Silent companionship
Lin Jingshang didn't tell Xie Dang this time that he could handle it himself, as he was working overtime tonight. He was alone in the office again.
After finishing his work, he took out the old fountain pen and a piece of white paper. He tried drawing a few lines on the paper; the nib was smooth and the ink flowed evenly—it was a very good pen.
He recalled the pen Xie Dang was using now—expensive and impressive. This old fountain pen, perhaps, had long been forgotten in a corner of his memory.
Lin Jingshang held the pen, hesitating for a long time.
Should I return it to him? What reason should I give? Should I say I found it in the archives? Would that seem like me meddling?
In the end, he still did not return it to Xie Dang in person.
The next morning, a black fountain pen had quietly appeared on Xie Dang's desk, next to the pen holder of that expensive ballpoint pen. It was spotless and stood there quietly.
After Xie Dang finished the morning meeting and returned to his office, his gaze immediately fell on the fountain pen.
He stopped in his tracks, stood by the table, and stared at the pen for a long time.
Then, he reached out, picked it up, and gently stroked the tiny scratch on the cap with his fingertips, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes. He put the old fountain pen back into the pen holder, placing it next to the pen he was using now.
In the afternoon, Lin Jingshang received a message, which was a photo.
The photo shows Xie Dang's hand, with its distinct knuckles, holding a pen and writing fluently at the signature section of a document—it was that old black fountain pen.
The photo was captioned with just two words: "[Easy to use]".
Lin Jingshang looked at the message and the familiar hand holding the pen in the photo, and couldn't help but smile, his heart feeling gently filled. Xie Dang recognized the pen.
---
The company's central air conditioning system is undergoing its annual maintenance, which has caused unstable power supply in some areas. The administration department has issued a notice reminding everyone that elevators may experience occasional brief outages, but there is no need to panic.
Lin Jingshang didn't take it too seriously. That afternoon, he returned from the printing room carrying a stack of newly printed documents and stepped into the elevator leading to his floor.
He was the only person in the elevator.
The door closed slowly, and after ascending less than two floors, the overhead lights flickered a few times before going out completely. The running noise stopped abruptly, the car swayed slightly, and came to a stop in mid-air, with the emergency lights dimly glowing.
Lin Jingshang's heart skipped a beat.
Seriously? You really ran into one?
He pressed the emergency call button, and a broken voice came from the security room, saying that the circuit had tripped and the maintenance personnel were already handling it, and it was expected to be restored in a few minutes.
Lin Jingshang leaned against the cold elevator wall and sighed.
It wasn't that I was scared, I just felt a bit unlucky, and the stack of documents in my arms was quite heavy.
He took out his phone to check for a signal, only to find it had no signal at all. He was cut off from the outside world.
Just as he resigned himself to his fate and continued to wait, the internal phone in the elevator suddenly rang. Internal company phones are theoretically unaffected by external power supply.
Lin Jingshang answered the phone with a puzzled look: "Hello?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a voice he knew all too well spoke: "Lin Jingshang?"
Lin Jingshang was stunned: "President Xie? What's wrong...?"
"The monitoring room saw you enter this elevator." Xie Dang spoke slightly faster than usual. "What happened?"
"I'm fine, it's just a power outage. The security guard said they're fixing it," Lin Jingshang quickly replied.
He was a little surprised. Xie Dang was actually in the monitoring room? And he even made a special call?
"Mmm," Xie Dang responded, and one could almost hear his soft breathing on the other end of the phone.
"Don't be afraid."
These two words were spoken quickly and softly, reaching Lin Jingshang's ears. He felt a strange stirring in his heart, and his fingers tightened their grip on the microphone.
"...I wasn't afraid."
There was silence on the other end of the phone again. Xie Dang did not hang up. A faint static could be heard from the receiver. The silence was not unbearable.
Lin Jingshang could imagine Xie Dang looking like this: standing in front of the monitor screen, his brows furrowed, staring intently at the elevator image frozen on a certain floor.
“Mr. Xie,” Lin Jingshang suddenly remembered something and broke the silence, “I put the marker you left with me in the second drawer on your left.”
It's the one used for the team building activity where you play charades.
Xie Dang seemed to pause for a moment before answering, "...I understand."
Another silence followed.
"I've almost finished the lemon candy," he suddenly said.
Lin Jingshang was taken aback for a moment: "Huh? Oh... I'll go buy a new one tomorrow."
There wasn't much sugar left in the jar.
"No need, I've already ordered it," Xie Dang said.
Lin Jingshang: "...Oh."
They even ordered sugar directly; does that mean they want a long-term supply?
Just then, the overhead lights suddenly turned on, and the elevator made a soft running sound as it slowly ascended.
"The phone is back on," Lin Jingshang said.
"Okay, send a message when you arrive."
"good."
The call ended.
The elevator smoothly arrived at Lin Jingshang's floor, and the doors slowly opened. A colleague peered out curiously and asked, "Are you alright?"
Lin Jingshang shook his head, carrying the documents as he stepped out of the elevator. He immediately took out his phone and sent Xie Dang a message: 【Arrived.】
Almost simultaneously with his message, Xie Dang's reply appeared: "Hmm."
There is only one word.
Lin Jingshang looked at the "hmm" and recalled the quick and soft "Don't be afraid" on the phone earlier, as well as the call that ran through the entire fault process. The silence was reassuring. He smiled to himself and walked to his workstation with the documents in his arms.
Lin Jingshang's lunch break became regular at some point.
He no longer squeezed into the noisy staff canteen with his colleagues, nor did he take a nap at his workstation. Every noon, he would take his lunch and head to the terrace next to the president's office, which connected to the fire escape.
This terrace is secluded and rarely visited. It has a few potted plants, two chairs, and a great view of the city in the distance.
My first visit here was purely by chance.
That day, he just wanted to find a quiet place to eat a sandwich, and by chance, he discovered this place. He had barely sat down when the fire door next to him opened, and Xie Dang walked in with a cup of coffee.
The two looked at each other and were both stunned for a moment.
Xie Dangxian reacted first, nodded slightly to him, walked to another chair and sat down, silently drinking his coffee and looking into the distance.
Lin Jingshang felt a little embarrassed, as if he had invaded someone else's private space. He finished his sandwich in a few bites and got up to leave.
"It's well-ventilated here," Xie Dang suddenly said, making a seemingly unrelated remark.
Lin Jingshang paused in his steps.
Xie Dang continued looking into the distance, adding, "Comparing offices."
Lin Jingshang understood what he meant. This wasn't anyone's private territory; he was just here to get some fresh air.
So he stayed.
From then on, during lunch breaks, as long as the weather was nice, the two of them would always appear on this small terrace one after the other.
Most of the time, they don't talk.
Xie Dang usually carries a cup of black coffee, sometimes uses his tablet to handle emails, but more often sits quietly, as if spacing out. Lin Jingshang eats sandwiches or bento boxes, occasionally scrolls through his phone, or simply stares blankly.
The warm sunshine bathed them, and a gentle breeze blew by. They each occupied a chair, a short distance apart, like two ships temporarily anchored in the same harbor.
That day, Lin Jingshang brought a mystery novel he had borrowed from the company's book corner. He was so engrossed in reading it that he didn't even notice when Xie Dang sat down.
He turned a page, frowned, and muttered under his breath, "This alibi is too far-fetched..."
"Time," came Xie Dang's calm voice from the side.
Lin Jingshang was startled and looked up from the book.
Xie Dang's gaze fell on the distant buildings, holding that familiar cup of black coffee in his hand.
"The murderer used time differences and communication delays to create an alibi. The book ignores the waiting time for international calls to connect, which is enough time to complete the crucial action."
Lin Jingshang was stunned. He looked down at the book in his hand, then looked at Xie Dang: "President Xie...you've read this book too?"
"No," Xie Dang replied, finally turning his head to look at the pages of the book in his hand. "I guessed. This kind of trick is commonly used."
Lin Jingshang: "..."
Well, top students' minds are indeed different from ordinary people's.
He followed Xie Dang's line of thought and realized that it was indeed the case, and suddenly found the plot of the book boring.
Now that you've said that, it seems like there's no suspense left.
Xie Dang took a sip of coffee and didn't say anything.
After a while, Lin Jingshang was about to put the book away when Xie Dang suddenly spoke up: "May I take a look?"
Lin Jingshang was somewhat surprised and handed the book over.
Xie Dang took it, but didn't look at the contents. He just glanced at the cover and the synopsis before handing it back to him: "The writing is passable, but the logic is flawed. I don't recommend spending too much time on it."
Lin Jingshang took the book and couldn't help but laugh: "President Xie, is this considered a spoiler?"
Xie Dang's eyebrows twitched slightly: "State the facts."
Lin Jingshang was in a strangely good mood. He put away his book, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the distant sky.
The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was gentle, and there was someone sitting next to me. Even without saying a word, I didn't feel uncomfortable.
"How about we try that new Japanese casual dining place downstairs tomorrow? I heard their tamagoyaki is pretty good," Xie Dang suddenly said.
Lin Jingshang turned his head to look at him.
Xie Dang's gaze remained fixed ahead.
Lin Jingshang's lips curved into a smile as he turned back to look ahead.
"Okay," he replied softly.
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