silence
Lin Jingshang looked at the words and almost laughed in anger: "Does it have some misunderstanding about adversity? This is at most an inconvenience!"
Xie Dang simply turned off his phone and threw it on the sofa: "Ignore it."
Even so, they still had to wait three hours, and the two sat on the sofa in silence for a while.
After a while, Lin Jingshang's stomach started growling. He had been busy writing reports all evening and hadn't eaten much.
"Are you hungry?" Xie Dang asked.
“A little…” Lin Jingshang said softly.
Xie Dang got up and went into the kitchen. After a while, he came out with two buckets of instant noodles and a bottle of mineral water.
"This is all I have." He placed the instant noodles and bottled water on the coffee table.
Looking at the two buckets of braised beef noodles, Lin Jingshang couldn't help but laugh: "President Xie, your emergency supplies are a bit modest."
"Efficiently replenishes energy." Xie Dang said without changing his expression as he opened the packaging.
Without hot water, the instant noodles naturally wouldn't soften. The two of them chewed on the hard, dry noodles with seasoning powder, and Lin Jingshang couldn't help but complain, "What kind of interdependence is this? This is more like suffering together!"
Xie Dang chewed slowly and deliberately: "The texture is crispy, and it has a unique flavor."
Lin Jingshang was impressed by his powerful ability to comfort himself.
After finishing this unforgettable late-night snack, the two leaned back on the sofa, looking out the window. There was no internet, no lights; it felt like the world had truly been put on pause.
“Actually… this is quite good too.” Lin Jingshang suddenly spoke up.
"Um?"
"It was quiet, just the two of us. No system beeping, no work, and no one else."
Xie Dang remained silent in the darkness for a moment, then responded with a soft "Mm".
After an unknown amount of time, the lights suddenly came on, making the two of them squint. The cell phone signal was restored, and the notification sounds rang incessantly.
The system notification popped up again: [The ultimate test has been passed! Congratulations to both of you for successfully proving that you cannot be separated even in extreme conditions! The "Life and Death Together" badge has been issued (virtual).]
[The system will enter...buzzing...assessment silence state...]
The following words became blurry, and eventually the prompt disappeared.
Lin Jingshang and Xie Dang exchanged a glance.
"Did it just say... silence?" Lin Jingshang was a little incredulous.
This broken system has been tinkered with for so long, and they're just going to give up on it because they ate a bowl of instant noodles together during a power outage?
This ending is far too hasty!
---
The system went silent, which Lin Jingshang was initially a little unaccustomed to. There were no more pink notifications popping up in front of him, and his phone calendar behaved itself, without forcibly adding any strange schedules.
He tentatively sent a message to Xie Dang.
[Lin Jingshang]: It seems like it's really not making any moves?
[Xie Dang]: Preliminary assessment indicates that it has entered hibernation or has been intervened by higher-level authorities.
Lin Jingshang looked at the message and felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, feeling incredibly relieved.
Without any forced matchmaking by the system, the two entered a new phase in their relationship, and many things fell into place naturally.
When Lin Jingshang works late, he will very naturally send Xie Dang a message: 【Off work? Want to walk together?】
Xie Dang's reply was simple: [Wait.]
During their lunch break on the small terrace, the two sat quietly, Lin Jingshang probably reading a novel, and Xie Dang replying to emails. Occasionally, they would look up and exchange a glance, or share a bite of the fruit the other had brought.
That weekend, Lin Jingshang rushed to Xie Dang's study in his apartment with his things to finish his work, as his home internet was not very stable.
Xie Dang was processing documents nearby.
The two occupied opposite ends of the desk, not disturbing each other. Lin Jingshang encountered a data processing problem and frowned in thought.
Suddenly, a glass of milk was placed beside him.
He looked up, and Xie Dang stood next to him, his gaze falling on the complex data formulas on his screen.
Xie Dang leaned over and tapped the screen with his finger: "Here, the nested logic is wrong. It should be iteration, not recursion."
He leaned very close, his breath brushing against Lin Jingshang's ear. Lin Jingshang could smell the faint scent of his shower gel, the same one he used when he stayed overnight last time.
Lin Jingshang's heart raced, and he quickly made the changes according to his instructions, which solved the problem.
"Amazing!" he exclaimed sincerely.
Xie Dang straightened up and said in a flat tone: "Basic operation."
Before returning to his seat, he added, "Drink the milk while it's hot."
Lin Jingshang held the warm glass of milk, watching Xie Dang's profile as he returned to work, feeling a warm glow in his heart.
That evening, the two ordered takeout together. While eating, a variety show was playing on TV, and they chatted casually, talking about everything from work to the books they had recently read, and the new rice ball flavors at the convenience store downstairs.
After finishing his meal, Lin Jingshang prepared to go home. As he reached the door, he looked back.
Xie Dang was clearing the table. Hello Kitty, wearing a bow tie, sat on the sofa, next to two pots of string of pearls growing side by side.
This space is filled with traces of their shared life.
"I'm leaving," Lin Jingshang said.
"Okay." Xie Dang looked up at him. "Be careful on the road."
November quietly arrived, and Lin Jingshang secretly pondered how to prepare a birthday gift for Xie Dang. He tried to subtly inquire about Xie Dang's needs several times, but each time Xie Dang simply replied, "I don't need anything."
This put him in a bit of a dilemma.
Giving something too ordinary lacks sincerity, while giving something too expensive might put pressure on the recipient. He thought of Xie Dang's hands, which could fix printers, weave straw rings, and play claw machines, and a brilliant idea struck him.
He remembered seeing a rare book about the disassembly and assembly of high-end mechanical watches on Xie Dang's "Want to Read" list when he shared his reading list before, but he had never been able to find it.
He went to great lengths to obtain a secondhand book in decent condition. He even went out of his way to buy a set of watch repair tools and packaged them together with the book.
The night before his birthday, Lin Jingshang, holding his gift and a little nervous, rang the doorbell of Xie Dang's apartment.
He lied and said he was there to deliver some forgotten documents.
Xie Dang opened the door and let him in, his gaze falling on the box in his hand that was clearly not a file folder.
“This is…” He looked at Lin Jingshang.
Lin Jingshang handed over the box, a little embarrassed: "Happy birthday in advance. I didn't know what you liked, so... I just bought it randomly."
Xie Dang took the box and opened it.
He paused for a moment when he saw the cover of the out-of-print book and the set of tools. He picked up the book, flipped through a few pages, and gently stroked the pages with his fingertips.
He looked up at Lin Jingshang, his voice lower: "This book is hard to find."
"It's alright, it took a bit of effort," Lin Jingshang said casually, his ears slightly red.
Xie Dang put down the book, picked up the tool set, carefully examined the specifications, then looked at Lin Jingshang and said very seriously, "Thank you, this is a very nice gift."
Lin Jingshang was overjoyed and grinned, "If you like it, that's all that matters!"
Xie Dang looked at his smile, remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly turned and walked towards the study. After a while, he came out with a well-packaged box and handed it to Lin Jingshang.
"Here you go." He said calmly.
Lin Jingshang was stunned: "Give it to me? It's not my birthday today..."
"Mm," Xie Dang responded, "a return gift."
Lin Jingshang was somewhat amused and exasperated: "Who sends a birthday gift in advance?"
Logically, it is reasonable to reciprocate a gift received.
Lin Jingshang took the box and opened it. Inside was a light-colored cashmere sweater, soft to the touch and with a simple design; he recognized the brand.
"This... is too valuable..." He was a little at a loss.
Xie Dang looked at him and said, "The size should be right, and the color suits you too."
Lin Jingshang stroked the soft wool, his heart warmed to the core. Xie Dang said he didn't need it, but he not only remembered that Lin Jingshang had complained about a sweater pilling, but he also knew exactly what size Lin Jingshang wore and what color suited him best.
"Thank you..." he said softly, hugging the sweater to his chest.
Without any system notification, the two people, who are not very good at expressing themselves, tried their best to give each other the best things in their own way to make each other happy.
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