History3: Make Our Days Count (Miracle)

Past-Present Acquaintances

Hao Ting lost count of the times he was told that the accident wasn't his fault. No matter how much anyone tried, he could never accept their well-meaning words. Nothing could ever drown out the constant spiteful mantra of his conscience. If only he didn't make that call, Xi Gu wouldn't have made the trip back. If it weren't for his actions, Xi Gu wouldn't have been in that intersection and fell victim to a hit and run. He was going to carry that guilt to the grave with no hope of ever getting release or closure. And yet. 

He found himself in the past and Xi Gu had forgiven him, comforted him with words that deep down he had always longed to hear. Words that he’d accepted as nothing more than futile imaginings of a dead man forced to continue living after his heart was violently ripped out his chest while it still beat.

Who knew such impossible fantasies would one day come true?

Hao Ting does not recall how long he stayed crying in Xi Gu’s arms, but when he opened his eyes and saw his darling’s tearful smile, his lungs no longer seized as much. He drank in the sight of Xi Gu’s angelic face and it was as if he’d known nothing but grey for so long until his Xiao Yu brought the vibrancy of colors back into his world.

And when they kissed, the moment his baobei’s sorely missed lips claimed his own, it was Xi Gu breathing life back into his soul.

Hao Ting could hardly believe that they’re a couple again. He’d been ready to wait no matter how long it took for Xi Gu to accept his affections. And yet he'd already boldly climbed into his lap, and had so beautifully responded to his kisses and caresses.

There had been no hint of shyness in him. Xi Gu kissed and touched him like he knew exactly what he was doing. It surprised and so helplessly turned Hao Ting on when Xi Gu started unbuttoning his shirt. Nothing at all like the fumbling, nervous wreck he’d been the first time they did more than sweet pecks on the mouth that night they watched the stars together.

Predictably, Xi Gu’s behavior had him questioning reality, believed it too good to be true and was stricken with familiar naked fear. But then Xi Gu swiftly cupped his face, as if reading his thoughts and pulled him in once more in a searing, grounding kiss.

“I’m real.” Xi Gu told him firmly the moment they parted, their foreheads touching, breaths mingling, the taste of copper on his tongue. Xi Gu guided his hand to place over his chest as he felt the sting of a split lip alongside the strong beating of Xi Gu's heart against his palm. His eyes water at the confirmation that he's definitely not hallucinating. “I’m here, Xiang Hao Ting. Don’t be afraid. Breathe with me, okay?”

Hao Ting leaned forward and pressed his face against Xi Gu’s sternum, arms circling tight around his waist, eyes falling shut as he let the rhythm of his steady heartbeat lull him into a state of peace and calm assurance.

The bell for afternoon classes rang as Hao Ting was applying the anti-inflammatory cream on Xi Gu’s stomach. They missed lunch, but since he didn’t have much of an appetite and Xi Gu was still full from the sliced apples and carrot juice he had for recess, they agreed to meet at Xi Gu’s homeroom for an early dinner while working on their individual assignments at the end of the school day instead.

If it was up to him, he would already be shouting at the top of his lungs that Xi Gu is his boyfriend. But as he needed his parents to allow Xi Gu to live with them, they have to be discreet. Xi Gu understood why their relationship had to be a secret even as he wasn’t really in favor of pulling the wool over his parents’ eyes. But there is no helping the situation they’re in.

If his parents knew what they are exactly to each other at this point in time, it will only result one way.

Experience has shown Hao Ting that his father looked down on unconventional relationships. He called it an embarrassment, unnatural, shameful; Hao Ting’s misdeeds back then only further convincing his Pa that he couldn’t be trusted with his feelings. So for now, Hao Ting will continue to relentlessly work on his grades and join Xi Gu in the elite class by next year. He's going to do everything in his power to make his parents accept Xi Gu as a future son-in-law, foregoing all the pain and drama the first time around.