Not Lovers

Blurb:

If it hadn't been snowing heavily that night, and Wen Yi's car hadn't happened to break down, he wouldn't have impulsively pushed open the door and gone into a place like that.

Colored lights flashed throughout the bar, and the music was deafening. In a corner of the counter, a young bartender was being made to drink.

Wen Yi was cold by nature and paid it no mind. He planned to have a hot drink while waiting for his assistant to find someone to tow the car.

Amid the overlapping figures, he glanced over at the noisy bar counter out of boredom.

That one glance lasted three years.

The young bartender was called Shi Jue. He'd just turned eighteen and had a strikingly beautiful face. His eyes curved when he smiled, and his voice was soft and sweet.

Wen Yi took him home.

For three years, they slept side by side and knew each other's warmth.

They knew how each other's chests rose and fell with every breath. They'd seen each other drenched in sweat and at their most vulnerable. They should have been the most intimate people in the world.

But Wen Yi knew that if Shi Jue had been just an ordinary-looking bartender, he might not have reached out to stop what was happening that night.

Shi Jue would probably have been made to drink until he passed out in that corner of the bar.

There was nothing noble or heroic about it. Wen Yi was simply after his looks, while Shi Jue happened to be after his money.

Wen Yi had complete freedom in this sordid relationship.

Besides indifference and money, all he left Shi Jue was an empty house and endless waiting.

Shi Jue liked hugs and liked acting cute.

He was always talking about love and longing, things they both knew they didn't mean.

Under the bedside lamp, after Wen Yi had teased him until his eyes were red and his voice hoarse, he would still drowsily raise his arms to hug him.

He'd whisper, "You like it when I do this, don't you?"

He was always saying, "I really like you."

"I really miss you."

He was a good bed partner, dependent on Wen Yi for survival and never going to leave.

Until one day, his bed partner took the money he'd gotten from Wen Yi and ran away, leaving behind a note:

"I'm Shi Jue."

"Thanks for taking me in. Maybe we'll meet again."

Wen Yi, who'd had complete freedom to be cold and indifferent, finally couldn't sit still.

*First get together, then fall in love

*It probably won't be very long

*Please add this to your reading list. I really need the support...

Theme: Let go of greed and live with integrity