Injury

The girl looked at her new assistant in amazement. He was tall and handsome, like in a fairy tale.

His thick hair lay in gentle waves and almost reached his shoulders.

His clear eyes, the color of an autumn sky, were softened by the thin curve of his eyebrows. The high bridge of his nose and neat wings of his nose, his soft lips could be described as sensuous.

The chin line was rather feminine, and the long neck spoke of a noble appearance. The girl had seen enough of handsome men already, so she had become immune to their charms.

If she fell in love every time she saw a pretty face, she would have been in an asylum by now.

The secretary still looked at the young man incredulously, but already with great interest. Having made up her mind, she asked him for help.

"Mr. Bai, on your first day on the job, I'm not prepared to trust you with paperwork. But you can help me with the editor's schedule.

The girl held out a folder to Ling.

"Here is his schedule. Please accompany Tai Bin today, help in meetings, and make him a coffee if necessary. Isn't that too much trouble?"

Ling smiled, feeling like a fish in water.

"That's okay, I won't let you down. I hope for your help."

Ling took the paperwork and made his way out of the cluttered office and into the lobby the same way. He made his way to the receptionist's desk and asked which visitors were now in the editor's office and which were waiting in line. Once he was familiar with the information, he got down to business.

Another meeting dragged on, and a bored man in dark glasses yawned languidly in the lobby. Ling walked over and offered him tea. It turned out that the guest was very hungry, so Ling quickly arranged a light snack for him.

In addition, he separated the two models, who were trying to scratch each other's eyes out. He promised each one discount coupons to a famous boutique. (He noticed these coupons in the receptionist's office, where they were lying around unnecessarily.)

Time passed at three o'clock and the lobby became considerably quieter.

Ling finally sat down, giving his weary legs five minutes of rest, when suddenly the editor's head appeared from the office.

"Coffee!" he shouted, and immediately closed the door.

The young man jumped up and ran to comply. He had been working like a ghost secretary for hours, but now he would have to show his boss his diligence. When he returned, he quietly entered the office and placed the cup on the desk.

"Put it there," Tai Bin waved at the coffee table.

Holding the saucer and cup with one hand and making room on the coffee table with the other, Ling tried to remain calm and professional.

If this was Jiang Wei's office, he would have died of embarrassment over such a mess. His boss didn't tolerate this kind of sloppiness. And here everything was so creatively chaotic that the young man didn't even know if it was worth changing things up if people were comfortable.

As if reading his mind, Tai Bin spoke to him, moving to the couch beside the coffee table.

"So Secretary Zhao entrusted you with administrative duties, well, she wasn't wrong," he drank almost half his coffee and continued, "today is my day as quiet as never. You're doing quite well with my schedule."

"It's not difficult, Mr. Tai," the young man was always modest and didn't like to be the center of attention.

"Even your coffee is good," the editor embarrassed him again.

They were silent for a few minutes before Tai Bin held out the magazine spread to him. In the photo, handsome guys and girl models were advertising fashion clothes in the image of the idols. Ling seemed to recognize one guy. It seemed to be his shooting partner from last time.

"Every month we do a creative theme photo shoot. This was our last one. We're doing a new one in three weeks, the theme will be art. I want you to get ready. Ideas are welcome."

"How about painting?" said the young man without thinking.

The editor hesitated. Then his eyebrows rose and he said:

"A workshop, models in paint, painting a beautiful girl covered only by thin fabric...hmm, I like the idea, and just right for the clothing brand that will participate. And good for you!"

Ling got the editor's approval again.

"Then I'll be on my way," the young man hobbled toward the door.

"Halt," the director raised his hand, "until the photo shoot, I'm assigning you full-time as my assistant. The first thing you do is clean up the goddamn office! Secretary Zhao has no time for anything. You'll be working double time, don't you agree?"

How could the young man ever refuse?

"I'll do my best," Ling bowed slightly and walked out.

There were still visitors waiting in the lobby to be attended to.

After the editor went home, Ling went back to his office and sketched out a short plan to clean up the room.

He decided that first thing in the morning he would take the boxes and cart and then get to work sorting things. Pondering this way, his hands began folding and clearing space on their own.

In his enthusiasm, he did not notice how midnight came.

The guard approached the glass door several times and silently walked back out, feeling surprised and disbelieving. No one in this firm worked so hard.

The guard thought that this employee must have made a mistake and was now working overtime to make up for it.

In reality, the young man just did not want to go home. There was an empty, lonely apartment waiting for him without Wei. So he got rid of his unpleasant feelings through work.

He saw that it was getting late, but he stayed in his office for hours on end. And early in the morning he moved all the boxes out of the office and called the sleepy cleaning lady over. She opened her mouth to express her shock, but then prudently kept silent and started cleaning the editor's office.

Before, she could only clean the narrow walkway from the door to the desk, but now she had to spend almost an hour to finally finish cleaning the room.

Not to say she was happy, but a job is a job. As she finished cleaning, she noticed the young man snoozing in the café, resting his head on his hands in front of him.

Tai Bin immediately noticed that Ling was wearing yesterday's clothes and seemed a little cold. Tai Bin, without thinking twice, threw his jacket over him and went into his office.

Stopping at the doorway, he even rubbed his eyes because his brain refused to believe what he saw. When had his office grown so large?

He stared at the spatial warp in silence, then turned back to Ling and stared intently at the young man once more.

"Who are you?" he asked mentally. The editor called for a waiter and asked for two coffees.

As he waited to order, he sat across from Ling and tapped his finger on the table. Now and then his gaze stopped on the young, handsome face of the young man with traces of fatigue.

Tai Bin frowned. Why did he think something was wrong? What was wrong with this guy? He stared at Ling over and over again and the answer eluded him like a mirage in the desert.

Ling smelled the aroma of coffee and slowly opened his sleepy eyes.

He was still asleep in the café, except someone had put a hot drink on the table for him.

He wrapped his cold hands around it and took a few sips, squeezing his eyes shut tight. He dreamed of a plum grove outside Meili's restaurant.

The wind was tearing the clouds to shreds in the frowning sky. Raising a whirlwind from the ground, it plucked plum blossoms and tossed them in his face. He covered his eyes with his hand, and when he took his hand away, he saw the burned skeletons of the trees, and instead of the restaurant, only a blackened foundation.

The burning smell in the air became like the aroma of coffee and pulled the young man out of his nightmare.

After finishing his coffee, Ling struggled to straighten his stiff legs and numb back. It was then that he noticed his jacket. Frowning, he looked at the inside tag and saw the editor's name.

"Gotta get it back soon," thought Ling and headed for the office.

Tai Bin was absent, so Ling opened the window to let in some fresh air. There was an unpleasant chemical smell in the room after the wet cleaning. The window frame was huge and the handle was quite high.

He had to stand on his toes and reach up and lean over the table. Needless to say, from behind he looked very spectacular in this pose.

Tai Bin froze on the threshold, but the next moment Ling's feet slipped on the floor, apparently stepping on a puddle left by the cleaning lady. He banged his knee in pain and limped to the couch. Rubbing the bruise, he sat down.

Tai Bin entered the office and closed the door loudly to get the young man's attention. The next moment he locked the door. The man went to the closet, pulled out a box of medicine, and thoughtfully sat across from Ling.

"So..." the boss spoke, "are you hurt?"

"I think so," Ling frowned.

"Split to the point of bleeding?"

The young man looked at his knee and stared at the red stains on his fingers with his hand in surprise.

Tai Bin took the scissors to his pant leg and, after hesitating for a second, ripped the fabric open. Gently freeing his knee, he pursed his lips.

Ling had bruised the skin, and the wound looked pretty lousy. Tai thought it would be best to take him to the hospital. Applying a temporary bandage, he helped the young man up and led him out into the hall.

Calling the security guard, Tai Bin asked him to call a car to the main entrance. Ling felt uncomfortable but didn't dare to speak out against such concern.

At the hospital, he received six stitches and painkillers. That day Tai Bin visited Ling's home for the first time. He helped the young man up and led him into the apartment.

He sat him down on the couch, opened the refrigerator looking for water and food, and found... nothing! Closing the refrigerator he looked at Ling with doubt and pity. What kind of strange guy is that?

Leaving Ling alone, he went back to the office and came in again in the evening. Ling opened to him sleepy and slightly powdery as if his cheek had just come off the warm pillow. He was limp and rubbing his eyes. Tai Bin put food on the table and squinted at Ling.

"I don't like to eat alone," he explained his visit and Ling didn't mind his company.

From the start, there was an understanding between Ling and his boss. Although it was his second day at work, the young man had already managed to win the respect of Zhao's secretary, the guard, and the cleaning lady, and gain the admiration of Tai Bin.

Deftly wielding his wands, the man periodically stopped and studied Ling.

People had passed through his life in transit before, and he made no effort to remember their faces or names. The first time he wanted to get to know someone better was when he was shown drafts of a photo shoot in which Ling took part.

Then Tai Bin suddenly became interested in the blue-eyed young man and made unthinkable efforts to find him. But all proved to be in vain.

And now that he had come, Tai Bin was worried again for some reason, realizing that the young man was not only handsome but that as a person he was special.

All this time Ling remained immensely embarrassed. At first, he felt like an idiot who had smashed his knee like a silly girl.

And then the chief took him to the hospital and Ling prayed that the doctor wouldn't tell him he'd come for nothing.

"Let the injury be serious," he mentally prayed.