The Southern Publishing House headquarters building, the Modern and Contemporary Spanish Literature Translation and Editing Department is located on the 33rd floor. Chen Youhan knocked on the desk in a graceful manner: "Hello, looking for Du Tang."
"Editor-in-Chief Du is not here today. We suggest you make an appointment another day." The receptionist smiled and rejected him. It seemed that she was used to helping Du Tang reject people.
Chen Youhan held out a business card between his fingers: "Inside line, read it."
The tone was completely commanding, but the casual smile on his face made it hard to refuse. The receptionist picked up the phone as if possessed by a ghost: "Editor-in-Chief Du, I'm sorry to bother you, there is a... Mr. Chen... Mr. Chen Youhan, the president of GC Business Group, who said--" The receptionist was interrupted before she could finish her words, and she repeated in a daze: "Let him in, right? Okay."
"I'll take you in." The receptionist put down the business card, led Chen Youhan through the messy but relatively orderly editorial department, and knocked on the glass door with the nameplate of the editor-in-chief's office.
"Come in." The voice inside was deep and clear, with a metallic texture. Just by listening to the voice, you would not guess that he was in his early thirties.
The door was pushed open.
Chen Youhan put one hand in his trouser pocket, calmed down for a moment, and walked in.
The two-meter-wide desk was filled with piles of books and papers that were almost half a person's height. The sheepskin-soled shoes stepped on the carpet silently. After a while, an expressionless face rose from behind the pile of old papers. He wore black-framed myopic glasses and glanced at Chen Youhan quickly: "Sit down." Then he lowered his head again. He held a pen in his hand and was writing something on a stack of white paper.
In the large office bathed in afternoon sunlight, the only sound was the rustling of pens.
Chen Youhan's eyes swept across the built-in solid wood glass bookshelf that ran across the entire wall behind him. It was full of books, foreign language books and dictionaries, and some trophies, medals and certificates were stuffed carelessly on the top. Chen Youhan's gaze lasted for five seconds, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm sorry for the delay," he said.
Pop.
The pen was pressed down, Du Tang pushed his glasses up, pushed open his office chair and stood up. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt and seemed to be a little taller than Chen Youhan. The reception area was next to the French window. He walked over first, but did not sit down. He made tea for him at the water bar and said indifferently, "Long time no see."
It’s been a long time.
It seems like only a month
Chen Youhan vaguely estimated, more than ten years? He couldn't even remember.
He took out a cigarette box and handed him a cigarette. Du Tang waved his hand neatly, saying, "I'm quitting."
Chen Youhan raised his eyebrows slightly and took a cigarette himself: "Editor-in-Chief Du's office won't ban smoking, right?"
"No, you are an exception."
Chen Youhan bit the cigarette holder, lowered his head, smiled silently and shook his head. The smoke dispersed in the air, and he sighed softly: "You are really good at hiding."
"How did you find it?"
"Your son," Chen Youhan tapped off the ash from his cigarette, and laughed when he thought about it, "Did he ask you to sign autographs for his classmates?"
Du Tang's indifferent expression relaxed a little, and then he laughed: "You recognized me from my signature?"
Chen Youhan spread his hands with deep regret, as if he had finally won a subtle victory in a long-running game by cheating. Du Tang finally took two steps towards him, stretched out his arms and hugged Chen Youhan like a brother, and said lightly: "Sorry, Youhan."
This apology contained too many known, unknown, unspoken, and well-known meanings. Chen Youhan held a cigarette in one hand, raised one hand to hug back, and patted Du Tang's shoulder: "Come on, I can't stand you being so annoying all of a sudden."
Du Tang curled his lips, regained his expressionless face, and said ruthlessly: "I still have work to do."
This was a subtle and quick way to get rid of him. Chen Youhan was speechless: "You really haven't changed at all."
"Shi Yi is studying at Tianyi, I won't run away." Du Tangfu put on his glasses again and walked towards the office door.
"You were—"
"Xiao Yi is Shi Wen's son." Du Tang said this before opening the door. His tone was repellent, but there was a hint of helplessness: "Don't ask anymore. The matter has been resolved. The less you know, the better."
This was truly the fastest meeting in history, not even enough time to finish a cigarette. Chen Youhan put out the long cigarette butt in the clean ashtray, took a business card from the table in a familiar manner, half-raised his hand and said to Du Tang, "See you later."
Chen Youhan felt aggrieved about the meeting that was over ten years late. He asked Qiao Chu to drink with him in the evening. Qiao Chu was also shocked when he heard this. He was just watching the fun and gloating: "I didn't get my crush, but my white moonlight appeared again. What kind of experience is this?"
Chen Youhan smiled and rubbed his brows: "If you don't ask me, all I can think about is why he is with Shi Wen's child."
"Ah," Qiao Chu was a little surprised, "You, don't you have any feelings for the old times? Your heart or something, doesn't feel thumping? A dead tree coming back to life? A dead tree revives? A thousand trees bloom before a dead tree?"
Chen Youhan: "...Is it amazing that my son ranked first in the high school entrance exam?"
Qiao Chu said modestly: "Okay, okay."
"No." Chen Youhan said coldly.
Qiao Chu was immediately disappointed: "Boring, I find you are boring right now. But I have a good idea," he approached Chen Youhan, "You haven't succeeded in pursuing him yet, how about using Du Tang to stimulate him?"
What a stupid idea! Chen Youhan wanted to curse, but suddenly realized something. He glanced at his phone which had been silent all night, and his expression changed subtly.
Qiao Chu observed him carefully, and saw him pick up his phone and open WeChat. The page was clean and there were no unread messages. He put out his cigarette, opened the top dialog box, and typed in -
"Have you seen enough?" Chen Youhan smiled, "Do you want me to cast the screen to you for a live broadcast?"
Qiao Chu cursed and turned to patrol the second floor.
It was 10:30 pm, and it was past lights-out time. Chen Youhan typed, and started with a very subtle statement: Are you asleep?
Ye Kai didn't sleep, and spent almost the whole afternoon and night waiting for this vibration, but when the message really came, he didn't want to reply. Chen Youhan's last expression was very clear. He didn't need to ask, he knew that Du Tang was the person he had been looking for.
Seeing that he didn't move, Chen Youhan thought he had fallen asleep, so he didn't send any more messages. After chatting with Qiao Chu all night, he remembered to send another message at about twelve o'clock: Good night.
The brightness of the phone screen startled Shi Yi, and he whispered, "So you weren't asleep either." He turned over in bed and said, "I'm so hungry. I'll have some instant noodles."
He jumped off the bed in two or three steps, tore open the seasoning packet, poured hot water, and waited anxiously while leaning on a stool. Ye Kai also went down, poured himself a cup of hot water, and asked, "Do you have a photo of your father?"
Shi Yi blinked in confusion: "Are you such a fan of him?"
Ye Kai: "...If you say so, then so be it."
Shi Yi flipped through the photo album on his phone: "That's a bit much..."
——Although he took all the photos secretly.
Ye Kai looked at the two photos and handed the phone back to him expressionlessly.
No wonder Chen Youhan used to like the iceberg type.
...But this is too fucking aggressive!
After the evening study session on Friday, Chen Youhan called on time: "Three good students, do you want to get your books?"
There were still three or five students left in the class. Ye Kai was collecting papers, not in a hurry. He said perfunctorily, "Hmm," and said, "Maybe another day."
Chen Youhan smiled: "I knew you would say that."
Then I heard a knock on the classroom door.
Ye Kai looked up and saw Chen Youhan wearing a white shirt, with his dark green tie loosened by him. He kept knocking on the door with his fingers and raised his eyebrows: "Is get out of class over?"
There was no need for Ye Kai to answer. The others had all seen Chen Youhan before, and they all said in unison, "He left early!"
Chen Youhan asked casually, like a senior who was not doing his job properly: "Why don't you go home after class?"
Now it was lively, with boos and whistles coming one after another: "No one answered!"
"I want to go home in a Lamborghini, too!"
Ye Kai put on his schoolbag: "If you recognize him as your brother, you will have everything you want."
The room was silent for a moment, and the high school students all said in unison:
"elder brother!!!!"
Three or five people shouted in a shocking manner. Chen Youhan gentlemanly took Ye Kai's arm and walked out, while ruthlessly saying: "The Lamborghini is full. I will pick you up next time I get a Fuxing train."
"cut--"
The remaining sound echoed in the empty corridor.
The two walked through the classrooms of Class 2 and Class 1, passed through the large office of the grade group, and turned to go downstairs. Chen Youhan took his hand.
"Go ahead and do something if you agree." Ye Kai sneered lazily, but he didn't move his hands.
Chen Youhan only held it loosely. It would only take him a few seconds to pull it back. He hooked his fingers together and said, "I'm heartbroken. I'll give you a heads up."
The campus was very quiet near 9:30. Most people had gone home, and the remaining students who stayed overnight were also attending their last evening self-study class. The night at the end of October was already slightly cooler, and the lights made the shadows of the royal poinciana trees slender and dense, and the shadows of the two people walking side by side were stretched out. In the shadow, the left hand and the right hand were connected.
There was a long way from the teaching building to the parking lot at the gate. Suddenly, the wind started to blow. Chen Youhan pulled out his hand and hugged Ye Kai. He was only wearing a school uniform polo shirt with short sleeves. Chen Youhan half hugged him, and his arms and chest were burning.
Neither of them spoke. When they met the teacher on the road, Chen Youhan did not withdraw his hand. Ye Kai calmly said "Hello, teacher". The other party also asked: "Is your brother here to take you home?"
As soon as the teacher left, I don't know who couldn't help laughing first. Walking slowly, as if taking a walk on campus, Chen Youhan looked up at the moon, which was bright.
Who knew that today it was not a Lamborghini, but an Aston Martin hardtop DBS. Ye Jin had asked Chen Youhan to borrow it for a few days. The lead-gray, agile shape looked like a predator ready to attack in the night. The extremely mediocre light and shadow also revealed its luxury and elegance. It was obvious at a glance that it was Chen Youhan's car.
The roar was loud in the night, and we drove all the way to Linjiang Avenue, with the river on one side and the sea on the other. There were bars along the pier. Chen Youhan stopped the car at the beach and threw the complete set of Du Tang's signed works to Ye Kai: "All ready."
There are thirteen books in total. Considering his age, this achievement can be said to be the result of hard work.
"Did you ask him to sign it?"
Chen Youhan did not shy away from the question: "We met once and talked about the past."
Ye Kai asked: "When you see him, can you still remember how you felt when you were seventeen?"
Chen Youhan lit a cigarette, was silent for a moment, and smiled silently: "How should I put it? My memory is not very good." He stared at Ye Kai's lowered face and said gently: "I can only remember what a person looked like when he was seventeen years old."
His slender fingers rested on the matte cover, and Ye Kai's eyes suddenly became hot. Chen Youhan got out of the car and opened the door for him personally. The two walked up the stone embankment one after the other.
The noise of the bar gradually disappeared behind them. The sea was filled with changing neon lights. Chen Youhan's voice was calm and low in the night: "Xiao Kai, I have never dated anyone. If there is anything I did not do well, you have to tell me."
Ye Kai was wearing his suit, and the faint smell of his perfume filled the air. This sentence, like his body temperature and breath, made him nervous, and he stammered, "I didn't promise you..."
Chen Youhan dusted off his cigarette ashes, smiled and adjusted his words: "I have never seriously pursued anyone. If I pursue someone in the wrong way, you have to tell me, otherwise I will fail."
"You treated him..."
"I confessed my feelings to him and liked him, but it wasn't a serious pursuit. When I confessed my feelings to him, he was reading a foreign novel - his English was very good at that time. After listening to me, he didn't even raise his head and said, 'I know.'"
Ye Kai couldn't help laughing, and after laughing he savored the taste of lemon: "You remember it so clearly."
"It was very clear, because we fought afterwards."
Ye Kai laughed so hard that his shoulders trembled: "Did you win?"
"Both of us lost, and each of us had to write a 3,000-word self-criticism. He was an excellent student, and it was the first time for him to write a self-criticism in his life, so I won."
"Don't you have any regrets about him?"
Chen Youhan stopped. The wind was stronger at the seaside, and Ye Kai had to hold the collar of his suit with both hands. His soft black hair was messed up by the wind, but his eyes were very clear. Chen Youhan liked his eyes very much, which were smart, proud, self-sustaining, and peaceful. There was no hostility or impurities, just pure and clear. Sometimes he would think that Qu Jia was not bad.
Chen Youhan never had the heart to lie to such a look.
The shirt was blown against his chest by the wind, and his back was bulging. He had a kind of unrestrained and unrestrained temperament. He put one hand in his pocket, stroked his hair, and said with a smile: "You will regret if you like someone, but if you don't like someone anymore, you will only feel relieved."
Ye Kai later met Du Tang once at a parent-teacher conference for the final exam. At school, Shi Yi was taking him back to school. It was Shi Yi who saw Ye Kai first, waved at him, and shouted his name. Ye Kai had just come out of the newly built library, waved at Ye Kai, and saw the tall man next to him.
He has an iceberg-like temperament, but he is dressed in a bookish way, wearing a Morandi light green round-neck sweater over a white shirt, looking like a serious senior.
Shi Yi introduced very considerately: "Du Tang, this is Ye Kai who asked you for an autograph before."
From the Ye family.
Du Tang extended his hand, a social courtesy to adults. Ye Kai shook hands with him: "Hello, Teacher Du."
Very smart. Du Tang thought calmly, distracted a little and recalled the day when Chen Youhan asked him to have afternoon tea. He mentioned Xiaoyi's roommate and asked him to sign an extra set of names. Chen Youhan's expression was very gentle when he mentioned him, the kind of silent and untraceable gentleness. Du Tang signed very seriously, and asked after signing: "Xiaoyi's roommate is from the Ye family, are you serious?"
Chen Youhan raised his eyes: "Did you figure it out?"
Du Tang said coldly: "It's not difficult to see it, but it's difficult not to see it."
"Seriously." Chen Youhan finally answered him.
Du Tang came back to his senses, his eyes lingering on Ye Kai's face. The clean, restrained nobility reminded him of Yeats's prose, which was natural, unobtrusive and light. He was just wondering if Ye Kai would call him brother or uncle, after all, it would be confusing to call him by his generation. He didn't expect him to call him Teacher Du. Chen Youhan's eyesight was not very good, but this time he was very good. It's just that the road is a bit narrow.
He seldom smiled, but at this moment he smiled gently at Ye Kai and greeted him distantly, his voice was particularly pleasant: "Hello, Xiaoyi has caused you trouble."
"Teacher Du, you are too polite. Shi Yi took care of me more in the dormitory." After a pause, he said, "Thank you for signing for me last time."
Du Tang curled his lips and asked, "Which line do you like best in Neruda's Love Poems?"
"I haven't finished reading it yet, I only remember one sentence--" Ye Kai looked at the plum blossoms. They bloomed really early, but they were already very lively in January. The white flowers on the tree were clustered on the branches, and fell to the ground when the wind blew. He looked away and recited a poem in standard Spanish pronunciation: "-You are my daily dream."
“Good sentence.”
After saying goodbye politely, Shi Yi raised his head and asked, "Where is Neruda? Wasn't it Yeats who signed last time?"
"It's Neruda, you remembered it wrong." Du Tang said calmly.
Ye Kai walked out of the school gate and saw Chen Youhan's car waiting on the roadside. Since when did he start picking up and dropping off students? He couldn't remember clearly.
Like thirty-seven degree water.
You will forget its existence, but when it wraps around your fingertips, you will feel irreplaceable comfort.
He opened the car door, threw his schoolbag into the back seat, and said out of the blue, "I just saw your first love."
Chen Youhan pushed his forehead: "Bullshit."
“Good vision.”
The car started, and Ye Kai casually turned on a local music radio station. Amid the Cantonese broadcast, Chen Youhan smiled and exhaled a puff of cigarette, turned the steering wheel with one hand, and cut into the chaotic traffic of students picking up their children for the winter vacation.
"Can you please stop praising yourself in different ways every day?"
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