Chapter 87 We’re Even Now

Chapter 87: We're Even Now

It was already pretty late, and Pei Mingyi's call wasn't about anything else. After getting his friends settled, he finally saw the message from Lin Haoda.

Thinking Lin Haoda was still waiting for him, he looked everywhere in Seth's villa and garden, afraid Lin Haoda might wander off and get lost, before it finally dawned on him he could've just called earlier.

Lin Haoda held the phone, listened quietly, comforted him for a moment, and said he'd made it home safe.

"...Hao Da," Pei Mingyi called his name on the other end, pausing for a few moments before asking, "You're not mad, are you?"

"No."

Lin Haoda denied it immediately, smiling as he said, "You already gave me a heads-up, it's not like you disappeared out of nowhere."

Facing Lin Haoda, who was being unusually agreeable, Pei Mingyi seemed taken aback, as if he hadn't expected it to be this easy. He still sounded down: "...Yeah."

"It is what it is." Lin Haoda said he didn't mind and continued, "You don't have to put me first all the time."

Pei Mingyi opened his mouth, and a cold gust of wind went in. It was true that everything Lin Haoda said was right; he was so understanding, claiming he didn't mind, and truly hadn't held any grudges.

Pei Mingyi pulled open the car door and got in. He had let the driver leave earlier so he wouldn't have to wait. The car had been parked by the roadside all night, the air inside turning cold, mixed with a faint scent of the car fragrance. While waiting for the heater to warm up, Pei Mingyi suddenly spoke, asking him, "Hao Da, who drove you home?"

Lin Haoda didn't answer immediately. Pei Mingyi guessed over the phone, "Was it Seth's driver? Or someone else?"

He thought for a moment, then dismissed his own guess: "But did you run into anyone you know?"

"Miss He had someone give me a ride," Lin Haoda told him softly and quickly. "We had a nice chat. When I couldn't find you, I went back and asked her for help."

Pei Mingyi was silent for two seconds, then apologized again, promising he would never leave him alone like that again.

Before he even finished speaking, suddenly there was noise on Lin Haoda's end. Pei Mingyi held the phone, about to ask what was wrong, when Lin Haoda spoke first, calling him "Mingyi," his voice closer, as if his mouth was pressed right against the receiver: "I'm a little tired. Let's call it here. Good night."

Pei Mingyi had just said "Good night" when Lin Haoda hung up, not waiting an extra second.

He thought it was strange and felt a bit worried, and switched to their chat to send Lin Haoda a concerned message.

But he never received a reply.

Guan Junshan got back in the car and started it quickly. When the car shot forward, it stirred up a gust of wind, the speed terrifying and dangerous.

As they approached an intersection, the yellow light was flashing its last second. Guan Junshan didn't hesitate and ran the light. Lin Haoda was scared by the scenery whizzing past and shouted for him to stop.

Guan Junshan remained silent, his foot firmly pressed on the pedal, showing no signs of slowing down. Lin Haoda grew angry and anxious, afraid that he would take him speeding on the highway, so he reached out a hand, trying to touch Guan Junshan's hand that was gripping the steering wheel.

This was really dangerous—it could serve as a textbook example of unsafe driving.

Guan Junshan turned his hand and grabbed his fingers, his voice low: "Sit still."

He lifted his foot, and the speed finally slowed down. Fortunately, it was close to midnight; there were no cars or people on the street. The car crept slowly along one side of the road and finally stopped in front of a city park near Lin Haoda's home.

The streetlights flickered. Huge, silent trees stretched their branches upward, looking dark and eerie, completely lacking the lush greenery they had during the day.

Still shaken, Lin Haoda clutched his seatbelt tightly, his lungs in spasm. After catching his breath, he spoke before Guan Junshan could: "What are you doing? Driving so scarily."

"You were on the phone too long," Guan Junshan said coldly, as if the fault wasn't his at all. "The security guard at the entrance of your neighborhood just knocked on my window, said I couldn't park here, and told me to leave immediately."

Lin Haoda lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. He opened his mouth, his tone softening considerably: "You could have just said so. Did you have to—"

He didn't finish the sentence, as if he couldn't find the right words.

The car fell silent again. After a few seconds, Guan Junshan spoke again, his voice low and slow: "Let's talk."

Lin Haoda frowned at this, blinking in slight confusion. Guan Junshan still held his head tilted toward him, half his face lit by the dim glow of the car's display screen, his eyes fixed earnestly on him, making it hard to read.

Lin Haoda feigned calm and looked away: "It's already late."

The time on the screen was lit. Guan Junshan glanced at it: "It's not even midnight yet."

"I have work tomorrow." Lin Haoda had a premonition, and sensitively tried to block all possibilities: "Besides, President Guan, tonight was just a chance encounter."

"It wasn't a chance encounter." Guan Junshan carefully watched his profile, noticing his frowning brow and indifferent eyes from reluctance. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Lin Haoda, have you never once thought I would come back?"

Lin Haoda sat there, seeming startled for a moment, staring at a fixed point in the darkness, blinking very lightly and slowly, staying silent for a long time.

Guan Junshan waited long enough, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, he called out to him: "Lin Haoda," signaling him to say something.

Lin Haoda had never considered this possibility. His romantic history had never been complicated—he had two previous experiences, and if he got dumped or heartbroken again, he figured he probably wouldn't be sad for too long or cry too ugly this time.

"President Guan."

His mind was in chaos, his heart pounding wildly in his chest as if on stimulants, but because he didn't want Guan Junshan to notice, he deliberately used a voice colder than usual and asked: "How much champagne did you drink tonight? Should you be driving?"

"Not much." Guan Junshan was momentarily stunned by the question, then quickly frowned, replying in a steady voice: "I'm perfectly sober."

Lin Haoda raised his head, slowly looked at Guan Junshan, and gave him a faint smile, light and fleeting in the night, as if it would vanish at the slightest breeze.

"It's not two years ago now." Lin Haoda lowered his head and thought for a moment, then told him: "And this isn't Hong Kong."

He still wore a smile, his voice calm and his tone gentle, as if discussing something trivial. Guan Junshan looked at him, and after a few seconds, said, "Lin Haoda, you just asked me if I was doing well."

If he didn't care, why ask? Since he asked, why didn't he admit it?

Lin Haoda couldn't agree with his logic and quickly corrected him: "I was just startled. I thought you had no idea."

Guan Junshan understood, and his expression shifted, his voice low: "Just pitying me?"

Lin Haoda lowered his eyes, opened his mouth, but said nothing.

A gust of wind blew outside, shaking the branches and making them rustle loudly. Lin Haoda felt that an unhappy parting was sometimes a good thing. He barely managed to act as if nothing was wrong, reminding him in an unusually light tone: "President Guan, from the moment we parted, we were already even between us."

After a few seconds of silence, Guan Junshan finally spoke. He said, "I know," this time not looking at Lin Haoda, but calling his name.

His voice was hoarse: "I remember it all."

The ease was only one-sided. For Guan Junshan, the most advantageous choice was to keep his promise and never look back, but for some reason, he suddenly changed his mind and decided to return two years later to ask Lin Haoda for a concern that wasn't worth much.

The moon had risen high, hanging in the dark velvet sky, blurred by the wind, leaving only a glowing edge of its shadow. After a long silence, Guan Junshan restarted the car. This time he drove steadily; even though the street was empty, he turned on the signal when pulling out.

He drove back the way they came. Lin Haoda thought for a moment, then politely thanked him. Guan Junshan was silent, then after a while asked, "How long have you been with Pei Mingyi?"

They weren't actually together yet; Lin Haoda had only agreed to "try it out" and hadn't confirmed their relationship.

But the truth depends on the person. Since he was facing Guan Junshan, there was no need to be too precise, so Lin Haoda pretended to think and told him: "Maybe just over a month."

A month. Guan Junshan didn't say anything, his gaze focused on the road ahead.

The car stopped across the street from his neighborhood. Afraid of being spotted by the security guard again, Lin Haoda got out quickly this time. Just as he was about to close the door, Guan Junshan lowered his window and called out to him: "Lin Haoda."

A day full of surprises, frights, and chaos had left Lin Haoda exhausted. Still, he maintained his patience to the end, slightly bending down to look in through the window at him.

It had probably been too long since they'd parted, and Lin Haoda had long forgotten Guan Junshan's picky, strict, and difficult personality. But he quickly recalled that feeling, because Guan Junshan sat in the car, seemingly with a faint, enigmatic smile: "Pei Mingyi isn't right for you."

Lin Haoda froze, momentarily forgetting to retort. He watched the window roll up as Guan Junshan stepped on the gas; the car drove to the intersection and merged into the night.

He crossed the street slowly. The security guard recognized him and came out to greet him.

Lin Haoda was in low spirits and nodded perfunctorily, but Guan Junshan's tone and expression kept replaying in his mind. He felt a bit upset, not exactly because he was defending Pei Mingyi, but perhaps a delayed sense of worry and regret—a fear that Guan Junshan had seen right through him and realized he didn't really have strong feelings for Pei Mingyi, and regret that he hadn't acted more convincingly. In short, a jumble of emotions that was hard to sort out.

Thinking it over, he finally decided the problem wasn't with him.

It was really that Guan Junshan was too baffling and unreasonable. He had clearly said they were even, and yet after breaking up, he kept making Lin Haoda remember, constantly worrying that he had already shown his hand.

He should have been more ruthless, but Lin Haoda wasn't like Guan Junshan; he couldn't bring himself to say truly hurtful things.

Midweek, Lin Haoda got off work early and took the initiative to meet Jiang Tianyi and her fiancé, wanting to apologize to them.

The restaurant was a high-end steakhouse in the city center, very popular. Lin Haoda managed to secure a reservation through an old client.

Jiang Tianyi arrived first and, upon seeing Lin Haoda, her eyes practically shot daggers at him, as if she wanted to kill him right then and there. Knowing he was at fault, Lin Haoda flagged down the waiter and ordered her the most expensive set dinner and red wine.

Only then did Jiang Tianyi's anger subside. She reached out and poked him hard in the cheek, murmuring, "Thanks to you, I got a taste of what it's like to be caught in bed."

Lin Haoda let her pinch and poke him however she pleased, saying "sorry" over and over, and then pretended to take her hand and look at the diamond ring on it, exclaiming, "Wow! It looks even more brilliant under the lights!"

Though his acting was over the top, at least his attitude was sincere enough, so Jiang Tianyi let bygones be bygones, and ultimately forgave him.

They hadn't had much chance before, and more importantly, their status was different. Now that they hadn't seen each other for a few years, they had plenty to catch up on. When he learned that Jiang Tianyi had completely fallen out with her family, Lin Haoda was shocked, then worried, and asked how it had come to this.

Although she deliberately avoided mentioning it, they inevitably circled back to that old engagement contract and the key person involved.

Jiang Tianyi, considerate of his feelings, took the initiative to ask, "What do you think of him now? Do you still hate him?"

Lin Haoda smiled calmly and countered, "How could I?"

Only where there's love can there be hate. But too much time had passed, and it wasn't a TV drama. He instead reassured Jiang Tianyi, "We're too different; we were never right for each other."

Hearing this, Jiang Tianyi was silent for a moment before speaking. She said, "Status and position don't mean everything. People always come up against things beyond their control in life."

Seeing Lin Haoda look at her, she smiled and continued, "...Hao Da, I don't want to be a selfish person—to have received so much from him and yet not speak up for him."

Lin Haoda sat across from her, his gaze a little unfocused, his attitude hesitant. Perhaps feeling that Jiang Tianyi was being sincere, he nodded and said, "It's okay, you can talk."

He wasn't a little kid in kindergarten anymore.

Hearing something didn't mean he had to forgive it, nor did it mean he had to start over.