"Yes, my ex."
In one sentence, a huge thunder was thrown at the table.
The students were all eyelids fluttering, exchanging glances and going through a storm of gossip.
The unexpected answer made Fan Xiao's breathing pause. He thought about it in detail, but still couldn't taste any sweetness.
You Shulang's tone of voice was too casual, like saying sugar is sweet and medicine is bitter, like white clouds and black soil, without any ripples, just a simple statement of facts.
The "ex" he mentioned did not give me any special taste, just like a piece of clothing that I once wore but now I don't like anymore.
At this time, You Shulang had already changed the topic of "ex" and started fiddling with the tablecloth in his hand. The tablecloth with embroidered prints seemed to be more worthy of attention than his ex. He spread it out, put it on his legs, and adjusted its position.
"My man has a really good eye for other men." Dabolang finally broke the silence, propping up his chin with his arm and looking at Fan Xiao, "My ex, bring four delicious dishes, you decide."
Fan Xiao's eyes swept across the woman's face, closed the menu, and said thoughtfully, "If you don't have any dietary restrictions, I'll go prepare it."
It was so cold that the big waves shivered.
As soon as Fan Xiao left, You Shulang poured cold water on the enthusiasm of several people.
"Don't ask. There's nothing to say. I'm too old to have an ex."
"Just one question." Big Wave raised a finger and asked quietly in a low voice, "How was the work? I heard that the more handsome a person is, the mediocre their work is."
You Shulang: "…"
When classmates get together, there are always endless topics to talk about. Zhang Shicheng and Dabolang were arguing with each other, and You Shulang took the opportunity to go out for a smoke.
Smoke was rising from the corner of the bathroom. After flicking the ash two or three times, Fan Xiao pushed the door open and walked in.
You Shulang was not surprised. He watched him walk towards him without showing any resistance and even moved aside to make half of the corner.
Fan Xiao took out a flashy cigarette from his complicated collar. It was Rouge.
"Director You, would you like one?" He flicked one out and handed it to You Shulang. "Didn't you like it before?"
You Shulang raised the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, shook his fingers, and the accumulated ash fell down.
Fan Xiao put the rouge into You Shulang's mouth, then took the half-smoked cigarette from his hand and bit it between his teeth. The whole set of movements was smooth and flowing, as if the two had never been separated, still inseparable, and without any taboos.
As the match was struck, the flame came over. You Shulang glanced at Fan Xiao, then lowered his head and lit a cigarette with his hand.
"Waiting for me?" Fan Xiao extinguished the match and asked with a smile.
After taking a deep breath and exhaling the smoke, You Shulang asked, "What do you mean?"
"You've been in here for six minutes, which is enough time to use the water and smoke. If you haven't left yet, it means you're waiting for me."
You Shulang didn't answer, which was considered as tacit agreement: "Aren't you a medical representative? Why, did you change jobs?"
The wet and sticky cigarette butt in Fan Xiao's mouth made his heart palpitate and he lost his mind. After a moment, he replied to You Shulang.
"I'm still working as a medical representative. I go to drugstores during the day and come here to work part-time at night. There are often Southeast Asian customers here. I can speak Thai, so the salary is higher."
You Shulang raised the corners of his lips, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. He raised the cigarette in his hand and looked at it carefully: "A pack of rouge is enough for you to serve dishes here for two nights, right? What is the reason for Mr. Fan to condescend like this?"
When pressed, Fan Xiao smiled: "I tried to quit in prison, but I couldn't control myself after I got out. I wanted to smoke when I missed you and when I was upset. I tried other cigarettes, but I couldn't get used to them. This cigarette is expensive, so I smoke less now. I only smoke one when I miss you very much."
The affectionate confession did not soften his sharp and cold words. You Shulang warned: "Fan Xiao, some words are not appropriate to say now. You'd better swallow them back."
Before Fan Xiao could reply, You Shulang asked again in a calm voice, "Inside? As far as I know, you have never been inside, right?"
"Six months." Fan Xiao was reluctant to smoke the half-smoked cigarette, and only took a light puff each time. "Because I am a tainted witness. According to the laws there, tainted witnesses with less serious crimes cannot disclose their guilt to the outside world."
You Shulang put down his cigarette and looked at Fan Xiao seriously for the first time: "Tainted witness?"
Fan Xiao nodded: "I have always wanted to take revenge on them. During the tsunami, they could have taken me and my mother with them, but they selfishly closed the car door and were unwilling to wait any longer."
The hand holding the cigarette was shaking a little, his eyes were drooping, and Fan Xiao sneered: "My mother is his wife, their dutiful mother; I am his son, their obedient and sensible brother. But in the end? No one cares about our lives!"
"I had planned to take revenge on them for a long time. In order to find evidence, I also did some things that were in collusion with them. Later, I cooperated with the local prosecutors and agreed to help them continue investigating the case of counterfeiting and selling fake goods 20 years ago. I did find some evidence. So during the trial, they turned me into a tainted witness and gave me a lighter sentence of six months in prison."
After that, they were silent for a while. You Shulang looked at a seven-spotted ladybug struggling to crawl on the sink.
It climbed up the curved inner wall of the pool with all its might, taking several steps, but failed again and fell back into the depths of the pool.
After stubbing out the expensive cigarette and throwing it into the trash can, You Shulang walked to the sink, turned on the faucet and washed his hands. In the instant before the water burst out, he picked up the ladybug and threw it away.
Amid the sound of running water, You Shulang asked, "Fan Xiao, the money in the medical fund account you set up for Tiantian, and the dividends from Pinfeng Venture Capital's investment in your name, which one of them requires you to suffer like this?" He turned off the water, took out a tissue to wipe his hands, and a flash of hostility flashed across his voice, "So, what are you doing again?"
Half a cigarette was smoked, and now there was no longer any flavor. The cigarette butt was still between his fingers. Fan Xiao looked into You Shulang's eyes through the mirror and said, "I will not touch the money for Tiantian's medical treatment even if I am in dire straits. Forget about the dividends from Pinfeng. If I want, the whole company will be mine."
Taking a step forward, Fan Xiao almost stuck to You Shulang's back: "In addition to these, I also have my own company with good profits, which is enough to ensure that I have no worries about food and clothing."
"But..."
The conversation was suddenly interrupted, and a low voice came from the corridor: "Fan Xiao, Fan Xiao! The manager is looking for you. He wants to know why you have been away from work for so long."
"Fuck." Fan Xiao cursed, grabbed You Shulang, pushed open the door of the bathroom cubicle, and stuffed him in.
"you!"
As soon as the words slipped out, Fan Xiao covered You Shulang's mouth. He jumped onto the toilet and made a gesture to keep quiet.
Someone came in and called Fan Xiao's name a few times. He also looked under the doors of each cubicle and left quickly after seeing You Shulang's leather shoes and trousers.
The lines of the palm pressed against the lips could easily bring up some indescribable memories. You Shulang's ears blushed slightly and he pushed Fan Xiao's hand away.
"What are you doing?"
Fan Xiao squatted on the toilet. The wetness on his hands made him feel a little distracted. He suppressed the urge to kiss his palms, stood up, and continued the previous topic: "I have something else to tell you."
"You just heard it. I am rich, but I made all that money with the help of my family's power. Capital, connections, and connections were all obtained by me under the name of my father's son."
"Shulang, I'm not so childish as to have to go against money. I will get what I deserve back eventually. But I also want to be myself. It's not for some stupid reason of realizing my own value. I just want to make some clean money to spend and do something worth my efforts. Otherwise... I really can't hold on."
In the small space, the frequency of the sound seemed to touch his heart. You Shulang stepped back, but there was nowhere to retreat.
"Starting from scratch is much harder than I thought." Fan Xiao took out his phone, flipped through a photo in the album, and showed it to You Shulang. "But it only took me six months to go from a terminal pharmaceutical representative to a regional general manager. Although I only got the job in Xipu, an economically underdeveloped area, it's still considered fast in the industry."
Fan Xiao in the photo is dressed in a suit and tie, just like before. He stands on the stage with some sales champions, wearing red and green clothes and holding certificates of honor in their hands.
He seemed to be a little disgusted with the big red flower on his chest. He frowned slightly, but his eyes were particularly bright.
The camera froze at this moment, capturing the light in his eyes.
Just like... Fan Xiao now. You Shulang took another look at the photo before looking away.
Fan Xiao tentatively moved closer to the person in front of him, his voice buzzing, as if he was acting like a spoiled child: "Such a small position, a bonus of a few boxes of cigarettes, something that I didn't even care about before, I was so excited that I was shaking slightly."
I don't know what he was thinking about, but his expression quickly fell: "After I got off the stage, those people called home to tell me the good news. I have never had anything worth announcing in my life, and now I finally have one, but I don't know who to tell."
"I looked at your phone number for more than ten minutes, but in the end I didn't call it. I said I would not disturb your life again, and I will do it."
Fan Xiao gently rubbed the corner of You Shulang's clothes, and he only dared to rub the corner of his clothes: "Now I have put all the money I earned in the past six months into the goods. There will always be a gap in the turnover of funds when buying and selling. Any profit is a good one. Director You, I have been working in this restaurant for a long time."
In the narrow cubicle, with nowhere to look, You Shulang was silent for a while, then slowly raised his eyes, "What does this have to do with me? As long as you don't do anything naughty again and don't disturb my life, what kind of job you do, whether it's hard or happy, how much you earn, it has nothing to do with me."
You Shulang pushed the man away: "Fan Xiao, please continue to abide by your promise and get out of the way now."
After returning to the restaurant and sitting down, You Shulang was naturally teased. Dabolang glanced at the time and clicked his tongue twice: "It's really good-looking but useless. It's only been more than ten minutes."
You Shulang drank the red wine in the glass and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin: "So, you should cherish Zhang Shicheng even more."
"Hey, what does it have to do with me?" Zhang Shicheng was speechless, "You said I'm not good-looking? Youzi, you have a really bad mouth."
After some laughter and noise, they left the banquet. You Shulang and Fan Xiao passed by each other, one ignored him, the other looked back, without saying goodbye.
After being urged by others, Fan Xiao retracted his gaze and continued to serve, but somehow he offended the male guest at the table. A hundred-dollar bill fluttered to the ground, and the male guest humiliated him: "Tip."
His back slowly straightened, his eyelids drooped, and the smile on Fan Xiao's face deepened.
The tip of her shoe kicked the banknotes around. The man at the table raised his eyes and said with disdain: "You're not going to pick it up? You're so noble, yet you still work as a waiter?"
The contemptuous voice was so light that it traveled far away, even causing You Shulang, who was walking to the door, to stop.
He turned around and saw Fan Xiao with his back to him, his back straight like a sword.
The banknote lay quietly at Fan Xiao's feet, not even worth the price of a box of rouge.
The man with his arm on the back of the chair urged again, obviously a little annoyed.
The sharp blade in You Shulang's eyes slowly bent, and the tall man lowered his body...
"Youzi, the elevator is here."
You Shulang stood still for a moment, retracted his gaze, turned around and walked towards the elevator.
Fan Xiao, who picked up the tip, was very attentive. The red wine slowly slid into the glasses, one glass to the male guest and one glass to the charming woman.
"Sir, would you like me to store your scarf for you?" Fan Xiao provided attentive service.
The male guest enjoyed the lower class's submission to power and offered the men's scarf around his neck.
Opening the exclusive storage closet, the scarf was thrown casually there. Fan Xiao's long fingers reached into the man's suit and found the business card.
Enter the name and company, and a large amount of information will be retrieved from the mobile phone.
After searching for a while, he saw a photo of the couple. Fan Xiao sighed and his smile became even gentler.
Dinner was only halfway through when the gentleman's wife overturned the table.
Amidst the fighting and quarreling, Fan Xiao was in the corner, giving his own palm a deep kiss.