Kāi Mén Jiàn Shān - 开门见山

aerysian

Rushing back to my desk, I rifled through my files, throwing them in order as best I could, putting tabs on sections that gave me trouble. Then I tore the IOU sticky note from my board. Erxi had pinned it at some point, when the tackiness started to fade, and the pin made a clean rip to the edge.

I dropped my folders on her side of the desk and put the note on top.

"My mom's in the hospital, and I wish I could explain these to you, but I don't have the time. I talked to the manager, and he'll answer any questions you have. Just look through them, do your best; I'll finish the rest in the morning," I said in a breath.

My stupid coat kept getting caught on my watch and bracelets. I gave up, folding it over my arm instead. I almost wanted to tear off the accessories. Erxi was saying something, but my cellphone rang in my hand for second time, my brother's name flashing at the top, and I was out of the office, scarf billowing as I wrangled it around my neck.

I knew Erxi had dinner with her college friends today; she'd mentioned it earlier in the week and even circled it on her hanging calendar with a bright purple pen. As the day neared, the amount of hearts around the date grew. I figured she'd finish her work and do as much of mine as she could before blowing it off for drinks at a bar.

That was why I was so surprised, hours later, to find her still at the office, desk lamp casting an eerie glow around the room.

"Erxi?"

She startled with a loud yelp and whipped around. My lingering headache jolted in response. "Chunhua! How's your mom? Is everything okay?"

"They're keeping her for close monitoring, but we have someone with her."

The clock in the corner clicked in time with my footsteps, echoing in my ears and chiming the arrival of a new hour. After hours at the bustling hospital, the emptiness here was oppressive; everyone else had long gone home.

"What are you doing here?" She was at a normal volume compared to others, quieter than usual compared to herself, as if she could feel the space pressing in, too.

I tilted my head. "I could ask you the same question. Thought you had plans."

"I did, but I couldn't figure out this one part, so I rescheduled."

I blinked. "It's fine if you didn't finish." In fact, I was expecting to not get through much at all and stopped by to bring the files home.

"You used your IOU waiver. Of course I have to honor it." She threw a smile over her shoulder before flipping a page.

Today was full of surprises.

I draped my coat over the back of my chair and put my bag on the table. "Have you eaten?" I unpacked the packages. Two servings of noodles, one for my late dinner and one for tomorrow's lunch. I pointed a pair of chopsticks at her. "Take a break. Then if I do half the stack, we'll finish faster."

Erxi sat, frozen, until I put the chopsticks into her palm, and her fingers clamped around them reflexively. "Oh," she said, eyes coming into focus. "Thank you."

I nodded and turned away, putting my headphones on. She must've gotten the hint because she didn't bother me as I worked. My music was loud enough to drown out Erxi's mutterings, a habit for when she had to concentrate on reading, but it didn't burst my eardrums. I could still hear my keyboard clacking as I retyped the highlighted sections. Beside my hands, my phone lit up from continuous text messages, vibrating with family members' names, until I got annoyed and switched it off.

Eventually, the stack on my side dwindled, and I slipped the last paper back into its folder. The clock chimed the passing of another hour. "Are you done―"

Without the sound of jazz winding through the air, Erxi's soft exhales were audible as she slept, chin leaning forward onto her chest. She was going to complain about that in the morning. I placed a pile of manuals in front of her and eased her cheek onto the books.

Well, she tried her best. I moved the rest of her stack to my side. She did more than I thought, and this was meant to be my work anyway.

I ended up staying later than I planned, but I would've been staying up later at home anymore.

Before leaving, I tapped her on the shoulder and stepped back as she jumped to her feet, arms out defensively and whirling around to find her attacker. Her gaze landed on me, and she flushed, quick to apologize with bows. A shrug and a small smile―I gave her that much before I left for the night.