Chapter 3 — The Man Behind the Silence
1705 Words
For the next three days, Diara told herself she wasn't thinking about Tian.
She was.
She just refused to admit it.
It wasn't as though anything had happened between them.
They had spoken twice.
Twice.
That wasn't enough to call it anything.
And yet, every morning when Diara walked past the convenience store, her eyes automatically searched for him.
The first morning, he wasn't there.
The second morning, he wasn't there either.
By the third morning, she was annoyed.
Not because she missed him.
Obviously not.
She simply found it irritating that someone could appear twice in her life and then disappear without explanation.
That was all.
At least, that was what she told herself.
She crouched beside the stray dog and scratched behind its ears.
“Your friend abandoned us.”
The dog looked at her.
Diara sighed.
“Don't look at me like that. I'm not talking about you.”
The dog wagged its tail.
She smiled.
“You're still my favorite.”
“That's harsh.”
Diara froze.
She slowly turned around.
Tian stood behind her, holding two cups of coffee.
She stared.
“You!”
He laughed.
“Good morning.”
“Where were you?”
The question escaped before she could stop it.
Tian raised an eyebrow.
“Were you looking for me?”
“No.”
She immediately looked away.
“I was asking because you gave me dog treats and then disappeared.”
“So you noticed.”
“No.”
“You just said you noticed.”
“I didn't.”
Tian smiled.
“You're terrible at lying.”
Diara stood.
“And you're annoying.”
He held out one of the coffees.
“For you.”
She looked at it suspiciously.
“What is it?”
“Coffee.”
“I know what coffee is.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because I don't trust you.”
“You shouldn't.”
She looked at him.
He grinned.
Then he handed her the cup.
She accepted it despite herself.
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
They stood together in comfortable silence.
For once, Diara didn't feel the need to fill it.
That surprised her.
She usually hated silence.
It gave her too much room to think.
But standing beside Tian felt strangely easy.
“So,” he said, “do you always feed stray animals?”
“Only the ones that look hungry.”
“That's a lot of animals.”
“Maybe.”
He glanced at her.
“You're kind.”
Diara looked down at her coffee.
“I'm not.”
Tian frowned.
“What?”
“Kind.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged.
“Because I can be selfish too.”
He smiled.
“Everyone is.”
She looked at him.
“Not everyone admits it.”
“Maybe that's what makes you honest.”
She didn't know what to say to that.
So she drank her coffee.
It was good.
Very good.
She looked at him suspiciously.
“You remembered my coffee?”
“I guessed.”
“You guessed correctly.”
“I'll take that as a victory.”
She laughed.
And for a moment, everything felt simple.
They walked toward Diara's office together.
Tian didn't work there.
He had no reason to be going in the same direction.
But he walked beside her anyway.
“Do you work nearby?” she asked.
“Sometimes.”
“That's vague.”
“I'm a vague person.”
“That's not a personality.”
“It is now.”
She laughed.
Tian looked at her.
He liked that sound.
He wasn't sure why.
They reached the building.
Diara stopped.
“This is me.”
“I know.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You're starting to sound creepy.”
He laughed.
“I'll see you later.”
“Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
She walked inside.
Then turned around.
Tian was still there.
He waved.
She smiled before disappearing through the doors.
Neither noticed the black car parked across the street.
Inside it, Jin Zhao sat quietly.
He had been waiting for someone.
Instead, he found himself watching the entrance to a building.
His gaze shifted toward Tian.
Then toward the woman who had just walked inside.
His expression remained unreadable.
“That's Tian,” his assistant said from the driver's seat.
“I know.”
“You know the girl?”
“No.”
His assistant glanced at him.
“You've been looking at her.”
Jin looked away.
“I was looking at Tian.”
“Of course.”
Jin didn't respond.
The assistant wisely said nothing more.
Later that afternoon, Diara was asked to deliver several documents to another department.
She gathered the files and headed down the corridor.
She was halfway there when she collided with someone.
Papers fell everywhere.
“Oh my God! I'm sorry!”
She immediately crouched down.
“It's okay.”
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Diara looked up.
And froze.
The man from the street.
The one who had told her she shouldn't give away money.
She recognized him immediately.
He was wearing a dark suit today.
His expression was as composed as ever.
“You.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“Me.”
“You work here?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
She quickly gathered the papers.
He crouched down and helped her.
Their hands reached for the same sheet.
They stopped.
Diara pulled her hand away.
“Sorry.”
“You apologize a lot.”
“I make a lot of mistakes.”
“I noticed.”
She looked at him.
“Was that an insult?”
“No.”
“It sounded like one.”
“It was an observation.”
“That's worse.”
For the first time, the corner of his mouth moved.
Barely.
Diara stared.
“Did you just smile?”
“No.”
“You did.”
“You imagined it.”
She shook her head.
“Whatever.”
She collected the final paper.
“Thanks.”
She stood.
He stood too.
“I'm Jin Zhao.”
She blinked.
“Diara.”
“I know.”
She frowned.
“You knew my name before.”
“You wear an employee ID.”
“Oh.”
She was beginning to feel stupid around him.
That annoyed her.
“Anyway, nice to meet you.”
She turned.
“Diara.”
She stopped.
“Yes?”
“You shouldn't trust everyone who smiles at you.”
She looked back.
“What?”
Jin's gaze moved briefly toward the hallway.
Then back to her.
“Nothing.”
He walked away.
Diara stood there, confused.
“What was that supposed to mean?”
She watched him disappear.
For some reason, his words stayed with her.
That evening, Tian called.
Diara stared at his name on the screen.
She smiled.
Then immediately stopped smiling.
Why was she smiling?
She answered.
“Hello?”
“Are you busy?”
“Not really.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Dinner.”
She blinked.
“Dinner?”
“I'm hungry.”
“So?”
“So I'm asking if you're hungry too.”
Diara laughed.
“That's your excuse?”
“It's a good one.”
She hesitated.
“Where?”
“I'll send you the location.”
She almost said no.
Then remembered the coffee.
The dog treats.
His stupid smile.
“Okay.”
The restaurant was small and warm, tucked away from the louder streets.
Tian was already waiting.
“You came.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I wasn't sure you'd say yes.”
“Neither was I.”
He laughed.
They sat across from each other.
Dinner was simple.
Nothing extravagant.
And somehow, that made Diara more comfortable.
They talked about everything.
Work.
Food.
Movies.
Animals.
Childhood memories.
Tian told stories that made her laugh until her cheeks hurt.
Then, unexpectedly, the conversation became quieter.
“What about you?” he asked.
“What about me?”
“Why did you come to Beijing?”
Diara looked down.
“I wanted to start over.”
“From what?”
She smiled faintly.
“Everything.”
Tian didn't ask further.
Instead, he said softly, “You don't have to tell me.”
She looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He smiled.
“I'm patient.”
“That's dangerous.”
“Why?”
“People who are patient usually get what they want.”
Tian leaned slightly closer.
“And what if what I want is to know you?”
Her heart skipped.
She looked away.
“You're flirting.”
“Maybe.”
“You're bad at it.”
“I'm still learning.”
She laughed.
The tension disappeared.
But neither of them forgot the moment.
When they left the restaurant, the night air was cool.
They walked slowly.
Neither seemed eager to say goodbye.
Finally, Diara stopped.
“I had fun.”
“So did I.”
She smiled.
“Goodnight, Tian.”
“Goodnight, Diara.”
She took a few steps.
Then turned around.
He was still watching her.
This time, neither looked away.
Something had changed.
Something small.
Something neither of them was ready to name.
Across the city, Jin Zhao sat alone in his office.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Tian.
Had dinner with someone interesting.
Jin stared at it.
He typed:
Who?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally:
A girl.
Jin put his phone down.
For some reason, he thought of Diara.
The woman in the hallway.
The woman feeding the dog.
The woman who argued with strangers without hesitation.
He didn't understand why.
He shouldn't care.
Yet the thought of Tian becoming close to her bothered him.
It was an irrational reaction.
He knew that.
And Jin Zhao hated irrational things.
Especially feelings.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
For the first time, he wondered:
Who exactly was Diara?
And why had he begun remembering her?
He didn't know it yet.
But curiosity was the first step.
And sometimes, the most dangerous obsessions begin with something as innocent as wanting to know more.
— End of Chapter 3 —
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