“What’s wrong, Xiao Qi? Come inside.”
Liu Ping’s voice pulled He Wenqi back from his memories.
He stepped inside. The apartment’s décor was old and the furnishings simple, but it was cleaned very thoroughly. Two pots of Phalaenopsis orchids sat on the security bars of the window sill.
“Xiao Qi is here.” A middle-aged woman slid her wheelchair out from the inner room.
“Mom.”
Years ago, when He Yanqiu’s lumbar spine was struck by the corner of the desk, the spinal cord was damaged by compression. Despite emergency surgery, she ultimately remained confined to a wheelchair.
“Mom, I’m staying to keep you company tonight.” He Wenqi pushed He Yanqiu to the center of the room. “By the way, I plan to get you a smart wheelchair. The manual one is too hard on your hands and takes too much effort.”
“No need, this one is quite good. It’s lightweight, and I’ve gotten used to it.” When He Yanqiu smiled, layers of wrinkles gathered at the corners of her eyes; other than that, her skin was still white, showing no signs of illness or age spots.
Her eyes and brows were very similar to He Wenqi’s, and her expression when smiling was almost identical. It was clear she had been a radiant beauty in her youth.
“Technology has developed so much now; you can make it go forward or backward just by moving a finger. It can climb slopes and steps, and you don’t have to worry about slipping going downhill—it has automatic emergency braking.” He Wenqi pulled the blanket on her lap up a bit higher.
“It sounds great, but I’m sure it’s not cheap.” He Yanqiu said, feeling protective of the money.
“Xiao Qi is being thoughtful; let him buy it,” Liu Ping chimed in from the side.
He Yanqiu looked at Liu Ping with a smile. “I’ve troubled you these past two days, running back and forth. I haven’t properly thanked you yet.”
“It was no trouble. This apartment belongs to a friend of a friend; it just took one phone call. He has it listed for sale and it’s vacant, so staying for a few days is no problem. It’s just a bit dilapidated and inconvenient without an elevator; I was afraid you wouldn’t get used to it.”
“How could I not be used to it? It’s quite like the house back home. I find it familiar—much better than staying in the hospital.”
“I’ll look for a more spacious place later, and you and Xiao Qi can move in together.”
He Yanqiu kept her eyes on him without looking away.
Being watched like that made Liu Ping feel somewhat lost. “Well, it’s getting late. You and Xiao Qi should have a good talk and get some rest early.”
The mother and son both looked up at him.
Liu Ping was, after all, an engineering project manager who directed dozens of people, yet at this moment, he was made inexplicably self-conscious by their gaze.
“Then I… I’ll head back now.” Liu Ping looked around for his bag, only to realize he hadn’t brought it in with him at all.
Awkwardly rubbing his hands, he turned to open the door. “Rest early, I’ll come by again tomorrow.”
“Liu Ping,” He Yanqiu called out to him, “Don’t go. Stay here tonight. It’s too much tossing and turning to go back and forth.”
Liu Ping turned around, his eyes filled with a mix of surprise and disbelief. “Then, I… I’ll squeeze in with Xiao Qi.”
“Mm.” He Yanqiu nodded with a smile.
“I’ll go make the bed.” Liu Ping took two steps forward, then turned back as if he’d forgotten something, only to realize there was nothing to take, and continued toward the inner room.
The mother and son looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
“Mom, you’ve finally come around?” He Wenqi was happy for her.
“It’s not that I couldn’t come around,” He Yanqiu said with a mock-reproachful look.
“Then why did you turn Uncle Ping down for so many years?”
“In those early years, I was raising you alone. Your Uncle Ping had a bright future, and there were many young girls around who liked him; he should have had better options.” He Yanqiu gave a deep sigh. “It’s fate, I suppose. After all that circling around… I just want him to be happy.”
“I’m like this now, yet who knew he would still be so persistent. Actually, in the very beginning…”
He Yanqiu didn’t finish her sentence and patted He Wenqi’s hand.
In the very beginning, I liked your Uncle Ping too. I blame myself for being blind, for not seeing people clearly, and being deceived by appearances.
Seeing his mother’s expression darken, He Wenqi worried she was recalling bad memories and quickly changed the subject.
“Mom, did Uncle Ping buy these two pots of Phalaenopsis?”
“Yes. It’s freezing outside; you should bring them into the house. If they stay outside, they’ll be dead in two days.”
The mother and son talked in detail for a while longer.
At night, He Wenqi and Liu Ping shared a room. The bed wasn’t large, and it was truly difficult for two grown men to squeeze in, so they ended up making a bed on the floor.
He Wenqi tossed and turned on the floor.
His mother had been doing rehabilitation in the hospital for the past few months. Last night, he received a call from the hospital saying his mother suddenly had a major emotional breakdown, notifying him to come over.
That was the first time he had seen that person.
He Yanqiu had never mentioned anything about that person. There was nothing of his in the house—no photos, no objects, nothing at all.
When he was little and asked about it, He Yanqiu would always keep her mouth shut. If he asked again, she would get angry. If he pressed her, she would suddenly become manic and even experience symptoms of vomiting.
He Wenqi was scared and never dared to bring it up again.
Later, he learned a bit about the past between that person and his mother from Liu Ping. But Liu Ping didn’t say much either, only that he had deceived his mother and then abandoned them and disappeared while his mother was pregnant with him, causing her great harm.
He Wenqi rolled over.
Fearing that the person might still be near the hospital and worried about He Yanqiu’s emotions, He Wenqi had stayed at the hospital to accompany her all night. The next day, Liu Ping found this apartment and brought her over to settle in; only then did He Wenqi have a chance to go home.
By the time he got home and charged his phone, the moment it turned on, it was full of messages and missed calls from Han Ji. Only then did he remember his dinner appointment with Han Ji.
After all, he was the one who broke the appointment first, so it was reasonable for Han Ji to be angry. However, saying he was worried for a whole day seemed a bit like making a mountain out of a molehill; it couldn’t have been that exaggerated.
With a head full of fragmented thoughts, He Wenqi fell into a deep sleep.
…
The next day, Monday, Han Ji arrived at work very early as usual. He was a morning person and liked to plan his day in advance.
Just as the driver dropped him off at the entrance of the office building, he saw a familiar car pulling over not far away.
He Wenqi got out of the car and waved goodbye to the person inside. The person rolled down the window halfway and handed out a card.
He Wenqi took it, leaned down by the window, and spoke a few more words to the person. Only when the car had driven away did he turn around.
With a face turned ashen, Han Ji turned and entered the main doors.
“Wait a second!” He Wenqi sprinted toward the closing elevator, but the person inside didn’t move to stop it.
Fortunately, he swung his luggage bag in front of the sensor door to block it, and the elevator doors opened.
He walked in out of breath. Inside, only Han Ji stood tall, his head tilted back proudly with his nostrils facing the world, not looking at him.
“President Han, good morning.” In the company, there were company rules; He Wenqi greeted him.
“It is a bit early. To come to work this early today… it turns out there’s a private chauffeur service.” Han Ji glanced at the bag in his hand. “Is he the ‘important person’?”
He Wenqi didn’t answer.
Yesterday, he had messaged He Wenqi asking if he was free and if they could make up for the missed dinner. He Wenqi replied: “Not free, accompanying someone important.”
“Are you very short on money?”
He Wenqi didn’t know why he suddenly asked this. “What, does President Han have plans to distribute his wealth?”
Han Ji turned to stare at him.
Today, He Wenqi was wearing a short, dark brown plaid jacket-style coat with jeans and high-top shoes. He had a tall, striking figure, and combined with his superior features, he was very eye-catching.
Except… Han Ji glanced at the black thin turtleneck sweater under the coat…
The collar was pulled all the way up to his Adam’s apple. So tightly covered—was he trying to hide some marks?
Han Ji ground his teeth. “If I remember correctly, your price is quite high, and there’s some ‘threshold’ involving chest muscles, abs, and long legs. Do you think I qualify?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Han Ji continued on his own. “I’m only a year older than you. Very young, I have a fitness habit, and if you want physical strength… or endurance… I can do it all. So, can you name a price?”
When he had overheard the conversation between He Wenqi and Zhang Wei outside the lounge at “Ye Se” (The Night), Han Ji had been filled with shock and suspicion. After not seeing him for years, he didn’t want to believe He Wenqi would become like this—would he really name a price for people?
The night before last, he saw He Wenqi get into a car and leave, and he was still guessing they might be lovers. That was until just now, when he saw the man in the car hand him a card and saw how… naturally… He Wenqi accepted it.
Breaking an appointment suddenly without a single explanation, lying to him that he wasn’t at home—if it was a legitimate relationship, what was there that couldn’t be said? Today he even came to the office with a luggage bag; he had spent a two-day, two-night weekend with that man.
Everything lined up.
“Han Ji, do you know what you’re saying?” With the other party speaking so insolently, He Wenqi addressed him by name.
“I know,” Han Ji leaned in, looking at the slight dark circles under He Wenqi’s eyes. “I’m talking to you about a ‘transaction’.”
He Wenqi’s lips were pressed tight, anger stirring in his eyes. He took a deep breath, but then let it sink.
He chose to turn his head away and ignore him, staring up at the floor numbers jumping on the LED screen.
Han Ji, however, didn’t back down an inch. His lips were almost against He Wenqi’s ear, aggressive and overbearing: “I can pay in advance. You can try it out first; my technique is very good. If you’re not satisfied, I’ll pay double to compensate you.”
“Han Ji! If this is about the missed dinner, I apologize again. Does it feel good to say such things to humiliate me?”
“You can ‘transact’ with others, but with me it’s humiliation? Am I worse than him? Or do you just not like me? Didn’t you even used to like me…”
Slap—
A crisp, sharp sound of a slap rang out.
The elevator doors opened perfectly at that moment. Brilliant.
The colleagues passing by outside happened to see this scene in its entirety.
Except for the lingering echo of the slap, all was silent.
He Wenqi was stunned for a moment, then immediately raised his palm and shook it, then blew a puff of air onto his palm, as if he had just helped the President swat a blood-sucking mosquito.
Han Ji pulled back his expression and regained that unchanging cold face he wore at the company.
With their faces showing no ripples of emotion, the two of them exited the elevator one after the other.