Chapter 17

Wei was paler than ever and didn't even acknowledge his presence. He seemed to be unconscious, and he was terribly cold.

Yunlan wrapped his own jacket around him then tried to warm up Wei's face with his hands.

Wei's head moved slightly. Yunlan pondered on his options. He was in a hospital, after all, he could call for help, but what could they do for him?

Yunlan had seen it happen before, although not to this extent, and he doubted that putting him in the hospital care was what Wei needed the most, and he was sure as hell that it was not what he would have wanted.

He quickly reached his decision. He wasn't one to torment himself for long, once he made up his mind all possible doubts vanished and he set into action.

He wanted to get Wei out of there, help him recover. He didn't like seeing him like that, they would have to talk about it sooner or later, he decided.

Yunlan spent a couple of seconds looking at Wei's pale face, feeling the same interest he had felt since they met.

"Who are you really?" he murmured knowing Wei couldn't hear him.

Yunlan sighed. "We could be friends, if you only stopped pushing me away."

He knew that he himself would have liked that very much.

Setting those thoughts aside, he proceeded to put one arm under Wei's legs and the other behind his shoulders.

With no small effort, he lifted him up.

Yunlan walked as quickly as he could carrying his burden. He hoped not to be noticed but someone saw him and tried asking him what was happening, if he needed help. Yunlan didn't stop to answer, dismissing the matter with a hasty: "Tired!"

He got out of the hospital and looked around for Wei's car. Seeing it parked not far, he walked over then fished the keys out of Wei's jacket pocket.

It was very difficult to do that while holding the man in his arms, but somehow he managed it and placed him on the passenger's seat.

Wei seemed to be sleeping peacefully now and Yunlan started the car.

The drive home would take too long and he wanted to put Wei into bed as soon as possible, so he stopped at the first hotel he saw.

He parked the car and went in to get a room for two, then he went back to take Wei in his arms again and carry him inside.

"He is really tired, it's been a tough day." It was the only thing he could think of when he noticed the owner staring at him.

He already had the key so he carried Wei to their room.

He put him into bed immediately and covered him with the cheap blanket.

Wei moved slightly, his face frowning. Yunlan thought he had to be uncomfortable since he was still wearing his work clothes which not only included his jacket, but also a buttoned-up shirt and a tie.

Yunlan heard him murmur, "DongMei," and vaguely remembered it to be the name of one of his 'friends'.

It still felt so weird to him, but he had reached a compromise. If he had troubles accepting the idea that ghosts really existed, for the moment he could simply accept that Wei believed that they existed.

He sat on the side watching him for a moment, then stood up and went to the bathroom. When he came back, Wei was still sleeping so he moved closer to check his condition.

Yunlan checked his heartbeat and breathing, but they seemed regular enough.

He put a hand on his forehead. He wasn't feverish, on the contrary he was still cold.

Yunlan was convinced he only needed to rest, like any other time, but he couldn't help worrying about him. How could he warm him up?

Yunlan took off his own shoes and jacket then he lifted the blanket, only to be confronted with a semi-naked Wei. Yunlan had no idea how he had managed to take off his clothes in that state.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, he remembered what happened at Wei's house, when Wei ordered DongMei to stop undressing him, but he didn't dwell on it.

He didn't want, he wasn't ready to accept that an invisible entity, and a female invisible entity at that, had once stripped both Wei and himself of their clothes.

He had a moment of hesitation then he saw Wei shivering. He set aside his doubts and crawled onto the bed.

He hugged Wei and pulled him closer to his body. He wrapped his arms around Wei's chest and spooned himself to him.

He stayed a long time listening to Wei's breathing, until eventually he fell asleep.

~~~~~

Wei opened his eyes and found himself staring at the face of a sleeping Yunlan.

He widened his eyes then he panicked and jumped back and out of the bed.

He realised that he was only in his underwear so he grabbed the blanket to cover himself. By doing so, he left Yunlan uncovered and the sight of a semi-naked Yunlan made him panic even more.

All this caused Yunlan to wake up as well. "Why did you take all the blanket for yourself? It's cold."

Wei stuttered, "Why did I... no, the question is why are we in bed together? What... what happened?"

Yunlan sat up on the bed, realising that he wasn't wearing the clothes he wore when he went to bed.

He ignored it and replied to Wei's question. "You were unconscious, but I figured you just needed to get your strength back so instead of leaving you in the hospital I brought you here."

"Where are we?" Wei looked around. He didn't recognise the place but the only other presence were those of Gelan, LiLing, Luca, Qing and DongMei.

"Did you do this?"

Wei was now looking away at the empty room, so Yunlan knew he wasn't talking to him. He closed his eyes and rested again his head on the pillow.

"I called you? I don't remember... of course I believe you DongMei... well, thank you for your services I guess... I'm fine Gelan, don't worry... thank you Qing, I'm glad you were with me..."

Yunlan listened to his monologue not knowing what to think or say. He sighed and got out of bed. He had no more blanket to wrap himself with but he didn't care.

He stood up and lazily stretched his arms. Wei's eyes lingered on his body but Yunlan pretended not to notice. The situation was awkward enough without making him feel unnecessarily embarrassed.

"Why were we here? Where are we?" Wei asked again.

Yunlan looked at him. "We are at the nearest hotel I could find, and I already told you why."

Wei heard him the first time but he still didn't know why they were in bed together. He wanted to ask him again but the words got stuck in his throat.

Yunlan smirked at the way he still clung onto that blanket.

"After what happened last night, is that really necessary?" he teased, and Wei's face became so red he seemed about to explode.

Yunlan laughed. "I was joking, relax. You were freezing so I wanted to keep you warm. Are you feeling better now?"

"I... yes, thank you, Qing was here so he took care of me."

Yunlan raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was the one taking care of you."

Wei remained speechless, his eyes firmly on Yunlan as he went to take a shower, then it was Wei's turn.

They didn't speak another word. They got dressed, took all their stuff and exited the room. They gave back the key then Yunlan lead him to the parking area.

Yunlan sat on the driver's seat and started the car. He drove only a few minutes then stopped again. He parked the car and got out, gesturing for Wei to follow him.

"Where are we going?"

"Don't know about you but I need to drink something hot. Possibly eat something too."

They were now in front of a nice looking bar. They entered and found a table. It was a large room and there were many people seated everywhere.

Yunlan went to order something then sat down opposite him. Now that they were alone he wanted to know what had happened, but he also wanted to know more about him, so he placed his hands on the table and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I think we need to talk."