Shan Yu’s neck was very warm, almost scalding, especially when Chen Jian’s wind-chilled nose touched it.
He could feel the pulse beating in the side of Shan Yu’s neck, and with each beat, the faint scent of seawater spread.
Panic.
A sudden, intense panic washed over him.
There was a craving for warmth.
There was also fear and helplessness in the face of the unknown.
He stood there, motionless.
He didn’t want to move, nor did he dare to move.
Not until Shan Yu turned his head and placed a light kiss behind his ear.
Only then did he jolt as if startled awake, then turned his head and kissed Shan Yu hard on the lips.
The wind seemed to stop abruptly.
The light from the car’s headlights dimmed.
The ground beneath his feet vanished.
It was as if he had suddenly lost consciousness.
All his senses faded from his body in that instant.
All that remained was the soft, moist sensation, tinged with a hint of coolness.
…
The world, frozen in time, was shattered by a large patch of bright light from a vehicle rounding the bend ahead. The light hit the woods on the side of the road, illuminating everything.
Then came a honk.
Chen Jian abruptly let go of Shan Yu and turned to lean against the car.
A few seconds later, a truck came around the bend.
Its headlights were on, illuminating the road, their car, and the two of them leaning against it.
For a moment, Chen Jian didn’t know whether he should stand still or quickly get back in the car.
But Shan Yu stood there calmly, unmoving, so he followed suit and didn’t move.
The car was behind him, and the woods were in front.
He thought Shan Yu’s reason for not moving was probably that they looked like tourists who had pulled over to pee together.
Though uncivilized, it was a plausible explanation.
After the truck passed, Chen Jian still stood there, his mind dizzy with a chaotic jumble of images and thoughts.
“Get in the car,” Shan Yu said, lightly flicking his face with his hand.
“Mhm,” Chen Jian came back to his senses and responded.
It was only one step from the back door to the passenger door, but it took Chen Jian a long time. Shan Yu had already walked around the front of the car and settled into the driver’s seat by the time he finally pulled open the door and got in.
Shan Yu turned his head to look at him.
Chen Jian was enveloped by a powerful sense of embarrassment. He didn’t even dare to let his peripheral vision stray towards Shan Yu, but he could feel Shan Yu’s gaze fixed on him.
After a while, Shan Yu finally smiled and said, “Seatbelt.”
“Oh,” Chen Jian replied, quickly grabbing the seatbelt and yanking it hard.
The seatbelt locked.
He relaxed his grip and gently pulled the seatbelt out again, buckling it properly.
Shan Yu didn’t say anything more. He reached out as if to turn on some music but couldn’t find any, so he tuned into a radio station instead and continued driving towards the small town.
Chen Jian leaned back in his seat, staring straight ahead.
He often used to not know what he was thinking, but now, for once, he was very clear about what was on his mind.
His head was filled with the kiss from just now.
He didn’t know if it was from excitement or fear, but his hands, shoved in his pockets, were trembling.
He thought of nothing else the entire way.
Not until the car stopped and Shan Yu reached over to pat his face did he jolt awake.
…Awake?
He froze for a moment, turned to look at Shan Yu, then looked outside again.
The car was parked on a cleared platform on the side of the winding mountain road. Beside it was a lit building with a sign that read: Half-Mountain Restaurant.
When did they arrive?
Chen Jian, shocked, took out his phone to check. It was almost eight o’clock.
“Damn it,” he said, utterly stunned and confused. “Did I fall asleep?”
“I thought you fainted,” Shan Yu said.
“How did you drive up here?” Chen Jian looked at him.
“I held the steering wheel and drove up,” Shan Yu said. “Didn’t you say it’s a winding mountain road? It’s just past those few guesthouses.”
“Mhm,” Chen Jian rubbed his face. “I was probably a bit tired from the exam and driving practice… Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“It’s fine,” Shan Yu said, his fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel. He said softly, “If you don’t want to have this meal, we can go back down now.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go,” Chen Jian said. “It’s just that… I haven’t recovered from what happened earlier.”
Shan Yu smiled. “Then we’ll go in after you’ve recovered.”
A waiter standing at the entrance saw their car arrive and came out to greet them, walking to the driver’s side.
Shan Yu rolled down the window. “We’ll be a little while.”
“Of course.” The waiter bowed politely and walked back.
“Their welcome staff”, Chen Jian couldn’t help but remark, “is so polite.”
“They have a different positioning,” Shan Yu said. “It’s not that we can’t do it.”
Chen Jian imagined the Pigsty Gang standing at the entrance, politely welcoming guests… He felt that even if Hu Pan stood there, her demeanor wouldn’t come across as polite.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
Shan Yu started laughing at almost the same time. “Are we thinking the same thing?”
“Probably,” Chen Jian turned to look at him, smiling. “Dayin’s welcome staff.”
As Shan Yu was laughing, his phone rang.
He fumbled behind his butt for a while, pulling his phone out from the crack in the seat, and answered, “Stop rushing, we’re here.”
“There are two people here starving while waiting for you to eat!” Yue Lang said. “Come in and eat before you go back to your car to laugh!”
Chen Jian could hear Yue Lang’s voice and froze. He looked towards the restaurant’s large glass windows and saw Yue Lang in the second-floor window directly in front of their car, holding a phone in one hand and pointing at them with the other.
“Ah?” Chen Jian looked at the second floor and whispered, “He can see us?”
“I can hear you too!” Yue Lang shouted. “Get up here!”
According to Shan Yu, Yue Lang and his wife probably wouldn’t have waited for them to start eating. But when Chen Jian glanced at the clean table with only two glasses of lemonade, he had a feeling they hadn’t eaten first.
Shan Yu was also a bit surprised. “You really waited while starving?”
“If it were just you, you think I’d wait?” Yue Lang took the menu from the waiter and placed it in front of Chen Jian. “Chen Jian, you order first.”
“Let Sister Xiaoyi order,” Chen Jian tried to push the menu towards Yao Yi. “I’m fine with anything.”
He really was fine with anything, especially when he was hungry.
Besides, he really didn’t know how to order at a restaurant like this. He couldn’t gauge the portion sizes, nor could he guess the flavors…
“Then let Shan Yu order,” Yao Yi said. “Don’t let me order, you definitely wouldn’t be able to eat the dishes I choose.”
“She always orders bland things,” Yue Lang said.
Shan Yu reached for the menu and casually placed Yao Yi’s conference pass on the table. “Returning this to you.”
“Did you use it?” Yao Yi asked with a smile.
“If I took it, I’d definitely use it,” Shan Yu said, looking at the menu. “We’ll see how their negotiations go. It’ll probably take another couple of rounds.”
“Didn’t they already agree?” Chen Jian asked in a low voice.
“Once they go back and discuss it, they’ll definitely add more conditions. And there are still a few families surnamed Chen who agreed without getting any benefits,” Shan Yu said. “They’ll come looking for you tomorrow to add conditions too.”
“Ah…” Chen Jian leaned back in his chair.
“It’s fine,” Yue Lang said. “If you can’t negotiate it, just have them find the boss. Boss Shan is awesome at other things, but he’s even more awesome at negotiating.”
Shan Yu smiled without saying anything and began ordering from the waiter.
He ordered a few signature dishes, a few specialty dishes, and a small portion of fried rice, asking for the fried rice to be served first.
“How was the rafting?” Shan Yu asked after ordering.
“It was alright, quite a few people were there,” Yue Lang said. “So many people who aren’t afraid of the cold.”
“You don’t feel cold once you start playing,” Yao Yi said. “You two should go try it, it’s really interesting. The family in the boat behind us today were all locals, from that old town.”
“Let’s go check it out some day,” Shan Yu said, turning his head to Chen Jian.
“Mhm,” Chen Jian nodded with a smile.
“Seriously, this area of yours has a lot of potential for development,” Yao Yi said. “Do you remember that guy? The one called Da Hei from class 376 back then…”
“I remember,” Shan Yu said.
“He’s in the tourism business now, running routes all the time,” Yao Yi said. “If you ever have any ideas, I can connect you two.”
“Which Da Hei?” Yue Lang immediately asked. “How come I don’t know?”
“A classmate,” Yao Yi said.
“A male classmate,” Shan Yu said.
“Oh, what a coincidence,” Yue Lang said.
Yao Yi laughed. “You’ve probably met him. He went to the same university as me, always playing soccer with that guy, the tall one…”
“Are you doing this on purpose?” Shan Yu said.
“Which tall one?” Yue Lang said. “Taller than me?”
“Not that tall,” Shan Yu said.
“You know him too?” Yue Lang looked at him.
“No,” Shan Yu said. “I’m just trying to annoy you.”
“Damn it,” Yue Lang laughed.
The restaurant wasn’t crowded at this time, so the food arrived quickly. Following it was the small portion of fried rice that Shan Yu had requested.
Only now did Chen Jian understand why he wanted the fried rice first. To ensure he could adhere to the rule of not speaking while eating as much as possible, Shan Yu would first fill his stomach with this small portion, allowing him to slow down later, chatting for a bit and taking a few bites.
Eating interspersed with speaking.
Chen Jian didn’t really understand if Shan Yu insisted on this rule because he had to, because he was used to it, or because it gave him an excuse when he didn’t want to talk.
But with Shan Yu’s personality, he didn’t seem to need a reason to talk or not talk.
Facing Yue Lang and his wife, Shan Yu was noticeably more talkative than usual, and his state was more… it was hard to describe, lacking some of his usual laziness.
Chen Jian was the one who was truly not speaking while eating now. He could only contribute a few sentences when the conversation turned to tourism in the past two days. Once the topic shifted, he could only remain silent.
Yue Lang and Shan Yu were friends of many years; Yao Yi and Shan Yu were high school classmates who had stayed in touch. They all belonged to Shan Yu’s past, present, and future.
Chen Jian listened quietly to their conversation, eating his food seriously.
Thank goodness he was hungry.
He didn’t know if it was because he was hungry, or the food at this restaurant was delicious, or because Shan Yu was good at ordering, but in any case, Chen Jian ate quite heartily.
The only downside was that he ate too fast. While Shan Yu and the others were still eating, Chen Jian already felt stuffed.
He leaned back in his chair to rest for a moment, then leaned slightly towards Shan Yu.
Shan Yu’s body quickly leaned over as well. “Hm?”
“I’m going to check out their terrace,” Chen Jian said in a low voice. “It looks like there’s a big fireplace.”
“Go ahead,” Shan Yu smiled. “Do some research while you’re at it, see if we can build one.”
“…I’m off the clock now,” Chen Jian said.
“Really?” Shan Yu glanced at him.
Chen Jian smiled, stood up, and was about to say something to Yue Lang and the others when Yao Yi already smiled and waved at him. “Go on, we heard you.”
The restaurant had three floors, with a large terrace on both the second and third floors. They were semi-open, with a huge fireplace, or rather a fire pit, against the wall of the building.
The restaurant faced away from the old village, towards the mountains and river. The view was more expansive than the viewing platform that overlooked the old village, wilder. Without the lights of the old village, all one could see now was the silvery moonlight and the thin, silvery layer of snow on the mountain peaks.
It was a bit chilly and desolate.
Chen Jian stood by the terrace railing for a while, then walked over to a chair by the fire pit and sat down.
He stared into the distance, lost in thought.
“Should you go keep him company?” Yue Lang could see Chen Jian from where he was sitting. “He’s been spacing out for a long time.”
“Probably not,” Shan Yu said without turning around. “I’d be disturbing his thoughts.”
“Did something happen between you two these past couple of days?” Yao Yi, being a girl, was more sensitive. “Little brother feels a bit different.”
Shan Yu cleared his throat but didn’t speak.
“Did he hit you again?” Yue Lang asked.
“You’re the one who hasn’t been hit enough,” Shan Yu said.
Yao Yi laughed and slapped Yue Lang. “If he had been hit again, he definitely wouldn’t be in this state.”
“Can you two show some respect for the injured?” Shan Yu said.
“Aren’t I being respectful? I didn’t hit you,” Yue Lang clicked his tongue.
Shan Yu leaned back in his chair and laughed.
After a while, he sighed again.
“I think he… might not have much of a sense of security,” Shan Yu said.
“Really? Maybe,” Yue Lang frowned, looking at him. After a moment, he said, “Why do I feel like you’re the same?”
“He’s always been like that,” Yao Yi said, propping her chin on her hand, her finger tapping her cheek. “It just manifests differently. Hedgehogs usually don’t have a sense of security.”
“You’re the hedgehog,” Shan Yu said. “You’re a porcupine.”
“Your buddy just called me a pig,” Yao Yi said, looking at Yue Lang.
“A porcupine,” Yue Lang corrected her.
Shan Yu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“I’ll help you beat him up later,” Yue Lang said, putting an arm around Yao Yi.
“I can’t watch this,” Shan Yu drank the lemonade in his cup. “I’m going to go check on him. Are you two heading down later?”
“We’re going to the third floor to take night shots,” Yao Yi said. “Didn’t you notice I changed into a pretty outfit specifically for this?”
“…I just noticed,” Shan Yu said.
“You don’t have to say things like that out loud!” Yao Yi laughed.
“I’ll help you beat him up later,” Yue Lang said.
“Are you a broken record?” Shan Yu said, laughing as he stood up, put on his jacket, and walked towards Chen Jian.
Chen Jian hadn’t changed his position since he sat down. He was leaning back in the chair with his legs stretched out, his elbow propped on the armrest, and his fingers pressed against his temple.
He had been holding that pose, like a gun pointed at his own head, for at least twenty minutes.
“Is this fire warm?” Shan Yu asked as he walked over.
“Hm?” Chen Jian came back to his senses, turned to see him, pulled his legs in, and sat up straight. “It’s pretty warm. They just added more wood, so the fire is big.”
It was a two-person chair. Shan Yu walked over, lightly kicked Chen Jian’s shoe, and Chen Jian moved over. Shan Yu sat down next to him, slid down a bit, and leaned back with his legs stretched out.
“Finished eating?” Chen Jian asked.
“Mhm,” Shan Yu nodded. “Those two are taking pictures on the third-floor terrace.”
“What about us?” Chen Jian asked. “Are we going back?”
“Let’s sit for a while,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian didn’t speak, leaning back in the chair. After a moment, he also slid down a bit, half-leaning in the chair with him.
“What are you thinking about,” Shan Yu turned his head to look at him, “sitting here for so long?”
“Nothing,” Chen Jian said.
“You think I believe that?” Shan Yu said.
“You don’t?” Chen Jian smiled.
“Even Xiao Dou’er wouldn’t believe it,” Shan Yu said. “And I’m a year older than her, how could I possibly believe it?”
Chen Jian laughed and rubbed his nose.
“Is it about what happened… on the road earlier?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Jian’s raised hand paused, then he slowly lowered it after a moment. “I… don’t know. I can’t explain it.”
“If it’s about that,” Shan Yu paused for a moment, then looked at him and said in a low voice, “if you feel uncomfortable, we can pretend it never happened.”
Chen Jian didn’t speak, still looking down at his own hands.
Shan Yu also remained silent.
The fire in the pit behind them burned brightly, making soft crackling sounds. Sparks flew out from time to time, only to quickly disappear in the night wind.
“It’s this,” Chen Jian suddenly spoke. “It’s that sentence you just said.”
“Hm?” Shan Yu was taken aback. “Which one?”
“‘We can pretend it never happened.'” Chen Jian turned his head to look at him. “If I don’t remember, you won’t remember.”
Shan Yu was silent.
“I’m very scared,” Chen Jian said.
