“It won’t save that much!” Mai Ding tried to push An Zi Yan out the door, but An Zi Yan simply shut it. “Don’t tell me you still have something as stupid as embarrassment at this point.”
“Mind your own business. My skin can’t possibly be as thick as yours.”
An Zi Yan pinched Mai Ding’s face between his fingers and turned it left and right before reaching a conclusion. “True. It really can’t compare.”
“Shameless,” Mai Ding cursed. An Zi Yan stepped beneath the shower and raised one finger to turn it on. Water gradually soaked his body. He looked at Mai Ding, who was still standing to one side in a daze, and flicked some water at him. “Why are you still standing there? How much water are you planning to waste?”
“You’re not going to do anything weird, are you?”
“Dirty-minded.”
“You have no right to say that!” Mai Ding pouted and began taking off his clothes cautiously, glancing at An Zi Yan from time to time in case the man suddenly pounced the moment he stopped paying attention.
“Y-you really won’t do anything?” Was he worried, or was he looking forward to it?
“As if you’re that tempting.”
Mai Ding pouted again and stepped under the shower. Warm water streamed down from the top of his head, and he closed his eyes. Bathing could be deeply enjoyable. You could imagine yourself as the lead in a music video or a movie and toss your hair beneath the water. You could empty your mind and focus on nothing but washing yourself. You could even imagine all the dirt on your body and in your heart being washed away. But that only applied when you were alone. When you bathed with the person you loved, it felt different. Beyond the embarrassment came worry: whether he would notice the parts of your body you did not think looked good, whether he would catch the expression on your face.
Because Mai Ding had watered down the shampoo, the white foam in his hair was thin as it ran down his neck and back. He lifted his face out of the stream and tried to open his eyes to see An Zi Yan clearly. An Zi Yan’s eyes were closed. Mai Ding did not know what he was thinking, but Mai Ding knew exactly what he himself was thinking. He prayed that the flowing water could wash away the shadow Grandpa’s death had left on An Zi Yan. Mai Ding raised a foam-covered hand and placed it against An Zi Yan’s face, stood on tiptoe, and kissed the corner of his mouth. The shape of An Zi Yan’s lips shifted slightly.
“You’re the one who came at me.”
“Let’s call it that.”
After finishing the supposedly water-saving shower, Mai Ding pushed open the bathroom door, which was filled with white steam. His skin and cheeks were flushed from the heat. Wearing only shorts, he stepped on the floor fan’s switch and complained endlessly about how hot it was.
“We should’ve bought watermelon.”
“The fact that you’re saying that at me means…”
“Sorry. I mean I should’ve bought watermelon. I’m not telling you to buy one. Happy now?” Mai Ding bent his wet hair toward the fan and yawned repeatedly. “Sigh, I really can’t compare with how I was during summer vacation anymore. I have to admit I’m getting old. It’s only ten and I’m already sleepy.” He sounded like an old man.
“Go to the hospital and get checked for kidney deficiency.”
“Thank you for the kind reminder. Whatever is wrong with my body, it’s all the result of being tormented by you for years. You should remember that forever!” Mai Ding gritted his teeth. When he spoke into the fan, his voice vibrated, adding even more of a resentful-wife effect. Mai Ding had loved doing this since he was little. He had never studied why it happened. He simply thought it was fun. An Zi Yan sat on the sofa drying his hair. Squatting in front of the fan, Mai Ding’s childish side resurfaced. “An~~ Zi~~ Yan~~ haha~~ isn’t~~ this~~ ama~~zing~~?”
“Sound spreads outward in waves. When the sound waves moving toward the fan meet the airflow coming from the fan, it’s like the waves encountering an obstacle. They’re reflected back, producing an echo that resembles a tremolo.” An Zi Yan explained calmly. Now Mai Ding not only stopped thinking it was amazing, he even felt deflated and rolled his eyes at him.
“You ruin every bit of fun.”
“You call that fun?”
“I do!”
An Zi Yan reached out and touched Mai Ding’s short hair. “Go to sleep when your hair is dry.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll come in later.”
Mai Ding stayed in front of the fan a little longer, then stood and patted An Zi Yan on the shoulder in an envious tone. “Youth really is wonderful.” An Zi Yan stared at the hand on his shoulder, and Mai Ding hurriedly pulled it back.
Once he crawled under the covers, Mai Ding guessed that An Zi Yan would probably use his body tonight to vent everything he was holding in. Under the circumstances, Mai Ding was willing to let him. So he deliberately forced his heavy eyelids open and stared at the bedroom door. His blinking grew slower and slower until, at some point, it stopped entirely. The mattress shifted when someone lay down beside him. Mai Ding was half-asleep, more exhausted than aware. Did An Zi Yan lie down? When is he going to start? I’m so sleepy. Why isn’t he doing anything yet? There, finally. He felt An Zi Yan’s hand settle over him through the thin blanket. Mai Ding turned and burrowed into An Zi Yan’s arms.
“Sleep.” That was the last thing Mai Ding heard before sinking fully back into sleep. An Zi Yan did nothing afterward.
Guo Ping and the others were relieved to see that An Zi Yan had not become depressed after this setback. Even though he was no longer participating in the project proposal, he still appeared to be working seriously in his office. They could not help admiring him.
“Yan really is something. We can’t embarrass him either. If we don’t do a good job, Cui Ass will definitely say he isn’t qualified to be a manager.”
“Exactly. Once we finish this quickly, we can go back to working for Yan.”
“He always looks so handsome when he’s serious.”
Handsome, my ass. Serious, my ass. Mai Ding wanted to drag every one of them into An Zi Yan’s office and make them look at what he was actually doing. He was playing games! And he had even raised the blinds so anyone could see! At first Mai Ding thought An Zi Yan had been joking, until he pretended to bring him coffee and caught sight of the brightly colored game screen. He nearly poured the coffee over the keyboard. If Mai Ding had not seen it with his own eyes, even he would have been fooled. An Zi Yan simply did not look like someone playing a game. Anyone watching him would assume he was working seriously.
The moment Manager Cui came in, everyone stopped fooling around and lowered their heads to work. Manager Cui gave them a sour look. “Do you think I’m blind or deaf? Working for me isn’t the same as working for your Manager An. Stop grinning and fooling around. I need talent, not idiots.” He deliberately spoke loudly, then peered through the transparent glass toward An Zi Yan as if trying to intimidate him. An Zi Yan did not even look at him. Manager Cui’s sparse eyebrows drew together. What was An Zi Yan so busy with? The entire company was supposedly focused on this product launch, so there should be nothing for him to do. What was he planning? Bi Sheng Lin had suddenly resigned without saying anything. An Zi Yan had definitely had something to do with it. What was he planning now? Manager Cui noticed several files lying on his desk. Could it be… Whether deliberately or by coincidence, An Zi Yan suddenly picked up those files and put them into a drawer. By the time he looked toward Manager Cui, the man had already walked away.
The suspicious Manager Cui had no idea that the supposedly hardworking An Zi Yan was merely playing a game. He imagined countless possibilities and worked himself into a state of agitation. His temper worsened along with it. Not only did Mai Ding and the others suffer, even Manager Cui’s own subordinates were cursed viciously for the smallest mistake.
Everyone in Public Relations except An Zi Yan was living in hell. Terrified of making a mistake, Mai Ding repeatedly shot An Zi Yan’s office looks full of jealousy and resentment.
Elio’s Notes: “Kidney deficiency” is a traditional Chinese medicine concept that is also commonly used jokingly to imply sexual weakness or poor stamina.