19.
During lunch break, while I was playing a game in my office, Ân Hiểu Hiểu knocked and came in, saying she wanted to talk to me.
As soon as she came in, she helped herself to the snacks in my office. Then she chattered away about all the office drama while she ate—who didn’t get along with whom, how everyone had been doing lately, and so on…
As I listened to Ân Hiểu Hiểu ramble on, I tried to snatch a few chips back from her.
Ân Hiểu Hiểu shoved an enormous piece straight into my mouth.
“And there’s something else, Nhiếp. I think there’s something off about Chiêm Kinh Minh.”
The young woman frowned slightly, looking serious. “He comes over to your office way too often. He even hangs around you during afternoon tea, so there’s nowhere for me to sit.”
“Really?”
I thought about it. Ân Hiểu Hiểu seemed to be right—lately, Chiêm Kinh Minh was always hovering around me. I’d always thought of him as a hardworking junior, just like Ân Hiểu Hiểu, so I hadn’t noticed at all.
“Whenever he comes to see me, it’s always for work.”
“What work could there possibly be that often? I think that’s just an excuse! Does he bring you anything every time he comes by?”
I nodded.
“See! I told you he was up to no good! If he has a question, fine, but why bring you gifts!?”
Ân Hiểu Hiểu looked utterly vindicated.
“But you kids give me things too, don’t you?”
Our department had a great atmosphere. During breaks, whenever we weren’t working, someone would come hang out in my office. Ân Hiểu Hiểu used to be the one who came by most often, but lately it had been Chiêm Kinh Minh.
“That’s different!”
“How is it different?”
Ân Hiểu Hiểu opened her mouth to answer, but a knock at the door cut her off.
The young man’s voice came from outside, brimming with barely concealed joy. “Sis.”
“Come in.”
Chiêm Kinh Minh opened the door, his face alight with a radiant smile, his eyes seeming to hold countless sparkling stars.
When he saw Ân Hiểu Hiểu, he paused for a moment, then greeted her politely. “You’re here too, Sis Hiểu.”
“Sis, I brought you cake—your favorite kind.”
The young man winked at me and set a beautiful paper bag on my desk without another word. “Since Sis Hiểu is here too, you two can share it.”
“You didn’t have to…”
“You gave me some pointers last time. Consider this a thank-you.”
His words cut off what I was about to say. “Thanks so much.”
“It’s nothing!” The young man beamed. “I’m just happy you like it.”
After Chiêm Kinh Minh left, Ân Hiểu Hiểu stared at the paper bag, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.
“Chiêm Kinh Minh really knows how to splurge. The pastries from this bakery aren’t easy to get.”
“Oh, right—I heard this bakery always gives customers a greeting card, with a piece of gold leaf stuck on it. Let’s see if that’s true!”
I looked inside the bag. A card resting on top of the cake box gave off a faint floral scent.
Ân Hiểu Hiểu reached in and pulled it out. She’d barely glanced at it when her expression suddenly turned strange.
“What’s wrong?”
She handed me the card.
Just as Ân Hiểu Hiểu had said, a border of gold leaf adorned the card—elegant, but not gaudy.
My eyes fell on the first line, and I froze.
The name Khê Khê was written in an unmistakably elaborate script.
Ân Hiểu Hiểu chimed in right on cue:
“He’s younger than you and doesn’t even call you ‘Sis.’ He’s definitely got something else on his mind.”
20.
Because of what Ân Hiểu Hiểu had said, I was in a muddle all through lunch, right up until everyone in the department gathered for a meal after work.
A dozen or so coworkers crowded around a large table. By the time Ân Hiểu Hiểu and I arrived, only five or six seats were left.
I was just about to sit down when someone got there before me.
The young man smiled at me, looking as innocent as a child. He made it seem as though it was all unintentional, which couldn’t help but soften my heart.
“Sis, you can sit here.”
I pressed my lips together and sat down.
Ân Hiểu Hiểu had just started to sit down when she suddenly stood up and moved to the seat beside me.
“What’s going on?”
I looked at Ân Hiểu Hiểu suspiciously. She answered with a knowing smile.
The room door opened, and a gentle voice said, “Sorry, I had a meeting and got here a little late.”
“You’re not late at all. They haven’t even brought the food out yet.”
“President Lu’s had a lot of meetings lately, hasn’t he?”
The young man smiled and sat down beside me. A faint scent of greenery drifted to my nose.
The conversation at the table paused for just a moment before becoming lively again, everyone chatting away. Not long after Lục Từ Niên arrived, the servers began bringing out the food.
One delicious-looking dish after another was set before us, making everyone’s mouth water.
I picked up my chopsticks to get some food, but the person beside me beat me to it. In an instant, he’d taken the serving chopsticks and put some food in my bowl. “Sis, eat up.”
The person on my right flashed a bright smile.
I paused, then thanked him. “Thanks, but you don’t have to fuss over me…”
“You like juice, so I just ordered you a glass.”
Why did I have such a bad feeling about the atmosphere?
“This is really good. Try some.”
“She doesn’t like lamb.”
Lục Từ Niên picked the piece of lamb out of my bowl and put it in his own, giving Chiêm Kinh Minh a faint smile.
The young man hesitated, then quickly said, “Sorry, Sis. I didn’t know. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Careful? Careful about what, exactly?
Before I could react, Lục Từ Niên spoke up. “She doesn’t like lamb, cilantro, mushrooms, or squid. She likes spicy food. She can tolerate lamb if it’s fried until crispy. She likes…”
Lục Từ Niên listed her likes and dislikes one by one, as if he’d memorized them.
The table fell silent. Ân Hiểu Hiểu asked in a daze, “President Lu, how do you know Nhiếp so well?”
Lục Từ Niên looked at me in silence.
I was a little stunned.
“...Because we’ve known each other for many years.”
“Wow, when did you two meet?”
“He and I went to the same high school.”
“That long? Well, that explains it…”
Everyone nodded as if they understood, then launched into a flurry of questions. “What was President Lu like in high school?”
“Was he as cold as he is now?”
Lục Từ Niên and I weren’t very close in high school. Our classrooms were two rooms apart, but we had the same physics teacher, so I’d run into him in the teachers’ lounge from time to time.
After running into each other a few times, we got to know each other.
But we were only acquaintances until we got closer in college.
I gave a vague answer to dodge the question.
But everyone only got more enthusiastic, turning to pepper Lục Từ Niên with questions.
“What about Nhiếp? What was she like in high school? You weren’t in the same class, so how did you get to know each other?…”
Ân Hiểu Hiểu was like a machine gun, firing one question after another.
Lục Từ Niên patiently answered each of her questions.
“She and I had the same physics teacher. We met when we both went to the teachers’ lounge to ask questions.”
“She was an excellent student. We were always competing for first and second place in physics.”
“What else?”
Lục Từ Niên lowered his eyes, as if thinking. A hint of tenderness glimmered at the corner of his eyes.
“Smart, beautiful…and very popular.”
I froze. Ân Hiểu Hiểu immediately chimed in, “That’s right! My Nhiếp is so popular!”
Amid the lively din of the party, I looked softly at Lục Từ Niên, lost in thought.
21.
More than an hour had passed, and the table was still buzzing. Since it was Friday, everyone had drunk themselves silly. A few of the specialists went around proposing toasts, but whenever they reached me, someone would step in to stop them.
Chiêm Kinh Minh was always one step behind Lục Từ Niên. He intercepted every drink meant for me, drinking twice as much as anyone else.
After several rounds, Lục Từ Niên’s face had flushed red with drink. His phoenix eyes were hazy, and when he stood to head to the restroom, he staggered a little as he left.
Seeing that, I grew a little worried and started to get up to follow him.
Someone suddenly grabbed my hand.
Chiêm Kinh Minh had drunk a lot. His usually bright eyes were now clouded with drink, and his fair face was slightly flushed. Pouting like a child trying to get his way, he said, “Sis, President Lu is a grown man.”
I froze for a moment. A red string was tied around the hand he was holding.
He was an adult.
And he could even turn into a full-grown dog.
For all I knew, he could be bounding down the hallway right now.
I’d sworn to do everything in my power to protect Lục Từ Niên’s right to live on Earth.
I pulled my hand free and said calmly, “I’m sorry.”
“I need to go check on him.”
Not only because he might switch bodies with Lục Tiểu Hà, but also for my own reasons.
Whether or not he transformed, how could I not care about the person I liked?
Chiêm Kinh Minh froze, staring at his hand suspended in midair. The atmosphere turned awkward.
“I understand.”
He gave me his familiar smile again. “Then go ahead.”