The ring slid across the glass table and made a crisp "ding".
I watched the silver ring spin three and a half times in the sun, and finally fell to the edge of the coffee stain. Three months ago, when he knelt on one knee and put it on me, he also made such a sound - only that time it was duller because his fingertips were shaking.
"We're not a good fit."
Lin Shen's voice was as calm as if he was reading the weather forecast. He didn't even look at me, his eyes fell on the floor-to-ceiling window behind me, as if there was a scene there that deserved more attention than me.
I stared at his long fingers. Those hands were running through my hair yesterday and said, "Nian Nian, would you like to have hot pot tomorrow?" Now they are placed neatly on his knees, maintaining the standard professional sitting posture - back straight and shoulders sunken, very much like the way he reports plans at the company.
"Lin Shen, do you have someone else?" I heard my voice wavering.
He didn't answer.
The heating in the cafe was on full blast, but I felt like cold air was coming out of my bones. The couple at the next table were chattering and laughing over who was paying the bill. The waiters were carrying trays and sugar packets were clattering on the plates. Everything was ridiculously normal, except for the man in front of me, who was so strange that it was like I had never met him before.
"You can keep the ring." He stood up, and the chair legs made a scratchy sound on the floor. "You can sell it, it will be worth some money."
"Don't follow me out." He interrupted me, and there was finally a wave in his tone, but it was annoyance, not reluctance, "Shen Nian'an, be obedient."
