Pictionary
"Mm." Xie Dang stood up, his arm looping around Lin Jingshang's back, lightly supporting his waist. "Follow my rhythm. One, two, one, two..."
The whistle blew.
Lin Jingshang was a little flustered at first, and almost moved in unison several times, but with Xie Dang's strong guidance and reliable counting, he quickly found his rhythm.
The two seemed to have suddenly unlocked their full potential, their coordination became incredibly smooth, and their speed increased rapidly, eventually putting them in the lead.
The wind whistled in my ears, and the cheers and laughter around me became indistinct.
Lin Jingshang could only feel the arms and breathing of the person beside him, as well as the steps they took in sync.
This feeling... isn't bad?
The moment they crossed the finish line, the immense momentum propelled Lin Jingshang forward, but Xie Dang tightened his grip and caught him securely. Because their legs were still tied together, their bodies inevitably collided, chests pressed together, and their breaths mingled.
Lin Jingshang looked up and met Xie Dang's gaze as he looked down.
Those eyes seemed to reflect the bright lights of the stadium, and there was even a hint of a smile in them.
A deafening cheer erupted around him, mixed with whistles. Lin Jingshang belatedly realized that his heart was pounding wildly.
Xie Dang helped him to his feet and then let go of his hand: "What's the next project?"
Lin Jingshang looked down at their legs, which were still tied together, and his ears burned: "It seems... you were the one who drew a picture."
The two unexpectedly won the three-legged race. Although they were only first in their group, it was considered an official victory in the eyes of the onlookers. Lin Jingshang's blush had not completely faded when he was led by the staff to the charades area.
A whiteboard and a marker are all the props you need.
The rules are simple and straightforward: one person acts out or draws, and the other person guesses the word. The more words guessed correctly within three minutes, the higher the score.
They were surrounded by layers upon layers of colleagues, all raising their phone cameras and pointing them at each other, making it even more lively than the company's annual party.
Xie Dang glanced at the whiteboard, then at Lin Jingshang, and handed him the marker: "You draw."
Lin Jingshang: "???"
He thought Xie Dang would be the one to draw it, since the president seemed like the kind of person who was good at everything.
“I…I’m terrible at drawing.” He tried to struggle.
Xie Dang's expression remained unchanged: "I believe in your ability to express yourself abstractly."
Lin Jingshang: "..."
Thank you so much!
Having no other choice, he reluctantly took the pen, and the staff member revealed the first word: "coffee".
That's easy!
Lin Jingshang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly drew a cup on the whiteboard with a few wavy lines on it to represent the steam rising from the coffee.
He had barely finished drawing when Xie Dang answered almost instantly: "Coffee."
"Correct!" the staff announced the result.
Next word: [lemon].
Lin Jingshang drew an irregular ellipse and added a few small dots around it.
Xie Dang: "Lemon."
"correct!"
Xie Dang guessed the names of several common items quickly and accurately.
Lin Jingshang's confidence soared; it seemed there was some tacit understanding between them!
At this moment, the staff revealed a new word: "heart-fluttering".
Lin Jingshang's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the pen.
What kind of weird words are these?! What were the administration department thinking when they chose these words?!
He felt the gazes around him grow even more intense; even the administrative assistant next to him, who was keeping track of the time, was covering her mouth and chuckling.
He turned stiffly to face the whiteboard, his mind blank.
How do you draw this? Draw a heart? That's too straightforward!
A drawing of two people staring at each other? It looks more like a public execution!
Time ticked by, and he could feel Xie Dang's calm, perhaps even slightly appreciative, gaze behind him.
Never mind!
Lin Jingshang gritted his teeth and drew an extremely simple stick figure on the whiteboard. Then, he hastily drew a few crooked circles on the stick figure's chest, trying to represent a heart beating wildly. After finishing, he didn't dare to look back at Xie Dang; the tips of his ears were so red they could drip blood.
There was a two-second silence behind me.
Then, Xie Dang's highly recognizable voice rang out behind him: "Parkinson's?"
"Pfft—hahaha!" The colleagues watching burst out laughing instantly.
Lin Jingshang: "..."
He wanted to swallow the marker!
"No! Guess again!" he gritted his teeth.
Xie Dang thought for another second: "Electric shock?"
"wrong!"
"Epileptic seizure?"
Lin Jingshang closed his eyes in despair. He shouldn't have had any expectations of this guy's romantic side!
"It's love at first sight!" He couldn't help but turn around, his face flushed red.
Xie Dang looked at his exasperated expression, and his eyebrows seemed to twitch slightly: "Oh, you're tempted."
The staff member suppressed a laugh: "Uh... although the answer is correct, it was Mr. Lin who said it himself, so according to the rules, it can't be counted as points."
Lin Jingshang: "..."
Destroy it, quickly.
This little incident brought the atmosphere to a climax. In the next few words, Lin Jingshang completely gave up resistance, his style became more and more abstract, and Xie Dang's answers became more and more outrageous.
He drew a circle with wings (word: angel).
Xie Dang: "UFO."
He drew a wallet with wings (the word for investment).
Xie Dang: "Flying leeks."
He drew a face covering its eyes (meaning: too ugly to look at).
Xie Dang: "Facial nerve paralysis."
Three minutes were up, and they had guessed very few words correctly, resulting in a dismal score.
Throughout the entire process, Xie Dang did not show the slightest impatience. In fact, as Lin Jingshang's drawing became increasingly frustrating, the corners of his mouth seemed to curve into a tiny, pixel-sized arc.
After the match, staff came up to untie the straps that had been binding their legs all afternoon. The moment his legs were separated, Lin Jingshang actually felt a little uncomfortable. He moved his slightly numb ankles, and when he looked up, he found Xie Dang looking at him.
"Not bad," Xie Dang commented, his tone ambiguous, whether he was being sincere or sarcastic.
Lin Jingshang said irritably, "Not as accurate as President Xie's guess."
Xie Dang didn't reply, but took out an individually wrapped lemon candy from his sweatpants pocket and handed it to him.
"Replenish your energy."
Lin Jingshang looked at the familiar candy, then at Xie Dang's expressionless face, which inexplicably seemed much more pleasing to the eye, and the slight depression in his heart suddenly dissipated.
He took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth, the sweet and sour taste spreading throughout.
Forget it, why bother arguing with someone with such a bizarre way of thinking?
The two walked together toward the rest area, while colleagues around them teased them in good-nature. Lin Jingshang kept his head down, pretending not to hear.
Suddenly, he felt his hand being touched.
Lin Jingshang subconsciously withdrew his hand, but felt something cool being placed into his palm. He looked down and saw it was the marker he had just used, the one that had produced countless abstract masterpieces.
Xie Dang looked ahead: "Souvenirs."
Lin Jingshang held the pen, watching Xie Dang's back as he walked towards the beverage counter. Then he looked at the marker mark he had accidentally smudged on his palm and suddenly felt that this absurd team building activity wasn't so bad after all.
The team-building activity kept the company excited for a few days, but gradually subsided under the pressure of new gossip and KPIs.
Lin Jingshang's life has returned to reports, meetings, and lemon candy.
Before leaving work that day, Manager Zhang came over with a stack of documents, all smiles: "Jing Shang, headquarters urgently needs a market analysis, you see..."
Lin Jingshang looked at the thickness of the stack of documents, sighed silently, and nodded resignedly: "Okay, manager, I'll try my best to get them to you tomorrow morning."
The people in the office disappeared precisely on time, just as if by unspoken agreement.
Lin Jingshang turned on his computer, made a strong cup of tea, and prepared to begin his long overtime work.
Around 8 p.m., his stomach started to protest. He rubbed his rumbling stomach, opened the food delivery app, and was hesitating about which restaurant to choose when a new message popped up on his phone screen.
[Debtor (Coffee)]: Still at the company?
Lin Jingshang replied: [Yes, Manager Zhang gave me another urgent task.]
After sending the message, he didn't expect a reply and continued browsing the food delivery page.
Unexpectedly, Xie Dang sent another message a few minutes later.
[Debtor (Coffee)]: Fifteen minutes later, in the underground parking garage.
Lin Jingshang was taken aback. What was he going to the garage for? Did President Xie also have to work overtime?
He replied with: [?]
The other party did not offer any further explanation.
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Jingshang, still somewhat skeptical, took the elevator down to the underground parking garage. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he saw the familiar black sedan with its hazard lights flashing.
He walked over, opened the passenger door, and got in. The car was clean and tidy, with soothing background music playing.
"Mr. Xie, are you working overtime too?" Lin Jingshang asked after fastening his seatbelt.
Xie Dang grunted in agreement, started the car, and drove smoothly out of the underground parking garage.
"Let's go eat first."
Lin Jingshang then realized that Xie Dang had come down specifically to take him out for a late-night snack.
He felt a slight warmth in his heart, but politely replied, "No need to trouble you, Mr. Xie, I'll just order takeout..."
"That shop doesn't do takeout," Xie Dang interrupted him calmly, his eyes fixed ahead.
Lin Jingshang: "...Oh."
What kind of store is so expensive?
After driving for about twenty minutes, the car stopped at the entrance of a small alley that Lin Jingshang had never noticed before.
Xie Dang led him into a porridge shop that looked quite old. The shop wasn't big, but it was very clean, and there were still a few tables of customers quietly drinking porridge at this hour.
The owner seemed to recognize Xie Dang. When he saw Xie Dang come in, he simply nodded and led them to a quiet spot inside to sit down.
"Let's see what we want to eat." Xie Dang pushed a laminated menu in front of Lin Jingshang.
Lin Jingshang looked down and saw various Cantonese congee and snacks. He was so hungry that everything looked delicious, so he finally ordered a bowl of their signature congee and a plate of chicken feet with black bean sauce.
Xie Dang only ordered a bowl of plain congee and a plate of stir-fried bok choy.
While waiting for the food to be served, neither of them spoke. The porridge and side dishes were served quickly.
Lin Jingshang's bowl of congee was generously filled with ingredients, the porridge base was smooth and creamy, and it was steaming hot. He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. The warm porridge slid down his esophagus, instantly soothing his hungry stomach and even dispelling much of the fatigue from working overtime.
He ate intently, unaware that Xie Dang across from him barely touched his bowl of porridge, spending most of the time slowly and methodically eating his bok choy, his gaze occasionally falling on him.
"Is that enough?" Xie Dang suddenly asked.
Lin Jingshang looked up from the bowl of porridge, a little bit still on his lips, and said blankly, "Huh?"
Xie Dang's gaze lingered on the corner of his mouth for a moment, then he took out a tissue and handed it to him.
Lin Jingshang realized what was happening and, somewhat embarrassed, took the tissue to wipe his mouth.
"That's enough, that's enough, it's delicious."
Xie Dang nodded and said nothing more.
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