Chapter 2
Chen Yan's words, "You are in the corner, smiling the quietest," were like a stone thrown into the center of a lake, startling Lin Qi on the other end of the phone.
She looked at the chat log and seemed to be able to imagine the calmness in his deep eyes when he said this. This was not a simple compliment, but more like a calm observation and summary.
She couldn't help but laugh, her fingertips jumping lightly on the screen.
[Lin Qi: Of course it's better to be quiet in the corner.]
After she finished speaking, she added a smirking emoticon with her hands covering her mouth at the end of the sentence, dissolving his slightly serious observation with a playful touch.
Seeing the expression she sent and the slightly sly explanation, Chen Yan seemed to be able to imagine her expression when she said this through the screen. It should be her eyebrows curved, with a little bit of pride.
He appreciated the intelligence that easily picked up on what he threw out and made the atmosphere more cheerful.
The dialog box was silent for a moment. He did not join in the laughter, but moved his fingertips slightly and uttered a sentence that seemed to have a deeper meaning.
【Chen Yan: But the corner position gives the clearest view.】
This sentence was like a code word, and also like a test. He wanted to see how she would respond.
Lin Qi's response was almost immediate and completely beyond his expectations.
Lin Qi: I see. It suddenly occurred to me that no wonder teachers loved asking students in the corner to answer questions back in school. You've solved a mystery for me, haha.
Seeing this reply, the corners of Chen Yan's lips curved very slightly.
She cleverly picked up on his rather profound words, drawing inferences from them and using a joke from their school days to steer the conversation in a more lighthearted and interesting direction. This reaction amused him greatly.
He naturally followed her line of thought and continued this little "debate".
【Chen Yan: Not necessarily.】
[Chen Yan: What the teacher can see clearly might be small movements in the corner.]
After the message was sent, the dialog box fell into silence for a long time.
One minute, two minutes... five minutes passed.
Chen Yan's phone interface was still stuck on the conversation with her. He looked at the message he had sent, then glanced at the time in the upper right corner of the screen. It was already past eleven o'clock in the evening.
Five minutes of silence is not short for a late-night chat.
He didn't think his joke had offended her; it was just a harmless teasing. He was more inclined to think that perhaps the back-and-forth between them had left her at a loss for words. Or perhaps she was simply tired, or perhaps even had fallen asleep with her phone in her hand.
No matter which possibility it was, he didn't want to embarrass her, nor did he want to disturb her rest.
So, he took the initiative and thoughtfully put an end to tonight's conversation.
【Chen Yan: Okay, I won’t tease you anymore.】
[Chen Yan: It's getting late, go to bed early. Good evening.]
Not long after the message was sent, her reply popped up.
【Lin Qi: Well, good night】
Seeing her relaxed reply, especially the soft, upward-sounding "la" at the end of the sentence, Chen Yan knew that tonight's conversation had ended in a good atmosphere. The slight uncertainty in his heart also disappeared.
He didn't reply, because "good night" should be the end of a conversation.
He placed his phone on the bedside table, and the room darkened completely. The sound of rain outside the window seemed to fade, and the night was gentle. This time, their conversation was deeper and more interesting than their first meeting. He discovered that the girl smiling quietly in the corner had a soul far more intelligent and lively than he had imagined.
Two days passed smoothly.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, there was no contact between them. Chen Yan did not send any more messages, and neither did Lin Qi.
This is an unspoken understanding between adults. Each of them has busy work and life, and the initial stage of communication, with a leisurely pace, neither puts pressure on others nor allows them to maintain a sense of presence.
Chen Yan was very patient and was waiting for a more appropriate time.
It was Thursday afternoon, a typical workday. The sun was shining brightly, and the office was filled with the gentle sounds of keyboards tapping and pages turning. After finishing an urgent document, Chen Yan, coffee in hand, stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window.
He looked at the bustling street scene downstairs, and without warning, the image of Lin Qi appeared in his mind again.
He suddenly remembered that on the night they first met, when they were talking about their favorite cities, she had casually mentioned that she liked the old photos of Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s, especially the light and shadow captured by a photographer named Fan Ho.
It was just a topic that was mentioned briefly, drowned out by the noise of everyone else's conversation, and almost no one cared.
But he remembered it.
An idea slowly took shape in his mind.
He returned to his seat, took out his cell phone, and opened the dialog box that he was already very familiar with.
He thought for a moment and sent a polite opening statement.
[Chen Yan: Excuse me for interrupting. I suddenly remembered something.]
He didn't wait for her reply, but immediately revealed his intentions, leaving her no room for guesswork. This was his usual style: direct, efficient, and considerate.
[Chen Yan: Didn't we talk about the photographer Fan Ho at dinner earlier? I remember you said you really liked the Hong Kong he captured.]
[Chen Yan: There's a film festival commemorating him, and it's on its last two days this weekend. A friend just happened to give me two tickets.]
He laid everything out so naturally. A shared interest, a chance encounter, a ready-made ticket. Everything seemed like a coincidence that came together at the perfect time.
He laid all the groundwork and finally, in the gentlest and least pressured tone, issued the final invitation.
【Chen Yan: I wonder if you are interested? 】
After sending the message, he placed his phone upside down on the table and started dealing with other work.
He had already done what he was supposed to do. All that was left was to wait.
This time, during the waiting time, there was a hint of expectation that he himself had not even noticed.
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