Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 6
Chapter 6 May I call you Shulang?
2024-10-13 07:09 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
Soon after that day, You Shulang saw Fan Xiao again.
Under the bright July sun, the subtly shimmering suit couldn’t maintain its understated elegance; the reflected light enveloped the tall man as he walked in with composure.
Because of the distance, his facial expression couldn’t be clearly seen. The blurred face, on the contrary, highlighted his aura. His long legs, encased in light, smooth trousers, revealed powerful muscle lines as he walked. His legs were crossed, his gait steady, and each step carried a heavy, imposing presence.
However, You Shulang knew that the smile on that person’s face must have been an impeccable, gentle one.
Just as he had expected, Fan Xiao approached, and his gentle aura instantly softened his domineering presence, making him more approachable. The observant You Shulang even sensed the factory manager beside him quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Today is a project communication meeting between Pinfeng Venture Capital and Bohai Pharmaceutical. This is an important part of the venture capital company’s review and investigation of investment projects. Bohai Pharmaceutical, which is looking forward to the injection of funds, naturally attaches great importance to it. The team members waited at the company entrance half an hour in advance.
The two sides greeted each other warmly. Fan Xiao was humble and polite, but it was clear that he was just going through the motions. It wasn’t until You Shulang extended his hand in front of him that his expression changed. His smile became more genuine, and he joked familiarly like an old friend: “Shulang, Director You, you know I have no sense of direction, yet you didn’t greet me. If my inability to find my way delays our cooperation, won’t Factory Director Liu hold you responsible?”
Upon hearing the word “Shulang,” the person who couldn’t pull their hand away paused, involuntarily recalling that smoky night a few days ago.
That day, Fan Xiao drove his luxury car smoothly back to the city, following behind him. Fan Xiao’s call popped up again on the dim phone screen. You Shulang put it on speakerphone, and his clear, gentle voice, like a night breeze, once again invited him to dinner.
For some reason, You Shulang felt a little angry. It might be the cold question that Fan Xiao had just called a joke, or it might be the barely concealed sense of control that he exuded when he held his company’s business plan.
You Shulang has a mild temper, largely due to his upbringing and way of dealing with people. To be fair, he is not a good-tempered person and has no desire to be controlled by others.
The car glided for several more kilometers before stopping in a bustling area. Deafening music crashed against the wind in the open field, and the strong smell of barbecue wafted on the breeze, filling our nostrils and awakening our taste buds.
You Shulang got out of the car, walked to the back car, and knocked on the window just like when they first met. This time the window rolled down quickly, and he asked, “Is this okay?”
Fan Xiao hesitated for a moment, but then nodded, displaying his easygoing nature and replying, “Sure, it looks lively here.”
The summer barbecue festival is an essential activity for cooling off in the city. This year, the event has been moved from the downtown commercial area to the riverside square, and its scale has more than doubled.
Around 8 p.m., when things were at their liveliest, You Shulang and Fan Xiao found a not-so-clean empty table in a corner of the venue.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
You Shulang’s question was cleverly phrased, effectively shutting down any other possible answer with just a few words. He pushed a plastic chair in front of Fan Xiao, whose hands were in his trench coat pockets: “You sit down, I’m going to buy something.”
“It’s a promise, it’s my treat.”
You Shulang casually patted him on the shoulder and replied, “Next time.”
When he returned with the meat skewers, he saw Fan Xiao diligently wiping the table, his body slightly bent over, two fingers pressing on a napkin, as if he were completing some extremely important project.
If You Shulang, the office director, couldn’t see that Fan Xiao had a slight obsession with cleanliness, he would have wasted his years of his life. He was always gentle and unoffensive in his dealings with people and was good at creating a comfortable environment for others to get along with, except when he was holding back his anger.
After placing the items on the long table, You Shulang smiled and said, “Shall we have some drinks and then get a designated driver?”
Fan Xiao looked at the chilled beer with water droplets hanging on it and did not refute.
Their conversation rambled on and on, ranging from the pleasure boats on the Mekong River to the current incompetent royal family, from the birds returning to their nests on the river to surfing techniques…
Fan Xiao ate very little, and even when he did eat, he would very impolitely tear off a few pieces of meat from the middle of the skewer and chew them slowly, never touching the very first piece.
As the evening wore on, the river breeze grew cooler, and some elderly people and children had already put on coats. Fan Xiao tucked his coat in even tighter, taking only small sips of his ice-cold beer.
You Shulang sighed softly, suddenly feeling incredibly bored that he had actually bothered with something that had nothing to do with profit or loss. He felt like he had gone back to his old ways.
He took off his suit jacket and draped it over the empty chair next to him, asking casually, “Are you cold? You can put it on if you don’t mind.”
Fan Xiao’s expression went blank for a moment, then his smile grew even brighter. He reached for his suit jacket and put it under his trench coat. With a slightly surprised look on You Shulang’s face, he said, “Mr. You is so considerate, how can I not appreciate it?”
You Shulang, holding the meat skewers, froze for a moment. His thick eyelashes fluttered twice, but he didn’t say anything, focusing only on the food in his hands.
He first wiped the charcoal ash off the top of the bamboo skewer with a tissue, then used chopsticks to peel off the first piece of meat and put it on his plate before handing the skewer to Fan Xiao and saying casually, “Eat up, Young Master Fan.”
Fan Xiao, who had been mocked, chuckled to himself. He took the skewer of meat, tore off a piece with his teeth, and asked indistinctly, “How did Mr. You know that I was a little disgusted with the piece of meat near the stove wall?”
You Shulang leaned back in his chair, stretching out his arm to grip the wine glass on the table, while his other hand held a newly lit cigarette. The wisps of smoke drifting away resembled the faint, elusive look in his eyes.
He tilted his head to look at the dark river surface, the lines of his jawline becoming increasingly clear. Along with the smoke, he exhaled a gentle sentence: “Eat up, stop nagging.”
Fan Xiao’s brow twitched, and after a moment of silence, he downed the cold beer in his glass.
“From now on, I’ll call you Shulang. And you don’t need to keep calling me Mr. Fan. Just call me Fan Xiao, since we’re already so familiar with each other.”
You Shulang slowly turned his head and stared at the man across the table. At this moment, he really wanted to ask Fan Xiao how he defined “familiarity” and “unfamiliarity.” However, his good upbringing told him that he could not reach out and hit the smiling man.
After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded in agreement: “Alright, Fan… Xiao.”
Using the excuse that a driver would come to pick him up, Fan Xiao watched as You Shulang’s car slowly slid out of his sight.
As the car in front disappeared from sight, his handsome face seemed too exhausted to maintain its smile, and instead revealed a contemptuous expression. He let out a soft laugh from his nose, full of undisguised mockery: “You stretched out your claws like a kitten. I thought you would at least scratch me a few times, but I didn’t expect you to soften so easily. You’re really easy to bully.”
He lifted his trench coat, lowered his head to smell the scent of another man that had long since dissipated from the clothes, and said softly, “It smells very nice, just like the scent on my Zhenzhen.”
Like a cat blocking a mouse hole, Fan Xiao curled the corners of his mouth: “How awful.”
