转身（一）

夕阳西下，彩霞满天。何以琛站在十楼办公室的落地窗前，奇怪自己怎么会有了欣赏夕阳的心情。也许，因为她回来了。

The sun was setting in the west, painting the sky with colorful clouds. He Yichen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his office on the tenth floor, wondering how he had developed a mood to appreciate the sunset. Perhaps it was because she had returned.

美婷推开门，就看到何律师背对着她站在窗前，手里夹着烟，一身落寞的样子……落寞？美婷简直怀疑自己的眼睛了，这个词能用在从来都是自信沉着的何律师身上吗？

Meiting pushed the door open and saw Lawyer He facing away from her, standing at the window, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, looking all alone... Alone? Meiting couldn't believe her eyes; could this word describe the ever-confident and composed He Lawyer?

以琛听到开门声，转过身问：“什么事？”

Hearing the sound of the door, Yichen turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"

“哦。”美婷这才从自己的迷思中惊醒，快速地说，“何律师，红远公司的张副总来了。”

"Oh." Meiting woke from her reverie and quickly said, "Lawyer He, Vice President Zhang from Hongyuan Company is here."

“请他进来。”以琛收起杂乱的思绪，全身心地投入到工作中去。

"Please invite him in." Yichen put aside his chaotic thoughts and dedicated himself to his work.

瞥了一眼壁上的钟——五点，她还没来。

He glanced at the clock on the wall—five o'clock. She hadn't arrived yet.

好不容易送走了张副总，以琛疲惫地靠在椅子上闭目养神，猛的一只巨掌拍下来，以琛无奈地睁开眼：“老袁。”

After finally seeing Vice President Zhang off, Yichen wearily leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest. Suddenly, a big hand slapped down, and Yichen opened his eyes reluctantly: "Old Yuan."

大学毕业后他拒绝了研究生保送，直接来到现在更名为“袁向何”的“袁向”律师事务所里工作，现在已经是合伙人之一。 老袁和另一个合伙人向恒都是C大校友，向恒比他早一届，老袁则已毕业多年。

After graduating from university, he had declined the opportunity to pursue a master's degree and came directly to work at what is now known as "Yuanxiang He" law firm, where he had become one of the partners.

形象更接近劫匪的魁梧大汉悠闲地在他对面落座，嚣张地跷起二郎腿：“接下来准备干什么？”

Old Yuan, a burly man resembling a bandit, casually took a seat opposite him, cockily resting his leg on his knee: "What's next on the agenda?"

以琛头也不抬地说：“加班。”

Without raising his head, Yichen replied, "Overtime."

“不会吧！”老袁怪叫，“今天是周末哎！”

"No way!" Old Yuan exclaimed in disbelief, "Today is the weekend!"

“那又怎样？”

"So what?"

“那又怎样！”老袁重复他的话，摇摇头，“这的确像是冷血无情工作狂何以琛说的话。”

"So what!" Old Yuan repeated, shaking his head, "That really sounds like something the cold, heartless workaholic He Yichen would say."

以琛眯起眼：“我倒不知道你修辞学学得这么好。”

Yichen squinted: "I didn't know you were so good at rhetoric."

“NO、NO、NO。”老袁摇摇手指。“这是所有认识何以琛这个人的女性同胞们的共识。” 他贼兮兮地凑过来，“以琛，我一直想问你，你到底是同性恋还是有隐疾？”

"NO, NO, NO." Old Yuan shook his finger. "This is the consensus among all the women who know He Yichen."

对这种无聊低级分子，理他就是神经病。

He leaned in conspiratorially, "Yichen, I've always wanted to ask, are you gay or do you have some hidden illness?"

美婷进来送上两杯咖啡，以琛叫住她问：“今天有没有一位赵小姐来过？”

For such a boring lowlife, Yichen chose to ignore him as if he were a lunatic.

美婷想了想摇头说：“没有。”

Meiting entered with two cups of coffee, and Yichen called out to her, asking, "Did a Miss Zhao come by today?"

以琛“嗯”了一声表示知道，对美婷说：“我这里没什么事了，你早点回家吧。”

Meiting thought for a moment and shook her head: "No."

美婷摇头说：“我不急的，何律师你什么时候走，要不要我帮你买点吃的来？”

Yichen responded with a soft “Hmm” to indicate he understood and said to Meiting, "I have nothing else here, you can head home early."

“不用，谢谢。”

Meiting shook her head: "I'm not in a hurry, Lawyer He. When are you leaving? Do you need me to bring you something to eat?"

美婷哦了一声，满脸失望地出去了。

"No need, thank you."

老袁啧啧出声：“喂，美婷美女对你有意思哦，要不要来段办公室之恋？”

"Oh," Meiting said, looking disappointed as she left.

“人家是正经的女孩子，你别胡说八道。”以琛警告他。

Old Yuan clicked his tongue: "Hey, Meiting is interested in you! Want to start an office romance?"

铁石心肠！老袁暗暗摇头，以琛对待女性的态度一向有礼周到，但从不逾越，这些年来不知道有多少女人在“何以琛”这个名字下壮烈成仁。

"She's a decent girl, stop talking nonsense." Yichen warned him.

也不能怪那些女人趋之若鹜，就算以老袁男性的目光看来，何以琛还是太优秀了。

Heart of stone! Old Yuan silently shook his head. Yichen had always been polite and considerate towards women but never crossed the line. Over the years, countless women had heroically fallen for the name "He Yichen."

撇开他英气逼人的外表，光这几年他在律师界里逐渐崛起的名声和坚毅正派的形象就足以吸引任何骄傲或者美丽的女人。

It couldn't be blamed on those women for flocking to him. Even from Old Yuan's male perspective, He Yichen was simply too outstanding.

“你到底喜欢什么样的女人？那么多女的你就没一个心动的？那个外企的美女总监，身材很辣哎！那个电视台的女主持，你们合作那么久难道没擦出点火花？还有咱们精明能干的同行许霹雳，今天在法院遇到她，她还旁敲侧击地问起你……”

Aside from his impressive appearance, his rising reputation in the legal field over the years and his steadfast, upright image were enough to attract any proud or beautiful woman.

老袁越说越兴奋，以琛听而不闻，随他胡说八道。

"What kind of woman do you actually like? With so many women around, none have caught your interest? That hot foreign company’s beauty director, she has an amazing figure! That TV station’s female host, you've been collaborating for so long and you haven’t sparked anything? And there's our capable colleague Xu Pili, I ran into her at the court today, and she indirectly asked about you..."

独角戏有什么好唱的，老袁沮丧地停住，一会儿又两眼放光：“我知道了，一定是咱们的小妹以玫，你对她总算还有点人性。”

Old Yuan became more excited the more he talked. Yichen remained indifferent, letting him ramble.

以玫经常到事务所来，老袁对她是极熟的。

What’s the point of a one-man show? Old Yuan felt discouraged, then suddenly his eyes lit up: "I know! It must be our little sister Yimei, you at least have some humanity left for her."

“她是我妹妹。”以琛没好气地说。

Yimei frequently visited the firm, and Old Yuan was quite familiar with her.

“少来，你们又没有血缘关系。”老袁一副熟知内情的样子。

"She is my sister," Yichen said, irritable.

“那也不能改变什么。”

"Come on, you don't have a blood relationship." Old Yuan acted like he knew the inside story.

以琛语气颇淡，但其中的绝对老袁还是听出来了。老袁摇摇头不再多说什么，以琛的固执他是领教过的。

"That doesn’t change anything."

“何律师。”美婷进来，手里拿着一个信封，“刚刚有位小姐送了这个来。”

Yichen’s tone was quite flat, but Old Yuan still perceived the absolute resoluteness behind it. Old Yuan shook his head and chose not to say more; he had experienced Yichen's stubbornness before.

以琛一摸就知道是什么，“那位小姐呢？”

"Lawyer He." Meiting came in with an envelope, "A lady just delivered this."

“她留下东西就走了。”

Yichen felt it and immediately knew what it was. "Where is that lady?"

“走了？”以琛脸色一沉，“走了多久？”

"She left after dropping off the item."

“不到一分钟。”

"Left?" Yichen's expression darkened, "How long ago did she leave?"

以琛没有细想，拿起车钥匙和外套就往外去。老袁跟在他后面叫：“你去哪里？”他仿佛没听到似的。 在门口老袁恰好碰到刚刚从法院回来的向恒：“他是怎么回事？”

"Less than a minute."

向恒看着他离去的方向，若有所思：“我想我知道原因。”

Without giving it much thought, Yichen grabbed his car keys and coat and headed out. Old Yuan followed him, calling, "Where are you going?" but it seemed Yichen didn't hear.

“你知道？快说，快说。”

At the entrance, Old Yuan happened to run into Xiang Heng, who had just returned from the courthouse: "What’s going on with him?"

“刚刚我在楼下看到一个人，我还以为看错了，没想到真的是她。”

Xiang Heng looked in the direction Yichen had gone and said thoughtfully, "I think I know the reason."

“谁？别卖关子了。”老袁不耐烦地说。

"You know? Quickly tell me."

“你觉得以琛是个什么样的人？”向恒不答反问。

"Just now, I saw someone downstairs, I thought I was mistaken, but it really was her."

“冷静、理智、客观。”老袁中肯的评价。

"Who? Don’t keep me in suspense." Old Yuan said impatiently.

“那么这个人就是他的不冷静、不理智、不客观。”

"What kind of person do you think Yichen is?" Xiang Heng asked in return instead of answering.

老袁好奇心起：“女的？”

"Calm, rational, objective." Old Yuan evaluated him fairly.

“对，他以前的女朋友。”向恒虽然比以琛高一级，却是一个宿舍的，对以琛的过去很了解。

"Then that person is his opposite—uncalm, irrational, and subjective."

“女朋友？”老袁一副听到天方夜谭的表情，“他有过女朋友？”

Old Yuan's curiosity was piqued: "A woman?"

“对，后来她女朋友因为去美国和以琛分手了。”

"Yes, his ex-girlfriend." Although Xiang Heng was a level above Yichen, they had shared a dorm, and he understood Yichen’s past well.

“你是说……”老袁瞪大眼睛，“以琛被人甩了？”

"Ex-girlfriend?" Old Yuan looked as if he had heard the most unbelievable story, "He had a girlfriend?"

“对，而且是不辞而别，他女朋友去了美国他才知道消息。这件事在学校传得很广，以琛很颓废了一阵子，那时候他抽烟喝酒全学会了。”

"Yes, she broke up with him to go to America."

“不会吧……”老袁实在想像不出什么样的女人会抛弃何以琛。怪不得他不近女色，原来是一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳。

"You mean..." Old Yuan's eyes widened, "Yichen was dumped?"

正值下班的高峰期，默笙不急着回去，随着拥挤的人流无目的地乱走。

"Yes, and without any notice. He only found out when she went to America. This matter spread widely at school. Yichen was quite disheartened for a while, during which time he picked up smoking and drinking."

直到刚刚，她才不得不承认，自己和以前真的很不一样了。以前的她绝对不会这么退缩，明明很想很想见他，却不敢。

"No way..." Old Yuan really couldn't imagine what kind of woman would abandon He Yichen. It was no wonder he avoided women; once bitten, twice shy.

那时候不管以琛多么冷漠，多么拒人千里，她都可以端着一张笑脸跟前跟后，现在却连说两句话的勇气都没了。 以琛曾经说她是sunshine，是他想拒绝也拒绝不了的阳光，可是现在她连自己心中的阳光都消失了，又拿什么去照耀别人呢？

During the peak time for getting off work, Mo Sheng was in no hurry to go home, wandering aimlessly with the throngs of people.

一辆银白的BMW突兀地停在她跟前，默笙头也没抬，绕开。却听到一个熟悉的声音：“上车。”

It was only just now that she had to admit she was really different from her former self. The old her would never have backed down like this; she was clearly eager to see him but too afraid to.

她惊讶地抬头，是他！

No matter how cold or distant Yichen had been back then, she could always maintain a smiling face in front of him. Yet now she couldn't muster the courage to say even two sentences.

以琛见她愣在那里，皱着眉头又说一遍：“这里不能停车，上车。”

Yichen once said she was sunshine, a light he couldn't refuse, but now she felt like even her inner sunshine had vanished. What could she use to illuminate others?

默笙来不及考虑这是怎么回事，车子已经没入下班的车流里了。

A silver BMW suddenly stopped in front of her, and without lifting her head, Mo Sheng stepped aside. But she heard a familiar voice: "Get in the car."

“中餐还是西餐？”以琛注视着前方的交通状况，开口问她。

She looked up in surprise—it was him!

“中餐。”她反射地回答，说完才发觉不对，什么中餐西餐，他要请她吃饭吗？

Seeing her frozen, Yichen frowned and repeated, "You can't park here. Get in the car."

以琛冷冷地瞥了她一眼：“你还会拿筷子吗？”

Mo Sheng had no time to consider what was happening, as the car had already merged into the flow of traffic after work.

默笙假装没听到他的冷嘲热讽，小心翼翼地问：“你要请我吃饭吗？”

"Chinese food or Western food?" Yichen asked, gazing at the traffic ahead.

“你捡到了我的皮夹，于情于理我都该谢谢你。”

"Chinese food," she answered reflexively, only realizing afterwards how strange it was. Was he inviting her to dinner?

“其实不用这么客气。”默笙讷讷地说，一阵沮丧涌上心头，什么时候他们到了说这种话的地步了呢？

Yichen shot her a cold glance: "Can you still use chopsticks?"

晚餐是在著名的秦记吃的，优美的环境，美味的菜肴，周到的服务都无法改善默笙的用餐心情，对着对面那张毫无表情的脸，注定要消化不良。

Mo Sheng pretended not to hear his sarcastic remark and tentatively asked, "Are you inviting me to dinner?"

悦耳的手机铃声打破了餐桌上的沉闷，以琛接起手机。“喂……对……我在秦记……不是，还有赵默笙……恰好遇见……好。”

"You found my wallet; I should thank you, logically speaking."

他突然把手机给她：“以玫想跟你说话。”

"Actually, you don't have to be so polite." Mo Sheng said awkwardly, a wave of frustration washing over her. When did they reach a point of speaking like this?

默笙一呆接过：“喂。”

Dinner was at the well-known Qin Ji, with a beautiful environment, delicious dishes, and attentive service failing to improve Mo Sheng's dining mood. Sitting across from Yichen, clad in an expressionless face, she knew it would be hard to digest the meal.

“喂，默笙。”轻柔的嗓音从彼端传来。

The pleasant sound of a phone ringing shattered the dullness at the table. Yichen answered the call. "Hello... yes... I'm at Qin Ji... No, I happen to be with Zhao Mosheng... okay."

“以玫，好久不见。”

He suddenly handed the phone to her: "Yimei wants to talk to you."

“是啊，好久不见。”

Mo Sheng hesitated, taking the phone: "Hello."

两头都沉默，不知道该说什么好，最后还是以玫说：“默笙，这些年过得还好吗？” “还不错，简直要乐不思蜀了。”默笙故做轻松地说，没注意到对面的以琛动作突然一滞。

"Hey, Mosheng," a gentle voice came from the other end.

“嗯。”又是一阵沉默，以玫说，“你可以把联系方式给我吗？我们找个时间见一见。” “好的。”默笙报上手机号码。

"Yimei, long time no see."

“嗯，那再见了。”

"Yeah, long time no see."

“再见。”

Both sides fell silent, unsure of what to say. Finally, Yimei spoke: "Mosheng, have you been doing well all these years?"

收了线，她合上手机还给以琛，他却没接。“把你的手机号码输进去。”

"Pretty good; I’m practically having the time of my life." Mo Sheng tried to sound casual, not noticing Yichen’s sudden stillness across from her.

默笙一怔，低头输入号码，却在输入姓名时犯了难。

"Mm." Another silence followed. Yimei said, "Can I have your contact information? Let's find a time to meet."

“你是用什么中文输入法？”

"Sure." Mo Sheng gave her phone number.

“笔画。”

"Okay then, see you later."

“哦。”

"Goodbye."

还是打不出来。“默字怎么打？”

After hanging up, she closed the phone and handed it back to Yichen, but he didn't take it. "Input your phone number."

以琛伸手拿过她手中的手机：“我来。”

Mo Sheng froze, lowering her head to input the number, but stumbled when it came to entering her name.

默笙尴尬地看着他修长的手指在银灰的手机上优雅快速地跳跃，几秒钟时间就打好，合上收进衣袋。

"What Chinese input method are you using?"

“你连中文名字都忘了怎么写了？”

"Stroke order."

“不是，你的手机我不会用。”默笙讷讷地解释。

"Oh."

他看了她一眼，不再说话。晚餐就在这样沉默的气氛中度过，甚至一直持续到他送她回家。

But she still couldn't input it. "How do you type ‘Mo’?"

默笙下车说：“谢谢你送我回来。”

Yichen reached over to take the phone from her: "Let me do it."

他点点头，开车飞驰而去。

Mo Sheng watched awkwardly as his slender fingers danced elegantly and quickly across the silver phone, finishing in a matter of seconds, then tucked it away into his pocket.

默笙站在原地，只觉得茫然，也不知道站了多久，直到意识到路人怪异的眼光才如梦初醒，脚步匆匆地奔上楼。

"You even forgot how to write your Chinese name?"