CH 14

After being attracted to a person, everyone has the potential to become a detective.

One would try to explore the common interests between both of them, and would intentionally decipher what the other person said after a deep thought.

All of this became a clue to approach the other party, an ambiguous hint hidden under the lingering smoke that the other person gives himself.

Shen Huiming smiled, “Coincidentally, we both met for the first time at 30,000 feet too.”

Suo Yang thanked the waiter who brought the coffee, and gently fiddled with the ice cubes inside the glass with a plastic straw.

“As the hand of God produced clouds with one turn of the hand and rain with another, so does literary creation that comes from life.” Suo Yang looked up at him and smiled, “In other words, the author couldn’t have predicted the meeting of the people more than 20 years ago.”

“Well? How does the book end?”

“Want me to spoil it?” Suo Yang took a sip of coffee, pressing the tip of his tongue against the ice.

“Because I think, I probably don’t have the patience to finish reading.” No patience, and not much time.

Shen Huiming didn’t usually read this kind of book. Today, he just had nothing to do while waiting for Suo Yang, so he picked this book out of the coffee shop’s bookshelf.

He felt that the copy that he took with him happened to be the one Suo Yang had read, which was also a hint of fate.

The two of them were just made for each other.

“Broke up.” As Suo Yang put the ice cube in his mouth, the coolness relieved his headache and nausea, “The male protagonist finds another new love at the end, and starts a new round of research on the subject of love.”

Shen Huiming smiled wryly and shook his head, “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Whether you ask or not, the ending is already written.”

“But if I hadn’t asked, they would have ended up differently in my world.” Shen Huiming said, “In fact, nothing in the world is really set in stone, and a well-written and established ending may not, in fact, be unchanged.”

He picked up the small box on the table and opened it slowly.

Suo Yang fiddled with the ice cubes in the glass and said with a smile, “Is this self-deception?”

“Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with deceiving yourself,” Shen Huiming said as he examined his cufflinks that had been sent back to him. “It’s like I know you’re bound to reject me and have already done so, but I still think it’s hard to say what’s going to happen later. What do you think?”

Shen Huiming put the cufflinks back on, “We all know that fate is very metaphysical, and everyone is a scientific supremacist, yet in this matter, we firmly believe in fate.”

He lowered his head and fiddled with his cufflinks with one hand, “Fate has made us meet by chance several times, and I think I should fight for it even if it’s just to be an ordinary friend.”

He raised his head and looked at Suo Yang, “What do you think?”

Suo Yang’s eyes kept falling on Shen Huiming’s wrist, who was struggling with cufflinks.

He put down the cup and stretched out his hand, “I’ll help you with it.”

Shen Huiming smiled and handed the half-finished cufflinks to Suo Yang, then extended his hand.

Helping someone with cufflinks was like helping someone with a tie, which was more or less intimate and ambiguous. This was the first time for Suo Yang to do such a thing, and it was also the first time for Shen Huiming to be “taken care of” by someone like this.

Both of them were silent, Shen Huiming looked at Suo Yang’s slightly frowning brows, unable to guess what the man was thinking.

When the cufflinks were fastened, Suo Yang subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

“How was it? Did you have a good rest last night?” Shen Huiming began to look for a topic of conversation.

Suo Yang smiled bitterly, “I have a headache, it’s been a long time since I drank like this.”

Shen Huiming actually didn’t know how much Suo Yang had drunk and what exactly he had drunk. In the time it took him to go out for a cigarette with Jiang Tongyan, Suo Yang’s face and eyes were already red when he came back.

“You don’t usually drink much?” Shen Huiming remembered that when they met in New York, Suo Yang had just come out of a bar.

Probably everyone had heard the rumours—that the flight attendant circle had a chaotic life.

Of course, there are similar rumours—the chaotic life of foreign executives, the chaotic life of the gay community, the chaotic life of surgeons, and so on.

The list went on and on.

Shen Huiming has always hated grouping and labelling. There were good people in every group and black sheep in every group, and generalising from one point to another only makes people look more narrow-minded.

But it was undeniable that he was curious about Suo Yang’s life.

“Not so much in these past two years.” Suo Yang felt uncomfortable in his stomach and put another ice cube in his mouth.

“It’s good, alcohol is something that is good to spice up your life once in a while, but too much of it is really bad for your health.” Shen Huiming leaned on the back of the sofa and sighed, “Sometimes I suspect that the alcohol content in my body has exceeded my blood level content.”

Of course, he was joking, and both of them knew that.

But Shen Huiming’s “deliberate show of misery” still caught Suo Yang’s attention, who hooked his tongue around the ice cube, swirled it around and then chewed it hard.

“It’s inevitable for businessman,” Suo Yang said, “but it’s better to take care of yourself if possible. Your health is important.”

Shen Huiming smiled, “Can I take that as a concern?”

Suo Yang also smiled, “It’s supposed to be a concern.”

He took a sip of coffee and swallowed the shattered ice.

“It’s not pleasant to be drunk.” Suo Yang rubbed his temples, “I still feel nauseated.”

Shen Huiming stared at him, watching his neatly manicured and clean nails turn pale from pressing too hard on his forehead.

“Have you eaten?” Shen Huiming asked.

Suo Yang shook his head, “My stomach doesn’t feel good.”

“Do you remember what you said to me on the plane before?” Shen Huiming tapped Suo Yang’s coffee cup with his fingers, “The downside of drinking coffee on an empty stomach, remember?”

Suo Yang smiled, “I feel like I’ve been caught doing something bad.”

“Aren’t you?” Shen Huiming stood up and said to him, “Let’s go. let’s have something to eat. there should be a congee shop nearby, simply eat a little or your body won’t be able to take it.”

Suo Yang sat there and tilted his head to look at him.

Shen Huiming didn’t hide his gaze, and said to him very calmly, “This is me being concerned about you.”

Suo Yang wanted to refuse but then heard Shen Huiming say, “You helped me twice, the ticket holder and cufflinks. It’s not too much for me to treat you to a bowl of congee as a thank you.”

Shen Huiming asked him with a smile, “You wouldn’t deliberately make me owe you a favour, would you?”

Suo Yang smiled helplessly and stood up with his hands on the table.

He finally realized that it was very difficult for him to win against Shen Huiming. The other party was too shrewd and knew how to bridge the gap for him.

As the two walked out, Shen Huiming said, “It looks like you haven’t taken care of yourself very well either, you’re really looking a bit pale now.”

Suo Yang walked beside him without speaking.

“I originally wanted to take the opportunity to invite you to watch a movie, but seeing you like this, I couldn’t bear to ask.”

Suo Yang smiled in his heart: But you still said it.

“Maybe next time.” Suo Yang said lightly, “If there’s a chance later.”