"I..." she glanced at the wound on her arm, "am doing well."
"What about Xiaotang?"
"She’s also doing well."
The man responded, then fell silent again. After a moment, he spoke up again.
"Is there nothing you want to say to me?"
It was the first time she had been on a call with him, and she hesitated before speaking in a dry tone.
"I... I saw the horse you gave to Xiaotang, it’s very beautiful."
He responded and then fell silent.
Imagining the man holding the receiver, waiting for her to speak, Gan Yuan had to make conversation.
"Um... make sure you eat as well."
"Okay... Anything else..."
"Also... also..." she racked her brain, "what are you doing?"
On the other end of the phone, Huangfu Jue glanced at the conference table, at the subordinates either pretending to check documents or rubbing their noses...
He was in a meeting and still calling her?!
"Then continue with your meeting, I... I won’t disturb you further."
"It’s okay, keep talking."
In the past, for Huangfu Jue, a phone call was only for communicating necessary matters, and he never had the habit of engaging in long drawn-out conversations, much less wasting his precious time on such trivial things.
But now... everything had changed completely.
He had called her out of the blue during a meeting, not for any reason other than to hear her voice.
With no indication that the man intended to hang up, Gan Yuan had to keep making conversation.
She herself always spoke directly and hung up as soon as she was done; chatting idly on the phone was new to her, too.
After a few more meaningless words, she spoke helplessly.
"I... I don’t know what to say. Why don’t you go back to your meeting? I... I’ll hang up first."
"Say that you miss me."
Since they couldn’t understand Chinese anyway, Huangfu Jue didn’t bother to hide his intentions.
Gan Yuan was speechless.
"Say it and I’ll hang up," the man’s tone was tinged with a hint of playfulness, "everyone’s waiting for me."
"I..." Gan Yuan looked around at everyone, "can’t you stop being so silly?"
On the other end, the man was silent.
She could only hear his faint breathing; it was clear he was waiting.
She silently grumbled to herself.
"Am I hanging up now?"
On the other end, still silent.
Gan Yuan lowered the receiver, her fingertip resting on the off button, but she couldn’t press it.
Finally, she stood up briskly and walked to a corner, lifting her hand to cover her mouth.
She quickly hung up the phone, and before she could turn around, her phone rang again. Seeing that it was still his number, she reluctantly answered.
In her ear was the man’s low, gentle voice.
Four words, like a breeze over a tranquil lake, rippling through the spring water.
It took her a while to find her voice again.
"Then... I’ll hang up?" her voice had unconsciously softened, "Goodbye."
"See you tonight," he corrected.
The dial tone rang in her ear, indicating the line had disconnected, and she lowered the hand holding the receiver, exhaling deeply.
A phone call that accelerated her heartbeat and made her palms sweat was definitely a first.
From beside her came the light laughter of the little one.
"Mommy, your face is so red."
She raised her hand to touch her face, indeed it felt burning hot – without a mirror, she could guess it was very red.