At work, as a subordinate, Duan Shuye was still quite afraid of He Xihuan.
He carried the coffee and sprinted back to the assistant office.
Then, holding a cup of goji berry tea that others had helped brew, he cautiously entered He Xihuan’s office.
“Mr. He,” Duan Shuye bent down and placed the cup on the desk, “Mr. Xu specifically gave me a verbal reminder to brew this for you.”
He Xihuan glanced at the goji berries floating on the surface of the water and gave a low hum. “Take it away.”
Duan Shuye instead pushed the cup closer to He Xihuan’s hand. “Mr. He, please calm your anger.”
The sound of footsteps slowly faded from the office before He Xihuan stopped what he was doing and picked up the cup beside him.
He pinched the body of the cup and shook it a few times, causing the layer of goji berries on the water’s surface to sway accordingly.
However, the few goji berries at the bottom of the cup remained completely motionless.
Whether the goji berry that was not in the cup was floating or sinking, He Xihuan suddenly seemed unable to tell.
Having received notification from the elder Mr. He, He Xihuan would finish his work next Friday and begin his vacation, and the assistants needed to assist He Xihuan in completing his current workload over the next few days.
Tempted by a salary increase and the compensation of a week’s rest, the entire assistant office showed up for both Saturday and Sunday of this week.
Although they were each picked apart by He Xihuan, after receiving Duan Shuye’s coffee and the red envelopes meant for buying desserts, everyone felt comforted and continued with their work.
After the goji berry tea was brought in, He Xihuan acted as if his fire had been extinguished, quietly working in his office by himself with no one else entering or leaving.
It wasn’t until noon that He Xihuan walked out of the office, having recovered his calm state, and went to keep his appointment together with Duan Shuye.
This lunch was arranged by Liang Li, an old friend of He Jing, with the main purpose of having He Xihuan help persuade his son.
He Xihuan had settled down and established his career early, serving as a role model among the younger generation, and was frequently used by elders as a template to discipline their own play-seeking children.
Uncles and aunts who, like today, wanted to directly drag He Xihuan over to lecture their children had all been politely refused by He Xihuan.
This time, Liang Li had approached He Jing and Wang Congmeng directly, leaving him with no way to refuse.
After finishing the meal, they went to the Liang family’s sports club.
Without seeing Liang Li’s son, they instead caught sight of a familiar figure.
Dressed in grey athletic wear, Xu Yiwen was swinging his arms to play badminton, and the sweat droplets on his forehead slid past the corners of his upturned eyes.
When a sweat droplet hit his eyelashes, Xu Yiwen blinked out of habit without reaching out to wipe it away.
On the Friday evening of the third week of their freshman year, when He Xihuan went to the track to run and first saw Xu Yiwen, Xu Yiwen had been just like this, letting the sweat droplets drip from his forehead while remaining entirely devoted to badminton, without sparing a hand to wipe them.
“I’ve made you run here for nothing today. This brat ran away.”
Seeing He Xihuan gazing intently downstairs, Liang Li assumed He Xihuan was interested and quietly instructed someone to prepare two sets of athletic wear.
“Xihuan, if you’re interested, go play with Assistant Duan, so your trip here isn’t completely for nothing,” Liang Li arranged with a smile. “Today is Sunday and it is crowded, so we’ve arranged a separate court for you.”
He Xihuan’s absorbed gaze was shattered by a bottle of water suddenly thrown into Xu Yiwen’s hands, instantly turning cold.
It was Wen Yuhang again!
“Uncle Liang, no need to trouble yourself. This place is just fine.” He Xihuan’s face darkened as he walked downstairs in heavy, hurried strides.
Duan Shuye followed along with his heart in his throat.
Naturally, he had seen Xu Yiwen, as well as He Xihuan’s drastically changed expression.
“Xiao Wen,” sitting on a resting chair, Wen Yuhang pounded his arm and spoke to Xu Yiwen, “it has been so long since we came to play badminton. My arms are sore.”
Exercise had released both sweat and worries, and a natural smile hung on Xu Yiwen’s face as he bantered, “You are yielding to old age so quickly? Would you like me to send you some supplements?”
“Alright, but I only accept goji berries.” Wen Yuhang stopped what he was doing and arched an eyebrow at Xu Yiwen.
Wen Yuhang was always like this, arching his eyebrows to flirt with any colleague like it was just a casual greeting.
Xu Yiwen was long used to it and simply smiled, shaking his head.
“Teacher Wen, eating too many goji berries isn’t a good idea.”
He Xihuan’s voice startled Xu Yiwen and Wen Yuhang so much that they looked as if they had been scalded, immediately standing up.
“He Xihuan?” The smile on Xu Yiwen’s face vanished entirely, and his expression turned slightly tense.
They hadn’t managed to talk things through this morning, and running into He Xihuan now was not a good thing.
In full view of the public, he did not want to get into a dispute with He Xihuan, nor did he want the He family to make the financial and entertainment news tomorrow.
Taking two steps in one, he walked toward He Xihuan, pressed down on the suit jacket draped over He Xihuan’s elbow, and lowered his voice to say, “He Xihuan, let’s go home and talk.”
He Xihuan’s expression remained unchanged as he lowered his head to lean into Xu Yiwen’s ear and whispered, “Why should I listen to you?”
Afterward, he walked straight toward Wen Yuhang, who was frozen in place with a furrowed brow.
“Teacher Wen, long time no see.”
The hand He Xihuan politely extended felt as though it had swept a gust of cold wind onto Wen Yuhang.
“Long time no see, Mr. He.” Wen Yuhang gave He Xihuan’s hand a perfunctory shake before quickly withdrawing it. “You like playing badminton too? How come I have never heard of that?”
“He doesn’t like it,” Xu Yiwen sped up his pace to reach He Xihuan’s side and answered, “Yuhang, let’s call it a day here. We are heading home first.”
“What is the rush? I just got here.” One corner of He Xihuan’s mouth curled up as he pulled Xu Yiwen’s waist into his embrace. “I just don’t know how to play. It doesn’t mean I don’t like it.”
“You teach me.” These three words fell into the corner of Xu Yiwen’s lips along with He Xihuan’s kiss.
“You.” Xu Yiwen raised his palm on reflex, only to drop it back down due to the noisy clamor of the venue.
He could not afford to start a fight with He Xihuan here.
Meanwhile, Wen Yuhang’s eyes were already filled with an urge to quarrel.
He Xihuan was clearly provoking him.
He and Xu Yiwen had progressed from being classmates for many years to becoming close friends, and their relationship had always been intimate.
He admitted that he liked Xu Yiwen, but he knew Xu Yiwen held no romantic feelings for him. He didn’t even have the courage to confess his feelings to Xu Yiwen.
That was why he had allowed this guy He Xihuan to seize the opening, suddenly appearing and rushing into a flash marriage with Xu Yiwen.
Outsiders all said the two of them were deeply in love, but Wen Yuhang knew that in the year they had been married, the number of times He Xihuan had come to the school to pick up Xu Yiwen could be counted on one hand.
Especially on the day Xu Yiwen returned to the Xu family home, not only did He Xihuan fail to accompany him, but from afternoon until evening, there hadn’t even been a single phone call or text message.
“Doesn’t Mr. He have an older brother in the military?” Wen Yuhang picked up a racket. “The athletic genes in your family must be well-developed. You will learn it as you play, no need for Xiao Wen to teach you.”
“Xiao Wen,” he arched an eyebrow at Xu Yiwen again, “take a break. I’ll keep Mr. He company for a few rounds.”
“No.”
A single syllable had barely escaped Xu Yiwen’s lips before it was suppressed by He Xihuan’s voice.
“Alright then, I’ll have to trouble Teacher Wen.” He Xihuan tossed his jacket to Xu Yiwen, the anger in the depths of his eyes refusing to fade.
Xu Yiwen caught the jacket, processed the situation for a second, and grabbed He Xihuan as the latter bent down to pick up a racket from a chair.
His mouth just began to move when his words were intercepted by Duan Shuye: “Mr. He, you should change into another outfit. This suit will restrict your performance, prevent you from moving freely, and might even lead to injury.”
“You see how worried Mr. Xu is.”
Xu Yiwen’s expression was plastered with despair.
He had simply wanted He Xihuan to use a different racket. He didn’t like other people using his equipment.
Whenever he played with Wen Yuhang, they were both accustomed to bringing their own pairs and using their own things.