For the bonfire festival, they had prepared some fireworks—though calling them sparklers or firecrackers might be more accurate, as they didn’t quite reach the scale of full fireworks. If Dayin had been in charge of preparing this, it definitely would have been grander.
Still, these fireworks did the trick. Lined up along the riverbank, they erupted into a shower of colorful light to the beat of the live band’s music. The tourists on site burst into laughter and applause.
Chen Jian returned to the barbecue tent. The bosses who had come to broker peace were gone. Shan Yu was leaning back in a lounger, his hair pulled entirely to the top of his head and tied into a tiny spout-like ponytail.
Standing next to him, clapping and bouncing along, was Xiao Dou’er.
“Dou’er’s here.” Chen Jian walked over.
“Fireworks! Chen Jian-ge, look at the fireworks!” Xiao Dou’er pointed toward the river.
“Mm, I see them.” Chen Jian watched the fireworks for a few seconds before he couldn’t help but look back at Shan Yu, who was casually half-reclined. “Did you tie the boss’s ponytail?”
“Yes!” Xiao Dou’er answered loudly. “He looks just like my little sister with it.”
“Is that so?” Shocked, Chen Jian turned back to double-check.
Shan Yu rested his chin in his hands and smiled at him.
“Oh man,” Chen Jian couldn’t help but laugh. “This little sister is quite pretty.”
Old Lü brought a plate of freshly grilled skewers out from the shop and placed it on the table next to them. Seeing Shan Yu’s little spout ponytail, he froze for a second.
He wanted to ask, but felt too awkward to say anything.
After all, Shan Yu’s background was highly mysterious. Who knew if that ponytail carried some profound, hidden meaning?
“Xiao Dou’er tied it for him,” Chen Jian offered an explanation.
“Oh!” Old Lü cried out, laughing and waving his hand. “Hey! I thought it meant something…”
“Xiao Dou’er, who brought you here? Did you eat yet?” Chen Jian asked.
“I came with Third Aunt,” Xiao Dou’er said.
This “Third Aunt” was Sanbing’s cousin-in-law. She was close friends with Xiao Dou’er’s mother. She usually lived in the old town but would bring Xiao Dou’er out to play whenever she visited the village.
“Dou’er,” the cousin-in-law poked her head out of Old Lü’s shop. “Come inside and grab a bite before you play.”
Chen Jian led Xiao Dou’er into the shop.
The cousin-in-law glanced at Shan Yu—who was eating barbecue with his tiny spout ponytail—and whispered, “Is that the boss?”
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded.
“When I came for the opening dinner back then, I barely saw him, and he seemed pretty stern,” the cousin-in-law said. “His temper is actually quite nice, letting Xiao Dou’er do whatever she wants.”
How to describe this temper? Well, when it’s good, it really is quite good.
“Xiao Dou’er is adorable,” Chen Jian smiled.
“You guys go eat. I’ll watch Dou’er so she doesn’t make a mess and ruin your food later,” the cousin-in-law said.
Chen Jian returned to sit beside Shan Yu and cast a glance at him.
“This chicken wing is good,” Shan Yu pointed at the plate.
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded, casting another glance at him.
“What is it?” Shan Yu looked back.
“It’s just…” Chen Jian looked at his ponytail, then back down to his face. “I think this is the first time I’ve… seen your entire face clearly.”
“I generally consider the face to be everything below the eyebrows,” Shan Yu said.
“Then what’s above the eyebrows?” Chen Jian asked.
“The forehead,” Shan Yu said. “Scientific name: forehead. Did you really not know that?”
“Fuck off,” Chen Jian laughed. “I can’t talk to you.”
“Is it handsome?” Shan Yu asked.
“What?” Chen Jian paused, not catching on immediately.
“My forehead,” Shan Yu said.
“…It is,” Chen Jian was a bit speechless. “But people don’t usually ask about it separately like that.”
Shan Yu smiled without saying anything.
It really was handsome. Shan Yu wasn’t the best-looking boss in town for nothing; his forehead was good-looking too. Especially when viewed as part of his whole face, and especially when he turned his head to look over from the side.
At this moment, golden fireworks were going off by the riverbank. Half of Shan Yu’s face was bathed in golden light, tracing his sharp profile. The jumping light reflected in his eyes as well.
When Chen Jian’s fingertips touched Shan Yu’s forehead, his heart gave a slight jolt.
Will anyone see?
Pull your hand back, Store Manager. Poking the boss’s forehead in public, what does that look like?
But he didn’t pull back.
He stubbornly traced a light path down the dividing line of light and shadow, from Shan Yu’s forehead down the bridge of his nose.
Only then did he quickly reach toward the plate, grab a chicken wing, stuff it into his mouth, and start crunching away.
“Remember to spit out the bones,” Shan Yu said. “Don’t swallow them all in your panic.”
“I’m not in a panic,” Chen Jian continued crunching.
“No one saw,” Shan Yu said. “Everyone’s watching the fireworks.”
“Honestly… if someone saw, they saw,” Chen Jian smiled. “I just suddenly wanted to touch you. Felt a little crazy.”
“There’s no such thing as a completely sane person,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian finished the chicken wing, picked up a bottle of cola, and took a swig.
Shan Yu looked at him: “Where are the bones?”
“Chewed them to pieces,” Chen Jian said. “Then swallowed them.”
“Impressive,” Shan Yu said.
“I chew the bones up with the meat a lot of the time. When I was a kid and craving meat, I always felt that spitting out bones I could still bite through was a waste,” Chen Jian said. “So I chewed them all up.”
“Didn’t you get enough to eat?” Shan Yu asked, cutting straight to the point.
“I got enough to eat, just maybe not enough meat. Just craved meat,” Chen Jian smiled.
“When you take the Subject 2 driving test, let’s go to the city and eat Korean BBQ,” Shan Yu said. “It’s been a while since I…”
“Which day is the test?” Sanbing’s voice suddenly came from behind. “Does it count as team building?”
Chen Jian jumped in fright. Thank goodness he had already swallowed the bones in his mouth; otherwise, that shout might have actually made him choke on them.
“Weren’t you in charge of lighting the fireworks?” Shan Yu turned his head and asked.
“Done lighting them,” Sanbing pulled up a chair and sat down next to their table with a plate of barbecue. “Are we keeping it a secret?”
“What?” Chen Jian asked.
“Eating Korean BBQ,” Sanbing said. “Is it a surprise for everyone?”
And here I thought he was talking about keeping the boss-touching a secret.
“What’s there to keep a secret?” Shan Yu said. “It’s the end of the year. We should have some kind of activity.”
“Boss is generous!” Sanbing beamed, grabbing his plate of barbecue and running off again.
“I thought that plate was for us?” Shan Yu watched his retreating back.
“I’ll get you some if you want,” Chen Jian said. “Old Lü is treating everyone from our inn.”
“Later,” Shan Yu sighed. “Are they really that happy about eating Korean BBQ? Smiling like that.”
“It’s not just about the food,” Chen Jian said. “Normally, the furthest everyone goes is the town. We rarely go to the city. It was fine back when we were in school, but now, going to the city means having to change into brand-new clothes.”
“Fair enough. Then we’ll do something else for our date. Let’s take them for Korean BBQ first,” Shan Yu said. “We can go sing karaoke after.”
Chen Jian remembered the post about “eight different ways to sing one song” and couldn’t help but smile.
The first day of the bonfire festival went very smoothly. The event officially ended at 10 PM, but the tourists lingering at the barbecue grounds didn’t fully disperse until midnight. Many relocated to the barbecue stalls to continue with midnight snacks.
Including Yue Lang and his wife. Yao Yi was no longer doing sixteen-eight fasting; by the time Shan Yu and Chen Jian left, there was already a stack of empty plates in front of them.
Although Dayin’s staff had to keep an eye on the site to prevent any accidents, they all had a great time too.
Hu Pan walked at the front, arm in arm with Sun Nana. Sun Nana sang songs the entire way back, and she actually sang quite well. Hu Pan hummed along chaotically.
Chen Erhu and the others had all drank a bit of alcohol. Their desire to chat was fully ignited, each talking over the other in highly animated tones.
Chen Jian looked back; there was no one behind them.
Just as he was about to reach out and hold Shan Yu’s hand, Shan Yu suddenly raised his arms to stretch, then threw an arm over Chen Jian’s shoulder.
Before Chen Jian could react, Shan Yu tightened his grip, turned his head, and planted a heavy kiss on Chen Jian’s lips.
Chen Jian froze, stumbling a couple of steps.
After Shan Yu let him go, Chen Jian walked forward several paces before whispering a curse: “You’re crazy.”
Shan Yu laughed without speaking.
The people ahead of them all turned into the courtyard. Time was tight. Chen Jian quickly leaned in close to Shan Yu. Without even taking the time to aim for his mouth, he simply crashed toward his face and kissed him.
He landed on Shan Yu’s chin.
“Ah!” Sun Nana suddenly shrieked. “Who’s there?!”
“What’s wrong?” Chen Erhu immediately shouted.
“It’s me,” a woman’s voice came from the courtyard. “I’m here for work.”
“What?” Chen Jian paused, walking into the courtyard.
A woman in her fifties, holding a broom, was standing by the parking spots in front of a freshly swept pile of leaves.
“Little Zhao said you guys were hiring here, right?” the older woman asked.
“Yes,” Chen Jian acknowledged, walking over to look at her. “Did she recommend you? Why come over right now?”
“She only told me after she got back to town this afternoon,” the woman said.
Since there was an event tonight and no cooking was required, Zhao Fangfang had gone home in the afternoon to be with her daughter. She probably mentioned it then, but the fact that this woman rushed over overnight still surprised Chen Jian.
“You have a place to stay here, right?” the woman asked.
“There are dorms.” Chen Jian looked back to find Shan Yu, but Shan Yu was nowhere to be seen.
Why do I even bother looking!
After all this time, I should know the boss runs away the second he spots work!
This woman seemed completely normal; definitely not a fugitive, so there was no need for the boss to make the final call anyway.
The requirements for a cleaning lady weren’t high: work efficiently and follow the procedures.
Chen Jian chatted with the woman. Her surname was Huang, and she was Zhao Fangfang’s neighbor. Her children didn’t live with her. She used to work as a nanny caring for the elderly, but after her charge passed away, she had been hauling vegetables at the wholesale market.
Chen Jian explained the cleaning duties to her and decided to keep her on. They were genuinely short-staffed right now. Once the guests checked out tomorrow morning, there would be a mountain of rooms to clean.
After finishing up the inn’s tasks, arranging a dorm bed for Huang-jie, washing up, and getting dragged into a chat by Chen Erhu—who had heard about the Korean BBQ—Chen Jian finally found a chance to slip out of the dorm.
“I’m going to do a patrol,” he said.
He stood by the elevator for a few seconds. Once he heard the dorms go quiet, he turned and jogged all the way to the office.
The door was ajar. He knocked twice and slipped inside without waiting for Shan Yu to answer.
He was terrified that someone from the dorms, overly excited about the BBQ, might run out and spot him.
Shan Yu walked out of the bedroom, having already changed into loose trackpants. The tiny spout ponytail he’d worn all evening was finally undone, leaving a tuft of hair sticking straight up on his head.
“I thought you just went straight to sleep.” Shan Yu walked over to the desk, picking up his phone to check the time.
“Couldn’t. Even if I didn’t come over, Chen Erhu and the others wouldn’t let me just sleep…” Chen Jian reached back to shut the door, took two steps forward, and then broke into a dash.
He rushed over and hugged Shan Yu tight.
“You’re crazy.” The phone in Shan Yu’s hand was knocked right onto the chair.
“You went crazy first.” Chen Jian hugged him tightly, buried his face in his neck, took a deep breath, and then, unable to control himself, bit down on it.
Shan Yu hissed in a sharp breath.
Chen Jian felt a slight jolt of panic, but for some reason, he didn’t let go.
He even pushed forward a bit.
Shan Yu was pressed backward onto the desk, knocking a desk calendar onto the floor.
Fortunately, this particular boss was nowhere near hardworking; aside from the calendar, there was basically nothing else on the desk.
Perhaps the bite was a bit heavy. Chen Jian could even feel the pulse in Shan Yu’s neck beating against his lips, matching the exact rhythm of his own breathing.
When Shan Yu’s hand slid onto his back, all thoughts of pulses, heartbeats, and breathing instantly spiraled into chaos—each panting, each racing…
In the midst of the dizzying blur, Chen Jian even hallucinated seeing the fireworks from the riverbank again.
…
This office was truly becoming a den of sin.
The sofa wasn’t exactly a proper place to begin with, and the chair even less so—the backrest had already been broken. And now, even the desk had fallen from grace.
When Chen Jian came out of the bathroom, Shan Yu was lying on the sofa looking at his phone.
The bite mark on his neck was an extremely obvious patch of red.
“Holy shit,” Chen Jian froze, quickly walking over to inspect it. “Is it really that obvious?”
“Duh,” Shan Yu said. “I was starting to suspect you were drawing blood.”
Chen Jian reached out and touched it gently. “The skin isn’t broken.”
“Feeling regretful about that?” Shan Yu said.
“What do we do?” Chen Jian asked. “If someone sees it and asks, what do we say?”
“It’s possible someone might see it,” Shan Yu tucked his phone away and looked at him, “but whether they ask is another story. Who’s going to ask the boss why there’s a bite mark on his neck?”
Chen Jian smiled without a word.
“A collar can cover it,” Shan Yu said.
“Fuck,” Chen Jian bit his lip and sat on the carpet, leaning back against the sofa. “I bit it.”
Shan Yu didn’t speak, just reached out and pinched his chin.
“Are you going to sleep?” Chen Jian turned his face to look at him.
“Mm,” Shan Yu answered.
“Do you want to… sleep in the bed?” Chen Jian asked, suddenly feeling a little shy.
Shan Yu, still pinching his chin, tilted Chen Jian’s face back to look at it.
“What?” Chen Jian asked.
Shan Yu’s lips curved. “I’ll just sleep on the sofa. Chat with me for a bit.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu closed his eyes, his finger tracing light circles behind Chen Jian’s ear. “Did you chat with Lang-ge today?”
“Mm,” Chen Jian said. “He said you used to have a leopard gecko… is it still around?”
“I gave it to Liu Wu when I went in. It died the second year. Liu Wu cried for days,” Shan Yu said softly. “Yue Lang sure is chatty normally, why’d he resort to bringing this up to make conversation?”
Because he thinks you fell in love with your gecko.
“We talked about other things too,” Chen Jian said.
“Like asking you to persuade me to go home,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian turned his head to look at him. “Mm.”
“Are you going to persuade me?” Shan Yu asked.
“Right now?” Chen Jian thought about it. “Let’s give it some time. I don’t know what to say right now anyway.”
“Very honest,” Shan Yu smiled.
“It depends on the person. With you, I can only afford to be honest,” Chen Jian said. “Who could outplay you in mind games anyway, you heartless capitalist.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu acknowledged.
“What did you and He Liang talk about today?” Chen Jian asked.
“Nothing much. Just listened to them sing praises about how young and promising I am,” Shan Yu said. “Told me to come over for tea when I have time.”
“Did you tell them you don’t drink tea?” Chen Jian asked.
“Truly my capable right-hand man.” Shan Yu burst out laughing.
“Did you really say that?” Chen Jian was slightly speechless. “Are you trying to make peace or not?”
“That’s definitely what I would have said in the past,” Shan Yu smiled. “Today, I told them I’d bring some good tea leaves over.”
“…So well-behaved,” Chen Jian said.
They chatted for longer than usual tonight. Toward the end, Shan Yu basically stopped talking. Chen Jian could only judge whether he was asleep by the finger still tracing circles behind his ear.
Since the finger was still moving, Chen Jian kept talking softly. He talked about sneaking over the school wall to do odd jobs back in the day, running into a shady boss who owed him a measly sum of wages and refused to pay two hundred yuan.
In the end, he and a classmate ambushed the boss’s son on his way to school twice, robbing him of the two hundred yuan.
“I was really driven to the edge back then,” Chen Jian murmured, practically putting himself to sleep as his eyes slid shut. “So technically speaking, I actually do have experience mugging people…”
Shan Yu’s finger slowly came to a halt.
He was probably asleep.
Coaxing Shan Yu to sleep was a physically demanding task. When Chen Jian finally drifted off in the early hours of the morning, his entire body ached.
After Shan Yu fell asleep, Chen Jian had no further memories.
When he woke up, he realized he had spent the entire night curled up by the sofa. Upon waking, he found himself toppled over onto the carpet.
This really… his destiny with this carpet ran deep.
He had to submit a request today to replace the office carpet. Who knew how many more times he’d end up sleeping on the damn thing.
Shan Yu was still asleep, his arm dangling toward the floor.
Chen Jian didn’t dare move him. He just gently pulled the quilt covering him, making sure it covered the exposed arm.
Yue Lang and Yao Yi had already packed up, finished breakfast, and were preparing for the drive back. They had no intention of saying goodbye to Shan Yu.
“If he hasn’t harassed us by six, it means he actually managed to sleep. He definitely isn’t up right now,” Yue Lang said. “We’re heading out.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded. “Safe travels.”
“Little brother,” Yao Yi leaned out the car window. “Come visit us when you have time. Even if Shan Yu doesn’t want to go, you can come. Jiejie will show you around.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian smiled.
He actually really wanted to go. In all his life, the furthest place he had ever been was the city.
When Yue Lang’s car disappeared at the end of the street, Chen Jian suddenly felt a pang of reluctance to see them go.
To him, they felt like a connection to the world Shan Yu used to belong to. After spending a few days together, the sense of unfamiliarity had vanished, replaced by a subtle emotion that was difficult to describe.
With their departure, Chen Jian suddenly realized how desperately he wanted to get closer to Shan Yu’s world…
But he was also a little panicked. He didn’t know what he would have to face if the day came when Shan Yu truly stopped running away and returned to the world he came from.
His phone chimed.
[Fa Shan Ke Chen]:Look up.
Chen Jian paused and looked up. The window to the fourth-floor office was open. Shan Yu leaned out, pressed his fingers gently against his lips, kissed them, and flicked them toward him.
“Crazy,” Chen Jian smiled.
Yet, inexplicably, he found himself reacting instantly, reaching out to catch the empty air, bringing his fingertips to his lips, and pressing a kiss to them.
“Here,” Lao Wu, walking out of the building to smoke, gave him a look and handed over his cigarette pack. “I thought you didn’t smoke?”
Chen Jian looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh.
