Fan Xui changed his clothes and leisurely sat on his couch and started sorting through his emails. One email in particular was what he had been waiting for anxiously.
"He rejected to sell the copyright? Should I quote a higher number," he mumbled as he glanced at the small brown dairy on the coffee table.
This was not the same book the young man was drawing in; in fact this book had a detailed record of survivals. The tips were mostly accurate and up to point. Including how to filter water, how to fix a busted pipe and the most unbelievable of all how to survive a close contact with a zombie.
"The kid is more imaginative than I had expected." He flipped through the book once more, gently caressing the neat handwriting. "But what of the drawings,"
The head ache came back with a vengeance. "Ugh....."
He gulped down the coffee, but even that didn't do any help.
These days he had been plagued with nightmares every night. His sleep schedule was almost non excited because of this.
"Only that drawing can help me find a solution. I need to get hold of it."
The headache finally settled down.
Sighing, Fan Xui glanced at the ceiling thinking about the things written in the book. "What if the zombie apocalypse is real... what if I am seeing a premonition?...."
"Gosh, I sound crazy even to myself,"
He pulled his phone over his head and checked the mail again. The new one popped out from the kid's manager.
Fan Xui sat up and peered at the message. "What... he wants me to publish and sell this fro free.... what is this Zou Yue thinking?"
His initial plan was just to buy the copyright and to own the book.
But now things were getting interesting.
Smirking, he glanced at the message. "I am curious what this kid wants."
He replied it to confirm the deal and to talk the deal with his assistant.
Finally he felt the weight lifted from his chest.
The diary became his new curious project. He read through each of those pages with keen interest.
The narrative made it seem like the writer had experienced this personally and the loneliness that the words expressed can be blatantly felt.
"Zou Yue... what kind of life did you live. What made you write these books?"
He mumbled to himself as he read the book again. Nothing was new, but still the words captivated him into reading it through again.
His wrist watch chimed, indicating it was ten pm already. He placed the book on the coffee table and took on the office files that need to be sorted out.
The house bell rang. The display showed a pale faced youth standing out in the cold.
"Fan -ah, please let me apologize. Let me take care of you. It was my fault last time. Please let me in,"
"I'm tired Liwei, go home,"
"I—I don't have a home anymore.... ahhhh brother I don't have a home."
Fan Xui's eyebrows twitched. This man alone had at least ten villas in the city. When they were apprehending the properties of his cousin's family, Fan Xui made sure to leave all of Liwei's properties untouched. Yet he was claiming that he does not have a home.
"Tsk, my head hurts."
"Uh, I can make you some soup. It helps with your headache." He said, wiping at his red eyes.
'If I reject him anymore, that stupid Qian will get upset. Tsk.'
Sighing, he opened the locks and let him in. "don't bother with anything. Crash on the sofa."
Fan Xui went back to his room and locked his doors.
His cousin had not been still. He had been arranging some problems at each step of his way, even from prison. Especially the person named Liwei was the annoying of them all.
Every day he kept approaching his house with a kind smile, thinking he could not see the poisonous snake that lurked within.
Fan Xui wiped at his blurry eyes and placed the brail documents on the table. There was another document that was placed in the further corner. He leaned over and took a look.
This document was not in brail rather it was a further detailed report of Zou Yue.
The young man was a model and his friend had brought the past modelling campaigns he had participated in according to date.
He flipped through them one by one. The model's face was little different from he had remembered. Zou Yue was beautiful for sure but he did not have the correct expressions.
But the look in his eyes made his cheeks heat up.
"Ahem Nothing spectacular."
Soon he reached the last page.
His eyes started to trouble him, going in and out of focus. The pages were blurry, so he brought it close to his face.
A stunning sight of the young man licking his teeth came into vision.
Startled, he dropped the folder.
His heart pounded loudly into his ear. "W—what was that?"
He picked it up swiftly and looked at it again. The young man on the photo was wearing a broad necked shirt which showed his ample collar bone. His neck was delicate and decorated with a single golden chain.
But what caught his eyes were the half bitten rose and the pink tongue that peaked out of his mouth to lick his teeth like a lazy cat.
His body heated up weirdly. Stunned, he slammed the folder on the table.
"Something is really weird with me...." he patted his chest in effort to calm his beating heart.
His eyes inadvertently moved to the document and to the photo in it.
With shaking hand he picked it up and peered at it. His throat went dry and his body stiffened up in places he had never before.
In the heat of the moment, he made a decision. He called up his assistant swiftly.
"Hans, make sure to block the newest campaign pictures of the model Zou Yue immediately. Make sure to acquire it at any cost."
"..... but why?"
"Don't ask any questions! Just.... just do as I say," he mumbled, hiding his flushed face with the document.
"O—okay.... just so you know you are requests are getting weirder and weirder," His assistant reluctantly agreed to his request.
"I know....." Fan Xui glanced at the blown up image of the young man and licked his dry lips. Unknown to him, a small smile rose on the corner of his lips.
"Why are you blocking a shining model? I'm asking as a friend not as an assistant,"
"I don't think I want anyone else to see such a sight."
His own words hit him hard.
"Goodness.... am I attracted to men now?"