'Till Death Do Us Apart 長相守(bxb)

Chapter 24

XXIV

The other man appeared to be asleep when Ch'in Ching awoke. He paused and studied the man's face for a moment before grumbling, "Quit acting." And as expected, Shen Liangsheng's lips twitched; he was already awake.

They had not shut the windows last night, and the curtains were billowing in the morning breeze. Since it was summer, they had been replaced by a set with cooler tones, a pale green that appeared bleached by sunlight mixed with beige undertones. The section bulging out from the wind looked like a fat, round goldfish. Ch'in Ching stared at this for some time and then spoke abruptly, "How about we don't go anywhere?"

"I'm fine with whatever. You just think about it some more, all right?" Shen Liangsheng had an appointment that morning, so he did not stay in bed with Ch'in Ching. He replied in a casual tone as he dressed himself, not appearing glad at all as though he did not care the slightest what Ch'in Ching's decision was.

Shen Liangsheng asked Ch'in Ching to think about it, but the latter did not need to because he knew life in Shanpei would be arduous. Most people were like this; they may be fine with anything themselves but could not bear it if their object of affection were to suffer through the same.

Accordingly, he laid out his previous plans before Shen Liangsheng when the other man came home that night. "And that's why I can't make you come with me. Let's just stay here, yeah?"

Shen Liangsheng merely nodded. He brought the other man into his arms and planted a kiss on his forehead.

Shen Liangsheng knew the schoolmaster had his ideals and aspirations and also agreed that loving someone meant helping them fulfill those. However, the particular risks involved were more than he could handle.

If the man were dead - this had once crossed his mind, but now that he thought about this again, he realized it was not entirely impossible for him to live on without the man.

Life would merely become a process of waiting - caught in the prison that is life waiting for a spirit that may not even come for a visit at the darkest hours of the night.

He loved the man and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. He could not fulfill the man's ideals, so he wanted to find a compromise and to do what he could for the man.

The first thing Shen Liangsheng did when he went into the office the next morning was ring Kobayakawa and tell him about his intention to sell the factory.

For the past two years, the Shigekawa faction had been walking all over Kobayakawa preventing him from accomplishing much. His father had not been satisfied with him and was planning on transferring him back to Peip'ing for further instructions. Shen Liangsheng notifying him first was his attempt to do one last favour for the Japanese man in order to clear the books.

Acquiring the Shen factory would count as a small achievement, so Kobayakawa was more than willing. Of course, he pushed the price lower on account of the damage during the flood. Shen Liangsheng did not want to waste time haggling but was also wary of raising suspicion by being too eager to consent. After several days of bartering, they finally reached a mutually agreeable sum. They drafted the documents and closed the deal with signatures and stamps from both parties.

After seeing Kobayakawa out, Chou followed his boss back into the office. Locking the door behind him, the secretary lingered by the couch apparently in deliberation whether to speak or not. The company was largely founded in order to manage the factory, and now that the factory was sold, there was no longer any need for its existence. Shen Liangsheng thought the secretary was worried about his job, so he spoke first. "Rest assured. I've spoken with the Japanese, and they need a Chinese manager who's familiar with the facilities. It's a great opportunity, so I recommended you for the managerial-"