LA ⋆ Chapter 3: Splashed with Red Oil

Sheng Yao was certain he hadn't made a sound eating the cake, but he could still catch the look from Cheng Ai that said 'don't make noise, I'm grilling.' Sheng Yao swallowed the rest of the cake whole.

For the entire afternoon, Sheng Yao could sense that Cheng Ai was in a bad mood.

To be honest, Cheng Ai's moody temperament had been going on for a while now.

In the first half of the year there had been several waves of people returning to their hometowns for the second time, company restructuring, personnel optimization. Sheng Yao had been on edge too, anxiously scrolling through job recruitment apps when he was anxious, but nothing happened, and after scrolling for a bit he'd forget that anxiety. Maybe the pressure on the company really wasn't small either. During that period, when Sheng Yao brought documents for Cheng Ai to sign, the pen tip made a scratching sound on the paper.

So maybe Cheng Ai's bad mood today wasn't because Sheng Yao had ruined his good time, but because of work?

Frustrating. It still involved layoffs.

As the end of the workday approached, Sheng Yao felt increasingly like he was sitting on pins and needles, desperate to escape. He was conflicted about whether to tell Cheng Ai about moving his desk out. If he didn't say anything, he was afraid of drawing fire, but if he did, it seemed like he was emphasizing that he had seen it, seen it with both eyes.

"Sheng Yao," Cheng Ai suddenly called out. "Come have dinner with me tonight."

Sheng Yao ground his back molars. He'd had these sudden work requests before, and he'd always taken them in stride, but now he always felt like he was in a suspended, undecided environment, inexplicably anxious.

There was no way around it. No matter how anxious, work had to be done. Sheng Yao stood up: "Okay. Formal or informal?"

Formally, it shouldn't have been mentioned at the last minute. Nothing was on the schedule.

Cheng Ai thought for a moment and said: "A senior in the tech industry came by. He just told me, so I need to show some courtesy." Then he looked at Sheng Yao deeply. "You should change into something else."

Sheng Yao looked down at himself—shorts, T-shirt. He didn't go out on field assignments much; he mainly helped Cheng Ai with document work at the office. Even when there were clients to meet, it was usually arranged in advance, so his commute outfit was pretty rough.

Cheng Ai's office had a changing room with some formal wear and accessories stocked, including some tailored pieces for Sheng Yao.

Sheng Yao went in and changed, and as he was tying his tie, Cheng Ai asked from outside: "Done yet?" He sounded somewhat impatient.

Sheng Yao opened the door: "Just about."

Next to the door was a full-length mirror. Cheng Ai walked in, opened the accessory cabinet, and took out a roll of navy-blue tie, loosening it and holding it up against his neck to compare.

Sheng Yao's movements became slow. In the mirror, the two of them stood side by side, Cheng Ai behind Sheng Yao. The mirror was about a meter wide, and for Cheng Ai to be in the frame, he leaned in slightly. The tailored suit was cut extremely close to the body, the shoulders and waist fitting perfectly, making both of them look tall and upright.

Cheng Ai's gaze shifted in the mirror from Sheng Yao's face to Sheng Yao's ear outside the mirror.

"What's wrong?"

A low voice carrying a damp breath, like a flame, licked at his ear a few times, wet and hot.

Sheng Yao instinctively stepped back, only to realize that Cheng Ai wasn't actually that close to him—just normal social distance. Blame the changing room for being too cramped, blame the air for being too dry, blame his ear for poor blood circulation.

Cheng Ai's expression suddenly darkened. He shoved the tie into Sheng Yao's hand and gave an order: "Help me."

Cheng Ai had originally been wearing a dark red polka-dot tie.

As Sheng Yao took off his original tie, he tried to lighten the mood: "Isn't red serious enough?"

This time Cheng Ai was truly looking down at him. He had his hands in his pockets, his cold eyes looking slightly downward: "It got splashed with red oil."

Sheng Yao: "…"

No wonder he hadn't noticed the stain at first.

Cheng Ai seemed to enjoy having someone tie his tie for him. He closed his eyes, tilted his head back slightly, like a proud big white goose. Sheng Yao looped his hands around Cheng Ai's neck, threaded the tie through, and saw Cheng Ai's clean chin and sharp jawline, thinking that if only his own life could be this clear.

The tie knot pushed up to the sternal notch, and even the proudest white goose was choked.

The driver drove, and Cheng Ai and Sheng Yao sat in the back row.

Sheng Yao sent a message to Sheng Yi: "Eat on your own tonight."

This was his half-brother, who had just finished his college entrance exam this year and had come to this city as well.

The three-person chat group with Tony and Shuitan was called "Dou Dizhu," and a message popped up.

"Tony: Probably have to work until one tonight, I really feel like I'm exhausted. (little bird emoji)"

"Shuitan: Tony, life won't fall apart. Jianbei was singing KTV at me again today, saying she'd deliver on time even if she had to pull an all-nighter. I can't be bothered, I clock out on time, if it's not done then it's not done, working late on weekdays doesn't even count as overtime, whoever the hell wants to do it for her can do it, even if the sky falls it'll land on the company. Health comes first!"

"Tony: I'm afraid if I lose my job I'll never find another one."

"Mantou: I have to work late today too, being a supporting host for the boss."

Right after sending this message, Cheng Ai beside him spoke: "Something urgent?"

Sheng Yao put his phone away: "No." He guessed it was the sound of his fingernail hitting the screen that bothered Cheng Ai.

The restaurant was in a members-only private club with a serene environment and high privacy.

The other party was a refined and cultured elder. Cheng Ai didn't introduce him much, so Sheng Yao played the proper dining companion. Fortunately, this wasn't a particularly false business dinner. He didn't need to rack his brains coming up with small talk or dealing with all sorts of strange toasts. He just needed to add tea and pick up dishes at appropriate times, then quietly play the mute.

To be honest, Sheng Yao really wasn't an outgoing person, and really wasn't someone who could navigate social situations smoothly. Ten years ago, he never would have believed he'd ever be this social, this effortlessly able to chat with unfamiliar people.

The old gentleman kept good hours and didn't linger long after finishing. The gathering broke up.

The two of them got back in the car.

Cheng Ai asked: "Address? I'll drop you off first."

Sheng Yao thought for a moment and said: "It's too far. Just drop me off somewhere with a subway."

He had originally shared a place in the Fourth Ring, but now that Sheng Yi had come, he wanted Sheng Yi to have his own space when he came back on weekends, so he'd switched to a two-bedroom in the Sixth Ring. If Cheng Ai drove him, it would be about thirty kilometers one way. He was afraid Cheng Ai would change his mind and leave him halfway.

Cheng Ai didn't respond. In the dim car interior, he just stared at Sheng Yao. Behind them was a car window left slightly ajar, and lush greenery slipped past through that narrow gap.

Sheng Yao gave in: "If it's convenient for you, President Cheng, somewhere around…" Sheng Yao reported the distant address. Not sure if Cheng Ai had no sense of distance or was genuinely idle, he turned around and settled back comfortably: "Drive."

The driver entered the address into the navigation. The emotionless electronic female voice announced: "Preparing to depart. Total distance: twenty-seven kilometers. Estimated time: forty minutes. Estimated arrival time: 9:30 PM…"

Sheng Yao saw the driver's resentful gaze in the rearview mirror.