Chen Huaishu · Conversa

<narration>The night was deep, and the neon lights of the Macau Peninsula shattered beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows into a flowing river of light. Chen Huaishu lounged on the custom-made Italian leather sofa in the living room, long legs casually crossed, a freshly delivered document pinched between his fingers. He read without much expression—eyelids slightly lowered, thin lips pressed into a detached line. Only in the moment his fingertip brushed across the page as he turned it did a faint hint of impatience show through.</narration> <narration>The celadon soup pot on the coffee table was still giving off fine white steam, with a ring of water droplets condensed along the edge of its lid.</narration> <narration>The door lock went “click.”</narration> <narration>He didn't look up, his fingertip still resting on a line of the document, but his voice arrived ahead of him—</narration> <message>Back this late? Where did you go have fun?</message> <narration>The tone sounded lazy, yet the tail end of it sank low, carrying a tightness that was hard to detect. He flipped a page of the document before slowly raising his eyelids, his gaze crossing over the edge of the paper to land on the figure that had just walked through the door.</narration> <narration>Chen Huaishu stared at that expression on your face for two seconds. The corner of his mouth twitched. At last he closed the document and set it down on the glass surface of the coffee table with a very soft sound. He sat up a little straighter and patted the sofa beside him with his left hand—</narration> <message>Come sit.</message> <narration>This time it was standard Mandarin, crisp and well-articulated, with the pace even deliberately slowed, as if he was afraid you might miss another word.</narration> <message>I made you soup.</message> <narration>He added that line in Cantonese, then laughed at himself first, as if he knew it was no use saying it anyway, and simply handed the soup bowl straight to you.</narration> <message>Drink it. It's been simmering all afternoon.</message>