Chapter 14

On Saturday evening, Chen Yan returned home.

He opened the door and was greeted by a silence. He changed his shoes, placed his record and jacket on the cabinet in the entrance hall, and poured himself a glass of water.

He leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping his water slowly, but his mind wasn't as empty as the room itself. Every detail of this afternoon played back clearly in his mind, frame by frame, like a slow-motion movie being played over and over again.

Just then, the phone screen lit up. It was a message from Lin Qi.

[WeChat] I'm home. Thank you for the welcome gift and hospitality today. I'll treat you next time.

He clicked on it and saw those lines of text, especially the last proactive sentence "I'll treat you next time". The happiness of the whole day seemed to be pushed to the peak at this moment.

He didn't reply immediately, but first drank the water in the cup, letting the faint joy spreading from the bottom of his heart calm down a little. Then, he picked up the phone and replied to her in his usual, unhurried pace.

[Chen Yan: Got it. Just hope you get home safely.]

[Chen Yan: I'm also very happy today. Chatting with you is really interesting.]

[Chen Yan: Okay. Then I’ll be waiting for your invitation.]

On the subway, Lin Qi looked at the last sentence sent by Chen Yan and couldn't help laughing.

He was always like this, able to speak the most reassuring words in the calmest tone. "I'm waiting," these three words, like a gentle seal, stamped on their next appointment, making the future concrete and worth looking forward to.

[Lin Qi: Good :)]

She didn't say anything else, just put away her phone.

After returning home and closing the door, she placed the books she had bought today and the Bach record that Shen Yan had given her on the desk. Under the light, three books with a wide range of ideas and a classical music record that represented "late-night study" lay quietly side by side.

She stared at them, stunned for a moment.

In her mind, the words that Chen Yan said while looking at her at the dinner table kept echoing.

"Lin Qi, you think more deeply and work harder than many people."

She had always thought she hid it well. To her friends and colleagues, she was always the optimistic, forthright, and curious Lin Qi. She never easily revealed her inner conflicts and struggles; it was too heavy, too pretentious.

But this man, relying on only three books and a few words, easily peeled off all her disguises and saw the most real and exhausted core of her.

This feeling of being completely seen through made her panic, and she felt helpless, as if she had nowhere to hide.

But what I feel more is an unprecedented peace of mind, a deep understanding and a sense of relief.

She shook her head and smiled. This man named Chen Yan seemed to be much more dangerous than she had imagined.

The happy ending of Saturday was followed by an equally quiet Sunday and a busy Monday.

They tacitly agreed not to contact each other again. That meeting, filled with so much information and so much emotion, truly required some time and space for both parties to digest and settle. This quietness, in turn, brought comfort to both of them.

It wasn't until Tuesday morning, when Lin Qi had just finished a long meeting and returned to his seat with a cup of coffee, that his cell phone screen lit up.

It's a Chenyan. Not words, but a photo.

In the photo, the morning light filters through the gaps in the blinds, casting a few sharp shadows on his desk. Within these shadows, there's a steaming cup of coffee and an open book.

Lin Qi's gaze instantly froze on the cover of the book.

——"Flowers for Algernon".

It was one of the three books she bought on Saturday.

She really didn't expect that he would take every word she said so seriously. Even when she was about to forget the agreement about the "answer to the book", he had already taken action to begin a deeper exploration of her.

Then, his text message came.

[Chen Yan: Your book review piqued my curiosity. I bought a copy.]

【Chen Yan: Work went smoothly today.】

His message was simple, direct, and without any claim to credit, as if understanding her inner world was the most natural thing for him.

Lin Qi looked at the photo and the two lines of words, and somewhere in his heart, he suddenly felt soft.

She really didn't expect that he would take what she said and the book she recommended unintentionally so seriously.

She couldn't help but reply to him with a playful, experienced tone.

Lin Qi: I had fun reading today. I hope you don't cry like me when you reach the end.

This message, which contained both a well-intentioned "spoiler" and a warning, made Chen Yan, who was on the other side of the office, laugh silently as she looked at her phone. He could almost imagine the adorable expression on her face, a little smug and a little sincere, as she typed this line of words.

[Chen Yan: Received warning.]

[Chen Yan: Then I'll try my best not to let the cleaning lady at the company see it.]

He easily caught her joke with his distinctively personal, deadpan humor.

After the joke, he naturally changed the subject and turned back into the mature and steady Chen Yan.

[Chen Yan: Okay, let's get back to the point. You too, work hard.]

Lin Qi was thoroughly amused by his flawless response and couldn't help but want to continue "provoking" him. She waited for a long while before slowly replying.

[Lin Qi: Well, after I finish work, I'll secretly apply for the cleaning lady position at your company and spy on your little secrets.]

This reply made Chen Yan really unable to hold back and he lowered his head to laugh. Her reactions always exceeded his expectations, direct, bold, and with a bit of cute cunning.

He didn't let the joke go on indefinitely, after all, it was work time, and he ended the round in a half-joking, half-serious way.

[Chen Yan: I'm afraid our company's HR department won't hire you.]

[Chen Yan: Too purposeful.]

[Chen Yan: Okay, no more trouble. Focus on your work.]

Seeing these replies, Lin Qi smiled and obediently did not reply.

A very comfortable tacit understanding had formed between them. They could make harmless jokes between jobs, and at the right time, they could tacitly return to their respective tracks.