Right before his eyes was Shan Yu’s face, half-hidden in the glare, its hazy contours dipped in molten gold. Beneath the skin, nerves pulsed in step with the beat of his heart.
Whether it was the blasting heater or the afternoon sun that was too warm, Chen Jian felt his breath catching in his throat.
Every inhale took effort, his own rough, heavy pants ringing clearly in his ears.
Shan Yu wasn’t faring much better. Their breaths, thick with heat, tangled together like the wind whipping past the sun-drenched car window. For a moment, it was impossible to tell which gasp belonged to whom; everything merely rose and fell to the rhythm of hands tracing across skin…
By the time a third car rolled past, kicking up dust outside, the panting that had crowded the cabin finally began to thin out. The sunlight sharpened once more, and a small, dry twig that had been spinning past the window bounced off the hood before tumbling to the ground.
Chen Jian closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath.
Shan Yu reached back to open the glove compartment, pulled out a pack of wet wipes, and handed a few to him before slumping sideways against the driver’s seat.
“Three cars passed us…” Chen Jian quickly tidied himself up, braced a hand against the back of the seat, and looked back. “How do you get this seat straight again?”
“You were actually counting cars?” Shan Yu laughed softly, reaching over to press a button on the door panel.
“Yeah.” As the seatback slowly rose, Chen Jian tugged at the waistband of his pants. “I was nervous! Who could possibly match your psychological fortitude… Good thing none of them honked, or I really would have…”
“Or what?” Shan Yu smiled. “Would it have scared some hidden ailment right out of you?”
Chen Jian shot him a look, but upon second thought, he laughed too.
“Head back?” Shan Yu handed him a small trash bag.
“Mm.” Chen Jian nodded, tossing the used wipes inside, knotting the bag tightly, and setting it by his feet—too embarrassed to look at it. “Around noon, Sanbing took President He from the travel agency to the old village. President He said they’d just grab a bite there, so they should be back soon.”
“You didn’t go yourself?” Shan Yu buckled his seatbelt and pulled the car onto the road.
“I wanted to come pick you up, didn’t I?” Chen Jian said. “Sanbing knows the old village inside and out; he grew up there too… Have you eaten?”
“Not yet,” Shan Yu said. “Do you guys have leftovers from lunch?”
“Listen to yourself—the boss comes home just to eat scraps?” Chen Jian said. “A new Western restaurant opened on Second Street. Want to try it?”
“Your treat?” Shan Yu asked.
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded. “Eat all you want. The boss is handing out bonuses this month, so I’m loaded.”
The car pulled up along the curb on Second Street.
Shan Yu stepped out and looked at the newly opened “Western restaurant.”
“Burger King.” He looked at Chen Jian.
“Mm,” Chen Jian acknowledged. “It’s not Chinese food, right?”
“…Right, right, right. If it’s not Chinese, it must be Western,” Shan Yu said.
“Exactly,” Chen Jian waved a hand. “Let’s go.”
“Are you messing with me,” Shan Yu followed him into the shop, “or are you just plain stingy?”
“Stingy, probably,” Chen Jian said. “It’s pretty cheap anyway. When I went to school in the city, I’d eat here whenever I craved something good.”
Shan Yu didn’t say anything. Pretty cheap, but only eaten when craving something good.
That meant he usually ate things that were even cheaper. Shan Yu recalled the fried shredded pancakes Chen Jian had taken him to eat before—that had been truly cheap, and the portions were massive.
Chen Jian had already eaten lunch, so he only ordered two burgers, a taro pie, and a Coke for Shan Yu.
Shan Yu stared at the tray: “Didn’t you say you ate already?”
“These are for you,” Chen Jian said.
“I didn’t even have this big of an appetite right after getting out of prison…” Shan Yu said.
“Give me whatever you can’t finish,” Chen Jian smiled. “Whenever I buy food, I like getting a little extra. Just looking at it feels satisfying—gives me a sense of security.”
Shan Yu fell silent, glancing at him before raising a hand to touch his cheek.
The moment his hand lifted, Chen Jian pinned it straight back to the tabletop. “Boss, do you want to take a look at our surroundings…”
Shan Yu turned his head and looked around. Even though it wasn’t peak mealtime, the place was fairly crowded since it was a grand opening.
“Aside from the tourists, more than half the people here know you,” Chen Jian said. “And every single one of them knows me.”
Shan Yu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Did I accidentally start dating a celebrity?”
“Pretty much,” Chen Jian nodded. “Keep up your image as a cold, ruthless, high-tech boss.”
Shan Yu unwrapped a burger with a chuckle and took a bite.
“Yesterday, Xiao Dou’er was chatting with the other kids, telling them the boss-brother isn’t limping anymore,” Chen Jian watched him, keeping his voice down. “Another kid told her it’s because you got a robot installed inside your leg.”
“Tell Xiao Dou’er I am a robot.” Shan Yu swallowed the bite and took a sip of Coke.
“Xiao Dou’er wouldn’t believe that for a second. You have zero mystique in front of her,” Chen Jian said. “She’s too sharp.”
“She’s not even in kindergarten right now, is she?” Shan Yu asked.
“There’s a kindergarten over in the new village,” Chen Jian said. “She goes there, but whenever she throws a tantrum and refuses to go, her grandparents just let her stay home…”
“Will she go to school in the city?” Shan Yu asked.
“Not necessarily. The paperwork is a massive hassle,” Chen Jian said. “Her dad thinks since she’s a girl, studying out here is good enough anyway, and the grandparents don’t really have a say.”
“What a pity,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian didn’t reply, letting out only a very faint sigh.
Of all the food on the tray, Shan Yu only finished one burger and the taro pie, packing the rest to go.
“Take it back for Lao Si and Lao Wu,” Chen Jian said. “Those two eat like reincarnated starving ghosts.”
“…Where do you get the nerve to talk about them? You haven’t even reincarnated yet,” Shan Yu said. “You’re the original-flavor starving ghost.”
“I run around working all day, I burn a lot of calories,” Chen Jian said.
“Then why didn’t you eat some earlier?” Shan Yu said. “Riding in the car burns quite a few calories too.”
Chen Jian snapped his head around to glare at him.
“What is it, celebrity?” Shan Yu looked at him, the corner of his mouth curving. “Such covert language—nobody else could possibly decipher that, right?”
Chen Jian clicked his tongue, turning to walk outside.
Catching sight of the car parked out front, he quickened his pace, went over, and patted the hood. Then he took two steps back, circled to the front, and admired it for a good while.
“Which day is your Subject 3 exam?” Shan Yu asked.
“Friday morning,” Chen Jian held up his phone and snapped a photo of the car. “The instructor said I’m guaranteed to pass on the first try. I should have my license in hand before the New Year.”
“This car is yours to drive from now on,” Shan Yu said.
“I’ll just drive the inn’s car,” Chen Jian said. “Nobody at the inn would dare touch this one. One little scrape or bump…”
“My mom bumped it plenty back when she drove it.” Shan Yu got into the car.
Chen Jian opened the passenger door, but right after sitting down, he hopped straight back out.
“What now?” Shan Yu looked at him.
“Throwing out trash.” Chen Jian tossed the small trash bag by his feet into a curbside garbage can.
Shan Yu didn’t say anything, turning his head away with a quiet laugh.
When they returned to the inn, the courtyard parking spaces were completely full.
“Sanbing and President He are back,” Chen Jian pointed at the two outermost cars. “Five of them came, driving two cars.”
The travel agency folks operated quite differently from Director Lu.
“Let’s park out on the street then,” Shan Yu prepared to shift into reverse.
“No need,” Chen Jian said. “Head inside, park by the back gate of the garden. I talked it over with the other guesthouses—when it gets crowded, everyone parks in that middle clearing, as long as we leave a lane for cars to pass. If that fills up too, then we park on the street.”
“Pretty resourceful.” Shan Yu followed the narrow path, pulling the car up alongside Dayin’s back garden gate.
“It’s not that I’m resourceful,” Chen Jian said. “Ever since I came back from that meeting, they’ve all been coming to me, trying to fish for news and get on our good side.”
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Shan Yu asked.
“All thanks to the boss,” Chen Jian said. “Before, because of that waitress incident, Da Li always had his eyebrows raised whenever he saw me. When I came back on Monday—boom, flat as a board.”
Shan Yu laughed and pinched Chen Jian’s cheek. “You’re showing your true colors.”
Entering the garden through the back gate, the first one to greet them was Mushroom.
Clutching a squeaky ball in his mouth, he trotted over whining with his rear wagging furiously, rubbing against Shan Yu without stopping.
“This dog really grows fast,” Shan Yu bent down, cradling Mushroom’s head to give it a good rub. “I’ll go see President He first. Have Chen Erhu and the guys take my luggage upstairs. Don’t touch the big suitcase; that’s all New Year supplies. Let Zhao-jie decide where to put it.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian acknowledged.
“Oh, Boss Shan!” Sanbing walked out carrying a mop on his shoulder, freezing when he saw him. “When did you get back?”
“Just now.” Shan Yu looked at him. “Carrying a flag to start a rebellion? Caught you red-handed, didn’t I?”
“Just finished mopping,” Sanbing smiled sheepishly, resting the mop on the ground. “President He and his team are sitting in the cafe.”
“Yeah, that…” Chen Jian sighed. “We’ll talk about your habits at the evening meeting.”
“Nobody saw,” Sanbing said.
“So Boss Shan isn’t human?” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu shot him a look.
“Neither am I,” Chen Jian added.
Sanbing burst out laughing. “Fuck, got it. I’ll watch it next time.”
Shan Yu entered the building and went straight to the cafe.
“Boss Shan is back!” Hu Pan was making coffee and immediately waved when she saw him.
“Mm,” Shan Yu smiled.
“President He and his group just walked in too,” Hu Pan introduced him to the people sitting in the cafe. “This is our Boss Shan, he made a special trip back.”
The people in the cafe stood up. A thin man in his forties extended a hand toward Shan Yu: “Sorry to trouble you, Boss Shan.”
“No trouble at all, President He,” Shan Yu shook his hand. “It’s only right… Did you go to the old village today?”
“Yes, little brother Chen Jiali showed us around, and we even had a farmhouse meal,” President He said. “Before coming here, we had no idea this old village was a completely undeveloped ancient settlement.”
“Indeed. There are many well-preserved old houses, and those stone tablets by the threshing ground are genuinely ancient,” Shan Yu sat down with them. “There’s probably an ancient village name recorded somewhere; we can utilize that in the future.”
“Exactly!” President He nodded. “The cultural aspect is something we can dig deep into.”
Probably because he hadn’t slept enough over the last couple of days, had driven for half the day, and then spent an energetic round fooling around in the car, Shan Yu felt exhausted. He had originally planned to take a nap the moment he got back, but the guests had arrived right on cue.
He could only force himself to stay alert and chat a bit longer.
“There’s another village south of the mountain, a bit smaller than the old village,” thankfully, Chen Jian walked over and chimed in. “Hardly anyone lives there now, but there are plenty of old houses. In terms of stone tablets, there are even more than here. One of the hiking trails passes right through it.”
“Want to check it out tomorrow?” President He looked at his colleagues.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Then I’ll accompany you tomorrow, President He,” Chen Jian said.
Naturally and smoothly, he took over the conversation.
Perhaps because he wasn’t facing a government “director,” Chen Jian was far more relaxed around President He than he had been around Lu Yun. Shan Yu didn’t even need to speak anymore.
After chatting for a while and roughing out tomorrow’s survey itinerary, President He looked at Shan Yu: “Boss Shan must be tired after driving all day. Go get some rest first. We can talk details tomorrow; tonight we’ll just look around Hongye Town.”
“Sounds good,” Shan Yu smiled and nodded. “Just let us know if you need any assistance, President He. More than half of our staff are authentic locals.”
“I know,” President He said with a smile. “That’s precisely why Lu Yun specifically arranged for us to stay at Dayin.”
Before going upstairs, Shan Yu stopped by the front desk to chat with Sun Nana and the others.
“Look at you, coming back like you just robbed someone on the highway,” Sun Nana laughed.
“This giant suitcase of New Year goods,” Chen Erhu pointed at the mountain of items piled on the kitchen counter, “must have cost a fortune. It’s all top-tier stuff.”
“Haven’t looked at it yet. My dad bought it and packed the bag,” Shan Yu said.
“Old President Shan is truly generous…” Lao Wu said, deeply touched.
“He’s not old,” Shan Yu said.
“Big President Shan…” Lao Wu corrected himself.
Chen Jian couldn’t hold back a laugh; it sounded like an honorary philanthropist title.
“He’s not a president either,” Chen Erhu said. “He’s a professor!”
“Big Professor Shan…” Lao Wu looked increasingly confused.
“Do you really have to slap a model number in front of the surname Shan?!” Lao Si couldn’t take it anymore from the side.
Getting into the elevator, Chen Jian was still marveling: “To think our Dayin actually got off the ground relying on this crew, and we even managed to fool Lu Yun…”
“Watch your mouth, we didn’t fool anyone. People have many sides,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
Chen Jian smiled, looking at him and nodding: “Mm, just like our boss. Usually looks like he does no real work and runs from chores, but in reality, he never misses a beat.”
Shan Yu smiled without answering.
When the elevator stopped on the fourth floor, Chen Jian stepped forward and planted a kiss on his lips.
He didn’t even know why he couldn’t wait until they entered the office to do this.
Right as their lips touched, the elevator doors slid open.
Immediately, the sound of guests chatting and laughing as they walked down the hall toward the elevator drifted in.
Startled out of his wits, Chen Jian frantically stabbed at the “close door” button.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Shan Yu stuck out a leg to block the door, pushed Chen Jian out of the elevator, and whispered, “Walk out normally. Are you trying to make sure they notice us?”
“…Oh.” Chen Jian paused, then started walking toward the office.
Passing the guests, he gave a polite nod: “Good afternoon.”
Shan Yu echoed right behind him: “Good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon!” The guests cheerfully stepped into the elevator.
“My mental fortitude,” Chen Jian said, turning around as soon as he entered the office, “is truly…”
Shan Yu kicked the door shut, pulled him into a tight embrace, tilted his head, and took a sharp bite on his neck.
“Ouch!” Chen Jian hissed under his breath. “Ow, ow, ow, ow… Are you trying to kill me…”
Shan Yu let go with his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly sensed something was different in the office.
Still holding Chen Jian, he turned halfway around the room, and then spotted a new black stand next to the cabinet behind the desk.
Resting on top was a large glass terrarium.
With his experience, a single glance told him it was an expensive, custom reptile tank.
“Holy shit?” He let go of Chen Jian, walking over to the terrarium in sheer shock. Inside, he saw a gecko.
“African fat-tailed gecko, tangerine white-out zero,” Chen Jian walked over, standing beside him. “Same morph as your old one, right?”
“You bought this?” Shan Yu turned to look at him.
“Mm,” Chen Jian smiled. “New Year’s gift. I showed the photo from your Moments to the shop owner, and he said it was this morph. Is it right?”
“Right,” Shan Yu answered, his voice feeling strangely hoarse.
“He didn’t have one in his shop, so he took me to a friend’s house to find it,” Chen Jian exhaled in relief. “He said there weren’t any adults left, only a few sub-adults, but they’re easier to care for than hatchlings…”
“How did you…” In that single moment, countless thoughts raced through Shan Yu’s mind, a turbulent wave of emotion surging within him. “…think to buy this as a gift?”
“I don’t know, I just felt… even though you’ve gotten familiar with this place, it’s still not where you grew up,” Chen Jian said. “And I felt like you must have really loved that gecko…”
Shan Yu didn’t say a word. Leaning against the cabinet, he simply stared at Chen Jian.
His eyes and the bridge of his nose stung fiercely.
When tears slid down the corners of his eyes, he didn’t even raise a hand to wipe them away.
“Why are you crying?” Chen Jian panicked instantly, his fingers gently brushing against Shan Yu’s cheek. “Don’t… don’t scare me…”
