RBL Chapter 03

An Luo picked up the fountain pen, ready to sign his name on the bottom of the will when Lawyer Zhang softly asked, “Mr. Luo, you… Have you clearly considered it?”

He didn’t pause, continuing to scribble his signature on the testament. Eyes still staring at the paper, he replied, “Yes, very clearly.”

Ten percent of his private property will be anonymously donated to Shao Rong and his father at the U.K. Organ Transplant Research Centre. The rest will be inherited by his older brother, An Yang, as it was the best and only solution he could come up with.

In this life, he wasn’t going to marry or have any children. He only has An Yang and the relatives around him. If An Yang doesn’t want the heritage, then he can do whatever he wants with it, perhaps even give it all to Shao Rong.

After the matter of the will was resolved, An Luo went to the meeting. When it ended, he hurriedly drove home. Since he’ll return in the afternoon, it is better to go back early and pack.

He didn’t know why, but he felt somewhat uneasy the whole day. Maybe it was the nightmares from last night that left him absent-minded and in a bad mood.

When he got home, An Yang was asleep. An Luo pushed open his brother’s bedroom door and looked at the man laying on bed. That slight smile seemed to forever grace his face… Driven by his heart’s desire, An Luo lightly walked to his bed, and then slowly leaned down…

His heartbeat began to sped up uncontrollably. He was so, so close–just a few more centimeters and he would touch his eyes, his lips.

How many times have he kissed him in his dreams? He had yearn for this, but now that he could do it, An Luo found himself unable to go through with such a special gesture.

His brother’s hand was claimed by a ring, the same wedding ring he worn for years, stating Su Zihang’s unparalleled status in his heart. Such a warm and soft smile was only for him, shown when he was having the most beautiful dream of the past with his beloved…

There was no way An Luo could kiss him in this situation.

Doing so would be an insult to himself and Su Zihang.

So, he suppressed the emotional turbulent of his heart and stiffly walked away, going out of the bedroom, then gently closing the door.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight for this love–he was just too aware of An Yang and Su Zihang’s relationship. He directly watched them develop from acquaintances to lovers, knowing from first hand that the feelings of the couple can never accommodate anyone else.

He doesn’t dare express his heart to An Yang, even more so if it gets treated as a miserable joke. Thus, he could only silently lock up these feelings, let it rot in the bottom of his heart, and stare helplessly as it gradually becomes a tumor.

Taking a deep breath, An Lou relieved his chests’ suffocation, then walked to his bedroom and started packing his things.

•••

At two o’clock in the afternoon, An Yang woke up. He went to the living room and found An Luo sitting on the couch watching a replay of last night’s game. But, his attention wasn’t on the television, instead, his eyes were on the floor and his head was drooping, apparently fighting drowsiness.

An Yang couldn’t help but smile, walking up and patting his shoulders gently. “Xiao Luo, if you’re sleepy, go to bed.”

The younger man was shaken from his confused state and looked up to see An Yang’s smiling face. Against his will, his face flushed a crimson red. He coughed and said, “I… ‘m not sleepy.”

An Yang asked, “Why are you sleeping on the sofa? Not afraid of the cold?”

An Luo touched his nose and replied, “I’m afraid of missing the flight, so I didn’t go back to the bedroom…”

Looking at his embarrassed face, An Yang’s lips tilted up slightly. He switched the topic: “Are the tickets booked?”

“Yeah, the plane departs at 3:30. What time is it?”

An Yang looked down at his watch, “Two o’clock.”

“Then get ready, we’ll go to the airport.”

Nodding, An Yang turned to go to the bedroom. “I want to change clothes, you get the car.”

An Luo stared at his back and asked, “Do you want me to call the driver over?”

Waving his hand, An Yang said, “No, I’ll drive.”

•••

Since he had lived in Vancouver for two years, An Yang’s driving was very smooth. He was able to remember the road signs, often going out without getting lost.

Looking at the buildings flashing by, An Luo realized that he was still very unfamiliar with this city.

Maybe it was because he’s old-fashioned, or because he grew up in a small town, but the city of Vancouver was merely a place he had to live in; he won’t spend his time caring about the city’s customs, constructions, or transportations.

He was not An Yang, who, in just two short years, was like a fish back in water.

As An Yang was not fond of music, the car was very quiet. Being alone with him with no distractions made An Luo flustered, so the only thing he could do was look at the scenery outside.

Seeing that his brother turned his back to him, An Yang could not help but ask, “What are you looking at?”

The younger man turned rigid, hurrying to say, “Nothing.”

An Yang smiled, not noticing his abnormality. “This time, I want to stay for a few more days. You don’t have to wait for me, do your things and then come back.”

“Ah…” An Luo paused. “Are there some important matters?”

An Yang shook his head. “No, I’m just going to stay for a while to go to the places he was talking about.”

–Naturally, the “he” An Yang referred to was Su Zihang.

An Luo’s nose promptly felt sour.

In front of him, An Yang could talk about Su Zihang without a care. The only thing he could do was listen, pretending to act as if An Yang’s words didn’t affect him in any way. His brother will never know that his listener has been secretly in love with him for so many years.

He never spoke again during the ride.

The car finally reached the airport at three. Time was not abundant, so they checked in directly and abroaded the plane right away.

The two put away their luggage, sat down, and fastened their seat belts, turning off their phones when it was required. After the cliche safety video was played, the plane finally took off.

An Yang saw An Luo’s exhausted appearance and softly coaxed, “Go to sleep,” while helping him adjust his seat to a more comfortable position.

An Luo glanced back to him, then nodded. “Then… I’ll sleep for a while.”

His brother softly smiled. “Ah, sleep. I’ll wake you up if something happens.”

Because he was really sleepy, An Luo dozed off right away, unconsciously tilting his head to the side, lightly leaning on An Yang’s shoulders. Instead of pushing him away, An Yang adjusted his posture so his brother could be more comfortable.

Bored, An Yang took out a magazine stuffed in the back of his seat and read through it. Two pages in, the plane abruptly began to shake violently and the overhead emergency oxygen bags suddenly dropped. At the same time, a broadcast sounded, “Dear passengers…”

The rest of the sentence was drowned out by the hissing screams of the people on board.

He turned to look out of the window. As the aircraft was in high altitude, it’s left wing suddenly ignited a raging fire–an unforeseen accident. Maybe within a minute, the plane will explode. The probability of escape is… equivalent to zero.

The passenger compartment was thrown into chaos, the cries and screams of men and women alike were deafening, causing bursts of pain to eardrums.

Does he want to wake An Luo up?

After a moment of hesitation, An Yang eventually dispelled that thought.

If they were to die here, it was better to let him pass in his sleep without any struggles.

In contrast to the hysteria of those around him, An Yang was rather calm, relaxed even. He has no attachments to this life, the one who truly mattered had long ago been lying underneath the ground in an ice-cold tombstone.

He gently closed his eyes, waiting for death’s embrace. His mind flashed through a range of pictures, most of which were of Su Zihang; the first meeting with him in that gorgeous ballroom, the twinkling of stars as they kissed for the first time… he still remembered those vivid memories as if they were made yesterday.

In fact, it was not necessary to recall anything, because he… never forgot.

Just then, a young woman frantically rushed through the aisle. In her panic, she accidentally stumbled and her high heel stomped on An Luo’s foot, startling him awake, frowning.

Surrounded by cries and sobs, An Lou was frozen for a few seconds before he quickly pulled on An Yang’s arms. “Ge, let’s go!”

An Yang calmly held his hand. “Where can we go?”

Looking at the flames outside and An Yang’s fevered eyes, he choked. “Ge…”

An Yang smiled. “Compare to dying of old age, it’s not bad that we die together like this.”

Seeing his dull smile, An Luo was robbed of words.

An Yang was so calm and cool-headed, but An Luo couldn’t be like that. He still has a lot of things… no, actually, there was nothing holding him back.

Money, fame, rights, status, even feelings, all these things can not be brought with him to death. To be able to die with An Yang on a plane and have their bodies burned together–perhaps that was the best ending he could wish for.

An Luo stood in silence for a while, holding his brother’s hand tightly. Then, he turned around and said seriously, “Ge, actually, I…”

A blast sharply sounded. Everything in sight was eaten by a sky of flames. An Yang’s smiling face was the last frame in his film of memories.

The world became silent, then his consciousness blurred.

Actually, I… love you.

I’ve loved you in silence for a long, long time.

In the end, he ran out of time to say this sentence.

On May 23, a Canadian Airlines passenger plane took off from Vancouver International Airport at 15:30 local time. It lost contact with the control center at 15:50, and then crashed three kilometers away from the airport.

All 117 people on board died. There were no survivors.

–––

Like a fish back in water(如魚得水): Glad to be back in one’s proper surroundings; An Yang instantly clicked with the place.

Love(喜歡): To like; to be fond of (I used love instead of like because I felt like it conveyed An Luo’s feelings better.)

Chapter 02

Chapter 04