Visit from the past

Huobai walked out neatly dressed and waited for Yixing to join him. He was glad to get close to Yixing, even though it had to be this way. 

But still, Huobai was really happy he could go and support his friend in his hardest times. And he thought of Yixing that way. The way he could talk to him changed the moment Yixing shared something from his past with Huobai. And that was the turning point for him.

Yixing walked out of his room and reached out to Huobai with something in his arm. It was a black mask. Huobai looked at him, confused. 

"We will be in public. I don't want you to be seen. I know you hate it." Huobai took the mask and examined it.

It looked expensive and custom-made. It was black silky material, pretty soft to Huobai's skin. The front had ZHB initials, but so small they could be seen only when you looked really close. ANd there was a zipper in the front, making it look really cool.

"You…?" Huobai wanted to ask but stopped when Yixing nodded. 

"I wanted to give you this. To say I'm sorry, but now when we agreed to let it go, I gave it just like that." Yixing grinned and walked right past Huobai, who had no other choice than to respect him. 

When they went down to the lobby and walked out of the building, there was already a car waiting for them. The driver ran out and opened the door for Yixing. But Yixing made a sidestep and let Huobai in first, totally stunning the driver. 

"But, young master, I-" the driver asked, but was stopped midway by Yixing. 

"Don't worry. I know about it. He will go with me and I will deal with my father." He sat in the car and closed the door behind himself. He wasn't invalid or unable to use his hands.

"Your father? Your family will be there?" Huobai asked, shocked, ready to leave the car. But Yixing caught his hand and didn't release it. 

"I'm sorry I hadn't told you. My family is bad. My father has a new girlfriend with her son and they want to marry. He asked me to join him while visiting my mother's grave." He stopped and took a deep breath. It was probably hard for him to talk about it, so Huobai placed his hand on Yixing's and patted it, just as he saw Chao doing it to Yitian. It always helped him calm down. So, Huobai hoped it would have the same effect on Yixing. 

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. I get it." He smiled at Yixing, hoping to ease the atmosphere up. Yixing chuckled and let go of Huobai's hand. 

"My father never visited my mom's grave. Never since she died. So now, I think he will take his new family with him and I'm afraid of what he might say or do. That's why I wanted you to go with me." Huobai was touched that Yixing wanted something like that, but he kept his poker face.

Yixing watched his expressions and guessed something wasn't right. So he immediately raised his hands and chuckled.

"It's not like that. You are a friend and Chao couldn't come because my father and the possible reporters that might be there would use him. That's why I asked you, who is a normal person." Yixing started his speech, and he sounded terrified. He was scared that Huobai would misunderstand. 

"Oh," Huobai mumbled, and for some reason, it sounded a bit… disappointed? 

They arrived at the graveyard and Huobai smacked Yixing over his back so hard he coughed.

"Don't worry, friend. I will be here for you," he said cheerfully, and then opened the door and went out. He definitely wasn't used to having a driver, because the person was standing now, confused. Why was the door opening on the other side, when he was standing right there, opening them.

When Yixing got out, he reunited with Huobai right at the entering gate, and together, they walked to his mother's grave. There were always many flowers, pictures, plushes and other things put there by fans. And today wasn't different. 

But there were few things different from usual. There was a crowd of people, together with a few reporters, and his father was standing with his new fiancée and her son right by Xu Pei's gravestone.

Huobai pressed his forearm and walked with him right through the crowd. Luckily, he put the mask on when they were by the entrance of the graveyard, so now, only his eyes could be seen. At least he had some level of privacy before the number of flashes that started blinding their eyes.

"Here, here, look here. What do you have to say about your new mother?" Huobai heard shouting, and when he heard the words new mother, he knew it was bad. But to his surprise, Yixing smiled and greeted his father.

They hugged each other. Yixing was smiling, but his father wasn't. He was grimly watching Huobai from behind Yixing's back. 

"Should I tell the truth? How thrilled I'm about my mother? Or will you pay enough?" Yixing whispered, smirking. His father grimaced.

"Are you threatening me?" he asked, his voice low, so no one would hear them. His mouth almost wasn't moving.

"You started it. I'm just negotiating. You tell me what is the price of me pretending to be a big happy family?" Huobai was close enough to Yixing to hear this conversation, and he was surprised how cold their relationship must have been. 

He couldn't even imagine his own father doing it. And he was amazed even more when Yixing's father stated a fairly high price. 

Yixing nodded and came back to Huobai's side. He smiled at his father, and loudly to be heard by everyone, he turned to the reporters.

"Hello, I'm Li Yixing. I'm thankful you are showing my mother love even after her death and that we are all here to commemorate her death anniversary." He bowed down and when he raised, he kept his slight smile.

"Of course, I'm okay with my father's new girlfriend. I'm happy that my father could finally love someone enough to ask for her hand after my mother's death hurt him so much." Huobai was stunned by how easily Yixing could say it and how plausible the lie sounded.

He took Huobai to bow down to his mother and perform the ceremony, whilst being killed by his father's unfriendly gaze when his facade slipped for a bit. 

Huobai bowed down and then he saw the picture of Yixing's mother. He instantly knew why Yixing was so handsome. He didn't take after his father, but he had the cuteness of his mother. 

He looked at the name next to the picture and his breath was taken away for a brief moment. The Huobai turned around astonished.

"Your mother was Xu Pei?" he asked, totally stunned.

"You know her? Yes, the actress, Xu Pei is my mother. Are you shocked?" Yixing chuckled. Yes, Huobai was shocked, but not because of what Yixing thought.