His moment of triumph had been far too short. He’d thought only about how to trick An Zi Yan and hadn’t considered what might happen afterward. Now it really was too late. His trousers had already been pulled down to the floor. Mai Ding turned around and pressed both hands against An Zi Yan’s chest. “Wait! Whatever you want to do today, however many times you want it, I won’t stop you. But first, look at the birthday present I got you.”
“I don’t want anything except your body.”
“It’s the first birthday present I’ve ever given you, so I worked really hard to choose it.” Mai Ding’s small face was solemn, filled with anticipation and nervousness. He hoped An Zi Yan would like what he’d chosen. An Zi Yan crooked his lips and let Mai Ding go. “Make it quick.” Mai Ding didn’t even bother putting his trousers back on. He pulled An Zi Yan to his feet. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
“Can’t you just bring it here?”
“It’s a present I can’t carry by myself. Cooperate a little, will you?” Mai Ding tugged him along as he spoke. With very little enthusiasm, An Zi Yan allowed himself to be led to another room. Mai Ding gripped the door handle and asked mysteriously, “Close your eyes first.” An Zi Yan responded by turning around. Mai Ding hurriedly changed his mind. “Fine, you don’t have to close them. Just try to look a little excited!”
“Are you going to open the door or not?”
Mai Ding opened it. Their eyes, accustomed to the dimness outside, needed a moment to adjust to the brightness of the room. As the light grew softer, Mai Ding stole a glance at An Zi Yan. For a fleeting instant, surprise crossed his face. Then An Zi Yan smiled. Invisible flowers bloomed in the air and in Mai Ding’s heart. It was the same smile as before, the one that could still leave Mai Ding staring in a daze. He liked this expression far more than the look on An Zi Yan’s face after being pranked.
The rooms were no longer a separate cinema and piano room. They had been combined. A piano stood beside the sunlit window, and shelves lined with DVDs stood against the wall. The arrangement wasn’t especially good, but it wasn’t terrible either. Mai Ding walked over and stroked the body of the piano. “I know I don’t have enough money to buy you the kind of piano you had before, but I didn’t just pick the cheapest one I could find. I looked up all kinds of information online and compared them. This one…” An Zi Yan interrupted him. “All right. I understand.” He approached the piano and pressed one of its keys with his index finger. Its tone couldn’t compare to that of the piano An Zi Yan had smashed before. Of course, Mai Ding knew nothing about such things and couldn’t tell the difference. He asked expectantly, “Well? Well? What do you think?”
“It’s not bad.” Other than sarcasm or polite social niceties, An Zi Yan almost never used words of praise. Mai Ding knew perfectly well that “not bad” was about the highest compliment An Zi Yan could give. His eyes curved into crescents as he smiled. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around An Zi Yan’s neck. “Really? You like the present I got you, don’t you? Don’t you?”
“Mm.”
The sheep had walked straight into the tiger’s jaws. An Zi Yan wrapped his arms firmly around Mai Ding, lifted him, and carried him toward the bedroom. “We’ve seen the present. Time to get down to business.” Because An Zi Yan had offered such a rare compliment, Mai Ding, just as unusually, had no objections or complaints at all. “Okay!”
They fell directly onto the bed, making the mattress sink slightly beneath them. Mai Ding smiled as he let An Zi Yan remove his clothes. His fingers brushed An Zi Yan’s abdomen, feeling the heat gradually rise there. An Zi Yan took Mai Ding’s hand and brought it to his lips. With his other hand, he took the wedding ring off the chain around Mai Ding’s neck and slipped it onto his ring finger. Had someone given this man professional training? Why did every single movement have to make Mai Ding’s heart flutter? An Zi Yan leaned over him, drawing him in as though he had some magnetic force of his own, stealing away his heart and soul.
Lying in bed, Mai Ding kept watching the clock. Eleven fifty-nine. Right now he had accompanied An Zi Yan into another year of life. One minute later, An Zi Yan would accompany him into another.
Mai Ding had little interest in planning his own birthday. After thanking Guan Zhu, he devoted himself to boasting to Zhou Ge, Ellen, and everyone else about the brilliant way he’d tricked An Zi Yan. After so many years, his wish had finally come true. It would keep him happy for at least half a year. He was in such a good mood that he generously bought bags of tasty snacks and carried them into Public Relations. Fan Shao Jun immediately started rummaging through them. “Well, look who’s lost his mind. You actually bought something that isn’t cheap. I figured those bags would be full of half-yuan packets of spicy strips.”
“I’m in a good mood today. Say whatever you like.” Mai Ding was wonderfully magnanimous. Feng Fei Meng tore open a packet and started eating. “Did your impotence get cured?”
“No way. I thought he was born impotent.” Liu Wei rubbed his chin. Guo Ping stopped them. “Leave Mai Ding alone. What if it hasn’t been cured and your teasing drives him to jump off a building?” Gao Shuang, predictably, added, “If he’s going to jump, he should do it at another company. Otherwise it’ll bring bad luck to Public Relations.” Everyone else joined in, too. Mai Ding roared, “You’re going too far! Even my patience has limits!”
“Didn’t you tell us to say whatever we wanted?”
“Not quite this much! Give me my snacks back!”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Public Relations was in uproar. The place had changed a great deal since Mai Ding’s first day. When An Zi Yan walked in, the office was filled with the sounds of people crunching chips and cracking sunflower seeds. Everyone instantly went quiet. Mai Ding wasn’t afraid of An Zi Yan. At least, he wasn’t afraid today. An Zi Yan could no longer treat him so rudely. He had been defeated by Mai Ding! Mai Ding deliberately stuffed a huge handful of chips into his mouth and crunched loudly right in front of him. Ignoring his foolish behavior, An Zi Yan rapped him on the head with a document. “You, surnamed Mai. We don’t pay you to sit here eating chips.” He left Mai Ding and went back to his office. Rubbing his sore head, Mai Ding thought, I must have been knocked stupid to love you so much.
Nothing could spoil Mai Ding’s good mood. From morning until the end of work, he stayed delighted. When he returned to the place they were renting, An Zi Yan and Bai Xiao Si were already there. Mai Ding was so energized he practically glowed. “Oh-ho-ho-ho! Both of my defeated opponents are here. What were you talking about? Your painful memories of being fooled?” His expression went well beyond simply asking to be punched.
“I should’ve thrown boiling water at you.”
“Oh-ho-ho. Now you know how it feels to be tricked, don’t you?”
“Mai Mai, is this the attitude you take toward someone you asked to help you move? In that case, maybe I’ll just go home.” Bai Xiao Si stood up. Mai Ding immediately changed his tone. “Come on, let’s talk nicely. Moving is important. I’ll go pack first. When Zhou Ge and the others get here, we can get started.” Humming a little tune, he headed into the bedroom. Once he was safely inside, Bai Xiao Si lowered her voice. “He’s ridiculously happy he managed to fool you.” An Zi Yan leaned against the sofa and said calmly, “Consider it my birthday present to him.”
“What do you mean, ‘consider it’? You deliberately gave him that present. Still…” Bai Xiao Si crossed her legs. “Pretending you’ve been fooled is much harder than fooling someone. I have to admit my acting was superb. We should’ve recorded it. It was wonderful, especially the part where I threw water at him. What surprised me most was that you’d actually agree to go through with it.”
“You talk too much. I don’t want to hear about this again.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll keep it secret from Mai Mai forever. But there’s something I’m curious about. How did you know he was playing a prank on you?” Bai Xiao Si asked. An Zi Yan replied with a question of his own. “Is there any possibility he’d fall in love with someone else?”
“You conceited devil.”