Forever Mine[BL]

Chapter 3 The Times We Know/Arc 1.2

It was now five years since Wang Tao started working at Zhou Industries. Weirdly, he'd only recently learnt of Zhou Jian's birthday but that was probably because the man never seemed to talk about it. Thinking of this, Wang Tao had decided to try out the human tradition of giving gifts.

[ I wonder if he'll like it? ]

He thought as he held a neatly wrapped gift in his hand. Once when visiting his CEO's home, he noticed that he had quite a few books from the series "The Beauty of Darkness" written by a famous author. So for his birthday, Wang Tao got the newest released book of that series.

Resting it on the desk, he quietly left the office only to come face to face with a colleague named Li Cheng.

Seeing the boss's personal assistant, Li Cheng's eyes lit up and he hastily pleaded.

"Hi, Wang Tao. Do you mind placing these gifts in the boss' office? The ladies from my department kept pestering me to find a way to get it here. I promise I won't tell."

He lifted his arms to show big bags full of gifts. Wang Tao looked at the helpless Li Cheng for a second before nodding.

"Thanks so much."

Handing the bags over, Li Cheng showed a grateful expression before scurrying away. Holding the two bags, Wang Tao suddenly thought of something.

[ The senders...they probably want to get his attention with this. I think its their form of courting? ]

Suddenly, Wang Tao's mood became a bit  sour. He frowned slightly as he pondered on it. However, he couldn't make out why no matter what so he tried to shake off the feeling. Walking into the office, he paused before placing the bags near their CEO's desk.

An unsettling emotion swirled in him but it felt too distant for him to catch. Perplexed, Wang Tao made his way to his office. A while later, he returned to see Zhou Jian standing by his desk, reading the book he gifted him. Joy slowly welled up inside as he approached him.

"Assistant Tao, was this your gift?"

Wang Tao nodded, his hands which were clasped behind his back fidgeted. Zhou Jian felt touched but an awkward expression rose on his face.

"That's very nice of you. I'll keep the gift but please keep in mind not do so in the future. I don't quite like presents...sorry."

Zhou Jian paused, his heart uncomfortable as he took note of the other's disappointment. Looking away, his eyes caught something. Pointing at the two bags, he said

"Um, could you take these away?"

Wang Tao felt slightly upset at the thought that Zhou Jian wouldn't accept any more gifts but was happy that he decided to keep the book.

[ I'm sure he means well. Besides, it seems like something traumatic happened. ]

Wang Tao had noticed that when the man mentioned that he didn't like gifts, it was if his eyes were recalling unpleasant memories. His hand even shook a bit. Wang Tao had almost missed it but his eyes caught the tremble at the last moment.

Thinking of this, guilt grew in him.

"Sorry, I had thought that all people wanted gifts."

"That's ok, they normally do but…I guess I'm a bit different."

"Oh."

Because he felt really bad, Zhou Jian apologized and offered to treat the other for dinner. Noticing that his assisstant had cheered up a bit he felt some relief. He suddenly thought of something and asked Wang Tao how he knew he was reading this.

"I saw that you had all the other books in the series on one of my visits."

"Mmm, makes sense. Do you like reading?"

"Kind of."

They two chatted a bit more, the awkward atmosphere quickly dispersing. Once the conversation ended, Wang Tao completed his task.

As he did so, he noted that when Zhou Jian wouldn't accept the other gifts, Wang Tao could feel the sourness vanish. He mulled over the strange feeling in his heart as he headed back to the office. There were many foreign emotions inside him currently and Wang Tao wondered how he'd figure them all out.