Capítulo 28: THE REWARD OF PERSISTENCE
"Zhendan," Xuan Tianyi said as he hurriedly walked into Hua Zhendan's office.
He stopped. Stunned to see four pair of eyes staring at him. One pair belonged to Hua Zhendan himself, another to Zhang Lin, Hua Zhendan's assistant who seemed to be taking notes. The last two pairs belonged to two unfamiliar important-looking faces. They were either having a meeting or nothing at all.
"I'm sorry. I can come back," Xuan Tianyi said, embarrassed.
"Come here," Hua Zhendan nodded at him.
Nervous, he complied.
"Do you want to put those down?" Hua Zhendan nodded had the plastic bag Xuan Tianyi was carrying.
Xuan Tianyi nodded, hurried to the coffee table to drop the bag, then back to the office table where the four people were congregating.
"He's the one I was telling you about." Hua Zhendan raised his chin at Xuan Tianyi.
Hua Zhendan stood up and walked up to Xuan Tianyi. He held Xuan Tianyi by the shoulder, sending a shiver down Xuan Tianyi's spine. Unable to help himself, Xuan Tianyi looked up at Hua Zhendan's face. Paying particular attention to his lips.
"Imagine your new summer collection hanging above this elegant nose." Hua Zhendan said, snapping Xuan Tianyi out of his daze and back into the present.
"A dimple accentuating every word he has to say on TV."
Xuan Tianyi smiled. Hua Zhendan was complimenting him.
Hua Zhendan continued. "Girls in their teens and young adulthood would fall head over heels in love with him and consequentially, your new summer collection." Hua Zhendan paused for effect. The words needed time to settle before he spoke more. "I don't think there's a better face anywhere to put behind the eyeglasses."
The two strange men put their head together, whispered for a moment, then looked at Hua Zhendan with a smile on their faces. One looked from Xuan Tianyi, then back to Hua Zhendan. "We like him."
Hua Zhendan smiled, then let go of Xuan Tianyi's shoulder. "I'm glad you see the same potential I see in this face."
One of the men nodded. "We'll send you samples of our summer collection later."
Hua Zhendan nodded. After talking for a while, Hua Zhendan and Zhang Lin saw off both men.
When Hua Zhendan returned, Xuan Tianyi was still standing in the exact spot he had left him. "Why are you just standing there, do you have something to say or are you gonna leave?"
"I... I..."
"You...?"
"I... Brought food for you." Xuan Tianyi pointed to the plastic bag he had placed on the coffee table earlier.
"I don't want it." Hua Zhendan returned to his seat.
Xuan Tianyi frowned. "Why not?"
"Well..." Hua Zhendan looked at his wristwatch. It was a couple of minutes before twelve. "I wanted it two hours ago. I didn't get it then, so I don't want it now."
"I would have brought it two hours ago. But the car wouldn't work."
"Why didn't you take a cab?"
"Well, at first, Wang Zi said it was the battery. Then he said the car repairer was ten minutes away. But the car repairer didn't come until twenty minutes later."
Hua Zhendan listened attentively.
"When the repairer came, he fixed the battery, but that didn't work either. So he took some things apart and fixed them back. The whole time, he kept saying he was almost done, but it took him another thirty minutes.
"That didn't work either, and he said he now knew what the problem was."
"And you stood by the roadside. The whole time. With my food?"
"No. This time around, I didn't want to wait, but Wang Zi wouldn't let me go. He said he had strict instructions to watch over me."
"Oh! Okay."
"Yeah."
Much to Xuan Tianyi's annoyance, Hua Zhendan picked up his phone, unlocked it, then started scrolling and taping on it.
"Are you going to eat it now?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't eat cold food."
"I..." Xuan Tianyi trailed off. He wasn't usually a smart person but any dimwitted fellow could see what he just realized.
"You what?"
"There was really nothing wrong with the car, was there? You deliberately had Wang Zi stall me. So you would have an excuse to be mean to me."
"What are you talking about?"
"You... Why are you doing this to me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. And you're late for work. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I would have penalized you."
"That's ridiculous. You know the reason I was late."
"Maybe you shouldn't put your personal life over your work life."
"You're hurting me."
"What?"
"You're hurting me, Zhendan. If you don't want to go out with me, just say so. Don't treat me like a—"
"Xuan Tianyi?"
"Zhendan?"
"I already said no in the morning, didn't I?"
"You did. But you didn't mean that, did you?"
"I did. Why would I say 'no' if I didn't mean it? Xuan Tianyi, last night was fun but that was that. I don't want to date you."
"Zhendan, you don't mean any of that."
"Fuck. You're persistent."
"Yes, I am. Because I know what I feel and see. And I am in love with you and I can see that you feel the same way about me."
"Really now?"
"Yes. You are foul-mouthed but your eyes confess your true feelings to me. I know you want to date me as much as I want to date you."
"Would you leave me alone and let me work if I agree to be your boyfriend?"
"I will. Just say yes, okay? I promise I'll be good."
"And if you're not?"
"I'll be, I promise. I always thought having a boyfriend wasn't a priority, and I know it's stupid, but now, it feels like I'll die if I don't have you. It feels like you're the sole reason I have to live. God, I wasn't this crazy yesterday. Please, just say yes to me. Please, baby."
"Okay." Hua Zhendan said nonchalantly.
"What?" Xuan Tianyi was genuinely confused.
Hua Zhendan sighed. "Apparently, you're a kid who needs everything spelt out for him. Yes. I'll date you."
"Oh my god. Really?" Xuan Tianyi was excited. "I want to kiss you. Can I?"
"Why are you even asking? Just do it if you want to. You fucked me yesterday, didn't you?"
Xuan Tianyi grinned like a Cheshire cat. "About that. Am I the first person you bottomed out for?"
"No." Hua Zhendan said coldly.
"Oh! I..." Xuan Tianyi trailed off. He had imagined he was that special. Turns out he wasn't.
"I have to work now. I suggest you do the same." Hua Zhendan pointed at the door.
"Oh!" Xuan Tianyi understood he was being asked to leave.
"Don't expect me to treat you any differently at work because I agreed to be your boyfriend."
"Okay." Xuan Tianyi nodded. "I'll get going."
When Xuan Tianyi got to the door, Hua Zhendan stopped him. "Hey."
"Sir?" Xuan Tianyi answered.
"When I'm not working, do expect me to treat you differently because I am your boyfriend."
Xuan Tianyi nodded with a grin on his face. With happiness in his heart, he opened the door and walked out.
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