9 – Yu Tian & Gu Yao
“What do you mean, what should I do?” Yu Tian asked, confused.
“I… I slept with… slept with that guy, and then I ran away after waking up.” Shu Yang lowered her head after finishing. She was truly embarrassed!
Yu Tian’s jaw dropped at Shu Yang’s words. After a while, she asked uncertainly:
“You’re saying you slept with him, and then ran off without him even knowing?”
Shu Yang nodded.
Yu Tian: “…”
After taking a moment to process it, Yu Tian finally spoke:
“Yang Yang, even though you’re my best friend, I have to say something. How is what you did any different from being a heartless player? You got what you wanted and then refused to acknowledge the guy.”
Shu Yang felt deeply ashamed at Yu Tian’s words. She had been shocked at the time too—running away had been her instinctive reaction. Besides, she had left money behind, so he probably wouldn’t hold it against her, right?
When Shu Yang shared this thought with Yu Tian, Yu Tian stared at her like she was an alien and asked through gritted teeth:
“You’re telling me you left him two thousand yuan?” What did she take him for?
Shu Yang didn’t dare mention that part of that two thousand had come from Yu Tian’s wallet.
She figured she’d transfer Tian Tian’s money back once she got home. She didn’t dare bring it up now, lest Tian Tian drag her into a lecture.
The memory of Tian Tian lecturing her in the past was still vivid.
Seeing Shu Yang’s silent admission, Yu Tian didn’t even know what to say anymore. She had truly treated the guy as a one-night cure!
The thought of the guy’s expression when he woke up and saw the money made Yu Tian want to laugh, but she also shed a tear of sympathy for him. It was rough luck for an innocent young guy to run into her best friend, who was all about the physical and none of the feelings.
In her heart, she silently prayed for Shu Yang—may she never cross paths with that guy again!
Shu Yang knew what she’d done was pretty low, but she really couldn’t face a guy five years younger than her. Besides, even though she’d been the one to make the first move last night, he’d seemed to enjoy it plenty afterward too.
…
With Shu Yang’s escapades from the previous night now fully explained, it was Yu Tian’s turn.
“Tian Tian, where did you go last night?” Shu Yang asked casually while looking Yu Tian up and down.
Seeing Tian Tian’s outfit made her feel uneasy. Tian Tian looked like someone who had gotten drunk and been taken advantage of.
At this, Yu Tian curled her lip in disgust, her expression turning sour. After a while, she said in a muffled voice:
“Last night I ran into a lousy man!”
“A lousy man?” Shu Yang raised an eyebrow with a half-smile.
Yu Tian pouted and complained:
“Of course he was a lousy man! Damn it, how was I so unlucky to run into him?” When it came to that lousy man, Yu Tian had endless complaints.
It was the first time Shu Yang had seen Yu Tian so… averse to a man. Her interest was immediately piqued. She leaned in close and stared at Yu Tian for a good while before asking:
“Spill it! Who is this lousy man?”
A flash of awkwardness crossed Yu Tian’s face, and she coughed.
“Actually… you know him too!”
I know him? And Tian Tian is this averse to him! Could it be…
“Don’t tell me it’s Gu Yao?” Shu Yang exclaimed uncertainly.
Shu Yang knew Gu Yao very well. Not only was he her college schoolmate and senior, he was also Tian Tian’s ex-boyfriend.
But hadn’t they broken up ages ago? How did they end up together again?
Shu Yang had far too many questions.
Yu Tian knew she couldn’t dodge it any longer. After stammering for a good while under Shu Yang’s teasing gaze—one that seemed to say “let’s see how long you can stall”—she quietly explained:
“I ran into him at a bar yesterday.”
“A bar?”
“Mm-hm!”
Shu Yang looked at Yu Tian’s obviously guilty expression, narrowed her eyes, and asked:
“So last night you were with him?”
Yu Tian lowered her head and answered softly, “Mm.”
“And you two… slept together?” Shu Yang continued uncertainly.
Yu Tian was choked by Shu Yang’s bluntness, her face flushing red as she couldn’t bring herself to look at her.
One look at Yu Tian’s expression and Shu Yang knew she and Gu Yao must have slept together last night. Shu Yang couldn’t help feeling a little worried.
Back when Tian Tian and Gu Yao broke up, it had been an ugly affair. The two had agreed never to see each other again, and for all these years Shu Yang hadn’t dared mention Gu Yao in front of Tian Tian, afraid of reopening her wounds and making her sad. So how had the two of them ended up together again?
Perhaps Shu Yang’s gaze was too nakedly curious—Yu Tian couldn’t stand it anymore. She lifted her head and finally explained what had happened.
It turned out that last night, after Yu Tian came out of the restroom, she ran into Gu Yao at the sink, also washing his hands.
As the saying goes, when exes meet, it’s either your death or mine. Emboldened by alcohol, Yu Tian had hurled sarcasm at Gu Yao, even mocking his dignity as a man.
The end result was that Yu Tian got carried off by Gu Yao, bag and baggage.
The next time she woke up, she was in Gu Yao’s bed.
Shu Yang listened with a sigh. Why did she feel like both of them had done it on purpose?
She knew Tian Tian’s temper. If she had truly let someone go, she would turn a blind eye no matter when or where she ran into them. And Gu Yao was the same—he usually wore a cold, handsome face and couldn’t be bothered with anyone, ignoring whatever people said about him.
But…
“Why don’t you two just get back together?” Shu Yang suggested, half joking, half serious.
Shu Yang thought Yu Tian and Gu Yao were truly a perfect match. Back then, Yu Tian had loved Gu Yao to death, and Gu Yao had indulged her to the point of letting her run wild.
A couple everyone had high hopes for had actually broken up.
As for why they broke up, Shu Yang knew roughly—it was nothing more than a clash of family backgrounds. Gu Yao’s mother looked down on Tian Tian’s origins.
And Tian Tian had her own little pride. She wouldn’t allow anyone to trample on her dignity, even if that person was the mother of the man she loved most.
The natural result was an ugly falling-out, and Tian Tian proposed the breakup.
As for why Gu Yao had agreed to break up with Tian Tian back then, Shu Yang had no idea.
At the time, Shu Yang and Su Zixuan had marveled that the melodramatic plots you only saw in TV dramas could one day happen to people around them.
Shu Yang had genuinely felt sorry for Yu Tian and Gu Yao.
Years had passed, and Tian Tian was still single, while Gu Yao seemed to be single as well.
Shu Yang felt the two of them still had feelings for each other—it was just that both were too proud, and neither could bring themselves to bow their head to the other.
Hearing this, Yu Tian scoffed:
“Me and him? It’ll never happen in this lifetime!”
Right. Someone who had made up her mind never to look back—how could she go against her own resolve and become a person who flip-flops?
The thing Yu Tian despised most was people who broke their word.
Shu Yang wanted to offer a few words of advice, but seeing that Tian Tian clearly didn’t want to talk about it any further, she could only swallow the words that had risen to her throat.
Let them be. If the two of them are truly meant to be, there will surely be more chances in the future. But if their fate has really run its course, no amount of words from a bystander like me would make any difference.