In the morning, something tickled Mai Ding’s face. He opened his eyes and found An Zi Yan staring at him, his fingers slowly brushing back and forth over Mai Ding’s cheek. Still half asleep, Mai Ding narrowed his eyes drowsily. An Zi Yan placed a fingertip against the slight crease between his brows. “Stop worrying yourself over me. You’ve had a hard time lately.” Was An Zi Yan indirectly thanking him? That damned gentleness of his hurt too much. Mai Ding buried his face in the pillow, unwilling to let An Zi Yan see him.
After leaving Mai Ding’s parents’ house, they went to An Xun and Wu Xin’s home. The atmosphere was much the same. Everyone pretended nothing was wrong, and no one asked where An Zi Yan had disappeared to for those few days. But the moment An Su came back, everything fell apart. “Where did you go?” An Zi Yan did not answer. An Su stepped forward and grabbed the front of his shirt. “Do you know how many times I called you? You didn’t even come to Grandpa’s funeral. How could you be so thoughtless? If you’d been there, Grandpa could’ve seen you one last time. Maybe that would’ve made him happy.”
“Su’er, enough. It’s New Year. Why are you making a scene?”
“So what if it’s New Year? There’s nothing worth celebrating this year!” she shouted. “Grandpa is the one who died, so why does everyone still have to take care of your feelings?” An Zi Yan stared at her and said flatly, “You think I like everyone taking care of my feelings? I’m fucking fine. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me.” He was lying again.
“If you’re fine, then where were you these past few days?”
“Why does it matter where I went? Even if I hadn’t gone anywhere, what would it have changed?”
“It matters. It matters to me.” An Su’s voice softened. She leaned her head against An Zi Yan. “Zi Yan, how could Grandpa just leave like that? There were still so many things I hadn’t told him. Your sister is scared. I want you beside me.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
An Su burst into tears, all her emotions breaking loose at once. By the time she finished crying, she had calmed down considerably. An Xun asked An Zi Yan, “You should be going back to work tomorrow, right?”
“Mm.”
After a pause, An Xun said, “The company and businesses the old man left behind still need someone to manage them. I think you should come back.”
“Leave it to Fu Shu. He knows what to do.”
“You’re not planning to handle any of it?”
“Why don’t you handle it?”
“The old man wanted to leave it to you. I don’t agree with him spoiling you like that, but it was still his wish.” Seeing that An Zi Yan had no intention of taking over, An Xun turned to Mai Ding instead. “How about you manage it?” Mai Ding was so frightened all he could do was shake his head. An Xun made decisions far too casually. Mai Ding knew perfectly well that he had neither the ability nor the skill to manage a company. He would rather start from the bottom as an ordinary employee. In the end, An Xun could only give in. “Fine. I’ll manage it for now.”
“Look at what day it is. Stop talking about those things.” Wu Xin smiled. “It’s a little late, but I made dumplings myself today. Mai Ding, come over and try them.” Mai Ding was puzzled. Even though Wu Xin had already accepted him, there had always been an awkward edge to how she treated him. Now even she had become gentle.
“Okay. Do you need any help?”
“No. I already had someone steam them.”
Wu Xin sat at the dining table and called Mai Ding over. “Stop standing there like an idiot. Come here.” Mai Ding sat down, somewhat at a loss under Wu Xin’s sudden warmth. As far as he could remember, Wu Xin had never treated him this kindly before. Had Grandpa’s death changed her?
“Come back and visit more often when you have time.”
“Mm. Okay.”
“Is work tiring?”
“No.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“I will.” Mai Ding sounded like an obedient child answering his mother. Perhaps because Wu Xin’s change in attitude had come so suddenly, he felt both surprised and warmed by it.
Because of Wu Xin, the meal did not feel too bleak, and Mai Ding was not nearly as restrained as usual. Every time he came here, he worried that some careless mistake might offend An Xun or Wu Xin. They were not like his own parents, around whom he could relax, so he was careful about everything. After they ate, An Zi Yan had no intention of staying. He told Mai Ding to wait for him in the car. Only after Mai Ding had gone outside did An Zi Yan ask, “What are you trying to do?”
Wu Xin stared at him in disbelief. “How can you speak to your mother like that? Because of Grandpa, I wanted to treat Mai Ding better to make up for things, and you’re suspicious of me instead? You’re already married. What else could I possibly do?” she snapped angrily. An Zi Yan glanced at her and walked out. An Su added, “Mom, stop looking for trouble. Look at whether this is the time for it.” An Xun also looked at Wu Xin coldly. Wu Xin threw down her bowl. “What is wrong with all of you? None of you believes me. What kind of person do you think I am?”
The New Year atmosphere had not yet faded at the company, and everyone still wore the happiness of having reunited with family. The Public Relations Department was lively, with people talking about what they had bought for New Year or where they had gone. Whenever someone asked Mai Ding, he smiled and brushed the question aside. Everyone had heard that someone in An Zi Yan’s family was sick, but they knew nothing beyond that. When An Zi Yan came in, Guo Ping asked, “Yan, is your family member okay? We thought about calling and going to visit, but we were afraid we’d bother you.”
“They’re fine. They’ve already been discharged.”
“Then we can relax.”
An Zi Yan went into his office, and the chatter outside resumed. Mai Ding lowered his head and worked. Fan Shao Jun studied him for a moment. “Mai Ding, why do I feel like you’ve lost weight?”
“Must’ve spent the New Year indulging in plenty of romance.”
“That’s a playboy for you. Take it easy and look after yourself.”
“I did not!!” Mai Ding denied it with feigned anger. Maybe being like them, knowing nothing, would make him happier. Perhaps An Zi Yan lied to them simply because of his personality. He did not like speaking his grief aloud and having everyone worry over him and comfort him.
There was no trace at all of what had happened in the An Zi Yan who worked as usual. He arranged everything methodically. Mai Ding brought over a report he had just finished for him to review. An Zi Yan flipped through it quickly, then picked up a pen from Gao Wei’s desk and wrote on the report as he said, “This figure is wrong. Fix it, then give it to Guo Ping.” He handed the document back. Mai Ding nodded and returned to his seat.
Liu Wei caught Mai Ding’s eye and gave him a look. “Congratulations. You come back from New Year and Yan isn’t treating you nearly as badly anymore. You didn’t secretly bribe him behind our backs, did you?” Liu Wei’s words did not make Mai Ding happy, but he pretended they did. “Of course not. I think he finally noticed how hard I work. He doesn’t have any reason to single me out anyway.”
“You’re way too full of yourself.”
Mai Ding wished he really were being full of himself. Then he could accept An Zi Yan’s gentleness as though it were perfectly natural. An Zi Yan was clearly beyond reproach now, yet Mai Ding desperately wanted to find something to reproach him for.