Futile Devices Scans

“Vice President Xue, Vice President Xue?”

Xue Bao Tian returned to himself and sat upright with perfect seriousness, without the slightest embarrassment over having zoned out during an important meeting. “Your report sounds like chanting sutras. If you go out and perform funeral rites, can you generate revenue for the company too?”

Xue Bao Tian’s mouth was as unforgiving as ever, but more or less, everyone could tell that his mood had been pretty good these past two days. Although he still mocked and ridiculed people, he did it with a smiling expression, with less of his usual cold sharpness.

The meeting was long and tedious. When the city lights were just beginning to glow, the secretary came in to refill the tea.

“Ah!” Catching sight of something outside the window, she instinctively let out a soft exclamation.

The solemn meeting was interrupted by that startled sound, and everyone followed her gaze to look out the window.

The Central Business District area was prosperous and bustling, and at night the neon was even more dazzling. Directly outside the window was the Telecom Building. Every night, the lights on the building changed and shifted, flowing with brilliant colors, making it one of the city’s landmarks.

Occasionally, there were also people who used the light curtain wall to confess their love. Xue Bao Tian had never liked reading words in the first place and had never let those sweet, nauseating phrases enter his eyes. Today, however, he did see them clearly, and blurted out a curse. “Fuck.”

Xue Bao Tian Baobao, I heart you!

He clenched his teeth and turned his gaze away, then cast a sidelong glance at the secretary. “Nice to look at?”

The secretary was clever as ice and snow, and hurriedly shook her head. “Not nice. The lights are too bright, so I can’t see clearly.”

“Draw the curtains. Continue the meeting.”

Xue Bao Tian rubbed at the goosebumps on his body, picked up his phone, and sent Tong Yan a message: “If you call me Baobao again, believe it or not, I’ll kill you!”

Half an hour later, Tong Yan replied with a “?”

When he got off work, Xue Bao Tian saw Yan Ye beside his car. The man was leaning against the car, head lowered as he smoked. His black suit fit his body, outlining an enviable figure. The simple motion of bringing the cigarette to his mouth pulled at the smooth lines of his muscles, relaxed yet sharp, containing hidden strength.

Hearing footsteps, he turned his head. His eyes seemed to hold stars as he smiled and called to him, “Two Hundred.”

After the two of them had last met in the workers’ shed, they had not seen each other again. Yan Ye had continued traveling on business with Lin Zhi Yi, and now seven or eight days had already passed.

Xue Bao Tian knew Yan Ye’s nature, so before he even got close, he warned him first. “The two of us are still fucking proper, upright friends right now. Besides, this is a parking lot, so don’t get clingy with me.”

Yan Ye’s buzz cut had now grown out, and lately, he seemed not to have trimmed it either. The fluffy strands covered his forehead, making him look gentle and easygoing, not quite matching that sharp, elite body of his.

He reached out and ruffled Xue Bao Tian’s hair, then slid his hand to the side of his neck and gently pinched it. “I know. I won’t embarrass Master Xue.”

Xue Bao Tian glanced at the cigarette in his hand, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant. He knocked that hand away, pulled open the car door, and scoffed. “You fucking standing beside Grandpa is Grandpa’s greatest shame.”

He had just been about to get into the car when someone pulled him back. Yan Ye’s movements were gentle, yet brooked no refusal. “Sit in the passenger seat, Master Xue. I’ll drive.”

Yan Ye put out the cigarette and drove the car out of the parking lot. The commercial district was bustling, filled with passing cars and pedestrians. After circling a few times, he found a relatively quiet corner and parked the car.

Before Xue Bao Tian’s doubt could even leave his mouth, he was firmly pulled into an embrace.

“I missed you so much, Two Hundred.” Yan Ye’s low whisper was as sticky as melted chocolate. “I missed you so much my heart felt panicked.”

Held in his arms, Xue Bao Tian looked out the car window, his eyes filled with a faint smile. “That’s all the backbone you have.”

“Your meeting went on for so long.” The man complained seriously and properly, “I’ve never felt time pass this slowly before.”

His waist was being held even tighter. Xue Bao Tian felt that more air was leaving than entering his lungs, and if Yan Ye fucking kept hugging him like this, he was going to die. He patted the man’s solid forearm. “If you don’t loosen up a bit, the next time you miss me, you’ll have to visit my grave.”

Yan Ye loosened his strength, but still occupied Xue Bao Tian. Night had fallen deeply, and the neon outside the car was dazzlingly bright, making the small space inside the car seem even darker and more ambiguous.

Holding him, Yan Ye stared out the car window, neon lights shifting in his eyes. “Do you still remember when we overlooked Yancheng’s night scenery from Qieyun Mountain? In the past, I never felt that this city belonged to me. It was it, I was me, and we could not blend together. But during this business trip, I only realized that when you miss someone, when you want to see someone quickly, you also miss this city. These past few days, there were many times when I felt grateful that I also live in this city, that here, I have my home and the person I like.”

Elio’s Notes: Yan Ye was referring to Chapter 31.

His words fell into silence, and for a long time, no one spoke. It seemed as though threads had been drawn through the air, thick, dense, and sticky, making one feel uncomfortable all over. Xue Bao Tian pulled out a cigarette, bit it between his lips, looked out the window, and cursed lowly, “Fuck. There are no fucking outsiders here, so speak normally. Being this literary doesn’t suit you.”

He cast Yan Ye a glance. “Where did you memorize that from?”

Yan Ye’s fingers kneaded through Xue Bao Tian’s hair as he continued his literary output. “I’ve never properly looked at the city lights before. The Telecom Building is very beautiful. Has Master Xue seen it?”

The hand lighting the cigarette paused. Xue Bao Tian thought of the ridiculous stunt Tong Yan had pulled. “You saw the words on the Telecom Building?”

Was this jealousy?

Xue Bao Tian did not have much kindness, but occasionally he handed some out, and today Yan Ye had caught him in time for it. “You really saw it? Tong Yan is just like that. Always doing useless things like this.”

“Tong Yan?” Yan Ye’s expression slowly turned disappointed. “He did that too?”

The flame brought to the cigarette went out again. Xue Bao Tian lifted his head and looked at Yan Ye, his expression somewhat incredulous. “What you said… don’t tell me those words flashing on the Telecom Building today were done by you.”

Yan Ye’s expression could no longer be described merely as disappointment. He smiled bitterly. “I did it.”

“Fuck.” Xue Bao Tian closed his mouth, speechless for a moment. “I thought it was Tong Yan. He’s the only one who’s called me…”

Yan Ye’s gaze turned deep and dark. “That day Tong Yan called you Baobao, I used every bit of self-control I had not to beat him up.”

Xue Bao Tian finally lit the cigarette. Holding it between his lips, he glanced at the Telecom Building, where the neon had already returned to normal, and asked, “How much did it cost?”

“Ten thousand for fifteen minutes.”

Exhaling a long stream of smoke, Xue Bao Tian turned his head and cursed lowly, “Fuck. I only fucking looked at it once.” His narrow eyes turned toward Yan Ye. “Why didn’t you send me a message? How could you be sure I’d see it?”

Yan Ye’s words were somewhat hesitant. After wavering for a moment, he replied, “The internet said that romance that catches someone by surprise is the most moving.”

Xue Bao Tian looked at Yan Ye for a long while, mentally running the words “fucking idiot” through his head a hundred or so times before finally crooking his finger. “Give me your phone.”

Yan Ye obediently offered it up. His phone had layer upon layer of passwords, and he unlocked all of them in front of Xue Bao Tian.

Holding the cigarette between his lips, Xue Bao Tian narrowed his eyes and, without caring in the least whether Yan Ye agreed or not, uninstalled every browser on his phone.

With a flick of his hand, he tossed the phone back. “From now on, don’t fucking listen to those people online running their mouths. Save your money and see if you can reconnect that loose wire in your brain and live with a little quality.”

Yan Ye’s eyes were full of laughter as he tightened his arms around him again. “Two Hundred, I’ve missed hearing you curse me like that for so long.”

Xue Bao Tian brought up old accounts. “You don’t think I’m troublesome anymore?”

“You are troublesome, but Master Xue has always been very cute.”

His hot breath turned into kisses, falling one after another along Xue Bao Tian’s neck before slowly searching upward.

Xue Bao Tian had just been about to say something sharp and wicked when Yan Ye only pressed his lips lightly against his, then stopped.

He seemed to be restraining himself with great difficulty, whispering in the place closest to Xue Bao Tian, turning an extremely ordinary sentence into something unbearably ambiguous. “I reserved a restaurant. Master Xue, please do me the honor of having dinner with me.”

This half-teasing, half-not-teasing made Xue Bao Tian fucking uncomfortable too. Pushing him away, he sat upright, facing forward. “Go home. I still have documents to read.”

The car stopped downstairs from the apartment building. Yan Ye stubbornly clung to Xue Bao Tian and went upstairs with him. Just as they stepped out of the elevator, a clear, light voice came from in front of the apartment door. “Baobao, you’re off work? I bought groceries. I’ll cook for you.”

It was Tong Yan.

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