought that he had misunderstood him. How can someone run off after accepting a confession? Hence he had a little hope and his mood had slightly improved.

But now he was back in the same ice-cold cellar with his heart freezing over. “Is it because she gave it to you?” he asked his head lowered to conceal the nervousness spilling over his face.

Zi Han chuckled hearing this. What gave it to him. He had obviously paid twice the amount for this plushy and he didn’t regret it either. Sure, it still smelled like her perfume but it could be washed. There was no big deal.

“No, it’s because I like it and I paid twice the amount for it. Ask for anything else,” replied Zi Han squeezing the little guy behind him as though afraid of getting robbed.

Yi Chen had already robbed him of the scrunchie he got from Shannon and the chicken cutlets he got from his mom. He had already forgotten that the chicken cutlets weren’t robbed but they were given to Yi Chen by him.

It seemed a pattern was starting to form and Zi Han wouldn’t let that happen to Mr. Twiggles. Yes, he had already named the shark.

“Paid for it?” asked Yi Chen as he abruptly raised his head. To be honest, he hadn’t expected such a response. That’s because no one in their right mind would say to a girl confessing, “I don’t like you but can you sell me the gift. I like it very much.”

Damn.... was that what Zi Han said to her. If so then that would be more heartless than what Yi Chen said to the girl who confessed to him. These two were truly deserving of each other.

.....

“Yep, paid for it. Now you want to tell me what I can do to fix this? You didn’t even respond to my messages and when you did it was just En..... Seriously, I thought we are friends now,” complained Zi Han waving around Mr. Twiggles having forgotten that this person was eyeing it.

Yi Chen rubbed his forehead concealing the slight smile at the corner of his lips. “I was in training the entire time..... that’s all. I wasn’t mad at you to begin with,” he said as he raised his head to look into Zi Han’s eyes.

Zi Han heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t care if Yi Chen’s excuse was true or not. As long as Yi Chen was no longer upset with him that’s all that mattered.

Yi Chen was still curious about the pendant thus his back left the wall and he reached over pulling the string around Zi Han’s neck. Zi Han didn’t flinch letting him do as he pleased.

Their friendship had reached a point where he could barge in on Yi Chen while he is showering thus he didn’t mind him tugging at his mech pendant.

What surprised him though was that Yi Chen didn’t take out his mech pendant but his father’s pendant. Zi Han’s brow furrowed as he saw that phoenix medallion dancing in between Yi Chen’s long fingers.

Yi Chen’s expression right now was that of great interest and awe as the tips of his fingers brushed against that medallion. A fleeting flash of disappointment reflected in his dark pupils taking Zi Han by surprise.

He didn’t understand why Yi Chen was interested in his father’s pendant but no matter how good their relationship was he would never give it away. He grasped the medallion with his hand encircling Yi Chen’s fingers.

Yi Chen who was in an entranced state came out of it and lifted his head till he met Zi Han’s line of sight. Yi Chen stared straight into his eyes for a second. The atmosphere in this tiny space became slightly suffocating for Zi Han. He suddenly regretted picking this place to have a private conversation.

Yi Chen clasped his fingers and pulled his (Zi Han’s) from the medallion. With his hand still holding Zi Han, he pointed at the Medallion and asked, “Something important to you?”

The heat from Yi Chen’s seeped into Zi Han’s skin making him feel slight discomfort. He pulled back his hand and a flash of disappointment swept past Yi Chen’s eyes.

“It was my father’s,” said Zi Han as he stared at the pendant that seemed so ordinary.

Yi Chen placed his hands in his pockets which was something he never did. That’s because he was trying to stop himself from touching Zi Han again.

“Who is he?” asked Yi Chen intending to find out what Zi Han knew.

Zi Han lowered his gaze and swallowed his saliva recalling the night his mother got wasted. He vaguely remembered her mourning the loss of her husband again. This stirred up the emotions he never showed his mother.

When she cried he comforted her but he was also in pain and the fact that she didn’t want to talk about him made it even harder for him to deal with his emotions. Thus when Yi Chen asked, “Who is he?” it stirred up feelings buried deep within him. He found that he couldn’t even answer this question.

Exhaling deeply he whispered a response, “It’s not is but was and.... I can’t answer that question.”

historical

Yi Chen felt horrible for bringing this up so he apologized. “I am sorry,” he said clenching his fists in his pockets fending off the urge to hug him.

Zi Han put on a wan smile and said, “It’s fine. This is the only thing I have that belongs to him. That day I thought I was going to lose it..... it almost tore me apart.”

After Zi Han said this Yi Chen could no longer hold back. He took out his hands from his pockets to hug Zi Han who was hurting but before he could touch him Zi Han took a step back his expression taking a drastic change.

With his hand blocking Yi Chen from coming closer he said, “You think I am stupid. You are just trying to rob the shark from me aren’t you? Ha, I knew it.”

Yi Chen, “.....”

‘Who wants that stupid shark!!’ thought Yi Chen but his mouth on the other hand was saying, “Give it.”

Zi Han stubbornly refused and thus the two scuffled in that tiny space with the shark being the prize. A serious conversation had turned into a spur which Zi Han was losing miserably. What ended this childish behavior was the sound of the plushy being torn into half.

RIP!!!!

Zi Han, “AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Yi Chen, “.....”

“Han Han calm down,” said Yi Chen but there was nothing that he could say at this moment that would prevent Zi Han from erupting.