Compared to the bustling crowd heading to the cafeteria, the path he took to the office building was quite secluded. Before long, he arrived at the bottom of the office building. Following the floor directory, he took the elevator up.
As the elevator doors opened, an assistant, who was just about to leave for the day, was momentarily stunned. He glanced at the uniform and asked, “Classmate, did you take a wrong turn?”
Just as he finished speaking, a door behind the assistant creaked open.
“Come here.”
夜临渊 waved at 童岁, leaving the assistant frozen in place, like a statue.
Before closing the door, 夜临渊 said to him, “Next time he comes, don’t block him.”
“Oh, oh.”
It wasn’t until the door shut in front of the assistant, causing a gust of cool wind, that he reacted and eagerly shared the shocking secret with another assistant.
The other assistant replied nonchalantly, “We already knew [light a cigarette].”
After 童岁 entered, he noticed that the office had a separate conference room and a waiting area. A whole wall was made of high-definition floor-to-ceiling glass.
He stepped closer to look down and could clearly see the playground not far away from this angle.
“So you really were watching me secretly from here.”
童岁 walked up to 夜临渊, tugged at his neatly tied tie, and looked up at him. “Tell me, how many times do you watch me in a day?”
夜临渊 replied, “Can’t count.”
童岁 smiled and leaned in closer. “Director Ye, don’t you think this behavior is a bit abnormal?”
“Hmm, but I can’t help it.”
Although 童岁 expressed his disapproval, the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth revealed his true feelings.
“Next time, you must be more straightforward. If you want to watch me, do it openly.”
“Hmm, are you hungry?”
“A bit.”
夜临渊 walked over to the sofa in the waiting area, opened a lunch box on the coffee table, and said, “Come and eat.”
“Oh.”
童岁 walked over and sat next to 夜临渊. The dishes in the lunch box looked quite simple, leaning towards light and tasty, with balanced nutrition that wouldn’t be too greasy for lunch.
Most importantly, there was a cup of chilled sour plum juice.
童岁 held the food that 夜临渊 had prepared for him and took a bite.
“How does it taste?”
“Delicious.”
夜临渊’s tense expression seemed to relax a little. “Try the other dishes; if they don’t taste good, just set them aside.”
童岁, holding his chopsticks, inexplicably thought of the recipe he saw last night. “… Did you make these yourselves?”
“Hmm, I made them last night.”
After studying recipes for an entire day, 夜临渊 decided to start with something simple. Although he wasted some ingredients, the final taste was still passable.
“I’m still learning; I will do better next time.”
“You’re already doing great!”
童岁 was genuinely surprised by 夜临渊’s rapid learning ability; his hands-on execution was quite strong. It was obvious that earlier he struggled with boiling rice porridge.
Improving in such a short time surely took considerable effort.
Perhaps it was because the food was made by 夜临渊 himself, but 童岁 ate more today than usual.
He curled up on the sofa, sipping the sour plum juice slowly, burping lightly as he felt a bit full.
The sofa in 夜临渊’s office was incredibly comfortable.
His eyelids felt heavy as he yawned, with a few tears gathering at the tips of his eyelashes.
After cleaning up, 夜临渊 picked up the drowsy 童岁, took away the half-finished cup from his hands, and said while walking towards the inner room, “Let’s go in; there’s a bed.”
童岁 gently leaned against his shoulder, allowing him to carry him over.
The inner room was small, a space where 夜临渊 usually rested, containing just a single bed and a small wardrobe.
After placing 童岁 down, 夜临渊 straightened up, saying, “I’ll sleep outside.”
“No.”
童岁 gently tugged at his sleeve, clearly tired to the point of barely keeping his eyes open, yet stubbornly said, “I want you to hold me.”
夜临渊 stared at him for two seconds, then held his palm firmly, replying in a deep voice, “Alright.”
He removed both his and 童岁’s outerwear and hung them on the wardrobe nearby.
The single bed was pushed against the wall, leaving limited space for them due to its narrow width.
童岁 lay on the inside against the wall.
When 夜临渊 lay down next to him, the bed creaked under their weight.
The bed was nearly filled by them.
童岁 felt himself wedged between the wall and 夜临渊’s embrace, his warmth providing an incredible sense of safety.
夜临渊 held 童岁 tighter, their bodies pressed closely together. Leaning down slightly, he could smell the faint scent of sweet oranges beneath the soft strands of hair.
He inhaled greedily.
The hand that wrapped around his waist began to move slowly, gently rubbing his stomach to help with digestion.
童岁 felt like a fluffy cloud in his grasp, completely relaxed and comforted.
He softly hummed a few times.
Before long, he fell asleep in 夜临渊’s arms.
The narrow inner room was filled only with the faint sound of the air conditioning and their steady breathing.
The nap was short.
In a hazy state, 童岁 felt a ticklish sensation, stirred awake by a kiss on his neck from 夜临渊. He sat up, still a little dazed.
夜临渊 kissed his cheek, asking, “Did you sleep well?”
童岁 finally came to his senses and glanced at the time, quickly getting up and washing his face after putting on his shoes.
“I’m going to be late; I have to go!”
Before he left, he cupped 夜临渊’s face and placed a kiss on his lips, saying, “See you tonight!”
After finishing, he dashed away like the wind.