Not the Best Start Chapter 7

On the way to the hospital, Blake Pang laughed unconsciously. Ethan Shen rolled his eyes at him and said, "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm reminded of the last shrink you saw."

Ethan Shen turned his head and said, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just... I can answer his last question now."

Ethan Shen left the hospital after a routine physical examination. He has to do a physical examination every month, and recently he has to go every week. Ethan Shen does not need to queue up in the hospital because of his special status. But he hates this kind of specialness. After leaving the hospital, Blake Pang took Ethan Shen out for lunch. Ethan Shen rarely goes out for a formal lunch. His habit is to eat fast food when he has to eat out, so he can eat on the go. Blake Pang has criticized him many times, but it was of no use. This time Blake Pang chose a good place, which was a famous noodle restaurant two blocks away from the hospital. Ethan Shen often eats instant noodles. Blake Pang once thought that he liked noodles, and Ethan Shen also thought that he liked it. However, after Blake Pang learned to cook delicious meals, Ethan Shen's instant noodles were rarely seen.

When Blake Pang saw this noodle shop, he realized that he, like Ethan Shen, had learned a lot in the past seven or eight years. Not just about the mission.

In a way, Ethan Shen forced him to learn how to live a normal life and saved him from vigilance and distrust. He was like Ethan Shen's guardian, but he was also someone Ethan Shen rescued. He was one of the many people Ethan Shen rescued.

Blake Pang ordered two bowls of noodle soup for them. Ethan Shen had yellow croaker noodles and Blake Pang had pork chop noodles. Before the noodles were served, Ethan Shen looked impatiently at the snack shops near the street, his eyes repeatedly going blank. Blake Pang studied his expression for a while, then said, "Tomorrow is Saturday, where do you want to go?"

Ethan Shen looked at him blankly, then turned around and said, "We are not employees who work from nine to five."

Blake Pang touched his nose, took out the vinegar jar, put it in front of himself and said, "You are almost busier than the police force now. Take a break, ah."

Ethan Shen ignored him. Blake Pang casually flipped through his medical records and took out Ethan Shen's X-ray film to look at it. Ethan Shen looked at Blake Pang from the other side of the transparent film, and at the same time looked at his long ribs and spine. He said a little uncomfortably: "Have you seen enough?"

Blake Pang was stunned for a moment, his eyes moved to the lower part of the pelvis and stayed there for a while, then he laughed and said: "Are you still shy?"

Ethan Shen glared at him coldly, forcing Blake Pang to put away the film and put it aside. At this time, the noodles came, and two drinks came at the same time. Blake Pang smiled politely at the waitress when she put the things down, and the waitress couldn't help but return a very sweet smile.

Ethan Shen snorted coldly and ate his noodles. Blake Pang took two bites and said, "Let's go to the movies. There's a new psychological crime movie that sounds pretty good."

Ethan Shen didn't look up and said vaguely: "Who gave you the idea?"

Blake Pang was stunned for a moment, scratched his head awkwardly, and recalled the conversation with Mason Yang last night. This idea was of course not given to him by Mason Yang, but by Kevin Xiao in the police force. Special police like Mason Yang and Blake Pang have been living on missions for most of their lives, and recreation has become the most difficult thing. On the contrary, Kevin Xiao, upon hearing Mason Yang's call, immediately raised several suggestions. Blake Pang had never thought of watching a movie before, and thought it was time to experience a new life and not be out of touch with the times, so he tentatively adopted Kevin Xiao's suggestion.

Ethan Shen frowned, looked at him with a strange look, and then continued to eat in silence. Blake Pang touched his nose and said, "What time do we go tomorrow?"

Ethan Shen seemed to want to object, but he couldn't think of any reason to object. He just sat there in silence. Blake Pang quickly said, "Then let's do it at 10 a.m., huh?"

Early the next morning, Blake Pang dragged Ethan Shen out of bed, ate breakfast and took him to the cinema. Ethan Shen kept dozing off in the car, his head banging against the glass window. Blake Pang couldn't stand it anymore, so he turned around and reminded him to put a cushion. Ethan Shen was in a trance for a moment, then went back to sleep. When Blake Pang got out of the car, he found a red lump on Ethan Shen's forehead. Ethan Shen refused to admit the pain, so Blake Pang patted his shoulder with a helpless look, adjusted his bangs to cover the red spot, and then led them out of the car and into the cinema.

Ethan Shen and Blake Pang stood at the ticket window for a long time, and finally chose a seat in the middle near the edge. Ethan Shen was a troublesome person. He didn't like to be so close to others except Blake Pang. So he never took the bus.

The movie was still fifteen minutes away from starting. Blake Pang looked around, bought two bottles of water, and then checked his ticket before entering the theater.

As soon as Ethan Shen entered the theater, he looked around. Blake Pang instructed him, "There is another escape route over there." Then he led them to their seats. Blake Pang noticed that the view from the side was not as good as the one in the middle, but Ethan Shen was even more reluctant to be surrounded by people in front, behind, and on both sides. The theater was very large, so the seats were divided into two areas. In front of Ethan Shen was a large aisle, with Blake Pang on the left, and only someone he didn't know behind him. Ethan Shen was barely satisfied with this seat, but he still said to Blake Pang, "Sit a little further away."

Blake Pang gave a bitter smile. His stature was not small to begin with, and if he sat a little closer, he would have to squeeze on top of others. Blake Pang tried his best to keep his arms from going over the armrests, so as not to suppress Ethan Shen's sense of space. Then the lights suddenly dimmed. Blake Pang felt Ethan Shen suddenly grab him, and as the screen gradually changed color, Ethan Shen's hand slowly loosened. He said: "Come closer..."

Blake Pang handed him the water and regained his own space.

When Mason Yang heard that the two were going to the movies, he was dumbfounded. He was at a loss for a moment, holding his phone and asked: "What next?"

Blake Pang was a little confused: "Then? What then? This movie was criticized by A Liang. I told him not to watch the movie..."

Hearing Blake Pang's reply, Mason Yang breathed a sigh of relief again. He said, "Brother Hui, let's have a drink together tomorrow?"

"Not tomorrow. I have to watch over Liang. If I'm not home, this kid will immerse himself in the information."

"...at night."

"It's even worse at night. If I don't watch him, he won't sleep..."

"Brother Hui, are you his nanny or his father?"

Blake Pang was silent for a while. Mason Yang felt a little amused and disappointed, and said, "Why not bring him along tomorrow?"

"Ah Liang can't drink." Blake Pang seemed a little hesitant, Mason Yang comforted him, "Then don't let him drink, we drink. We haven't seen each other for many years, and we haven't had a drink together once. By the way, I also want to apologize to Ethan Shen, he really helped us a lot. Aren't you worried that he will be limited in social circles? Of course he will be limited if he doesn't go out to meet people."

Blake Pang seemed to be persuaded, and finally nodded and said, "Okay, see you tomorrow night."

When Ethan Shen heard that Blake Pang wanted to take him out to drink with Mason Yang, he immediately closed the door and refused cleanly: "No."

"It's good for your health to go out occasionally." Blake Pang explained with emotion and reason.

"What does it have to do with me if you and Mason Yang drink together?"

"It's a good opportunity for you two to get to know each other..."

"I don't want to know him."

After being harassed for more than ten minutes, Ethan Shen finally agreed with a sour face. When he stood up, he suddenly stumbled, and Blake Pang held him up and said, "What's wrong?!"

Ethan Shen didn't look at him, but rubbed his ankle. A man's face flashed through his mind for a moment. The man was sitting behind him, chatting intimately with his girlfriend. When Ethan Shen was watching the movie that was extremely boring to him, the couple kept talking and K!ssing.

Ethan Shen had good hearing, and he couldn't help wanting to remind the people behind him several times, but he didn't want to speak. Blake Pang was completely fascinated by the plot.

"It's okay." Ethan Shen stood up straight, glanced at Blake Pang's phone, and walked out the door with a normal look. Blake Pang observed for a while before he felt relieved and locked the phone screen that was about to dial Mason Yang's number. If Ethan Shen had any problems, Blake Pang would not leave him no matter what.

On the way to the destination, Blake Pang couldn't help but turn on the radio. He usually doesn't play music because Ethan Shen likes quietness. The radio played a piece of music, and he didn't know when the CD was put in. Blake Pang listened to it for a while and felt that he remembered something. He smiled and said, "This is an old song from ten years ago."

"Are you happy?" Ethan Shen gave him a blank look.

"How did you know that?"

Ethan Shen sat in the back seat without saying anything, hugging the knee of one of his legs with his hand out of habit. In a small, enclosed space, he often sat huddled up like this, sometimes slightly stretched out, sometimes tighter.

Blake Pang restrained his expression and said, "Fei and I haven't seen each other for more than ten years. When we first met, it seemed like we were still training together in the same company. At that time, we didn't know that we would become such people in the future. Oh, time flies..."

Ethan Shen looked at the lights passing by quickly outside in silence.

"He was much younger than me at that time. I was his instructor when he joined the team. Within two or three years, this guy surpassed others and was faster than others. Every time I gave him an award, I was very proud. Hey, you didn't expect that I was an instructor, right?"

Ethan Shen still didn't speak, as if he was completely immersed in his own world. Blake Pang didn't care, listening to the song, and soon arrived at the destination. It was a not very big hotel. When Blake Pang stopped the car, Ethan Shen seemed to be still in a daze. After being called by Blake Pang twice, he gradually turned his eyes to him. When Blake Pang met Ethan Shen's eyes, his heart suddenly beat wildly, as if a big hole appeared in his chest and his whole body was about to be sucked in. However, the dark night also weakened the shocking power of Ethan Shen's eyes. Blake Pang suddenly held his breath and twisted his body hard. It seemed that all the muscles in his body were twisted fiercely. He suddenly became a little nervous. Ethan Shen's eyes are usually not a big problem. Normal people will feel disgusted and horrified after looking at them for a while, but Blake Pang, who has been looking at them for eight years, can no longer feel it. Only when Ethan Shen enters the "state", he will have that kind of eyes that Blake Pang can't restrain. Blake Pang immediately began to recall what he had said to Ethan Shen before. What he said were things that happened more than a decade ago. Ethan Shen needed to rely on the past period of time to infer the future, and the past period of time was usually very short, no more than a month. Ethan Shen should not be inferring his future... Ethan Shen had never inferred his future in the eight years he had been with him...

However, before this, Ethan Shen had never spoken to anyone other than Blake Pang...

"Are you still going?" Ethan Shen's sudden words startled Blake Pang. When he looked up, Ethan Shen had already opened the car door and stood outside. Blake Pang quickly got out of the car, closed the door, grabbed his shoulders and said, "Are you okay?"

Ethan Shen rolled his eyes at him: "What's the matter?"

Blake Pang once again looked at Ethan Shen with concern, then grabbed his wrist and said, "Let's go."

"let me go."

"I'm worried about you now."

"I'm fine, let go."

Blake Pang let go and stared at Ethan Shen. Ethan Shen had no choice but to walk over to him. Blake Pang said, "Tell me if you feel uncomfortable."

The two met Mason Yang in a small private room. Mason Yang complained, "Why are you so slow?", while patting Blake Pang on the shoulder and pulling him in. When he pulled Ethan Shen, Ethan Shen avoided his hand, which made Mason Yang withdraw his hand somewhat embarrassedly.

"I have ordered quite a few dishes. Ethan Shen doesn't eat spicy food, right? All I ordered are light dishes." Mason Yang said with a smile.

Ethan Shen was stunned for a moment, looked at Mason Yang, then looked at Blake Pang, and said, "Drink yours, don't worry about me."

"How could I, Ethan Shen? Today I asked Brother Hui to bring you here just to say sorry to you. It was my bad attitude before. You helped us a lot, and I want to thank you here."

While Mason Yang was talking, the waiter on the side gradually served the dishes. Several bottles of wine had been put aside for a long time. Blake Pang took them and opened the bottles. Blake Pang didn't need a corkscrew at all. The cork was made of wood, so he just pulled it out with two fingers. After Mason Yang finished speaking, he smiled and said, "Fei, you haven't seen my unique skills for many years!"

Mason Yang also seemed very happy. He put out the wine glasses, one for each person, and Blake Pang began to pour wine for the two of them, but not for Ethan Shen. Mason Yang glanced at Ethan Shen and asked him, "Ethan Shen, what do you want to drink? Juice or milk?"

Ethan Shen frowned and looked at Mason Yang, which made Mason Yang's heart skip a beat. Blake Pang immediately said, "You can't drink."

"I'm not a child." Ethan Shen said coldly.

Mason Yang took the opportunity to smooth things over: "Brother Hui, why can't Ethan Shen drink alcohol? Is it bad for your health?"

"I'm not sick." Ethan Shen said impatiently.

"Then drink less. There are two of us here." After Mason Yang said this, Blake Pang nodded reluctantly.

Ethan Shen didn't really care whether he drank or not, nor did he like to like alcohol too much. He just didn't like Blake Pang treating him like a child. Seeing Mason Yang trembling as he poured the wine for him, Ethan Shen stared at the cup for a while, almost making Mason Yang think there was a bug in it.

Mason Yang didn't feel relieved until Ethan Shen looked away. Not long after the dishes came, Mason Yang saw a large bowl of food piled up in Ethan Shen's bowl. Blake Pang was still picking up dishes for him until his bowl couldn't hold any more. Mason Yang reminded him, "Brother Hui, let Ethan Shen do it himself. He's not a child."

"Well, do it yourself." Blake Pang said, picking up another chicken leg for him.

Ethan Shen waited until Blake Pang finished picking up the dishes before he started eating silently. Mason Yang felt that he was quite abrupt, but after a closer look, Ethan Shen was also quite abrupt. Both of them probably didn't feel that they could fit in this atmosphere. Mason Yang thought about it and decided to have a good chat with Blake Pang and not waste this meal.

"Brother Hui, after you left the army, how did you end up in the special forces?"

"Oh, you don't know. I was just about to ask you, how come you ended up in the special forces..." Blake Pang laughed and drank half a cup in one gulp. Mason Yang said, "I was recommended by the higher-ups because of my good grades. You know that, haha..."

"You were always number one under me. Your shoulders must be hurt by all the honors, right?" Blake Pang patted his shoulders vigorously. "As for me, when my superiors recommended me to do this job, I always felt that I was not suitable for it. But now that I think about it...it's actually quite good."

Blake Pang glanced at Ethan Shen while speaking. Ethan Shen was still eating silently. Mason Yang felt that the atmosphere should not become one where adults talk and children do not interrupt, so he asked Ethan Shen: "Was Brother Hui particularly overbearing at the beginning?"

Ethan Shen didn't speak for a while. Mason Yang was so embarrassed that he almost burst out. He raised his head and was stunned for a moment: "You're talking to me?"

Mason Yang suddenly felt embarrassed. "...Yeah...Brother Hui is a typical big and strong man. I think he is completely different now than before."

"Oh, um." Ethan Shen uttered two interjections as soon as he opened his mouth. Mason Yang felt that he was still not suitable to talk to this person. Ethan Shen was completely in his own world. How did Blake Pang live with him and become the relationship they are now? It really made Mason Yang feel incredible.

After finally having a drink with his childhood friend, Blake Pang was very happy and drank for three hours. Mason Yang paid attention to Ethan Shen at first, but gradually ignored him. Ethan Shen just ate the vegetables silently, and could chew a vegetable stem for ten minutes. When he finished eating, the two of them talked about Mason Yang wetting the bed when he was a child. Ethan Shen stood up and said, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Mason Yang was a little tipsy when he saw Blake Pang stand up and say, "I'll go with you."

"No need," Ethan Shen said, "It's just a few steps away."

Next to him, Huiye was a little drunk, but still conscious. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "The sooner you go, the sooner you will be back."

After Ethan Shen went out, he walked for a long time before he saw the bathroom. He only drank a little bit, so he didn't feel much, just a little hot. After he solved the problem, he washed his hands in the sink, looked up at the mirror, and then his eyes saw blood slowly flowing out of his nostrils. Ethan Shen was stunned and quickly wiped it with his hand. Then he saw blood flowing out from between his fingers. Ethan Shen's breathing became rapid, and he thrust his hands under the faucet and scrubbed them desperately, then put his face close to the faucet. The clear water poured into his nasal cavity, and Ethan Shen coughed violently several times. He stumbled away from the sink, fumbled to find the hand towel, and wiped his fingers and nose vigorously. From the blurred to clear vision, the bloody red disappeared. Ethan Shen looked up at the mirror. There was no nosebleed. He lowered his head and carefully examined his fingers. There was no wound. There was no bleeding at all.

Ethan Shen wiped his face, panting and leaning against the wall, blinking hard, the dark iris almost merged with the pupil. Was it an illusion? Ethan Shen speculated in his heart. He looked at himself in the mirror again, almost soaked, and wiped his face vigorously with a tissue, then he shook his dripping bangs and pushed the door out. The next second after he walked out of the bathroom, his left foot tilted and his body suddenly fell to the ground.