Bold steps

Huo Yi swallowed hard, his eyes wandering to the closed door of his room. "I'm home," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What happened?"

Huo Yi hesitated, not knowing how much to tell her. The words of his father's accusations still echoed in his mind. He had admitted everything—the feelings he had hidden for so long, the guilt, the shame. He had admitted his role in driving the wedge between Huo Fei and Liang Chen, knowing full well the weight of his actions. It was what had pushed his father to the breaking point.

And now, he wasn't sure how he could face either his family or himself.

"They know," Huo Yi said quietly. "They know everything—about Liang Chen, they confronted me, I told them."

Jing Wei was silent for a moment on the other end of the line. "And? How did they react?"

Huo Yi let out a bitter laugh. "What do you think? My dad hit me. My mom's pretending like it's all my fault. They just want me to fix things, to make everything go back to the way it was." He leaned back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "But it's too late for that, isn't it?"

Jing Wei's voice softened. "Huo Yi, I'm coming over. You shouldn't be alone right now."

"No," Huo Yi said quickly. "Don't. I need some time to figure things out on my own."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he replied, though he wasn't sure at all. His whole life felt like it was spiraling out of control, and he didn't know how to stop it.

After hanging up the phone, Huo Yi lay there, lost in thought. The confession had been weighing on him for so long, but saying it out loud hadn't brought him the relief he had expected. Instead, it felt like the walls were closing in faster.

The door to his room creaked open slightly, and his mother peeked in. She looked at him with concern, her face pale from the tension of the day's events.

"Huo Yi…" she began, her voice soft and tentative. "Your father didn't mean to…"

"Didn't mean to what?" Huo Yi interrupted, sitting up on the bed. "Didn't mean to hit me? Didn't mean to get angry? Or didn't mean to choose Huo Fei over me again?" His voice cracked, and he could feel the emotions bubbling up again.

His mother's eyes watered. "You know he loves you both."

"Do I?" Huo Yi stood up, walking to the window and staring out at the familiar garden he used to play in as a child. "Because it sure doesn't feel like it."

His mother stepped further into the room. "We just want what's best for the family. For you and Huo Fei."

Huo Yi clenched his fists at his sides. "What about what's best for me? What about what I want?"

His mother hesitated, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "We didn't raise you to—"

"To what? To love who I love? To be myself?" Huo Yi's voice was rising now, the frustration and anger he had been holding back finally spilling over. "I'm not Huo Fei, and I'm never going to be. You just want me to go back to pretending everything's okay, but it's not."

His mother's face fell, and she took a step back, clearly unsure of what to say. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

"I'm not going to fix anything," Huo Yi said quietly, his voice filled with resolve. "I'm done lying. I'm done pretending."

Without another word, he turned away from his mother and left the room, the door closing behind him with a finality that echoed through the house.

The days following Huo Yi's confrontation with his family felt like a blur. He avoided his home as much as possible, retreating to his school and losing himself in his studies. But no matter how hard he tried to distract himself, thoughts of Liang Chen lingered like a haunting melody, reminding him of what he could never have.

The pain of rejection twisted in his chest, a constant reminder of his worthlessness in the eyes of both his family and the man he desired. It was during one of these bleak moments, sitting alone in his dorm room, that he received a message from Liang Chen. The screen flashed with his name, and Huo Yi felt a rush of conflicting emotions—hope, anger, longing.

"Can we meet?"

Huo Yi hesitated before typing a response, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He wanted to say no, to avoid the ache in his heart, but he found himself typing a simple "Okay."

They arranged to meet at a quiet café near campus, a place where they could talk without interruptions. Huo Yi arrived early, his nerves fraying as he waited for Liang Chen to arrive. The café was warm and inviting, but it felt cold and unwelcoming to him, filled with memories of their past encounters.

When Liang Chen finally walked in, his presence filled the space, commanding attention even in a casual setting. Huo Yi's breath caught in his throat as he watched him approach. Liang Chen wore a fitted black jacket over a simple white shirt, looking effortlessly handsome.

"Hey," Liang Chen greeted, his voice warm but edged with something Huo Yi couldn't quite place.

"Hey," Huo Yi replied, forcing himself to maintain eye contact, even as his heart raced.

They sat across from each other, the air thick with unspoken tension. Huo Yi could feel his pulse in his throat as he recalled the passionate moments they had shared, the sweetness mingled with pain.

"About what happened…" Liang Chen began, but Huo Yi cut him off, his voice shaky.

"I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about the compensation you promised."

His heartbeat raised as he looked at the man, he knew what he was about to say would complicate more things, but he wanted more! But would this go well?