Su Li took Little Tang Mo’s hand as they walked down the steps. "So, you made a new friend all by yourself, huh?"
Little Tang Mo nodded. "Yeah. Bai Shan is usually sitting in the corner all by himself. He never smiles, and there are a lot of things he doesn’t know or can’t do."
"I met him because he didn’t know how to fill his pen. He got ink all over his hands, so I helped him, and that’s how we got to know each other."
"Filling the pen" meant refilling a fountain pen when it ran out of ink, something Bai Shan didn’t even know how to do.
Little Tang Mo told Su Li how they met. "After that, we’d say hi or chat for a bit whenever we ran into each other. He always looked like he wanted to talk to me but was too scared, so I took the initiative. He told me I was amazing."
A hint of pride was in Little Tang Mo’s voice.
Su Li smiled. "But Little Mo *is* amazing."
Little Tang Mo laughed. "Bai Shan doesn’t even dare to look people in the eye, and he doesn’t seem to be in good health, either."
Su Li nodded. "It seems that way. From now on, keep an eye on him. If he doesn’t feel well, remember to come and get the driver, okay?"
Little Tang Mo nodded. "Okay, I will. He said he’s coming again tomorrow and will bring me some of his favorite pastries."
Thinking of how Bai Shan had called her "Auntie Su Li," he laughed again. "Mom, I’ll ask Bai Shan how old he is for you tomorrow."
Su Li: "..."
She pinched Little Tang Mo’s cheek. "You little rascal. Daring to make fun of your mom, are you?"
Little Tang Mo pursed his lips to hide a smile and shook his head. "I wasn’t! Bai Shan must have called you ’Auntie’ because I call him ’Brother’."
Su Li patted his head. "...I figured as much."
’Actually, having him call me ’sister’ wouldn’t be right, either. Since Little Tang Mo calls him ’brother,’ calling me ’auntie’ doesn’t really mess up the generational hierarchy.’
The next day, after Little Tang Mo and Bai Shan met at the library, they went outside to talk and eat the pastries.
Bai Shan held the pastry box gingerly. When he saw Little Tang Mo happily eating and saying how delicious they were, a rare smile appeared on his face.
Just as he’d planned, after finishing his pastry, Little Tang Mo asked Bai Shan his age.
"Bai Shan, how old are you? I’m seven, turning eight in August."
Bai Shan said, "Twenty-two."
The piece of pastry Little Tang Mo had just popped into his mouth fell to the ground with a PLOP. "Twenty-two?"
Bai Shan thought Little Tang Mo’s reaction was strange and asked cautiously, "Yeah. Is something wrong?"
Little Tang Mo coughed twice, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Bai Shan, you’re even older than my mom... I think I’m supposed to call you ’Uncle’."
The pastry Bai Shan was in the middle of handing to Little Tang Mo also dropped to the ground with a PLOP.
The two stared at each other blankly for a moment before looking away.
Hearing that Su Li was younger than him, Bai Shan recalled calling her "Auntie Su Li" the day before and was mortified.
When Su Li arrived to pick up Little Tang Mo, Bai Shan looked back and forth between the boy and his mother, his face a picture of astonishment. ’Su Li is younger than me, but she already has a son this old!’
’How did she manage that?!’
When Su Li heard that Bai Shan was actually a little older than her, she was at a loss for what expression to make.
"So he really is... And I was thinking he should call me ’sister’..."
Little Tang Mo took the blame. "It’s my fault. From now on, I’ll call Bai Shan ’Uncle’ instead."
Su Li let out a laugh. "You don’t have to go out of your way to change it. Just keep calling him ’brother’."
When they returned to the entrance of their apartment complex, they saw Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng was leaning against his car door, lost in thought. It was rare to see him spaced out like that, and he didn’t notice Su Li and Little Tang Mo approaching.
’Did something happen?’ Su Li wondered, then asked the question aloud.
Wu Sheng shook his head. "It’s nothing."
"You look troubled," Su Li stated plainly.
Wu Sheng smiled at that. "You’re getting to know me better and better."
After dinner, Wu Sheng took Su Li out for her driving lesson.
It was Su Li’s second day of learning to drive. She was extremely cautious, afraid that Wu Sheng’s voice would grow louder and more impatient, but thankfully, things were going fine.
However, he kept emphasizing "safety, safety, safety." No matter what they were talking about, it always circled back to safety, leaving Su Li feeling a little exasperated.
She felt that if she didn’t have a strong mental constitution, she would have probably given up on learning to drive by now.
Su Li thought to herself, ’I really should have taken a lesson from millions of other women out there and not let Wu Sheng teach me how to drive.’
"...Maintain a safe following distance. Safety first."
Su Li nodded vigorously. She had it memorized.
Safety is number one. The number one priority is safety. Unconditional safety!
As the lesson neared its end, Su Li, wanting to escape the "safety" mantra, changed the subject back to what was bothering Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng did have a minor annoyance, something that wasn’t quite a "problem."
"You know the name Li Kai Xuan, right?" Wu Sheng asked Su Li.
Su Li thought for a moment, then nodded. "I do."
’Li Xian’s adopted son and nephew,’ she recalled.
"What about him? Is he where you work? Is he giving you a hard time?"
Su Li pressed, her voice laced with anxiety.
Wu Sheng chuckled. "Don’t worry. He’s been transferred to my department, but he’s not causing any trouble. Besides, I’m not someone just anyone can push around."
Su Li breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s true."
She paused. "So, what’s going on with him?"
Wu Sheng paused for a moment. "It’s nothing, really. I just... get a bad feeling. The way he looks at me makes me very uncomfortable."
For a number of reasons, Li Kai Xuan was aware of his own true status, and by extension, he knew Wu Sheng’s as well.
Their paths had never crossed before, so it was easy enough to ignore each other. But now that they were working together, Wu Sheng couldn’t ignore him even if he wanted to.
Li Kai Xuan did his best to hide it, but his vigilance and hostility toward Wu Sheng were palpable. Wu Sheng could feel it clearly.
’Well, looking at it from his perspective, it’s understandable, I suppose.’
’He’s probably insecure. It’s only natural for him to be defensive around me.’
Wu Sheng’s intuition was sharp. The way Li Kai Xuan looked at him—especially when he looked at Wu Sheng’s face with an expression that was either jealousy or a desire to destroy—made him deeply uneasy.
As Li Xian’s son, Li Kai Xuan was expected to be exceptional, and he had a high starting point in life besides.
Now, although their positions were different, his professional rank was the same as Wu Sheng’s.
’If Wu Sheng has any ambitions, he’ll probably have to fight me to the death for them.’
"He seems very guarded around me. I have no idea what’s going through his head."
Su Li’s brow furrowed as she listened to Wu Sheng.
"Do you think he’ll try to cause trouble for you down the line?"
Wu Sheng didn’t have an answer to that. "I honestly don’t know."
Su Li was no longer in the mood for her lesson. "All right, let’s stop here for today."
"So you’re done practicing," Wu Sheng said with a resigned sigh. "I should have waited until the end of the lesson to tell you."
"We covered enough for today anyway," Su Li said, unconcerned.
"Then we’ll continue tomorrow." Wu Sheng didn’t press the issue, changing the subject to Su Li’s birthday.
"Your birthday’s coming up soon. Time flies."
’This time last year, he didn’t even have a chance to see Su Li, and now he could hold her hand.’
Wu Sheng was very pleased. "Mom and I will plan something for your birthday this year."
Su Li nodded. "Okay."
She wasn’t coy or overly modest about it at all.
Wu Sheng was very satisfied. "Good girl."
He calculated silently in his head. ’Su Li is a sophomore now. She’ll graduate in two more years, and then we can probably get married.’