"Make some room for me!" Lay said impatiently. Kris rolled his eyes and moved.

"Does it hurt?" he asked Kris, who just nodded.

Lay carefully untied his hands and threw the rope on the floor. "I'm sorry. I told them not to hit you hard." Lay's head was hanging low and he didn't look at him.

Kris stretched his arms. It felt so nice to be free from the rope. "It's alright. It's not your fault. They had to beat me up to make sure it looks real", he assured him.

"Did the plan work?"

Lay nodded. "One of his security guards gave him the pills which I switched earlier. He's probably dead now."

"Boss, I'm here!" Yibo said as he jumped into the car. Lay frowned and silently cursed at him for being a little late."

"Where are we going, boss?" he said cheerfully.

"To the airport", Lay ordered. Kris turned his head to Lay, giving him the can-we-trust-this-guy look, to which Lay just nodded.
Yibo started the car and drove off at almost full speed.

The ride to the airport was quiet. Lay was taking care of Kris' bruised face, cleaning and patching his wounds. Yibo played some music on the radio.

"I have to tell you something, Kris", Lay said. "You acted pretty well back there. How did you manage to start crying when I told you all those things?"

Kris smiled cockily and winked. "You know, if I weren't a doctor, I would have been an actor. A very famous one I think."

"And the best actor award goes to Wu Yifan!" Lay exclaimed, imitating the way that award show hosts announced the winners.
Both of them burst into laughter. "You did a good job, too", Kris said. "For a moment I thought you really meant it."

"Don't say that!" Lay almost shouted. "I'm your friend. I would never betray you."

They arrived at the airport in fourty minutes. Before leaving the car, Lay handed Yibo a bag. 

"You know what to do with it", he said. 

Yibo nodded and smiled. "Thank you boss. You've been so good to me. If you ever need my help, I'll be there for you."

Lay tapped his shoulder lightly. "I'll see you one day, Yibo. Kris, let's go." They left the car and Yibo drove off.

"What did you give him?" Kris asked.

"Some money, that's all. Enough to start a new life. Yibo is a good man. He's only twenty. I told him to go somewhere far with his girlfriend. He's a car mechanic, he'll open his own workshop."

Kris nodded his head. "So you saved his life, Yixing."

When Lay heard Kris saying his real name, he immediately grinned. "You can put it that way, Yifan."

They boarded on the plane and found their seats.

"Are we free now?" Kris turned to Lay, who just shrugged.

"I guess we are." They both grinned. Freedom. That word sounded so sweet but also unfamiliar.

"We are free, Yifan. There is no more gang, no more bad things. No more Kris and Lay. Just Yifan and Yixing."

Kris blinked a few times. "And Jiayu."