He didn’t really have anything to do before he went to the office. After getting dressed, he simply went down to the garage and took a car by himself to work, stopping to get some coffee to drag out the time. In reality, he just didn’t want to be in the car with Xingyu, having to hide his sweating hands and pretending to be nice. His rides to work were usually the only moments he had to himself, when he could take deep breaths and prepare himself for the day to come. Likewise, his rides on the way back allowed him to unwind and prepare to see Liu Baiyan and Sun Yue again. Xingyu would destroy that process.

Xiaokai deserved at least a few minutes to himself, didn’t he?

Xingyu was waiting in the lobby when Xiaokai walked in with his coffee. He smiled and stood when he spotted Xiaokai.

“The thing you had to do was pick up coffee? Couldn’t we have gone together?”

Xiaokai ignored both questions. “You could have gone up to the office alone. Good morning, Miss Wu.” He nodded at the secretary as he moved past her and she beamed back at him with a little wave. Xingyu fell into step beside him.

“I didn’t want to go up without you and have to explain who I was. What kind of coffee did you get?”

“Everyone already knows who you are. You’re a fool if you think they ever took your photo down.”

“My—?...Oh.” Xingyu’s steps stuttered. They were passing through the main hall now—on the left were vast windows that filtered in the sunlight through UV-protected glass, and on the right were just as vast family portraits: all of them in the middle, posed all professional, and then branching off on either side of this family portrait—Liu Baiyan and Sun Yue, Liu Xingyu and Liu Xiaokai. Divided just as they should be. “Wow. We look so young.”

“He’s probably made the appointment to redo it while you’re here,” Xiaokai said. He pushed the button to call the private elevator. “It’s been bothering him that we don’t look authoritative.”

“Authoritative? And we look that way now?”

“The artist can do whatever he wants with our expressions. Do you really think you looked that stern when you were a kid?”

Xingyu laughed. “No, I guess not. I guess I always tried avoiding the pictures before…. Does it weird you out to see them too?”

“No.” The elevator arrived. Xiaokai stepped on. Xingyu hopped in next to him.

“So what do you do all day?”

“Work.” He pressed the button for the top floor.

“Ba doesn’t work in this building anymore?”

“They built several more locations and moved headquarters further downtown. I’m working in his office now. Once you start working, they’ll probably put you in the main building with him or at least in one of the locations nearby.”