Welcome

They arrived in front of the house. And the door opened again. Yitian got out and stared at the two-story villa. The money showed off, from the fountain in the front porch to the butler in front of majestic doors. He had the urge to turn around and run. He wasn't worth putting even one finger inside this house. But somehow, Chao grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.

"He is staying. Get his luggage and carry it to the guest room." He gestured towards the butler who nodded and opened the door for them. They ended up in the hall, taking off shoes and slipping in already prepared slippers.

Chao never let go of Yitian's hand dragging him further into the house. Yitian was pretty much stunned from the amount of wealth seeping out from the designed house. The antique furniture combined with modern technologies in open space. They had interior design lectures, so Yitian knew how expensive this had to be.

"I can't stay here." He stopped walking and stalled Chao, who turned around surprised.

"Why?" he asked confused.

"This is too good. You are too good. I can't be here. I don't belong in a place like this. I'm not worth being friends with you," Yitian said sadly. The years of torture by his mother had a great impact on his self-esteem. Chao got that, so he knew he had to be patient.

"Actually, you are more worthy, than anyone, to be here. You saved me yesterday. I will save you today." Yitian looked at Chao, after he said that, it took him only a moment to nod and let himself be dragged away. They went upstairs and stood there in the hall.

"Are you afraid?" Chao asked and Yitian jerked his hand from Chao's grip. What did he mean?

"Now, when you asked. Yes. I'm. Why do I believe you? You are a stranger. Why did I follow you?" Yitian had a slight meltdown. And Chao realized how absurd they were. He was right, strangers. But they already knew some of the secrets never shared with someone else. So, they already felt like long-time friends.

"C'mon. Get to know me. And I will get to know you too. I will show you a fun game." Chao opened one of the doors, leading to probably his room and gave him free choice if to follow or not. Again. Yitian liked that a lot. He was never given a choice. Heck, even the university course was picked by his mother. The food he should cook was picked by his mother, his clothes, and almost everything he had was picked by her because she knew what was best for him. So, now, he was enjoying the freedom he had. How sweet. Yitian knew he was crazy, but deep inside his guts were telling him to trust Chao. To go with him, because his life will change for the better.

So he took the step, then another, towards Chao. Because he wanted to change his future. His guts were always right, he could believe Chao.

They both entered the room, which was twice as big as his room. Big bed, couch, big TV with some game consoles, table with futuristic-looking computer. Yitian questioningly looked at Chao, who turned around.

"Welcome to my world. I will introduce you to my favorite hobby. I love gaming," he said and smiled so happily. Somehow, Yitian was glad that Chao told him something about himself. More personal, than name and wealth. "So, I will get you my brother's laptop, so you can play with me. But first, I'll show you your room. I was too excited to show you this. You need to play something with me. You will love it too." Chao was gibbering with excited sparkles in his eyes, surprising Yitian. The sadness disappeared and the spark of life appeared. Interesting. Chao was right. Yitian became interested just because of that.

"My room?" Yitian squinted his eyes.

"I meant the guest room. The room where you will stay. For now. I'll talk to my brother later and… " Chao stopped talking, realizing what he just said. He had a plan, but he shouldn't have disclosed it so soon, knowing Yitian's confidence he would run away the moment he would know of this plan he had.

"Nevermind me. Just come with me, I'll show you the guest room." He made sure to emphasize the word guest. And went to the room opposite his. It was smaller, but clean and already prepared, with Yitian's bags on the side of the bed. The table there was already equipped with his old laptop. Sometimes the speed and efficiency of their employees surprised him. How could they know what he wanted? Chao shook his head and showed Yitian around the room, then his bathroom and they went down to have lunch.

They sat by the dining table next to each other and the butler served them food. Yitian was jerking and trembling every time someone from the staff passed around him. Guess he wasn't that comfortable around strangers yet. Both of them finished lunch and Chao dragged Yitian to his room. He made him sit on the couch and turned on the console he had.

"So? It's your first time right? What would you like to play? You could like this game. It's called Portal 2… should be easy for someone smart like you. You have to escape the lab by shooting portals from guns." Chao blabbered, and Yitian's brows rose, it sounded really interesting. Involuntary he reached out for the controller and started to examine it. Chao put the game in the console and Yitian was immediately immersed in it. After starting something called CTI, and finishing all the courses together, Chao turned to face Yitian with his eyes wide open. They got multiple achievements together while GLaDOS congratulated them. Heck, they even did celebratory high five without talking.

"This is awesome!" he exclaimed when the doors opened. He was still smiling brightly when facing his older brother.