Chapter 12: 12

Gossip and Heart

 

The autumn night on the mountain was cool and crisp.

Yi Zhize sat side by side with the man on the steps, surrounded by the cries of birds and the chirping of insects.

There were only a few stars in the night sky, which were not very bright, and Ou Tingyun asked him, "Are you here alone at this time of year?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you afraid in the middle of nowhere?"

"No."

"Just sit like this until dawn?"

"Not always, sometimes I leave early, sometimes I stay a little longer."

"What about tonight? How long do you plan to stay?"

“Tingyun, shouldn’t you be… aren’t you scared?"

"How is that possible?"

"In that case," Yi Zhize said deliberately, "then I'll tell you a few interesting things that have happened here."

"What... what interesting things?"

"Two years ago, when I was alone until midnight, I vaguely saw a strange shadow." Yi Zhize's tone was flat, but in the night it seemed crisp and gripping: "Ah, Tingyun, look, there it is."

Ou Tingyun immediately got up from his spot and took Yi Zhize's wrist in his hand: "Let's go down the mountain."

Yi Zhize laughed, "Aren't doctors supposed to be purely materialistic? Why are you so timid?"

"Yes, Zhize, I'm scared." Ou Tingyun leaned closer to him and said, "Therefore, you need to stay closer to me."

Thinking he was really scared, Yi Zhize explained, "I was just teasing you, there wasn't any shadow at all."

"I don't care, I was scared, in any case you can't let go of my hand."

".... Okay."

Ou Tingyun smiled, holding Yi Zhize with one hand and turning on the flashlight with the other, stepped into the moonlight, along the mountain path, and climbed down the steps.

Yi Zhize touched the palm of his right hand, touched the rise and fall of the scab, and whispered, "The wound is healed?"

"Mmm."

"Thank you, Tingyun."

"Thanks for what? I found out you have a big problem."

"What?"

"Being too polite."

"What do you call that? How can politeness be a fault?"

"Politeness is for outsiders,” Ou Tingyun said, "and by being polite to me, you are distancing yourself from me."

"But I think it's just necessary respect and has nothing to do with closeness."

"Zhize, when you have a girlfriend in the future, are you going to be polite with her every day too?"

Yi Zhize imagined that scene and really felt strange, and couldn't say anything for half a day.

Ou Tingyun squeezed his palm.

Yi Zhize said, "That's different."

"What's different?"

"My relationship with you is not what you say it is..."

"Okay,” Ou Tingyun interrupted, "I'm your therapist and right now, I'm finding that you have a problem: a lack of experience with intimacy that will affect your anxiety levels and your sleep. From this moment on, you are not allowed to be polite to me, do you understand?"

"I don't understand."

"I'll teach you."

"No need."

"That's okay,” Ou Tingyun said persistently, "we can… slowly figure it out."

When they reached the bottom of the mountain and their respective parked cars, Ou Tingyun said, "Why don't you leave the car and I'll take you home?"

"No need." Yi Zhize let go of Ou Tingyun's hand and felt around in his pockets, but he couldn't find his car keys. It dawned on him that he had forgotten them in the car when he had come back for his umbrella.

Noticing the situation on his side, Ou Tingyun said with a smile, "What's the matter, Zhize? Can't find your keys?"

“En."

"Then I'll be kind and give you a ride home."

"Okay."

“Don’t say thank you."

"Thanks."

It was nearly an hour's drive from Anhe Mountain back to the city.

Perhaps too tired, Yi Zhize leaned back in his seat and fell asleep.

Ou Tingyun reselected the navigation destination and switched from Yi Zhize's house back to his own.

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———

The next day, at seven in the morning.

When Yi Zhize woke up from his sleep, he opened his eyes and saw a completely unfamiliar environment.

He carefully recalled the events of last night, when Ou Tingyun had driven him home after coming down from the mountain.

Then....

Had he fallen asleep in the car?

Lifting the covers, he was wearing beige pyjamas, which clearly bore the scent of Ou Tingyun.

This.... What was going on here?

Looking to his side, Yi Zhize was even more shocked.

Ou Tingyun was lying beside him, seemingly having just been woken up and looking a little worse for wear: “Mr. Yi, it's only seven in the morning."

Yi Zhize asked nervously, "How did I..."

Ou Tingyun looked at him on the side, the quilt slipping off to reveal half-naked skin.

Yi Zhize's ears suddenly turned red: "Last night, I, you..."

Ou Tingyun smiled, "As you can see, everything that should have happened happened and everything that shouldn't have happened also happened."

Yi Zhize's mind crashed and went blank.

Ou Tingyun stared at him with interest, watching his reaction.

It took a while before Yi Zhize muttered, "Are you serious?"

"What do you think?"

"You lied to me."

"Tell me carefully, how did I lie to you? Hmm?"

"Shut up!"

Ou Tingyun laughed softly, "So easily shy? Zhize?"

Yi Zhize asked, "Why are my clothes changed?"

"You got wet yesterday, do you like to sleep in wet clothes?"

"You have a lot of rooms at home, what's the point of squeezing in with me?"

"You have so many questions," said Ou Tingyun, "I'm happy to."

Yi Zhize got out of bed and stepped barefoot on the carpet, "I remember you wore one of my outfits last time, do you still have it?"

Ou Tingyun's voice was lazy, "I don't know, it's gone. You can wear mine, take whatever you want from the wardrobe."

By the time Yi Zhize had finished his shower and changed his clothes, Ou Tingyun had only just gotten up.

As a matter of course, he said, "Zhize, I want to have an omelette and toast."

Yi Zhize: …...

Ou Tingyun added, "By the way, there is milk in the fridge, the kind you like to drink, just warm it up."

Yi Zhize asked, "How do you know what kind of milk I like to drink?"

"I saw it at your house last time."

"That's what I like to drink, what did you buy it for?"

"Wanted to try it, can't I?" Looking at him in his own clothes, Ou Tingyun was in a good mood, "I'll take you to work after breakfast later."

Yuanfan Building, below Ruizheng Law Firm.

Yi Zhize got out of Ou Tingyun's car, walked into the lobby of the office building and went to the elevator room to wait for the elevator.

He happened to bump into An Rong.

An Rong smiled brightly and spoke with a deeper meaning, "Mr. Yi looks extraordinarily unusual today."

"Do I?"

"For example, this outfit of yours is not like any other."

Yi Zhize coughed uncomfortably, "Every now and then I want to change my style."

"Another example is that you exude the aura of love all over your body."

The elevator reached the first floor with a crisp ding.

Yi Zhize stepped into the elevator: "You're thinking too much."

An Rong followed after him, "Am I overthinking it? Then which little sweetie gave you a ride to work today?"

Yi Zhize answered without changing his face, “DiDi driver."

Ou Tingyun: ????

An Rong pretended to be puzzled, "Why is the driver you matched with such a handsome one? Oh, and why does this driver look exactly the same as the previous Mr. Ou? Mr. Yi? Why? Why on earth is that?"

The elevator reached the 15th floor and made another crisp ding.

Yi Zhize said, “Miss An, how's your labour dispute case from late September coming along? And the new bankruptcy restructuring case you took over, it seems tricky, right?"

An Rong immediately got cranky: "Ahhhhhh annoying, why are you opening the pot?” (Angel: Opening the pot refers to the idiom "Which pot is not opened and which pot should be opened”, which means "People should not mention the privacy shortcomings of others, what should be said, and what should not be said should not be said”.)

Yi Zhize smiled, "I'll give you back the pot."

 

An Rong sighed helplessly, “Mr. Yi, you're really, really vengeful."

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