The manager felt humiliated that he was afraid of some young kid, but something else was even more humiliating. He grabbed his wife’s arm hard. “Explain this clearly. Didn’t you say Mai Ding kept pestering and harassing you? Then what’s going on with Gao Guo?”
“So in the end you still don’t believe me!!” the manager’s wife denied everything. Gao Guo put on an innocent expression. “She only came to discuss Mai Ding with me. If there really were something between us, would we be stupid enough to do anything at the office? We went to the stairwell only because Madam didn’t want to cause another misunderstanding and hurt you. Unfortunately, some people just love stirring up gossip.” As he spoke, Gao Guo cast Sister Hua a pointed glance. The manager thought his explanation sounded reasonable too.
From the scraps of conversation, An Zi Yan had already pieced together most of what happened. When Gao Guo tried to walk over to the manager and sway him further, An Zi Yan stuck out a foot. Gao Guo nearly tripped. He spun around angrily only to meet An Zi Yan’s cold face. “I don’t care whose wife you’re trying to screw. Your biggest mistake was dragging Mai Ding into it.”
“I’m only stating the facts. A while ago he arranged to have dinner with another man too. You didn’t know that, did you? How can you be sure he hasn’t been hiding this from you?” Gao Guo remained composed and spoke persuasively. He had worked in this field long enough to know how to manipulate people, how to talk something dead back to life.
“I wish he had enough brains to hide something from me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Mai Ding glared at An Zi Yan from behind him. An Zi Yan ignored him and continued speaking to Gao Guo. “I don’t want to waste time dealing with you and some woman. I’m giving you one choice. Take back everything you said about Mai Ding.”
“You’re threatening me and telling me to lie? He did it. Am I supposed to say he didn’t? You want me to betray my conscience and ignore the harm Madam suffered?” Gao Guo had transformed himself into an envoy of justice, while the manager’s wife cried aggrieved tears. If Mai Ding had not been the person involved, even he might almost have believed Gao Guo was innocent. Gao Guo’s gaze was firm and his words sincere. An Zi Yan clicked his tongue impatiently. “You still want to play? Fine. I’ll play with you for five minutes.” He checked the time.
“This isn’t a game. Can’t you see someone got hurt because of Mai Ding? Even I got dragged into it. Manager, if you truly don’t believe me, investigate me all you want. I’ve got nothing to hide.” The manager hesitated. Everything was a mess now. Maybe he really had wronged Gao Guo. Had Mai Ding simply brought some man here to help him excuse himself?
“Then investigate him. You’ll probably uncover quite a few things. For example, he leaked the minimum bid for the company’s ‘Qingli’ project to a competing company. Or the two of them booked a room at 7 Days Inn last month. Or that watch on his wrist was paid for with Mr. Cuckold’s money.” An Zi Yan spoke slowly and methodically, as though presenting evidence. He had happened to glimpse the ‘Qingli’ project when he carelessly looked at the papers on Gao Guo’s desk that day. Everything else was something An Zi Yan had invented on the spot. When it came to playing dirty, Gao Guo was probably more than a little outmatched.
“You’re slandering me! None of that is true!” Gao Guo was secretly shocked that An Zi Yan knew about the ‘Qingli’ project. That account really was in his hands, but he had done none of the other things!
“If none of it is true, then an investigation will clear your name, right, Mr. Cuckold? He’s the one who asked for an investigation.” An Zi Yan turned and stared at the manager’s ugly expression. “There’s something I’m curious about. Isn’t Mai Ding only an intern? Your wife was supposedly threatened and harassed by Mai Ding and so frightened she couldn’t tell you. She could have gotten him fired with a single sentence, but instead she didn’t. She went to someone else for advice and nobly endured the humiliation of keeping Mai Ding at the company so he could continue harassing her?”
“He’s talking nonsense. Mai Ding used some despicable method, so…”
“You certainly know more about it than anyone,” An Zi Yan said sarcastically.
Sister Hua joined in from the side. “Exactly, Manager. Look at us. None of us can say much because we don’t know what really happened. But Gao Guo normally acts like nothing has anything to do with him, and today he’s suddenly so enthusiastic. Besides, even if Madam was scared, why did she specifically go to Gao Guo for advice? I never noticed they were close enough for that. Since their friendship is so pure and innocent, I’m sure they won’t mind you investigating.”
Mai Ding wanted to say something, but there was nowhere for him to squeeze a word in. He stood behind An Zi Yan fretting uselessly. Gao Guo’s expression, however, changed. He had asked the manager to investigate only to increase his credibility. Once the manager believed him, there would be no investigation. If someone actually investigated, the truth would come out sooner or later.
“What right do you have to investigate me?!” he shouted.
“Feeling guilty?” Sister Hua asked. Deep down, the manager wanted to push everything onto Mai Ding. Then he could comfort himself with the belief that he had never been cuckolded. But the truth was becoming clearer by the second, and being called a cuckold to his face was more than his pride as a man could tolerate. He turned his anger on his young wife. “Stop crying. Did you and Gao Guo go to 7 Days Inn or not?”
“No!”
“Someone saw you. They even know the name of the hotel!”
“He’s lying! We didn’t even go to 7 Days last month!! How could he have seen us? He made the whole thing up!” She blurted it out furiously. The moment the words left her mouth, both of them froze. An Zi Yan raised his hand to check the time, then said lazily, “Five minutes are up.” His fist slammed hard into Gao Guo’s face, twisting Gao Guo’s expression as he staggered backward several steps.
“You fucking…” He did not finish before another burst of pain cut him off.
“You fu…” Pain struck his abdomen this time.
“You…” Again.
He retreated again and again. Every time he tried to speak, worse pain followed. At last, he stopped daring to open his mouth and only stared at An Zi Yan. An Zi Yan loosened his fist and flexed his fingers. “I really do prefer this method.” Under the shocked gazes around them, he grabbed Mai Ding’s hand. “I don’t want to leave you here alone anymore.”
Mai Ding actually did not want to go. It had taken him so much effort to find an internship, and he had finally grown used to the environment. But then he looked at his coworkers. Most of them were looking at him with a gaze he knew too well. Mai Ding picked up his bag and stared at Gao Guo. “I’m glad you look down on my love. I don’t need someone like you to understand me.”
An Zi Yan dragged Mai Ding away. Mai Ding looked back at the office, listening to the manager’s furious shouting, the manager’s wife crying, and everyone else whispering among themselves.
This was the first lesson society taught Mai Ding.
Trying to keep up behind An Zi Yan, Mai Ding could not resist stealing glances at his profile. “With how much you usually hate trouble, you should’ve just dragged me away immediately. What got into you today?” He knew perfectly well what had gotten into him. No matter how much An Zi Yan hated trouble, he was still willing to spend the time clearing Mai Ding’s name.
“I had nothing better to do today.”
A guy who simply refused to tell the truth. An Zi Yan walked a few more steps, then suddenly stopped. “Hey. How are you?”
“How am I what?”
“If you’re upset, tell me.” His tone was stiff. Mai Ding’s lips curved faintly. Maybe he had been upset: disappointed, helpless, humiliated. But before he could put any of it into words, An Zi Yan had washed it thinner and thinner until Mai Ding could no longer find any sadness inside himself to talk about.
“If I’m upset, what will you do?”
“Stand beside you and watch.”
Mai Ding was just about to glare when An Zi Yan pulled him into his arms, wrapped both arms around him, and laced their fingers together. “Will this do?” he asked softly. After several seconds, Mai Ding muttered under his breath, “I really want to say no.”
“So is that a yes or a no?” An Zi Yan’s arms tightened slightly, leaving no space between them.
“You’re cheating.”
“Did it work?”
“Stop always asking me.”
With you, I really can stop caring about everything else. No matter how other people look at me or what they say, I have you.
There was something Mai Ding perhaps had not noticed. The times were always changing. Practices like polygamy in ancient times looked absurd today. People then probably could not have imagined that men would stop wearing their hair long or that women could wear short skirts. People’s ideas changed with the times. Maybe if they held on a little longer, just a little longer, a day would come when their love would be treated as something perfectly natural. Of course Mai Ding did not care. Even if he never lived to see the day when everyone accepted them, he had lived to find An Zi Yan.