At the start of September, the northern nights were already turning cold. A gust of wind rustled the leaves of the street trees, and the light from the streetlamps, car headlights, and billboards cast a glow over the fashionable figures standing beneath them. Guan Nan hugged her arms, stamped her stiletto heel on the ground, and cursed first: “Damn it, can Zhao Han ever show up on time once? Is this her plan to freeze me to death?”
They had all come out for a late-night stroll, and in the spirit of looking as pretty as possible, none of them wore much. But compared to Guan Nan’s backless outfit, Xu Jing and Shi Jiu, whose legs were exposed, had no trouble with the temperature. Xu Jing even had the mood to apply lipstick in a small mirror, until Guan Nan shoved her. “Can you stop fussing over yourself? Look at your pale face and that blood-red mouth. Who are you trying to scare at this hour?”
Xu Jing’s hand shook from the push, and the lipstick smeared from her upper lip to beside her nostril. Furious, she clenched both fists at her sides and shouted, “Guan Nan, you…”
Guan Nan was already laughing so hard she nearly folded over at the waist when she saw that stroke of accidental brilliance on Xu Jing’s lips. She was not satisfied laughing by herself, either, and tugged at Shi Jiu’s arm. “Xiao Shi, look!”
Shi Jiu shot Guan Nan a glare, then handed Xu Jing a tissue. “Wipe it off. You two really are a riot together. How old are you, anyway?” She glanced at the brightly lit street, busy with traffic, but still saw no sign of the person they were waiting for, and only then said, “If it’s cold, let’s go inside and wait. It’s not like Zhao Han can’t find the place!”
Guan Nan still hadn’t finished laughing. Clinging to Shi Jiu’s arm, she said, “Let’s just wait out here. If nobody’s watching Zhao Han, she’ll march into a bar in work clothes. I can’t afford to lose face like that!”
So they had no choice but to wait in the brisk, lingering wind.
Xu Jing held her makeup mirror and touched up her makeup again.
Shi Jiu wrapped an arm around Guan Nan and rubbed her arm to keep her warm, while looking down the city’s glowing road of headlights that never seemed to go out. Who knew how long it had been when her hand resting on Guan Nan’s arm suddenly stopped, and she said, “She’s here!”
The newcomer walked out of the light and shadow, dragging layers of shadow behind her. Her steps were light, and the night wind lifted her hair, as if a wind machine had been used for a martial arts drama heroine’s entrance. She was tall and thin, wearing only a shirt and slacks, with a backpack on her back. From afar, the others called out to her, and when she raised a hand, Shi Jiu saw that the shirt sleeves had been rolled up carelessly.
This was Zhao Han, the person they had been waiting for.
Shi Jiu smiled knowingly, thinking she looked simple, spirited, and handsome.
But Guan Nan let out a pained sigh and, once Zhao Han came closer, asked through gritted teeth, “Are you out for a stroll or coming off an assembly line?” She even forgot to scold Zhao Han for being late.
Zhao Han draped an arm over Shi Jiu’s shoulder. “I really did just come back from the factory. Let’s go in first, I need to find a place to tidy myself up.”
As they walked, Guan Nan complained, “Can you come earlier next time? The three of us waited over half an hour for you. You’re not embarrassed?”
Zhao Han laughed. “I’m very embarrassed. I’ll treat you then. Hey, Guan Nan, this outfit of yours really stands out today. I almost didn’t recognize you from far away!”
Guan Nan deliberately twisted her waist in front, making her slender curves sway. “I couldn’t wear it six months ago. Motherhood wore me out. I’ve lost more than ten pounds!”
Zhao Han had wanted to praise Xu Jing’s lipstick shade, but Guan Nan’s whole sermon on child-rearing wound her up so thoroughly she forgot all about it. Only when the bar’s waves of sound drowned out Guan Nan’s voice did she hear Shi Jiu ask, “Did you change your shower gel?”
“What shower gel? It’s soap. I only managed to take a makeshift bath at the factory today.”
Shi Jiu laughed. “You win. Next time I’ll buy you a few more bottles and keep one everywhere you travel for work…”
Even though the two of them were close, Shi Jiu’s words were still pressed down by the smoky voice of the female singer on stage and the music in the bar.
Zhao Han had a notebook in her bag and was afraid she’d drink too much later and forget it, so she checked the bag first and stored it away. Then, under Shi Jiu’s supervision, she was made to go freshen up. While applying lipstick in a little mirror, she complained, “We’re already inside, and besides, I wasn’t planning to do anything. Going to all this trouble means I’ll have to take it all off again when I get home!”
Shi Jiu stood diagonally across from her, smiling as she watched. “Everyone else is wearing makeup, and you’re the only one bare-faced. When the lights hit you, you look like you don’t even have a face!”
Zhao Han snorted but said nothing. Her skin was fair, and her features were the kind that were naturally pleasing, the kind that looked better the more you looked at them, broad and graceful rather than striking. She was already a graduate student and still often slung that backpack of hers around everywhere, especially liking it when strangers asked what year she was in. Honestly, she was a little shameless about trying to look younger.
But makeup was like a cosmetic surgery spell. Zhao Han lightly brushed pink shadow at the corners of her eyes, creating a pitifully delicate look with slightly reddened eyes. Shi Jiu clicked her tongue at the sight. “That’s enough already!”
Zhao Han called out to her, “Help me with my hair!” She shoved her head toward Shi Jiu, then bent her head to fuss with it for a while before poking Shi Jiu’s arm. “Look!”
For some reason, she had picked up a bit of a hoodlum style. She had put the shirt on inside out, so one shoulder on each side was exposed at an angle, the collar just covering the line of her chest. Across that area was painted a strip of black ECG waveform, which stood out against her pale skin and seemed to leap and flow, trailing into the folds of her shirt.
Shi Jiu stared for a moment, then withdrew the hand she had lifted toward Zhao Han’s chest. “I think you’re trying to go to heaven!”
Zhao Han was very satisfied with that reaction. She snapped the cap back onto her eyeliner and took the lead out. Shi Jiu looked up and saw that on the back of her shirt, only one button had been fastened, leaving a section exposed above and below: a pair of delicate butterfly shoulder blades, and a slim, taut line of waist.
Fine, she had pushed the shirt to its absolute limit too!
By then, Guan Nan and Xu Jing had already been surrounded by several men. The whole table was chatting and laughing in high spirits. Zhao Han looked over and saw that one of them had a large tattoo sleeve, and she couldn’t tell whether it was real or just a temporary one. She was extremely allergic to this style, so her expression immediately cooled. “Sorry, this is our seat.”
Of them all, the tattooed guy was the liveliest. Smiling, he made wrinkles on his gaunt face. “Oh, pretty girl, then of course we should give it up. Come on, come on, we were just about to play a game together. My treat!”
They only had to give up a little space, and Zhao Han first pushed Shi Jiu inside. She crossed her arms in a very displeased way, like some old boss. “Sorry, we have something to discuss. My treat!”
Most of the time she spoke exactly like this, not warm in the least, but not angry in a way that truly lashed out either. She was just flatly cold, the kind that gave people no reason to get mad at her, yet left them with no opening to strike up a conversation either. Guan Nan and Shi Jiu had precisely defined this flaw of hers before and called it her automatic conversation-ending trait. They had made her try to change it for years, and this was the extent of the result. The other two had long since given up.
The tattooed man was left in an awkward bind for several seconds, but one of his tall buddies sensibly tugged him along. “Let’s go, bro. Didn’t we also have something to talk about?”
Zhao Han only sat down after watching the group disperse.
Guan Nan propped her head on her hand, fuming in silence for a long time. Only after Zhao Han sat down did she complain, “You really are a well-fed woman who doesn’t know how hungry the rest of us are. I finally managed to get away from the kid and come out to have some fun, to enjoy being surrounded by men, and you just sent them away like that!”
Zhao Han tapped her fingers on the table. “How do you want to have fun? Set the terms, and I’ll go along with you.”
Guan Nan was heartbroken. “Go along with me? You… forget it, you wouldn’t get it. Just take it that I dressed like this today so I could come and keep you company while you chat!”
She had picked a place where people had to shout just to talk!
Guan Nan’s temper came and went quickly, and before long that frustration was swept away by the female singer’s flirtatious stage presence and style. She raised her voice and complained to the others, “She already has a little belly, so why is she wearing a crop top? And those heels she’s got on, walking around like a pregnant grasshopper, it’s ugly as hell. And what even is she singing…”
Zhao Han only needed the image of a pregnant grasshopper to make her laugh, but Shi Jiu alone tried to reason with Guan Nan. “Keep your voice down. Besides, she’s this thin, so what’s wrong with a crop top?”
“Why should I keep my voice down? I’m stating facts! Look at how she walks on stage. Doesn’t she look like a pregnant grasshopper?”
Xu Jing didn’t want to join such a boring argument, but even leaning in close, she still shouted into Zhao Han’s ear, “That person you introduced last time, how come I heard you’ve been keeping her at arm’s length?” Seeing Shi Jiu lean in with pricked-up ears, she shoved her. “Get lost, what are you eavesdropping on for?”
That move even drew Guan Nan over. All of them stretched their necks to look at Zhao Han. Zhao Han lifted her wineglass to block the occasional sweep of light and said, “We really aren’t suited for each other. I told her that already, and lately I really have been busy!”
Between the lines, Guan Nan had long since frowned in exasperation. “Can you be a bit more serious? Attitude matters a lot on a first blind date. You’re so careless about it. If the first one doesn’t work out, the later ones will be hard too!”
Zhao Han was in her late twenties, not exactly old, but not young either. She had always refused blind dates, looking like she planned to grow old alone. They were afraid that if she stayed single too long, she’d end up developing some kind of personality flaw from it, so for her own good, they had finally cajoled her into softening up and coming on a blind date. Judging by this, though, things did not look optimistic.
Xu Jing did not want to lecture her. She only asked, “How busy? So busy you don’t even have three minutes to check WeChat? To give you a good start, I handpicked this person myself. Look at her, she looks just like Wang Xifeng, exactly the old-fashioned elegant style you wanted, the kind you wanted…” She drew a curve in the air with her hand. “Full figure, too, and a good personality. That still doesn’t suit you? What kind would suit you, then? If you have any complaints, say them.”
Zhao Han admitted she was in the wrong. “I don’t have any complaints…” Her voice even went weak.
Guan Nan shot her a killing look. “No complaints? Then why? Oh, are you still thinking about that someone from before? How many years has it been? Can you please move on?”
Seeing that Guan Nan was about to launch into a long speech, Shi Jiu hurried to rescue Zhao Han from disaster. “Just let her adjust a little.”
“Adjust my ass. She’s been adjusting for two years and she’s still the same. She deserves to be single!”
Just then, a call came in. Zhao Han raised her phone as if she had been saved, and even if it had been an old lady next door calling, she still took it with gratitude. After saying a few words, Zhao Han straightened up. “Okay, I understand. I’ll be back as soon as possible… I know, I’ll be careful… No, no need to call the police… It should be someone I know. I know what I’m doing, don’t worry. Mm, yes, I know, I know…”
It had already reached the point of calling the police, so the remaining three stared at her, wide-eyed, waiting for her to hang up. There was a smile at the corner of her lips, impossible to read, and after a pause she said with some hesitation, “The neighbor said there’s someone waiting outside my place and has been there for a while…”
Guan Nan and Xu Jing both blurted, “Holy shit,” while only Shi Jiu seemed to make a swallowing motion before asking, “Luo Qingbai?”
Zhao Han gripped her phone and tapped the phone’s frame against the table. “How could it be!”
Luo Qingbai hadn’t had any news for two years. Could she have suddenly come to her doorstep…?
Zhao Han’s expression remained very calm as she said, “I’ll go back and take a look. You guys keep playing. If nothing’s wrong, I’ll come back. If I don’t come back, I’ll call you. Xiao Jiu pays.” With that, she stood up.
Guan Nan slapped the table. “What the hell, are you an idiot? Do you know who’s waiting at the door? What if it’s a killer or a robber?”
Zhao Han patted her on the shoulder. “I said it’s a woman, so she doesn’t have that much destructive power. Don’t worry.”
By then she was already heading out, and Shi Jiu seemed to have only just come to her senses before standing up. “I’ll go with you.”
The other two were on the same side. “Fine, let’s go. We’re not playing this crap anymore.”
Zhao Han blocked them. “No need, really. If anything happens, I’ll tell you. Besides, what kind of robber stands at someone’s doorway and waits? They’re not idiots!” At last she seized the chance to praise her. “Jingjing, this lipstick color is especially great. It makes you look fair, elegant, and it matches your clothes too!”
Xu Jing laughed. “It’s a man-killer shade. My boyfriend gave it to me!”
Zhao Han gave her a thumbs-up before leaving.
It had started raining at some point outside. The wet road reflected light under the lamps, and Zhao Han had no umbrella, so she held a hand above her forehead as a makeshift awning. Just then a taxi waiting for passengers pulled up, and she plunged right into it.