Now that Shi Chen had become an adult, he was able to drink alcohol. Qing Bo poured him a gla.s.s of red wine, which looked very expensive.
Chen pretended to dislike it, "I like orange juice."
While Feng Ma was absent, Bo got up to get the orange juice, then poured a full gla.s.s of it for Chen , and asked lightly, "Don"t like red wine?"
Chen, of course, liked red wine. He even told Yunsheng Liang that when he became rich, he would buy a bottle of 1982"s Lafite to taste.
Chen said coldly, "Hmm."
"What a pity!" Bo picked up the gla.s.s. "This is much more expensive than Lafite."
That mouthful of orange juice Chen had just drank almost spurted out.
Bo"s words made Chen absent-minded throughout the meal. From time to time, he would steal a glance at the bottle of red wine, which was said to be more expensive than 1982"s Lafite. Seeing Bo drinking one gla.s.s after another, Chen felt strongly tormented. It got even harder for him to keep his real moods from Bo.
"I"ve never seen anyone drink red wine like you. It"s not beer. You have to taste it slowly and shake it before you drink it."
Bo asked him, "How to shake it?"
Chen reached out his hand, "Give it to me."
Bo handed the goblet to Chen, who took over, feigned a few times of shake and directly drank the red wine up.
Bo asked with a smile, "Does it taste good?"
Chen frowned slightly, seeming a little unsatisfied, "Not bad."
"Do you want any more?"
"Yes."
Bo poured him another gla.s.s.
Chen drank up that bottle of expensive red wine in one breath, sat to rest for a while, and then waited for Bo to put down the chopsticks before asking, "Now to cut the cake?"
Bo, "It"s up to you."
Chen got up to bring the cake box onto the dining table, opened it, and put the candles in place. It was the first time for Chen to celebrate officially his own birthday. He was not sure what to do next after lightening the candles, so he asked in a foolish manner, "Am I supposed to make a wish?"
Bo asked, "Do you have any wish to make?"
Chen scratched his head, "Yes." He had in fact a lot to make, though he wondered whether it would come true if he made them all.
"Don"t be too greedy. Pick the one you want to come true the most." Bo tapped his right hand on the table and the light in the house went out subsequently. He said to Chen smilingly across from a circle of candlelight, "Go ahead."
"Are you a mind reader?" Chen murmured, then closed his eyes and made a wish. Scarcely had he opened his eyes when he heard the tap sound on the table again. At the same time, the lights in the dining hall went fully bright. Chen looked up at the top lamp, and then looked at Bo, "It"s voice-controlled?"
Bo nodded.
Chen raised his hand to tap on the table. But there was no response for the first time. Neither for the second. Chen couldn"t help but look up at the person sitting across from him. Bo laughed, "It can recognize a person"s voice."
It must be c.r.a.p. Chen rolled his eyes, bent over to blow out the candles, and pick up the knife to cut the cake. He cut a piece of cake for Bo, then another for himself. He took a bite of his share, and then stared at Bo.
"Why don"t you eat?" Chen asked him deliberately though he knew that Bo did not like to eat sweet things. He was about to leave, so he felt a little sad for there would not be a chance to make a fool of him again.
"Eat." This time, Bo did not frown as he did the last time when Chen put a White Rabbit Candy into his mouth. Instead, he was quite gentle. He put a small piece of cake into his mouth with a fork, nodded, and then one after another. In the end, he put down the empty paper tray, "Delicious."
Chen could not believe what he saw, "Is it really so delicious?"
Bo wiped his hands with a hot towel, "Yes."
"Don"t wipe your hands so fast." Chen pointed to the big cake only a small piece of which was eaten. "It"s not finished yet."
Bo paused for a while, put down the towel, and looked at Chen smilingly, "Today is your birthday. I am happy. So, give me another piece."
Chen cut him another big piece.
Bo seemed to be really happy. He ate all the rest of the cake in the end. Chen watched him beside and felt it was too much sweety for him.
It was getting late, and Bo kept his word. He did not do anything else except saying "Happy Birthday" and then asking, "Do you need me to ask the chauffeur to drive you?"
Chen, "Drive me? To where?"
Bo, "Wherever you want to go."
Chen froze on the spot. Right, it was he who had said he would leave after dinner. But where could he go? n.o.body knew he was still alive except Qing Bo and Yunsheng Liang. Even if someone else knew it, it would be totally unhelpful. He was an orphan with no relatives. There was no one to rely on.
Chen raised his hand to scratch his head, "Uh, I still …"
"Your luggage has already been packed up." Bo picked up the phone on the table, dialed his bodyguard"s number, "I"ll send someone in to pick it up."
Chen, "…"
Chen was made a little unhappy in this way. "Are you eager to see me leave quickly?"
"No, I want you to stay." Hardly had Chen felt the joy than he heard Bo continued saying, "You"ve been an adult after all."
Chen got annoyed instantly. He glared at him with twisted eyebrows, "Old rascal! Don"t ever think about it! I"m leaving now!"
Bo held his right hand against his stomach and chuckled, "Are all adolescent boys like this?"
Chen heard this when he was just about to go upstairs. So, he stopped, "Like what?"
"Capricious."
"It was you menopausal old men that are capricious. I"ve always been like this. I haven"t been happy after being with you. It"s all sadness." With the words, he glared at Bo again and ran up the stairs fast.
The old man was so thoughtful that he not only packed up Chen"s luggage, but also prepared money for him. Chen took the bank card brazenly, "I will pay you back when I have money in the future."
Bo smiled but did not speak. He reached out one hand and touched Chen"s face.
Chen was displeased, "If you touch again, you won"t get the money back."
Bo touched again.
"Ok, I won"t pay you the money back!" Finished with the words, Chen stood there staring at him. But when he found that Bo really stopped touching after waiting for a while, Chen got a little sulky. He thought to himself that Bo was right about his capriciousness. He had grown so inexplicable, strange and annoying. But he was not like this before. He only became so strange after being with Bo.
Oh, wrong. When had he been with Bo? They were never together.
"What"s wrong?"
"Nothing." Chen looked up and smiled reluctantly. "Then goodbye."
"Hmm." Bo stroked his hair. "Please, I"ll not see you off then."
Chen asked the chauffeur to stop the car when they were out of the villa area. He got off the car, took out his luggage from the trunk and said to the chauffeur, "Thank you. I think this is it. You go back."
The chauffeur looked around and asked him, "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Chen replied. "I have a friend living nearby. I"ll live with him. It was just a few steps away."
"All right."
Chen stood by the road, waiting until the car was completely out of sight. Then he began to walk down the road pulling his suitcase. It took Chen 40 minutes to walk to Liang"s school. Then he sat around for about ten minutes on the road opposite the school gate. Finally, he squatted down, pulled out his mobile phone and sent a message to Liang.
"I"m at the school gate."
Liang replied quickly back, "Five minutes."
Chen went to buy a pack of cigarettes from a kiosk, and sat on his suitcase, smoking and waiting. He thought it was good that no one cared whether he smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol or ate cold stuffs. It was great to be free.
"What"s going on?" Liang ran out from the school gate to Chen and pointed to his suitcase, "Are you running away from home?"
"What do you mean? That"s your uncle"s home, not my home." Chen stood up and patted the suitcase. "Now I"m free."
Liang frowned, "Have you quarreled with my uncle?"
"Why would I quarrel with him? I"m not your aunt." Chen snuffed out his cigarette, and flipped it into the trash can aside, with a full face of relaxation. "We"re done."
"Your smile is uglier than your cry. Save it."
Chen rubbed his face and squatted down, "Liangzi, what should I do hereafter?"
Liang patted him on the shoulder. "It"s all right. You still have me."
"I"m feeling awful. I want to drink." Chen looked up at him, with his wet and pathetic eyes. "I"ve already been an adult."