Jiaheng lie there that night. All he could do was stare into the canopy. Luhan. Zitao had always loved him. But of course. Everyone has that one person. The one that got away. Of course he could understand. But that didn’t make it any better for him.

He rolled over, staring at the empty space beside him. How he longed for it to be filled once more. He rolled back over to his back and stared at the ceiling. “I wish you were here, Zitao.

You always knew what to do.” a tear ran down his face, falling into his hair and trickling behind his ear. He just lie there, letting the tears cascade as his vision blurred.

He cried out, not holding back. He hadn’t let this happen. He was always trying to be strong, but now that his walls were down, he couldn’t hold it back anymore. The dam had burst and there

was no stopping it now.

Zitao was gone. He needed to face it. So what if he lost the house? It was a house. And though he cherished the memories it held, it would be better if he moved on.

He closed his eyes as the tears subsided. Tomorrow, he would move on. Tomorrow would be a new day.

*****

Jiaheng buttoned up his shirt, taking a deep breath. Jong In had asked to meet him at the coffee shop again. He combed his hair, wondering what it could be about now.

‘Not about the house,’ he groaned inwardly. Thinking about the early hours of the morning, he didn’t want to relive those feelings. He just wanted to let it go. If not for a little while.

“Jiaheng?” Luhan walked in. Jiaheng smiled at him.

“Hi, how are you?” he asked.

“Jiaheng, are you seeing Jong In?” he asked, wringing his hands.

“Well, he’s Zitao’s lawyer. I, I kinda have to…” he said awkwardly.

“That’s not what I meant.” He said. “Are you…are you guys…a thing?” he asked. Jiaheng’s stomach turned.

“No,” he said, his heart beating a thousand miles a minute. Why would Luhan care? Unless… “Do you still love him?” he asked. The color drained from Luhan’s face.

“No,” he retorted shortly.

“I just, it’s just that…” Jiaheng tried to justify his seemingly intrusive inquiry. Luhan held up a hand.

“It doesn’t matter.” He said, turning sharply and leaving the room. Jiaheng sighed and looked at his watch. He would mend things with Luhan later. Right now, he was late for his meeting with Jong In.

*****

Jiaheng searched the coffee shop until his eyes fell upon a familiar face in the back. He smiled and came forward. He took his seat and sighed.

“So, what’s the occasion?” he asked, gently setting a napkin on his lap. Jong In cleared his throat.

“Well,” I’ve gathered the papers we’ve found, the two of them, and here, look.” He put the pieces of paper together. They fit at the top, but there was a good chunk still missing. “Now, I’ve compared the finished pieces to other types of paper.

“It’s printer paper, naturally. Handwritten, of course. But, by measuring, the paper and the notes he’s left so far, I’ve estimated that we have at least three more pieces to find.” He said. Jiaheng looked on in awe. He didn’t know what to say.

“I, that’s amazing. It must have taken you quite a while to figure this out,” he commented, looking at Jong In’s tired face. He had dark circles, and his hair was somewhat unkempt.

“Not too long, actually.” He said, smiling.

“Three more?” asked Jiaheng. Jong In nodded.

“Just three more.” He said. Jiaheng folded his hands in front of him.

“I, Jong In…” he looked up, quite serious. He couldn’t hold it in anymore, his curiosity was eating away at him. “I know this is quite off topic, but when I first met you, I came in with a young man. His name is Luhan.” Jong In’s eyes widened. “You two dated, did you not?” he asked.

Jong In put down his coffee and gave Jiaheng a rather odd look. “Luhan….” He shook his head. “Jiaheng,” he said. “The Luhan I, I and Zitao fell in love with died over five years ago.” Jiaheng’s heart dropped into his stomach. “Luhan died in a train wreck, what are you talking about?”

“Luhan…” he lifted his hand. It fell onto the table. Jong In sat back, still side eyeing him.

“Jiaheng?” he asked.

“Luhan is dead?” Jong In slowly nodded.

“Then who is the man living in my house?” he asked. Jong In’s eyes widened.

END OF PART 7