“Are you crazy?”
“It’s over, isn’t it?”
For the few minutes the waiter was getting the cola, there was no sound in the private room. Shan Yu’s mind was filled with various tones of “It’s over.”
It’s over—
It’s finished—
It’s done—
It’s all gone—
Chen Jian remained motionless. After delivering that slap, he had entered a completely frozen state. Shan Yu could tell he was waiting. The initial shock and indignation had passed. Now, he was just waiting for the cola to be placed on the table, and for the waiter to leave, for that opportunity to speak.
“Your cola, sir.” The waiter placed the cola in front of Shan Yu.
“Thank you,” Shan Yu took the cola and twisted open the cap. The moment the waiter closed the door, he spoke before Chen Jian could: “I’m sorry.”
Chen Jian glanced at him, seemingly thrown off by Shan Yu’s interruption, and remained silent.
“I’m sorry,” Shan Yu cleared his throat and pressed the ice-cold cola against his face. “I swear, before that just now, I had no premeditation or setup. It was purely…”
Driven by lust.
Overcome by desire.
Blind with passion.
“Impulsive,” Shan Yu said. “It’s just… I hope you don’t let this matter…” He wanted to say, I hope you don’t let this incident make you think everything I’ve done before was for this purpose. But halfway through, he suddenly stopped, deciding to give up. He couldn’t explain it.
His kindness to Chen Jian did indeed cross the boundaries he understood for a boss towards an employee. Although there were many reasons, even including the saying “help him if you can,” it also genuinely included the reason that he had a good impression of Chen Jian from the first sight. And now, he couldn’t explain, or he couldn’t make Chen Jian, in such an emotional state, understand that this good impression and that kiss were not necessarily linked.
What a mess this is.
“I’m sorry,” Shan Yu sighed, tilting his head back and chugging two gulps of cola. The icy, spicy sensation made him frown.
Chen Jian looked at him, then after a moment, stood up: “I’m going out for a bit.”
“Mhm,” Shan Yu replied. He didn’t know what Chen Jian was going to do, and nothing would surprise him. The fact that Chen Jian didn’t stand up and throw a plate of food at his head probably meant Chen Jian didn’t want to waste food.
When the waiter brought in the beef hotpot, Chen Jian still hadn’t returned. Shan Yu turned the heat to the lowest setting, leaned back in his chair, and gently tapped his fingers on the table.
Three minutes and twelve seconds later, the door was pushed open, and Chen Jian walked in. His face and hair were wet. Shan Yu breathed a sigh of relief; at least he hadn’t just walked out.
“Boss Shan,” Chen Jian finally spoke.
“Mhm,” Shan Yu replied, sitting up straight.
“I just want to say,” Chen Jian looked at him, “this apology can wait. I also… don’t need too many explanations. I believe you didn’t have any… but this matter, it…”
It’s harassment, yes.
Chen Jian struggled to speak, while Shan Yu listened quietly.
“I hope this doesn’t… happen again in the future,” Chen Jian said.
“It won’t,” Shan Yu said.
“I need this job, I need this income, so I hope the relationship between boss and employee remains just that,” Chen Jian said. “Nothing else mixed in.”
Shan Yu lowered his head and let out a long sigh. Chen Jian’s difficult words filled his heart with a bitter ache.
“Okay,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian was silent for a while, then reached out and turned up the heat on the beef hotpot, quietly staring at the meat in the pot. Shan Yu had prepared himself for Chen Jian to curse him, hit him, or any other extreme reaction. But in the end, Chen Jian only had these three simple sentences. It was far more devastating than a good beating. It felt like slipping and hurting his back.
The beef hotpot was quite delicious. The beef was fresh, and the broth was fragrant. Although Chen Jian ate somewhat distractedly, he could still taste the flavors. Shan Yu still ate in silence, focused on his food. Chen Jian could see the finger marks on his face, from light red to deeper red, and now a widespread redness and swelling. He hadn’t expected his casual slap to have such an effect.
Shan Yu had indeed startled him. The amount of information he needed to process from that single action was too complex and too impactful. He had stood in the restroom, staring at himself in the mirror for ten minutes, before he finally recovered. He was willing to believe what Shan Yu said. But he still felt uncomfortable. Even though Shan Yu said there was no premeditation or setup, he still remembered the meaning behind his dad’s words:
Why are you the manager?
The beef hotpot was delicious. Usually, Chen Jian could eat half a pot, but today, after a few bites, he couldn’t eat anymore. It wasn’t a lack of appetite; he felt completely full, even a little stuffed. He put down his chopsticks and looked at Shan Yu. Shan Yu was still eating, very focused. After finishing the last piece of meat in his bowl, he finally said, “Let’s get it to-go.”
“Mhm,” Chen Jian replied, standing up and leaving the private room to ask the waiter outside for some take-out containers. After packing everything up, Chen Jian, carrying the bags, followed Shan Yu out of the restaurant and towards the parking lot opposite. Although he knew his dad must have already left, he still looked towards the hospital entrance several times. In this matter, he was very grateful to Shan Yu. And not just this matter; in many things, he was very grateful to Shan Yu. Just as Hu Pan said, Shan Yu was a very good boss. Any problem that arose at the guesthouse, Shan Yu, while being uncontrollably indulgent, was also everyone’s calming force. All of this made him work hard to ensure the Grand Hidden could get on track smoothly. It was precisely because of this that he was so shocked and confused by the situation just now.
After putting everything in the car, Chen Jian hesitated, then asked, “Are we going to the arcade?” He hoped to maintain the status quo. The boss wanted to go to the arcade to mess with kids, so they should try to stick to the original plan and mess with kids.
“Yes,” Shan Yu answered simply, opening the car door and getting in. Chen Jian closed the trunk door, walked around to the passenger side, and got in.
The road back to the mall was still quite congested, but Shan Yu drove very carefully, or perhaps he was somewhat distracted. The light turned green, and he didn’t move, prompting the car behind him to honk and flash its lights.
“The light’s green,” Chen Jian reminded him.
Only then did Shan Yu drive forward.
“Driving, still…” Chen Jian glanced at the rearview mirror. “Concentrate.”
Shan Yu clicked his tongue. Then he hummed in agreement.
There weren’t many people in the arcade, and not many children to harass.
“Do you want to play?” Shan Yu asked.
“No,” Chen Jian said. “I don’t know how to play these.”
“If there’s something you want to play, I’ll teach you,” Shan Yu exchanged coins and drove his wheelchair around various arcade machines. “I used to spend all day in arcades for quite a while.”
I thought you spent all day fighting on the streets.
Chen Jian didn’t say anything, unsure of what to say to seem “normal,” to seem less deliberately maintaining the “boss and employee relationship.”
“Let’s start with the most boring one,” Shan Yu stopped in front of a claw machine.
“Is this boring?” Chen Jian said. “I’ve never caught anything.”
“Isn’t it boring if you’ve never caught anything?” Shan Yu inserted a coin. “Do you want anything?”
“I…” Chen Jian suddenly felt a bit lost. He couldn’t even answer this question easily.
“Xiao Dou’er would probably like these little trinkets,” Shan Yu rephrased. “Pick one for her.”
“That…” Chen Jian quickly scanned the machine. Xiao Dou’er liked everything bright yellow. He pointed to a small yellow plush bag at the very back. “That yellow little bag.”
Shan Yu’s hand on the control stick paused. He turned to look at him: “Should I just climb in and get it for you?”
“…Can’t you grab it?” Chen Jian asked.
“Let’s try,” Shan Yu said, still controlling the claw to move inwards. Indeed, it was in a difficult position to grab, only possible to try and hook it with the claw. But Shan Yu didn’t try that. He simply shook the claw, hooking a small bag on the edge of the upper layer. The small bag slipped off, but as it fell, it hit the yellow small bag.
“Okay,” Shan Yu said, inserting another coin, controlling the claw, and lifting the small bag to the exit. But before he could drop it, the small bag unhooked, falling onto the edge of the exit, standing there in a hesitant posture as if ready to jump off a cliff. Shan Yu clicked his tongue and reached into the basket for more coins to insert.
That’s a bit of a loss.
Chen Jian wanted to say never mind, but before he could, a chubby child, who had appeared at some point and was peering through the glass watching Shan Yu try to get the bag, suddenly stepped back, then leaned against the machine again. The machine wobbled slightly, and the teetering small bag fell into the exit. Chen Jian couldn’t help but glance at the chubby child.
“What a skill,” Shan Yu chuckled, casually grabbing a few coins from the basket and handing them over. The chubby child happily took the coins and ran towards the machine he wanted to play. Shan Yu took out the yellow small bag from the exit and looked at it. It was a zippered pouch with a strap, big enough to hold several packets of Xiao Dou’er’s favorite spicy strips and jelly.
“Let’s get some other things,” Shan Yu put the small bag in the wheelchair’s pouch and slowly moved between two large rows of claw machines, finally stopping in front of a snack machine. “Let’s get some of these to put on the counter for guests.”
“Mhm,” Chen Jian replied. Shan Yu inserted a coin and gave up his spot: “You try.”
Chen Jian was startled. He walked to the machine, aimed at what he felt was easiest to grab, and lowered the claw. He didn’t even know what it was. When he lifted it, he realized it was very heavy and almost immediately dropped back down.
“Grab that marshmallow,” Shan Yu said, inserting another coin.
Chen Jian hadn’t played claw machines many times. He rarely participated in this kind of entertainment, where you either failed and purely wasted money, or succeeded and it was a low-cost, high-selling item. At most, he’d help someone try a few times to change their luck. He was very unskilled at it now. He failed several times.
“You grab it,” Chen Jian said. “If I keep trying, even if I get this bag of marshmallows, I’ll have to enshrine it back home and not let anyone eat it.”
“Just one more step,” Shan Yu chuckled, walked over and took the control stick, still aiming for the marshmallow. The marshmallow had been tossed around a few times by Chen Jian, and now the bag was all crumpled. The claw went down and grabbed it immediately. Then the marshmallow was brought to the exit. And then, because of a sticker sticking up, it got caught on the edge of the exit.
What kind of luck is this!
“I really…” Shan Yu looked at the bag of marshmallows. After a few seconds, he turned to look at Chen Jian.
“Hmm?” Chen Jian didn’t understand.
“Go bump it,” Shan Yu said.
An adult male, bumping a claw machine in an arcade, all for a ten-yuan bag of marshmallows.
“The wheelchair has a lot of power,” Chen Jian said.
“Good point,” Shan Yu controlled the wheelchair to turn around, moved a little distance forward, and looked back.
Is he serious?
Chen Jian was startled and quickly went over and stepped on the wheel’s brake. Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
“It’ll fall down in a bit,” Chen Jian looked at the marshmallow bag again. “That sticker will tear off in a bit, and the bag will fall down.”
“Alright,” Shan Yu turned back around.
The two of them and the wheelchair stood in front of the claw machine, waiting for the sticker and the bag to separate. You could see the sticker and the bag slowly separating, but because of the limited weight of the marshmallow, the process was a bit long. Neither of them spoke. Chen Jian felt that Shan Yu wasn’t waiting; he was just staring at the bag in a daze. Of course, he was pretty much the same; as soon as he quieted down, his mind was in chaos. There were images, there were sounds, but when he tried to grasp a main point, he would find that he wasn’t thinking anything at all, just pure chaos.
The chubby kid appeared beside them again at some point. He was watching the bag of marshmallows with them.
“Grab it again. It hasn’t fallen yet, so it’s a strong claw now,” the chubby kid said. “Guaranteed win.”
“Really?” Chen Jian came back to his senses.
Shan Yu handed the small basket of coins he was holding to the chubby kid: “You grab it. Whatever’s left after you’re done is yours.”
“Really?” The chubby kid was delighted. “All of it?”
“All of it,” Shan Yu said.
The chubby kid didn’t hesitate. He quickly inserted the coins, then aimed for the largest bag of popcorn: “Watch me.”
“Why aren’t you in school?” Shan Yu asked.
“I have diarrhea,” the chubby kid said, still staring at the claw without forgetting to answer. “My mom excused me… Watch me!”
The claw went down and indeed grabbed it. The popcorn was successfully dropped into the hole, bringing the bag of marshmallows with it.
“Are they all for me?” the chubby kid confirmed again.
Shan Yu didn’t speak, just waved his hand. The chubby kid ran off with the basket.
“Aren’t you playing anymore?” Chen Jian asked.
“No,” Shan Yu leaned back in his chair. “Let’s go back. Call Zhao Fangfang and tell her to make dinner for both of us too.”
“Mhm,” Chen Jian replied, taking out his phone and dialing Zhao Fangfang’s number.
“Weren’t you supposed to be back much later?” Zhao Fangfang asked.
“We finished early,” Chen Jian said.
“Okay, then I’ll make more,” Zhao Fangfang said.
After the call, they both remained silent all the way to the parking lot. Shan Yu yawned after getting into the car.
“Want to take a nap?” Chen Jian asked.
“Not sleepy,” Shan Yu said, starting the car. “Just bored.”
It’s quite stifling.
Not just because the underground parking lot was a bit stuffy, but it had been stuffy all along.
But whose fault is that, Boss?
Perhaps because it was so stuffy and he was a little oxygen-deprived, Chen Jian started to feel drowsy even before the car left the parking lot. And he had just asked the other person if he wanted to nap. Chen Jian tried hard to keep his eyes open, and even opened the car window a crack. But the next second, he fell asleep without hesitation. He didn’t wake up the whole way. Yet, he felt very awake, because he felt like he was constantly guarding against Shan Yu suddenly honking the horn or slapping his face. Neither happened.
“Chen Jian!” Shan Yu yelled. “Chen—Jian—Chen! Manager—”
“Hey!” Chen Jian sat up abruptly, his vision blurring for a while before successfully focusing. He had been asleep, and for a long time. Ahead was the road into the small town.
He’s this tired…
“Tell Sanbing,” Shan Yu said, “to bring people to the intersection to move that box.”
“Huh?” Chen Jian was startled. “Couldn’t we just drive it in? It’s only five meters to the courtyard.”
“If we drive it in, others won’t see it,” Shan Yu said. “Carry it in. The small road is paved with gravel, it’s too bumpy. What if it breaks what’s inside?”
Isn’t the dilapidated road into the small town even bumpier than the gravel path at the entrance?
“Mhm,” Chen Jian took out his phone. Although he didn’t understand, he still did as he was told, dialing Sanbing’s number.
“Tell them to make some noise,” Shan Yu said.
“What’s in the box?” Chen Jian couldn’t help but ask.
“Don’t know yet,” Shan Yu said. “It’s probably a bottle, a jar, or something, or some other porcelain or pottery.”
…Such a big item, something that requires an ID to pick up.
Is it actually a blind box?
Sanbing was indeed Chen Erhu’s capable subordinate. Although he also didn’t know why, based on the principle that the boss must have his reasons for doing so, he brought Xiao Wu and Hu Pan to stand at the intersection in advance. They all looked like they were eagerly awaiting something, Sanbing even shielding his eyes with his hand, looking in their direction. The performance was a bit over-the-top.
When the car reached them, Chen Jian glanced at Shan Yu and suddenly noticed that the redness and swelling on his face hadn’t gone down yet.
“Your face…” he awkwardly reminded Shan Yu.
“Doesn’t matter,” Shan Yu said. “Who’s going to ask me to my face?”
The car stopped, and Sanbing immediately leaned into the window: “Boss, you’re back! You told us to wait here, and… what happened to your face?”
Sanbing will ask you to your face.
“The wheelchair flipped and hit the door,” Shan Yu said. “Unload the car. Carry that box in. Don’t bump it.”
“Okay,” Sanbing immediately gestured. “Come on, come on, carry the box. Be careful, don’t bump it…”
Chen Jian also got out of the car and walked around to the back to open the trunk. The wooden box wasn’t very heavy; Chen Jian could carry it alone, but since these people were here, they might as well carry it together. Sanbing, Xiao Wu, and Chen Jian, three of them, lifted the box and exerted force to lift it up. The box directly hit the roof of the car.
“What the hell,” Xiao Wu was stunned. “Do we need so many people to carry it?”
“Just carry it,” Sanbing said.
The three of them carried the box into the courtyard, with Hu Pan directing from behind: “Careful here, hey, steady there, good, in!”
After the box was carried into the house, Shan Yu immediately drove his wheelchair into the elevator and went up to the fourth floor, without saying what to do with the box. The group had no choice but to move the box into the warehouse.
“Chen Jian,” Sanbing called out to Chen Jian after everyone else had left. “Hey, let me ask you.”
Don’t ask.
“Was Boss Shan beaten by someone?” Sanbing asked. Chen Jian didn’t know how to answer, so he remained silent.
“Who’s so awesome,” Sanbing said in a hushed voice, “to be able to get in his face like that?”
