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“… you really should stop having coke in the morning so often,” Tang Yi says, looking at the man seated opposite him at the dining table with obvious disapproval. “Give me that.”
The man in question looks up suspiciously, then hugs the can of coke to himself, “You said I could have anything!”
Tang Yi opens his mouth to refute him, but Shao Fei, with his wide, innocent-looking eyes, is staring at Tang Yi as if he cannot believe that the man will go back on his word.
“I know I said I would fulfil a request of yours for inking that difficult deal on my behalf, but… don’t you want something else? New interns? A new car? How about a new coffee machine for the secretary’s pantry? Or even a few more suits? The last one is a good idea. You haven’t gone for a fitting in a while and there are a few new batches of prints for the autumn collection-“
“Tang Yi, it’s just one can of coke, I’m not even drinking a bottle,” Shao Fei interrupts with a frown.
“And no, I don’t want new interns because you hate having to deal with them and I don’t want to end up babysitting them either. Why would I need a car? Wherever you go, I go. Coffee machine? You buy a new one and I give it a week before Jack and Zhao Zi have it shifted to some other floor for themselves. I’ve got all the clothes I need. You won’t deny me this guilty pleasure, right? Tang Yi! Ah Yi, Xiao Yi Yi~”
He’s not wrong on any count. As always, Tang Yi finds that in front of one Meng Shao Fei, there’s really nothing that he wouldn’t give him. However, they’ve known each other for the better part of three years, and it really doesn’t hurt to try.
How long has Shao Fei been his secretary now? Almost three years in two months, Tang Yi notes.
And to think that Tang Yi was so resistant towards the idea of having a secretary and personal assistant for years, having a huge dislike for strangers following him that closely.
Now, Tang Yi and Shao Fei spend almost every hour together — working in the same office, staying in the same house, going on holidays, and hanging out lazily on the couch on off days among other things.
“Okay, just this once,” Tang Yi acquiesces, then reaches for Shao Fei’s mouth with his hand, his thumb wiping away at the remnants of coke on his lips.
Shao Fei doesn’t pay Tang Yi’s touch any mind, almost leaning imperceptibly into it as his attention is captured by the incoming messages on his phone.
“Hmm, we’ve got to go soon, Bai-zong is arriving at the airport early and I think he’ll make his way straight to us to talk over the deal,” he says, quickly firing off some replies to the messages he’s reading. “That gives us an extra hour before lunch, which means you’ll be able to attend that mini party going on in the marketing department? It’ll be good to turn up and show that you actually care about your employees…”
“I do care about all my employees,” Tang Yi returns dryly, getting to his feet. “Did you get the gifts for Bai-zong and also Xiao Man’s farewell party?”
His secretary looks up, a little affronted at the insinuation that he’s not fully prepared, “Of course! Tang Yi, how can you doubt me-“
“Alright, just get ready,” Tang Yi smiles, touching a knuckle to Shao Fei’s cheek in mock-admonishment.
===
Everyone is fond of Shao Fei, even though he’s not the type of character that most people will think of first when they look at the secretary role. Shao Fei is loud, boisterous, and sometimes even impulsive, creating trouble for Tang Yi when he’s not looking. It’s always the minor things though, like tripping over his own feet and dropping a tray of hot coffee onto his very expensive rugs once, or getting mad at a potential client for harassing Tang Yi.
Since Shao Fei assumed the role however, Tang Yi has to say there has not yet been a single misfiled document, late reply to an email or forgotten appointments. He’s also getting less complaints from his employees as a whole because Shao Fei is pretty much a guard at his door, fielding important requests from ridiculous ones. And since Shao Fei actually is a black belt in both Judo and Taekwondo, he plays the role of Tang Yi’s bodyguard from time to time if the situation calls for it.
Tang Yi remembers all of his employees’ names because this is his company, after all, but Shao Fei knows everyone. He speaks to every person they come across, and even when Ke-shu, the janitor that’s in charge of cleaning Tang Yi’s office and Shao Fei’s desk, comes in every morning to take out the trash, Shao Fei ends up chatting with him, asking after his granddaughter and if his knee is feeling better.
Shao Fei took a week off once, and it was only then Tang Yi realized just how much work he was handling.
“When are we flying to Beijing again?” asks Tang Yi, stepping into the lift.
“Next Thursday,” Shao Fei replies without even pausing. “I’ve already booked the tickets.”
It has been a while since the both of them took a break, and Tang Yi says so after some consideration, “We’ve got a bit of time this month right? Let’s extend the trip by a day or two.”
“Hmm… we could,” Shao Fei agrees carefully, his mind running through the meetings he has to reschedule if they do that. “Nothing important in the days after that inspection with the team in Beijing-“
He’s cut off when the elevator suddenly shakes with a loud scratching noise from the outside, and almost falling to the side if Tang Yi did not grab for him. The lights flicker on and off several times before the lift comes to a complete stop, and they’re plunged into darkness.
Shao Fei draws Tang Yi in unconsciously with one hand while the other pats at his pocket for his phone.
“You okay?” he asks, his hand sliding across Tang Yi’s back.
“… yeah, I’m good,” Tang Yi replies.
He tries to sound as nonchalant and steady as possible, but his voice still shakes a little. Shao Fei catches that tiny detail, and without another word, he brings the both of them to the corner of the lift next to the lift buttons and hits at the correct one to ring for help.
Tang Yi isn’t fond of enclosed spaces, and certainly not spaces that do not have light.
After communicating with the security guards in the building that he and Tang Yi are stuck in the lift, all they can do is wait for help. With that done, Shao Fei switches the flashlight on his phone on and leaves it on the floor so the entire lift is illuminated.
Looking at Tang Yi finally, Shao Fei frowns, noting how tightly wound up Tang Yi is against him. With any luck they’ll be out of here in another couple of hours, so he lowers himself and Tang Yi to the ground to sit.
“This reminds me of our first meeting,” Shao Fei chuckles, encircling Tang Yi’s waist with both arms. “We were stuck in a lift together too like this, do you remember? I can’t believe the both of us have the luck to be stuck here together, again.”
“… of course I remember,” Tang Yi exhales, letting himself lean into Shao Fei entirely and consciously forcing his fists to unclench. Then, “I really should get the lifts changed. Breaking down twice in three years?”
“That’s not too bad,” Shao Fei murmurs, resting his chin on Tang Yi’s nearest shoulder. “If we didn’t get stuck together three years ago, you wouldn’t have gotten the chance to know me and then you’d be down a secretary!”
After a short moment, Tang Yi laughs, “You mean when you nagged at me until I gave you a job?”
Shao Fei rolls his eyes, the banter on this subject familiar to him.
Now that he thinks about it, it’s a miracle and a half that they are here today, all because of a malfunctioning lift then.
The scene was almost identical to the current one. He was rushing for an interview in Shi Hai Corporation’s public relations department when the lift broke down, and it would be a few months later that Shao Fei found out why Tang Yi is so afraid of the dark and small, closet-sized spaces.
Then, however, Shao Fei began talking away to the handsome man crouched stiffly on the floor next to him, trying to distract him as much as possible, not knowing that this was the CEO of the company he was interviewing for. At the end of the whole ordeal, Tang Yi knew so much about Shao Fei that it would have been comical, if not for how much he hated the lack of light and fresh air in that metal box they used for vertical transportation.
When they finally got out, Shao Fei obviously missed his interview time by a few hours and with a soft sigh, he stuffed his printed resume into his bag and headed home instead.
Who knew that Tang Yi would give him a call himself a day later and ask if he was still in need of a job?
Half a year into his role, Shao Fei broke his arm protecting Tang Yi from an almost car accident, and Tang Yi forcibly moved him into his mansion.
He moved into Tang Yi’s house, into his bed and then into his heart and soul — and Shao Fei hasn’t left since.
“Don’t be afraid,” Shao Fei murmurs into his ear, and Tang Yi likes this even more than the previous experience he had with Shao Fei here, because today he’s being unabashedly held in Shao Fei’s arms. “You have me! Hold out just for a bit more.”
His heart aches for Tang Yi, and not for the first time, Shao Fei wonders if it’s acceptable to run to Yilan and sock Tang Yi’s foster father - from before Tang Yi found Tang Guo Dong, his adoptive father - in both the eyes and the nose for being cruel to a young, defenseless child then.
“Mnn,” Tang Yi nods in agreement, turning a little to look at Shao Fei. “I have you.”
Shao Fei’s phone finally runs out of battery less than an hour later and they sit for a while longer in absolute darkness, but the irrational fear that usually comes is absent today for some reason. Feeling the warmth of Shao Fei’s body around his and his arms hugging him so tightly, Tang Yi wonders if this is why he feels so anchored and safe.
They don’t have to wait too long for rescue. Hearing the metallic, loud clangs of equipment against the exterior of the lift, one moment they’re shrouded in darkness and the next, the door is pried open, allowing light to flood their surroundings.
Tang Yi’s eyes can barely open against the glare of the bright sunlight as his vision adjusts accordingly.
“Tang-zong! Meng-mishu! Are you both okay?” one of their staff asks, frantic as he stands behind the two firefighters trying to get them out.
“Trust the both of you to get stuck in a lift together again,” Jack is there too, and somehow that head of flaming red hair has never looked as welcoming as it does now. “The both of you okay?”
“We’re good,” Shao Fei answers next to him. Then to Tang Yi, “Tang Yi, let’s go!”
Tang Yi can only stare as Shao Fei offers his hand to him, his lovely smile so bright and his body almost glowing, bathed in the morning sunlight before Tang Yi’s eyes.
Ah, he thinks to himself, this is why.
Paying their audience no mind, Tang Yi puts his hand in Shao Fei’s, and uses the grip to tug Shao Fei in. Kissing him in front of prying eyes softly, tenderly.
“… what’s that for?” Shao Fei asks when they pull apart, his cheeks dusted with pink.
It’s not like their relationship is a secret at the company, but they’re not all that public with their affection for each other either.
“Nothing, just… I love you,” Tang Yi smiles back.
A few of their staff, including Jack, are gathered to watch them get rescued, and at the display of affection, plenty of ‘awwws’ and ‘oooohs’ go around. Jack opens his mouth to tease, as is expected of him, and Tang Yi chooses that moment to glare at him.
“Say one word and you can go without your bonus this year.”
Next to him, Shao Fei cannot help but burst out into mirthful laughter, his hand interlaced with Tang Yi’s.
Indeed, there is nothing to fear, not even the dark itself-
-as long as Shao Fei continues being his light.