Shi Liang called Li Yanxiang back.
“Hello? Why are you calling me so many times?” Shi Liang asked.
“Happy birthday, Brother Shi Liang,” Li Yanxiang’s voice came through. “Bingchen said the venue for your birthday celebration has been changed to Princess Mansion. We will just stir-fry a few dishes to eat together today instead of having hot pot.”
Shi Liang: “Alright, I know.”
Li Yanxiang: “What has Brother Shi Liang been busy with these past few days?”
Shi Liang: “Nothing much, just work stuff. Since returning to China and working at your dad’s company, is your work going smoothly?”
Li Yanxiang: “It’s alright. My dad found someone to guide me. He is practically my mentor, teaching me how to manage the company. Plus, I studied this abroad. All beginnings are hard, but once you get past them, it’s fine. Don’t worry.”
Shi Liang: “That’s good then.”
His appointment with Qi Wei was to meet at Drunken Sage House for hot pot at eleven o’clock. Shi Liang disliked cutting things too close, so he left half an hour early, but traffic in Kyoto at that hour was exceptionally congested, and by the time he arrived, it was already nearly eleven o’clock. Qi Wei had already arrived and was sitting at a table by the window.
The eleven o’clock sunlight was exceptionally bright, filtering down through the branches and leaves of the trees along the street, casting mottled light and shadow over Qi Wei. As Qi Wei lowered his head to look at the menu, a faint, imperceptible smile played at the corners of his mouth. That warm, cozy feeling instantly melted Shi Liang’s heart.
Shi Liang stood there unmoving, lingering for who knows how long.
Sensing someone lingering within his peripheral vision, Qi Wei initially assumed it was just another patron arriving at the restaurant and didn’t pay it much mind. But when that person continued standing there without moving, he looked up, it was Shi Liang!
A smile spread across his face, perhaps without even realizing it himself: “Brother, you’re here. Was the traffic bad on the way?”
Shi Liang walked over and sat down opposite him: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Today is the weekend, so there are tons of people going out to play, which caused a terrible traffic jam.”
Looking at him with a smile, Qi Wei replied: “Not at all, I only got here a little while ago myself.”
Qi Wei handed the menu to Shi Liang: “I haven’t ordered yet. You go ahead and order, pick whatever you’d like to eat.”
Shi Liang twitched the corner of his mouth. Qi Wei was the client, after all, so he handed the menu right back: “It doesn’t matter, I’ll eat anything. Later on, my friends are throwing me a birthday celebration and have also prepared food for me, so I’ll just eat lightly here.”
Qi Wei’s expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
On every birthday before their breakup, whenever Shi Liang’s friends threw him a celebration outside, he would always eat just a little bit to go through the motions.
Then he would return home to eat the meal Qi Wei cooked for him, sometimes hot pot, sometimes stir-fried dishes, and other times Qi Wei would bring him straight back here to eat at Drunken Sage House.
Now, this disparity made Qi Wei feel a bit uneasy inside, though he also knew he had no status or standing to feel jealous.
Qi Wei took a deep breath, forced out a smile, and said, “Let’s just order a few casual dishes then.”
Qi Wei scribbled a few items on the menu and handed it back: “Take a look and see if there’s anything else you’d like to eat besides these.”
Shi Liang took it, glanced at it, and his expression turned solemn. Qi Wei had checked off nearly ten dishes, all of which were his favorites.
Among them, the crispy fried pork strips, shrimp paste, lettuce, baby napa cabbage, and tripe were things he had only recently started liking.
Yet he clearly remembered that Qi Wei had been exceptionally busy back then and never had any time to accompany him, meaning he shouldn’t have known about these preferences.
Though deeply curious, Shi Liang didn’t ask. He nodded and said, “That’s already enough.” After thinking for a moment, he added, “Actually, it’s all the same to me whatever I eat.”
Qi Wei looked at him with a trace of sorrow in his expression, but didn’t say anything, merely calling the waiter over to serve the dishes according to their order.