◎ Garden Stroll. ◎
Because they set off early, there was no traffic jam on the road, and the entire trip was smooth.
The atmosphere inside the car was much livelier than Su Yun had anticipated.
Yang Ximing was a social butterfly, while Jiang Yiyi was naturally a bit slow-witted. The aloof aura that Si Yan naturally radiated had zero effect on them, and they chatted with Si Yan very familiarly.
Si Yan answered every question. When they hit topics that weren’t convenient to disclose, he would cleverly steer around them, and sometimes he would even proactively toss out conversation topics.
Su Yun discovered that Si Yan was actually a social master disguised by an aloof exterior.
How could he have ever thought Si Yan was proud and cold?
“Is that hot spring project yours?” Jiang Yiyi asked curiously, his head almost squeezing forward.
“No, it’s my family’s. It has nothing to do with me,” Si Yan replied. “My main profession right now is still photography.”
“Oh oh oh, so cool,” Jiang Yiyi said.
Su Yun pressed down on Jiang Yiyi’s curly hair, signaling him to sit back properly. “Don’t distract the driver.”
Si Yan didn’t speak, his straight-puckered lips curling up into a small arc, his mood seeming quite good.
“Main profession? So you have a side hustle too?” Yang Ximing asked.
Su Yun glanced sideways at Yang Ximing.
Although Yang Ximing loved gossip, he wasn’t someone who liked prying into other people’s privacy. Today, however, he had already asked Si Yan several relatively private questions.
Su Yun felt somewhat strange.
Smiling, Yang Ximing blinked at him, giving him a don’t worry, everything is under control look.
Su Yun:
Why did he feel like Yang Ximing was helping him fish for information?
“A programmer, someone who writes code,” Si Yan said. “Considered peers with you guys.”
“Oh, is it a part-time job?” Yang Ximing asked.
“For now, yes,” Si Yan said. “Though I’m also preparing to go work at a company.”
“Huh? None of us want to go to work, how come you sound so happy about going to work?” Jiang Yiyi chimed in.
“I need to take over a friend’s work, and plus, now that I have a goal, going to work feels pretty good,” Si Yan replied.
“It’s so busy every day, especially working in a high-tempo place like City S. Look at me, I don’t even have time to date,” Yang Ximing said. “Though Mr. Si probably doesn’t have troubles like that, right?”
Su Yun’s radar went off, confirming that Yang Ximing was indeed helping him probe for intelligence.
“Me? I do. For instance, the other person is very busy and has no time to accept my invitations, so I want to maintain the same tempo as them,” Si Yan said.
“Oh, so Mr. Si has a girlfriend?” Yang Ximing asked, acting as though it were unintentional.
Su Yun gave a light cough to remind them: “We’re about to get on the highway, you guys shouldn’t chat with Mr. Si anymore, you’ll distract him from driving.”
The two in the back chorused obediently: “Oh.”
The carriage instantly fell silent.
After a good several seconds, Si Yan spoke up: “No girlfriend, but there is someone I want to pursue.”
“Oh oh oh oh oh~” A low-register, yet strongly present string of gasps sounded from the back.
Su Yun:
Si Yan was so strange. Why answer in such detail, as though he desperately wanted others to understand him?
“What about you? Is there anything you want to ask me?” Staring straight ahead, Si Yan tilted his head ever so slightly and asked Su Yun in a low voice.
Su Yun closed his eyes: “No, please focus on driving.”
“Alright, as you command.” Si Yan pulled his head back and tapped on the car’s audio system.
The playing song had a very strong rhythm, making it quite suited for listening to during a trip.
Looking at the lush green scenery outside the car window, Su Yun unconsciously recalled what Si Yan had just said.
Si Yan said he didn’t have a girlfriend, so who was that long-haired beauty?
Had they broken up?
And who was the person Si Yan said he wanted to pursue?
These things seemingly had nothing to do with him, yet he still couldn’t help wondering.
An hour later, the car successfully arrived at the hot spring hotel. Fang Ko and his wife arrived at around the same time.
As they entered the hotel, the lobby manager had long been waiting on standby. Upon seeing them, he trotted over to welcome them.
“There are detached villa-style rooms here too, but since we’re only staying for a day, it’s more convenient to stay in the hotel rooms,” Si Yan said, turning to look at Fang Ko. “In the future, your team building can come here. It’s much better than gathering for dinner and drinking alcohol.”
Feeling that Si Yan was taking a dig at him, Fang Ko parried back: “That also requires having time. Group dinner and drinks are just for one night, coming here takes at least a day. Am I not looking out for the company and colleagues?”
“No need to worry quite that much,” Si Yan said. “And I’d imagine your company isn’t that devoid of human warmth.”
Too lazy to argue with him, Fang Ko whispered privately with his wife.
Since it was currently in the trial operation stage, there weren’t many hotel guests. The lobby manager led everyone to the same floor, and aside from Mr. and Mrs. Fang, everyone else was given a single room.
Before heading back to his room, Jiang Yiyi asked Su Yun if he wanted swimming trunks, offering to share a spare pair with him.
Hearing this from the side, Si Yan asked Su Yun: “Didn’t bring swimming trunks? The hotel has them, I’ll have the manager get you a new pair.”
As if competing for favor, Jiang Yiyi chimed in: “Mine are new too, and they look really good.”
A few black lines popped up on Su Yun’s temple: “No need, I brought my own.” With that, he hurriedly swiped his room card to open his door.
Staying right next door to Su Yun, Si Yan watched Su Yun enter his room before swiping his own room card.
The hotel room’s interior decoration leaned toward a traditional Chinese style. Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling window, Su Yun could see the matching Chinese-style gardens, where scattered green leaves had already sprouted in a lotus pond. In a while, when the lotus leaves filled the pond and the lotus flowers bloomed, it would undoubtedly be even prettier.
Stretching comfortably, he took out his camera, planning to wander around the gardens first; he should be able to gather quite a bit of material here.
The itinerary formulated by Si Yan only laid down normative arrangements for major milestones, such as what time to depart, what time to return, and what time to gather for meals.
For the schedules between milestones, he only thoughtfully provided reference suggestions, allowing everyone to choose to eat a buffet at the restaurant, soak in the hot springs, do spa treatments, or even sleep in their rooms.
Having a rough time framework made participation feel reassuring and much more enjoyable.
He really had the makings of a manager, Su Yun evaluated inwardly.
The weather today wasn’t particularly good. The sun was hiding behind dense cloud layers, and the wind blowing from the mountain forest felt somewhat chilly, making it great for soaking in hot springs, but ill-suited for taking photos.
At least for Su Yun, anyway.
He took a fancy to a landscape design along a covered walkway and took several shots in a row, but the frames all turned out looking grayish and dull.
“Need help?” Si Yan’s voice sounded from behind.
His vocal timbre fell somewhere between deep and bright, carrying a strong sense of presence. When speaking seriously, it could easily earn others’ trust, but when speaking as casually and leisurely as he was right now, it felt very relaxed. Aside from that, Su Yun also felt like it sounded slightly mischievous.
“No need.” He put away his camera, turned around, and answered.
“Give it a try.” Si Yan reached out his hand.
Refusing again would seem a bit deliberate, so Su Yun had no choice but to hand the camera over to Si Yan.
Si Yan turned on the camera power, studied its internal parameters, and then pressed the shutter aimed at the exact scene Su Yun had wanted to capture earlier.
“Take a look, is this the effect you wanted?” Holding the camera in one hand, Si Yan handed the digital display screen over to Su Yun.
The two of them were standing side by side at this moment. With Su Yun’s attention entirely on the image on the display screen, as he leaned in closer, he failed to notice that he and Si Yan were standing extremely close together.
“You took this so well.” He praised sincerely.
Si Yan had accurately captured both the light-and-shadow effects and the compositional framework he desired.
As expected of a professional photographer.
Su Yun suddenly recalled the photography exhibition he had seen in Country S, where that mysterious photographer S. was also a friend of Fang Ko.
He probed tentatively: “Did you just hold a photography exhibition in Country S last month?”
Still helping Si Yan capture material from other angles, Si Yan replied upon hearing this: “Yes.”
“You’re that photographer S.? With a dot at the end?” Even though he had already guessed it, Su Yun was still quite surprised.
“Mhm.” Si Yan lowered the camera and looked at Su Yun, seeming even more interested in Su Yun’s reaction: “You went to the exhibition?”
“I did. Your work is truly wonderful.” Regarding things that matched his aesthetic, Su Yun never skimped on praise.
Si Yan smiled: “Thank you.”
Su Yun secretly wanted to ask Si Yan for photography tips, yet felt somewhat embarrassed to do so.
“I noticed a few nice-looking spots on the drive over just now, should I help you take a few shots there too?” Si Yan asked.
Delighted inside, Su Yun thought to himself that the opportunity to steal a master’s techniques had just arrived.
“Alright, sorry to trouble you.” To conceal his true intentions, his face was full of sincerity, his almond eyes curved into smiles.
Si Yan’s entire field of vision instantly filled with this smile, or rather, the moment he saw Su Yun smile, the surrounding scenery blurred into a soft glow, his chest feeling as though it had been filled with something warm.
Realizing it belatedly, Su Yun noticed that the distance between them was a bit too close, especially since Si Yan’s sharp facial features carried a strong sense of aggression when viewed up close, causing him to skip a half-beat in his breathing and quickly step back. Yet because his reaction was so large, it carried an indescribable guilty conscience.
Fortunately, Si Yan didn’t stare at him continuously, simply saying, “Let’s go.” That voice was low and hoarse, as though he were thirsty.
“Oh.” Su Yun acknowledged, following behind Si Yan to regulate his heart rate.
How could he feel his heart flutter for a straight man?
Stop it! Stop it!
During the subsequent shooting process, both of them remained quite silent. Si Yan was responsible for shooting, while Su Yun was responsible for quality control.
After about an hour of shooting, Su Yun finally remembered his objective of picking up pointers.
“It’s noon, let’s go eat, take a rest, and we can soak in the hot springs in the afternoon.” Si Yan handed the camera back to Su Yun.
Si Yan’s fingers were slender with slightly protruding knuckles, and the rectangular digital camera looked very small resting in his hand, while also giving a sense of security.
Tugging on the strap attached to the camera, Su Yun hauled the camera back without making any physical contact with Si Yan’s hand whatsoever. However, when he received the camera, Si Yan’s warm body heat still lingered on it.
“Thank you.” He dismissed the notion of asking Si Yan for photography advice.
“You’re welcome. This camera of yours is quite good, its features and parameters are all very comprehensive,” Si Yan said. “I’ll send you some basic parameter adjustment guides later on.”
Hearing this, Su Yun’s eyes lit up, feeling like an opportunity had landed in his lap without effort: “Then thank you so much.”
Si Yan gave a slight head shake: “Just a small favor. Are you taking these photos as material?”
Very happy, Su Yun followed Si Yan back toward the hotel while browsing through today’s harvest inside the camera: “Yeah, I’m a concept artist. Aside from designing game characters, I also have to design game environments.”
“So hardworking, not even forgetting about work when you’re out having fun,” Si Yan praised. “Your boss is truly fortunate.”
Assuming he was referring to Fang Ko, Su Yun chimed in: “I think so too.”
Si Yan curved his lips, turning his head sideways to look at Su Yun’s self-satisfied expression.
“Being able to help you with work makes me very happy,” he spoke, his tone mixed with a trace of playfulness. “So when are you going to put the portrait drawing on your schedule?”
Su Yun’s hand paused, and even his pace slowed down slightly.
Si Yan’s speed slowed down in tandem. Without looking at Su Yun, his silent attitude indicated he was waiting for an answer.
Su Yun’s brain crashed.
He had crashed right into Si Yan’s trap by getting drunk at the dinner party the night before, and today he had spent the entire day out playing with Si Yan; if he used the excuse of being busy again, it seemed somewhat inappropriate.
Ultimately, he managed to grasp a plausible reason: “Didn’t I just move recently? I haven’t brought my canvases and paintbrushes over yet, and drawing a portrait takes a lot of time. Once I get my things prepared, I’ll ask you out again.”
With a bland expression that showed no discernible emotion, Si Yan nodded slowly: “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”