Me After Meeting You

Amber walked over, and Ian looked at her.

“You’ve changed the time of your visits.”

Amber smiled. It was very much like him to notice details that others would overlook.

“Are you not used to it? Sorry, but I’m not your doctor anymore. I can only come see you after work.”

He didn’t say anything, though he seemed to silently accept this change.

Amber asked him, “What are you listening to?”

He handed one earbud to her, and Amber a long speech in English. Amber was about to praise Mr. Axton for being studious and hardworking, and then she heard the contents.

“… I dreamt of him, his gaze, his uniform, his long legs, his slender fingers, and his mysterious atmosphere ….” The syntax was suspiciously evocative of a cheesy romance novel.

She took the earbud out. “What’s this? A novel?”

“Yes.”

“Its title?” She asked somewhat innocently.

“Fifty Shades of Grey.”

‘Oh my god!’ Amber almost choked on her own saliva. She knew this book, as it was a famous foreign erotic romance novel; of course, she hadn’t personally read it, but there was a time when Silvia had been fervently proselytizing it in their group chats.

She had even run around trying to find a place to watch the movie upon its release, which was about all Amber knew of it.

She restrained her shocked expression and calmed herself down, shifting her facial expression to one of curiosity. “How did you end up listening to this kind of book?”

Ian continued speaking in his usual calm tone. “Billy recommended it. He said that it would be suitable for me and you.”

“….”

A tyrannical CEO and a debutante dipping her toes in high society, was it? What in the world was Billy thinking? Amber caressed her forehead as she wearily asked, “And what do you think of it?”

Ian frowned. “It was hard to read.”

“And because it hurt your eyes to read it, you chose to listen to it instead?”

Ian raised his eyebrows, clearly she had guessed correctly. Amber couldn’t help but laugh, but after she finished, she pitied him a bit. Ian might not have said it, but he must have been truly lonely in his heart.

His inability to understand other people’s happiness and anger, or sorrow and joy meant that he had resorted to reading books and studying so that he could still pretend to understand everything, and that he didn’t lack those emotions.

He was neither crazy nor a freak. Sighing in her heart, Amber asked, “If it’s too hard to read, then how does that make it easier to listen to? If it hurts your eyes, then it’ll also hurt your ears. You should just stop listening to it.” After saying that, she leaned over to pull his other earbud away.

When she stretched her hand out, he instinctively tried to block her hand half-heartedly. It was an action born from his subconscious revulsion when others came near him, but he quickly caught himself and put his hand down, pretending that nothing had happened as he craned his head to look at her.

Amber smiled, also pretending that nothing had happened as she took his earbud off. This time, she was successful, but he still moved a little, and her fingertips brushed by his ear.

That ear immediately turned red!

Amber blinked once, took a second glance in case she had seen wrongly, and momentarily froze, unable to look at him.

She was too innocent. Her first thought was that she’d accidentally hurt him, but Ian’s expression was very calm. His lips curled up slightly and he didn’t give off his usual oppressive feeling, which meant that he had to be in a pretty good mood.

Amber tried hard to think of a topic to talk about when Ian suddenly said, “My grandmother’s back.”

“Hmm?” She turned around, but didn’t see anyone enter, so she asked, “Are you saying that she went to our department and then came back here again?”

“Yes.”

“Are you happy?”

“The usual.”

“Oh. That means that you must not like me that deeply, or that your interest towards me is unrelated to your feelings because otherwise, you would’ve been elated to hear her words and subsequently experience excitement, emotion, a quickening in your heart rate ….”

Ian suddenly grabbed her palm and placed it against his chest.

Amber expressionlessly finished her sentence. “… and other similar reactions.”

Ian looked at her seriously. “Did my heart rate quicken?”

“….”

In the heat of the moment, Amber didn’t know what to say. During her indecision, Ian clutched her hand even tighter and pressed it against his chest again as he repeated, “Is it beating quickly?”

His voice was calm but serious, and in this moment, Amber felt a bizarre gentleness in his demeanor, and even his cold voice seemed warmer than usual.

But, in reality, his heart wasn’t beating any quicker. It was just that he was wearing one of those thin hospital gowns, so Amber could feel each distinct heartbeat.

Back when she had been a student, she had once gotten bored and decided to experience traditional Chinese medicine and to learn to feel people’s pulses, so she had taken a year’s worth of classes and practice on the subject.

She didn’t really learn how to feel pulses that much better, but she did had gotten significantly better at understanding the significance of others’ heart rates in different situations.

Right now, Ian’s heart was not beating any quicker than usual. In fact, it was actually beating a bit slower. When Amber remembered his unusual body condition, she had a hunch that he wasn’t feeling anything at all.

His excitement was closer to a guise, but one that could trick even himself.

Regardless of the truth, she still said, “Yes, a bit faster.”

And then Ian smiled, a truly joyful smile that contained a bit of childish innocence and sincerity. It was just like the dark clouds that Amber had once seen before, the ones that had silently blossomed in the biting cold.

Joyful, and heart-wrenching.

Such was the power of handsome people. Amber was dazed just from looking at him.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.