Fire
"Chen Peiyuan, let me go first."
You really felt like you were suffocating; Chen Peiyuan's grip was terrifyingly strong.
More and more people gathered around, countless eyes staring at you, giving you the feeling of running naked in the street. You gritted your teeth inwardly, thinking, "Who would have thought I'd feel like this one day?" Then you glared at the wall of flesh in front of you, having also experienced this feeling thanks to this person.
“If I let go, you’ll run away again. This is the third time you’ve avoided me. If I let go, you’ll run away again.”
What? What do you mean a third time? What do you mean you'll run away? You're not that kind of person!
"I'm not that kind of person!" You blushed, biting your lip as you glared at him, inwardly retorting that this was simply a false accusation against you.
He stares at you silently with his dog-like eyes, his grip remaining firm.
Feeling envious of his gaze, you turned your head away, pushed your hands away, and humiliatingly admitted your actions, "Okay, I, I won't run away this time." Seeing that he still didn't do anything, you raised your head and glared at him, extending your arm that he was holding by the wrist, "If you don't believe me, just keep holding me like this, and see if I run away or not."
Chen Peiyuan stared at you quietly for a long time, making your back feel cold and sweaty, before you finally agreed.
And so, under everyone's curious gazes, you dragged Chen Peiyuan forward, one person's hands held by the other's, the two of you moving forward face to face, in a strange posture, amidst people's strange looks, you returned to the office.
You've become numb.
You dare not think about what image you have in other people's eyes, but you must know that you have completely lost face, and what is even more numb is that your hand is still being held tightly by the man.
"Now you can relax, right, Chen Peiyuan?" You bit your lower lip and glared at him, annoyed. You'd already gone through such an embarrassing ordeal with him, so he should finally be relieved now.
The man then slowly released his hand, sat on the sofa, covered his head, and remained silent.
You rubbed your wrist, hissing in pain. Looking at the two red marks on your hand, you knew how much force he had used to hold you. Now, seeing him sitting on the sofa looking so pitiful, anyone who didn't know better would think he was the victim.
You sat angrily on the other sofa, arms crossed, head turned to one side, not saying a word, displaying a stubbornness that you wouldn't speak unless he did.
It wasn't your fault, you frowned and looked out the window. The sunlight shone on the glass reflector of the office building across the street, straight as a ruler, moving downwards little by little. Your gaze also moved downwards little by little. In the quiet room, there were only two breaths, one after the other, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Strangely, in this atmosphere, you calmed down. You miraculously calmed your emotions, and your mind started racing. Although running away and avoiding him was indeed wrong of you, as adults, you always believed that private matters should be kept separate from business matters, and everything should be discussed separately. You would never embarrass each other in public. Today, he suddenly appeared near your company at this time and behaved so inappropriately, which was very inconsistent with his usual behavior. You secretly glanced at him, and he was still sitting there covering his head. Was he crying?
"Hey, are you alright, Chen Peiyuan?"
Seeing that he still ignored you, the image of him hiding from you and secretly crying in your mind became stronger and stronger. You began to feel uneasy and walked towards him. When you stood in front of him, he was still unmoved. You quickly shook him, trying to see if he was actually crying.
"You're not crying, are you, Chen Peiyuan?"
"I haven't even said that it was me who made you look so embarrassed just now. I haven't even had a chance to make you feel wronged, but you're already acting like you're the one who's wronged."
"Okay, okay, I admit I was wrong, but you also made mistakes. Is it all my fault?"
You tugged at his clothes and shook him, once, twice, three times. When you couldn't get through, you decided to squat down and tilt your head to see if he was really sad. As soon as you lowered your head, you saw the corners of his mouth turn up, his eyes sparkling. He looked at you with a mischievous smile under his arm, and there was no trace of tears.
You've been tricked! Just as you were about to stand up angrily after realizing he was lying to you, he pulled you forward.
"Ah, what are you doing?" you screamed as he grabbed you. In your panic, you saw his face growing larger and larger in front of you. You quickly closed your eyes and turned your head to avoid colliding with him, while simultaneously spreading your arms out to grab onto something for support.
But it was still too fast. You closed your eyes tightly and felt yourself crash into a springy object in the darkness. Your ears were pressed tightly against it, and in the quiet surroundings, you could hear your own heart pounding.
No, beneath the heartbeat was an even faster heartbeat.
You opened your eyes and met his.
Her eyes, which were always smiling, looked unusually sad today.
Looking at his reddened eyes, you can't help but think, "I really want to give him some eye drops. Protecting our eyes is everyone's responsibility."
You sigh inwardly, thinking how even such beautiful eyes get eye boogers in the morning, which is truly comforting.
The man doesn't know what you're thinking; he only knows that you're looking at him as if you're moved by his acting, and he immediately presses his advantage.
"I'm sorry, Lanlan, I just... didn't want you to leave." The man looked at you sadly, tears streaming down his face.
You shove him away, stand up, and look at his exaggerated expression. Your body trembles; you're disgusted by him.
"That's enough." You made a crossed-hand gesture to show him, and then made a gesture to get out, meaning that if he didn't stop making these exaggerated expressions, he should get out right now.
Seeing that you were serious, he immediately stopped crying, straightened his back, placed his hands on his knees, and sat up straight.
You slightly tilt your head up, and his effortless movement suggests he's used it on many people before. As for who it was, perhaps it was his ex-girlfriend, a thought that inexplicably makes you feel a little uncomfortable.
So annoying, so annoying lately. You turn to your office chair, your face expressionless as you walk, as if your mood, which had just improved, has suddenly soured again.
Little did I know, things were going to get even worse.
"My store is also having problems."
Chen Peiyuan poured himself a cup of tea, took a small sip, and felt the warm tea, fragrant and smooth, flow down his throat, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. He comfortably squinted his eyes. Good tea.
"Also?" You noticed the word he used and frowned at him.
What does "也" mean? It refers to two events that occur within a short period of time, one after the other. Could it be...?
After thinking it over and over, you tapped your pen on the table, once, twice.
"Is it the same type of business as ours?"
He grinned, showing all eight of his teeth, and snapped his fingers at you. "You got it right. No problem, I solved it." Then he added, "Too bad there's no little gift for a correct answer." He shrugged regretfully.
You rolled your eyes at him, as if no one cared about his gift.
"Idiot, your smile is so silly." Seeing his indifferent attitude, you felt a surge of anger and couldn't help but snap at him.
"I refuse Lanlan's personal attacks." Chen Peiyuan smiled and refused your attack, but a few seconds later his face turned into a crying face. He clenched his fists and placed them on both sides of his cheeks, and even made a fake crying sound. "I'm already so miserable, and Lanlan still wants to kick me when I'm down. My life is so bitter."
He's such a drama queen; you can feel the veins throbbing in your forehead. Looking at him, you might feel an urge to punch him in the face.
You try to calm yourself down, telling yourself it's not worth it, it's not worth risking your life for someone like that.
"Then why did you come to see me at this time?" And why put on that kind of show in a place like that.
Yes, what you did in that situation was a performance. Chen Peiyuan sent you a message last night, "Lanlan, I'm coming to see you tomorrow afternoon around 3 pm. I need you to cooperate with me in acting."
This strange text message leaves you completely baffled. What does it mean to play along with his act? What does it mean to reply to him immediately? He stammers and says you'll find out tomorrow, he'll tell you tomorrow.
As a result, what you get is this incredibly frustrating scene.
The thought of how he almost strangled you to death made the veins on your forehead bulge even more, and the fire in your heart turned into three, as if your breath was on fire.
Seeing your angry face, as if you wanted to tear him apart, Chen Peiyuan carefully smiled and said, "There's a reason, there's a reason, Lanlan, don't be angry, I'll tell you, I'll tell you right now."
"I am misleading the enemy."
"Confused?" You were stunned when you heard this, and you repeated it blankly.
"Yes, yes, Lanlan, I've found something out these past few days. I discovered that the people causing trouble are a group, but not a single one." Chen Peiyuan sat on the sofa, his arms outstretched on either side, looking quite comfortable.
His words left you completely confused, your brow furrowed. What did he mean by "they are one group but not the same group"?
Seeing that you didn't understand, he continued, "It means there's more than one person behind them, it could be two, or even three." As he spoke, he held up two fingers, then three.
"I checked, and the store with the most recent incidents and customer complaints happens to be one of yours and mine. Once or twice is an accident, but three, four, or five times, after a while, you and I both know that it's no longer an accident." He winked at you and said casually.
This is called being artificial; you sit in the chair with a gloomy face, not saying a word.
Lately, you've been incredibly busy, with problems occurring frequently even in places where they shouldn't be happening. You check repeatedly but can't find a single trace of human error. Just when you finish fixing one problem, another one pops up. It's as if the system is targeting your schedule. This is why you're always leaving early and returning late, and you're forced to rest near the company.
"Have you found out who it is?" You looked at him, your eyes filled with a strange emotion.
It was an unnamed fire, burning away your reason.
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