By the time they arrived at their coursemate Clara's house, where the get-together was being organized, Zhan found a spot in the living room and sat down, isolating himself completely from everyone. The event had already started, and people were enjoying themselves. Mostly there were Westerners, along with a few Africans and students from other continents. Simple Western dishes and various snacks were laid out in the living room, along with drinks and plenty of chocolate.
There was also tea with cookies. Bin had already immersed himself with their coursemates, having fun....he was used to all of them, unlike Zhan, who didn't interact with anyone in their department. Every now and then, Zhan would look at Bin because in life, nothing made Bin happier and more entertained than chilling and partying with friends. Zhan was even surprised that Bin never got tired of partying....he loved life very much, not a little. If he was invited to another party tomorrow, he would easily go.
Zhan just kept pressing on his phone, checking the time because he had said he would only stay thirty minutes.
Then Bin headed toward him, baring his teeth with a glass of wine, and handed it to him, saying, "Oh, Zhan, get up and join the crowd-let's have fun with you. They keep asking me if you're okay. If you don't embarrass a person, you don't feel good. Here, I brought you a glass of wine."
Zhan shook his head at him and said, "No, I won't drink. Thank you."
Bin frowned and said, "It's non-alcoholic wine. Don't say I don't know what I'm doing-it's non-alcoholic."
Zhan said, "I know. I just don't drink. You know drinking has never been my thing."
Bin pouted and turned to go back to their classmates.
It wasn't just their coursemates there-there were also a few master's students, people pursuing their master's degrees in the same course Zhan was doing for his bachelor's. Ever since Zhan entered the living room, he had noticed a man sitting alone, isolating himself to the side just as he had done. He was also just pressing on his phone with a glass of wine in his hand.
Seeing him, Zhan recognized that he was from his home country, but he turned his face away in the direction he was sitting. Every now and then, the man would look in Zhan's direction. Accidentally, Zhan lifted his head and their eyes met. He turned his head down, pressing on his phone with full concentration. The man stood up and headed toward him, still holding his glass of wine.
Seeing him approaching, Zhan didn't lift his head until the man reached his spot. Leaning against the wall beside where Zhan was sitting, the man looked at him and said, "Good evening."
Without lifting his head, Zhan said briefly, "evening."
The man put his phone back in his pocket, still looking at him, and said, "Chinese?"
Zhan just shook his head at him.
The man said, "But Bin is your friend."
Only then did Zhan lift his head and look at him for the first time, expressionless, and said, "So???"
The man opened his eyes a little, smiling, and said, "The Bin I know is from China."
Briefly, Zhan said, "I don't know what you're talking about, please. Just because Bin is my friend doesn't mean we have to be from the same continent."
He finished speaking with a firm face.
Calmly, the man said, "Not at all. You sound provoked. Sorry if you feel offended..."
Zhan put his phone back in his bag with the intention of leaving the house entirely. Just then, Bin headed toward them with a plate of cake in his hand to bring to him.
Seeing the man, she said, "Oh, Yoki, I didn't even notice you here. So you came."
He nodded at him and said, "Yeah, good evening, Bin."
Smiling, he said, "Evening, Yoki."
He said, "What is your friend's name?"
Bin smiled and said, "Oh, his name is Zhan."
He nodded and said, "He told me he is from a different continent, not China. I saw he was sitting alone, so I came over to pass the time together, but he took it personally. I think I'll take my leave."
Saying that, he smiled and started walking back to where he was sitting.
Bin looked at Zhan and said in a low voice, "I'm ruined. So you'll never change, Zhan. You'll never learn diplomacy in this life? What's wrong with him coming to you? Did you think he was coming on to you? Yoki isn't like that. He's doing his master's, which is why you don't see him in our department. He's the son of the deputy governor of a state in China."
Zhan gave him a look and said, "So?? How is that my concern even if he's the son of the China president.?"
Bin said, "Turn the knife down. Even if he likes you, it's not good for him. He's battling a chronic heart condition. Do you think he has time for any relationship besides friendship? Besides, his parents have arranged a marriage for him-he has a wife, just as you see him. He just saw you sitting alone and came to keep you company, nothing more. And when he was invited to this get-together, he said he wouldn't come. I know Nora was the one who convinced him to come-she likes him. What would he do with a foreigner? And you, drink your bitterness without thinking he's coming on to you-he's married."
Zhan didn't say anything. Then he looked at Yoki and saw that he had returned to where he was sitting and was just pressing on his phone. Zhan felt something in his heart. He felt like he had been unkind, the way he had shunned him as if avoiding trouble. Bin clicked his tongue, handed him the plate of cake, and said, "Here, take this. And get up so we can take pictures. If you won't do even that, then we'll just..."
Zhan took the plate and put it down-he wasn't going to eat it anyway, but he just didn't want to test Bin's patience, so he accepted it.
Zhan couldn't bring himself to get up and take pictures with his coursemates. Most of them hesitated to interact with him because you couldn't even see him smile in the department, let alone laugh. He didn't pay attention to anyone except for brief greetings, and that was only because of Bin.
Since Bin belonged to everyone, in all the pictures they took, Yoki was included, and they had to go and call him over to take pictures.
Finally, he handed his phone to one of his friends and asked him to take pictures of him and Bin. Zhan stood to the side as if he didn't even know what they were doing, looking for the slightest opportunity to leave the living room without Bin noticing. His friend took pictures of Bin baring his teeth as usual, and the pictures came out very well.
Then Yoki handed his phone to Bin and said, "Now, take one with your friend....Zhan, right?" Bin smiled, took the phone he was handing her, and said, "Yes, her name is Zhan." He came back and stood close to Zhan, looking at him, and said, "Let's take a snap of you with Yoki, Zhan."
Zhan didn't say anything. But if not for what Bin had told him about Yoki, nothing would have made him stand and take a picture with him. His face expressionless, he looked at Bin, who had positioned the phone to take their picture. Bin squinted his eyes at him, signaling for him to relax. He made that squinting face just like his mother.
Zhan couldn't help but laugh-Bin had made him laugh, no small feat. Bin used that opportunity to snap nearly five pictures of him with Yoki. Yoki looked at Zhan, not expecting him to laugh. Two of his friends also joined the picture, along with some Westerners. Bin finished taking the pictures and handed Yoki his phone.
He smiled and said, "Thank you, Bin."
Bin said, "Let me put my number in your phone so you can send me the pictures, please."
He gave him his phone and said, "Alright." Bin took the phone and did that. Bin noticed that Zhan hadn't eaten anything there. Zhan kept checking the time, seeing that it was around seven-thirty, and ordered a ride to take him home without Bin knowing. The ride arrived in a little while, and Zhan snuck out of the living room without letting Bin notice him.
:
:
Around ten at night, after Zhan had finished everything he needed to do and was about to go to bed, he checked the missed calls from Bin-he had called him nearly four times earlier.
Bin picked up and said, "Hello, you're safe, Zhan. If you had told me you were leaving, I wouldn't have stopped you. I might even have gotten you a car to take you home. But you didn't have to sneak away like that."
Zhan said, "Um, you said you wouldn't stop me?"
Bin said, "Did you hear yourself? If I had known, I wouldn't have brought you, honestly. Your coming was of no use. Our coursemates keep asking why you're like that-why you're not relaxed, whether you're battling some illness that makes you that way."
Zhan laughed and said, "So have you finished the party, or are you still there having fun? Is the party until dawn? Didn't Hailong-ge keep calling you?"
Bin said, "I don't know." Then he hung up.
Zhan smiled and opened his WhatsApp. His heart sank deeply when he saw a message from his housemate. Actually, it was because of him that he had turned on his data to open his WhatsApp. He saw that I-Bo had just sent him a picture. He checked the time he had sent it and saw that it was from around nine o'clock-just the image, no other message.
He went into their DM and saw that I-Bo was still online. He started downloading the picture. At the same time, he sat up from lying down, looking at the picture I-Bo had sent without blinking. He pulled the duvet off his body, trembling at the picture. It was the picture Bin had taken of him laughing with Yoki.
He couldn't stop looking at the picture, confused. Where did I-Bo see this picture? How did he get it? He looked very beautiful in the picture because of the laughter. Yoki, next to him, had stared at him, also smiling in the picture. He put his phone down because his mind was completely blocked.
Either Bin had posted it on his status since I-Bo had his number, or I-Bo knew Yoki? Quickly, he picked up his phone and tried to check Bin's status. He saw that he had posted almost all the pictures they had taken at the get-together on his status-nearly fifteen pictures.
He got out of WhatsApp and dialed Bin's number. As it began to ring, Bin picked up. Zhan said, "Bin, why did you post even my pictures on your status?"
Bin said, "I don't understand. Is there anything wrong with posting your picture on my status?"
Zhan, feeling his heart sink badly, said, "Then why would you post the one we took with that man?"
Bin said, "So what?" Then he quickly said, "Oh, sorry, honestly, I forgot the situation on the ground. Let me go and delete them, Zhan, I forgot."
Zhan said, "Now look-my housemate just forwarded me the picture we took with that man."
In a low voice, Bin said, "Honestly, I just forgot. Let me go and delete them now. But that housemate of yours is a ghost viewer-I don't even see him viewing my status, but he views it somehow. Let me go and delete them." Bin hung up.
Zhan felt like crying from sadness and frustration. The kind of laugh he had in that picture was what hurt him the most. And now, no one knew that Bin had made him laugh. He went back to WhatsApp and entered his housemate's DM.
He saw that I-Bo was still online. Ignoring the picture he had sent, Zhan messaged him: "Good evening, hope you arrived safely?"
After ten minutes, I-Bo still hadn't replied, even though he was online. Zhan's whole body went cold. After another five minutes, he decided to call him via WhatsApp call. The call rang out without being answered, and he still saw I-Bo online.
He turned off his data and put his phone down quietly, then lay down. But he couldn't sleep until nearly midnight. Finally, he sat up, picked up his phone again, turned on his data, and went on WhatsApp.
Still, I-Bo hadn't replied to him, and he had posted a status update of something 30 minutes ago. Zhan felt tears fill his eyes. He turned off his data, put his phone down, lay back down, and wiped his eyes.
***
The next morning around ten, Zhan finished getting ready to go to school. Even though their lectures were at two o'clock that day, he felt it was better to just go to school. He was still moody-ever since he opened his WhatsApp after this morning and saw that I-Bo still hadn't replied, he hadn't gone back on WhatsApp. He was sitting in the living room waiting for the Lyft he had ordered. He opened his backbag, took out his phone, turned on his data, and opened WhatsApp.
After his messages came through, I-Bo still hadn't replied. He listened to a voice note from Aunt Fin, then replied to her. Aunt Fin called him via WhatsApp since he was online. He answered, and after exchanging greetings, Aunt Fin said, "Well, Zhan, since I-Bo isn't there, can you connect us with A-Bo?"
Quietly, Zhan said, "Well, we don't meet at school, Aunt. Where I am is different from where they are."
Aunt Fin said, "Why does your voice sound like that? Is everything okay?"
Zhan hesitated a little and said, "Nothing. It's just that it's cold, and I'm about to leave for school now."
Aunt Fin said, "And you're only gone with two cold-weather coats?"
Quietly, Zhan said, "Yes, but I-Bo gave me one."
Aunt Fin said, "Well, alright. Can you connect us with A-Bo? You see, it's not good that we haven't said anything to him yet-we haven't thanked him. And it's all your fault. We've been trying to call you for so long. Even your father spoke about it the other day."
Zhan said, "Well, I'll connect you when we meet, Aunt. How is Ayi?"
Aunt Fin said, "Lina-Jie is fine."
Zhan said, "Alright then. I'm going to school now-goodbye for now."
Aunt Fin said goodbye, and Zhan ended the call. He saw that his housemate had posted a status update from nine that morning. He opened the status and stared at the picture without blinking-he recognized him immediately. He looked at the caption I-Bo had written on the picture. The next photo was also of a him with I-Bo, and they looked like new pictures, not old ones. Just as he was about to exit WhatsApp, he took a screenshot of I-Bo's picture with Tian.
He went into I-Bo's DM and saw that he was still online. He sent him the picture and wrote underneath: "Your sick cousin?"
After a few minutes, he saw that I-Bo had replied: "Sean..."
Zhan didn't reply. He went to check the last picture on I-Bo's status and saw that he had deleted all the pictures from his status. Zhan put his phone down for almost five minutes. Then he picked it up to exit WhatsApp, but a WhatsApp call from I-Bo came in. He let it ring out without answering. Finally, he turned off his data and put his phone in his backbag.
(Why are they so cute? 😍 fighting their jealousy so quietly. 😃)
Zhan didn't even realize he had arrived at school because his mind was completely disconnected from his body. He got out of the Lyft and walked slowly like a sick person. Throughout their lectures that day, he was just present in body, not even knowing what was being taught. He didn't know what had gotten into his heart like that.
After they came out of the lecture, Bin looked at him and said, "Are you still angry about the picture I posted, Zhan? You know I wouldn't have done that intentionally. Please forgive me....it just escaped my mind given the situation at hand. Did even your housemate say something to you about it?"
Zhan shook his head, trying to sound okay, and said, "No, I just have a headache, but it's nothing. I want to go home now."
Bin fell silent, trying to be sure of who he was spotting in the distance from where they were sitting. Then he looked at Zhan...
💚💙❤🖤