An Zi Yan stood with his arms folded, leaning against the doorframe. “Instead of trying to stuff yourself into a suitcase to save on airfare, I could generously ask about pet air cargo for you.”
“I don’t need your generosity.” Mai Ding finally managed to struggle free of the suitcase, though the clothes and books underneath him had been crushed beyond recognition. He started taking the clothes back out, then stopped and turned around in confusion. “What did you mean just now?”
“You’d also need an animal health and vaccination certificate.”
“I meant the sentence before that! Saving on airfare. You made it sound like I’m going too.”
“It didn’t just sound like it.”
“Seriously? You’re taking me with you?”
“That depends on whether you can get an animal health and vaccination certificate.” An Zi Yan turned away, and Mai Ding followed him out, unable to control the joy on his face. Then a new worry surfaced. “But our relationship at the company is terrible. If you take me on a business trip, won’t people get suspicious? We need some reasonable excuse. This is all your fault for bullying me all the time. See what you’ve done? When are we leaving?”
“Next Monday.”
“It’s too late to start pretending we’re good friends now.” Mai Ding spoke anxiously. When An Zi Yan turned on the television, Mai Ding planted himself in front of it. “We have something important to discuss. Do you want people to discover our relationship, or do you want the two of us to stay out of trouble and become pillars of the company together?”
An Zi Yan waved a hand to tell him to move. Mai Ding understood the gesture perfectly well, but he was not a weak person. He had principles and refused to yield. He needed to make An Zi Yan understand how serious this was. “I’m asking you again. Do you want people to discover our relationship, or do you want the two of us to stay out of trouble and become pillars of the company together?”
An Zi Yan finally tilted his head and spoke. “Then do you want to go play with your suitcase, or do you want me to stuff you into it?” Mai Ding moved aside. Fine. He would pack first.
The next day, An Zi Yan walked out of his office and asked directly, “Who’s going on Monday?” The question dropped into the room and everyone went silent, looking from one person to another. Mai Ding nervously watched the others too. What if somebody volunteered before he could? He had already packed his luggage, but he could not appear too eager or people might get suspicious. Guo Ping cheerfully raised a hand, standing up like a student answering a teacher’s question. “I think Mai Ding would be a good choice. Let him get some experience.” Everyone agreed at once, leaving Mai Ding bewildered. He had worried for nothing. None of his coworkers wanted to travel for work. Why leave a comfortable office to run around outside and lose the chance to go home after work? Naturally, the unpleasant assignment fell to Mai Ding. For the first time since joining the company, he was grateful to have the least seniority.
“I…” Mai Ding suppressed his real feelings and forced himself to look reluctant.
“You’re not qualified to refuse,” Fan Shao Jun said.
“Fine.”
“It’s going to be hard on you. Listen to Yan and take good care of him. If Yan loses even one hair, be careful. The women in this company might fight you to the death,” Feng Fei Meng warned.
An Zi Yan looked Mai Ding up and down without expression, his face radiating distrust. Liu Wei worried that An Zi Yan might reject the idea and hurried to put in a good word. “Mai Ding usually looks completely unremarkable, but he works steadily, takes things seriously, and works hard. He’ll be useful over there.” An Zi Yan gave a cold snort without even looking at Mai Ding. “I’m not expecting him to be useful. He just needs to take care of himself.” Then he went back into his office. Mai Ding stared at his back, nearly throwing a file at him. Not expecting him to be useful?! Who normally washed his clothes? Who cooked his meals? Who helped him vent his desires?!
In any case, Mai Ding had not traveled far since their honeymoon. Even if this was technically a business trip, if An Zi Yan was coming with him, it counted as a honeymoon.
Mai Ding no longer had to worry about turning into a zombie. An Zi Yan had brought the virus of his love firmly under control. His scent, his handsome face, the sound of his voice, every casual movement he made, all of them were vaccines. As long as Mai Ding did not leave him, his life was safe.
They only had to get through the weekend before departure. Mai Ding was full of anticipation and thought time was moving far too slowly. His eyes followed the second hand around the clock, and he wished he could reach out and push time forward. The doorbell rang. Mai Ding could more or less guess who it was. Every weekend, Xu De and Yu Rong Mei brought over snacks or cookies and chatted with him for a while.
“What is it today?” Mai Ding asked as he opened the door. He was no longer awkward around them. Yu Rong Mei smiled and lifted a paper bag. “Freshly baked cake.”
“You’re becoming more and more like a pastry chef.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Mai Ding let them inside. Yu Rong Mei glanced around the apartment, then toward the bedroom. “An Zi Yan is still sleeping?” Mai Ding replied irritably, “What else does he do besides sleep? Getting up early to bake cakes like the two of you? I haven’t even dreamed of seeing that happen.”
“Maybe work has been exhausting. Of course he needs to rest on weekends,” Xu De said in An Zi Yan’s defense. Mai Ding truly could not understand why An Zi Yan disliked this couple. Where had that instinct of his even come from?
“He promised to visit your place last time, but he’s been busy lately.”
“So we shamelessly invited ourselves over instead.”
“Not at all. I was planning to come over for free cake after he woke up.”
The three of them were chatting happily when An Zi Yan walked out of the bedroom. He seemed not to notice Xu De or Yu Rong Mei at all. He poured himself coffee and sat lazily at the dining table to eat breakfast. Mai Ding explained An Zi Yan’s rude behavior to Yu Rong Mei. “Don’t take it personally. His temper is terrible when he first wakes up. He’s the same with me. Once, right after he woke up, I hadn’t even done anything and he randomly beat me half to death.” Was this supposed to defend An Zi Yan or make him sound worse? The couple only smiled, and the conversation continued.
After finishing breakfast, An Zi Yan picked up his unfinished coffee and rested one hand on the back of the chair. “Aren’t you going to say it yet? Why waste everyone’s time?” His completely abrupt words left Mai Ding confused. Yu Rong Mei tugged at Xu De beside her with her usual smile. “I told you he wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. You kept saying we should observe a little longer. See?”
“Yes, yes. My wife’s eyes really are the sharpest.”
“What’s going on?” Mai Ding cut in, trying to understand the situation.
“No need to hide it anymore.” Xu De took Yu Rong Mei’s hand as though he were about to make some major announcement. Mai Ding guessed that Yu Rong Mei must be pregnant. What else could it be? He began preparing a few congratulatory remarks in his head.