Everyone has their own safe place, and I'm no exception. When I'm depressed, I always return to my safe place where I've always felt love.
When I became a millionaire, I bought the apartment building that my mother and I used to rent together. I secretly take care of it myself, wanting this small apartment to be an oasis for my wound healing.
Instead of returning to my own apartment, I took a taxi to the old apartment where I'd lived with my mother. This was the secret place where I had always felt loved. Now, my blindness was back; everything looked like shadows. I punched in the door code and walked into the old apartment.
I opened the door and said, "Mom, I'm home."
I knew my mother wasn't here to answer me with her beautiful smile, but this was an old habit that was hard to change. I was lying on the sofa when my phone rang. I took out my cell phone, not knowing who was calling.
The Google voice said, "Calling from unknown number."
I thought it might be Lisa.
I swiped my phone. "Hello."
Lisa said, "Jig, where are you?"
"Lisa, I'm not feeling well, so I left before you. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you someday."
"Is it serious?"
I chuckled. "Old stomach pain." I chuckled again. "You're right, I shouldn't drink my youth away."
Lisa said, "I'll see you when you're better." She hung up.
After Lisa called, Jack called, then Chi called. I told Chi to go home. When I wanted him to pick me up, I would call him. Well, everyone I knew in my life had called me except for Xiao Lan.
I figured why he would call me when I'd found out he was "cheating." Wait… wait… what? This wasn't considered cheating. When did Xiao Lan and I become a couple? Our relationship was just friends with benefits, or more so, Xiao Lan had all the benefits because he lived in my house, used my water and electricity, ate my food, spent my money, and even enjoyed my body. The only benefit I got from Xiao Lan was my vision. So, why was I acting this way? I couldn't be jealous. I didn't want to eat my own shit. I stood up, exhaled deeply, and thought of happiness.
"Happy thoughts, come to papa." I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled it. "Happy thoughts."
Then I heard several knocks on the balcony window. No matter who it was, it just ruined my happy thoughts. It must be one of those annoying window cleaners. I walked to the glass door grumpily and pushed open the curtains. I saw Xiao Lan standing, looking at me with his sapphire eyes. Seeing Xiao Lan, I became even more angry.
I shouted, "What the heck are you doing here?" I saw Xiao Lan's lips move, but I didn't know what he was saying. "What?"
Xiao Lan shouted, "I'm going to break you open!"
I shouted loudly at him, "You have the nerve to open and break me! If you step into this room, I'll kick you off that balcony!"
Xiao Lan shouted, "We have to talk!"
I shouted back, "We…" I laughed. "We are over! Now get lost!"
Xiao Lan looked at me and shook his head. "Shit."
I shouted back, "How dare you call me 'shit'? I can speak English! I know what the word 'shit' means, you moron!"
Xiao Lan, "Fuck."
I hit the thick glass. "I also know the meaning of this word!"
Xiao Lan, "You."
I opened the door and threw a punch at Xiao Lan. I shouted, "How dare you curse 'fuck you' in English!"
Then I saw Xiao Lan's flying fist hit my forehead, which made me stumble back into the living room. That's all I remember, because the next thing I remembered was waking on the sofa with an icepack on my forehead.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw Xiao Lan sitting on the sofa at my feet. I rushed towards him with my foot, but he grabbed my foot with his right hand. He slowly put down my feet.
Xiao Lan looked at me and asked, "Why are you being so rebellious?"
I grabbed the icepack from my forehead and threw it at Xiao Lan, and again, he caught the icepack and put it on the coffee table.
I asked him madly, "What the hell are you doing here? This is a secret place!"
He looked at me and said, "Remember, I marked you. No matter where you are, I will find you."
I said madly, "I didn't ask how you found me. I was asking you what the hell you're doing here!"
Xiao Lan asked, "Do you have time to eat?"
I replied, "No, I want you out of here!"
Xiao Lan said, "When you were knocked out, I went and got some food."
I smiled bitterly and said to him, "Thanks to you, I'll have this big lump on my forehead for days."
I was still very angry, and it seemed that my anger hadn't subsided at all. I got up and left Xiao Lan because I didn't want to sit on the same sofa as the person who hit me on the forehead. As soon as I stood up, my right leg gave out, and I fell back into Xiao Lan's arms.
Xiao Lan hugged me tightly and said, "Jig, control your temper."
I struggled to break free. "Leave me alone! At six o'clock tonight, do you have someone to meet?"
Xiao Lan smiled and said, "You're like this because of that?"
I said madly, "Who allowed you to chuckle?"
Xiao Lan sighed. "Yaya, he's the son of my former boss. I used to be his personal bodyguard."
I said angrily, "I'm sure you protected his body well, that's why he called you 'Ah Lan.' I'm not even sure if he's calling you or moaning your name."
Xiao Lan, "Yaya, he likes to cook, but my former boss didn't let him learn culinary arts, so he ran away from home to work in a café. My former boss asked me to try to bring him back."
I asked, "Then what was all the pushing for?"
Xiao Lan smirk and said, "Oh, so you think the kind of pushing I did with him is the same kind of pushing I did with you?"
I said madly, "I didn't say that!"
Xiao Lan said, "I have tasted his cooking before, and then I will do push-ups to burn calories."
I asked, "What about 'extra oil'?"
Xiao Lan, "The extra oil he mentioned is different from the oil we use." Xiao Lan hugged me. "Jig, jealousy often destroys the strongest relationships. I want you to trust me as I trust you. I want you to truly believe that I am the person you could trust with your life."
I snorted and said, "First of all, I will not leave my life to someone who just called me 'shit, fuck you.'"
Xiao Lan, "When did I say that?"
I said, "Just now. I was very angry with you, so I opened the door and hit you. But you…" I broke free from his arms and jumped on top of him. I grabbed his collar. "You punched me on the head!"
Xiao Lan said, "I told you that if you didn't open the door for me, I would smash the glass door with a punch. As soon as I punched, you rushed towards me. I didn't mean to hurt you."
I shed tears and said, "You deliberately wanted to hurt me. Today you hurt me four times."
Xiao Lan's handsome face stretched forward, kissed my lips, and began to untie my belt. When our clothes fell on the ground and Xiao Lan's handsome and toned body pressed on me, the remaining nine hundred ninety-nine percent of anger had become history.