New Life : A Second Chance

Xing Han sighed.

He wondered how his Cookie was doing.

He hoped Nitocris was fine and not freaking out.

Well, if it was him, he would freak out.

Xing Han sat on his bed, staring at the four walls. It was dark, and he didn't bother to switch on the lights. 

Why should he?

There was nothing to see.

The windows were blackened out and locked securely. So was the door. In front of it, there was one bodyguard who stood guard.

Xing Han hardly ate, his appetite not quite there so he had lost a bit of weight in these past three days. Or was it four? 

He had lost count already.

His face was not as swollen as before, though it still hurt from the slaps he had gotten. 

His days were filled with people asking him all sorts of intrusive questions. Xing Han was cooperative, mainly to show his family that there was nothing wrong with him.

He felt that if he resisted, they would be more rigid in their stance.

He even had monks come and talk to him, to heal him with speeches of spirituality and such.

Everything was basically fine, and things that Xing Han accepted as his parents' (or rather, his father) attempts at 'understanding' him and 'curing' him.

That is, until the second day.

A really beautiful girl came in, carrying his meal: bacon and eggs. 

The smell of the food was enticing and she didn't do anything other than give him the food and sat down to watch him eat. She said that she was tasked to ensure that he didn't starve himself since he wasn't eating properly.

Even then, Xing Han found it hard to swallow it despite it being so delicious.  

So, for every meal, that was what she did and each meal, was his favourite. 

Dinner was pork chops, and it seemed like she upped the game as well. Instead of just watching, she sat down next to him. Not touching, but just being near as he ate.

Xing Han found the whole thing extremely puzzling.

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"Do you think this would work?" asked Xing Han's mother, Puay Kiow.

Dr. Vicky nodded, saying, "Yes, with time. We are doing what is known as the pavlovian conditioning, also known as classical conditioning."

"In very simple terms, we are conditioning Xing Han to respond to something he would not normally do, by associating it with something he loves. Like those things people post, where you sniff a roast chicken then bite into a healthy fruit, or bland salad. You trick your mind to thinking the fruit or salad is as delicious as the roast chicken."

"On the reverse side, you can also use it to condition a person not to do something," Dr Vicky replied, "Like how Hitler had made those he deemed unworthy, not to want to read books. He had babies in an enclosed area with some books."

"Each time they touched one, they would get an electrick shock. Soon, they associated the book with pain and would avoid it."

"This carried on until adulthood, with them not understanding why they were adverse to books and studying, hence making them forever be the underdog."

"So, in Xing Han's case, we do that with a girl. Since he's attracted to men, we now make it possible for him to be attracted to females," Dr Vicky explained, "Later on, we will also do this with men, but with pain instead."

"This is all so confusing," Puay Kiow said, "You make it sound like he's going to eat the girl or something."

Dri Vicky smiled, nodding. It was hard to explain the complex process to a lay person, so she was grateful that Zhènlín simply told her to do it without asking for much.

"Point is, research has already shown that you can get the 'gayness' out of a person," Dr. Vicky assured them, "It is a combination of this classical conditioning, spiritual teachings and, most importantly, the desire of the person himself."

Zhènlín looked upstairs, his heart in pain. 

This had to be done, in order to save his son. And the family.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, the door was blasted open.

Everyone in the living room were startled, and stared at the gaping doorway.

The women screamed, while Zhènlín stood up, staring at the imposing figure at the doorway.

He exuded power, strength and had the aura of one not to be messed with. He just stood there at first, looking all around the room lazily, yet no one doubted that he was not on edge. 

He was dangerous.

"Where is he?" the man asked, staring at Zhènlín.

"Who?" Zhènlín asked, confused.

Just who was this man? Why was he here, attacking them? Zhènlín looked around and saw that there were people in dark suits all over the house. Inside, and outside.

In response, the man just turned his head to the left, and jerked it forward. 

A man, that had been right behind him, came into view on his left, and an identical man to that also showed himself on the right.

"Be gentle," the man commanded.

"Yes, Sir," Zack replied, heading upstairs.

"Wait! What are you doing!!" Zhènlín shouted.

The man that had been commanding everyone, walked towards him, standing imposingly in front of him.

"I am here to pick up my boyfriend," Nitocris announced.

Zhènlín stared at the man in horror. He looked at him from top to bottom and shook his head. 

How could this powerful figure be gay?

In his mind, all homosexuals were effeminate, which was why he had been so strict on Xing Han when he was growing up. He had to be a 'manly man' to avoid the danger that he was facing right now.

Yet, in front of him, was the most 'manly man' ever. And he was gay?!