Chapter Text
After a day full of rest, Song Lan felt a little bit refreshed although his exhaustion hadn't fully come off. He had also eaten all of the snacks that Xiao XingChen left for him yesterday while he was still sleeping.
He had tried to call his best friend a few times since last night to express his gratitude. But his call couldn’t reach them. It seems that they have ventured somewhere far out of his reach. It felt as if he was left behind by his best friend. But it couldn’t be helped since he was the first one that abandoned them by being so busy with his club.
This is the first time he could feel what it felt like to be lonely without his best friend's presence. And that might have something to do with Xue Yang being in the picture along with Xiao XingChen.
He actually didn’t know what he truly felt about Xue Yang. At first he thought that the boy only wanted to be friendly with everyone since he was a new student. But after some while he could see that it was not the case. He noticed how the boy put their attention specifically to Xiao XingChen beyond the other classmates.
He wanted to tell his best friend what he thought about it, but he didn’t want Xiao XingChen to misunderstand. It was not that he felt jealous about Xue Yang but he wanted his best friend to be careful about the boy.
Alright, maybe he did feel a little bit jealous about their closeness but he knew that they weren't five years old anymore and he wanted his best friend to have friends. Sometimes he felt a burden and felt guilty to leave Xiao XingChen while he had to do other things. But with Xue Yang around he didn’t feel as guilty anymore.
Still, he needed to make sure that Xue Yang was the right person. That is why, he followed them on their outing back to the villa even though he actually felt very tired at that time. From that experience, he could see that the boy is very fun to be with even though they are quite odd at times with their prank. But, he didn’t feel as worried anymore to leave his best friend with them.
The biggest influence might be because he could see how happy Xiao XingChen was when Xue Yang was around. He had never seen his best friend laugh out loud like that when they were together. As hurt as it seems, but he had to admit that Xiao XingChen might feel something different about Xue Yang. And he could not prevent his best friend from having that feeling since they aren’t children anymore.
But he still didn’t want to let go his best friend that easily. Thus, he decided to spend more time with Xiao XingChen now that his club competition is over. And maybe he would also see what it is with Xue Yang that made Xiao XingChen that happy.
Stretching his muscles a little bit, Song Lan decided that it was time for him to get up from his bed. He stayed in the bed for the whole day yesterday. He had secretly feared that his Ma would nag him to get out of his room this morning. But fortunately, it didn’t happen. Maybe she knows that he feels very tired so she let him stay in bed longer. Still, now it is the right time to get up if he wanted to at least get some brunch.
When he entered the dining room, it was quieter than usual. There is no the usual noise when his Ma was either cooking or cleaning. But now both his Ma and Pa were sitting quietly with warm cups of tea in their hands.
‘ Huh? How odd. ’ Song Lan thought before announcing his arrival by clearing his throat. He noticed how both of his parents nearly jump when they hear him which makes the situation even weirder.
“Ah darling, you want some breakfast? Let me prepare something for you.”
“The lunch time is almost over, Ma.”
“Oh right, I mean lunch.”
Since his Ma is currently avoiding him by busying herself making lunch, he could only turn to talk to his Pa. “What’s wrong?”
He had expected something like a shrug as response, but instead his father was facing him with all seriousness. “Son, this might be hard to believe but…”
“What’s wrong?” Hearing the sentence Song Lan became uneasy, he nervously took a seat when his feather gestured to him.
“There has been an accident…”
“Accident? But who got into an accident?”
‘If there’s an accident, who would make his parents this worried? No, they were worried about him. But why? He had all the people he cared about here. His mother, his father and him all are safe. Who would?...’
Then it dawned on him. There is another person that is as important as his parents or even his own life. And that person wasn’t here.
“It’s impossible…” Song Lan quickly got up from his chair which fell down from the force that he used while dashing to the door. He ran next door and bang it as hard as he could. When the door finally opened, he saw someone that he didn’t recognize opened it for him. He quickly entered the living room to see Mr. Xiao hugged his sobbing wife while being surrounded by a couple of relatives.
“Where is he?” He asked nobody in particular.
His father that had run after him held both of his shoulders. “Son, calm down.”
“Ho… how is this happening?” He heard his own voice that seemed to be coming from a distance as it was so high in a pinch. He felt his body shaking even though his father didn’t shake him.
Finally Mr. Xiao noticed his arrival and answered his question “He went alone yesterday for a club project and when he came back this morning there was an accident with the bus he rode. It fell off the cliff and…” With a choked voice Mr. Xiao tried to describe the condition of his son, but Song Lan could not hear any of it.
“Alone? What about Xue Yang?!”
“Who’s Xue Yang?” From Mr. Xiao's face, it seemed that he could not recognize that name.
Song Lan took a deep breath before explaining it to him. “He was the new student that joined Xiao XingChen’s club. Mrs. Xiao should’ve heard about him!”
Hearing her name being mentioned, Mrs Xiao finally showed her face after wiping her tears. “I… I never heard about that name before”
Song Land could not believe what he had heard. “How? Xiao XingChen had stayed at his house a few times.”
“Besides staying at your house, XingChen never stayed anywhere else.”
“But they’ve gone for a trip together a few times?!”
“He went alone lately.”
“But...wait a minute…” Song Lan took out his phone and dial a number. “Do you know Xue Yang’s number? What do you mean who’s Xue yang? He’s our new classmate! What? He arrived at the start of this semester, how come you didn’t know about him?”
With a racing heart, Song Lan tried to call other classmates but no matter who he called, no one seemed to recognize that name. He finally threw his phone to the floor and pulled his hair. “Wait, just wait here. I’ll… I’ll go to his house and bring him here. It’s just around the corner, I won’t be long!”
Song Lan turned to run out of the door to the street he had crossed his entire life. But somehow, currently the street seems so unfamiliar to him. He didn’t even remember when was the last time he walked those steps with his best friend. But he did remember where Xue Yang’s house is from Xiao XingChen’s explanation.
Or so he thought...
When he arrived at the location, what greeted him was an empty plot filled with nothing but grass. His legs finally gave up and he fell in front of the open space. His mouth was wide open as he openly mounted the word Im-po-ssi-ble.
Song Lan could not believe what he saw. There is no way Xiao XingChen would lie to him. And he clearly had met Xue Yang. But now they were nowhere to be found without any trace left and no one even remembered who they were. What’s important is that it seems his best friend also went along with that person.
Gone. That was what was on Song Lan’s mind when he finally gave up and screamed his tears out loud from the top of his lungs.