Chapter 30: Playing with Flowers
After hanging up the phone, Pei Song looked up.
The SNK Building is brightly lit in the night, guiding the direction like a lighthouse.
Two days later, SNK's human resources department called him and informed him that he had successfully passed all the interviews and asked him to report to the company on Monday.
"Mr. Zhou thinks highly of you," Lin Yuwei said on the phone, "I hope you can join us as soon as possible."
After hanging up the phone, Pei Song breathed a long sigh of relief.
After receiving the offer from SNK, Pei Song felt like a huge stone had fallen from his heart.
Seeing how happy he was, Shi Yanchen took the initiative to suggest: "Let's go out for dinner to celebrate?"
"Okay." Pei Song said with a smile, "You have been busy with me during this period, and you haven't had a good time to relax."
In the evening, the two found a quiet restaurant.
Pei Song finished ordering the dishes and said with a guilty look on his face: "I'm sorry, I made you laugh at what happened at home recently. You came here to travel, but you were affected by these things every day."
"There's nothing to apologize for." Shi Yanchen poured him a cup of tea, "Friends should help each other."
Pei Song smiled bitterly: "These messy things in my family..."
"There is no absolute good or bad in the world." Shi Yanchen said softly, "The key is how you look at it and use it. Just like quenching, the highest temperature of the flame can make steel tougher. Your current performance has proved this."
These words stunned Pei Song.
He never thought that those painful experiences could be interpreted so clearly.
"By the way," Pei Song hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I saw the plane ticket on your desk that day... Are you going back to Country D?"
Shi Yanchen paused: "Well, there are still some things to deal with."
"Is that so..." Pei Song's voice was a little low, "Then will you come to China again?"
"It depends on the situation." Shi Yanchen didn't comment, his eyes fell on Pei Song's face, "Why, you can't bear to let go?"
"Of course I don't want to leave." Pei Song said frankly, "I'm grateful to you for this period of time."
Shi Yanchen looked at his lost expression, slightly raised the corners of his mouth, and said nothing more.
After dinner, the two walked side by side in the night. The moonlight was particularly bright tonight, giving the streets a soft silver glow.
"Do you want me to take you to the company on Monday?" Shi Yanchen asked.
"Okay." Pei Song accepted it happily.
When passing by a movie theater, Pei Song saw the poster of a new movie that was being shown and was inspired.
"Do you want to go see a movie?" he turned and asked Shi Yanchen.
Shi Yanchen was stunned for a moment: "Here?"
"Yes," Pei Song said with a smile, "You have been in China for so long, but you have never been to a movie theater, right?"
Shi Yanchen shook his head: "I have never been to a movie theater since I was a child."
"That's perfect," Pei Song pulled him towards the ticket office, "I'll show you around today."
After buying the tickets, Pei Song took Shi Yanchen to buy snacks.
Standing at the counter, he placed his order expertly: "Two popcorns, two Cokes, please."
"Are you going to eat all of these?" Shi Yanchen looked at the huge popcorn bucket, a little confused.
"It's a must-have for watching movies," Pei Song explained with a smile, "especially popcorn, which smells like milk and makes you feel like you're in a movie theater."
Shi Yanchen looked at his excited look and did not object, but just took a cup of Coke and popcorn.
When we entered the theater, the pre-movie advertisements had already begun.
In the darkness, Pei Song carefully took Shi Yanchen to find a seat.
"Watch your step." He reminded softly.
The seats are spacious, with armrests for drinks between two people.
Pei Song put his popcorn on the armrest on his right and looked at the screen intently.
20 minutes later, the plot of the movie reaches its exciting point. The male protagonist is trapped in a secret room and is about to face a life or death decision.
Pei Song was completely immersed in the tense atmosphere. He subconsciously wanted to grab a handful of popcorn, but his hand unconsciously reached to the left.
It was not until his fingertips touched something warm that he suddenly realized what he had touched.
They both pulled their hands back at the same time, their slender fingers intertwined in the darkness.
"I'm sorry." Pei Song apologized quickly, but felt that he had overreacted.
The touch at that moment seems to still linger on the fingertips, carrying an indescribable warmth.
Pei Song became absent-minded, fearing that his hand would accidentally touch the other person again.
Halfway through the movie, there were some slight noises coming from the side of the front row.
With the light from the screen, Pei Song saw a couple kissing.
His body froze and his eyes didn't know where to look.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shi Yanchen still staring intently at the screen, as if he didn't notice what was happening.
The couple seemed completely immersed in their own world and stayed glued to each other until the end of the movie.
Pei Song was so restless throughout the whole process that he couldn't even remember how the movie ended.
When the show ended, the audience left one after another. When Pei Song stood up, he found that his legs were a little numb.
"I'm going to the bathroom." He said to Shi Yanchen.
"I'm going too." Shi Yanchen followed.
In the men's restroom, Pei Song chose the farthest seat.
Although there were not many people around, he always felt that he was standing too close to Shi Yanchen.
The vague feeling of oppression made him feel hot all over.
He took a quick glance and found Shi Yanchen's tall figure very noticeable.
Pei Song quickly looked away, but found that his palms were sweating and he couldn't even unzip his pants.
He simply pretended that it hadn't started yet and waited for Shi Yanchen to leave first.
Only after Shi Yanchen left did he breathe a sigh of relief and quickly finished the task.
When he walked out of the bathroom, Shi Yanchen was leaning against the wall in the corridor waiting for him.
Under the light, his profile looked particularly three-dimensional, and even the shadow of his eyelashes was clearly visible.
"Sorry for the long wait." Pei Song walked over quickly.
Just as I was about to leave, a harsh voice came over: "Hey, isn't this Pei Song? Our new colleague from SNK!"
Pei Song turned around and saw that it was Liu Yan with a few friends.
"I heard you'll be here on Monday," Liu Yan smiled meaningfully, "I didn't expect your private nightlife to be so rich."
His eyes moved around Shi Yanchen: "It's so late, two grown men watching a movie together, their relationship is quite close."
"I've already told you, he was my roommate when I was studying abroad in Country D." Pei Song interrupted him.
"Roommate?" Liu Yan said in a long voice, "I was having a lot of fun with Senior Zhou and my roommate..."
"What do you mean?" Pei Song's face turned ugly.
"I don't mean anything," Liu Yan said with a smile, "I just heard that when you were in Country D, it seemed that you had a good relationship with some people..."
"Shut up." Shi Yanchen interrupted him coldly, his eyes icy, "Anyone who talks nonsense about others must be a despicable villain."
Liu Yan was shocked by the fierceness in his eyes, but still unwilling to give in: "Oh, you protect me so closely? It seems that my guess was right..."
Shi Yanchen took a step forward, exuding a sense of oppression: "Are you sure you want to continue?"
Liu Yan shut his mouth awkwardly and took a step back protected by his friends.
"Let's go." Shi Yanchen gently pulled Pei Song's arm, "Don't bother with this kind of person."
Pei Song could feel his hands exerting force, as if he was suppressing his anger.
Walking out of the cinema, the night breeze made Pei Song calm down a little.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "that this had to happen to you."
Shi Yanchen glanced at him and said, "No need to apologize, you are not wrong."
On the way home, neither of them spoke again.