Hot Dumplings

This visit was liberating. The whole drive back, Wen Rui's chest felt lighter than it had for the entire week. Thinking about his mother still hurt but seeing her grave gave him a new strength to forge on like he had a purpose to live harder and better than anyone else just to reassure her.

And to prove to his father that he didn't need him to come out on top.

By the time they finally entered SH City again, it was way past dinnertime. Wen Rui stared out the window at the beautiful night landscape as the orange glow of streetlights flashed past overhead again and again. When Zhou Ye finally exited the motorway, it was to turn onto a busy area at the city centre, not far from their apartment.

Wen Rui absentmindedly took note of the changes of the place, he'd lost four years of his life, which didn't sound like much, but so many things were different now. That niche bubble tea shop he'd liked and sprouted branches all over the city. On the other hand, the arcade that he used to hang out in with his classmates during holidays was gone, replaced by a mega electronics mall.

He was so distracted that he didn't notice Zhou Ye pulling up on a side street until the engines switched off. He looked at Zhou Ye in confusion.

Zhou Ye didn't quite look back at him.

"Do you want to get dinner?" he asked. "Or we could call for delivery."

"Let's eat outside."

Wen Rui wasn't sure why he said it but he didn't feel like going back to the apartment yet. Being outside and surrounded by the faceless weekend crowd sounded appealing. Maybe being a part of the humdrum would make him feel a bit less lonely and displaced.

And…Zhou Ye might not have said anything but for him to stop on the side of the street like that, it felt like maybe he wanted to eat outside. Although, this entire street was made up of tiny eateries. Wen Rui was having a hard time imagining this young master squeezing his long legs under one of the cramped tables and ordering food that commoners ate.

The thought made him chuckle a little. He was the same, wasn't he? Once upon a time, he'd only come out because of his schoolmates and even then he hadn't been able to get used to the vibe. But now he craved to be a part of it.

Zhou Ye frowned like he suddenly remembered something that irritated him. "You were caught in the rain just now," he said, brows knitting together. "Maybe we should go h—back. You can take a shower first—"

"You were caught in the rain too, you know." Wen Rui shrugged. "It was just a drizzle, I've thawed out in the furnace that's your car's heating." It was true. The entire trip back, Zhou Ye had turned the heating up to the point where it had been almost uncomfortable. Wen Rui would have thought that this was Zhou Ye's subtle way of torturing him if he hadn't seen how Zhou Ye had removed his black coat first, and then his bomber jacket, and then wiped at his brow surreptitiously with the back of his hand, clearly suffering more than Wen Rui had.

Zhou Ye looked like he wanted to disagree but stopped himself. He reached over to nudge Wen Rui's knees away from the glove compartment to, well, to pull out an actual pair of gloves. Wen Rui stared, stumped, as the soft leather pair was held out to him.

Wen Rui suddenly couldn't look at him either. He remembered what Zhou Ye had said in front of his mother just a couple of hours ago.

"Thanks," he mumbled, pulling them on.

The restaurant Zhou Ye led him to was really a hole-in-the-wall eatery. Wen Rui wasn't sure what was more shocking, that Zhou Ye knew about its existence or that he was okay with eating here.

"A business partner introduced this place to me," Zhou Ye explained when he noticed the incredulous expression Wen Rui failed to conceal. "When I was first starting out."

First starting out? Wen Rui didn't understand. Starting out with what? His internship in Zhou Group?

But before he could ask, they were ushered onto little plastic red stools in a discreet corner of the shop by an overly enthusiastic uncle. He handed them laminated menus and beamed at Zhou Ye like he was his proud father.

"Xiao Zhou!" he shouted enthusiastically. "It's been a while!"

Zhou Ye inclined his head in polite acknowledgement but the small smile playing on his lips was genuine. "Uncle Qi."

"Hahaha, thanks for bringing us new business." Uncle Qi's laughter was boisterous but it wasn't too jarring, blended nicely into the comforting din of the shop. Wen Rui found himself relaxing despite the rowdy surroundings, that was, until Uncle Qi made a noise of astonishment when he took a good look at Wen Rui's face. "Ehhh? This handsome young man looks strangely familiar…have you eaten here before?"

"It's his first time here," Zhou Ye replied smoothly before Wen Rui could panic and rummage around for sunglasses. "But I bringing him because he likes soup dumplings and yours are the best in SH City, aren't they?"

This praise succeeded in distracting Uncle Qi. "Hahahahaha! You're as glib as ever," he said, guffawing. "Fine, fine, just for that, Uncle Qi will especially prepare the dumplings for you." He stuck out a thumb. "Guaranteed the best!" After taking the rest of their order, he rushed back into the kitchens to personally demonstrate his skill.

Wen Rui was stumped. Why was Zhou Ye so comfortable in this environment? Was it just business acumen? The ability to socialise with anyone regardless of their background?

And was it just a coincidence that he mentioned Wen Rui's love for soup dumplings? Or had Wen Rui told him this before?

This thoughtfulness wasn't what he'd expected from someone who gave off such a cold impression. What else was there about Zhou Ye that he'd been mistaken about?

"What's wrong?" Zhou Ye asked him after he noticed the perturbed frown on Wen Rui's face.

Wen Rui shook his head. He didn't know how to ask or whether Zhou Ye would want him to. "Nothing," he lied. "I was just thinking about Wen Guoyan."

Zhou Ye's eyes flickered to his face. Wen Rui was seated facing the wall so that none of the other patrons would catch sight of him so easily. But even then, they were still getting quite a lot of curious looks from young women, their physiques and dressing making them stand out in the crowd despite their best efforts to remain inconspicuous.

"What are your plans?" he asked.

Wen Rui reached out to fiddle with the toothpick holder. He stopped two seconds in when he realised it felt a little oily. "Well," he said, trying to think about how to phrase this. "Since he's being…"

[Such a shit.]

"Since he hasn't been a good father, I don't see any necessity to hold up my end of the marriage. You mentioned before that this was a business decision on your part too and that's fine. But what I'm saying is, if you want a divorce in the future, please feel free not to consider my father's interests in this, I would be more than happy to oblige."

He said this in a rush, gaze trained on the scratched surface of the rickety wooden table, so he didn't notice Zhou Ye's expression darkening.

"If you want," he added. "You can even blame me, just in case you're facing difficulties in Zhou Group too." Even though Zhou Ye had said that the deal had been between Wen Guoyan and himself, Wen Rui didn't fully believe that. Zhou Ye was the CEO of Zhou Group but he was also still working for his family at the end of the day. As someone from the youngest generation, Wen Rui didn't believe that there wasn't a measure of familial pressure forcing Zhou Ye's hand in this ridiculous arranged marriage. Otherwise, why would Zhou Ye agree?

Wen Rui couldn't see what was in it for him.

"Is that so."

Wen Rui looked up. There was a hint of displeasure in Zhou Ye's voice but it didn't show in his bland expression.

In the background, someone cackled excitedly over a chorus of hoots but Wen Rui felt removed from it, like the serious talk they were having in their little corner was like a bubble that blocked out the rest of the world.

"Say we get a divorce," Zhou Ye continued, tone even like he was discussing a project's 5-year plan. "Where are you going to go after?"

Wen Rui's lips flattened. He'd thought about this so often in the past couple of days. He didn't have a home anymore besides the one Zhou Ye had offered so…

"The dorms," he started saying but Zhou Ye interrupted him.

"The dorms," Zhou Ye repeated, but it didn't sound like he was agreeing with Wen Rui. "And then? You're an up-and-coming idol, your salary isn't low but you haven't saved a cent from the sounds of it. You can start now, but in the meantime, you're going to live off your meagre savings? Change your living standards? Do you even know what it's like to start at rock-bottom in the entertainment industry?"

Perhaps Zhou Ye didn't intend for it to be, but his words struck the wrong chord with Wen Rui, made him feel like he was being condescended to. Frowning, Wen Rui snapped, almost petulantly, "It's fine, I can take it."

He braced himself for an argument to blow up but Zhou Ye's next words deflated it instantly.

"You can," Zhou Ye acknowledged. "But I don't want you to."