Chapter 32.2 (1/2)
Deep in the Act
Translator: Kotoni
Editor: Cien
Quality Check: Isalee
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter 32.2
Gao Zhun went to work the next day with red eyes. In the afternoon, he attended a preparatory meeting for an upcoming show. His team of eight sat in a circle around the table, working out the lighting and logistics details with Justin as the temporary project leader. Throughout the session, Gao Zhun remained rather absent and distracted while Justin kept stealing watchful glances at him. Just as the younger man was thinking about starting a conversation with Gao Zhun, the red light on the intercom began flas.h.i.+ng. Gao Zhun picked up the incoming call with great impatience, and the receptionist's sweet voice rang out in the meeting room: ”Director Gao, you have a visitor. Your landlord, Mr. Fang, is here to see you.”
Gao Zhun was stunned for a moment. As realization kicked in, however, he became overwhelmed with joy, and there was no hiding the euphoria on his face. ”Tell him to come up,” he said at once, only to change his mind in the very next breath. ”Hold on,” he called out, bending his entire upper body over the intercom to press hard on the device, ”tell him to wait. I'll go down instead.” Before releasing his hold, he added one more instruction, ”Make him some coffee. Or tea. No, make both and ask him for his preference!”
Justin had never seen Gao Zhun like this before - so eager to please, like a child trying everything within his means to get the affection he craved. Then, after dropping a last hurried order for Justin to ”stand in for him,” Gao Zhun rushed out of the room. Bewildered by the older man's behavior, Justin sat frowning in his s.p.a.cious executive chair, momentarily lost in thought. A short while later, he got up from his seat as well. ”Carry on without us,” he said to the planning executive beside him, ”and remember to take notes.” By the time Justin reached the elevator lobby, one of the two elevators had already descended to the fifteenth floor. The other was waiting on standby, and he pressed for it without thinking. Like an ill-intentioned stalker, he got into the elevator and gave chase immediately.
Soon, the first elevator reached the ground floor. Stepping out into the foyer, Gao Zhun caught sight of Fang Chi straight away. His eyes ran over the man's tall figure and gold-rimmed gla.s.ses before falling on the cup of hot tea on the round table beside him. So that's what he prefers - Gao Zhun thought to himself as he began striding over to the resting area where Fang Chi stood waiting - tea rather than coffee.
Meanwhile, Justin emerged from the second elevator as well, mere seconds behind Gao Zhun. Keeping a calm countenance, he walked up to the reception desk, where he was greeted with a smile and a polite nod. Tapping his fingers on the countertop, he asked, ”Has Director Zhang from Spar Vision arrived yet?” After a quick check through the visitor logbook, the receptionist replied in the negative. The young man then asked for a lighter, lit a cigarette for himself, and stepped into the shadows of a decorative plant nearby. Thus concealed, he began spying on the pair in the resting area.
”Doctor Fang!” Gao Zhun blushed with evident delight as he came up to Fang Chi. ”Why are you here?” he asked, bowing his head a little in shyness. ”What a surprise…”
However, Fang Chi showed no intention to stay for long; he did not sit down or touch the cup of tea. ”I just received an invitation to a tea party that's being held today,” he replied, taking out a key from his pocket. ”You'll have to spend the night alone. Are you scared?”
Gao Zhun stared hard at the small piece of metal before him, torn between his desire to possess it at once and his reluctance to take it on Fang Chi's terms. ”The whole night?” he asked, a little coy and child-like. ”Do you really have to go?”
”I need to leave right now.” Fang Chi gripped one of Gao Zhun's hands and placed the key in his palm. ”It should end after midnight, but I'll try to come back as early as I can.” Worried, Fang Chi gave the other man's hand a light squeeze and continued, ”I have some DVDs in the shelves by the TV. If you have trouble sleeping, look through the disks for something to watch. And call me if you're afraid.” Gao Zhun nodded, obedient as always. Unwilling to part with him, Fang Chi pulled him nearer, until their bodies were almost flush against each other. ”Today's session is canceled, but I have a task for you: tell Justin how you really feel. Lay it out for him. Tell him that you're frightened of him and that you hate the way he behaves around you.”
”I already did…”
”Tell him again. Be firmer this time,” Fang Chi demanded, forceful and insistent. ”Do it in a semi-public setting, where you're left undisturbed, but not alone. There should be other people nearby or around you. If there's a door, remember to keep it open. Can you do that?”
Gao Zhun would never say 'no' to Fang Chi. Leaning into the other man's arms, Gao Zhun breathed out his promise, ”Yes, I can. I'll tell him after the meeting.”
”I'll be on my way, then,” Fang Chi replied, pus.h.i.+ng him away. ”I'm already late.” Gao Zhun walked Fang Chi to the entrance with lingering reluctance, the very image of a forlorn lover who had grown used to loneliness. But Fang Chi did not look back. With deliberate resolve, he kept his eyes forward as he left the building and made his way to his car. Then, in a single breath, he opened the door, got into his seat, fastened his seatbelt, started the vehicle, and pulled out onto the street.
On the radio, someone was discussing the adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy. Fang Chi did not change the channel, lost as he was in his own thoughts. Images of Gao Zhun, from the daytime as well as the night, flooded his mind and worked him into a frenzy as if he was delirious with fever or high on drugs. He could not stop thinking about how depraved and perverse he had been last night - could not stop berating himself for the beast that he was. There was little traffic ahead of Fang Chi; he cruised along, thus absorbed in self-reproach.