Who the hell was talking about the tea!

The fragrant scent of tealeaves and bamboo was in the air. Gu Bo Yang entered the room through a sliding door made of wood and paper. Despite the thin walls, one could not hear any unnecessary noises; just the burbling of water and leaves dancing in the wind. This place was the definition of tranquillity.

The other end of the room was a glass wall, magnificently framing the picturesque landscape outside which was the inner courtyard of this tea house, famous for its fiery red maple trees and rock garden.

In front of this masterpiece sat a lone man, only a small tea table accompanying him. With the traditional dark set of clothes he was wearing, and the cloak loosely draped over his shoulders, he looked sophisticated - almost noble - like a man out of a historical drama.

His hair meticulously cut short, was black as a raven's. Gu Bo Yang has always envied the other for his youthful looks. While the editor-in-chief already had to fight with grey hair and a slightly bent back from working overtime in the office, the other guy who was only a few years younger than him, seemed to have stopped ageing altogether at some point in his early thirties.

"What are you staring at, come and sit down before the tea get's cold. You're ruining the scenery." The image of a refined and cultivated man shattered the moment he opened his mouth. Gu Bo Yang could only sigh with regret. To be precise, this spoiled man was his actual next 'appointment'.

The editor thought to himself that one definitely couldn't judge a book by its cover.

"Should you talk to someone you owe like that?" Despite his sour mood, Gu Bo Yang did as ordered and sat down next to his old friend. As if rehearsed, a maid came in and placed another small tea table right next to the new guest. Neither her steps or any of her other movements made any sounds. If he didn't pay attention to her, he would have missed her existence altogether. This place was genuinely extraordinary. No wonder it remained at the top for all those decades without ever losing out amidst all those modern cofé-shops and bars rich people tend to frequent nowadays.

"How did you manage to reserve a room here at last minute?" Gu Bo Yang asked.

"I always hold a reservation here." The other replied coolly, earning a dirty gaze from his old friend.

Statements like these were typical for Min Kai. His old friend surnamed Luo wasn't someone who would flaunt his wealth blatantly, but he could not abstain from doing it either since his whole existence was just a synonym to wealthiness. It would have had the same effect on Gu Bo Yang if the other had claimed to own the place.

If you asked Luo Min Kai who he was, he would describe himself as an author, no more no less. But he was so much more behind the scenes, just that the man himself never seemed to mind, so no one else ever dared to bring it up to him. His mood, always as if the world owes him money, knew no reservations. He would never mince his words and would always call a spade a spade. So if the man said he "always hold a reservation", then he has. Gu Bo Yang didn't even question it. He just enjoyed his steaming tea.

'Indeed, well deserving of the number one tea house in the city.' He thought to himself, not minding that sharp pair of eyes that looked upon him expectantly.

Quite some time passed, and the piercing looks he received overtime mounted upon each other, was enough to turn him into a pincushion. But he endured with leisure since he felt that the other one must have been the one sitting on pins and needles right now.

"So?" Luo Min Kai finally couldn't endure any longer and ask.

"The tea is excellent!" Gu Bo Yang praised truthfully.

The first time the tranquillity broke was thanks to Luo Min Kai hitting the table with his hand, making the teaware tremble as if in fear, splashing some of their content onto the furniture.

"Who the hell was talking about the tea!"

Gu Bo Yang gave his short-tempered friend another dirty look, but before he could reprimand him, the door slid open, and the maid came in with another small table, exchanging it with the one Min Kai messed up earlier. After she left soundlessly, it seemed like Min Kai's outburst never happened.

Gu Bo Yang, who had witnessed all of this with curious eyes now exclaimed in wonder: "Min Kai, say, is this place's service this flawless or do they just know your temper very well?"

This place was positively marvellous. Instead of just wiping the stain, they went and replaced the whole table. It also shows that someone was always attending to them with precise judgement. On the other hand, this means someone is continuously listening in on them. With an endless stream of powerful and influencing guests frequenting this place, one could only imagine how many secrets those thin walls have to keep.

Gu Bo Yang honestly couldn't wait to get an exclusive feature with this tea house for The Connoisseur.

"I promised you an interview with the owner of the place in advance, so stop messing with my mood already."

"Luo Min Kai, you sure are a strange man. If you are this worried about her, just go and drive her yourself, why don't you?"

Instead, Min Kai preferred to owe someone else favour for driving his student around town. Said student didn't even know her luck.

"To think that a busy man such as myself had to drive author Shin around like I was some assistant..."

"Gu Bo Yang! Stop victimising yourself! You already did it, so why even bother bringing it up now! Don't you also gain from this?"

Thinking about it, wasn't Luo Min Kai the one who got nothing out of this? He was the one who should complain, ok?

"I just feel bad for my single dog friend who is too shy to step forward."

"Who the fuck are you calling shy!?"

Min Kai felt like the room suddenly got hotter by a few degrees - enough for the blood to rush up to his ears, making Gu Bo Yang laugh himself almost to death.

"Stop laughing! You call me a single dog while you and your wife haven't met each other in a year!"

"My wife's working overseas, though? While your darling is just a few corners away."

"Me showing up there would only cause a commotion."

Luo Min Kai massaged his temple to calm down. The fact that he didn't refute to someone calling Shin Jie Jie his darling was already quite noteworthy, making his old friend wonder how she managed to wrap such an elusive guy around her finger without knowing.

Yes. You heard, right. Author Shin doesn't know.

While on this side of the glass window, a room cut off from the rest of the world, Luo Min Kai waited and watched over her every little step, she lives her everyday life out there without knowing that someone would walk miles for her.

"You never cared about such things before. Why start with it now?" Gu Bo Yang wondered. Considerate was not an adjective one could use to describe his friend.

"I don't care. But she does. I don't want to inconvenience her."

They say loves makes blind. But it also makes you a better person, Gu Bo Yang thought to himself. He has never seen the other guy hesitating in anything he does. Let's just say that an individual surnamed Luo has once berated the president on national television without blinking an eye. When they later asked if he wanted to edit the footage, he raised his eyebrow and asked 'Why?', so they went with it. Luo Min Kai was a man who never hesitated. And he never regretted the things he does.

'But now, here we are. Wish I could take a photo and shove it into Min Kai's face whenever he's blowing over the top again.' Gu Bo Yang smiled. More than the exclusive interview and the feature the other guy promised him for accompanying author Shin to YNG, it was this defeated look on Min Kai's face that made it so much worth it.

He decided to stop teasing Min Kai for good and instead gave him honest advice from someone married over a decade ago.

"I normally can't hold a candle to you but let me give you honest advice for once. You shouldn't dawdle, lest it will be too late. You're not Shin Jie Jie's teacher anymore, remember?"

Luo Min Kai's straight posture began to deflate like a balloon when he heard that. With his elbow on the table and his hand supporting his throbbing head that felt heavier and heavier, he spat out:

"Not a teacher. But still a mentor."