Chapter 28 Yong Yong, Do You Want a Cigarette?

Chapter 28: Want a Smoke, Yong Yong?

The past couple days, office secretary Xiao Liu got an under-the-table job from the big boss, Chu Yan.

He had to play the exclusive customer service rep for the 'Yitai' haute couture section, even if it meant trashing the company’s reputation, to swap out a certain item that had been sent out that day.

Before meeting Mr. Chi, Xiao Liu racked his brain over why he’d been given such an important task. It wasn’t until Monday, when he put aside the boring office work to make a trip to He’an, that he started to get it.

He’d heard from Director Yun that the big boss, Chu Yan, had been in a car accident, hospitalized, and had a mental block, keeping everyone at arm’s length. Yet he was only approachable to a pediatrician, “...” The work badge on Dr. Chi’s left chest clearly said “Pediatrics.” Putting it all together, the reason the big boss had given the item made sense.

But as for why he wanted it back…

No, it was an exchange. Each size of that handmade haute couture sweater was unique. The big boss gave a model number and sent him to the physical store to grab a new one for replacement. As for the craftsmanship issue, Xiao Liu was convinced it was made up. Director Yun was in charge of the ready-to-wear section; if there were real problems, the big boss wouldn’t be the first to complain.

Xiao Liu, scratching his head, walked into the CEO’s office with the replacement sweater. “Big boss, the clothes are back.”

“Did Dr. Chi say anything?”

“He said he didn’t want to exchange them and asked me to take them back directly.”

Chu Yan lifted his gaze, looking at Secretary Liu with a look questioning his competence.

Secretary Liu, with a keen sense of self-preservation, quickly finished what he’d started. “I first apologized sincerely to Mr. Chi, then told him I’d take the sweater back. The one meant to replace it was a peace offering from the company, not to be returned. After we fix it, I’ll send it back to him.”

Chu Yan didn’t respond. He flipped open the box with his fingertips and, seeing the fold wasn’t the neat fold you’d see in a store, his expression softened a little.

Xiao Liu quickly produced a receipt. “Big boss, please sign so I can handle the write-off.”

Chu Yan signed. “That’s it. You can go.”

After Secretary Liu left, Chu Yan stared at the sweater for ages.

He didn’t make a habit of handing out gifts casually, let alone such carefully chosen ones. Dr. Chi was a tough nut to crack, always turning down gifts saying “I haven’t earned this.” It wasn’t pretending to be humble; he genuinely didn’t need them.

Chu Yan ran his hand inside the soft fabric and lifted it to his nose…

Nothing—the comforting scent he’d hoped for wasn’t there.

His eyes, closed lightly, opened slowly again, with the cold gleam of disappointment. A wave of anxiety hit him.

Dr. Chi hadn’t even touched this sweater.

Over two weeks went by, and his ‘Lovey’ at home had lost its magic. The comfort item, painstakingly obtained, meant nothing without Dr. Chi’s touch.

Chu Yan called Secretary Liu back into the office and asked him to hand over the customer service account he’d used to contact Dr. Chi.

He wanted to ask Dr. Chi why he hadn’t even touched the gift.

Chu Yan logged onto the after-sales account dedicated solely to serving Dr. Chi, syncing their past chat records. There were only a few lines, yielding no useful info.

Secretary Liu, feeling uneasy, looked at the big boss’s serious expression, worried he might have messed up some part of this ‘under-the-table job.’

“Don’t mention this to anyone.”

No reprimand, just a simple instruction.

“Understood, big boss.”

Chu Yan looked at the few emojis in the chat history, all of which were either begging for sympathy or groveling. They’d defused Dr. Chi’s intention to refuse.

Dr. Chi was indeed soft-hearted and unwilling to make things difficult for others. Chu Yan figured out some method from this and, imitating Secretary Liu’s tone, composed a message.

“Hello Mr. Chi, we’ve taken your sweater back to the workshop for processing. I noticed it doesn’t seem to have been tried on, so I’d like to ask if it’s because of the style, color, or some other reason. We can make finer adjustments based on your preferences.”

To make his work more thorough, Chu Yan picked a soft, cute heart-holding emoji from the synced pack and sent it.

Time passed, the screen lit up repeatedly, but the message sent to Dr. Chi remained unread.

Chu Yan suddenly remembered that at this hour, Dr. Chi was still seeing patients, and during work, his phone was always on silent.

Fortunately, there was a celebration party at Yitai that evening, so Chu Yan wasn’t idle enough to sit around waiting for Dr. Chi’s message.

The celebration was held at the Yuge Hotel in Times Tower, attended only by internal staff. Everyone left work early to dress up and were to arrive before 4 p.m.

No matter the occasion, Chu Yan never touched a drop of alcohol at parties—something all internal staff knew. So whoever raised a glass didn’t dare to hand it directly to Chu Yan.

But this time, there was a screw-up. A designer transferred by Director Yun, attending his first party, carried a brightly colored special cocktail and went to toast the big boss.

Chu Yan took it out of habit, took a small sip, and immediately frowned.

“Is this alcohol?”

Engineer Lin, unaware of his mistake, said, “Yes, Mr. Chu, what’s wrong?”

Without a word, Chu Yan found Yun Shang and held the glass in front of her. “I’ll leave Engineer Lin to you. I’m heading back.”

“Boss, what do you mean?”

Only when she smelled the alcohol in the glass did Yun Shang realize her trusted subordinate had made a huge mistake.

If Engineer Lin didn’t drink himself half to death that night, she wouldn’t be able to explain it to Chu Yan.

Chu Yan’s alcohol tolerance was terrifyingly low. A single sip could go to his head. Feeling a bit dizzy, he didn’t ask the driver to take him home but instead strolled slowly along the streets near the new year holiday.

The cold air outside didn’t quickly burn off the scant alcohol in his body. Walking aimlessly, Chu Yan lost his direction until he circled Times Square and saw the camphor tree adorned with new lights. Then the familiar scene from memory flooded back.

The camphor tree grew wildly, branching into four thick limbs at shoulder height, covered with signs of previous trampling—probably to keep people from damaging the lights on the tree, a fence had been added around the trunk.

The bench by the tree was still there.

Chu Yan remembered sitting on that bench from daytime to evening, with Dr. Chi’s ex-boyfriend also involved at one point. Back then, he’d been tongue-tied and bullied by the other, needing Dr. Chi to defend him.

The other had been Dr. Chi’s boyfriend, someone with whom he’d had a close relationship, while Chu Yan was just a patient. Yet Dr. Chi had still been impartial, standing up for him.

Months later, Chu Yan sat back on that bench, but his heart felt terribly empty.

Because back then, he’d been waiting for Dr. Chi to find him. Now, revisiting the same place, it was only to sober up.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, until he was nearly falling asleep in the cold wind. A voice came from above.

“Chu Yan?”

Chu Yan didn’t open his eyes immediately. He suddenly couldn’t tell whether he was the Chu Yan with the mind of a four-year-old from before, or the observer now.

Yes, he was observing himself.

He wanted to explore what was different about the owner of that voice just now, how it could split him into two forms, pulling the child version of himself and the present self together.

Chu Yan opened his eyes just a tiny slit. It really was Dr. Chi.

It was an unexpected encounter that jolted little Chu Yan awake from his forced deep sleep.

"It's Yong Yong..."

Yong Yong wore light-colored jeans, clean white sneakers, a short puffy down jacket, and a light-colored scarf.

Everything was in warm tones, making his features look gentle and soft.

But there was surprise on that gentle face, after he called him "Yong Yong".

Why be surprised? That little patient at He'an Hospital calls him that too.

"Aren't you afraid of getting sick, sleeping here?"

Chu Yan smiled and pointed to the top of Times Tower. "I just came down from a celebration banquet. Accidentally had a sip of wine, feeling dizzy."

That tiny bit of alcohol couldn't have tinged his voice with drunkenness, but his vocal cords, long unused, still sounded hoarse. Coupled with his bewilderment at the situation, his tone was tinged with softness and a hint of playfulness.

"Where are your colleagues? Why aren't they with you?"

Chu Yan patted the empty space beside him on the bench. "Yong Yong, sit!"

The colored lights on the tree kept switching, casting flickering shadows on Yong Yong's face. But it was certain that even if he wasn't smiling, he wasn't as distant as before.

Yong Yong sat down. The sweater he had worked so hard to get during the day—which had carried no scent before—now enveloped him.

"Yong Yong, what cigarettes are you smoking?"

Yong Yong took the pack from his down jacket pocket. "These, with crushable beads, floral flavor."

Chu Yan shifted sideways, leaning his back against the armrest, tilting his upper body toward Yong Yong, bringing his head closer. "Smoking now? I want to see."

As Chu Yan spoke, Chi Suiyong smiled.

"Just one sip of wine, and you're like this?"

Chu Yan watched both himself and Yong Yong. So this was the only way to get a smile from him. "Yong Yong, how about I give you a lighter? This one's no good." He snatched the lighter out of Yong Yong's hand.

"Why do you always want to give me things?"

Chu Yan played with the lighter, flicking it on and off repeatedly, and mused, "Because it's beautiful, because it suits you, because it's a match for Yong Yong."

"You're a luxury brand CEO, and I'm just a pediatrician. What you think suits me doesn't really fit me."

"I don't get it."

"Forget it if you don't. Give me the lighter."

"Yong Yong's going to smoke, right? Let me light it."

Chu Yan recalled an old black-and-white movie he had watched with Yong Yong, where two martial artists lit each other's cigarettes. Yong Yong had said it embodied the mutual respect between heroes.

How was that lighting gesture? Heads together, one lights, the other shields the wind.

Chu Yan straightened his back, reached out his long arm, and directly pulled Chi Suiyong's head close. His index finger landed right on the crown of his head.

Chi Suiyong resisted slightly, but his head was completely trapped. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't Yong Yong going to smoke? I'll help you light it."

Caught off guard, Chi Suiyong crushed the cigarette pack in his hand. Relaxing his grip, he pulled out a cigarette with slightly trembling fingers and placed it between his lips.

He forgot to bite the crushable bead, and the lighter was already lit. Chi Suiyong took a deep drag, and the strong tobacco smell nearly brought tears to his eyes.

"Okay, that's enough."

Before releasing his hand, Chu Yan's index finger mischievously rubbed the crown of Yong Yong's head. Without hair in the way, it was pure body heat, spreading through his fingers throughout his body.

"Author's Note"

It's so quiet, no one's reading, huh? [facepalm]

Feeling disheartened, I thought about cutting the story short and finishing quickly to start the next book, but then remembered I'm a pantser without an outline, hahahaha.

That's just my silly rambling, anyway. I'll definitely finish writing it carefully [pats own head sheepishly]