第25章

第25章

theengineeringdepartmentweibelongstoisonthefourthfloor.sinceit’satour,haneststakingthespiralstaircaseinsteadoftheelevator,sotheycangetabetterviewofthepany’slayout.

climbingthespiralstaircasethatascendsthroughalargegeometricsculpturespanningtwofloors,hanwalksahead,discreetlyusingthesculpture’sreflectivesurfacestoobservethenewcolleague’sfaceastheyroundthestairs.

thenewcolleagueappearstobeofmixedrace,withrarelyseensilverhair.hisfeaturesarewell-definedanddeep-set,yethestilllooksquiteyoung.hisphysiqueissoimpressive,whichseemsalmostunreal,likeamodelonthecoverofafamousfashionmagazine:

broadshoulders,slimwaist,longlegs,smallhead-hehasitall.

inaword,heishan’sidealtype.

tobeprecise,wei’sphysiqueishan’sidealtype.hanswearsthatinhistwenty-eightyearsoflife,someoneashandsomeasweicanonlybeencounteredonceeverytwenty-eightyears.

arrivingonthefourthfloor,hanavertshisgazeandsuppressesthethoughtthat‘thechestmusclesunderhisshirtarequitenice.’heturnstoweiandsays,“thisisyourdepartment.yourworkingpositionwillbedecidedafterwilsonreturns.”

weistaresathan.inhismemory,han,themanagerwhowasthreeyearsolderthanhim,hadmaturefeatureandaposeddemeanor.butseeinghimagainnow,thepersoninfrontofhimlookssoyoungandfresh.

hannoticeswei’sdistractionandcallssoftly,“wei”

“yes.”weisnapsbacktoreality.“thankyouforleadingmehere.”

hannoticeswei’snervousexpressionandsmiles,leaningontherailingbehindhim.“whatdoyouthinkofthisplace”

weirecallsthatinhispreviouslife,han’sdeathwasruledbythepoliceasanidentalfallfromadecayedbalconyrailing.hisfingerstightenasheforceshimselfnottothinkaboutit.“it’sgood,ireallylikeit.”

hanlaughsout.“thereisnoothers.”hewinksatwei,“youcantellmethetruth.”

“it’strue.”weilooksintohan’ssmilingeyesandmurmurs,“really.thisplaceisnice…”

“alright.”hanclearlydoesn’tbelievehim,butwei’sseriousexpressionamuseshim.walkingover,hepatswei’sshoulder,“ibelongtothemarketingdepartment,soiwon’tstaywithyou.goaheadandintroduceyourselftoyourcolleagues.”

hesaidthisandwalkstowardstheelevator.weilooksathan’sback,inexplicablyfeelingasharppain,andcallsout,“wait!”

hanturnsaround.notsureifit’shisimagination,butwei’stoneseemssomewhatanxious,“whathappened”

“i…”weiquicklywalksuptohan,hisheartpoundingheavily,likearoaringfire,makinghisthroatdryandhisfaceslightlyhot.

han,abitsurprised,noticestherednessinwei’sfaceandasks,“areyouokay”

“ijustwanttoask….”weilestospeakclearly,“areyouavailablethisweekend”

hanlooksathimforseveralseconds,withafaintsmile,“areyouaskingmeoutonadate”

weifeelsabituneasy,sensingthatsomethingmightbewrong.

althoughhanisthepersonhelovesmostinthisworld,tohan,heisjustsomeonehemetafewminutesago.suchaninvitationmightseemabitpresumptuous.however,havingalreadysaidit,hecannottakeitback.

weiraiseshishead,“istudiedinnewjerseyandmovedherelastweek.ifyoudon’tmind,thisweekend-”

“thanksforyourinvitation,”hansaid,glancingathiswatch,“unfortunately,ihaveameetingsoon.howaboutwehavecoffeeinthecanteenatnoonofcourse,i’llpay.”

wei’sheartratebeginstocalmdown.handidn’tepthisinvitation,whichisquitenormalsincetheyarejustcolleagues.normalcolleagues,ofcourse,wouldn’tspendtimetogetherafterofficehours.moreover,theyjustmetforthefirsttime,andhisinvitationwasmadewithoutmuchthought…

weimakesaseriesofexcusesforhimself,tryingtorationalizehan’srejection,buthecannotfoolhisheart.

lookingattheclosedelevatordoor,weiadmitsheisdisappointed.

verydisappointed.

thereasonisridiculous,sinceinthislife,theyjustmet.hehasnoreason,noteventhestanding,toexpecthantorespondtohimanydifferentlythananyothercolleague.

weiusesthereflectionintheglasstoquicklyarrangehishair—ahabithelearnedfromhaninhispreviouslife.hetakesadeepbreath,stoppinghimselffromrecallingthestoryofhispastlife.

thepastispast.whatheneedsnowistorecognizehiscurrentroleandthinkabouthowtobridgethedistancebetweenhanandhim.

staringathiscrispsuitintheglass,weiknowshisplan—inthislife,hewillonlybehan’sfriend.

thisistheboundaryweihassetforhimself.