Before him was Shan Yu’s face, hidden in the glare, its outline a blurry gold. Beneath his skin, nerves pulsed in time with his heartbeat.
Maybe it was because the heat was on too high, or because the afternoon sun was too warm, but Chen Jian felt he was having trouble breathing.
Each breath was labored, and he could clearly hear his own slightly ragged gasps.
Shan Yu was likely in the same state. The hot breaths intertwined by their ears, like the wind outside the car window sweeping through the sunlight. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whose gasp was whose, only that they rose and fell with the rhythm of hands stroking over bodies…
As the third car sped past them, kicking up a cloud of dust, the panting that had nearly filled the car slowly dissipated. The sunlight became clear again. A small, dry twig, spinning past the car window, tumbled gently onto the hood and fell away.
Chen Jian closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath.
Shan Yu reached backhanded into the glove compartment, pulled out some wet wipes, took out a few for him, and then turned sideways to fall back into the driver’s seat.
“Three cars passed by…” Chen Jian quickly straightened himself up, propping himself on the seatback to look behind him. “How do I get this seat back up?”
“You were even counting the cars?” Shan Yu chuckled, reaching over to press a button on the car door.
“Yeah,” the seatback slowly straightened. Chen Jian tugged at his waistband. “I was nervous. Who can compare to your composure… good thing no car honked, or I really would have…”
“What,” Shan Yu smiled, “would it have scared some secret ailment out of you?”
Chen Jian glanced at him, then thought about it and smiled.
“Heading back?” Shan Yu handed him a trash bag.
“Yeah,” Chen Jian nodded, putting the used tissues inside. He sealed the bag and placed it by his feet, unable to look at it. “Around noon, Sanbing took that President He from the travel agency to the old village. President He said they’d just grab a bite in the village, so they should be back soon.”
“You actually didn’t go yourself?” Shan Yu fastened his seatbelt and started the car.
“I wanted to come pick you up,” Chen Jian said. “Sanbing is very familiar with the old village, he grew up in a village too… Have you eaten?”
“Not yet,” Shan Yu said. “Do you guys have any leftovers from lunch?”
“What a thing to say, the boss comes back to eat leftovers,” Chen Jian said. “There’s a new Western restaurant on Second Street. Want to go try it?”
“Your treat?” Shan Yu asked.
“Yeah,” Chen Jian nodded. “Eat as much as you want. The boss is giving out bonuses this month, I’m loaded.”
The car stopped on the side of Second Street.
Shan Yu got out and looked at the new “Western restaurant” before him.
“Burger King,” he looked at Chen Jian.
“Yeah,” Chen Jian replied. “It’s not Chinese food, right?”
“…Right, right, if it’s not Chinese food, it must be Western food,” Shan Yu said.
“Exactly,” Chen Jian gestured. “Come on.”
“Are you teasing me,” Shan Yu followed him into the restaurant, “or just being cheap?”
“Cheap, I guess,” Chen Jian said. “It’s pretty affordable. When I was in school in the city, I’d eat here sometimes when I had a craving.”
Shan Yu didn’t say anything. It was pretty cheap, but he’d only eat it when he had a craving.
That meant he usually ate even cheaper things. Shan Yu remembered the fried pancake strips Chen Jian had taken him to eat before. That was truly cheap, and the portions were huge.
Chen Jian had already eaten lunch, so he ordered two burgers, a taro pie, and a coke for Shan Yu.
Shan Yu looked at the tray full of food. “Didn’t you say you already ate?”
“I ordered it for you,” Chen Jian said.
“I didn’t have this big of an appetite even when I just got out of jail…” Shan Yu said.
“Give me what you can’t finish,” Chen Jian smiled. “I like to buy a little extra food. It’s satisfying to look at, gives me a sense of security.”
Shan Yu didn’t speak. He glanced at him and reached out to touch his face.
His hand had just been raised when Chen Jian pressed it back down on the table. “Boss, would you mind taking a look at our surroundings…”
Shan Yu turned his head and looked around. Although it wasn’t mealtime, the restaurant was newly opened, so it was quite crowded.
“Besides the tourists, more than half the people here know you,” Chen Jian said. “And everyone knows me.”
Shan Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “Am I dating a celebrity?”
“Yeah,” Chen Jian nodded. “Maintain your image as the cold, ruthless, high-tech boss.”
Shan Yu smiled, unwrapped a burger, and took a bite.
“Yesterday, Xiao Dou’er was chatting with her friends and said that big brother boss’s leg isn’t lame anymore,” Chen Jian watched him, speaking in a low voice. “That kid said it’s because you have a robot inside your leg.”
“Tell Xiao Dou’er that I am a robot,” Shan Yu said after swallowing his bite of burger and taking a sip of coke.
“Xiao Dou’er wouldn’t believe it. You have absolutely no mystery in front of Xiao Dou’er,” Chen Jian said. “She’s too smart.”
“She’s not even in kindergarten yet, is she?” Shan Yu asked.
“There’s a kindergarten in Xincun,” Chen Jian said. “She goes there, but sometimes she throws a fit and doesn’t want to go, so her grandparents just let her stay home…”
“Will she go to school in the city?” Shan Yu asked.
“Not necessarily. It’s a lot of troublesome paperwork,” Chen Jian said. “Her dad thinks it’s fine for a girl to just study here. Her grandparents don’t have much say.”
“What a pity,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian didn’t say anything, just let out a very soft sigh.
Of the whole tray of food, Shan Yu only ate one burger and one taro pie. The rest was packed to go.
“Take it back for Lao Si and Lao Wu,” Chen Jian said. “Those two eat like they were starved in their past lives.”
“…What right do you have to talk about them? You haven’t even been reincarnated,” Shan Yu said. “You’re an original-flavor starving ghost.”
“I’m running around all day, I burn a lot of energy,” Chen Jian said.
“Then why didn’t you eat something just now?” Shan Yu said. “A ride in the car burns a lot of energy too.”
Chen Jian whipped his head around to look at him.
“What’s wrong, celebrity?” Shan Yu looked at him, a corner of his mouth lifting. “Such a cryptic language, others can’t decipher it, can they?”
Chen Jian clicked his tongue, turned, and walked out.
When he saw the car parked outside, he quickened his pace, went over and patted the front of the car, then took two steps back and circled to the front to look at it for a while.
“When’s your third driving test?” Shan Yu asked.
“Friday morning,” Chen Jian raised his phone and took a picture of the car. “My instructor said I’ll definitely pass on the first try. I should be able to get my license before the New Year.”
“You can drive this car from now on,” Shan Yu said.
“I’m fine with that other one,” Chen Jian said. “I doubt anyone at the inn would dare to drive this car. A scratch or a bump…”
“My mom scratched it up plenty when she used to drive it,” Shan Yu got into the car.
Chen Jian pulled open the door, and just as he sat down in the passenger seat, he opened it again and jumped out.
“What are you doing?” Shan Yu looked at him.
“Throwing out the trash,” Chen Jian threw the trash bag from his feet into a nearby trash can.
Shan Yu didn’t say anything, just turned his head away and smiled.
When they got back to the guesthouse, the parking spaces in the courtyard were full.
“Sanbing and President He’s group are back,” Chen Jian pointed to the two outermost cars. “Five of them came in two cars.”
The travel agency people had a different style from Director Lu.
“Just park on the street outside,” Shan Yu prepared to reverse.
“No need,” Chen Jian said. “Go in, park by the back gate of the garden. I’ve talked with the other businesses inside. When it’s busy, everyone parks in that middle area, as long as we leave a path for cars to get through. We only park on the street when this is full.”
“You’re quite capable,” Shan Yu drove down the small path and parked the car by the back gate of Dayin’s garden.
“It’s not that I’m capable,” Chen Jian said. “After I came back from the meeting, they all came looking for me, trying to get information, to get close.”
“Feels good?” Shan Yu asked.
“Thanks to you, boss,” Chen Jian said. “Because of that incident with the waiter, Big Li always had his eyebrows raised at me. When I came back on Monday, hey—his eyebrows were flat.”
Shan Yu smiled and reached out to pinch his cheek. “You’re showing your true colors.”
The first to come out and greet them as they entered the garden through the back gate was Mushroom.
She came over with a ball in her mouth, whining and wagging her butt the whole way, rubbing against Shan Yu relentlessly.
“This dog is growing up so fast,” Shan Yu bent down and held Mushroom’s head, rubbing it. “I’m going to go see President He first. Have Chen Erhu and the others take my luggage to my room. No need to take that big suitcase, it’s full of New Year’s goods. Let Auntie Zhao see where to put them.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian replied.
“Aiyo, Boss Shan!” Sanbing walked out carrying a mop and froze when he saw him. “When did you get back?”
“Just now,” Shan Yu glanced at him. “Carrying a flag to start a rebellion? Caught you, huh.”
“Just finished mopping,” Sanbing smiled sheepishly, putting the mop on the ground. “President He and the others are sitting in the cafe.”
“Yeah, you…” Chen Jian sighed. “We’ll talk about this at the meeting tonight.”
“No one saw,” Sanbing said.
“Boss Shan isn’t a person, is that it?” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu glanced at him.
“Neither am I,” Chen Jian added.
Sanbing started laughing. “Damn, I get it. I’ll be careful next time.”
Shan Yu went inside and straight to the cafe.
“Boss Shan is back!” Hu Pan was making coffee and immediately waved when she saw him.
“Yeah,” Shan Yu smiled.
“President He and the others just got back too,” Hu Pan introduced him to the few people in the cafe. “This is our Boss Shan. He came back especially for this.”
The few people sitting in the cafe stood up. A thin man in his forties extended a hand to Shan Yu. “We’ve troubled you, Boss Shan.”
“No trouble at all, President He,” Shan Yu shook his hand. “It’s what we should do… Did you go to the old village today?”
“Yes, young brother Chen Jiali showed us around and we had a meal at a farmhouse,” President He said. “We didn’t know before we came that this old village is a completely undeveloped ancient village.”
“That’s right. There are still many well-preserved old houses, and the stone tablets in the grain-sunning ground are also old,” Shan Yu sat down with them. “There’s probably an ancient village name too, which could be used in the future.”
“Exactly!” President He nodded. “The cultural aspect can be explored more deeply.”
Perhaps it was because he hadn’t slept enough the past few days, had driven for half a day, and had a round of… activity in the car, but he was very sleepy now. He had originally planned to take a nap as soon as he got back, but these guests had just returned.
He could only force himself to chat a little longer.
“There’s another village in Shannan, smaller than the old village,” fortunately, Chen Jian walked over. “That village is mostly uninhabited now, but it has many old houses, and more stone tablets than here. There’s a hiking trail that passes through it.”
“Shall we go take a look tomorrow?” President He looked at the people around him.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Then I’ll accompany President He there tomorrow,” Chen Jian said.
Then he naturally took over the conversation.
Perhaps because he wasn’t facing a “Director,” Chen Jian was much more relaxed with President He than he had been with Lu Yun. Shan Yu didn’t even need to speak.
After chatting for a while and roughly setting the itinerary for the next day’s inspection, President He looked at Shan Yu. “Boss Shan must be tired after driving all day. Go get some rest first. We can talk in detail tomorrow. We’ll look around Red Leaf Town tonight.”
“Alright,” Shan Yu nodded with a smile. “President He, just let us know if you need any assistance. More than half of our staff here are authentic locals.”
“I know that,” President He said with a smile. “Lu Yun specifically arranged for us to stay at Dayin for that reason as well.”
Before going upstairs, Shan Yu stopped by the front desk to chat with Sun Nana and the others for a few minutes.
“You look like you just came back from a robbery,” Sun Nana said with a laugh.
“This huge box of New Year’s goods,” Chen Erhu pointed to a large pile of things on the kitchen counter. “Must have cost a lot, it’s all good stuff.”
“I haven’t looked. My dad bought it and packed it,” Shan Yu said.
“Old President Shan is so generous…” Lao Wu was very moved.
“He’s not old,” Shan Yu said.
“Big President Shan…” Lao Wu corrected himself.
Chen Jian couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded like ‘great benefactor.’
“He’s not a President either,” Chen Erhu said. “He’s a professor!”
“Big Professor Shan…” Lao Wu started to get confused.
“Do you have to add a model number before the word ‘Shan’!” Lao Si couldn’t stand it anymore.
Chen Jian was still marveling as he got into the elevator. “Our Dayin, relying on this bunch of people, we actually made it, and even fooled Lu Yun…”
“Don’t talk nonsense, we didn’t fool anyone. People have many sides,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
Chen Jian laughed and nodded at him. “Yeah, just like our boss. Usually looks like he’s not doing any real work and runs from any task, but actually, he’s done everything that needs to be done.”
Shan Yu smiled without speaking.
When the elevator stopped on the fourth floor, Chen Jian took a step forward and pecked him on the lips.
He didn’t know why he didn’t wait until they were in the office to do it.
The doors opened as he kissed him.
Then he heard the sound of guests laughing and talking as they walked towards them from the other end of the corridor.
He was instantly startled and fumbled to jab the ‘close door’ button.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Shan Yu blocked the door with his leg and pushed him out of the elevator, whispering, “Just walk out normally. Are you afraid someone didn’t see?”
“…Oh,” Chen Jian paused, then walked towards the office.
When he passed the guests, he bowed slightly. “Good afternoon.”
Shan Yu followed his lead and said, “Good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon,” the guests said cheerfully as they entered the elevator.
“My composure,” Chen Jian said, turning around once he was in the office, “is really…”
Shan Yu kicked the door shut, wrapped his arms tightly around him, and bit his neck.
“Hey!” Chen Jian yelped in a hushed voice. “Ow, ow, ow, ow… are you trying to kill me…”
Shan Yu released his mouth, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt that something in the office was different.
He didn’t let go of Chen Jian, but held him and slowly turned in a half-circle. Then he saw, next to the cabinet behind the desk, a new black stand.
On it sat a large glass tank.
From his experience, he could tell at a glance that it was an expensive reptile enclosure.
“The hell?” He let go of Chen Jian and walked in shock to the enclosure. Then he saw a gecko inside.
“African fat-tailed gecko, orange and white, patternless,” Chen Jian came over and stood beside him. “It’s the same type as your old one, right?”
“Did you buy it?” Shan Yu turned to look at him.
“Yeah,” Chen Jian smiled. “A New Year’s gift. I showed the shop owner a photo from your Moments, and he said it was this type. Is that right?”
“Yes,” Shan Yu’s voice was a little hoarse when he answered.
“He didn’t have one in his shop. He had to take me to another friend’s house to find it,” Chen Jian said, relieved. “He said there were no adults, only a few sub-adults, which he said are easier to raise than babies…”
“How did you…” In that instant, countless thoughts flooded Shan Yu’s mind, emotions surging. “…think of buying this as a gift…”
“I don’t know, I just felt… even though you’ve gotten used to this place, it’s not where you grew up,” Chen Jian said. “And I feel like you must have really liked that gecko…”
Shan Yu didn’t speak, just leaned against the cabinet and looked at Chen Jian.
His eyes and the tip of his nose stung badly.
When tears slid down the corners of his eyes, he didn’t raise a hand to wipe them away.
“Why are you crying,” Chen Jian panicked, gently brushing his fingers across his face. “Don’t… don’t scare me…”
