Your Distance

Ting Shuang got out of the car with Bai Changyi, and saw that there was a restaurant not far away.

After entering the restaurant and sitting down, Ting Shuang wanted to go to the bathroom. “Um … I—”

“‘Um’. Is that what you’re calling me?” Bai Changyi looked at Ting Shuang.

Ting Shuang said, “Uh… no.”

Bai Changyi then lowered his head and continued looking at the menu, the corner of his lips tipping up.

Ting Shuang held back for a few moments before saying, “… Professor.”

Bai Changyi turned the page of the menu and said, “We’re not in class now.”

If not ‘professor’, then what should he call him?

Cycle?

Ting Shuang recited the word twice in his heart, and felt that he couldn’t say it out loud.

“Then…” Ting Shuang carefully inquired, “Then what should I call you?”

Bai Changyi glanced at Ting Shuang and said, “Don’t you usually refer to me quite naturally?”

Refer… to him… quite naturally…

Usually Ting Shuang referred to Prof. Bai as the perverted professor, and called Cycle Dear. He really did refer to him quite naturally…

Now Ting Shuang practically wanted to find a seam and hide in it.

No matter what he called Bai Changyi by, it would bring him to death’s doorstep.

He could only go straight to the subject matter. “I want to go to the bathroom.” Even after speaking, he still sat in place, not daring to stand up without permission.

After a few seconds, Bai Changyi lifted his head and looked at Ting Shuang, not quite comprehending his actions, “You require my approval even for this?”

“No.” Ting Shuang hurriedly went to the bathroom.

After unfastening his belt, pulling down the zipper, relieving himself, and washing his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror: Ting Shuang, you brought this upon yourself. Calling people by ‘perverted professor’ behind their backs for a moment of thrill, and casually calling others ‘dear’ for another moment of thrill, and now, great. Everything’s burning to the ground.(1)

By the time Ting Shuang returned to the table, Bai Changyi had already closed the menu.

Ting Shuang hurriedly looked at his menu and quickly decided on what to eat. He had already made a whole mess today and didn’t want to screw up even his order.

“I’m done,” he said to Bai Changyi.

Bai Changyi nodded, and raised his hand to signal the waiter over to take their order.

Ting Shuang suddenly noticed that there was a ring mark on Bai Changyi’s left ring finger. Up until they finished ordering, Ting Shuang still couldn’t help but look over at Bai Changyi’s left hand.

Bai Changyi noticed Ting Shuang’s gaze and said frankly, “I had been married before.”

Thankfully, it was ‘had been married’, not ‘am married’…

Ting Shuang was startled by his own thoughts. What was he thankful for?

Of course, he should be thankful that he didn’t hurt anyone… But…

Bai Changyi noticed Ting Shuang’s unnaturalness and said, “Do you mind?”

Mind?

Ting Shuang said, “Do I mind what…”

“Do you mind if your date has been married in the past,” Bai Changyi said.

Oh, that he didn’t mind.

In today’s society, was it still forbidden for people to divorce?

Wait.

The point of that sentence did not seem to be whether he minded or whether he had gotten married before, but …

Date???

D a t e?

“We… Um…” He was speaking in Chinese, but Ting Shuang felt like he was again having difficulty piecing the language together again.

Bai Changyi said, “Just say what you want to say.”

Ting Shuang gestured back and forth between Bai Changyi and himself. “… We… are on a date?”

“What else could we be doing then?”

Ting Shuang forced the words out, “Are we talking about the same kind of ‘date’ here…”

Bai Changyi thought for a moment and asked, “Do young people no longer use the word date?”

Ting Shuang said, “We still use it… But…”

Bai Changyi gave him a gentle reminder, “I remember it was you who asked me out.”

Ting Shuang said, “But …”

Bai Changyi took out his cell phone, “Do you want to check the chat history?”

Ting Shuang said, “No, no, no …”

Bai Changyi nodded, “Then we’ll leave it at that.”

Leave it at that?

Leave it at what???

Then, the waiter started serving the dishes.

Bai Changyi took one look at Ting Shuang’s vegetable salad, reached out, and replaced it with his broth.

Ting Shuang saw some tomatoes and bell peppers in the vegetable salad.

Turns out that when Bai Changyi said he remembered something, he really did remember it…

The atmosphere at the table changed slightly.