When Yibo's car came to a stop in the hospital parking lot, he remained seated for several long minutes, trying to steady the storm of thoughts inside his mind.
It still felt unreal.
As though his mind refused to confirm that everything had truly happened.
In the span of a single day and night, events had unfolded that shifted his entire life more profoundly than years ever had. He still struggled to believe that he had knelt before his father and spoken the word forgiveness.
A forgiveness that gathered everything within it...every remembered hurt, and even those he could no longer recall.
A forgiveness that meant the life he had lived for years would no longer remain the same. The nights of quiet suffering, the endless weight he had carried, would become something distant....almost as if they had never existed.
The world itself felt altered.
The roles he had lived in, the choices he had made....everything now seemed like a prologue. As though only now was he about to resume his life from the place where it had once been interrupted.
His father's final words echoed in his mind, growing clearer and heavier with each repetition.
"There is nothing you could tell me now that I would consider a crime, Yibo. For everything you confessed, I know I share responsibility in how it came to be. So I truly mean it when I say I forgive you...for everything you did, the things I know and even the things I do not.
The fact that you have returned is enough. The fact that I can look at you and see a complete man standing before me while time has not yet run out...that alone is reason for gratitude. Sometimes a person spends years in a mistake without realizing it. Only when mercy finds him does he receive a chance to mend what was broken...even if that chance comes late.
As I opened my arms to accept you, I accept your marriage as well...and your husband. Go and bring him into this house. Bring him here so he may receive the welcome he never had the chance to know before."
If someone had told him only a month ago that such a moment would happen, he would have denied it without hesitation. He would have argued that his heart could not withstand such words spoken all at once. He would have insisted that life was not a staged performance...things like this did not simply happen because one wished them to.
And yet, sometimes life surprises a person with what he least expects.
That truth deepened when he entered the hospital again to see Qiaoxi after leaving the house. The attending doctor....someone he had come to understand well between yesterday and today....assured him that she was showing signs of neurological improvement. Her condition was gradually stabilizing.
No one was permitted into the ICU.
He knew, however, that if he asked, they would likely allow him inside.
But he did not ask.
He could not bring himself to face her in that fragile state. After all these years of distance and misunderstanding, he did not want their reunion to be marked by such a sight. So he stepped away quietly, leaving her relatives who had come to meet her at the hospital.
As these thoughts circled his mind, he reached forward and opened the dashboard drawer of his car.
The paper was still there.
The paper that held words written in a moment when his heart had pushed him to put everything into writing. The signature beneath it...his own...and beside it, Zhan's name.
He unfolded it slowly and read it again. Only now did he see his mistake clearly.
Only now did he understand Zhan's words.
"You don't have to follow the path you think is the only way for us to stay together. I'll stand with you while we fix whatever you want to fix. I'll go with you back home. I'll apologize with you. I'll help you repair everything.
Human beings are never complete. However convinced you are of your own righteousness, someone will come along and expose your error plainly."
When Zhan had spoken those words before, Yibo thought he simply did not grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.
And yet, everything had unfolded exactly as Zhan had believed it would.
It had been destined that Yibo would reconcile with his parents....with Zhan by his side. Their paths had already been intertwined long before he realized it. Nothing could have separated them before this moment.
With both hands, Yibo tore the paper into pieces and scattered them out through the open window. He watched as the wind caught each fragment and carried them in different directions, hoping the words would disperse just as completely...so they would never gather again inside his mind.
He reached for his phone.
For a moment, he considered calling Duan to tell him what had finally happened...the very reconciliation Duan had long advised, encouraged, even pleaded for.
But where would he begin?
What words could possibly contain all of it?
He pressed a hand against his forehead.
Not yet.
He would wait until everything settled, until the pieces of his heart stopped shifting. Only then would he call.
He opened the car door to step out. As he gathered his phone, his eyes fell on a bottle of water lying beneath the passenger seat.
When had he last taken a drink?
Perhaps the night before, after arriving at the hotel.
He used to think stress made him thirsty. Now he realized that wasn't entirely true.
It was confusion...the restless search for answers...that made him drink more than usual. Not stress alone. Because when he remembered the time Zhan and Bai had faced Peng, during those tense and complicated days, he had barely remembered to drink water at all.
:
:
Before going upstairs, Yibo stopped at the hotel restaurant to order food for them. He remembered how Zhan had endured hunger the previous day amid all the turmoil they had faced. As for him, he hadn't even thought about food until they finally reached the hotel.
He remembered how Zhan had avoided his eyes, looking down shyly when asking whether they should have some tea before going to sleep. That was what reminded him they hadn't eaten at all. In his own mind, he had assumed the uneasiness in his body was simply from anxiety.
And truly, after they both finished eating, he felt a large portion of that tension lift from his chest.
He walked down the hallway and reached their room. Using the keycard he had taken with him, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The room was exactly as he had left it....dark, the curtains completely drawn. Only thin streaks of daylight slipped through the narrow spaces between them, cutting faint lines across the dimness, along with the light spilling in from the door he had just opened.
That told him Zhan was still asleep.
At dawn, when Zhan had woken briefly before drifting back to sleep, he had sensed how exhausted he was...but he hadn't expected that even after leaving and returning, Zhan would still be resting.
He quietly nudged the door shut with his foot and removed his shoes at the edge of the carpet. Then he walked straight to the window and pulled the curtains open from both sides, tying them back.
Sunlight flooded the room instantly.
When he turned back toward the bed, Zhan stirred at the sudden brightness. Slowly, he shifted from the position he had been lying in and turned fully toward where Yibo stood.
Yibo's heart tightened at the sight.
Zhan's sleep shirt had ridden up to his chest, leaving the rest of him exposed beneath the sheets. His hair lay loose around his face, falling across his cheeks because he hadn't tied it back before sleeping. His eyes were open now, still heavy with drowsiness, watching him as though trying to fully wake.
He looked beautiful.
Truly beautiful.
Like watching the sun rise over the sea.
Yibo felt his heart leap again as he moved toward the bed. Slowly, he sat down beside Zhan, the faint scent of his skin welcoming him. He took one of Zhan's hands, threading his fingers gently through his.
"Where did you go?"
Zhan's voice slipped into his ears, soft and slightly husky from sleep, sending a tremor through him. Yibo swallowed before, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, saying something he once believed he would never say again.
"I went home."
He watched Zhan's eyes widen instantly. At first, they seemed blank, as if struggling to process his words. Then slowly, anxiety and hope filled them. Zhan's body grew still...so still it was as if even his breathing had paused.
"What happened?" he asked again.
Yibo remained quiet for a moment, studying his face as though unsure whether he could speak. Then his voice emerged, carrying a weight he could hardly name.
"Something I thought didn't exist in this world. Something I believed would never happen...or if it did, it would come with a price I'd have to pay."
He paused, shifting his fingers within Zhan's, knowing he hadn't reached the end of it yet.
"My father said he forgave me… Zhan."
Zhan said nothing. Yibo nodded softly to confirm it.
"He said he forgave me for everything that ever stood between us. And he asked for my forgiveness too."
At once, Zhan closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
"Thank God," he whispered....twice...before opening his eyes to look at him again.
Yibo hesitated only briefly before continuing.
"And I told him about you."
This time, the fear in Zhan's eyes dissolved into something calmer....something steady and waiting.
In the quiet room, Yibo spoke again.
"He said he accepts me....with everything that comes with me. That means you too. He said you are his son now as well. He told me to bring you home, that his blessing is waiting for us."
Zhan's breath trembled as he listened. His chest rose and fell unevenly beneath the weight of those words. Tears filled his eyes, warm and burning, until one slipped down the bridge of his nose and fell onto the pillow beneath him.
"Thank God… thank you," Zhan murmured, feeling that those were the only words big enough for the moment.
Yibo released Zhan's hand and gently brushed the tears from his face.
"Do you know something? Before I met you… I spent my whole life believing love had to be earned. That a person had to be perfect in many ways to deserve complete love from anyone."
His voice faltered slightly.
"But you changed that for me, Zhan. You didn't wait for me to be fixed. You accepted me with all my flaws....even the deception I used to pull you into my life. You followed me into this chaos… into my family's mess. Into the mistakes I kept running from."
His chest tightened again as understanding deepened.
"I used to think sacrifice was something grand and visible. Something people could see and admire. But yours was quiet. You stayed. You waited. You believed in me without demanding proof."
Zhan slowly shook his head.
"I just loved you."
The words were simple...few in number...but they carried a weight that unraveled something inside Yibo completely.
In that moment, he saw Zhan differently than ever before. Not just his kindness...but his strength. The quiet power within his vulnerability.
Yibo exhaled slowly.
"I also used to think intimacy was about physical closeness. But that night you trusted me, I realized it's about someone seeing the worst parts of you...and still choosing to stay."
Zhan remained silent, simply looking at him, as though he felt the same gravity settling in his chest.
After a short while, Zhan spoke softly.
"If our lives were rewound a hundred times, I would choose you every single time, Yibo-ge. So stop worrying. I'm yours. Always."
With those words, Yibo felt his world become whole.
He lifted the hand he was holding and brought it to his lips, pressing a slow, lingering kiss against Zhan's fingers.
Zhan glanced from his face to their joined hands, something flickering through his thoughts. Suddenly, he sat up and gently pulled his hand free.
"I'll go get ready… so we can leave."
Instead of answering, Yibo caught his hand again and drew him back into his arms. He held him close, leaning in until his lips brushed near his ear, and whispered softly,
"Can we misbehave a little first?"
✴✴✴
It is no new teaching, no new knowledge, that the Creator shaped our lives long before we were created...perhaps even before the world itself existed, before time had a name.
If you look back carefully, you may begin to see how unnecessary your impatience once was...how you troubled yourself over things that, from sunrise to sunset, you could never have changed no matter how hard you tried.
That was the thought circling through Zhan's mind as he reflected on how far life had carried them in just a few short days. The voices drifting in from the sitting room confirmed that everything unfolding around him was real. Today, he stood in the middle of a house filled with people who called themselves Yibo's family....Yibo, the man who once filled his heart with questions and doubts he had never dared to voice aloud.
And yet, everything had become clear all at once.
Every word Yibo had ever told him now stood before him as truth. A truth he woke up to each morning wrapped in a kind of happiness and peace he had not felt in a very long time.
Yibo's father had welcomed him into the family with open arms....without suspicion, without interrogation, without even a shadow of doubt about how he had entered Yibo's life. That acceptance had rippled through the entire household. Even Yibo's relatives who had flown in from Hong Kong after hearing about Qiaoxi's illness had followed his lead.
They had arrived deeply shaken. Qiaoxi was dearly loved by all of them. Her kindness was something everyone spoke of with admiration. She was the kind of woman who lived in harmony with others, who carried herself with grace and sincerity. You could meet her once and feel as though you had known her for years.
Even her husband's relatives....those who lived far away...were drawn to her warmth. In truth, many of them felt closer to her than they ever had to Haozhi's first wife, who had been their own blood.
The house now felt like it was hosting a small gathering. With the confirmation late last night that Qiaoxi had regained consciousness...though she was still under close medical supervision and surrounded by life-support machines....everyone's spirits had settled somewhat.
It had been three days since they left the hotel.
Yibo spent most of his time at the hospital with his mother. Even by phone, Zhan did not always reach him. They only truly saw each other when Yibo returned home in the evenings. After speaking with his relatives...who still looked at him as though he might disappear if they blinked...he would finally come to Zhan.
And even then, their meetings were brief. A greeting. A few quiet words. Most of what Yibo shared revolved around his mother's condition. In return, Zhan told him about the conversations he'd had with his own family after finally explaining everything...from the beginning to the end.
Aside from Aunty Shui and Bai, few had fully believed his account. Even Nainai was deeply upset by the situation. As for Uncle Elder and the others, they insisted they would not accept the story until they heard it directly from Yibo himself.
Now Zhan stood in a quiet corner behind the house...something like a backyard, with a tree and a water tap nearby. It had become his refuge whenever he called Aunty Shui. It wasn't because of the noise inside the house; rather, he did not want anyone to sense the strain in his heart regarding his own family.
He had entered Yibo's life so suddenly. How could he bear the thought that his presence might be the reason his family began facing hardship as well?
He stared down at his phone after ending the call with Aunty Shui. She had told him that Nainai was still deeply hurt by everything. Though she reassured him that before they returned to Beijing she would come to terms, Zhan could not shake the uneasy feeling in his chest.
Just yesterday, when Nainai answered his call, her voice had been distant. When she asked when they would return, he had simply said he didn't know. And when she responded, she had replied with a flat, "Alright then," before ending the call.
Voices drifting from a distance pulled his attention back toward the house.
He turned....and his eyes landed on Yibo and his brother, Danue.
He recognized Danue more than anyone else in the family. Danue's wife possessed a remarkable kindness. Over these past three days, they had grown close. Every day she came by with her two daughters, both lively and bright, filling the house with warmth.
Yesterday, Yibo's younger sister, Qile, had even complained....half joking, half jealous....that Danue-ge's wife was monopolizing Zhan and not giving the rest of them a chance to get close to him. What Zhan had noticed, however, was that beyond their similar temperaments, they also shared many of the same views about life. That was why they had bonded so quickly.
His gaze shifted to Yibo, who was standing beside a white car Zhan had noticed parked there earlier. Yibo was speaking with his brother, Danue-ge. It was Danue-ge who was talking while Yibo stood with both arms folded across his chest, listening intently.
The clothes Yibo wore were among the few outfits Zhan had managed to pack before they left...a very dark brown fabric. The deep color highlighted the glow of his skin, and the tailoring fit him perfectly, firm across his shoulders.
When was the last time Zhan had seen him like this… in broad daylight, so composed, so distant?
His eyes continued to watch him secretly.
Was that really his husband?
His husband… truly.
The Yibo he was looking at from afar had stepped fully into his life, standing now among his family with the title of Zhan's husband. And not just that...there were the things that had happened between them in that hotel room…
Suddenly, Zhan closed his eyes and turned his head away. They had been apart for only two days, yet everything that had passed between them felt unreal...like a dream, like something that had not truly happened.
How could it have been him? How could it have been them?
He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling that familiar warmth again...the same sensation he had felt when Yibo held him in the hotel. Nothing excessive had happened, yet what he felt was unmistakable. As though his body itself had discovered a weakness it never knew it possessed: Yibo's hands. They unraveled him without effort.
Slowly, Zhan opened his eyes again....and this time his gaze collided directly with Yibo's.
Yibo had noticed him. He turned fully toward him while still listening to Danue-ge's explanation.
In that instant, something surged through Zhan's body. A heat settled low in his abdomen....right where Yibo's hands used to held. Flustered, he quickly turned his head away, trying to steady his thoughts before quietly stepping away from the spot.
What Zhan did not realize was that he had reached a point where no amount of composure could fully steady him anymore.
****
That night, Yibo slept in his car at the hospital....not because he had nowhere else to go, but because he felt there was nowhere else he should be.
From Tao-ge to Danue-ge, everyone had urged him to stay at their homes. But since he could not yet bring himself to sleep under his father's roof....especially without his father explicitly asking him to....he could not accept anyone else's invitation either.
In truth, he had only booked that hotel for Zhan, not for himself. So he never considered returning there.
For the past three days, he had spent his days inside the hospital...and his nights in his car. He had become so familiar with the doctors and nurses attending to his mother that they now greeted him by name.
Even the chief physician overseeing her care had, just yesterday, realized they had once crossed paths at a hospital in Guangzhou where Yibo had worked. Because of that, Yibo knew every detail of her condition...things even other family members were not fully told.
A cool dawn breeze slipped through the slightly opened car window and brushed against his skin.
He had just returned from an early morning run and was sitting quietly in the driver's seat when his mind drifted....unexpectedly....to Zhan, the way he had looked the day before at the house with Danue-ge.
Yibo closed his eyes slowly, reflecting on emotions that refused to leave him.
Since Zhan had entered his life, something fundamental had shifted within him...both physically and mentally. After everything that had happened, he no longer recognized himself. The way his body reacted at the mere sight of Zhan unsettled him; it felt as though, if he were not careful, he could completely lose his hard-won composure.
For years, he had trained himself to believe that control was his greatest strength. Desire was never something he allowed to rule his mind or body.
But ever since Zhan came into his life, that discipline had begun to unravel. Now, he sometimes felt as though he had never truly learned control at all. The simple change in his breathing whenever he saw Zhan...or stood close to him...was something he had never known existed before.
What frightened him was not the desire itself. It was the fact that, despite everything weighing on him, he still felt it so intensely.
Zhan had crossed a boundary with him...not just physically, but with his faith and his heart. He had chosen him with all his brokenness and flaws. That was why, instinctively, Yibo's entire being....heart and body....moved to protect him without hesitation.
There was a kind of intimacy between them that rose from somewhere deep and unshakeable.
So he did not deny what he felt. Instead, he set it aside carefully, restraining himself, asking his heart for just a little more patience.
The vibration of his phone shattered his thoughts, the buzzing echoing against the car seat beside him.
He reached for it, a fleeting thought crossing his mind...Could it be Zhan? Though he knew it was unlikely, especially at this hour when Zhan was rarely alone.
But when his eyes fell on the screen, he saw the name:
Dr. Kanu.
His heart dropped instantly.
Without hesitation, he answered.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Dr. Kanu's voice came through the line, heavy and direct.
"Are you nearby?"
"Yes," Yibo replied shortly, his voice tight.
There was a pause.
"Then come inside," the doctor said. "I'm happy to inform you… your patient has woken up."
NB
Second to the last chapter.😜
Zhanxianyibo💚❤💛