Chapter 28

Some time passed after that night—maybe a week or so, maybe half a month—before Narumi's life gradually returned to normal. In other words, it wasn't until at least half a month later that Narumi began to notice how quickly time was passing, and at the same time, he anxiously realized that he should plan and allocate the little time he had left.

But during that period of more than half a month when Narumi felt incredibly excited and dazed, he experienced a kind of intoxicating, blissful frenzy. Although he couldn't fully recall what exactly happened during that time afterward, Narumi could still clearly remember everything that happened on the day after his 35th birthday.

Just as he had told Huang Ruoyu, Chengshi, who had barely slept that night, fell asleep on the subway during his commute. He slumped in his seat, his head tilted back, resting against the glass window behind him, while his phone wobbled precariously in his hand. After getting off the subway at Guomao Station, Chengshi didn't head straight into the Haosikai Building as usual. Instead, he leisurely walked into the Starbucks on the second floor of the building closest to Haosikai, ordered an Americano with a shot, and relaxed on the sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window, contentedly sipping his hot and strong coffee, completely unconcerned about being late.

At this moment, Cheng Shi observed the hurried office workers outside the window with great interest. He then realized how ridiculous those well-dressed men and women were: their expressions serious, their steps hurried, their movements uniform. They poured out of the subway station and train station, onto the streets, and into office buildings, until they finally stopped their hurried pace at 9 o'clock sharp. At that time, the office buildings waiting for them would swallow them up one by one and envelop them. Cheng Shi found that if he sat in this position and looked at the office buildings across the street, it would feel like observing a huge, silent ant castle—the same ant castle that his daughter, Cheng Yushan, had bought for her science class—with hundreds or thousands of tiny figures in suits, either typing on computers, making phone calls, or sitting motionless in meeting rooms watching someone gesticulate wildly in front of a whiteboard, or simply walking around in open-plan offices. They were like performing a series of passionate pantomimes.

At the same time, Narumi particularly enjoyed his coffee today. He realized for the first time that Starbucks coffee tasted so rich and fragrant. Moreover, the napkins he picked up from the counter were particularly pleasing to the eye. Narumi even felt that the mermaid logo on the napkins was giving him a charming smile like the Mona Lisa. Even the young man who took Narumi's order today was so polite and enthusiastic, as if he enjoyed his job. So much so that Narumi gave him a charming smile and said "Thank you".

By the time he entered the Haoskai Building, Narumi had transformed from a relaxed, half-asleep, and tired state into a genuine sense of joy. Although all the sounds and visuals were somewhat blurry today, Narumi felt that everything he was about to face would be simple, and even the problem with the promotional brochure he had encountered yesterday didn't seem so difficult anymore.

Even with sleep deprivation, Cheng Shi clearly remembered his work principle: prioritize important tasks. He kept reminding himself of this in the elevator. So, when the elevator doors opened on the 15th floor, his most important task was to walk to the front desk and greet Candy, who was still on duty there that day, with the attitude a man should have.

Candy was still sitting alone at the front desk today, wearing the same navy blue blazer as yesterday. Cheng Shi thought the reason she hadn't changed was probably because it was the most presentable formal outfit in her wardrobe.

Candy seemed flustered when she saw Narumi approaching, but Narumi gave her a very professional smile—neither furtive nor arrogant—a cheerful and friendly one. So, even before Narumi reached the front desk, Candy's nervousness was already eased by his smile.

Actually, Candy was very nervous before meeting Chengshi today. She kept wondering if he would think of her as a promiscuous woman? Or would he go around telling everyone about their one-night stand and making her a laughing stock? Or would he really fall in love with her and want to develop this relationship into a romantic office affair? Candy even imagined that Chengshi would be overwhelmed by her and eventually have to pull her aside and confess that he wanted to be with her.

Regardless of which ending Candy envisioned, it terrified and filled her with resentment. But… Candy couldn't quite put her finger on it. She didn't really understand Cheng Shi, a mature and successful man. She'd never dated a man of his caliber or age before; in fact, she'd only had one boyfriend in her entire life, during her school years—her experience was pitifully limited. The problem was, men like Cheng Shi were incredibly attractive to Candy. She felt she truly had a "secret crush" on him, but this "secret crush" was merely a solace amidst her monotonous work and life, like a crush on a male celebrity. She'd never even imagined things could go this far with Cheng Shi. Although they had kissed at the company's annual party a few months ago, that didn't prove anything. Sometimes Candy even thought it was just a hallucination from being drunk, and maybe they'd never actually kissed. Candy painfully sensed that every step from here on out of her control seemed impossible, so she could only overthink, spending a sleepless night.

However, when Candy saw Narumi's smile, she stopped overthinking. Narumi's smile told her that she could rest assured and there was nothing to worry about, because he would take the lead and handle everything that followed.

"Morning," Narumi said in a very friendly tone when speaking to Candy, "Yesterday's events didn't cause you any trouble, did they? I mean, Wendy didn't say anything, did she?"

"No, she didn't ask anything."

Candy found herself blushing and feeling incredibly awkward if she looked directly into Narumi's eyes, so she kept her gaze fixed on the badge hanging on his chest. Narumi, on the other hand, smiled calmly at Candy, standing there looking down at her. Despite the bustling crowd and the chaotic noise around them, others would assume he was just passing the time, either to say a few words or to give her some work-related instructions. Their expressions and posture would not arouse any curiosity among them. And when the two were close together, Narumi was confident that he appeared both sincere and friendly.

“Candy,” Cheng Shi said, “if there’s anything we need to clarify between us, then I suggest we find a quiet place to sit down and talk this afternoon. If you want to ask me or tell me anything, what do you say?”

"There's nothing to say, except for me... well, never mind, it's okay. You're right."

"It's not a matter of right or wrong. I don't want you to think I... never mind, let's not talk about that. What I want to tell you is that the most important thing is not to have any regrets. I don't have any regrets, and I hope you don't either. But if you do feel that way, I hope you can tell me."

"No," Candy answered decisively, "I have no regrets."

“That’s great. You’re really amazing, Candy. If there’s anything I can… you know what I mean? If there’s anything I can do for you, I hope you can tell me. I know it doesn’t sound nice, but what I’m trying to say is that I hope we can still be friends.”

“Yes, I understand,” Candy said. “That’s what I think too.”

Cheng Shi turned and left, walking slowly and confidently towards his workstation with his sexy "catwalk." If his walking posture in the Peking University campus was really as sexy as Huang Ruoyu described, then his current gait was a more mature plus version of that walking style.

Cheng Shi hadn't expected everything to be so easy. He felt that even if he spent many days planning, rehearsing, writing draft after draft, and revising his speech again and again, he couldn't have produced a more dignified or satisfying speech than what he had just delivered. He thought that if his impromptu remarks could achieve such an effect, then what in this world couldn't he accomplish?

"Good morning, Jack." Chengshi greeted Jack next door with a smug look on his face.

"Bro, I'm so glad to see you looking so energetic!" Jack said to Narumi with half-closed eyes. "You're late today, you bastard."