Mai Ding had barely arrived at work when something Feng Fei Meng said made his ears prick up.
“The girls from other departments keep asking me about that ring on Yan’s hand.”
“Someone’s spreading a rumor that his girlfriend gave him the ring on his ring finger.” The coworkers’ gossip made it impossible for Mai Ding to concentrate. Fortunately, this wasn’t like living abroad. Overseas, a ring on the ring finger meant marriage, but here people paid little attention to which finger someone wore a ring on. Guilty as a thief, Mai Ding fastened his collar. He’d always worn his own wedding ring as a pendant around his neck. Thank goodness nobody had discovered it. When An Zi Yan came out, one of the women finally asked, “Yan, someone asked me to find out. Have you broken up with that girlfriend you get along with so badly?”
“Not yet,” An Zi Yan said directly. What do you mean, “get along so badly”? And what do you mean, “not yet”? Nobody was paying attention to Mai Ding’s expression now. Questions came crashing down on An Zi Yan. “Is she the beautiful woman who came to see you, or someone who works here?”
“Is she really pretty? I’d love to meet the sort of woman you’d fall for.”
“I want to meet her, too!” If you all want to see her so badly, you could just turn around! Fan Shao Jun certainly wasn’t going to miss an opportunity for gossip. “Yan, tell us what qualities your girlfriend has that attracted you.” Mai Ding’s face grew hot as he listened. He almost thought everyone was praising him. Eager to hear An Zi Yan praise him too, Mai Ding couldn’t resist pretending to be an uninvolved onlooker. “Yes, everyone wants to hear it. Why don’t you tell us some of your lover’s good points? I’m sure there must be plenty.” He emphasized the last words. An Zi Yan didn’t look his way. He took some documents from Gao Shuang, opened them, and said, “Low intelligence and a tendency to nag.”
“That’s a lie!” Mai Ding couldn’t help blurting it out. How could he possibly help it? After all these years together, that was An Zi Yan’s assessment of him? Who was a nag? Who was stupid? He hadn’t actually given himself away, because none of the others believed An Zi Yan. “Come on, Yan. What harm could it do to tell us something? Anyway, your girlfriend gave you that ring, didn’t she?” An Zi Yan’s expression became inscrutable. He neither confirmed nor denied it, so the questions multiplied. He turned his head and asked coldly, “Do none of you have work to do?” The coworkers stopped interrogating him. Once he’d pulled up a chair beside Gao Shuang, they went back to talking among themselves. “If I remember correctly, Yan has worn that ring since he joined the company. Maybe he and his girlfriend went to university together.”
“That’s quite possible.” These people really couldn’t stand a moment of idleness. An Zi Yan went on examining the documents as if none of it concerned him, while Mai Ding was still stewing over the two descriptions An Zi Yan had given him. He barely heard the conversation until Gao Shuang suddenly asked, “Mai Ding, which university did you go to?” Mai Ding gave the name. Guo Ping stroked his chin. “If I remember right, wasn’t Yan at the same university?”
Oh no. Had they noticed something? Mai Ding’s stomach churned, and he scolded himself for being so careless. Feng Fei Meng raised another question. “With Yan’s looks and everything else going for him, he must’ve been famous on campus. Even if you didn’t know him personally, you should’ve heard of him or seen him around.” Mai Ding felt like a suspect under interrogation. He glanced nervously at An Zi Yan, who showed no reaction. Liu Wei stared straight at him. “Don’t tell me…” Mai Ding swallowed, afraid to hear what came next. Liu Wei continued, “Don’t tell me you never went to university at all! You forged your diploma to get a job here!” Everyone nodded, convinced. Mai Ding nearly choked on his own saliva. Somehow, this suspicion didn’t make him feel the least bit better.
“How could that be possible? I followed the rules at school! I spent every day studying seriously. Who would pay attention to other people on campus? I’m not like those lovesick fools. I didn’t go to university to find romance. I went to broaden my knowledge and improve myself!” Didn’t Mai Ding feel the slightest pang of guilt saying that? Perhaps he hadn’t gone to university to date, but he’d certainly gone there to get married.
“So you were a bookworm. Just say that.” Mai Ding glared helplessly. Why wouldn’t An Zi Yan come to his rescue? After all the love Mai Ding gave him, the man had no conscience. An Zi Yan’s icy voice suddenly froze the lively office. “Since you all have so much free time, how about working overtime today?”
“I just remembered I have to visit Marketing.”
“I need to go to Finance.”
“I’ve got to make copies of some documents.” Finding one excuse after another, the coworkers swiftly dispersed. Mai Ding looked smug. Served them right for gossiping. See? An Zi Yan had been helping him all along. Of course, that hadn’t been Mai Ding’s opinion a moment ago. His ability to change sides was in fine form.
“That includes you, surnamed Mai.”
Mai Ding stared at An Zi Yan in disbelief, his expression practically shouting, How can I be the same as them? I have a marriage certificate and they don’t! Unmoved by the look, An Zi Yan said, “What are you staring at? If your university diploma is fake, did you skip primary school too? Can’t you understand Mandarin?” If my diploma is fake, then who was sitting beside you in class? A ghost?! Mai Ding roared inwardly. Out loud, he said, “Sorry. I’ll get back to work right away.”
At lunch, Liu Wei sat beside Mai Ding and brought up the subject again. “Maybe our earlier guess was right. Perhaps they’re actually matching rings. It’s just that the owner of the other ring is a complete mystery.” Not as mysterious as you think. The owner of the other ring was sitting beside him, eating lunch.
“Maybe she’s someone in the company.”
“Could she even be in Public Relations, deliberately hiding the ring?” Their speculation made Mai Ding break out in a cold sweat; his temples throbbed. Feng Fei Meng unwittingly rescued him. “You’ve gone too far. Every guess gets wilder. Actually, I’m Yan’s girlfriend.”
“Oh, give it a rest.” Mai Ding breathed a sigh of relief, but there was something else he still couldn’t swallow. He finished lunch in a hurry and ran to An Zi Yan’s office. After peeking outside to make sure nobody was around, he closed the door. “I’m willing to let everything else go, but whom exactly were you calling a nag and an idiot?” An Zi Yan folded his arms and leaned back. “Did I mention anyone by name?”
“Who else could you possibly mean? You don’t have another lover.”
“Did I say I didn’t?”
“Then who else is there? Tell me.”
“Why should I tell you?” Mai Ding grabbed his hair and yelled, “I’m the one asking questions, not you!” An Zi Yan picked up a pen, twirled it between his fingers, and naturally changed the subject. “Did you eat a proper lunch?”
“Yes. Today’s food was pretty good, though not as good as mine. Wait! Who wants to talk about that? Why did you call me a nag and an idiot?”
“Would you rather I lied? If I said you were intelligent, I doubt anyone would believe me.”
“What does it matter? They don’t know you’re talking about me anyway. Exaggerate a little and praise me. It won’t hurt anything.”
“It would make a huge difference.”
“What difference?”
“I’d feel uncomfortable.” At that answer, Mai Ding took two steps closer and grabbed An Zi Yan’s sleeve. “When have you ever cared about making me feel comfortable? Go out there and praise me, or I’m going on strike!”
An Zi Yan watched Mai Ding clutching his sleeve and said slowly, “Sometimes, when we’re at work, I actually wish you’d stay farther away from me.” The words hurt Mai Ding a little, but he pretended not to care. “Why?”
“Because…” With a wicked expression, An Zi Yan crooked a finger, beckoning Mai Ding closer. Mai Ding bent down. An Zi Yan leaned toward his ear. “I won’t be able to stop myself from…” He didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he kissed Mai Ding’s neck. Every hair on Mai Ding’s body stood on end. He hurriedly pulled away and covered his neck with his hand. “Workplace sexual harassment!” He fled the office, his face bright red. After only a few steps, he stopped short. Hadn’t he gone in there to ask why An Zi Yan considered him stupid and nagging? How on earth had it ended like this? Unfortunately, Guo Ping and the others were already back in the office. He’d have to make An Zi Yan kneel on a washboard when they got home!
Nobody else knew. The owner of the other ring lived a life full of indignation, frustration, and helpless fury, with the occasional flutter of the heart.