She had wavy hair, thick brows, and big eyes. Her lips, painted a vivid red, were so sensuous she looked like a spirit who hunted souls at midnight.
Su Mianmian had never seen this woman in Tang Yunzheng’s circle. She was about to ask who she was when Tang Yunzheng abruptly stood and strode toward her.
In front of everyone, he hooked an arm around the woman’s shoulders and smacked a kiss onto her cheek.
“Not late at all. Let me introduce you—this is my girlfriend, Lin Jiaojiao.”
The moment he finished speaking, Su Mianmian’s mind began to ring.
The room fell silent, too. Everyone’s gaze shifted back and forth between her and Lin Jiaojiao. A few seconds passed—though to Su Mianmian, they felt like a whole century.
Then the room erupted in a chorus of teasing.
“Brother Zheng, you’ve been hiding her well! When did you get a girlfriend? How come none of us knew?”
Tang Yunzheng laughed heartily, his bright eyes turning fondly toward Lin Jiaojiao.
“Almost a month ago. Jiaojiao’s shy and didn’t want to tell people so soon. She only agreed this time because it was Su Mianmian’s birthday.”
With that, Tang Yunzheng took Lin Jiaojiao by the hand and led her over to Su Mianmian.
“Xiaomianmian, let me properly introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Lin Jiaojiao.”
Then he introduced Su Mianmian to Lin Jiaojiao.
“This is Su Mianmian. You can call her Xiaomianmian, just like I do.”
Lin Jiaojiao blinked her pretty eyes and, as if they were already old friends, took Su Mianmian’s hand.
“Mianmian, Yunzheng’s always talked about you. I’ve finally met you in person today. You’re so pretty—and happy birthday!”
Lin Jiaojiao shook her hand up and down. The bracelet on her wrist—the one called “Love of This Lifetime”—swayed back and forth.
Su Mianmian stared blankly at it. She’d imagined countless times today that Tang Yunzheng would fasten the bracelet around her wrist. She hadn’t imagined that it would belong to someone else.
She knew she ought to say something, but with everyone watching her, she opened her mouth, then closed it again. At last, all she managed was, “Sorry, I need to use the bathroom.”
She practically fled.
Su Mianmian stayed in the bathroom alone for a long time. In the mirror, her eyes were bloodshot and her face deathly pale. She looked like a ghost who’d been abandoned after someone had toyed with her.
She felt like a joke, the punchline and the butt of every joke in the room that night.
She wanted to leave for good, but she’d rushed out without her purse or phone.
With no choice, Su Mianmian steeled herself and headed back to the private room.
As her hand closed around the doorknob, she heard Song Zhi’s angry voice from inside.
“Tang Yunzheng, after all these years, what have you been treating Su Mianmian as?”
Su Mianmian’s fingers tightened. She heard Tang Yunzheng give a light laugh, his voice casual and carefree.
“Song Zhi, what are you making a scene for?”
“Of course Su Mianmian’s my childhood sweetheart. What else would she be?”
At that moment, Su Mianmian heard her heart break. The blood seemed to drain from her insides, and she felt as if it might burst out of her the next second.
Her hand slowly fell away from the doorknob. Like a walking corpse, Su Mianmian left the club.
A gust of wind swept past, raising goose bumps on her bare arms.
Hugging herself, Su Mianmian rubbed her arms and gave a bitter laugh. She’d even gone back to the dorm especially to change into a new dress for tonight’s get-together.
Looking back, it was hard to imagine anything more ironic.
She looked up at the sky. It was dark and heavy, just like her mood.
Sigh. Maybe turning twenty wasn’t all that great after all.
Su Mianmian nudged a pebble by the roadside and wandered aimlessly along the street.
She hadn’t gone far when she heard tires rolling over the road behind her. A familiar car slowed to a stop beside her. The rear window came down, revealing Gu Yizhou’s sharply defined features.
“Brother-in-law?”
Gu Yizhou raised his chin slightly, glancing at her arms wrapped around herself.
“Where are you going? I’ll give you a ride.”
Su Mianmian parted her lips, about to say there was no need, but then remembered that she’d left her phone and purse in the private room. There was no point in pretending she could manage on her own.
“Oh,” she said, then silently opened the rear door.
The back seat was spacious. Su Mianmian and Gu Yizhou sat at opposite ends, leaving a wide gap between them.
A calming scent of agarwood filled the car. As Su Mianmian breathed it in, the hurt suddenly caught up with her. Her nose stung, and tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
Gu Yizhou was reading some documents. Hearing a faint sob beside him, he looked up at Su Mianmian.
“What happened?”
Su Mianmian hurriedly shook her head and embarrassedly wiped at her tears, but the more she wiped, the more they came. She couldn’t stop them at all.
Just as she was feeling utterly mortified, a dark blue handkerchief appeared before her. Gu Yizhou’s low, cello-like voice sounded, calm and quiet.
“Here. Wipe your tears. You can tell me about it when you’re ready.”
Then he told the driver to pull over and got out himself, giving Su Mianmian all the space she needed to let it out.
Su Mianmian cried until her eyes were swollen and her face was wet with tears. Only then did she gradually calm down.
She glanced over and saw Gu Yizhou leaning against the car, a glowing red cigarette tip between his fingers, brightening and dimming with each movement.
Feeling bad for keeping him waiting outside for so long, she cleared her throat and lowered the window.
“Brother-in-law, I’m okay now. You can get back in.”
Gu Yizhou turned to look at her, stubbed out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray, then glanced at the shop not far away.
“Wait a moment.”
With that, he strode toward the shop.
Su Mianmian assumed he was going to buy cigarettes. She looked away and sat quietly in the car. A little while later, the door opened again. Gu Yizhou got in, bringing with him a faint scent of tobacco, and handed her a slice of strawberry mille-crepe cake.
“Happy birthday.”
Su Mianmian looked up abruptly.
“Brother-in-law, how did you know it was my birthday today?”
Gu Yizhou’s lips curved slightly.
“I heard your sister mention it a few days ago.”
“Oh,” Su Mianmian said. She should have guessed. She pressed her lips together. “Thank you, Brother-in-law.”
She’d thought her birthday would end in the misery of having her unrequited love rejected. She hadn’t expected to get a slice of birthday cake at the last minute.
She took a small bite with her fork. It tasted good, and her mood lifted a little. Looking up, she saw Gu Yizhou quietly watching her.
Su Mianmian blinked, misunderstanding his look.
“Sorry, Brother-in-law. I forgot to ask if you wanted some.”
Gu Yizhou shook his head, looked away, and returned his gaze to the documents.
“I don’t like sweets. Go ahead.”
Su Mianmian ate her cake quietly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the hand resting on his papers: pale and slender, with joints as clearly defined as a jade fan.
A line suddenly came to mind: “A man as lovely as jade, a gentleman without equal.”
Of course, it would have fit even better if he weren’t so aloof.
By the time she finished the cake, they had reached the entrance to A University.
Before getting out, Su Mianmian turned to Gu Yizhou.
“Brother-in-law, could you not tell my sister about what happened tonight?”
Her sister had seemed troubled lately, and Su Mianmian didn’t want her worrying herself sick over her.
Gu Yizhou paused for two seconds.
“Can you handle the thing that made you sad on your own?”
Su Mianmian’s heart gave a little lurch. As expected of someone seasoned in the business world: with a single question, Gu Yizhou had offered her a way out while preserving her dignity.
Su Mianmian nodded.
“I can handle it.”
Gu Yizhou raised an eyebrow.
“Then all right. I won’t tell your sister.”
…
Su Mianmian had barely returned to her dorm when Song Zhi came rushing in after her.
“You little brat, why didn’t you tell me you were coming back to campus? I searched the whole club from top to bottom for you!”
Su Mianmian changed the subject.
“Did you bring my phone and purse back?”
“I did.”
Song Zhi carefully studied Su Mianmian’s face. Seeing her swollen eyes, she grew furious all over again.
“Mianmian, don’t cry over Scumbag Tang. He’s not worth it!”
“I asked him what he thought of you, and he actually said you were his childhood sweetheart. Damn him! How could he even say that?”
Su Mianmian’s voice was muffled.
“Maybe I just misunderstood. Nothing ambiguous ever happened between us.”
Song Zhi spat out a “Pah!”
“How is this your fault? He’s glued to you all day long. Anyone with eyes would think there was something between you!”
Su Mianmian took her phone from her purse, accidentally pulling out a jewelry box along with it.
The box hit the floor and sprang open, revealing a heart-shaped necklace.
Song Zhi snatched it up.
“Damn it, and you still say you misunderstood? If he didn’t feel that way about you, why did he keep doing things that gave you the wrong idea?”
Su Mianmian looked at the necklace. Her mind went back to the “Love of This Lifetime” bracelet on Lin Jiaojiao’s wrist, and another pang of bitterness rose in her chest.
She took the necklace and placed it back in the box.
“Zhizhi, can you stop? The more you say, the more ridiculous I feel.”
Song Zhi’s lips moved, but in the end, she didn’t rub salt into Su Mianmian’s wound.
“I’m sorry, Mianmian. It’s all my fault for getting it wrong. I thought that bracelet Tang Yunzheng bought was for you. No wonder you were so disappointed.”
Su Mianmian shook her head.
“Better to know now than later. I would’ve found out eventually anyway.”
“Are you keeping that necklace, then?”
Su Mianmian casually set it on the table.
“I’ll give it back to him tomorrow.”