Wen Yun, being the kind of person he was, asked if it was embarrassing to be seen with simply because Xie Zhinan didn’t want to sit in front of the glass window, afraid of being seen by coworkers.
Xie Zhinan almost said, I’m scared, Your Majesty, but instead stammered, “No… no… not at all.”
“Then why are you stammering?”
Xie Zhinan blankly found a random excuse and weakly said, “Just… the noodles are a bit spicy.”
Wen Yun frowned, his gaze falling to Xie Zhinan’s red lips, which were still slightly tinged with yogurt foam from earlier.
“Did you finish the yogurt?” he asked.
Xie Zhinan nodded absentmindedly, confirming that he had indeed finished it.
Wen Yun stood up, seemingly intending to get him another yogurt. Xie Zhinan, who had only been looking for an excuse, instinctively grabbed his sleeve to stop him.
Wen Yun froze and turned around.
Xie Zhinan quietly said, “…It’s not that spicy anymore.”
Wen Yun lowered his gaze to the hand Xie Zhinan had grabbed, noting how slender his wrist was, and how beautifully his hand was shaped—pale and delicate.
Xie Zhinan quickly withdrew his hand as if burned.
Wen Yun’s lips pressed into a slight line, looking as if he was displeased with Xie Zhinan pulling away.
But by that time, Xie Zhinan had already turned back to his noodles, not seeing Wen Yun’s expression. He simply muttered, “Thank you.”
Wen Yun watched Xie Zhinan profile as the sunlight poured in through the windows, casting a golden glow on him, making his ears look almost translucent, with fine, tiny hairs visible.
Xie Zhinan picked up a bite of noodles and was about to eat when he heard Wen Yun’s indifferent voice, “Thanking me again for our company’s caring corporate culture?”
Xie Zhinan felt that sharp, sarcastic disapproval again. Although Wen Yun’s expression seemed calm, with no trace of emotion, it felt like a subtle complaint.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
Xie Zhinan mumbled a vague reply.
He thought he heard Wen Yun sneer softly.
He turned his head to look at him quietly, but Wen Yun didn’t return his gaze. Instead, he calmly opened the packaging for a rice ball and slowly took a bite.
He must have misheard.
Xie Zhinan thought, lowering his head to continue eating, but for some reason, he unconsciously touched the back of his neck.
It felt strangely cold, as though someone was about to bite him hard.
….
After finishing their meal, Xie Zhinan glanced at Wen Yun beside him. Wen Yun saw his hesitance and, knowing not to pressure him too much, said, “I have something to do.”
Meaning, he didn’t need to go back to the company with him.
Xie Zhinan immediately relaxed but worried that his relief might be too obvious. Fearing Wen Yun would notice, he tried to look calm as he said, “Alright, Mr. Wen, I’ll head back first.”
Wen Yun found his attempt to act like a stranger amusing and asked, “Do we need to pretend when it’s just the two of us?”
Xie Zhinan gave an appropriately confused expression.
Wen Yun found it uninteresting, and with a cold tone, said, “Then you can go.”
It seemed like he was upset again.
As if some deep-rooted instinct within him was influencing his actions, Xie Zhinan hesitated, standing still for a long time.
Wen Yun didn’t look at him, but his peripheral vision kept tracking him, and his voice remained cold and indifferent, making it hard to tell whether it carried any expectation: “Aren’t you leaving?”
Xie Zhinan opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
Should he ask why Wen Yun was upset?
Xie Zhinan didn’t know how to phrase it. As a subordinate, he probably shouldn’t care so much about his superior’s feelings. It felt like a block of iron was stuck in his throat, and his mouth opened comically, then closed again. Finally, he just muttered, “…Goodbye, Mr. Wen.”
Wen Yun’s eyelashes lowered, and he looked a bit disappointed, but didn’t say anything.
Xie Zhinan tentatively stood up and left his seat. Once out of Wen Yun’s line of sight, he began walking faster, as if fearing that if he didn’t hurry, some sticky, disordered syrup would wrap around him, like an insect that crawled into a honey jar, drawn by the sweet, dreamy allure, only to drown in it.
He kept walking, walking until he reached the intersection. The convenience store was now far behind him.
People were coming and going, and cars were weaving through the streets.
The green light turned on, and the crowd moved forward. Amidst the noisy bustle, Xie Zhinan suddenly had the urge to turn around.
The desire came out of nowhere, like vines growing in the small convenience store. From the moment he stepped out, the vines wrapped around his ankles, ready to trip him up and prevent him from leaving.
The desire quickly overtook reason, overtook thought. Xie Zhinan stopped in the middle of the crowd, stood still, and looked back.
The crowd was like a river, flowing past him, and he felt like a boat going against the current.
Through the sea of people, he saw Wen Yun stepping out of the convenience store. Their eyes met—Wen Yun’s dark, piercing gaze locking onto his.
Neither of them moved. The green light was almost over, and the crowd had almost cleared out.
In a panic, Xie Zhinan lowered his gaze and moved forward with the last of the people in the crowd.
When he got back to the company, everything was as usual.
But in the afternoon, Xie Zhinan’s eyelid started twitching again. He kept rubbing his eyes, and his eyelids turned red. Li Mo couldn’t stand it anymore and gave him a solution.
She said that if someone’s eyelid twitched back in their hometown, they used to take a red piece of paper, tear it into small bits, and stick them onto their eyelids.
“Is this really okay?” Xie Zhinan was curious. Li Mo had ordered takeout for lunch, and inside the takeout was a red card. She crumpled the card and tore off a layer, dipped it in water, and placed it on Xie Zhinan’s eyelid.
“I don’t know.” Li Mo shrugged. “Anyway, it’s a tradition from our hometown. It should help ward off evil spirits.”
Xie Zhinan didn’t really believe in such things, but when he thought back to the tarot reading Li Mo had done for him last time, he opened his mouth but quietly closed it again. He obediently let Li Mo place the paper on him.
“All done!” Li Mo clapped her hands, nodding in satisfaction. “Now your eyelid shouldn’t twitch anymore.”
“Thanks, Mo Jie.”
Whether it was effective or just a placebo, in the afternoon, Xie Zhinan felt that his eyelid didn’t twitch as much.
He felt quite satisfied, and even his work efficiency seemed to improve. His mood lightened.
Until he received a WeChat message just before finishing work.
[Li Huajia]: Nannan, I’m downstairs at your company.
[Li Huajia]: You haven’t replied to my messages for a long time, so I had to come find you.
Xie Zhinan was momentarily confused. He wasn’t very good at or fond of socializing, and his closest friend was Lin Yang. For a moment, he couldn’t remember who this “Li Huajia” was.
After a couple of seconds, he suddenly remembered—it was the artist he had rejected before.
The artist’s name was Li Qing, and he was a bit persistent.
Sometimes, Xie Zhinan would take his little cat for a walk in the park, and one time he happened to run into Li Qing, who was painting by the lake.
Li Qing said that Xie Zhinan looked very soft holding the cat, and it gave him some inspiration for his art. He wanted to be friends with him, but Xie Zhinan didn’t really like interacting with strangers and wasn’t keen on making new friends, so he rejected him.
He thought that would be the end of it, but after that, he kept running into Li Qing in the park.
At first, Xie Zhinan wondered if Li Qing was intentionally following him, but Li Qing always seemed natural, occasionally waving or greeting him when they crossed paths.
It didn’t seem too abnormal since it was a public place, and others had the freedom to come and go.
There was only one park near Xie Zhinan’s home, and it was quite well-maintained. The nearest other park was ten kilometers away, smaller and farther, so after some hesitation, Xie Zhinan didn’t choose to go the longer way around.
Over time, the two ran into each other more often, and they gradually started chatting. When Li Qing asked to add him as a friend, Xie Zhinan felt too awkward to refuse.
That day, Li Qing told him that he had been “squatting” near him on purpose for two months just to add him as a friend. He thought Xie Zhinan was cute and wanted to pursue him.
Xie Zhinan didn’t know how Li Qing had figured out he was gay, but he rejected him again and told him that he wasn’t interested in dating.
He thought that would be the end of it.
But today, here it was again.
Sometimes, Xie Zhinan really felt that there were very few normal people in the world.
If it weren’t for the chat logs, he would even doubt whether his memory of rejecting him was accurate.
How did this artist even find his company?
[Xie Zhinan]: Why are you downstairs at my company?
[Li Huajia]: ^ ^ I just came.
Xie Zhinan was slow to react emotionally; he didn’t feel particularly angry, just bothered.
[Xie Zhinan]: This is really troubling for me.
[Li Huajia]: ^ ^ Sorry.
[Li Huajia]: I’ll keep waiting downstairs for you.
[Xie Zhinan]: … I’m not at the company.
There was no response from the other side, and he wasn’t sure if the message had been received.
Xie Zhinan sighed and decided to leave the office later that evening.
….
It was time to leave work, and Xie Zhinan waited an extra half an hour before heading downstairs. When he reached the entrance of the building, he looked around but didn’t see Li Qing’s figure. He let out a sigh of relief and took a couple of steps forward, only for someone to suddenly jump out from the side and grab his wrist.
Xie Zhinan was startled, the hair on his back standing on end. He quickly yanked his hand away and took several steps back, staring at the person in shock.
Li Qing seemed pleased by Xie Zhinan’s startled expression. A smile slowly appeared on his elegant face as he raised a bouquet of white roses and said, “Nannan, long time no see.”
Xie Zhinan’s heart was racing from the shock. He tried to hold it in, but finally couldn’t suppress himself and said, “…Are you sick?”
Two blushes appeared on Li Qing’s face, and his breath quickened. He said, “Nannan, I just like you.”
Xie Zhinan didn’t even know how Li Qing had found out the address of his company. His head throbbed with pain. He knew too many people near the office, and he wasn’t ready to come out at work. He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and didn’t want to argue with him. “I’m going home. Don’t follow me.”
“Can I go to your place, Nannan?”
“No!”
“But I still want to take you out for dinner tonight.”
“I didn’t agree to that.”
Xie Zhinan took long strides, walking ahead, but Li Qing followed closely behind, haunting him. “Nannan, take the flowers. I really like you, and these flowers suit you.”
Xie Zhinan remained silent, not saying a word, but his silence seemed to give Li Qing some courage. He reached out to grab Xie Zhinan’s hand, trying to press the flowers into it. “Nannan, I…”
The two were already at the edge of the road when suddenly, a black Maybach turned the corner and stopped right in front of them.
The back door opened, and a hand was placed on the black car door—long fingers, distinct joints, pale white skin with prominent veins on the back of the hand.
Xie Zhinan suddenly had a premonition, and his heart skipped a beat.
Li Qing followed his gaze and looked over. A tall, cold-looking man emerged from the car. He was wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit. His black eyes held an icy coldness, and his chilling gaze swept between him and Xie Zhinan before landing on the white roses in his hand. The man stared at them for a while before shifting his gaze to Xie Zhinan’s face.
Xie Zhinan felt a bit guilty under his gaze, even though nothing had happened. Instinctively, he pulled his hand out of Li Qing’s grasp.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Li Qing sharply sensed that the atmosphere between Xie Zhinan and this man was unusual. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the man ask.
“Xie Zhinan, have you finished the work I assigned to you?”
What work?
Xie Zhinan opened his mouth, but of course, he couldn’t say he hadn’t finished. He even felt a sense of relief for a moment. He really didn’t want to get tangled up with Li Qing anymore, so he replied casually, “Sorry, Mr. Wen, I still have a little bit left to finish.”
“Then go back to the company,” Wen Yun said.
“Wait, who are you…?”
Before Li Qing could finish his words, he suddenly met Wen Yun’s gaze. Wen Yun was taller than him and seemed to have just glanced at him casually. His dark, cold eyes glanced down, indifferent and unbothered. After a brief glance, his gaze shifted away.
It was as if he hadn’t seen him at all, or even if he had, he treated him like some kind of insignificant pest.
Li Qing felt a surge of anger. What infuriated him even more was the way this man was protecting Xie Zhinan.
His expression darkened, and he reached for Xie Zhinan’s hand again. “Nannan, only I truly like you…”
Xie Zhinan was just about to dodge his touch when Wen Yun grabbed his elbow and pulled him over.
Wen Yun finally spared Li Qing another glance, still wearing his usual indifferent and disinterested expression.
“If you continue to harass my employee, I’ll have you sent straight to the police station.”
