LA ⋆ Chapter 18: Two People Eating

"Uh…" Sheng Yao let out a long hum with his head down, his brain unresponsive.

The heating made his head feel slightly dizzy. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lay deep blue and neon lights. Leather shoes stepped on the sound-dampening floor with only a dull, muffled friction.

His heart was like a puddle of water, every corner damp and dripping. He'd found a rag to wipe it dry, but in the end the rag was soaked through too.

He really didn't know how to handle a scene this blunt yet impossible to refuse outright.

"Let's go." Cheng Ai pressed on Sheng Yao's shoulder and pushed him out the door.

Cheng Ai followed right behind Sheng Yao. The difference in height and build made it look like he was wrapping the person in his embrace.

They'd left from the garage. Cheng Ai was driving.

There was no chance to face the howling wind outside.

Crispy sweet-and-sour pork steamed with heat, the sour-sweet aroma hitting them head-on. Through the translucent sugar glaze and faint white wisps, Sheng Yao refocused, seeing clearly the face behind the pork. The boss's face.

Cheng Ai had taken off his overcoat and removed his tie, undone two buttons on his shirt, rolled up his sleeves to reveal creases from being squeezed. The hair that had been combed neatly back now had two or three strands loose over his forehead.

"Eat up, it won't be easy to pick up once it cools down," Cheng Ai pointed at the crispy sweet-and-sour pork.

"Oh, okay." Since the boss told him to eat, he wouldn't be polite about it. Sheng Yao picked up a piece—crispy, fragrant, delicious—and halfway through, suddenly thought of something: "President Cheng, don't you not like sweet things?"

"This sour-sweet combination is fine."

Forget it, awkward small talk was worse than no talk at all.

Sheng Yao buried himself in eating. He could feel it—the boss was watching him again, just like that time they went for roast duck, just like eating breakfast at the boss's place.

Cheng Ai ate slowly and methodically, completely different from Sheng Yao's style. In comparison, Cheng Ai appeared more composed and at ease. He took a sip of barley tea and asked: "Sheng Yao, why do you like Schopenhauer?"

Sheng Yao's brow suddenly furrowed, his eyes confused: "Did I ever say I like Schopenhauer?"

"Ahem," Cheng Ai covered his mouth with an awkward laugh, "I guessed."

"Oh, so President Cheng's guess was pretty accurate."

Cheng Ai: "So why do you like Schopenhauer?"

"Should we be talking about this?" Sheng Yao rapidly listed reasons for liking Schopenhauer in his mind, but didn't answer.

"What's wrong with talking about this?" Cheng Ai's heart skipped—had he stepped on a landmine? Damn him for not finishing the complete works of Schopenhauer.

"Nothing," Sheng Yao wiped his mouth. "It's just that I don't really like discussing my professional interests with people. I've always felt philosophy is meant to be enjoyed alone. People who like to chat about this kind of thing in public always seem to be men with huge egos, and I don't really like that."

Fuck. Cheng Ai pulled out a napkin and wiped his neck, then his forehead, screaming silently in his mind.

Noticing Cheng Ai's reaction, Sheng Yao closed his eyes in silence, speechless—what was he even saying? The boss wouldn't think he was taking a jab at him, would he?

Salvage this.

"Haha, if President Cheng asks me," Sheng Yao mobilized his stiff facial muscles and forced out a smile, "then it's nothing more than that I really resonate with Schopenhauer… He believed that a person's desire in that regard is the most complete expression and most explicit form of the will to live, because human origins stem from, uh… that, have you heard of the focal point of the will? That concept is so fucking cool, how could there be such a genius person, haha haha. Help me, what am I even saying…"

"Ha, ha…" Cheng Ai fumbled to push back those few strands of hair from his forehead, making himself look busy, "So is your will to live still strong?"

Help me, what are you saying now… Sheng Yao felt he was about to lose this smile.

Thank goodness! A server arrived just in time with a pot of braised chicken with mushrooms, interrupting the two of them dodging each other's gaze.

Cheng Ai pointed at the pot: "Eat it while it's hot, eat it while it's hot…"

Sheng Yao: "Yes, yes…"

At this point, Sheng Yao concluded that through Cheng Ai's active efforts, they had pushed what was originally a simple superior-subordinate relationship into a new awkward situation. What the hell was Cheng Ai trying to do anyway…

The rest of the meal was just eating, completing the dining experience in awkward silence.

Cheng Ai had originally wanted to drive Sheng Yao home, but Sheng Yao firmly refused: "President Cheng, if you go there and back, you won't get home until around eleven. The subway is really convenient for me."

Considering tomorrow's work, Cheng Ai watched Sheng Yao leave.

After Cheng Ai got back, he didn't go home first. Instead, he went straight upstairs and knocked on Chen Siyu's door.

Chen Siyu and Shuitan were sitting face to face on the floor playing Monopoly.

After Cheng Ai entered, he flopped down on the floor: "I'm exhausted. Seeking professional instruction in love expertise."

Chen Siyu: "We're talking about you."

Shuitan: "We're talking about you."

Cheng Ai: "…"

Cheng Ai: "How did you two get together?"

Chen Siyu: "Us two? When we were abroad, she caught a thief for me and got my phone back. I promised myself to her on the spot."

Shuitan: "That's right!"

Cheng Ai: "…"

Chen Siyu looked at Cheng Ai's troubled-by-love expression and asked: "What's going on with you two?"

Cheng Ai briefly told them about having dinner with Sheng Yao.

Chen Siyu smacked his lips and shook his head: "How could you ask such a question? You don't even read Schopenhauer, so even if he answered you, you couldn't follow up the conversation. This kind of self-sabotaging talk doesn't sound like you at all."

Cheng Ai gazed blankly at the ceiling: "I wanted to know how I fall short compared to him."

Shuitan furrowed her brow, spread her hands outward, and gave Chen Siyu a very confused expression.

Chen Siyu: "A little fool trapped in love…"

Cheng Ai slowly turned his head: "You're absolutely right."

Shuitan couldn't take it anymore and interrupted: "If you can't say it yourself, I'll just confess for you tomorrow. It's a matter of taking the plunge either way. If he rejects you, I'll relay it to him so you two don't have to face each other awkwardly."

"No!" Cheng Ai jumped up from the floor with a carp flip, "He's definitely going to reject me."

Chen Siyu put away the board game and spoke seriously: "In exchange for eating so much of your stuff, let me analyze this for you one more time."

Cheng Ai: "Teacher Chen, please enlighten me."