Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 18
Chapter 18 Director You, please excuse me.
2024-10-13 07:12 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
When the last begonia withered, the Eleutherococcus senticosus Relief Project was officially launched.
At the project launch ceremony, Fan Xiao was handed the microphone.
Today, Fan Xiao wore a silver plaid suit, a moon-white shirt, a silver-gray striped tie, and a dark red wool coat. The colors were much brighter than his usual monotonous black, white, and gray. The well-tailored trousers hugged his narrow hips and long legs, making him look tall and imposing, easily drawing everyone’s attention.
He took the microphone, walked forward slowly, and his gentle smile shone brightly in the September sunlight.
“My Mandarin isn’t very good, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes.” His calm and measured voice rang out, clearly outlining the development path of the oral liquid project, from project planning and market prospects to future expectations, as well as his confidence and anticipation for the project.
As he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to You Shulang below the stage. The moment their eyes met, the man on stage smiled even more deeply.
“Finally, I wish the cooperation between Pinfeng Venture Capital and Bohai Pharmaceutical could be as strong and lasting as my friendship with Director You!”
Amidst enthusiastic applause, You Shulang maintained a composed smile, but a strange feeling flickered in his heart.
That subtle, lingering feeling returned. You Shulang didn’t want to be presumptuous, but Fan Xiao’s emotions, shrouded in “inexpressible words,” always felt strange to him, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The next moment, this sticky feeling would be completely crushed by the brotherhood between men, often making You Shulang question whether he was being too sensitive and overthinking.
After the ceremony, You Shulang took Fan Xiao to visit the office that Bo Hai had prepared for him.
“Venture capital firms need to participate in project management and decision-making, and help projects develop strategies and plans. Director Liu asked me to prepare an office for you so that you can follow up on projects in the future.”
He pushed open the office door and stepped aside to welcome Fan Xiao in: “Mr. Fan, please see if there’s anything else you need. I’ll have someone prepare it right away.”
Fan Xiao entered the office and closed the door behind him. Without even glancing at the furnishings, he pulled a bottle of moisturizing cream from the pocket of his cashmere coat.
The scent of fragrance wafted out as the cap was unscrewed: “The weather is so dry, my skin can’t stand it.”
Fan Xiao scooped out a large dollop and smeared it on his face, then rubbed it vigorously.
“Want some moisturizer?” He handed the moisturizer to You Shulang, almost as if he were presenting a treasure.
You Shulang chuckled and pushed the face cream away, saying, “I don’t need it.” Wearing only a suit jacket, he glanced at Fan Xiao’s wool coat and asked, “Not used to the climate here yet?”
“It’s cold and dry.” Fan Xiao stuffed the moisturizer into his pocket, sat on the sofa next to the boss’s desk, and fanned the air in front of him. “Am I too fragrant?”
You Shulang raised an eyebrow, pursed his lips, and hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Fan Xiao asked.
“Your face,” You Shulang pointed, “the face cream isn’t applied evenly.”
“Really?” Fan Xiao wiped his face haphazardly again, then looked up and asked, “And now?”
“Here,” You Shulang moved a little closer, “and here too.”
Fan Xiao was slowly enveloped by You Shulang’s aura. He looked up and met You Shulang’s clear eyes and eyebrows in the bright sunlight, where he could count the eyelashes.
He involuntarily held his breath, as if the surrounding air had stopped, and even the dust motes dancing in the light seemed to come alive. Fan Xiao suddenly felt that this office was quite nice, as it could contain the sound of his own heartbeat.
“Here?” Fan Xiao’s fingers, which were tracing patterns on his face, suddenly became extremely clumsy. “Is it evenly applied?”
You Shulang sighed softly, leaned closer, his fingertips almost touching the light brown skin: “It’s here.”
“How about I trouble Director You for a moment?”
Upon hearing this, You Shulang was slightly taken aback, suddenly realizing that he and Fan Xiao were already so close! He looked at Fan Xiao and realized that, without him noticing, the man’s gaze had been fixed on him. His dark eyebrows and eyes captured the scattered sunlight, making the two flat words “bright” and “gentle” incredibly vivid.
Instinctively, You Shulang tried to move away, but the man sitting on the sofa grabbed his wrist.
“Shulang,” Fan Xiao called him almost in a whisper, his voice warm and tender, bathed in sunlight, “Help me, okay?”
A strange feeling returned. You Shulang analyzed it once again: was it the unbridled freedom between men, or… a deliberate provocation?
After a long and quiet silence, his fingertips touched the smooth skin, quickly spreading out any smudges of moisturizer that hadn’t been applied evenly.
“Thanks.” Fan Xiao said with a smile before You Shulang withdrew from his body.
He returned to his usual self, jokingly praising the office for being well-arranged and very satisfactory.
The sticky feeling was still noticeable when they rubbed their fingertips together, and the strong fragrance of artificial flavoring slowly spiraled upwards like a snake, making You Shulang feel quite uncomfortable.
Am I just overthinking things again?
Fan Xiao was a good friend, and You Shulang didn’t want to impose his uncertain intuition on him.
Therefore, he suppressed his inner unease once again and called his subordinate, asking him to prepare a high-powered humidifier for Fan Xiao’s office.
“Director You still treats me well.” Fan Xiao smiled casually, took out a cigarette, and offered it to him, “Have one.”
“Shut up.” You Shulang took the cigarette, bent down, and lit it using the light from Fan Xiao’s flick of the wrist. “Don’t use ‘inarticulate’ as an excuse anymore. You are…”
The smoke he exhaled drifted out, and Fan Xiao, standing behind that drifting smoke, asked him, “What is it?”
The man’s slightly cold expression made You Shulang pause: “…You were always wicked.”
“Terrible?” Fan Xiao chewed on the word between his teeth, then laughed out loud. He rested his elbows on his knees, slumped down, and his shoulders trembled.
He laughed and said, “Director You really has a keen eye; sometimes I even think I’m terrible.”
“For example… I plan to use Director You’s only day off in the past two weeks to have him accompany me out for a stroll.”
In order to get the oral liquid project approved and put into production as soon as possible, the project team members have been working overtime for more than half a month. Now that the project has started on schedule, it can be considered as a phased achievement. As a result, the project team members, whose follow-up work is still heavy, have a day off.
“Feel sorry…”
You Shulang had barely started speaking when Fan Xiao interrupted him: “It seems someone still owes me a thank you.”
You Shulang clicked his tongue, feeling troubled. Lately, Lu Zhen had been acting strangely towards him; if he didn’t seek him out, Lu Zhen wouldn’t reach out on his own. In relationships, You Shulang disliked clinginess; it was always Lu Zhen who was clingy, constantly calling and texting, even sharing a cup of coffee with him.
But lately, he’s been busy with work, and it’s often not until several days later that he realizes Lu Zhen hasn’t sent a single message. When he calls, Lu Zhen is either working or catching up on sleep. For more than half a month, the two of them haven’t had a single serious conversation.
You Shulang felt that he had neglected Lu Zhen because of work, which made Lu Zhen unhappy, so he had made an appointment with him in advance to take him to Disneyland in Lincheng on his day off.
Even so, Lu Zhen didn’t seem very happy. He hesitated for a long time on the phone before reluctantly agreeing.
You Shulang was already struggling to deal with Lu Zhen, and now Fan Xiao has been added to the mix.
“I know I owe you,” You Shulang said gently, sitting down next to Fan Xiao. “But I really do have an appointment tomorrow.”
The man next to me asked with a smile, “With your girlfriend?”
You Shulang took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled before saying, “With my girlfriend.”
Fan Xiao nodded, understandingly saying, “Then I can’t disturb you. I can only wish Director You a happy holiday in advance.”
You Shulang turned his head to look at Fan Xiao. When the man smiled, every muscle on his face would relax slightly. His smile was gentle and sincere, like a piece of warm jade, warming people’s hearts.
He shook his head and chuckled, reflecting on his past self-delusion and oversensitivity. Director You, always one to return a favor, said in a low voice, “Where did you get that face cream? You only care about skincare, but you don’t care about your nose?”
He slowly stood up, lowered his eyes and asked Fan Xiao, “Are you busy later? If not, I’ll go with you to buy a jar of face cream.”
Fan Xiao’s face lit up with joy. He stood up, put his arm around You Shulang’s shoulder, and said in a nonchalant tone, “You’d better believe me, Director You really dotes on me.”
You Shulang’s fingers twitched slightly. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not open the arm off his shoulder…
Inside the mall, Fan Xiao leaned against a corner and made a phone call.
Not far away, You Shulang was suppressing his impatience and headache with cosmetics, and listened politely to the sales assistant introducing the products.
Fan Xiao looked at him with a forced smile, but his eyes were cold.
The call was answered quickly, and Lu Zhen’s slightly surprised voice came through: “Mr. Fan? Why are you calling me?”
“What, only WeChat, not phone calls?” Fan Xiao’s voice sounded like he was laughing.
“Yes, of course, I mean, Mr. Fan is so busy…”
“No matter how busy you are, you can’t forget about Zhenzhen.” Fan Xiao looked at You Shulang and raised his eyebrows in a smile. “Are you free tomorrow, Zhenzhen?”
“Um… Mr. Fan wanted to see me about something?”
“I’ve been in this city for a long time but haven’t had a proper chance to explore it. I happen to have some time tomorrow, so I’d like to ask you to show me around.”
“Oh, I see…”
“If you don’t have time, you can refuse me, it’s no problem.”
“No, I have time, I have time. So when should we meet tomorrow?”
“Nine o’clock tomorrow morning, urban wetlands.”
After hanging up the phone, You Shulang also picked out a face cream for Fan Xiao.
As the two left the mall, they attracted a lot of attention because of their good looks and height.
As soon as he got into the car and fastened his seatbelt, You Shulang’s phone rang.
The carriage was enclosed and the distance was very close, so the voice on the phone was slightly leaked out: “Shulang, I just received a notice that my agency has arranged work for me tomorrow.”
You Shulang never smokes in the car, but now he’s caught a craving. He fiddles with the unlit cigarette between his fingers and says casually, “Okay, I got it. I’ll refund the tickets and the hotel. Let’s meet up another time.”
Less than thirty seconds passed between the time the call connected and when You Shulang hung up, he looked out the window, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Fan Xiao started the car and slowly glided away.
“You got stood up?” His voice carried a hint of regret for his friend.
“He has something to do.”
“Then… is it possible to…”
You Shulang turned his head, looked at the rather uneasy Fan Xiao, and smiled: “Okay, wherever you want to go tomorrow, I’ll go with you.”
“City wetlands, meet at 9:30.”
One corner of his lips curled up, and a mocking smile was reflected in the rearview mirror.
