28 Hug Tightly

Yi Fan was in his room, his back against the navy blue wall. He had barely thrown his gray backpack on the carpet floor before Xiao Ming suddenly called him.

"Hey, Yi Fan!" Xiao Ming's high-pitch, irritating voice said.

"Why are you calling me?" Yi Fan asked, grabbing the free earbuds that came with the phone. He didn't want Xiao Ming to be heard by others, or else his mom would start bothering him about it.

"Why don't you come to the arcade right now? My friends are here too," Xiao Ming spoke loudly into the phone.

Yi Fan sharply ended the call, and Xiao Ming immediately called back.

"Stop bothering me," Yi Fan grumbled.

"Wait⁠—" Before he could finish his words, Yi Fan promptly ended the call.

Xiao Ming called again and again, but Yi Fan kept declining. However, Yi Fan couldn't use his phone at all because the unanswered call filled up the big screen. Unable to play Chocolate Legends, Yi Fan retaliated by blocking Xiao Ming. However, even with the stagnant block, the calls kept aggressively coming.

"What do you want!?" Yi Fan yelled.

"Come on, Yi Fan. Don't be such a party pooper." Xiao Ming teasingly chided.

"You—" Yi Fan was about to say something, but the door abruptly opened itself. His attention was attracted upwards as the opening revealed a lean man in his thirties.

Why was he here? That was Yi Fan's first thoughts, foreboding a sense of looming fear arising from deep inside him. His hand that was holding his phone was awfully stiff, the essential feeling of touch residing and only tiny frizzles of electricity spasming in his hand.

"Why did you stay home yesterday?" A grave voice spoke.

"I, I don't... know," Yi Fan said, his quivering eyes lowering to the carpet flooring. Was he here for more?

Mr. Mo slowly closed the door; its working lock clicked. The ominous sound resounded in Yi Fan's ears, making him feel like desperately throwing out a word that would somehow get him out of this situation.

"You think you can stay and rest at home? Who would protect your sister at school?" The Man materialized. "Stop acting spoiled."

'... I've never been spoiled,' Yi Fan thought, but he didn't dare to speak out loud.

"Come down to the study in five minutes." The Man indifferently turned his back, grabbing the cold metal doorknob. "And if you ever, ever f**king try to tell your mother or anyone... I'll kill you."

The Man swung the door open and unconcernedly walked away, his haunting words left behind. The study room was a gaming room before, and its walls were completely soundproof.

Most of The Man's severe punishments occurred in that obscure room, causing Yi Fan to desperately avoid entering it. If at least Yi Fan was in the kitchen, it wouldn't be too bad. He didn't want to remember the tools. The endless nights. The—

"Hey... Yi Fan?"

Yi Fan agitatedly widened his murky eyes.

"I heard everything... Yi Fan, are you being abused by your father?" Xiao Ming asked, noticeable pity from his tone.

Yi Fan couldn't respond; his thoughts were in a dire mess. The previous words from The Man resounded in his ears, causing Yi Fan to evidently shudder.

"Yi Fan. Run away. Come to my house, we'll call the police and—" Xiao Ming persuaded.

"I-I can't. He will catch me, and he will kill me," Yi Fan hesitantly whispered into the phone.

"I'll protect you," Xiao Ming avowed. "You always protected your sister, Yi Fei, right? I'll do the same for you."

Protect me?

"Hurry, you have five minutes, right? Check if your dad is near the door. If he isn't, run. Come to the arcade, I'll lead you to my house," Xiao Ming seemed to be running, his hasty breath going through the phone.

Then the call ended. Yi Fan was still sitting on the floor, his hand unnaturally brushing against the carpet.

'Should I do it? Run away?' Yi Fan asked himself. 'What if he catches me? But... I don't want to experience that again.'

Yi Fan felt that he was being selfish. If he ran away, then he would leave his sister behind.

'But he cares. He cares about Yi Fei, but not me,' Yi Fan bit his lip in his internal turmoil. 'I... I'll pick her up later. But right now... I need to go. S-since, Xiao Ming already knows about The Man. The Man will kill me if I stay. I-If I leave... I'll at least have a chance to live.'

Yi Fan carefully peeked out his door, looking at the study from down the hall. The hazelnut door was slightly open, revealing The Man was calmly sitting and working on his computer.

'Is this really the right decision...?' Yi Fan squeezed his eyes closed, hoping for something unknown. 'I can't rely on anyone else. Yi Fei, I'm sorry I failed as a brother.'

Yi Fan slowly walked out from his room, making his way through the kitchen. There was a small hallway connected to the kitchen where the side door was at. If he went through the front door, he would risk having been exposed due to the loud sound of the front door opening.

"Oh, Yi Fan. What are you doing here?"

Sh*t. Mom.

"I-I..." Yi Fan's eyes swiftly looked around his surroundings, hoping to find an excuse. "Trash... I noticed the trash was getting full. Let me take it out."

"Hehe, my dear son likes helping his mother out," Mrs. Mo smiled lovingly. "Come here, let me give you a hug."

Mrs. Mo bent down and gave Yi Fan a big hug. Yi Fan tightly hugged Mrs. Mo back, his small hands eagerly reaching around her warm back. He firmly gripped her clothes, trying to cherish the moment and allow him never to forget. He didn't want the hug to end. This last hug...

A salty tear unintentionally fell from his closed eye, and Yi Fan immediately rubbed his face against her soft cardigan. He didn't want her to see.

"Oh my, you must really love your mother. Well, you can hug me later. I need to continue cooking, okay?" Mrs. Mo gently removed Yi Fan's hands, and she went back to cutting her onions.

Yi Fan looked longingly at Mrs. Mo, desperately wanting to touch her again. He shook his head as he swiftly took out the trash, grabbing on his running shoes.

"I'll be back," Yi Fan whispered, more tears hurriedly falling out of his eyes as if they meant to show his love for her.

And then he slowly opened the side door and closed it as lightly as possible — goodbye home.