Lu Lin took a sip of wine. "I don't know much about him."
Chu Ziyu sighed. "You don't even pay attention to your only nephew. Besides your career, who else do you have room for in your heart?"
Xie Yunjie suddenly set down his glass. "Tell us, Old Lu, what kind of heavenly beauty would it take to catch your eye?"
Lu Lin gave it little thought. "I'll leave it to fate."
At two in the morning, the bar was still bustling. Yan Heqing mixed his last drink, changed back into his own clothes, and clocked out on time.
As he stepped out of the bar, the warm air instantly turned into blades of ice. Yan Heqing pulled his scarf close and was just about to leave when Feng Zhixian emerged from around the corner and blocked his way.
Feng Zhixian had come half an hour early to wait here and intercept him.
"Xiao Yan." Feng Zhixian studied Yan Heqing's face. It was a little red, but he couldn't tell whether he was drunk. "Where did you learn to play darts? You're so good."
Feng Zhixian had drunk quite a bit, and his breath reeked of alcohol when he spoke.
Yan Heqing said nothing and walked straight around him.
Seeing that he was leaving, Feng Zhixian hurriedly caught his arm, his gaze burning. "Xiao Yan, you're so heartless. I like you. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
A Maybach slowly emerged from the parking lot exit nearby.
"Stop," the man in the back seat suddenly said.
The driver immediately pulled over.
Lu Lin lowered the window and looked toward the bar entrance.
In his everyday clothes, the bartender looked even younger. His face was small, and his bearing was youthful too.
Chu Ziyu said he was eighteen?
Even with Feng Zhixian tugging at him, Yan Heqing remained unhurried. "Feng Zhixian, is this how you treat someone you like?"
It was the first time Feng Zhixian had heard Yan Heqing say his name, and it left his heart soft and tingling. Yan Heqing was completely different from his usual type.
He wasn't delicate or soft, didn't act cute, and even had a cold disposition, yet Feng Zhixian liked him all the same. He had fallen for Yan Heqing the first time they met.
It wasn't just Yan Heqing's pretty face. That cool, aloof air, as though no one was good enough for him, made Feng Zhixian especially eager to conquer him.
He imagined Yan Heqing lying beneath him, his face flushed only for him, calling only his name.
Feng Zhixian got carried away.
He let go of Yan Heqing with a chuckle. "Don't be mad, Xiao Yan. I just got anxious because I was afraid you'd leave."
"Heading home? It's hard to get a cab this late. I'll drive you."
Yan Heqing said mildly, "You might not mind driving drunk, but I value my life. We can talk next time, when you're sober."
He strode away.
Feng Zhixian mulled over Yan Heqing's words, his eyes lighting up. Does that mean I can drive him home next time, as long as I'm not drunk?
So Feng Zhixian didn't chase after him. He called to Yan Heqing's retreating figure, "Take it slow on your way home, Xiao Yan! Stay safe!"
Lu Lin raised the window. "Let's go."
The Maybach set off again. As it passed the sidewalk, Lu Lin caught a fleeting figure through the window out of the corner of his eye.
After walking along the sidewalk, Yan Heqing waited by the road for a cab. Even in the early hours of Christmas, there were still quite a few people out, as well as flower sellers with roadside stalls.
Among the crowd, Yan Heqing spotted a little girl.
She was just over ten, wearing a thin coat and weaving through the crowd with a basket, selling flowers.
Her flowers were different from everyone else's: wintersweet. So despite pitching them tirelessly all night, she hadn't sold a single sprig.
The little girl was very anxious. She hadn't earned a single yuan, and her father would definitely scold her when she got home. Her little brother needed imported formula.
But no one would buy wintersweet.
The little girl found an empty spot to stand and lowered her head in fear. She was afraid her father would hit her.
A few seconds later, a pair of black ankle boots entered her field of vision.
A pleasant voice drifted down from above her. "How much is the wintersweet?"
The little girl looked up in delighted surprise. In the light of the streetlamp, she saw a very, very beautiful face.
She had never seen anyone so good-looking, even better-looking than the stars on television. She was so nervous she stammered, "F-five yuan a sprig."
Yan Heqing counted the wintersweet. There were twenty sprigs in all.
He took two pink banknotes from his pocket and offered them to the little girl. "I'll take them all."
The little girl was delighted but flustered. "Twenty sprigs only cost a hundred yuan. You're giving me too much, big brother!"
The corners of Yan Heqing's lips lifted slightly, a warm smile in his eyes. "Take a hundred home to show for your work. Hide the other hundred well. That's your own secret money."
The little girl stood dazed, neither taking out the flowers nor daring to accept the money.
So Yan Heqing took the flowers himself and gently placed the two banknotes in the basket. "Go home."
Yan Heqing left with an armful of wintersweet.
The little girl stared blankly after him, her eyes suddenly reddening. She raised her sleeve and rubbed her eyes hard, then carried her basket home.
Thank you, angel big brother, she said in her heart.
A figure waited outside the gates of the Lu family's old residence. Lin Fengzhi held a gift box in his arms, repeatedly looking down the road.
The temperature was too low, and he was terribly cold, stamping his feet back and forth to keep warm.
It's so late. Why isn't Lu Lin back yet?
Lin Fengzhi couldn't help letting his thoughts run wild. Could he be... spending the night with someone else?
Feeling wronged, Lin Fengzhi pressed his lips together.
He kicked the air unhappily.
Just then, headlights shone from up ahead. Lin Fengzhi squinted and looked up, making out the license plate.
Beijing A0000!
It's Lu Lin's car!
Lin Fengzhi's face instantly broke into a smile. As the Maybach neared the gates, he ran forward with quick little steps. "Uncle Lu Lin!"
Lu Lin had been resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the voice, he looked out the window.
Through the glass, the young man's features looked somewhat familiar. The young man behind the bar surfaced in Lu Lin's mind.
"Stop," Lu Lin said.
The driver brought the car to a halt.
Lin Fengzhi ran delightedly to the car and bent down to knock on the rear window.
Lowering the window, Lu Lin looked into Lin Fengzhi's eyes. They were similar in shape, but not in spirit.
He asked mildly, "Who are you?"
Lin Fengzhi's smile froze, and a deep sense of hurt welled up. "Uncle Lu Lin, don't you remember me? I'm Lin Fengzhi, Lu Muchi's friend."
Lu Lin nodded. "He isn't back yet."
He raised the window and said, "Let's go."
The Maybach drove into the parking lot.