Chapter 50: Chapter 50

The balcony was a gorgeous place to have dinner. With the breathtaking view of the skyline and the desert in the distance, Sun Fang had taken plenty of pictures when he first bought the place. He absolutely adored staring out at the city spreading below, with the wind blanketing him and the sunlight attacking him. It was even more beautiful in the nights, when the lights from the city were bright and the stars could be seen through the domes. 

Tonight, evening was just beginning to fall. Ivy had placed their dinner at the table on the balcony, to the left of the pool, and Mianmian was already waiting for him by the time he arrived. Sun Fang had been in the middle of a very riveting episode of an idol drama, but when he saw the clear effort Ivy had put into the dinner, he winced a little.

”Sorry for the wait,” he said as he sat down, placing his phone down on the table. 

Mianmian smiled at him, ”Don’t worry about it.”

Sun Fang turned to Ivy, the AI butler standing beside the balcony’s door in silence. When it discovered him looking, its eyes turned to face him and it inclined its head in a questioning manner. Sun Fang sighed theatrically and rose a demanding eyebrow. After a beat, Ivy said, ”It is no problem.”

Smiling, Sun Fang turned back to his food. It was still steaming, at least, so he probably wasn’t that late. But still. It annoyed him that he hadn’t been the first one here when Ivy had even gone through the trouble of putting lit candles on the table. If he wasn’t wrong, there was even some music drifting through the speakers out here.

”Is it an anniversary for something?” Sun Fang asked Mianmian, voice low in case it had anything to do with Ivy. He didn’t want to upset it.

Mianmian shook his head. ”Why does it need to be an anniversary for things to be fancy?” he retorted, a challenging smirk on his face. Sun Fang narrowed his eyes until Mianmian finally cracked and snorted inelegantly, picking up his tall wine glass as he said, ”We wanted to cheer you up and we know how much you enjoy fancy stuff like this.”

”Oh,” Sun Fang fell silent. He picked up his fork and began to poke at the food, warmth spreading in his stomach. He hid his smile behind his cutlery as he began to eat.

Ivy turned the music up after a while, when it became clear that this wasn’t one of those meals with lively conversations. 

Sun Fang loved the silence up here. Even with the music in the background, the view still seemed to silence the world. The stars slowly became more and more visible during the course of their meal, the moons rising in the far distance. There were barely any clouds today, and the contrast between stars above and city lights below was breathtaking.

When the meal was finished, Sun Fang leaned against the chair’s backrest and exhaled softly. His fingers toyed with the glass, slowly spinning it around. The tiny amount of wine left swirled round and round. 

”You’ve set the date for when you’re leaving?” he asked Mianmian, pursing his lips slightly.

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Mianmian sighed. ”Yeah, Xiao Xi is starting to really panic. His mother called and ordered me to come home before he self-combusts.”

Rising an eyebrow, Sun Fang hummed. He bobbed his head and asked, ”When?”

”In two days. The flight leaves at four in the afternoon.”

Sun Fang pursed his lips again. ”I guess your kid is important, too,” he said, exaggerating the whine. Mianmian grinned at him, reaching over to pat him on his shoulder. Sun Fang blew air at his bangs to force them out of his eyes and drank everything that was left of his wine in one go. It wasn’t much, but it made him feel suitably dramatic.

Mianmian had barely been here a week, and he was already leaving. The movie nights, the trips to the pool, they were all going to stop.

Well, okay, no they wouldn’t. Sun Fang didn’t need Mianmian to have fun, and he was still going to do all those things. But it had been extra fun to do things with Mianmian that they hadn’t done together in decades. And Sun Fang was going to miss it.

With dinner done, Ivy took the dishes into the kitchen. It left the glasses and produced a bottle of sparkling soda—they had already been drinking alcohol so it was probably a good idea. Sun Fang nodded his thank you to Ivy when it filled up his glass and the resulting bubbles almost reached the rim. 

”Turn the music up, please,” he asked Ivy, grabbing Mianmian’s hand and pulling him to the balcony’s railing. Sun Fang put a hand on it and leaned his hip against it. He sipped from his glass and grinned cheekily at Mianmian. ”Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked, nodding to the view.

Night had finally fallen completely. The stars twinkled down at them. The city lights lit up the world. Sun Fang’s hand was itching for his phone so he could take pictures, but he already had over a hundred of this view. He really didn’t need any more of them. 

Mianmian gazed out, his eyes distant as they focused on the view. His hands rested on the railing and squeezed it and he leaned against it as well. A smile was creeping over his lips, his eyes soft and  his short hair pushed around by the wind. 

”It’s magnificent,” said Mianmian, his voice hushed. He shot Sun Fang a quick grin and continued, ”I can see why you love it so much here.”

Sun Fang took another sip of his soda, feeling it burning down his throat. He lowered his gaze to the glass and took a deep breath. Then he let it go and looked back at Ivy, waving his hand. Ivy, who’d still been standing by the door, walked over to join them by the railing.