In the evening, the solitary shadow of a bird sank into the twilight as the sunset surged like a rising tide.
Duan Jinghuai felt his mind become a mess. He ended his work early and parked his car downstairs at the Junyi building where he lit a cigarette. The gray-blue smoke made his eyes and jawline appear blurred and ethereal. Having worried all day, his desire to see Shi Yu was like a waterfall rushing down a high mountain.
Shortly after five o’clock, the upright figure of Shi Yu appeared inside the building. He was not wearing his glasses. Under the rays of the setting sun, his pupils turned a light coffee color that shimmered like glazed glass. The dusk softened his silhouette, but his expression remained as cold as ever. He frowned slightly at the piercing light and strode to his car to sit in the back with his assistant.
As the car started, Duan Jinghuai crushed his cigarette and followed behind as if he were possessed. The medicine he had bought for Shi Yu still sat on the passenger seat.
The cars traveled all the way to Jingming Pavilion. Night fell, and sparse stars scattered across the dark sky. Shi Yu pulled up next to a BMW, and a middle-aged man in a suit got out. The two men chatted as they entered the restaurant. Duan Jinghuai steadied his nerves and recognized the other man as President Zhao from Boheng. He realized the meeting was just business.
He breathed a secret sigh of relief and leaned back into his seat to lower the window and let the breeze in. He parked at a corner not far from the restaurant. As the night grew colder, the chill swirled around his neck. He wondered if Shi Yu would get drunk and if the man would act the same way he did last time.
Duan Jinghuai glanced at the ointment on the passenger seat. After a moment of thought, he decided to stay and wait. The wait was grueling and long. He propped his arm on the window and lit another cigarette while focusing his gaze on the entrance of the restaurant because he was terrified of missing the figure of Shi Yu.
Three or four hours passed. Cigarettes burned down one by one, and countless dark cars flashed past his eyes. Darkness and silence slowly covered the city, yet the lights continued to burn tirelessly. It was not until after ten o’clock that Shi Yu finally appeared at the door. The dim yellow light cast a gentle glow over the shoulders of the man.
The heart of Duan Jinghuai skipped a beat. He straightened up and fixed his gaze on the door. The face of Shi Yu was as pale as usual. President Zhao followed behind him with a submissive smile and repeatedly bowed. It seemed the man had gained no advantage at the dinner table and had instead been suppressed by Shi Yu.
Duan Jinghuai curled his lips into a small smile. Shi Yu had always been brilliant. Even when at a disadvantage in a negotiation, he would fight the opponent to the end. Duan Jinghuai had admired and been fascinated by this trait since they were children.
A valet opened the car door for Shi Yu. As he stepped toward it, a voice from behind called out to him. He paused and looked up slightly. The moment the figure moved aside, the smile on the lips of Duan Jinghuai froze. For a moment, his blood felt as if it had turned to ice. Under the dim streetlights, a beautiful girl was smiling brightly. Whatever she said to Shi Yu, he responded with a slight nod and a relaxed expression. It was Wen Yi, the girl Shi Yu used to like.
The fingertips of Duan Jinghuai sank deep into his palms, and his knuckles turned white with force. He wondered if she had actually returned to the country as well.
In their final year of high school, Shi Yu had written a love letter to Wen Yi. Duan Jinghuai remembered that he and Shi Yu had argued over some trivial matter back then and had been in a cold war for a while. One afternoon during the last period, which was physical education, he returned from playing basketball to find a crowd gathered around the desk of Shi Yu.
One boy shouted excitedly that it was actually a love letter. Another added that nobody writes love letters anymore and called it old-fashioned. A third boy noted the pink envelope and suggested it made sense because Wen Yi was also old-fashioned. They wondered who had written it.
Duan Jinghuai sat in the back row and drank from a water bottle. His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed. Someone pointed out that it must be Wen Yi writing to Shi Yu because his name was on the envelope but it was tucked inside her textbook. Another boy joked lewdly that it did not matter who wrote it and claimed they had been together behind everyone’s backs for a long time.
A sharp crunching sound echoed from the back row as the plastic water bottle was slowly crushed flat. Duan Jinghuai narrowed his eyes. He could not listen anymore and stood up just as Shi Yu and Wen Yi walked through the front door.
A chorus of whistles rose from the corner. They asked if the class president and vice president had skipped gym class to go on a secret date. Shi Yu expressionlessly tossed a stack of notebooks into the arms of a boy and asked if the boy wanted to grade the homework next time.
The students knew Shi Yu was not to be trifled with, so they turned their teasing toward Wen Yi. They told her she had written a love letter to the class president. Wen Yi was a soft-spoken and introverted girl who was always a model student. She lowered her head uncomfortably as her ears turned crimson. It took her a moment to process what was happening and ask about the letter.
The boy waved the envelope in the air and noted she was blushing. They mocked her for being easily embarrassed. Wen Yi protested in a small voice, but her quiet defense was drowned out by the shouting. The boy holding the letter suggested reading it out loud for everyone. Wen Yi shook her head frantically and reached for the letter, but the boy held it higher. Another student added that her love letter must be a masterpiece since her essays were the best in the city.
Wen Yi cried out for them to stop while she looked as if she were about to burst into tears. One student asked why she was shy and suggested they could all learn from it.
A cold voice cut through the noise and told them to stop. Shi Yu stood before the boy with a frozen expression. His gaze was hollow yet carried a dark and terrifying intensity. The boy asked what was wrong and gave a hesitant smile as he asked if Shi Yu had written the letter to Wen Yi.
Shi Yu asked what it mattered and told the boy to give it back. The room went silent as the students looked at each other while stunned. Shi Yu stepped forward and snatched the letter from the hand of the boy then gave it back to Wen Yi. She took it with red eyes and downcast lashes while clutching the edge of her shirt.
The next second, a loud bang came from the back of the classroom. Someone had slammed the back door shut so hard it was still vibrating.
The city was growing tired. The night wind felt like a deep ocean current, and moonlight like frost spilled onto the streets. Shi Yu got out of his car and said goodbye to his assistant. Two straight beams of light pressed against the ground as a vehicle crouched in the dark alley like a fierce beast. The light inside the car was dim, but the aggressive features and deep eyes of the man were clearly visible.
The gaze of Shi Yu narrowed slightly, and he pursed his lips while feeling frustrated. He had known the man was following him since the restaurant. He could not understand what was in the mind of Duan Jinghuai. Since there was clearly more than one person in the life of the man, he wondered why the man cared so much about what Shi Yu did.
Duan Jinghuai parked the car, grabbed the medicine, and stepped out to stop in front of Shi Yu. The expression of Shi Yu remained indifferent as he asked if President Duan had business. Duan Jinghuai was tall and imposing. A flicker of light in his deep eyes shone directly into the eyes of Shi Yu as he said he came to see him.
Shi Yu noted the man had seen him and suggested he could leave now. As Shi Yu turned to leave, Duan Jinghuai grabbed his wrist. His voice was urgent as he admitted that what happened this morning was his fault. Shi Yu remained cold and seemingly uncaring.
Duan Jinghuai noted he brought medicine and asked to apply it before he left. Shi Yu replied there was no need. He tried to pull his wrist away, but the man instinctively gripped it tighter. Shi Yu frowned. Fearing he was hurting him, Duan Jinghuai loosened his grip and noted he would stay there until dawn if Shi Yu did not agree.
Shi Yu asked if Young Master Duan was there to throw a childish tantrum. Duan Jinghuai lowered his eyes and softly denied it. As a cool breeze brushed past his collarbones, Shi Yu told him to stand there. He pulled his wrist away, walked to his door, and entered his code.
With a chime, the door opened. Shi Yu stepped inside and paused for a moment with his hand on the handle. Duan Jinghuai held his hand in the air for a second before slowly pulling it back while his eyelashes cast a shadow over his face.
A moment later, warm orange light spilled through the half-open crack of the door and cast a shadow on the stone steps. Duan Jinghuai looked up as his eyes brightened. Shi Yu had left the door open.