【凯源】Mountains and Rivers [GCA2019X]

第八章 // Chapter 8

After that incident, the frequency of Junkai's visits to the Ma house increased.

Ma Shunyuan only thought that Junkai was showing his son around, being friendly to him, helping to integrate him into the new Shanghai society, and so he felt that he couldn't thank Junkai enough.

Of course, he didn't know that every time Junkai and his son meet, there will always be a different opening line (to a bickering session), and that opening line won't be filled with happiness or excitement… it's filled with disgust and exasperation.

“You're here again?” Yuan frowned, raising his head to look at Junkai.

“I'm here to help you, see, the only person who knows your true identity is me, so in front of me you won't need to act anymore, isn't that relaxing?”

“I think it'll be more relaxing if you go away. What if I just like to act?”

“Haha — don't talk back to your elder. I'm a year older than you. I heard that you like music? Let's go see a performance.”

Yuan sat on the chair, not saying a word.

A performance? In a hall?

“I'm saying the truth, smile a bit, okay? Let's go.”

On the road home from the performance, Junkai suddenly remembered he had something on that night. “I have a dinner tonight, let's go together?”

“I'm not going.” Yuan said, his tone level pressed deep. “I have some things to complete.”

Junkai turned his head, looking at Yuan for a few seconds. “Okay, then help me choose a tie. I need one for tonight.”

When they reached the tie shop, he began to regret deeply that he hadn't brought any ties from home. Facing them was a whole wall of ties placed anyhow inside cupboards and hammered haphazardly on the stone wall. He felt that his OCD self was about to kneel over and die — Boss, why can't you just arrange those ties over there neatly?! Why couldn't you hammer the cupboards in rows?! It looks so uncomfortable!!! I want to cry!!!

Junkai was so anxious he began to straighten the ties closest to him. He turned his head to Yuan, who was at the next stack of ties. “Which do you think is nicest?”

“This one.” Yuan said immediately, unhooking a tie from the row — no, cupboard — beneath the one he was at. Junkai noticed, with some surprise, that Yuan was checking that all the tags on the tie were placed at the back, and refolding the ties.

It was a navy blue tie, with white dots speckled in neat rows of three. Looking at it made Junkai's OCD self calm down slightly.

“I feel that, the colour blue… it suits you.”

When Yuan said this, his eyes were shining, sparkling, like all the stars in the night sky above them had fallen into his black eyes.

As Junkai looked at Yuan, he suddenly felt his mood lift suddenly. He went to the counter, where a man sat smoking and reading the newspaper.

“Get me ten sets of this.”

“...”

The man's eyes widened. “Yes -- yes sir!”

At the banquet that night, Junkai, like normal, successfully entertained every guest he saw with the correct greetings they wanted. Holding a delicate tall glass of red wine, he circled the ballroom with different types of ladies, taking a step or two with them before fading away subtly.

After he finished one round of greeting, he kept to the sidelines of the dance floor, sipping wine and staring off into the couples dancing, not really noticing them.