Saito suddenly stopped him, his expression serious and apologetic. "President Bai, not all the guests have arrived yet. We can't start eating."
Bai Le sheepishly put down his chopsticks. He was just about to speak when, with a swish, someone slid the door open from outside. The first person to come into view was a waitress in a kimono, who bowed her head and extended a hand in welcome.
Then a man in a wheelchair was slowly pushed inside.
Bai Le stared in shock at the man entering and sprang to his feet, the sudden movement making the drinks on the low table wobble.
Xi Yan looked as lifeless as ever. His slightly wavy black hair made his complexion seem even paler, and his gloomy, cold eyes swept over everyone in the room before settling on Bai Le. His gaze deepened almost imperceptibly.
"Mr. Xi, do you know each other?" Saito did not address Xi Yan as president. He looked at Xi Yan, then at Bai Le, whose reaction had been so extreme, and asked in genuine curiosity.
Bai Le did not answer. After all, the question had not been directed at him.
To his surprise, Xi Yan nodded, then sat down with the help of the secretary behind him. His expression remained unchanged, without the slightest sign of discomfort.
Saito cheerfully raised his glass and delivered a particularly literary line. "Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land is cause for celebration."
It seemed his knowledge of Chinese culture went beyond a superficial understanding. Although his phrasing was a little awkward, he was a foreigner, after all.
"We've been working with Mr. Xi for two years now. We're all friends, and President Bai will become our friend too."
Xi Yan was even more ambitious than he had imagined, having already extended his reach this far. Who knew how many more bargaining chips and trump cards he had where others could not see?
"We chose to work with your company because we believe in its long-term prospects. I hope we'll have a pleasant partnership." Although it was standard polite talk, Bai Le's smile was so sincere that it easily put people off their guard.
Ye Xiaosi glanced at Bai Le in slight surprise. He hadn't expected him to be able to hold his own when it mattered.
After three rounds of drinks, whether sincere or not, everyone at the table had to act as though they were speaking from the heart.
Bai Le couldn't hold his liquor well, yet he loved drinking. After several rounds of verbal sparring, he had finally settled his business and carelessly drunk a few cups of shochu. Now his face was flushed and his head was swimming as he grinned foolishly at Ye Xiaosi.
"Get someone to bring me a bottle of '82 Garfield."
When he finished speaking, everyone in the room looked at Bai Le, then exchanged baffled glances. Only Xi Yan lowered his eyes slightly, the upward curve of his lips so fleeting it might have been an illusion.
"The only Garfield I know is Garfield the cat, and the only '82 I know is Lafite," Ye Xiaosi said matter-of-factly, staring at him.
Bai Le grinned. "Hehe, right, that's it. Lafite."
"Rather than drinking foreign liquor, why not try our Juyondai Ryusen Sake?"
Saito was about to call someone over to fetch it when Xi Yan suddenly spoke in a cold voice. "You said you were planning to expand into the domestic market soon. Where are you thinking of setting up?"
"S City, I think." Saito answered the question seriously, forgetting all about getting Bai Le a drink.
Xi Yan did not say much. Most of the time, the others talked while he listened, but even sitting there, he was impossible to overlook.
After eating and drinking his fill, Bai Le lay sprawled over the low table, intermittently sipping the hangover soup Ye Xiaosi had pressed on him. In his daze, he heard someone mention a hot spring.
His eyes immediately lit up, and he struggled upright. "I want to go too."
"Haha, of course we're all going together. The hot spring is nearby." Saito thought that Bai Le was still a child, after all, having reached this position in his early twenties, though he was impossible to fool when it came to serious business.
The group split up among the cars, and Bai Le rode with Xi Yan.
Whenever he drank, he became extremely talkative. He chattered nonstop at Xi Yan, thoroughly excited.
"Are we going to Mount Fuji? I've seen Mount Fuji online. Will there be snow? It'll be my first time soaking in a hot spring while it's snowing. Oh, right, it's summer now. But I don't have a change of underwear for the hot spring. Do you? Can you lend me a pair..."
At first, Xi Yan kept his expression unchanged, his eyes half closed as he ignored him. But in the end, he could no longer stand the noise and opened his eyes to stare at Bai Le.
"Shut up."
Bai Le pouted, aggrieved, and turned away to ignore him too. He rested his chin on the car window, facing outside, his hands hanging loosely. By now, the window was rolled all the way down, and the cold wind howled into the car.
"Close the window," Xi Yan said with his eyes shut.
Bai Le did not answer.
Xi Yan opened his eyes again impatiently, and just as he was about to repeat himself, Bai Le suddenly moved.
"Ah—" He opened his mouth wide, letting the cold wind rush in. His voice trembled, giving it a distinctly electronic sound.
He was having a wonderful time playing by himself, but Xi Yan had reached his limit. He yanked him over and scolded him coldly, "Keep squirming around and see if I don't throw you out."
After saying it, he froze, as though he hadn't expected his emotions to fluctuate so strongly.
Seeing that Bai Le was finally no longer pressing on the window, the driver hurriedly rolled it up.
Bai Le scrunched up his face. "I believe you. Don't throw me out." After a pause, he added, "And don't be mean to me."
When Xi Yan said nothing, he rambled on, "I was just playing. Didn't you ever go 'aaaaaah' into an electric fan when you were little?"
"Ah, right. You probably wouldn't have played with that kind of thing when you were little."
Something stirred in Xi Yan's heart at that. He stared fixedly at him. "You know a lot about my past?"
Bai Le's lips curved upward, and he looked thoroughly pleased with himself. "Hehe, I'm not telling you."
The warmth faded from Xi Yan's eyes, but his tone was gentle, coaxing him along. "Why?"
Oblivious, Bai Le said with a grin, "Because if you found out, I'd be done for."
Xi Yan looked at him, the air around him seemingly shrouded in frost. His face was cold, and his dark eyes were unfathomable, like a deep pool.