LWDC Chapter 103

Chapter 103 – “Coincidence”

Throughout the dinner, Zheng Liwen kept checking his phone.

Finally, he received the message he had been waiting for. He looked up and met Ning Fei’s eyes. Ning Fei understood, tapped his cigarette, and offered one to Zheng Liwen. Then he said to his teammate next to him, “I’m going out for a smoke with Zheng Liwen,” and the two of them got up and left the private room one after the other.

They didn’t go far, just stood by the entrance of the restaurant, a place where customers were sure to pass, and lit their cigarettes. The wind was strong, and Ning Fei couldn’t light his lighter after two tries. Zheng Liwen, who had already lit his and taken his first puff, laughed. Ning Fei glanced at him, “Laugh again and I’ll cut your cigarette.”

Only then did Zheng Liwen use his ability to light a fire for him.

After lighting it, he asked, “Why don’t you use your ability to control the wind?”

“Bro, this is air flow, you’d have to control the entire area. Do you think it’s like you fire users, who can just snap your fingers like a gas stove and make fire? I’m too lazy to bother,” Ning Fei leaned against the wall, slowly exhaling smoke, “Or, you could just take advantage of this wind to practice your fire control.”

Zheng Liwen looked at the entrance of the restaurant, “Playing with fire here, I’m afraid the restaurant will call the police.”

Ning Fei chuckled, “That’s true, setting a fire at the entrance, straight to the police station.”

Zheng Liwen turned back to watch him smoke, commenting, “You look very stylish when you smoke. Unlike my teammates, who squat by the roadside like migrant workers entering the city.”

Ning Fei flicked his cigarette ash in his direction, “Hey, why bother with that…”

Before he could finish speaking, Ning Fei’s peripheral vision caught movement at the entrance of the restaurant. He straightened up and strolled over, “Professor Wang.”

Wang Haiyang, who was walking out of the restaurant with Chen Yikun, paused at the sound of his voice and turned to look, “Little Ning, what are you doing here?”

“Just having dinner with some friends,” Ning Fei smiled, “Professor, you’re here for dinner too, what a coincidence. Where are Sister Min and Fanfan?”

“They didn’t come. I’m here with Professor Chen, we’re alumni,” Wang Haiyang casually introduced, “He’s a researcher from the Tianyue Base.”

“Oh, also from Tianyue? What a coincidence!” Ning Fei also pointed to Zheng Liwen, who had followed him, “This Captain Zheng is also from the Tianyue Base, and he’s responsible for escorting the scientists who come to Tianyue for exchanges. Captain Zheng, you should know each other, right?”

“Know each other, how could we not? We were responsible for the safety of Professor Chen and the others on the road,” Zheng Liwen replied, “It really is a coincidence.”

He was lying through his teeth. Chen Yikun almost couldn’t keep a straight face. Ning Fei and Zheng Liwen had deliberately chosen the private room opposite theirs, and Chen Yikun had secretly sent Zheng Liwen a message when Wang Haiyang and the others were about to leave. Now they were both pretending it was a coincidence, acting like it was real. Chen Yikun felt like he was the only one who didn’t deserve to be in this scene.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to say many lines, because Zheng Liwen immediately asked, “Professor Chen came alone? How are you getting back to the guest house? Or should I give you a ride?”

Chen Yikun quickly said the “lines” they had practiced before, “Ah? Wouldn’t that be too much trouble? Are you finished eating? It’s not far anyway, I can walk back.”

“Almost finished, otherwise we wouldn’t have come out for a smoke,” Zheng Liwen said, “It’s my duty to escort you, and it’s quite late now. Some places in Hui Chuan don’t have streetlights. Since we bumped into each other, I’ll give you a ride, but I won’t force you, it’s your choice.”

“Then… thank you,” Chen Yikun replied, and then turned to ask Wang Haiyang, “Professor Wang, how are you planning to get back?”

Before Wang Haiyang could speak, Ning Fei threw his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out as he said, “How about I give you a ride? I don’t want to go back and drink anymore anyway. I’ll just say you drank too much and can’t walk alone, and I’ll help you out, as an excuse to sneak away. A little breeze would be nice, right, Professor Wang?”

With him saying that, Wang Haiyang couldn’t refuse, and could only say, “Well, alright then.”

“Then we’ll go in and settle the bill, and tell the others that we’re leaving first,” Zheng Liwen also extinguished his cigarette, making a decision, “You two wait here, we’ll be right back.”

With this arrangement, Wang Haiyang was completely stuck. He could only wait at the entrance with Chen Yikun.

Ning Fei and Zheng Liwen turned around and went back into the restaurant. They went into the private room, went to the front desk, and came out side by side in a few minutes. But in these few minutes, Wang Haiyang and Chen Yikun had completely disappeared from the entrance.

Ning Fei: …Where did my two big scientists go?

The next moment, a short, loud “Beep!!” sound startled them both. They looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a Hummer that hadn’t been there a moment ago. It was parked by the side of the road, its black exterior almost blending into the night. Even though the lights inside the car weren’t on, Ning Fei suddenly had a feeling that he knew who the owner of the car was.

“In that car? Let’s go take a look,” Zheng Liwen took the lead and walked forward. Ning Fei didn’t have time to think more and followed him.

As they approached the Hummer, before Ning Fei could get to the passenger window and try to identify the car owner, Chen Yikun’s head popped out of the back window, “Uh, well, Director Duan came to find me…”

“Ah?” Ning Fei was taken aback, “What? Director Duan?”

To be honest, Ning Fei had a vague feeling that Duan Yunhong would appear. So, he wasn’t surprised that the car was Duan Yunhong’s, but rather that Duan Yunhong would come looking for Chen Yikun. But he didn’t say everything he was thinking, and just repeated the title, making it seem like he was very surprised that Duan Yunhong would be here.

Zheng Liwen also found it very unexpected, “Director Duan? Are you talking about the director of the Hui Chuan Research Institute? What does he want from you?”

“Each delegation confirms the number of people in the guest house every night. Professor Chen wasn’t there, so it’s my responsibility to make sure he’s where he’s supposed to be.”

A man’s voice came from the front driver’s seat, and the passenger window also rolled down, “His colleague said he was at this restaurant, so I came to take a look. Since they’re about to leave, I’ll just give them a ride.”

Ning Fei was originally standing behind Zheng Liwen, facing the passenger seat. As the window rolled down, his eyes met the eyes of the person in the driver’s seat – of course, it was Duan Yunhong.

At this moment, Ning Fei’s brain raced, thinking of a hundred guesses as to what Duan Yunhong was up to, but he remained silent.

Zheng Liwen was more straightforward, resting his arm on the window frame of the back seat, and sizing up Duan Yunhong. It was the first time he had seen the rumored director in person. He was secretly surprised by how young he was, but he still asked politely, “Director Duan came in person? Even if an adult goes out for dinner at night, you have to confirm their safety and take them back? Director Duan must be very busy, right? You’re so dedicated, it makes our guard team look negligent.”

With this posture, he clearly wasn’t going to let Duan Yunhong start the car easily and take people away. Duan Yunhong didn’t seem to notice the subtle pressure in his words, and continued to calmly reply, “I was just coming to take a look, the ride is just a convenience. Besides, he was having dinner with Professor Wang from our institute, so giving him a ride is just fulfilling my duty as a host.”

Hearing this, Zheng Liwen looked at Chen Yikun, and saw the helplessness on his face. It was true, Wang Haiyang might not be able to refute Duan Yunhong, and Chen Yikun was passively dragged into it. Thinking of this, Zheng Liwen signaled to Ning Fei with his eyes, silently asking him what to do.

Of course, Ning Fei also knew that Duan Yunhong wouldn’t let people go easily. After quickly thinking it over, Ning Fei made a decision, “In that case, Director Duan, would you mind giving me a ride? I live close to Professor Wang, so I can get off together.”

As soon as this proposal came out, the two people in the back seat plus Zheng Liwen were all “…”

Zheng Liwen could guess why Ning Fei did this. He probably wanted to ensure Chen Yikun’s safety back to the guest house, and continue to “talk” with Wang Haiyang after getting off the car. But he really didn’t expect that Ning Fei would dare to make such a bold suggestion.

Duan Yunhong, who was being questioned, raised his eyebrows slightly, “You are…?”

Ning Fei didn’t feel awkward at all facing this question, and smiled at him, “I’m a small team leader of an ability user team, Ning Fei.”

Duan Yunhong was silent.

Ning Fei continued to smile.

Finally, Duan Yunhong said, “Get in.”

Zheng Liwen was really a little surprised now, this Duan Yunhong didn’t look easy to get along with, but it actually worked. He gave Ning Fei a thumbs up from an angle where the people in the car couldn’t see.

Wang Haiyang’s thoughts were even more scattered. The reason was none other than that Ning Fei had said, “My ideal type is someone like Director Duan.” Seeing Ning Fei get into the passenger seat so naturally, Wang Haiyang had a feeling of “No way, is he really going to make a move on Director Duan?” shock.

In any case, Ning Fei and Duan Yunhong were sitting in the same row. The two didn’t speak, didn’t make eye contact, and for a moment they looked like they had just met.

Zheng Liwen waited for the passenger door to close, then turned to the passenger window and said to Duan Yunhong, “Then I’ll trouble Director Duan for this trip. Thank you for your hard work.”

Duan Yunhong only perfunctorily tilted his head, not even turning his gaze completely over, “It’s nothing.”

Zheng Liwen shook his phone at Ning Fei.

Ning Fei nodded.

Duan Yunhong silently withdrew his gaze, “Let’s go, watch your hand.”

Only then did Zheng Liwen take two steps back, wave his hand, and watch the Hummer start and drive away.

*

The Hummer drove on the night roads of Hui Chuan.

With Duan Yunhong present, Ning Fei didn’t want to speak. The two in the back didn’t dare to speak much, so it was silent all the way. In the silent atmosphere, the short journey was stretched out a lot.

Chen Yikun was dropped off first. He had long been stiffened by this quiet and awkward atmosphere, and escaped as if fleeing. Before getting off the car, he met Ning Fei’s eyes, but Ning Fei didn’t move. The two separated like real strangers.

Duan Yunhong then took Ning Fei and Wang Haiyang to the downstairs of where they lived.

After Wang Haiyang said goodbye, he silently and consciously got out of the car first. He thought Ning Fei would say something to Duan Yunhong, but Ning Fei’s target was actually him, so he got out of the car without hesitation.

The speed was so fast that Duan Yunhong was visibly stunned. By the time he reacted, Ning Fei had slammed the passenger door shut with a “bang.”

Duan Yunhong: “…”

He lowered his gaze, narrowed his eyes slightly, and chuckled in a very low voice, with some sarcasm. Just as he was about to restart the vehicle, a voice suddenly came from the right, “Hey.”

Duan Yunhong turned his head, and Ning Fei threw something in to him from outside the car window, “Happy birthday.”

After speaking, he walked away without looking back, leaving Duan Yunhong with only a receding head. Duan Yunhong looked down at the thing in his hand, which was a box of cigarettes that was still quite new. He opened it and found that two cigarettes were missing.

Looking at his phone again, the calendar showed: August 13th.