He's here, he's waiting for him.

Lin Jian stood on the stage to give a program presentation, as the PPT page by page, the industry leaders seated under the stage in the eyes of the praise became more and more obvious.

The whole venue was very quiet during his presentation, and Lin Jian's voice is on the cooler side, but it's this cooler tone that echoed through the speakers in the quieter space, and it was uniquely stagnant with a sharp edge to it.

He stood there, his line of sight was occasionally thrown to the venue with the changing of the program pages, and he swept over all the people calmly, only when he landed on the person in the center of the long table, he would unconsciously give a slight beat.

But from always, until the end of the lecture, he showed no semblance of emotional dissent.

The presentation was perfect, and then came the Q&A session, where Lin Jian as the presenter had to complete the presentation alone, but when it came to the Q&A, the questioning was not directed at himself, but at the whole project team.

As the government side, the head of the Development and Reform and Landscape Management departments on the stage asked questions, and it was clear that Fang Jingwei, as the project leader, gave answers and solutions that satisfied the other side as well.

Finally, when it came to the representatives of the capital side, Mr. Zhang from Teng Sheng raised a little question from the perspective of the project budget, after all, this program can already be called perfect, the only debatable part, is the budget funds.

The project team responsible for the cost of the project part of the Qi Gong also gave a more reasonable explanation - no way, there is no good-looking and inexpensive, cheap and affordable garden design, all the aesthetic presentation is the need for real money stacked, so the budget part, the chance of change is close to zero.

Mr. Zhang himself understands that with this conceptual plan and design presentation, the possibility of bargaining on the budget is basically unlikely, but after all, Shen Ke is sitting here, he does not dare to be too big, so he probed in the direction of Shen Ke and asked tentatively, "Chairman Shen?"

This is asking the big boss if he has any more questions, Shen Ke slightly raised his eyes, and the light of his eyes gently but directly fell on Lin Jian in front of the stage.

Lin Jian seemed to have sensed it and stared back, and in the next moment, lowered his eyelashes again.

"There's nothing wrong." Shen Ke said in a smooth voice, "Next group."

There was actually a lot he wanted to ask, but it had nothing to do with the bid package at all.

Didn't want to know if it would be completed ahead of the projected schedule, just wanted to know how the person in front of me had been doing all these years.

Don't want to know if there's still a percentage of letting go on the budget side of things, just want to know why he's going to be his cohort.

I don't want to know what percent of the designer's inspirational proposition and the physical completion of the project can be achieved, I just want to know what's next for the people I haven't seen in five years.

Their group's bid presentation was over, and Lin Jian followed the relieved project team out of the meeting.

Shen Ke watched the still thin but straight and upright back disappear in the doorway, and sighed softly -

Separation has been five springs and summers flow, although time is difficult to trace the heart is difficult to level, but have to admit, when the boy he coaxed and teased raised, has been separated from each other in the torrent of years, in the world he can not see and touch, has grown into a young man like the green pine and cold bamboo.

That was the time he had missed, the gaping chasm that ran across his life no matter what, the gaping chasm that was hard to fill.

Entering the waiting room, Lin Jian took a bottle of pure water from the drinking area, unscrewed it, drank half of it, and sat down on a sofa chair.

The project team members were equally amazed by his performance on the field just now, especially the temporarily modified program, the details of which were even more majestic and indeed better than the previous version. At this point, the manpower has been exhausted, the rest is all left to luck and providence, the nervous part is over, colleagues have gathered around, praise, joking, waiting room atmosphere suddenly relaxed down.

Lin Jian listened to the slightly chaotic sounds around him, but his mind was always foggy and blank, and there was only one voice in his heart repeatedly confirming with himself---.

It's Shen Ke. It's Shen Ke.

He just actually saw him.

So caught off guard and completely unprepared.

After nearly two thousand days and nights apart, he actually did stand before him again.

When he was at the venue just now, he used all his mental strength and determination to barely be able to concentrate on the fact that Shen Ke was sitting right in front of him for the time being, and devoted himself to the bidding presentation. But even so, every time his line of sight uncontrollably skimmed over that person, for a second, he would still find it hard to breathe.

Time seems to have favored Shen Ke so much that even Lin Jian would vaguely feel like he was in a trance when he occasionally saw his current face in the mirror, but Shen Ke seems to be the same as he was back then.

As in that year's calm and collected, the corner of the eyes and eyebrows, a knitted brows, are Lin Jian left before the model, leaving no trace of the engraving of the years.

Lin Jian even had the inexplicable illusion that the five-year goodbye was just a drunken dream for him, and that after waking up from the dream, he was still the same eighteen-year-old silent and stubborn teenager, while Shen Ke in front of his eyes habitually embraced all his sharp edges.

Even the unmistakable smile that floated under his eyes each time remained the same as the one he loved so much.

For a moment, their eyes met, and he even opened his mouth and forgot his words, completely unable to remember what he was supposed to say next, until he quickly averted his eyes and swept a downward glance at the PPT page to continue his support.

That's ...... Shen Ke ah.

The one person who, for over a thousand days and months, had made it possible for him to keep breathing by missing every second of it.

"Lin Jian ...... Lin Jian?"

It wasn't until Fang Jingwei called his name twice that Lin Jian came back to his senses from his trance, slightly unclenching his clenched fingers before realizing that there was already a damp stain of water on his palm, "Team Leader, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, seeing that you've been staring blankly, are you uncomfortable?" Fang Jingwei smiled visibly, "By the way, you just performed very well, simply beyond my expectations."

Lin Jian pursed the corners of her lips and nodded, saying with little emotion, "There's no discomfort, it's just that I talked too much just now."

"It's hard work." Fang Jingwei said, "Then you take a break, we have to wait until the end of the last group, side by side to find out if there is any tendency of news, we can also prepare in advance."

Lin Jian nodded.

The third group's bid presentation was completed almost an hour or so later, and to be fair, the bid evaluation team purposely recalled the first company to the conference room to ask the other party if there was anything else that needed to be added or further demonstrated. This set of over the top down, when the bidding is all over, the window is already low in the twilight.

Fang Jingwei privately approached Mr. Zhang of Teng Sheng, hoping to find out some information - actually to find out the meaning of that "Chairman Shen", but Mr. Zhang was very strict, maybe it was about Shen Ke, so he was more However, Mr. Zhang was very tight-lipped, perhaps it was about Shen Ke, so he dared not overstep his bounds and said that their bidding design was very bright, and the final evaluation result would not take more than a week, so he asked them to be patient and wait for the notification.

This answer was not considered good, but it was definitely not bad, so the project team just hit the road and waited for the good news.

Coming out of the waiting room and passing by the conference hall again, Lin Jian subconsciously glanced inside, but by now the venue was empty and deserted.

His heart felt like it had suddenly lost weight and crashed for a split second, but he frowned only very lightly and said nothing as the elevator left with everyone else.

Stepping out of the elevator into the lobby on the first floor of the financial center, members of the project team proposed an evening potluck dinner, which could be used as a group relaxation after overstressing, or even as ...... an early celebration.

Fang Jingwei has always been an enlightened leader, there is no objection at all, everyone is in high spirits at this time, discussing which net red restaurant to go to, Lin Jian is at the end of the position, at this time, faintly expressed his own want to go back to the apartment first idea.

"That won't do!" Qi Jie, the costumer, protested, "You're the biggest contributor today, what else are we going to play if you don't go, let's go together."

"Yeah Xiao Lin, come along, that restaurant we were just talking about has great online reviews."

"No." Lin Jian faintly declined, but insisted, "You guys play, I want to go back and rest first."

Actually, it's to be left alone.

"Okay." Fang Jingwei thoughtfully relieved, "The temporary modification of the program coupled with the long explanation and debriefing really consumes mental and physical strength, today is also quite thrilling ...... How do you go, do you need a ride?"

"No need." Lin Jian said, "I'll walk a bit, or take a taxi." After all, he is in the workplace, he did not forget to add one last decent sentence, "You guys have fun."

Seeing that Fang Jingwei personally agreed to do so, and seeing that Lin Jian's face was really tired, the people could not force them to do so, and could only leave the group with a little regret.

Lin Jian stood on the steps of the entrance of the first floor hall, saw a group of people take the car and leave, and after a long time, he finally let out a deep breath and lifted his feet to walk down.

And walking up the last set of steps, a not-so-heavy honk suddenly came from up ahead.

Lin Jian's heart skipped a beat and he looked up as if he had a premonition--

Two meters away, Shen Ke came out of the cab of a Barbos alone, the night wind slightly lifting the corner of his trench coat, free and sharp.

Lin Jian froze in place and blinked very slowly.

Shen Ke walked over, but did not go up the steps, but stood at a height difference of about ten centimeters, tilted his head slightly, his eyes resting on the baffled face, and after a few moments, he said, "Do you have time to talk?"

It was only at this moment that Lin Jian's perception was revived bit by bit, and he realized with hindsight - the previous unexpected reunion was not a dream, but had indeed happened.

And now, Shen Ke has appeared before him.

He's here. He's waiting for him.

*

Babs doesn't turn off the engine, and Lin Jian gets in the passenger seat with Shen Ke.

Shen Ke will be thin trench coat jacket off, casually thrown in the back, fasten the seat belt and then shift gears to give gas, the car gradually into the main road, and the two people in the car are silent.

Time flits, swept through five years of light, the lights of the city outside the window thousands of prosperous and unfamiliar, but only at this time the carriage echoed this old song is still familiar ---

The neon lights are on again, and the night is getting crazy.

I'm the one who ran away for love and got drunk in a foreign land.

Could it be that God does not allow people to be crazy, and that happiness flows around them?

My heart is in turmoil. Who locks up the dreams?

Some people are so hurt by their love that they inevitably lose their claim

Gradually feel, a little vicissitude

It's impossible to imagine who is the hope of this life.

Some people are busy with love. Things are unpredictable after all.

How much more pain do I have to taste?

If I didn't want to come back to you.

Surrendered to fate a long time ago.

Don't let your love get in the way. Don't lock up your dreams.

I'll ride the waves for you, no matter how busy or how hurt I am.

......

It wasn't until a second before a song finished playing and the repetitive intro started up again that Shen Ke casually turned off the music and asked, "Is it true that you haven't had dinner yet, so let's go get something to eat together?"

Lin Jian snapped back from the abrupt ending of the melody half a beat later and let out a very soft "hmmm".

It's the tail end of the city's evening rush hour, and Babs is stopping and starting with the traffic. While Lin Jian is a complete stranger to the city, Shen Ke seems to know the place well, and doesn't even need to navigate it at all before finally pulling up in front of a private Huaiyang cuisine restaurant.

The decorative style of this private kitchen is also very typical of the elegant style of Jiangnan, the exterior of the blue and white tiles, the interior of the ink and bamboo charm, although it is a private kitchen that only receives a limited number of diners to make reservations every day, but as soon as the two men entered the door, there was a waiter who came forward to greet them, "Mr. Shen."

The maitre d' followed them around several screen partitions in the staggered elegance of the room and asked, "Still open for your private room?"

Shen Ke nods yes.

The waiter then immediately got another key from the other bar and opened a private room in the innermost part of the inner hall for them.

The lights were on, the light from the hanging umbrella lanterns was dim and soft, and the room was decorated with several bottles of white plum begonias with fresh petals, which looked like someone was replacing them on a regular basis.

The two men sat down across the wooden table and the waiter handed them menus, which Shen Ke naturally pushed in front of Lin Jian and said, "Let's see what we want to eat."

Lin Jian casually flipped through a few pages, ordered three dishes and one soup, and returned the menu to the waiter.

They were all dishes that had once been his favorites-- Shen Ke dipped his eyes and unbuttoned his cufflinks, stifling the dark ripples in his heart.

The waiter tries to pour tea for them, but Shen Ke stops him with his hand and pours Lin Jian a cup of tea himself.

The waiter withdrew from the door with a very wink, and the compartment, where only two people remained, was once again quiet.

Dense tea smoke wrapped in the fragrance wafted away, Lin Jian picked up a cup of tea sip, hot temperature from the tip of the tongue has been hot into the mouth of the heart.

What to say, what can be said?

Such an unsuspecting meeting did not give them any time to prepare themselves calmly.

Catching up? After all, the unspeakable past between them five years ago is still a forbidden area in Lin Jian's heart.

Greetings? It is not too heartfelt, so the time carved into the flesh and bones of the attachment and longing, how can you a "how are you doing", I a "not bad" can be glossed over on this.

Lin Jian knew that he had a heavy heart and a deep obsession since he was a child, but it wasn't until he met Shen Ke again that he realized how deeply rooted his obsession had become.

He thought he just liked the guy as much as he once did.

And it was only now that the epiphany dawned on him that he had sunk even lower than he had imagined.

Fortunately, Shen Ke did not let this silence continue for too long, he picked up his teacup and took a sip, saying, "Before the secretary told me that there is a junior apprentice of my fellow disciples in your project team, who has outstanding achievements at a young age, and I was curious about it, but I didn't expect it to be you."

Just like before, as long as Shen Ke started the conversation first, it didn't seem to be very difficult for Lin Jian to continue it. He rubbed his fingertips over the warm teacup and said, "Your secretary is exaggerating."

Shen Ke curled the corners of his mouth and didn't refute his self-effacement, but in the next sentence he asked straight out, "I thought I went to Cambridge back then, how come I transferred to Penn?"

Lin Jian gently gripped the cup, paused for two seconds, and replied lightly, "Well, I transferred after taking enough required credits early in my first semester of freshman year."

Not an obvious dodge, but Shen Ke was still the first to cave in, and didn't want to talk much about the reasons for the transfer.

So also just nodded and said, "That should be tough."

"Okay."

At this moment, the waiter knocked lightly on the door outside and asked, "Mr. Shen, is it convenient to serve you two?"

Shen Ke replied yes, and the waiter pushed the food cart inside, served the food, and then left silently.

Shen Ke rolled up his sleeves, got up and put a cup of dried silk chicken soup into Lin Jian's hand, in this extremely short moment, the distance between the two suddenly pulled in, Lin Jian slightly frowned, his heart suddenly jumped heavily.

As Shen Ke sat back down, Lin Jian suddenly thought to himself, "Look - no matter how many years have passed, you're still so useless in the face of this person's proximity.

Just like the teenager who was in love.

The spoon touches the china pot and Shen Ke asks, "How does it taste?"

Lin Jian answered truthfully, "It's fresh."

Shen Ke's eyes rippled with a very light smile, but suddenly asked, "Are you still going this time?"

Lin Jian's hand on the white spoon paused, two seconds apart, before he raised his eyes and said, "It depends."

It does depend on the situation, depending on how the project turns out in the end, and if the bid is successful, then he will have to work with the project team in the city for at least two years, according to the project duration.

"The headquarters of your design institute ...... is in Hong Kong City, right?"

"Yes." Lin Jian said.

Shen Ke nodded as if making small talk, "How long have you been on the job?"

"Over six months."

Shen Ke gave him an unexpected look at his words, and Lin Jian received that gaze and decoded its hidden meaning almost instantly.

It's been more than half a year since I returned to China, but I've been in Hong Kong City all this time, and I haven't gone back to the mainland even once, let alone contacting any of the Shen family-

It looks like it wants to make a clean break with what once was.

"I'm not ......" Lin Jian frowned slightly, but he didn't know how to explain, after all, he was never good at this since he was a child, "I'm not trying to intentionally... ..."

Before he could finish his difficult sentence, Shen Ke cut him off with a warm, "I understand."

Lin Jian then fell silent again, slowly calming his turbulent mind.

In fact, during his years abroad, Lin Jian slowly realized that he seemed to be slow and sluggish in reacting to external things, people or emotions around him, even when he was a graduate student, a British sister in the same research group once commented on him in broken Chinese - a sense of stagnation.

In time, he even felt that he did.

Doesn't let anyone or anything evoke emotions easily, and likewise doesn't give feedback; all people and things are just choices with him, without any emotional judgment.

It wasn't until he sat down again in front of Shen Ke at this point that he realized that it wasn't.

Even a very brief sentence, a very shallow smile, or even an inadvertent glance, as long as these sources of information are Shen Ke, then it can easily evoke waves of his emotions.

Surprised, shaken, heartbroken, secretly happy, nervous ......

Lin Jian seems to have a hidden sensory device that moves with Shen Ke's commands--

In Shen Ke's hand, he holds the master switch that controls all his emotions.

Finally, Lin Jian breathed a slow sigh of relief and took the initiative to serve Shen Ke a dish, the crispy bamboo shoots falling onto the white porcelain plate as he asked, "How have you been all these years?"

It was a query Shen Ke hadn't expected, and he looked up at him for a few seconds and said warmly, "It was okay."

Lin Jian nodded, but without waiting for him to ask the same question, he added, "What about the grandparents, how is their health?"

"All good." Shen Ke said, "some years ago to foreign sojourn, around also has been someone to take care of ...... By the way, it just so happens that in a while they are ready to return to the country to live for some days, then want to meet?"

Lin Jian takes a bite of his food, but says, "See what happens."

"What's the matter, are you scared of being near your hometown?" Shen Ke mentioned, as if carelessly, "Haven't you been sending gifts back all these years?"

With a sudden movement in his heart, as if that "emotional switch" had been triggered again, Lin Jian was surprised and said, "...... you know?"

Lin Jian changed his cell phone number when he arrived abroad, and he really hasn't contacted anyone in the Shen family over the years. But every New Year's Day, he would send two gifts to the Shen family's mansion, one for each of the Shen Zhangqian couple, and he never failed to do so during the past five years.

Just never left a sender message either.

Shen Ke said, "They went to Singapore the year after you left, and then they traveled to North America and Australia, so from the second year on, all those gifts of yours, they were collected by Guan Jia of the mansion, but I was informed every time."

Lin Jian nodded and whispered, "So it is."

"Every year when I receive something from you, I call them to let them know and then forward it to the address they are living at the time, so don't worry, the gifts are received."

Lin Jian said, "You've taken the trouble."

"I can't talk about taking the trouble." Shen Ke laughed very softly and said, "Every year when they receive a gift from you, they are very happy and praise you for being thoughtful."

Lin Jian moved his lips, but before he could utter a word, Shen Ke threw in another, jokingly casual remark, "Heartfelt, perhaps, but at the same time quite cruel, isn't it?"

"The bamboo chopsticks in Lin Jian's hand hit the edge of the plate with a loud thud. He looked up in a daze, only to see Shen Ke's eyes contain a layer of very deep indiscernible emotions, although the expression when speaking is still careless, but every light word spit out, are like a hammer, smashed in the tip of his heart: "At the beginning of the departure of the dry, and expressly prohibited me to look for you, more than five years of no news ... ... when I first received the gift you sent me, I thought. ...When I first received the gift you sent, I was thinking, will it be next year, there is also a part of me? The result is that after a year and then wait for another year ...... just like this has been waiting until now."

Shen Ke muzzle does not have much blame meaning, but more like in the statement of a very common thing, just behind the words engraved, such as the long time of attachment finally landed like a sigh of relief, but no matter how can not hide.

"I ......" Lin Jian, his throat as if clogged with lemons filled with sour juice, sour and low, "I was afraid ...... "

"Afraid of what?" Shen Ke's eyes fell on him very gently, and he sighed long and hard, "You are not afraid of the sky and the earth, and you dare to follow your birth mother, whom you haven't met for more than ten years, when you are outside all these years, have you ever thought that the one who is the most afraid of you, is actually me?"

Watching you grow up and leave is like witnessing the smooth and fluid trajectory of your life being cut off at the waist.

During the five years when Lin Jian was absolutely nowhere to be found, Shen Ke had more than once been scared to death--

I am afraid that he is not accustomed to living in a foreign country, I am afraid that he does not get along well with his biological mother's remarried family, I am afraid that he is still like a child, when something big happens, he will only bear it alone in silence, I am afraid that he will again be the same as before, and he will choose to use extreme harm to himself to solve the problem. ......

The greatest fear was that the teenager he had raised, cajoled and loved for ten years had not grown up properly in the strange times he could not see or find.

Even if we put aside the unspeakable ambiguity between Lin Jian and his wife before they left, at least they should still have a kinship connection.

And Lin Jian did the most cruel thing, not not to give him half of the news, but ...... even Shen Ke initiative to explore the opportunity to deprive.

That decisive and dry teenager, who had given him a long and torturous life sentence on his way out in the first place--

He wouldn't allow him to go to him.

He also wants him to promise to commit.

Good thing, it's finally back now.

Lin Jian lowered his eyelashes, unable to look directly at the person in front of him, and could only say, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Then change it?" Shen Ke took his apology logically, turning to pull his cell phone out of his pocket, mildly indulgent but with a rare sharp forcefulness:

"Whether you leave this time or not-- Lin Jian, give me your number."

to fill those thousand days and nights of worrying and hanging on.