Chapter 35 Dance a Real Dance

Chapter 35: Dance a Real Dance

Lin Haoda stood behind a white Roman column, where the light was dimmer than in the center of the hall, the reliefs on the pillar fading into the shadows. The just-risen crescent moon hung in the window frame behind him, and Lin Haoda smiled at him in the pale moonlight, calling out, "President Guan."

The slight awkward tension in the air instantly dissolved.

"Are you done with your work?" Lin Haoda's expression was gentle and sincere, completely unaware of Guan Junshan's stern demeanor. "There were so many people just now, I didn't dare disturb you."

Guan Junshan stepped forward a step, setting his champagne glass on the nearby table, his voice strangely low. "So you hid here?"

Lin Haoda let out a confused "Ah?" and blinked dazedly. Guan Junshan held his gaze for a few seconds, expressionless. "Yang Yue is looking for you."

He paused, his eyes coldly glancing at the man beside Lin Haoda for a few seconds before withdrawing his gaze. "You weren't in your room waiting for him, and your phone went unanswered."

At that, Lin Haoda immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Sure enough, it had long since died and shut down. He looked up at Guan Junshan somewhat apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't realize it had died."

Guan Junshan stood still and said nothing, as if unwilling to forgive him so easily. The air grew awkwardly quiet for a few seconds.

Then the blond man beside Lin Haoda spoke. He gave a very brief introduction, stepped forward, and extended his hand to Guan Junshan, regretting they hadn't crossed paths earlier.

Guan Junshan shook his hand with proper etiquette and exchanged a few brief pleasantries.

The man pulled a business card from his pocket and offered it, but Guan Junshan declined. He was polite but aloof in tone, telling him that this was a private gathering and that any work matters should be followed up later with his business assistant.

The man withdrew his hand, gave a sheepish chuckle, clinked glasses with him, and found an excuse to leave.

Seeing Lin Haoda still gazing after him wistfully, Guan Junshan's displeasure was no longer concealed. He called out, clearly annoyed, "Lin Haoda."

Lin Haoda turned his gaze back. "What's wrong?"

"..." Guan Junshan frowned, uncharacteristically silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "If you want to go after him, no one's stopping you."

Lin Haoda seemed taken aback, blank for a few seconds before recovering and clarifying, "You've misunderstood, President Guan."

Guan Junshan stood opposite, arms crossed, silent.

"He's a famous online photographer," Lin Haoda felt compelled to explain. "He's got millions of fans! Oh, and I just saw the photos he took—they're really good..."

"Lin Haoda," Guan Junshan's face darkened a shade more. "How long have you known him? You believe everything he says."

"..." Lin Haoda shot him a glance, pressed his lips together, and suddenly went quiet. "I won't say anything then."

Guan Junshan's dark eyes stared coldly at him for a while, then he stepped closer to the Roman column, pressing the champagne glass into Lin Haoda's hand, telling him not to stray and to keep up.

Lin Haoda rubbed his nose, feeling a bit aggrieved. After thinking it over, he couldn't figure out the reason for Guan Junshan's displeasure, only thinking that Guan Junshan was moody and couldn't even stand hearing praise for others. Truly difficult to deal with.

Why should he put up with Guan Junshan being so unfriendly and speaking so harshly?

Lin Haoda sighed inwardly, thinking himself too kind-hearted. He had keenly noticed that Guan Junshan seemed a bit out of sorts tonight, and partly out of sympathy and partly under the weight of authority, he obediently followed.

If asked what he enjoyed about cocktail parties, Lin Haoda would say: nothing.

In truth, he was socially inept, the type who rarely even attended company dinners. He couldn't remember many pretty, similar-looking faces, had no interest in stock market trends, and had a very low tolerance for alcohol. After his boss had taken him a few times initially, he had been permanently blacklisted.

Even now, standing beside Guan Junshan, Lin Haoda felt nothing but awkwardness.

People kept coming up to chat and toast. Although Lin Haoda was still wearing the same plain white shirt, perhaps because he stayed close behind Guan Junshan, more people came to clink glasses with him. He didn't dare speak recklessly or refuse, so he gulped down one glass of champagne after another.

By the time Guan Junshan noticed, he was already quite drunk. Under the bright lights, a faint pink flush crept across Lin Haoda's cheeks, and his gaze grew blurry, his eyes holding a watery sheen. He stopped calling him "President Guan" and started calling him by his name, "Guan Junshan."

Guan Junshan extricated them from the crowd and led him to a lounge on the second floor. Lin Haoda sat on the sofa, staring blankly, turning his neck slowly, and asked, "Where is this?"

Guan Junshan had a server bring hot water. Carrying the cup over, he tried to keep him steady. "Don't move around; you've had too much to drink."

"Have I?" Lin Haoda looked up, blinking, and immediately began counting on his fingers. When he reached "six," he stopped and protested discontentedly, "I only drank six glasses! How could I be drunk so easily!"

Guan Junshan frowned at him for a moment, not wanting to deal with a drunk person, and stepped aside to call Yang Yue.

With his back to Lin Haoda, he dialed twice. The first time didn't connect, and after half a minute, he tried again. Lin Haoda called out to him from behind, alternating between "President Guan" and "Guan Junshan." The room had no air conditioning, only a half-open window, and Lin Haoda felt hot, so he told Guan Junshan to get him the air conditioner remote.

Guan Junshan, phone in hand, turned to glance at him, as if warning him with a look, which succeeded in quieting Lin Haoda for a brief moment.

The call connected, and Guan Junshan turned back to speak with Yang Yue. Lin Haoda sat there, unbuttoning two buttons on his collar, but still felt hot. He furrowed his brows, mumbled, and restlessly stood up from the sofa, staggering toward Guan Junshan.

By the time he realized, it was too late.

Guan Junshan heard footsteps and turned around just as Lin Haoda lunged at him from behind, wrapping his arms around him. Instinctively, Guan Junshan reached out to support Lin Haoda's waist, barely managing to steady the limp and weak Lin Haoda.

"I'm so hot, President Guan," Lin Haoda continued his mischief, complaining softly. When Guan Junshan didn't respond, he reached for the hand holding the phone, but due to the height difference, he couldn't grab it. So he looked up from the embrace, his wet red lips trembling slightly. "Stop calling, help me out first."

On the phone, Yang Yue heard the commotion, was silent for a moment, then asked, "President Guan, is Mr. Lin all right?"

Guan Junshan's face darkened, his words practically squeezed through gritted teeth. "He's acting up, terrible when drunk."

"Are you in the lounge on the second floor now?"

"Yes."

"In the desk drawer, second compartment on the right, there's a hangover remedy with a safe dose of a sedative. You can give Mr. Lin one pill."

"Okay."

Guan Junshan paused for two seconds, then urged, "Come as soon as possible and take him away."

"On my way, President Guan. The driver says about twenty more minutes."

"Assistant Yang!" Lin Haoda suddenly shifted his gaze to the phone in Guan Junshan's hand, suddenly wanting to socialize. "Good evening!"

"I heard from Guan Junshan that you were busy looking for me all night. Sorry, my phone just died, and I made you wait..."

"...Lin Haoda!" Guan Junshan immediately hung up the call, warning him in a low voice, "Stop your drunken nonsense and weird talk!"

"I didn't! You said it yourself—Yang Yue couldn't find me all night."

"...Enough." Guan Junshan didn't want to linger on this topic. He released him, pushing him slightly away, frowning impatiently. "The call's over. Now sit back in your place."

Seeing that Lin Haoda wouldn't move, Guan Junshan reached out to grab him. Lin Haoda brushed him off, insisting, "Turn on the air conditioner!"

In all his life, Guan Junshan had always been the one others deferred to, never the caretaker. Tonight, he had experienced it fully. But it was also his own fault—if he hadn't insisted on keeping Lin Haoda by his side and kept a closer eye on him, he wouldn't have let him drink so much champagne.

So he had to put up with being ordered around, until he half-dragged, half-carried Lin Haoda back onto the sofa.

The room's temperature dropped slightly. After coaxing Lin Haoda to swallow the hangover pill, Guan Junshan stood up to leave. As he reached the door, he inexplicably softened, turning back for another look on a sudden whim.

Lin Haoda leaned on the sofa, his white shirt collar slightly open, covered in deep and shallow creases. His eyelids were half-open, cheeks flushed pink, as he quietly watched Guan Junshan.

Seeing him turn, Lin Haoda's eyes regained some focus, and he asked, "Are you leaving now?"

Guan Junshan smoothed the rumpled front of his suit and told him, "You stay here and wait for Yang Yue."

"Why not leave together?" Lin Haoda lifted his chin slightly, leaning forward to stare at him. "We came here together, remember?"

Guan Junshan didn't answer, turning back to pull open the door.

The elegant music from the banquet hall drifted in through the crack. "They've started dancing," Lin Haoda said behind him. "Usually when this song plays, you're supposed to invite someone to dance."

"Who do you want to invite as a dance partner?" Lin Haoda asked softly, with a hint of sadness and reluctance in his tone. "Is there someone you're in a hurry to invite? Are you that unwilling to stay?"

Guan Junshan gripped the door handle, his expression turning strange. He pulled the door open a bit wider, the melody blending with his voice, making his emotions less distinct. "...Don't talk nonsense."

"I'm not going to dance," Guan Junshan brushed off his question.

The room fell silent again. Lin Haoda could hear his own breathing rise and fall. After a moment, perhaps feeling that if he didn't say something more, Guan Junshan would really leave, he stood up from the sofa, steadying himself with one hand on the wall, and walked with some difficulty to stand behind Guan Junshan.

"Since you don't want to go back either," Lin Haoda lowered his head, reaching out to tug at the loose buckle on the back of Guan Junshan's tuxedo, hesitantly asking, "Can you stay and dance with me? Just one dance?"

Guan Junshan's back stiffened. He neither answered nor turned around. Behind him, Lin Haoda gradually drew closer, the air around them carrying a faint scent of fruit mixed with alcohol. Lin Haoda was silent for a long time, then made the request again, more tactfully, as if dancing were like chatting—something that could be casually agreed to without much thought.

Drunk Lin Haoda was frighteningly bold and audacious. But Guan Junshan wondered: if it weren't for a trace of special feelings toward him, why would he make such a request while drunk?

Or did it not matter who? Anything was fine? Dancing was fine, hugging was fine, kissing and going to bed were fine.

He knew he shouldn't reason with a drunk, but wanting to leave became difficult; he couldn't seem to make his legs move.

Guan Junshan recalled Lin Haoda's gaze chasing after the blond photographer earlier and couldn't deny the possibility in it. For no reason, his heart sank a little.

He turned around, pressed Lin Haoda's shoulders, pushed him back a little, and said, "Fine."

Lin Haoda stared into his eyes, seeing them dark and deep, ink swirling. He felt that what Guan Junshan truly thought was completely opposite to what he agreed out loud, leaving Lin Haoda completely unable to read him. But now that it had come to this, he was still happy. He reached out, grabbed Guan Junshan's arm, tugged him gently, and started dancing in a childish, playful way.

Guan Junshan indulged his childishness, looking down at his chaotic steps with a cold smile. When Lin Haoda got tired of swaying, he softly asked, "Is this the dance you wanted?"

Lin Haoda moved his sore wrist and said, "Yeah," then with drooping eyelids complained quietly, "Dancing is so tiring."

Guan Junshan said nothing. Just as Lin Haoda was about to let go of his arm, he abruptly yanked him forward with a reverse grip.

Lin Haoda stumbled forward, plunging into his embrace, his nose hitting his chest hard enough to make tears spring to his eyes. But before he could lift his head, Guan Junshan's hand, originally on his shoulder, slid down sharply along his waistline.

"Has anyone ever taught you how to dance a real dance?" The personal space was suddenly shattered. Guan Junshan's hot breath brushed against his ear.

Lin Haoda's neck went numb. He didn't dare look up, only burying his face and shaking his head lightly.

"Watch and learn." Guan Junshan's right hand finally stopped on his lower back.

With a "bang," the door was closed again and locked.

Lin Haoda, held gently in his arms, turned back to the center of the living room as if gliding onto a dance floor.