“I’ll tell you all the details when we get back.” Shan Yu turned around and smiled at him.
“Tell me now,” Chen Jian reached out and grabbed his arm. “If you aren’t going to tell me now, why bring it up?”
“The thought just suddenly popped into my head,” Shan Yu said.
“That’s way too sudden,” Chen Jian said.
“I’m the kind of person who just does whatever comes to mind in the moment,” Shan Yu said.
“Then tell me while we’re singing karaoke later,” Chen Jian said.
“Can’t while singing, my mouth will be busy,” Shan Yu said.
“I challenge you to sing all night without stopping,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu laughed, pushed open the door to the private room, and walked in.
Sun Nana looked quite calm, no different from usual. Her movements still carried that slight, exaggerated elegance.
“Boss Shan, Store Manager Chen,” she raised her glass to the two of them as they walked in. “Thanks for earlier.”
“We’re all on the same team,” Shan Yu said as he sat down.
“Wine?” Chen Jian glanced at her glass.
“Plain water,” Hu Pan said.
“Mineral water with lemon juice,” Sun Nana corrected her.
“Plain water. It was even hot when they brought it out,” Hu Pan said.
“You’re so annoying,” Sun Nana playfully fanned her hand at her.
“You’re so annoying,” Hu Pan mimicked her gesture and fanned back.
Then the two of them burst into laughter.
Chen Jian didn’t know how this group had comforted her earlier—aside from Hu Pan, Chen Erhu and his crew hardly seemed reliable—but the results seemed fine. Sun Nana’s mood looked okay, though her eyes were slightly red, indicating she had probably cried.
Or maybe she was just good at hiding it. After all, earlier Chen Jian had thought Sun Nana looked more like the type to hit someone else.
The servers brought the food out quickly. Shan Yu had ordered almost exclusively meat. Normally, when they ate at the inn, if there was any leftover food on the table, it was definitely the vegetables.
“Is your hand okay?” Chen Jian asked Shan Yu quietly.
Shan Yu’s hand was out of the bandage, and the wound wasn’t a major issue anymore, but because it had been a deep cut, his hand still seemed somewhat stiff.
It had plenty of strength when choking someone, but lost all strength when trying to pick up meat with chopsticks.
“It’ll do,” Shan Yu said.
“Want me to help…” Before Chen Jian could finish his sentence, Shan Yu had already put his chopsticks down.
“Alright,” he leaned back in his chair. “Start with two slices of fatty beef.”
Chen Jian stared at him.
“Thank you, Store Manager,” Shan Yu said.
“Did you really only pretend to struggle for exactly three seconds?” Chen Jian asked in a low voice, slightly speechless.
“Hey, I gave it a solid three seconds,” Shan Yu said.
“It’s ready!” Hu Pan yelled. “Store Manager!”
What’s ready?
We didn’t even do anything!
We were just whispering a couple of sentences…
Oh, the meat is ready.
Chen Jian picked up two slices of meat and placed them in Shan Yu’s bowl, then took two for himself.
Although this crew was around the same age as Liu Wu and his friends, perhaps because they were all working adults, they at least had the patience to wait until the meat was fully cooked before eating.
“This is lamb,” Shan Yu said.
“Lamb…” Chen Jian glanced at the grill, which was already empty as Hu Pan and Sanbing were reloading it. He turned to look at Shan Yu. “It’s lamb. Are you going to eat it or not?”
To be honest, just looking at it, he couldn’t tell the difference between fatty beef and fatty lamb. He only recognized pork belly.
Despite raising an objection, Shan Yu lowered his head and ate the lamb anyway.
“I thought you didn’t eat lamb?” Chen Jian said.
“I just wanted to eat the beef first,” Shan Yu said.
“Which ones are the fatty beef?” Chen Jian asked Hu Pan and the others, looking at the meat on the grill.
“This entire half,” Hu Pan used her tongs to trace a half-circle over the grill.
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded.
It didn’t take long for the meat to cook. Hu Pan looked at Chen Jian: “It’s done! Give him some.”
Chen Jian jumped in fright. Why give it to him!
Who am I giving it to?
“Give it to who?” he blurted out.
“Boss Shan,” Sun Nana glanced at him. “Didn’t he just ask for fatty beef?”
“You heard that?” Bracing himself, Chen Jian picked up two slices of fatty beef and placed them in Shan Yu’s bowl.
“You guys weren’t exactly whispering,” Sanbing said.
We weren’t?
I thought we were whispering very quietly.
Was it not quiet?
After speaking, Sanbing stood up, grabbed a chicken wing, placed it in Chen Erhu’s bowl, and looked at Sun Nana: “Nana, can you reach? What do you want?”
“Don’t mind me,” Sun Nana smiled. “Just eat your food.”
Look at that class.
Chen Jian took two more slices of meat for himself and sat down.
Perhaps the “kidnapping rescue” incident earlier had warmed up the crowd. The group was highly animated right now, eating and chatting boisterously. They didn’t tiptoe around Sun Nana at all, freely offering unreasonable speculations and fully justified insults directed at the ex-husband, even expressing their bewilderment over Sun Nana’s family.
“Were you two set up by your mom?” Lao Wu said. “When you married that guy, even an idiot could see he had a shady face.”
“She isn’t an idiot,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian and Sun Nana both started laughing.
“What?” Lao Wu looked at Shan Yu.
“He’s saying you’re the idiot,” Sanbing said.
“I didn’t,” Shan Yu smiled.
“Hey, he’s saying everyone sitting here who claims they ‘could see it’ is an idiot,” Hu Pan said. “Boss Shan is… other people fight when they can’t win an argument. He wins the argument and wins the fight.”
“Speaking of fighting… have you trained before?” Chen Erhu asked.
“Practice makes perfect,” Shan Yu said.
“Fuck,” Chen Erhu turned his head away. “Almost didn’t catch that.”
“But Dahu fought all the time too…” Lao Si tried to analyze the logic behind Shan Yu’s answer.
“But he had no brains!” Chen Erhu raised his voice. “Just like you!”
Chen Jian couldn’t hold back a laugh.
After a round of joking, the topic quickly shifted to Chen Dahu’s prison life.
Did he have to make umbrellas every day?
Or lighters?
Could he become a prison boss?
Chen Jian listened with a smile. Just as he picked up his glass to take a sip of water, he suddenly felt something warm press against his leg.
Though he didn’t want to believe it, he instantly knew: Shan Yu had placed his hand on his leg.
He snapped his head to look at Shan Yu.
Shan Yu was staring calmly straight ahead, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Boss, do you realize where we are?
These people are just two people shy of being the entire Dayin staff!
Shan Yu ignored his look, simply giving his leg another gentle squeeze.
And then slid his hand further up.
Just as Chen Jian reached down to stop him, the door was suddenly pushed open.
They were sitting right next to the serving station. While the others couldn’t see, any server walking in could clearly see them at a glance.
Startled, Chen Jian stood up instantly the moment the server walked in.
Having his face touched was one thing he could endure, but having his leg caressed and the hand sliding upward—if someone saw that…
Although Chen Erhu had been chatting enthusiastically, his reaction was still very fast. Without even looking toward the door, he slammed his chopsticks down and stood up as well.
“What!” Sanbing roared right after, jumping up along with Lao Si and Lao Wu.
“I’m sorry,” the waitress standing at the door held a plate of meat, looking in horror at the room full of people. “I knocked…”
“It’s fine, it’s not because of you,” Shan Yu reached back, took the plate from her hands, and placed it on the table. “We’re playing a game.”
“Oh.” The waitress stood stunned for another second before thanking Shan Yu and retreating from the private room.
“Holy shit,” Chen Erhu glared at Chen Jian. “What the hell were you doing? I fucking thought that Zhang guy came to snatch her back!”
“Oh my god, you scared me to death,” Hu Pan patted her chest, setting down the chopsticks she had been gripping like knives. “I thought so too. I was ready to throw down.”
In that moment, Chen Jian desperately wanted to drag Shan Yu out of his chair. It was him! It was him! It was all because of him!
“I… just… I thought so too,” Chen Jian said as he sat back down.
“He won’t come back again, nor would he dare,” Sun Nana stabbed a small piece of pickled radish with her fork. “If they still want to persuade me, they’ll send my mom or my grandmother.”
“If you don’t want to see your mom and grandmother crying and trying to persuade you,” Shan Yu said, “we can leave a little early in a bit.”
“Right, we still have to go sing karaoke anyway,” Hu Pan nodded.
“Good idea,” Sun Nana smiled, popping the radish into her mouth and chewing slowly.
Waiting until everyone started chatting about other things, Chen Jian finally turned his head and glared fiercely at Shan Yu.
“Two slices of pork belly,” Shan Yu said.
“Get them yourself!” Chen Jian hissed, still glaring fiercely.
Shan Yu didn’t move or speak, but Chen Jian felt his fingers tap lightly against his leg twice.
Chen Jian swiftly grabbed his hand, reached over to the grill with his chopsticks, and placed two slices of pork belly into Shan Yu’s bowl.
“Thank you, Store Manager,” Shan Yu smiled.
“Don’t mention it,” Chen Jian said. “This is what I shouldn’t be doing.”
Holding a slice of meat with his chopsticks, Shan Yu laughed for a long time before he could finally put it in his mouth.
To avoid running into Sun Nana’s family, they didn’t drag the meal out. After polishing off everything Shan Yu had ordered, they all got up, ready to head to the next venue.
“We can really eat,” Hu Pan looked at the empty plates on the table.
“There are a lot of us,” Shan Yu said.
“How much did this meal cost?” Chen Erhu asked him.
“Are you paying for it?” Shan Yu asked. “If you are, you don’t need to take your pre-New Year salary and bonus.”
“I was just asking!” Chen Erhu yelled.
“A bit over three thousand, under four,” Sun Nana said. “We ordered all premium this and premium that…”
“Fuck, I’ve never eaten a meal this expensive before,” Sanbing said.
“Me neither,” Lao Wu said. “Aside from Boss Shan and Nana, none of us probably have.”
“Just find more excuses,” Shan Yu said, “and we’ll come out to eat again.”
“Are we celebrating when the Store Manager passes Subject 3?” Lao Si asked.
“…This meal isn’t to celebrate me passing Subject 2 either!” Chen Jian said, exasperated.
“Then what is this meal for?” Lao Wu asked.
It’s a farewell dinner for you!
“…It’s to celebrate me passing Subject 2,” Chen Jian said.
“I knew it!” Lao Wu said.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go…” Hu Pan laughed uncontrollably, herding the group outside.
The karaoke place was very close to the BBQ restaurant. There was no need to drive; they just walked over.
Feeling a bit stuffed, Chen Jian trailed at the back of the group, rubbing his stomach.
“Too full?” Shan Yu asked.
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded, then thought of something and turned to look at him. “Were you crazy earlier?!”
“Idle hands,” Shan Yu said. “Warmth and a full belly lead to lustful desires.”
“I…” Chen Jian was entirely at a loss for words.
Shan Yu smiled, threw an arm over his shoulder, and gently squeezed the back of his neck.
There weren’t many pedestrians on this street at night. The shadows of the trees flickered under the streetlights, and cars drove past them one after another. It felt completely different from being in the town.
After walking for a bit, Chen Jian looked back in the direction of the BBQ restaurant: “Do you think… Nana’s mom will go to the private room looking for her?”
“We have no way of knowing whether they will or not,” Shan Yu said. “As long as they know she doesn’t want to go back, that’s enough.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded, thought for a moment, and glanced at him again.
“What.” Shan Yu asked.
“You haven’t guessed?” Chen Jian smiled.
“My superpowers are on cooldown,” Shan Yu said.
“You suddenly wanting to go home…” Chen Jian glanced at the group walking ahead of them, leaned closer to Shan Yu, quickly wrapped an arm around his waist for a second, then immediately let go and whispered, “Was it because you just saw Nana and her whole family, so…”
Shan Yu smiled. “Mm.”
“I figured,” Chen Jian said.
“Not entirely right. Haven’t you also been trying to persuade me to go home and visit?” Shan Yu exhaled softly. “I was originally thinking about maybe going back for the New Year.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian responded. “And then just now you saw that huge extended family…”
“It was terrifying,” Shan Yu said.
“Huh?” Chen Jian froze.
“The moment I thought about that massive extended family of mine during the New Year,” Shan Yu smiled, “it gave me a headache.”
Chen Jian never expected his guess to be completely backward.
“I think I’ll go back before the New Year,” Shan Yu said. “That way I don’t have to be cramped together with so many people.”
Only then did Chen Jian realize: Shan Yu had originally felt unable to face his family, feeling inferior to his relatives’ kids. If he chose to go back during the massive New Year reunion…
That pressure really would be a bit too much.
“I’ve never asked you,” Shan Yu stretched his arms. “What about your relatives? I’ve never heard you mention them.”
“I guess I don’t have any,” Chen Jian said softly. “My mom’s hometown is far away. I’ve never met any of her relatives, and after she passed, there was even less contact. On my dad’s side, I have an uncle and an aunt, but…”
“But after owing money, they stopped contacting you too?” Shan Yu asked.
“Mm, no, not after owing money,” Chen Jian said. “We stopped interacting after my mom got sick. They all live in the city, and their lives are just average.”
Shan Yu glanced at him. “Still making excuses for them?”
“What else can I do,” Chen Jian smiled. “Thinking of it this way makes me feel a bit better. But my dad also said that our own family knows better than anyone how hard it is for us to pay back the money, so of course they would avoid us.”
“But it’s almost paid off anyway,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue. “Once the debt is cleared, I’ll get a new car, and you can drive it around to visit every single one of their houses.”
Chen Jian started laughing. “Are you crazy?”
“A little bit of crazy is good for your physical and mental health,” Shan Yu slapped him on the butt.
Chen Jian jolted forward two huge steps.
“Hey, Chen Jian…” Chen Erhu turned his head, ending up face-to-face with him, and was instantly startled. “Why are you here!”
“…I’ve been behind you the whole time,” Chen Jian said.
“Following so closely!” Chen Erhu said.
“Didn’t you just call my name?” Chen Jian asked.
“…Right,” Chen Erhu nodded. Although he hadn’t drunk any alcohol, his brain had probably been scorched by the Korean BBQ. “I wanted to ask, is it that place up ahead?”
“Yes,” Chen Jian nodded.
This group had definitely been cooped up in the small town for months. They were humming tunes the moment they walked into the lobby while picking out snacks.
Entering the private room, before any songs were even selected, Sanbing and his crew grabbed the microphones and started singing.
Whether they were in tune or not was impossible to tell. Either way, Chen Jian only knew how to sing a handful of songs in total. Never mind knowing how to sing them; he hadn’t even heard of most of them.
“This is awful,” Sun Nana took a microphone and said.
“Let’s start with a group chorus to warm up the room,” Hu Pan placed all the snacks on the coffee table. “Whenever I go out to sing with people, I always like starting with a group chorus. It helps warm up the vocal cords too.”
“Alright,” Sanbing immediately withdrew from his out-of-tune solo. “Let’s do one everyone knows.”
“How about Fly Higher?” Lao Si asked. “We always sang that during class meetings in school.”
“Works,” Hu Pan nodded, looking at Chen Jian and Shan Yu. “Do you two know it?”
“We both have high school diplomas, who are you looking down on?” Chen Jian said. He did know this one, and indeed, they sang it all the time in school. It played at least ten times on the loudspeakers during every sports meet.
“Are you all only high school graduates?” Sun Nana leaned back against the sofa, propping her temple with one hand and raising an eyebrow, looking quite surprised.
“Do they look like they have a higher degree than a high school diploma?” Hu Pan pointed at Chen Erhu and his crew. “It’s only strange that Boss Shan and Chen Jian are only high school grads too.”
“What are you saying!” Chen Erhu said. “Nana must have gone to university, right?”
“With you asking like that, I’m embarrassed to admit I did.” Sun Nana swiped a finger across her forehead and flicked it lightly.
“It’s queued, it’s queued!” Sanbing yelled. “We’re starting! One line each first!”
“What’s the order!” The group scrambled to grab microphones.
“Shan Yu takes the first line!” Sanbing pointed at Shan Yu. “Hurry!”
He didn’t even bother calling him ‘Boss’ anymore.
Being suddenly called upon, Shan Yu hurriedly picked up the microphone and sang the first line: “Life is like a great river, sometimes tranquil, sometimes wild…”
Chen Jian couldn’t help but look at him.
Because everyone was still in a chaotic scramble, Shan Yu’s line felt a bit rushed, but his voice sounded incredibly good.
“Chen Jian, Chen Jian!” Sanbing continued directing. “Stop looking at him! Sing the next part!”
“Reality is like a heavy shackle, binding me, unable to break free…” Chen Jian hurriedly sang.
Goddamn it, this line is bad luck.
I need a lucky line.
He held his microphone and waited. When everyone had taken their turns and the chorus hit, he joined the group in tearing his throat open and belting out: “I want to fly higher—fly higher—”
