The Flowers Blooming Over The Years

The next day there were more things to inspect, in addition to the papers about the bank loans, the statements of the company departments must also be verified. The five people who had gone to inspect had not left the meeting room since the morning, Xia Yiyang bought food for everyone in the afternoon.

Shen Luo raised his head from the large pile of documents, his expression somewhat tired, looked Xia Yiyang in the eyes, and said: 

‘‘Thank you.’’

Xia Yiyang:  ‘‘Eat first.’’

Shen Luo seemed to hesitate for a moment, in the end he put down the documents and asked:

‘‘You already ate?‘‘ 

Xia Yiyang was very proud:

“Our bank has a cafeteria.’’

Shen Luo raised his eyebrows mockingly, feeling too lazy to respond to his nonsense.

Xia Yiyang saw him open the container where his food was, after separating the chopsticks he seemed to have remembered something, he took out his cell phone and was about to take a picture.

“……’’

Xia Yiyang couldn’t take it anymore.

“Are you a woman?’’

Shen Luo ignored him, minding his own business, after he took the photo he started eating. 

Xia Yiyang put a hand on his chin as he watched him eat, after staring at him for a long time he couldn’t help but say:

“You haven’t changed much.’’

Shen Luo raised his head from his food and said, “How is that possible? I’m getting older.’’ He placed his finger at the corner of his eye. “Look, I have wrinkles.”

Xia Yiyang leaned in for a closer look and comforted him: 

“Your eyes are small so it’s hard to tell.”

Shen Luo looked at him, not very pleased.

One of Shen Luo’s colleagues jokes:

“Does Manager Xia have such a good relationship with our Chief Shen?’’ 

Xia Yiyang was stunned for a moment, he wanted to clarify that it was not like that when he heard Shen Luo say:

“Yes, we were classmates in college.’’

“……’’

Xia Yiyang wisely decided not to speak and wait for the others to finish eating, after Shen Luo threw away the food container, he left for the rest room, the two met at the door and he didn’t let him go. 

“Where are we going to eat tonight?”

Shen Luo was a little taller than Xia Yiyang, who felt oppressed when the door was blocked, Xia Yiyang did not understand why he was asking that question at that time, after discreetly looking around, he barely answered:

“Anywhere.’’

Shen Luo raised his eyebrows. 

“What’s scaring you?”

Xia Yiyang was a little anxious, he quietly said:

“Didn’t you say that a social meeting was different from a personal one? Since you’re here to inspect, aren’t you afraid of being overheard?’’

Shen Luo pouted, looking a little offended: 

“I am the leader. What is there to fear?”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Wlj Tlsjcu tjv cb mtblmf yea ab rjs:

“Are we going to eat Huoguo?”

Vtfc Oeb: “Tbeg agfja?’’ 

Wlj Tlsjcu gbiifv tlr fsfr, tjnlcu rmbivfv Vtfc Oeb lc tlr tfjga wbgf atjc afc alwfr obg yflcu ralcus, tf olcjiis rjlv:

“Tfr, P lcnlaf.’’

Ktlr alwf, Wlj Tlsjcu vlvc’a ajxf ibcu ab ifjnf kbgx, lcrafjv tf gjc ab atf qjgxlcu iba, Vtfc Oeb jirb ifjgcfv ab yftjnf yfaafg, tf vlvc’a yglcu tlr agemx, rb atf akb bo atfw uba lcab Wlj Tlsjcu’r Zfgmfvfr-Dfch J-Jijrr.

“As expected of a manager,” Shen Luo said as he fastened the seat belt, “I expected you to have a Mercedes.’’ 

Xia Yiyang: “I also have to keep up appearances in front of customers, I couldn’t have something as troublesome as your pickup.’’

Shen Luo did not refute him this time.

Actually there is nothing wrong with men looking at trucks, Xia Yiyang is a mature man who acts according to the norms of society, therefore he chose a stable car, Shen Luo is not like that, even in a small town he had to drive a big car to show off from time to time.

Xia Yiyang never got off work early at the bank, he really didn’t want to go to Haidilao to wait for a table, so he just took a detour and drove to Dezhuang, let Shen Luo order and he really didn’t hold back, dish A was the more expensive, it includes two animal brains, the red meat was neatly stacked on a big piece of dry ice and the smoke was lingering around, it looked really beautiful. 

Shen Luo has the habit of taking photos with his cellphone, Xia Yiyang really couldn’t understand this habit mostly seen in women, so he just let it be.

Halfway through the meal, Xia Yiyang couldn’t help but start talking about work:

“How many points were reduced?’’

Shen Luo: “Not many, you guys have good management procedures.’’ 

Xia Yiyang thought that since this is the second meal he did the invite for, there must be some result:

“Did you deduct fewer points?”

Shen Luo ate one of the brains and did not raise his head.

“This bribe of yours is too casual.’’ 

Xia Yiyang: “……’’

“Spit the meat out of your mouth!!” he thought.

Shen Luo wiped his mouth.

“Shall we have dinner together tomorrow?” 

Xia Yiyang took a deep breath, clenched his teeth and said:

“Fine.’’

In fact, according to Xia Yiyang’s opinion, inviting for some meals is not a big deal, it’s not like he never went out with girls before, and back then he didn’t earn as much as now, go out to eat, pay for gas and buy gifts, he couldn’t afford to spend more than 5,000 yuan a month, as a result, he was always dumped…

Now instead of being a girl, it was Shen Luo… but the son of a bitch sure could eat! 

When Xia Yiyang went to work, he discreetly connected to Instagram using a VPN, he was so angry that he almost spit blood.

Shen Luo is almost like a food blogger, one day it was Japanese food, the next it was Huoguo, the next it was steak, a subang restaurant dish, a Huaiyang style dish, Sichuan cuisine, and a big tieguo northeast style, they had all been posted in the damn night, Xia Yiyang thought “All those dishes look so expensive and delicious, how can you have the conscience to post them to deceive your numerous ex-girlfriends?!”

Xia Yiyang, who has been inviting for meals for more than half a month, and has an annual salary of more than 500,000 yuan, feels a lot of pressure on his pocket and can’t complain, Shen Luo can’t help but take photos to show off, there was this inexplicable feeling of: «I spend a lot of money to buy food and drinks but you show your “wealth” in your circle of friends» that made him feel full of dishonor.

*** 

He hadn’t finished working yet when Shen Luo entered his office.

“What are we going to eat today?’’

Now he acts more and more familiar and doesn’t treat himself as an outsider, all the documents inspected that day were casually piled on Xia Yiyang’s desk without any scruples, the latter couldn’t help but look at them several times.

“How many points did you deduct today?”  

That was what Xia Yiyang was most worried about at the time.

Shen Luo: “Today you’ve got the highest score, tell me, what are you going to treat me to today?’’

Xia Yiyang “……’’

“I heard that there are some very famous skewers on Xueshi street.” Shen Luo unlocked his phone, he seemed to be looking at the map. “Shall we try it?” 

Xia Yiyang thought to himself: “Very well, shameless, you finally learned how to choose your food!”

Two middle-aged men, sitting together at a small table and chairs eating skewers really wasn’t a particularly natural look. Xia Yiyang was fine, he was wearing a shirt and jeans, although the shirt was a checkered one like the ones you see on uncles, but when he wore it he didn’t look bad. Shen Luo was the least fortunate, he was wearing a very formal suit, his hair was gelled and several hairs from his bangs were on his forehead.

As they waited for their food, Xia Yiyang couldn’t take it anymore.

“Take off your suit jacket.” 

Shen Luo took off his jacket, folded it and placed it next to him. He had on a blue striped shirt that was several times more colorful than Xia Yiyang’s shirt.

There were many female students eating skewers, many of them were looking at Shen Luo.

“Have you been exercising?” Xia Yiyang envied the other’s shoulders, his chest muscles were also very large, so his shirt looked somewhat tight.

Shen Luo rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong forearms. 

“I used to exercise in the United States but I haven’t done it since I got back.’’

After the skewers arrived, he ordered five more pig brains.

“Want some?’’

Xia Yiyang was frustrated. 

“You ordered everything that could be ordered.”

Shen Luo smiled in satisfaction.

“If you’re not going to eat then the five are for me.”

Xia Yiyang ran out of patience: 

“I’m tired of you!”

Shen Luo used his chopsticks to remove the food from the bamboo, his movements were very fluid, his hands looked very white against the red chili broth.

“Eat.” Having removed everything from the skewers, he hurried Xia Yiyang to eat.

Deeply moved, Xia Yiyang said, “You rarely serve others.” 

Shen Luo was expressionless, his gaze lowered as he took the chicken wings, after a while he lightly said, “I’ve already served you before.”

“……!”

Xia Yiyang almost choked on the broth and stretched out his hand to reach for the bottle of water, Shen Luo also took it at the same time, the two of them clenched their hands on the bottle and didn’t let go. Xia Yiyang’s throat was really itchy, he started to point to his throat for Shen Luo to remove his hand, Shen Luo pouted and grabbed the bottle harder.

Xia Yiyang: “……” 

He was freaking out and stuttered, “Y-you, w-why are you so childish!?”

Shen Luo unscrewed the bottle cap, then handed it over to Xia Yiyang and said carelessly: “I will serve you again.”

Xia Yiyang was completely speechless, muttering to himself as he drank, “You’re crazy.”

After eating the pig brains and skewers, Xia Yiyang took the initiative to go to pay, seeing that the bill had been less than 200 yuan, he was almost crying with joy, Shen Luo was very pleased with himself: “I can also save money.” 

Xia Yiyang looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Shen Luo pushed him by the shoulder: “Come on.”

Before getting into the car, Xia Yiyang asked, “Do you want to eat tomorrow too?”

“Instead of skewers,” Shen Luo said matter-of-factly, “Let’s go eat Mi Xian.” 

“……”

Xia Yiyang had asked that question in hopes of escaping from the life where he has to treat meals, but the other person was not fooled at all, so he asked a question again: “How long is the inspection?”

Shen Luo: “Two months.”

Xia Yiyang thought that very soon he could no longer support himself financially. 

“It is very lonely to eat by myself,”  Shen Luo fastened his seat belt, the dim light from the street shining through the window on his face, his smile was very soft, almost like that of a child: “Keep me company.”

Xia Yiyang opened his mouth and found out that he really couldn’t say anything to refuse.

When he started driving, he first dropped off Shen Luo, and then returned to his apartment, Xia Yiyang before going to bed, rarely held back from going into Shen Luo’s Instagram.

He started joking “Being in the main palace is also very exhausting, I have to keep an eye on the harem every day, I worry so much that my hair is going gray.” But even if he didn’t, it didn’t mean he didn’t have to worry about other matters. Chen Hui sent him a voice message in the middle of the night, yelling with such force that everything seemed to shake: “Where did you go?!” 

Xia Yiyang obediently replied: [Invited Inspector Shen to a meal]

“How many meals have you treated him to already?” Chen Hui said, or rather roared, “Have you got any results?”

Xia Yiyang: [What do you want me to accomplish in these meals, leader? Make me part of his family?]

Chen Hui continued to roar: “That would be fine too, see if selling your ass can get him to deduct fewer points.” 

Xia Yiyang sent a sticker showing the middle finger.

Chen Hui finally wrote: [Cai Cai just told me that Shen Luo took a loan for a house today, remember to help him tomorrow]

[Loan for a house?] Xia Yiyang was puzzled [He didn’t tell me about it]

Chen Hui: [And how the hell was I supposed to know that he didn’t say a damn thing to you?! What good are so many meals together if you haven’t gotten close?!!] 

Xia Yiyang: “……”

Even if he doesn’t send voice messages to him, President Chen’s exclamation points were very loud.

The next day, when he arrived at the bank, Xia Yiyang took the initiative to ask Shen Luo about his loan, and the latter made no secret of it.

“I plan to buy a house.” He normally smoked an e-cigarette in the hallway at lunchtime, but when he saw Xia Yiyang he stopped, “Doesn’t your bank have a low discount interest rate? 

Xia Yiyang: “15% discount, give me the papers, I will help you apply.”

Shen Luo smiled: “Manager Xia is frank and direct.”

Xia Yiyang accepted his flattery and casually asked, “Where are you going to buy it?”

Shen Luo took out the electronic cigarette and played with it in his hand: “You will know when the time comes.” 

In the end, it was a real estate agent who went to apply for the loan for a second-hand house. It was a very beautiful woman, with the property papers, and as soon as she entered the office she recognized Xia Yiyang.

“We’re old acquaintances.” The great beauty smiled casually, “I know normally the discount is 10%, but is it 15% when it comes to Inspector Shen?”

Xia Yiyang laughed: “He’s our bank supervisor, we have to give him face.”

The owner of the house gave all the documents to Cai Cai, she checked them again, she suddenly let out an “Ah!” sounding surprised. 

Xia Yiyang looked at her: “What’s wrong?”

Cai Cai: “Its in Yu Yuan, is he going to live with you?”

“……”

Xia Yiyang’s expression was a bit subtle, he turned to look at Shen Luo, who was also looking at him. 

“I’ll be your neighbor in the future.” Shen Luo signed the contract and smiled at Xia Yiyang, “I’ll also be able to walk more often.”

Translator misadventures: Sorry for the late chapter, since i’m also tranlating this novel in spanish is kind of hard, i don’t know why i did this to myself lol anyways big thanks to my friend Kuchiki Risa for giving me encouragment this weekend that i was crying because i didn’t have the chapter, my other friend Leileis (even tho i know that you are not reading my translation) for answering my question, hope one day i reach your chinese level TT and as always my editor! Overlord Shay for bearing with me <3