Chapter 6

「The coffee you like, with milk and no sugar.」

–

Huo Sheng had been working in this company for four years and is known as gentle and easy to talk to, even Cheng Yan, who doesn’t like to gossip about others, has heard of him.

However, they were heard from others and naturally, they were curious about what the truth was, so when they were talking at the table on Friday, it was mentioned.

“It depends, although…” Liang Chen picked up some food with her chopsticks and said after thinking, “I suppose that’s true, since Chief Huo doesn’t act like a superior.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Miao Yu rushed to agree, “Cheng Yan and I were early last time, and he suddenly came up to us. I was nervous to death, but he just joked and gave us his breakfast.”

“You had no idea how, eating a superior’s breakfast, terrifying that was, but…” As she said this, Miao Yu looked a little smug, a look as if she wished she could summon a circle of people around her to listen, “the food was pretty tasty, especially that meicai pork pancake1. I wonder where he bought it. Right, Cheng Yan?”

Everyone looked at Cheng Yan who was drinking soya milk and he could only nod, making Liang Chen laugh.

Strangely enough, Liang Chen was an assistant so normally, they would have to deal with odd jobs for their superior, so rarely would they be like Liang Chen who was eating with them.

However, every day at noon, including going out for business this week, she would invite Cheng Yan for lunch. Then, Fatty will reply, turning it into a gathering of four so after a week, the four became a fixed group.

Naturally, the company cafeteria was crowded and it wouldn’t be just the four of them, so, see? Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives.

“Brother Huo, over here, over here!” Fatty who could see the entrance was the first to spot him and he even scared Cheng Yan when he spoke.

His shout made the place seem like a university cafeteria, attracting many people’s attention and even made a few people put their hands up to greet the incoming person.

Huo Sheng replied with a smile, without seeming to mind and walked to them, pulling a chair beside Cheng Yan afterwards.

“I was trying to find a seat, luckily I found you guys.” Huo Sheng said.

“How can that be?” Fatty perked up and even sat straight. He spread his hands towards the seat, continuing, “This seat is specifically reserved for Brother Huo.”

Huo Sheng laughed quietly at that.

Cheng Yan looked quiet on the surface, but in his heart he was somewhat envious of Fatty’s over familiarity. He thought, if he could be a little more cheerful and be able to call him “Brother”, that would be nice. Yet, he couldn’t do it, so he had to sit here like a byproduct.

His mouth curved slightly. Except for looking briefly at the person sitting down, he was mostly looking at the dishes on the table and quietly listening to them talk as he ate.

But the group has only been formed for a week so they weren’t that familiar with each other. Once they talked about the cafeteria’s food, the topic quickly came back to work.

“So I was saying, having a leader like Brother Huo is relaxing.” Fatty sat up a bit, “But seriously, when Old Zhang resigned I was wondering if I’d get transferred back again, but I didn’t think I’d be so lucky to be left behind and meet Brother Huo.”

“You all weren’t in the same group?” Huo Sheng asked with the flow.

“Well, I worked on two projects with Old Zhang, slightly more than a quarter of a year.” Fatty tilted his head thinking, “Miao Yu and Cheng Yan were working together for quite a long time, I think.”

Miao Yu went along and nodded after hearing them.

While Cheng Yan didn’t utter a word aftering sitting down. When all of the attention was on him, he was sensitively aware and raised his head. With a small voice, he said, “Mm, I was working with Chief Zhang after I started working here.”

“How long have you been working here for?” Huo Sheng asked.

“Nearly three and a half years.” Cheng Yan replied.

“How many years and a half?” Fatty asked with surprise as if he didn’t hear clearly.

Cheng Yan then repeated, “Three and a half.”

This number made everyone except for Liang Chen puzzled, but before anyone could ask, Huo Sheng, sensing the awkward atmosphere, mediated by turning the topic to Miao Yu. He asked, “Miao Yu, you?”

“Huh? I’ve only been around for a short time, just a bit longer than Brother Wang.” Miao Yu smiled.

The atmosphere returned to normal, and Fatty smiled and took over, “Yeah, Miao Miao is still young. It’s only been two years since she graduated from university.”

“Unlike me,” He continued, “I worked in another place for a few years, but it was so inefficient over there so I moved over here, which is good.”

“Yeah, it’s quite hard to find a company with the right atmosphere and pace.” Huo Sheng exclaimed without denying.

Everyone paused for a moment, and then Huo Sheng turned around and asked Cheng Yan, “What about you? Did you start working here after graduating?”

Cheng Yan turned blank, and quickly shook his head, “I also worked in another place for around two years before, but…”

He gulped and blinked his slightly lowered eyes. He paused for two seconds before saying again, “But it wasn’t a big company and it didn’t have any reputation. I learnt a lot after coming over here.”

Huo Sheng looked at his slightly reddened ears after he spoke, thinking that this person is too easily shy. He smiled and didn’t respond.

Fatty strongly agreed after he heard him, “That’s for sure, in this industry, small companies mostly do basic business. A bigger project is better so you can learn something.”

“Really? I thought I would only hear that from branch companies.” Miao Yu looked curious.

The table of five people chatted and chatted but Liang Chen did not open her mouth, as she only watched Cheng Yan stirring the drink with a straw.

Fatty Wang spoke to Miao Yu for half a day, and when he saw that no one was bringing up new topics, he turned the conversation to Liang Chen, “What about Assistant Liang, when did you start working?”

“I worked at a law firm before, but I moved here last year.” Liang Chen bit the straw and took a sip then answered, glancing at Cheng Yan afterwards.

“Hey, but seriously,” Miao Yu suddenly spoke, “when I first came here, I thought Cheng Yan was just about my age. I didn’t know that he’s a senior.”

“Not really.” Cheng Yan felt embarrassed listening to this and quietly denied.

Huo Sheng laughed at the sight of this, his laughter gentle and mingled with banter, eyes curving up. He slightly leaned sideways and said to Cheng Yan, “Isn’t that a compliment for being young, it’s good.”

“Re-Really, I’m not.” Cheng Yan even waved his hands in hastiness. He looked down, smiling.

The chatting was soon over while everyone was almost finished eating, leaving with a thirty minutes break. The five of them scattered to hand their plates back and headed for the office.

Cheng Yan never liked taking naps so he didn’t return with them but went to the tea room. Unexpectedly, soon after he went in, Huo Sheng walked in from behind with his laptop.

There were no other people in the room. Once Cheng Yan saw him, he subconsciously spoke, “Would you like some coffee?”

Only then did Huo Sheng notice him. He replied smiling, “With milk and no sugar.”

“Okay.” Cheng Yan softly replied and turned around.

He put the coffee pod into the machine, pressed the button and waited.

Huo Sheng sat on a table by the window, his back contrasted with the daytime city view, slender and strong. It was curved, as if he could see the groove of his spine through his shirt. His waist hugged by the shirt was clear to the view and emphasized. Along with the four corners of the room, it seemed as if this was part of a framed photo.

Cheng Yan turned his head slightly looking at that back with a daze until the sound of the machine stopped. He turned his head, tore a packet of milk and poured it in to stir twice.

In the next minutes, he felt the warmth of the coffee cup and then heard the cup touch the table. He saw Huo Sheng turn his head and thanked him, and then he seemed to have heard himself, “Don’t worry.”

Then, he left using the excuse of just coming to get coffee.

While on the way back, he couldn’t stop raising the corner of his mouth. He then recalled Huo Sheng’s words several times.

With milk and no sugar.

And also, thank you.