Are You Addicted?

"h.e.l.lo?"

Silence took over for quite some time before the person asked, "Bai Luo Yin?"

An elegant feminine voice, with proper Chinese p.r.o.nunciation, eloquent enunciation and an extremely graceful tone, spoke. One can imagine what a beauty the person was if based solely on the sound of her voice. Gu Hai"s little heart would have palpitated if this voice was looking for him, but it was seeking out Bai Luo Yin. That, in itself, is another story.

"Who are you?" asked Gu Hai.

"Sorry, I"m looking for Bai Luo Yin. Can I trouble you to give the phone to him, please?" said the person very courteously.

Gu Hai countered with, "If you don"t say who you are I won"t give the phone to him."

There was a silent pause, as if in contemplation: "I"m his girlfriend."

Gu Hai coldly laughed. He was peculiarly aggressive as he placed the cellphone"s receiver in front of his face and said: "You"re his girlfriend, then, I"m his boyfriend!"

He immediately hung up after he finished.

Stupid, senseless, delusional…initially, this was what Gu Hai had thought, but afterwards, he felt wronged instead. The person had addressed Bai Luo Yin by his whole name[1], which meant that, the person did not mistakenly dial the wrong number. She was personally calling for Bai Luo Yin.

He has to ask about this.

Bai Luo Yin was rummaging through the drawer when he suddenly turned over a watch. Although, it had been in the drawer and covered up by other things for a long while, the surface of the watch still appeared new and shiny. The character, "Hui" was written on the bottom sh.e.l.l. Needless to say, Shi Hui also has one, with the character, "Yin" on it.  It was a custom made lover"s watch. Don"t even mention the price.

Bai Luo Yin was completely unaware of Gu Hai standing behind him.

Suddenly, the watch was s.n.a.t.c.hed out of his hands.

Gu Hai"s thumb ran along the surface of the watch, he smiled, "Not bad, it"s also an expensive brand huh?"

Bai Luo Yin didn"t say anything, he seemed rather reluctant to speak about this topic.

Gu Hai turned the watch over and glanced at the logo embedded on the bottom sh.e.l.l. His once warm pair of orbs, was as of now, reduced by several degrees.

"What"s this? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I look away for a second and you"re secretly hiding in your room, reminiscing about your past lover?" Gu Hai"s knee whacked Bai Luo Yin"s b.u.t.tocks.

Bai Luo Yin calm and collectively, yanked the watch back and threw it into the drawer. It was written all over his face that he wasn"t in the mood to explain anything.

Gu Hai was still unwilling to let it go, "Feeling nostalgic? Can"t keep calm? Are you recalling those loving and romantic days?"

Bai Luo Yin rolled his eyes and looked over at Gu Hai; his voice was muddled with a negative tone.

"Do you find this amusing? It was just a coincidence. I stumbled on it in the drawer and looked at it for a second, that"s all. Look at you, taking things all seriously. It"s just like a freaking girl."

"Who are you calling a girl?" Gu Hai"s face blackened as he reached over and pinched Bai Luo Yin"s chin, "I can"t joke around with you uh? Are either of us taking it seriously? If you"re not guilty, what are you worried about?"

A fiery dark red flame flashed across Bai Luo Yin"s pupils.

At that moment…the phone rang again.

Gu Hai lowered his head and glanced at it. It was the same number as before.

"Here, your girlfriend is calling."

Upon hearing this, the color of Bai Luo Yin"s face changed. He wasn"t able to conceal it this time.

"It"s really your girlfriend?"

Gu Hai calmly asked, but his heart wasn"t the least calm or relaxed.

Bai Luo Yin didn"t say anything. He took the phone and walked outside.

Gu Hai was alone in the room now. He clenched his teeth as if his life depended on it. Angered seeped into every pore on his body and smoke quickly rose from head. When Bai Luo Yin"s facial expression changed, Gu Hai had already guessed who the person calling was. Subsequently, a chain of questions flooded his mind.

How long had they been in contact? When I"m not next to him, did he secretly call her? Didn"t they already break up? How can she still say that she"s his girlfriend……

Humans like to imagine things, especially, those in love. They would take these innate feelings and express it in the cruelest way.

Bai Luo Yin"s back faced Gu Hai as he answered the phone, making him unable to clearly see Bai Luo Yin"s expression. His brain began to work its" magic, conjuring several scenarios.

Shi Hui, do you miss me?

Yin Zi, I really miss you. Just now, a rotten fellow said he was your boyfriend.

Don"t listen to him. He"s just my younger brother, that"s all.

Really? Yin Zi, you know…I still love you.

Shhh! Lower your voice, don"t let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d hear us. Actually, I still love you as well…

s.h.i.t s.h.i.t s.h.i.t s.h.i.t s.h.i.t!!! Gu Hai used these kind of torturous thoughts to kill himself thousands of times.

The actual conversation, on the contrary, went like this.

"Shi Hui, stop causing troubles, okay? I already said everything I needed to. I don"t want to repeat it again."

"Even if we broke up, we can still be friends. Can"t we still chat?"

"To me, breaking up means we are strangers."

"Bai Luo Yin, if in your heart you really don"t care, then there is no need to mind it when I call you right?"

"I don"t mind, but someone will mind."

"…Bai Luo Yin, what do you mean?"

"I already have someone I like. That"s how it is."

Bai Luo Yin turned the phone off. He wanted to return to his room but then he heard Aunt Zou say: "Yin Zi, it"s time to eat. Quickly call Da Hai to eat."

Luckily, Gu Hai, that fellow was still in the room.

Bai Luo Yin knocked on the window, and coldly said, "Come out and eat."

Gu Hai hid his emotions extremely well. He ate happily, enjoying everything. He incessantly asked for this food and handed over that food. He also smiled at Bai Luo Yin in such manner. But Bai Luo Yin knew, that this despicable boy, was probably up to something. If he wasn"t careful, he"d be dead like a moth*. It was best to be take precautions, as to avoid, igniting this ticking bomb.

That afternoon, Gu Hai left immediately after receiving a phone call. Bai Luo Yin stayed behind with his grandparents. It was only until the sky had darkened, did he received a call from Gu Hai. There wasn"t anything peculiar about the tone of his voice as he urged Bai Luo Yin to quickly return home.

Bai Luo Yin had already sensed that Gu Hai wasn"t going to let the matter go so easily.

When he opened the door, Gu Hai was sitting upright and still on the sofa.

Judging from his posture…did he wanted to start a trial?

Bai Luo Yin walked toward him.

"Open it and take a look," said Gu Hai with a serene expression.

Bai Luo Yin stared blankly at the other boy before he noticed a box sitting on the tea table.

What"s this?

With great curiosity, Bai Luo Yin opened the box.

His eyes were nearly blinded!

There lied a silver necklace, a gold bracelet, a diamond ring, a brand name watch…

"What are you doing?" Bai Luo Yin was stupefied.

Gu Hai raised his chin, "It"s for you."

"For me?"

Bai Luo Yin took another glance; everything in there, matched, that is, there"s two of everything.

Gu Hai got off the sofa and stood next to him.

"Here, I"ll help put it on for you."

Bai Luo Yin abruptly block Gu Hai.

"Are you crazy? I"m only one person. Why would I wear so many jewelry?"

Gu Hai was dreadfully earnest in his words, "You"re not going to be the only one wearing them, I will as well."

"You didn"t show your face all afternoon because you went to buy these things?"

"There"s more," he said as he dragged out a huge chest from the corner. One by one, many items were brought out of the chest: a wrist band with both their names embroidered on it, leather belts, a school bag with many faces imprinted on it, underpants with their size on it…

When the bottom of the chest was visible, Gu Hai flipped it upside down. The sound of two objects clashing against each other could be heard falling out the chest. Bai Luo Yin picked it up and looked at the objects. It was a pair of nail clippers with their mottos written on them…

[A husband that doesn"t want to f.u.c.k his wife is not a good husband!]

[f.u.c.k off!]

Bai Luo Yin was petrified.

There was nothing that Gu Hai couldn"t buy, it was just that Bai Luo Yin didn"t think of it. As long as it could be worn on the body, in his hands, there were two of each items.

"Where did you get so much money from?" questioned Bai Luo Yin, extremely agitated.

Gu Hai wasn"t even the least concerned as he placed both of his hands in his pant"s pocket. A cigarette hung loosely on his lips.

"My brother gave me 200,000 yuan before he left." [≈$34k]

"Didn"t you say, you wanted to use that money for your living expenses huh?"

Gu Hai rested his arm at the edge of the sofa and faintly said: "There"s still some left. I didn"t spend it all…"

"How much is left?"

Bai Luo Yin turned around to look at the box of jewelry. He wasn"t that optimistic about the situation.

Gu Hai fished around in his pockets for a while before pulling out 200 yuan and shoving it into Bai Luo Yin"s hand. [≈$34]

Bai Luo Yin clenched his teeth in anger. Even though, it wasn"t his money, he still couldn"t help but be in distress.

"Gu Hai, is it really worth it to take things this far just because of two watches? Even if you didn"t waste all this money, her and I are already impossible."

Gu Hai was listening quietly, when suddenly the expression in his eyes took a turn for the worse. He took a long stride toward Bai Luo Yin, stopped at his side and looked him straight in the eyes, "Do you really mean what you said?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Gu Hai grabbed Bai Luo Yin by the shoulder and ruthlessly shook him, "Why didn"t you say this earlier?"

Bai Luo Yin angrily answered, "You didn"t let me explain!"

Gu Hai"s teeth tugged at his lips. He patted Bai Luo Yin on the shoulder and said, "Come here."

An ominous premonition rained on Bai Luo Yin.

They got on the elevator and once it arrived at the lowest level, Gu Hai brought out a key and unlock the door to his own personal garage.

Two identical cars exhibited in front of Bai Luo Yin. A new one and an older one. The older one was the car that Gu Hai normally drove in. He already knew where the new car came from without Gu Hai saying anything.

Two brand new mountain bikes stood coolly to the side.

Bai Luo Yin"s face turned green.

Gu Hai coughed lightly, "I was momentarily blinded and bought them on impulse."

In a fit of rage Bai Luo Yin leaped onto Gu Hai and beat at him. He beat him until he felt his energy draining.

With particularly disappointed look in his eyes, he asked, "Where did this money come from?"

"I used the bankbook that my mom left for me."

Bai Luo Yin wanted to cry, he asked again: "Don"t tell me, you bought a house too?"

Gu Hai sounded a bit reluctant, "You already know, houses nowadays are too expensive. There"s only a bit of money left in the bankbook, so wait until I…"

"Ha ha ha……"

Bai Luo Yin lost his temper as he roared into the air. Fuming with rage, he clutched Gu Hai by the neck and angrily stared at the lad. He wanted to curse at him but nothing came out. Everything that he wanted to say was stuck in the corner of his lips.

After his anger had gradually diminished, with what little energy he had left, he released Gu Hai and crouched down against the corner of the wall. He remained completely silent.

Bai Luo Yin felt utterly sorry toward Gu Hai"s mother as a twinge rose in his heart.

In reality, it wasn"t about the money. He knew that Gu Hai had money. It was just that, this kind of feeling, made the pit of his stomach tangle in a knot.

Translator"s Note:

[1] 直呼其名: in China, to address sb by name without using honorific, indicate familiarity or over familiarity

*Like a moth to a flame – tempted by something that would lead to one"s downfall

Are you Addicted?