Chapter 101: A Reason to Keep Entangling

Chapter 101: A Reason to Keep Lingering

Guan Junshan had been standing downstairs for so long that his lips had gone numb from the wind. He moved his pale lips, but couldn't quite form a smile.

"Yeah, my fault." He looked up at Lin Haoda. "The snow's too heavy. I was worried you'd have trouble getting off work."

Lin Haoda frowned, his tone still flat and distant. "No need. Even if the buses stop running, I can catch a ride with a colleague."

Guan Junshan watched him through the heavy curtain of snow, holding his umbrella. "...Okay. Okay."

He said "okay" twice, unable to find any other words, then silently swallowed his pride.

Lin Haoda grew impatient waiting for him to leave. Considering Xiao Ye was still nearby, he took a deep breath and asked calmly, "Anything else?"

He didn't want anyone to guess their relationship—whether it had been intimacy, arguments, or bad blood in the past, it was best not to let even a hint slip. They were just two ordinary acquaintances who knew each other, greeting and nodding—nothing more.

Guan Junshan was quiet for a few seconds, then his gaze dropped to Lin Haoda's ankle. "What happened to your foot?"

"Nothing." Lin Haoda twisted it slowly, answering coldly, "Just twisted it a bit."

Then, with forced politeness, he added, "Thanks for your concern."

Guan Junshan gave a bitter smile, his voice low and rough. "Why bother."

The snow kept falling, swept by the wind into the umbrella, pattering softly against his eyelids—tingly, but not painful.

Lin Haoda didn't want to get entangled. Even continuing the conversation was already a concession to the terrible weather. In the car, Tong Dong had already lowered her window because they were taking too long. Lin Haoda had no choice but to break the awkward silence: "I'm leaving."

Xiao Ye thoughtfully opened the passenger door for him.

Guan Junshan took two steps forward, but Xiao Ye turned and stopped him with a look. Both men were tall—Xiao Ye might have been a few inches shorter—but in the vast snow, the difference was barely noticeable. Guan Junshan was usually decisive and imposing in front of others, but now, for the first time, love had brought him to his knees, leaving him lost and at a loss.

Xiao Ye, however, had keenly sensed Lin Haoda's helplessness and exhaustion from their brief exchange. He immediately put Guan Junshan on his blacklist.

Lin Haoda carefully got into the car, holding onto the door. Xiao Ye waited patiently until he had fastened his seatbelt, then closed the door and walked around the front to the other side.

The car started quickly. In the dim twilight, the two headlights lit up, turning the swirling snowflakes into fine threads. The dark-tinted window slowly rose, hiding Lin Haoda's indifferent profile.

The engine revved a couple of times, tires churning up slush and splashing it onto Guan Junshan's jacket and pant legs. He stood too close, refusing to step back, even though just two steps away to the flowerbed would have kept his clothes dry.

Only when Tong Dong yelled from behind did Lin Haoda pull his gaze away from the rearview mirror.

Tong Dong leaned forward from the back seat, grabbing his seatback, and asked knowingly, "Let me guess—another guy trying to win you over?"

Lin Haoda didn't answer, just mumbled vaguely, "Mm."

"Couldn't see his face clearly in the snow, but based on his build and vibe, he seemed pretty decent..." Tong Dong teased quietly. "So, when did you meet him?"

Xiao Ye suddenly interrupted, "Sit down, Tong Dong. We're about to turn."

Tong Dong's gossipy curiosity hadn't burned out yet, but hearing his serious tone, she pouted and reluctantly sat back.

The car slowly turned a corner and continued toward the company park gate. Just as it rolled over a speed bump, a few familiar figures appeared through the windshield, which the wipers were madly clearing.

Lin Haoda quickly spoke, asking Xiao Ye to stop.

Three young women were huddled under a single umbrella, shivering under a beat-up shelter by the gate. Xiao Ye pulled over, and Tong Dong jumped out. Lin Haoda was a step slower, grabbing two more umbrellas before getting out.

The women were frozen stiff. When they saw them, they managed a weak greeting, talking over each other. Lin Haoda learned that their ride was stuck in the heavy snow and wouldn't arrive anytime soon. They were stranded, debating whether to walk a bit further and try again or keep waiting for someone to accept their ride.

Tong Dong leaned in to look at the phone screen. The app showed over eighty people in the queue. How long would that take? She suggested they all squeeze into the car, since they were all women and could fit in the back seat.

Lin Haoda disagreed. "Even if we could squeeze them in, driving in snow is already dangerous enough. Overloading creates even more risk. If something happens..."

Before he finished, Xiao Ye nodded rationally. "Brother Lin is right. Safety comes first."

But they couldn't just abandon them. "Besides, Lily and the other girl can't get a ride either."

Tong Dong immediately caught on. "Oh right, there are those two interns downstairs too."

After a quick discussion, there was no way Xiao Ye's car could fit everyone. Tong Dong immediately posted in the company group chat, asking if any colleagues had driven to work. But it was already so late—the ones who drove had either already left or found a place to crash nearby. After five or six minutes, nobody replied.

Lin Haoda handed the umbrellas to the women and let the freezing girls get in the car first. Xiao Ye stood beside him, holding an umbrella over him, looking like he wanted to say something. "Brother Lin..."

He knew Lin Haoda already had an idea but was hesitating because of only one thing.

Lin Haoda met his gaze and gave a reassuring smile. "Let's just do it this way. The priority is getting home safe."

After a few seconds of silence, Xiao Ye offered to swap cars with him. Tong Dong also had a driver's license. If all else fails, they could switch drivers in their car.

Lin Haoda knew what he was worried about, and he felt conflicted himself. But considering the reality, he refused. "We're all adults. Don't worry."

As he spoke, he took out his phone. His reddened, frozen fingertips tapped on the screen. The phone rang a couple of times before the call was quickly answered.

"Hello, Haoda..."

The hoarse voice, in the quiet snowy night, echoed faintly with a bit of static in his ear, slightly distorted.

In less than five minutes, a black sedan appeared in Lin Haoda's field of vision, like a black speck out of place against the vast white backdrop.

The tires pressed across the wet ground, driving roughly and with effort, occasionally hitting hard ice, then sinking into soft fresh snow. Driving slowly in this weather was nerve-racking enough, let alone Guan Junshan, who barely slowed down and sped all the way there.

The drifting tires scraped the curb, the rear end swinging half a car's length before barely coming to a stop. Guan Junshan pushed open the door, not even bothering with an umbrella, and ran over through the heavy snow, stumbling through the snow.

Snow clung to his shoulders without melting, quickly dusting him white.

Under the dim streetlight, Lin Haoda held a transparent umbrella, the light tracing the soft outline of his hair. Guan Junshan stopped in front of him, wanting to turn away to catch his breath, but his eyes couldn't move from Lin Haoda's face.

"It wasn't that urgent," He said calmly, "What were you running for?"

Now that he had him back, this time Guan Junshan kept a very restrained distance, barely sheltered under the umbrella's edge. Under the light, his face glistened with melting snow. His voice was hoarse. "It's so cold out here. I was afraid you'd have to wait too long."

Lin Haoda didn't reply. He lowered his gaze, was silent for a few seconds, then looked up again toward the car. "I made it clear on the phone."

"Okay." Guan Junshan said the word again. Whenever he didn't know how to answer Lin Haoda, afraid of pushing too hard but unwilling to back off, he always said okay.

"Have you got other stuff to do after?" Out of politeness, Lin Haoda asked one more question.

He expected Guan Junshan to say no, but unexpectedly, after hesitating a second, Guan Junshan actually said yes. "Yes, I do."

Lin Haoda's eyes flickered, and he blurted out, "What is it?"

"Could I apologize to you face-to-face?"

Lin Haoda was taken aback. He looked up at Guan Junshan again, seeing the snow, the wind, and his own reflection in those eyes. Something in his chest thumped, and he quickly looked away.

Guan Junshan was nothing if not persistent about this. He only said he wanted to give a full apology, not that he expected Lin Haoda to accept it or forgive him.

Their figures overlapped in the snowy day, their shadows faint on the ground. Lin Haoda hesitated for a moment, his nose red from the wind. Finally, he gave in. "Let me... think about it."

Lin Haoda pulled open the car door; the heater inside was already running full blast. He slid into the passenger seat and fastened his own seatbelt.

Guan Junshan, fastening his seatbelt beside him, was a step quicker. From somewhere he produced an insulated bag. Lin Haoda hesitated, not reaching out, and Guan Junshan simply opened it himself, taking out the contents as he said, "Here, have something hot to warm you up."

A cup of milk tea, with pudding and tapioca pearls, the sticky toppings piled at the bottom, looking as if they had settled there for a long time.

Lin Haoda had a sweet tooth but rarely drank milk tea, because it made him feel bloated. However, he had never told anyone this. At work, when colleagues organized afternoon tea, he would join in enthusiastically so as not to spoil the fun. It seemed Guan Junshan, like those colleagues, had read him wrong, thinking that since he liked sweets, he wouldn't turn down milk tea either.

But with the car being so small, refusing now would be awkward. Lin Haoda took it, twirled the straw to stir the bottom, letting the toppings disperse evenly. He took a sip—it was still warm.

This only made it harder to tell how long Guan Junshan had been waiting downstairs, given the insulated bag and the warmth inside the car.

But from discount vouchers from the bakery to this pearl milk tea, Guan Junshan seemed to be putting more thought into these trivial, cheap items.

Lin Haoda recalled the first time he ate a donut in Guan Junshan's car. He had been very hungry, but felt like he was sneaking around, only to get caught and scolded by him.

The second time was ice cream, a complimentary dessert from a buffet. Guan Junshan, though clearly uncomfortable with it, let him finish it in the car, but that made Lin Haoda agonize for a long time afterward, wondering if he had truly crossed a line.

Back then, he never imagined there would be a third time—that after such an undignified separation, there could be a next time. Clearly, he had lost the right to be willful, and Guan Junshan no longer had a reason to be tolerant.

Yet the bond between people is like this cup of milk tea, left too long and stirred into a muddle—no matter the taste, there will always be reasons to keep getting tangled up in each other.

And those things that are hard to discern and have lost their flavor, like their brief time together and their sudden separation, are all plastered with cheap and ill-fitting labels.