By the time Wang Cheng received his driver’s license, it was already late September. The autumn equinox had passed, and only two days remained before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-Autumn was a statutory holiday, usually giving people three days off, so there was no work tomorrow. After getting off work, he went straight back to the apartment.
Chu Yifeng had left work early because he had something to take care of, but he had said he would be back on time for dinner, so Wang Cheng still made enough for him.
Just as the dishes were set on the table, the apartment door opened and Chu Yifeng walked in carrying two bags.
“Boss, your timing is perfect. Go change your clothes and wash your hands, then we can eat.” Wang Cheng called to him before ducking back into the kitchen.
By the time he came out again, Chu Yifeng had changed out of his perfectly pressed suit. Wearing light-gray loungewear and slippers, he sat at the dining table. After dinner, they settled onto the sofa as usual to watch the news. Chu Yifeng handed Wang Cheng the two bags he had brought home.
“These are mooncakes? Didn’t the company already give us some?” Wang Cheng took the bags. He could tell from the packaging alone that they contained mooncakes, but Fan Qi had already distributed mooncakes to everyone that afternoon. Cheng Cheng had even mentioned that the box was from a certain brand and was not cheap.
“Someone gave these to me.” Chu Yifeng rarely celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival and had no interest in something that looked so cloyingly sweet as mooncakes. He had originally planned to turn down the gift as he did every year, but then he remembered that Wang Cheng might never have tried this kind, so he accepted it.
Wang Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Someone gave them to you, Boss. You should keep them and eat them yourself. Why give them to me?”
“I never eat mooncakes.”
“No way. Boss, are you even Chinese? Mid-Autumn is our holiday. How can you not eat mooncakes? You should at least try one bite.” Wang Cheng stared at him wide-eyed.
“I’m half foreign.”
“You really can’t tell.” Wang Cheng was stunned. Actually, the first time he saw Chu Yifeng, he had thought the man’s features looked somewhat more pronounced than the softer features common among Chinese people, but he had not considered the possibility at the time. His hair was not black either. It was a brownish yellow, almost golden, but Wang Cheng had assumed it was dyed. These days, young people with naturally black hair dyed every color imaginable could be seen everywhere, so he had taken that for granted.
Chu Yifeng did not explain any further.
Wang Cheng filled in the rest with his imagination and then calmly accepted both boxes of mooncakes. “By the way, Boss, are you going home for Mid-Autumn?”
“Probably.” Chu Yifeng sounded uncertain, but inwardly he could already predict that they would definitely call him home for the festival this year. In previous years he had been abroad, so there had been nothing they could do.
“I’m going home the morning after tomorrow. When I come back, I’ll bring you some local specialties. There’s plenty of fruit in season right now. I’ll bring you some all-natural…”
Time slipped away little by little, and the moon quietly hid half its face.
The next day, after Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng finished the breakfast they had bought at the morning market, Wang Cheng began packing. He had a lot to bring home this time. The company and Chu Yifeng had already given him three boxes of things, each fairly substantial, and he was planning to stop at the supermarket for more. There would only be even more by the time he finished. As he was thinking about it, the phone in his pocket rang. Wang Cheng looked at the caller and answered with some surprise.
“Wei Dandan, is something wrong?”
“Can’t I call you if nothing’s wrong?” Wei Dandan said. “I’m joking. Are you free right now?”
“I guess. You’re already on holiday?”
“We got three days off. The hotel offered triple pay to anyone willing to stay and work overtime during Mid-Autumn, but I turned it down. Mid-Autumn should still be spent at home with your parents, don’t you think?”
“You’re right. So what did you call me about?”
“Can you come out for a bit? There’s something I want to tell you.” Wei Dandan did not answer his question directly.
Wang Cheng thought it was strange, but he happened to be going out anyway, so he agreed. Wei Dandan happily gave him an address. It was not very far away, though walking there would still take more than half an hour. Wang Cheng decided to drive. He had not officially taken the car onto the road since receiving his license.
When he arrived, he found a cozy little café. Wang Cheng spotted Wei Dandan waving at him and walked over.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Not at all. I just got here too.” Wei Dandan smiled at him somewhat stiffly. Off duty, she looked very different from when she was working. Her proper hotel uniform made her look formal and restrained, and she had to wear her hair up. Now it was loose, the ends curling over her shoulders, and she wore a blue dress that made her look much prettier.
“Want some coffee?” Seeing that she had not ordered anything, Wang Cheng asked.
Wei Dandan nodded. “A matcha coffee.”
Wang Cheng called over a server and ordered a latte and a matcha coffee.
There were not many customers at this hour, so the server soon brought over the two drinks. Fragrant steam rose from the hot coffee.
“I’m really sorry about what happened that time. I didn’t know your mother would answer the phone. I feel terrible if I caused you any trouble.” Wei Dandan stirred her coffee with a spoon and glanced up at him, her eyes full of apology. She had wanted to explain afterward but could never find a good opportunity.
“It’s fine. It wasn’t a big deal.” Wang Cheng had thought she wanted to say something important. So much time had passed that he had nearly forgotten about the incident until she brought it up.
“Um… your auntie didn’t misunderstand, did she?”
Wang Cheng paused. He remembered how, after his parents learned that he was in contact with a female high-school classmate, they enthusiastically asked every time he went home whether he was still talking to her. Eventually, after they pestered him enough, he told them plainly that he had no feelings for Wei Dandan and they were not in contact that way. His parents had been disappointed, but had no choice except to let it go. It was all in the past and there was no point explaining it now, so he shook his head.
“No. I already explained everything to them.”
Wei Dandan forced a smile, then suddenly took a gift box from beside her and handed it to Wang Cheng. “These are Mid-Autumn mooncakes. I received a lot recently, but I don’t really like eating mooncakes, so I gave them away. This is the last box. I want you to have it. I hope you don’t mind.”
Wang Cheng was genuinely surprised. More mooncakes. He almost did not know whether to laugh or cry. In previous years, the mooncakes he ate during Mid-Autumn were all homemade. He had never received this kind of packaged mooncake gift before, yet this year he had suddenly accumulated four boxes in a row. If he had not already refused the mooncakes Li Yu and the others tried to stuff into his hands, there would have been even more.
“Thank you. Then I’ll accept them.” Wang Cheng took the mooncake box. It was Wei Dandan’s goodwill; refusing it would only embarrass her.
Wei Dandan was delighted when he accepted it.
At that same moment, a sports car happened to stop at the intersection outside the café. Through the window, the driver caught sight of the two of them talking and laughing together. Wei Dandan had chosen a seat beside an enormous floor-to-ceiling window, so people outside could see those inside just as clearly as people inside could see out. Chu Yifeng had happened to catch a red light, and the moment his car stopped, this was the scene he saw.
Inside the café, Wang Cheng suddenly felt as though someone were watching him. He looked outside but saw nothing. A short while later, the feeling disappeared. Perhaps it had only been his imagination.
After saying goodbye to Wei Dandan, Wang Cheng changed course and went to the supermarket. He bought a pile of nutritional supplements before heading back.
At the apartment, he stared at the heap of things on the floor. Unless he had four hands, he would probably need to make two or three trips to carry everything downstairs. The mooncakes Wei Dandan gave him were among them. He definitely would not eat them if he left them in the apartment. It was not that he disliked sweets, but mooncakes were both rich and oily, and one or two were usually enough. Still, to be fair, perhaps because the mooncakes Chu Yifeng gave him were packaged so lavishly, when all four boxes sat together, Wei Dandan’s box looked especially plain and cheap by comparison.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Who would come by at this hour?
Wang Cheng remembered the sports car he had seen in the parking lot on his way back. He opened the door and, sure enough, found Chu Yifeng standing there. “Boss, weren’t you out taking care of something? Your timing is perfect. I happen to need another pair of hands. There’s too much stuff for me to carry down alone.”
As Wang Cheng spoke, he turned away. Suddenly, his left arm was seized in a powerful grip. Before he could react, Chu Yifeng had yanked him backward. One hand caught Wang Cheng’s chin, and those handsome features enlarged before his eyes as Chu Yifeng kissed him squarely on the lips. The collision produced not only sparks, but saliva.
Wang Cheng had never imagined that a man would kiss him. The time he had been drunk did not count; he had been completely unaware then. But now he was stone-cold sober. He failed to react immediately and lost his best chance to resist. His tongue was sucked until it went numb, and the scent of male hormones flooded his nose. He had never known he was so sensitive to it. One breath left him feeling almost intoxicated.
The moment Chu Yifeng released him, Wang Cheng braced one arm against his chest, narrowed his eyes, and swung a fist straight at him.
“You bastard!”
Chu Yifeng dodged in time, but Wang Cheng’s second punch was already coming. His fists and feet were no worse than those of a professional; an ordinary person would find it difficult to gain any advantage against him. Wang Cheng, however, managed it. The two traded blows right there in the apartment.