Chapter Text
Late.
Late again.
For the people in his company, Xiao Hua had a crisp clean reputation of being early for everything. Meetings. Conference calls. Projects. You name it. As long as his name and his business were involved, he was always on point and on time, never a second too late.
To his friends and family, the same thing couldn’t be said. The people closest to him were well-aware of his very bad reputation of being late for every occasion. Family dinners. Lunch. Parties. Movies. Trips. It had gotten so dreadful that everyone called it a miracle whenever he made it on the agreed upon schedule. Tonight was a particularly special night---it was his friend’s bachelor party. But apparently even this was not enough of an exception because he still ended up being late. He knew for sure that Wu Xie was going to kill him.
Just as his driver stopped at the entrance of the hotel, he looked at his watch. 8:45 PM. He initially said that he would be there at 8 PM, but he got held up by something at work. In fact, 8 PM was already supposed to be some leeway for him since the official start of the party was at 7 PM.
Well I can’t turn back the clock, he thought. He thanked his driver and swiftly climbed out of the car. He smoothed the front of his shirt and walked towards the entrance of the hotel. He curtly acknowledged the doorman then quickly proceeded towards the elevators. Xiao Hua was quite familiar with this hotel since some of their family and business functions had been held here.
When he got to the elevators, there weren’t any other people. He clicked the arrow going up and immediately, the elevator doors opened. He stepped inside with some sort of relief.
At least I’m not that late tonight. Worse things have happened.
Settled, he pushed the button with the ‘P.’ It seemed that Wu Xie was going all out tonight since he booked the penthouse suite. Well, he had every right to. He was, after all, the first to break the single curse within their group of bachelors.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, he heard some hurried footsteps.
“Wait---”
Xiao Hua was quick to react. He quickly pushed the appropriate button to allow the person to enter.
“Thanks.”
The person who walked in was tall and was clad in a doctor’s coat. It seemed that this man was in such a hurry that he even forgot to change out of his coat from work.
Anyway, Xiao Hua only regarded him for a second before turning back his attention to his phone.
I’m on my way, I promise
He sent the text to one of their friends who was already at the party. Wu Xie stopped replying some time ago, when Xiao Hua was still stuck in traffic. He was either already pissed off or pissed drunk. Either case was nothing new to Xiao Hua.
A red symbol flashed on his screen, indicating that the text returned unsent. Xiao Hua remembered that there was no signal in the elevators here.
He turned his gaze instead to the elevator’s screen, which was currently flashing the floor numbers. It was in the twenties now, about halfway through until the penthouse.
25
26
27
27
27
That’s strange.
The screen kept flashing the same number, until it completely stopped. A second later, the elevator shook. Another second later, it was no longer moving. Another second and the button with the P that had just lit up earlier went dark.
Perfect.
They were stuck.
Xiao Hua immediately pushed the emergency button. He did so several times. There wasn’t any kind of response. There was no way of knowing whether it did anything or if the people who were in charge were alerted. He looked at his phone, but again, there was no signal. The only consolation was that the lights seemed to be unaffected.
All they could really do now was wait.
“Well, I guess we’re stuck,” the man beside him remarked. Xiao Hua nearly forgot that he wasn’t alone.
No shit, Xiao Hua wanted to say. But he stopped himself.
“I guess we are.”
The stranger seemed pretty calm despite the situation. He sighed, but seeing that there was nothing either of them could do, he took a step back and sat down by the corner of the elevator.
Resigning to their fate for the moment, Xiao Hua did the same. He looked at his watch. It was already 9 PM. It had already been an hour past what he had promised Wu Xie. His friend was going to be furious, but knowing Wu Xie, it would only last for a second. He just had to bear that second. He stopped worrying about the wrath of his friend’s anger. There were more pressing matters at hand.
“Late for something?” the stranger asked.
Xiao Hua nodded, not facing the other guy.
“Me too. But I guess my friends are used to it by now. It’s even a surprise that I showed up today,” the man said, seeming very willing to chat. “What’s your name?”
Xiao Hua hesitated, but didn’t show it. He wasn’t the type to share his personal information to people he didn’t know. But in this cramped space, he didn’t really have any means to gracefully and politely avoid the question.
“Xie Yuchen.”
Xie Yuchen was the name that he gave to people he dealt with strictly for business. It was his way of keeping them at a certain distance. People close to him barely used this name, except to tease him. To family and friends, he was Yuhua or Xiao Hua. It seemed fitting to use this name in front of this stranger.
“Yours?’ Xiao Hua asked, only out of reciprocity and politeness.
“Hei Xiazi. Nice to meet you.”
To Xiao Hua’s surprise, the man reached out towards him for a handshake. He faced him for the first time since they’d stepped into the elevator. The man walked in earlier wearing the white doctor’s coat, but that coat was now slung on the bag that he was carrying. Instead, he was wearing a leather jacket. If Xiao Hua didn’t see him in the white coat earlier, he never would’ve guessed that this man was involved in the field of medicine. He looked a little too rugged for that. He even had a pair of dark sunglasses hanging on the front of his shirt. What sort of doctor did that?
Xiao Hua took his hand in his and gave it a firm grasp. Handshakes were one way to make an impression at work so he always made sure to do it the right way. The man returned the gesture. From this alone, Xiao Hua could tell that the guy was not the timid type.
“What do you do, Xie Yuchen?” Hei Xiazi asked in a friendly tone.
Xiao Hua thought that Hei Xiazi’s vibe was genuine enough, but he still knew not to say too much.
“I work at a tech company.”
Well, it wasn’t a lie. It was the truth, but just a part of the truth. He did work at a tech company, but he just happened to also own the said tech company.
“You’re a doctor?” Xiao Hua responded, gesturing towards the doctor’s coat.
Hei Xiazi nodded, “I’m a surgeon.”
Wow, a surgeon. Xiao Hua couldn’t help but feel some awe. When this guy stepped into the elevator, he didn’t make much of an impression, save for the fact that he was eye-catching given his proportions. Long legs and modelesque. It turned out that he wasn’t only eye-catching, he was quite erudite too. At this moment, Xiao Hua started to pay closer attention.
Xiao Hua was quick to remember faces and features. It was a consequence of him being exposed to business and the tech industry at such a young age. There were many people to meet and many names to remember. This skill of his was at play right about this second.
With one glance, he noticed right away that the person beside him had very charming eyes. He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes contained some kind of warmth that made whoever he was talking to feel like he was approachable. It was a warmth that could engage and enthrall. Xiao Hua knew for certain that when he did smile, the impact would be something close to dangerous.
That kind of danger was just his type.
None of this showed in Xiao Hua’s face, of course. He remained perfectly neutral.
At this moment, Hei Xiazi also took a peek at his watch. Ten minutes had already passed since they got stuck in the elevator.
He let out an exasperated tone, “At least I can tell my friends that I met a pretty stranger today.”
The stranger flashed Xiao Hua the dangerous smile that the latter had just been thinking about. Xiao Hua immediately felt something inside his chest contract. He didn’t know how he should react, so he simply looked away. Not only was this man well-versed in the field of medicine, it seemed that he had potential in the field of swindling too.
“Could you at least give me your phone number so I can show it to them as proof?”
To Xiao Hua’s own surprise, he didn’t take any offense in that. This one sure knew how to take advantage of the situation. He faced the man and chuckled. Xiao Hua wasn’t the type to be daunted by this kind of behavior. He had met many confident men both in the field of business and in the field of romance. He was a confident man himself.
Just as he was about to respond to Hei Xiazi, the elevator buttons sprang back to life. The familiar whir of the elevator returned. The screen started moving again.
“Maybe next time,” Xiao Hua replied, a teasing smile dancing in his lips. He stood up from where he was and pushed the elevator button at the very top. The ‘P’ immediately lit up, indicating that the elevator was back in business.
Hei Xiazi also stood up.
“Which floor?” Xiao Hua asked, his hand waiting expectantly by the elevator buttons.
The man beside him only laughed. Xiao Hua turned to face him.
“I think you’ll be stuck with me a bit longer.”
“Huh?”
Hei Xiazi wore the same dangerous smile.
“We’re bound for the same place, Xie Yuchen.”