https://youtu.be/ciDDdY67R-M

Zhan was lying in his bed and although he was tired, he could not fall asleep. Knowing that Yibo was here with him in the house, just two doors away, kept him awake. He was worried about Yibo, but there was something else inside him that wanted to make itself known, but Zhan couldn't grasp it. Like a word that was on the tip of the tongue and yet you couldn't come up with it.

And Zhan wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. For he heard Yibo pacing up and down in the hallway outside Zhan's room. Slowly Zhan got out of bed and went to his bedroom door. He put his back against it and wondered whether he should open the door or not.

Not knowing that at that very moment, Yibo was also standing with his back against Zhan's door wondering if he should knock on his door or not. Quietly, Zhan asked through the door: "Yibo? Can't you sleep?"

"No. Kind of not." Replied Yibo. Only then did Zhan realize that Yibo was right outside his door. His heart began to race, but he fought back the feeling that was rising inside him.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked.

"No."

"Do you want to go for a walk, maybe?"

"Would you even want to, Zhan?"

"Since I can't sleep either, why not?"

"Okay."

"Fine, I'll change and be right out."

"I'll change quickly too Zhan." Replied Yibo. Zhan could hear Yibo walking back to the guest room. He quickly changed and left the his bedroom. Yibo was already waiting for him, wearing the change of clothes Zhan gave him before he went to sleep.

They went downstairs together, put on their coats and shoes, and left the house. "Where do you want to go?" Asked Zhan.

"I don't know, somewhere."

"Mhhh, then let's go along the left. There's a night cafe at the end of the street, we can get some tea there."

"Mhm."

"Well, let's go." Said Zhan. He walked a few steps and Yibo walked silently beside him. Suddenly, for no particular reason, Zhan stopped and extended his hand to Yibo. Yibo looked at Zhan thoughtfully for a moment, but then took Zhan's hand and so the two of them, in the middle of the night, walked down the street hand in hand.

Just before they reached the night café, Yibo stopped and said, "My marriage, it always existed only on paper."

Zhan, who had figured it out by now, replied, "I thought something like that."

"Your marriage, that means with Lana, that's not real either, is it?" Yibo wanted to know.

Actually, Zhan had wanted to choose a better time for this conversation, but now that they were already talking about it, Zhan said, "Mhm, she's my best friend. However, we got married by choice and wanted it that way."

"Why?"

"Well, because in this country it's easier if you have a wife and as a man you don't have a husband."

"Mhhh. So you did that so no one would know who you really were?"

"Yes, something like that."

"My marriage was arranged. I came home from work two years ago and my mother suddenly presented me with my fiancée. I didn't know her and hated her from the beginning. Just one week later I had to marry her. It was purely for business reasons."

"For business reasons?"

"Mhm, my mother and my wife's parents, only saw their financial benefits in this marriage."

"Sucks."

"Yeah. You must have seen her with her boyfriend the other day, right? I mean, where you asked me if we lived close to work."

"Yes I have."

"She's been with him for a couple of years. He's also the father of her child. But because his family isn't rich, the Qin's haven't let them marry. He even followed her here from the States. But currently things are bad between them because she drinks so much alcohol. They fight all the time and when she's drunk, she blames me for their fights because she had to marry me and couldn't marry him."

"I see."

"Mostly she's mad because my mother wasn't rich or respected then either. But the Qin's knew that my father inherited a fortune from my grandfather, just like his seat on the board of the insurance agency. Otherwise, they would never have agreed to the marriage."

"Did your mother inherit everything when your father died?"

"Yes. He had never changed his will. When she received the inheritance, we all moved back here to Beijing."

"Did you want to come back here?"

"Yes, but without a wife and without my mother."

"Mhhh I see."

"Especially without my mother. You know what the worst part is?"

"No, what?"

"My father's will says I can't dispose of my share of the inheritance on my own until I'm 27, and until then, my mother is supposed to hold it in trust."

"What?"

"Yeah, he wrote that in the will back when he sent me to the States. That means my mother sits on my money until I turn 27. Until then, I just have my salary. But as punishment for allowing my wife to get pregnant by another man, I only get the minimum salary and not even commission when I sell insurance. My mother also bought a house for me and my wife, which is more of a run-down ruin than a place to live."

"Wow. She's gotten even worse than she was back then."

"Yeah. And believe me, that really has nothing to do with you and me anymore. It's pure evilness. She stopped talking about you and me after only a month back then."

"What can you do to get away from her?"

"Contest the will. But I'll have to get a lawyer to do that, and on my salary I can't afford one. After all, my mother is wealthy now and can have a lawsuit dragged out for a long time with her star lawyers."

"Maybe I can help you with a lawyer."

"How?"

"With my in-laws. Well, still in-laws."

"What do you mean still?"

"Ah, I'll explain that some other time. For now, let's see about helping you. Okay?"

"You really want to help me Zhan?"

"Sure. And the first thing I'll do is offer you to move into my house. You can have the guest room. Or else Lana's room, it's even bigger."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. And as for your job. Well, I heard you actually majored in business administration. So you could be a CEO's assistant too, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Then we'll go see Lana's boss later. She quit her job and he's going to need a new assistant starting Monday."

"Really? And you think I might have a chance with him?"

"I know her boss and he's really nice. We should talk to him later. I think he might give you a chance. But first I have to go somewhere else."

"Where?"

"I have a job interview at a publishing company."

"Oh, so you were really going to leave the agency?"

"Yes. But I was unsure at the moment. But now I'm sure I want this job. Because I think once your mother really gets started at the insurance agency, all hell will break loose there."

"I think so too."

"So Yibo. Let's have some hot Yasmin tea now, then we'll go back and rest. We'll find out everything else later."

"Okay. Can I give you a hug Zhan? I'm so relieved right now, I just want to hug you."

"Mhm, you may."

"Thank you so much Zhan. Also for letting me stay with you. I would be happy if I could move in already today."

"That's no problem. I'll help you move too." Replied Zhan. Yibo took Zhan in his arms and hugged him tightly. He thanked Zhan for helping him and being there for him.

The two then went to the night café, had a cup of tea, and then walked back to the house, hand in hand. Now that they were talking, it was much easier for both of them to fall asleep. Because as soon as they wake up, a new day begins for them. And that means they can start all over again. As friends.

In the morning, when Zhan was at the interview at the publishing house, he was absolutely motivated to get this job. He had finally overcome his own crisis and set new goals for himself. And the first goal was to get a new job. The second, to help Yibo out of his crisis. The third goal, to reconcile with his parents.

After the interview, where Zhan had a good feeling, moreover, the director said to him that he could already prepare for a positive news, he went to the waiting area, where Yibo was waiting for Zhan impatiently and nervously.

They both drove to the company where Lana had worked. Zhan made sure beforehand that the CEO would be there too, since he was actually sick. They checked in at the reception desk, the receptionist asked the CEO if he would see Zhan and Yibo, and he immediately said yes. They were even allowed to use the private elevator.

Once upstairs with the CEO, he and Zhan greeted each other in a friendly manner before Zhan introduced Yibo to him. Zhan explained to the CEO, knowing that Lana had quit and that he now needed a new assistant. The CEO nodded and complained that Lana abandoned him without warning. "Yes, that was absolutely out of line on her part. And that wasn't even the worst thing she did." Explained Zhan.

"Why? What else was there?" Asked the CEO, confused.

"Oh, she let me come to Shanghai after work and then explained to me that she wanted a divorce because she ran into her ex again and wanted him back." Zhan would have preferred to tell him that the ex was actually a woman. But he didn't want to go that far.

"Damn, that's really mean of her. I didn't expect that from her."

"Neither did I. I was really messed up. But well, I can't change it now. But, I'm also not here to bitch about Lana, but to introduce you to Wang Yibo. He studied business administration and currently works as a department head in the same insurance agency as me. But since he works there under his mother and she is not quite right in the head, he is desperately looking for a new job. And I thought maybe you could hire him as an assistant. After all, you need someone new, and he's a business administration major."

The CEO measured Yibo with a thoughtful look and then asked him to show him his documents. Yibo handed them to him and the CEO looked them over carefully. After ten minutes, maybe a little more, the CEO nodded and said, "All right. I like what I see here. And I actually need a new assistant badly. And I can understand why you don't want to work for your mother. Unfortunately, I know her. She and I were schoolmates back then. And she was always crazy then. So, in short, I'll give you a chance. We'll agree on a trial period and if we understand each other well, you'll stay by my side as an assistant." Explained the CEO and extended his hand to Yibo.

Yibo beamed with joy and agreed. The two then discussed a few more details about the employment contract and Yibo's first day of work, next Monday.

Zhan was so happy that this worked out and Yibo got a chance that he hugged Yibo with joy. Yibo returned the hug and held Zhan in his arms just a little bit longer than was necessary.

Following that, the two went to Yibo's house. Zhan was horrified to see the disastrous condition of the house and wondered how Yibo's mother could buy such a house for her son. Or maybe the seller still gave her money to take the house?

Inside the house it was dreary, cold and dark. No place where you could feel comfortable and relax and Zhan just wanted to get out of there quickly. So he hurriedly packed with Yibo his belongings and documents and they stowed them in Zhan's car. Yibo threw the key to the house in the mailbox. He didn't even turn around as they both drove away from there.