translator: Eve
editor: kara
Louis and Lisa left tactfully. They were also considerate enough to close the door behind them.
Click. With that, the moderate-sized room once again resumed its quiet. However, the sound-proofing of this room wasn’t very good, so they could still hear the sounds of shuffling and conversations in a variety of languages through the thin door from time to time, which made the silence within this room even more evident.
Xiao Yuanmu stood by the door, and didn’t come any closer. Song Xuanhe also remained standing where he was. The two of them stared into each other’s eyes quietly. Neither spoke; neither broke eye contact.
It had nearly been a year since they had seen each other in person. Both Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu suppressed their turbulent emotions beneath their calm exteriors.
Xiao Yuanmu had changed drastically. Song Xuanhe hadn’t been able to sense it over the phone before, but he could feel it now, standing in front of the other man. The Xiao Yuanmu from ten months ago gave off an aloof, tranquil impression. The current Xiao Yuanmu seemed unfathomable.
Ten months ago, Song Xuanhe had been able to read the other’s emotions. But now, he couldn’t even tell whether Xiao Yuanmu was happy or not.
Song Xuanhe’s hand twitched as he finally looked away. “Why are you here?”
Xiao Yuanmu continued to stare at him. His chilly voice was heavy and carried a raspy quality to it. “Why didn’t you pick up my calls?”
Song Xuanhe’s pupils trembled slightly. He then looked up to meet Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze. “You should know why.”
“I want to hear it from you.”
Xiao Yuanmu walked over to Song Xuanhe. His handcrafted leather shoes let out soft thumps as they met with the floor. In less than two steps, he stood less than half a metre away from Song Xuanhe.
Song Xuanhe had no choice but to raise his chin slightly now that they stood closer together. His lips were pursed slightly. “You were the one who told Guan Zhi to follow me.”
“Yes.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s reply was straight to the point. Song Xuanhe, who had thought that the other would not admit this, was taken aback.
“Are you angry at me for having asked Guan Zhi to check up on you?”
Song Xuanhe subconsciously replied with a “no.”
“Then, why are you upset?”
“Because….”
The words were at his lips, but he couldn’t utter them out loud. Naturally, Guan Zhi hadn’t been why he had refused to pick up Xiao Yuanmu’s calls. Although he didn’t like the fact that Xiao Yuanmu had sent people to tail him, he knew what Xiao Yuanmu was like. That was why, even if he was a bit unhappy with it, it didn’t really matter since he could just throw the other’s subordinates off. It didn’t really anger him.
If he had been angry, he should have been angry a long time ago, when he had first found out that Xiao Yuanmu’s people had been following him. He wouldn’t have waited until now to let his anger flare.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t tell Xiao Yuanmu the real reason he hadn’t picked up the other’s calls.
“No reason,” Song Xuanhe looked away and spoke in a cool voice, “I just didn’t want to answer.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s lips curved up upon seeing Song Xuanhe’s expressionless face. His gaze fell onto Song Xuanhe’s slightly pink ears, and his fingers twitched. He then followed his heart’s desire and touched Song Xuanhe’s ear, caressing the exquisite, plump earlobe between his index finger and thumb.
Song Xuanhe froze before widening his eyes and slapping at the other’s hand. “What are you doing?”
Xiao Yuanmu didn’t let go. He instead squeezed a bit tighter, and his eyes met with Song Xuanhe’s unkind ones. “When you lie, your ears turn red.”
Song Xuanhe’s pupils shook slightly. He then pulled the other’s hand off and retorted in a calm voice, “My ears are red cause it’s hot. Your ears are also red. Why’s that?”
Xiao Yuanmu: “Because, I saw you.”
Song Xuanhe’s expression blanked as if he hadn’t understood what the other had just said. Therefore, Xiao Yuanmu repeated himself in a mild tone: “They’re red, because I saw you.”
Despite this, his current expression was not of someone who had finally gotten to see the person he’d been missing after a long time apart.
Song Xuanhe suddenly felt like the ear that Xiao Yuanmu had touched was on fire. The fire spread from his ear to his throat and eyes. Even his lips felt dry. Song Xuanhe licked his lips and looked away. He didn’t know what to say.
The calm atmosphere had taken a weird turn. It felt like someone had turned up the thermostat.
Song Xuanhe’s mind whirled. His lips pulled into a straight line. Ultimately, he managed to raise another subject. “I heard that you are planning to move RE’s headquarters to China.”
“Mn.”
“Why?” Now that they were talking about something serious, Song Xuanhe sighed in relief. He wanted to drag this conversation on, so he added: “RE’s prospects are better in America than in China. Even if you want to expand to China, you can just set up another branch here—you don’t have to move your headquarters. Alternatively, you can push your plans to move your headquarters five years into the future. That would be the most profitable decision for you.”
“Do you like America?”
Song Xuanhe instinctively sensed danger upon hearing this seemingly random question.
His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he raised a brow as he regarded Xiao Yuanmu guardedly. He deliberated a while before giving an ambiguous answer. “I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either.”
“What about China?”
Song Xuanhe’s brows stayed raised. “It’s about the same.”
“What about me?”
Song Xuanhe: “I said….”
His lips pursed. He could see a smile in Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes.
Their gazes were interlocked now. Xiao Yuanmu took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Song Xuanhe, his chin pressing down onto the other’s shoulder. His whisper shook Song Xuanhe to the core: “I missed you so much.”
Song Xuanhe’s body grew rigid. His hands awkwardly rose and fell several times. A long time later, he simply settled on making a “mn” sound.
Right after, Song Xuanhe grew nervous. He was worried that Xiao Yuanmu would ask him if he missed him or not. He started to consider how he would respond.
But, Xiao Yuanmu only seemed to want to hold him. He didn’t say a thing.
Song Xuanhe let Xiao Yuanmu hug him. He shut his eyes. A faint, cool scent filled his nose.
Creak—
“Oh!”
Song Xuanhe’s eyes snapped open and met Louis’s grin.
Louis held the door open with one hand and waved with the other. While he had sounded surprised, there was no remorse in his voice. “Sorry to interrupt. Mr. Feng asked me to pass a word over to Mr. Song. There’s less than twenty minutes until the start of the show. You should probably head over now.”
Song Xuanhe let go of Xiao Yuanmu—and, it was only in that moment that he realized that he had returned the hug at some unknown point in time. He took a panicked step back and then nodded at Louis. After thanking the other man, he left with hurried steps.
Louis watched as Song Xuanhe left before shrugging and spreading his hands out. “Friend, don’t blame me for interrupting you two. Oh, but I really am shocked. I had thought that the two of you would be locked in some more intense action considering how long you two had been apart. I had even specifically reminded the employees to avoid this room. I had never expected that….”
Xiao Yuanmu’s expression was frosty, and his pitch-black eyes were dark. In a freezing tone, he said, “What hadn’t you expected?”
“I had never expected to see such a vibrant expression on your face.” Louis shook his head and sighed. “Oh…I really should take a picture and then show everyone else at the company what you look like angry. They think that nothing can affect you unless it’s a phone call, that you can’t smile or get angry.”
Xiao Yuanmu gave him an icy glare before walking over to the place Song Xuanhe had been sitting during the interview.
Louis walked over and sat opposite of him. He raised a brow. “What? Were my tricks useful?”
Xiao Yuanmu stroked the cup of coffee Song Xuanhe had taken a sip out of. He didn’t respond.
Louis smiled. “I can tell that they worked. This is the culmination of my fifteen years of experience starting from whenI was ten. Although this amount of time isn’t long enough to make me an expert, it’s enough to give you some good pointers.”
“How many pointers have you tried?” Louis asked curiously.
Xiao Yuanmu muttered to himself for a bit before answering in a flat voice, “Changing the subject, following the conventional formula for conversations, and ending the topic when it’s not working.”
Louis shook his head. “In such a short amount of time, you’ve actually already used three strategies. Looks like Song hasn’t fallen for you completely yet. Ah, but the fact that he’s able to treat you the same way he used to before your long separation proves that Song is a very persistent person, who’s likely to be in it for the long run once he falls. Typically speaking, if a person like him falls in love, he’ll hold onto that love stubbornly. But if he doesn’t like you, it’s extremely difficult to sway him. Luckily, he has some feelings for you. Right now, all you have to do is to appear in front of him as much as you can and deepen his feelings for you.”
“However, I don’t approve of moving RE to China.” Louis suddenly changed the topic. “Xiao, this isn’t a decision you can make on your own. You know I hold just as much authority as you do. I will oppose any suggestions that offer no benefits to the development of the company. I also believe that the biggest opposition to the transfer to China won’t be from me but the Xiao Family.”
Xiao Yuanmu looked down, his eyes on the already cold cup of coffee. “I’ve already made my choice.”
Louis’s smile dimmed. He knew what Xiao Yuanmu was implying. The other man was extremely obstinate whenever he made a decision. Nothing would change his mind. But, this was no trifling matter. He would not allow his friend and business partner to use the company they had built up so painstakingly as a gimmick in his pursuit of another man.
“I don’t agree,” Louis said with a serious tone, “Unless you can convince me with a proper reason—aside from the fact that it will help you with your love life—I will oppose it to the end. I also believe that the rest of the executive team will be on my side.”
“They won’t oppose this.” Xiao Yuanmu looked up, his eyes revealing his inner calm. “You won’t either.”
Louis frowned. “I do absolutely oppose this. Xiao, I know that love is important. I know that Song means the world to you. I know just how much you love him and how much he loves you. But, the distance between you two won’t necessarily affect your feelings for each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re in America or China, you’re free to date. Even if he prefers China, he can take a private jet over every week. Moreover, he’s a designer. Excuse my frankness, but as a designer, his prospects in China are nothing compared to….”
“What did you just say?”
Louis said, “As a designer, his prospects in….”
“Not that,” Xiao Yuanmu directly asked, “Why do you think Song Xuanhe loves me?”
Louis was perplexed. “Do I need a reason? You can’t hide the love in your eyes when you like someone.”
When Louis saw Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes suddenly light up, he corrected himself at once: “But I’ve told you before, you probably love him way more than he loves you. But, you can’t deepen his feelings for you just by staying in the same…Xiao! Where are you going?!”
Eve: Silent hugs make me soft.
Kara: From here on, every chapter is going to make me cry. Whether it’s from sadness or joy is a surprise for you guys. (´；ω；`)
xiin: they’re so… awkwardly cute.
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