◎ Peeking. ◎
Su Yun did not know if he should breathe a sigh of relief. After all, he had said these words before, but when Si Yan repeated them, he used the word “extremely” twice, which made him feel somewhat conscious of it.
Maintaining a facade of composure, he admitted, “Your image does indeed match a game character I designed very well.”
“Oh, so it’s because of work?” Si Yan straightened up and pulled back, and the sense of aggressiveness caused by his excessively superior height and looks diminished along with it.
“Yeah.” Unaware that he had just dug a hole for himself, Su Yun lowered his head and pulled out the chair at the dining table.
Si Yan chose the seat opposite Su Yun and sat down. “Since it’s for work, then I should cooperate with you even more.”
Only then did Su Yun realize that his earlier explanation had buried him in a pit. With drooping brows and eyes, he said, “It’s not actually that urgent.”
Si Yan smiled and did not chase after the topic to discuss it further, asking Su Yun whether he wanted oatmeal porridge or yam soup.
“Either is fine.” Su Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Si Yan scooped a bowl of oatmeal porridge and, stretching out his long arm, placed it in front of Su Yun: “Eat up.”
“Oh.” Su Yun complied obediently, picking up a spoon to take a bite, but then felt something was amiss.
Why was he listening to Si Yan so obediently? And why did Si Yan consistently give off a familiar vibe, as if they had known each other for a long time, speaking and acting much more casually during this meeting?
When they had eaten together last time, Si Yan had still maintained the demeanor of an aloof and distant cool guy, not looking like someone with a personality that easily warmed up to people.
What exactly had happened in between?
Su Yun felt it must have something to do with what happened last night. Could it be that besides mentioning the portrait, he had said or done something even stranger?
Yet he did not dare, nor did he have the nerve, to ask Si Yan directly.
He lowered his head and ate his oatmeal porridge as several small side dishes and pastries were neatly arranged in front of him by Si Yan, lined up like a small fan, as if setting up some kind of formation.
“Eat whatever you like, don’t stand on ceremony,” Si Yan said.
“Oh.” Looking at the fan-shaped magic formation in front of him, Su Yun strongly suspected that Si Yan was an extreme perfectionist, perhaps even with a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
However, this neat arrangement truly made him feel extremely comfortable.
He picked up his chopsticks and selected a few items to eat.
Drinking his porridge, Si Yan observed where Su Yun’s chopsticks landed, noting that Su Yun favored sweeter foods.
“I brought some yogurt over.”
After finishing the meal, Su Yun picked up a row of yogurt that looked somewhat shabby compared to the lavish breakfast: “Do we drink it now? Or put it in the fridge?”
Seeing that Su Yun had already postured to snap off a yogurt cup, Si Yan nodded: “Let’s drink it now.”
Su Yun was very happy. From last night until now, Si Yan had been the one taking care of him, and now he finally had a chance to return the favor. Not only did he snap off a yogurt cup, but he also thoughtfully inserted a straw.
“Here.” After handing the yogurt to Si Yan, he snapped one off for himself and began sipping it with utter satisfaction.
Biting his straw, Si Yan managed with great difficulty to suppress his lifting lips.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Su Yun finally had the mind to observe his surroundings.
The layout of this apartment was the same as the one downstairs, but the interior design style was much more minimalist. The materials used also looked more high-end, presenting an atmosphere of low-key luxury. The black, white, and gray color scheme of the furniture suited the homeowner’s personality very well.
Su Yun did not shake his head all around to look; he merely shifted his gaze to scan casually.
Si Yan’s gaze remained consistent, resting on Su Yun the entire time.
He felt that the current Su Yun looked very much like a furry creature observing secretly in the dark, though he couldn’t exactly say what kind of furry creature it was.
Sipping his yogurt, Su Yun’s gaze landed on a glass partition wall between the kitchen and the dining room. Because of the lighting, both his and Si Yan’s silhouettes were clearly reflected on it.
In the reflection, he was wearing grayish-white round-neck loungewear, while Si Yan wore similar grayish-black loungewear. Sitting opposite each other across the dining table, drinking yogurt together, they looked as harmonious as family members who had lived together for a long time.
And the Si Yan sitting opposite him seemed to be staring at him.
He was startled by this discovery and quickly withdrew his gaze.
The reflection wasn’t clear, he must have definitely seen wrong.
With his head lowered, under the cover of his eyelashes, his gaze stealthily darted upward, stealing a glance at Si Yan opposite him.
Sure enough, Si Yan was looking at him. Upon noticing his gaze, he even curled his lips into a somewhat wicked smile.
Caught peeking, Su Yun hastily bit down hard on his straw.
How come he hadn’t noticed Si Yan liked to smile so much during their blind date?
Furthermore, what was Si Yan smiling about? Could he be thinking that he had just been secretly looking at him through the glass?
Too despicable.
“I’m going to check on my colleague.” Feeling stifled, he stood up and tossed his yogurt cup into the trash can.
Jiang Yiyi was still sleeping soundly. Su Yun gently nudged him through the blanket, only to receive a response of “Let go of my Big Senior Brother.”
Su Yun:
He had no idea what bizarre things this kid was dreaming about.
When he exited the room, Si Yan had already opened his laptop and was standing in front of a height-adjustable desk by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, seemingly working.
“Let him sleep here. If you’re tired, go back to sleep for a bit longer, there’s no need to worry.” Si Yan was so considerate it was as if the person who had just teased him wasn’t him at all.
After being tossed around all morning, Su Yun was indeed somewhat physically drained. However, recalling his own panic upon waking up in an unfamiliar environment, he didn’t feel at ease leaving Jiang Yiyi alone here. At least he was somewhat acquainted with Si Yan, but for Jiang Yiyi, everything here was completely alien.
“If it’s convenient, I’d like to wait here for him to wake up, is that okay?” he asked Si Yan. “I will be very quiet and promise not to disturb you.”
Si Yan looked over.
Because of the backlight, Su Yun couldn’t clearly see Si Yan’s expression.
“Alright,” Si Yan replied, a smile evident in his pleasant voice. “I’m not afraid of noise, you don’t need to be too constrained. Rolling around on the sofa is fine too.”
Honestly, who would roll around on the sofa?
Muttering inwardly, Su Yun sat down properly against the sofa’s armrest, staying far away from the Si Yan who found joy in teasing people, and lowered his head to scroll on his phone.
Si Yan withdrew his gaze, adjusting the brightness of the smart glass to reduce the light shining in from outside.
Assuming he was just going to work, Su Yun didn’t pay it any mind, but right after sending a message to Fang Ko, his eyelids became somewhat disobedient, and his head began sliding to the side bit by bit.
The smart temperature control system was on in the living room, and both the temperature and brightness were perfect for sleeping. Furthermore, Si Yan was continuously typing on the keyboard, and the faint tapping sounds from the laptop’s built-in keyboard played a crucial hypnotic role.
Listening to this white noise-like sound, Su Yun wondered inwardly, was not Si Yan into photography? Why was he typing so many words for work?
He stealthily peeked toward the height-adjustable desk, trying to determine if Si Yan was typing a web novel or writing programming code.
As Si Yan looked at the computer, his side profile was exceptionally handsome. His overly sharp facial features appeared cold and resolute under the glow of the screen. Aside from the occasional twitch of his brows when thinking, he had almost no expression, a spitting image of an unrigged 3D modeling face.
Su Yun was certain that a person sporting such a cool-guy face could not possibly write web novels.
Taking advantage of Si Yan not noticing, he secretly watched for quite a while longer, unknowingly slumping sideways onto the sofa while hugging a throw pillow.
Si Yan test-ran the program he had just been coding. As he stretched his neck, he noticed that Su Yun had slumped on the sofa and fallen asleep.
With light steps, he walked over and shifted the person into a flat-lying position.
Su Yun was very cooperative throughout the whole process, but when he tried to pull away the throw pillow in Su Yun’s arms, he encountered resistance.
He discovered that Su Yun liked to hug things while sleeping, and hugged them very tightly. Last night, when he carried the person into the bedroom, he had been treated as a throw pillow and hugged tightly. In the end, he had to use a long body pillow to redeem himself, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“Why are you still so stubborn, Little Dumpling,” he murmured softly. His lowered gaze was gentle, as though looking through the soft-featured, beautiful face before him to a time from long, long ago.
His phone began buzzing at that moment. Afraid of waking Su Yun, he muted it first, tucked the blanket securely around Su Yun, and then walked out onto the balcony to answer the call.
“Hello, you went back to City S but didn’t even tell Mom,” a female voice came through the phone, speaking in German.
“I had business here, I had to come back,” Si Yan replied in German as well.
The person on the phone was his mother, Madam Yang Lin, who was of half-German descent.
“Your dad didn’t see you when he came back, and was so angry he locked himself in the study for a whole night.” Having finished speaking, Madam Yang Lin let out a happy laugh. “He woke up early in the morning and asked me if he should just sever father-son ties with you.”
“I hope you didn’t urge him not to.” Though Si Yan said this, there was a smile in his eyes.
“I definitely wouldn’t want to urge him. You know how he is, the more you urge him, the more rebellious he gets, exactly like you,” Yang Lin seamlessly switched to Chinese. “There were too many people yesterday so Mom didn’t get a chance to ask, but you don’t blame Mom for the blind date this time, do you?”
“I don’t,” Si Yan said, his voice sounding quite light and brisk. “If I have to blame anyone, I’ll blame Si Yu for falsely passing down the imperial edict.”
“I think he did a good job, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone, right?” Yang Lin said.
Si Yan did not answer.
“He probably doesn’t remember you, right?” Yang Lin asked.
“Probably doesn’t remember.” Si Yan turned his head to glance at the person on the sofa who had buried his face in the blanket.
“Then just treat it as getting to know each other anew,” Yang Lin comforted him. “I think he will still like you just as he did before, and you should like him too.”
Si Yan smiled silently.
But who would have known that Yang Lin would add: “After all, your not being straight definitely has a lot to do with him.”
“Mom,” Si Yan hurriedly looked into the room. “I have business, hanging up.”
“Wishing you success,” Yang Lin said in German.
“Mhm.” Si Yan accepted the blessing.
Over on the other end, hearing this response, Madam Yang Lin sounded as though she had heard the greatest news in the world and let out a string of exclamations.
Si Yan quickly hung up the phone.
Gathering his emotions, he returned inside, walked over to the sofa, and pulled down the blanket covering Su Yun’s nose.
Su Yun furrowed his brows in dissatisfaction and continued to bury his face into the blanket, leaving only half his head exposed.
Because the blanket was pulled relatively low and he was clutching a throw pillow in his arms, his body was practically curled up into a ball. Covered by the blanket, he looked like a furry little dumpling.
Somewhat helpless, Si Yan used his fingertips to brush against Su Yun’s soft bangs.
Right at that moment, he sensed movement beside him. Turning his head to look, he found Su Yun’s curly-haired colleague staring at him in horror. The shape of his open mouth foreshadowed that a high-decibel scene of comedic misunderstanding was about to ensue.
“What are you doing to my Senior Brother?” The curly-haired guy rushed in front of him, filled with righteous indignation. “Take your dirty hands off my Big Senior Brother!”
[Author’s note]
Later, Jiang Yiyi: Ahaha, so it’s the boss, haha, haha, and also Big Senior Brother’s Dao companion, waaaah~~ I was wrong.