Both women tacitly refrained from commenting on the unscrupulous car parked nearby. Gu Ming drove out of the parking lot. The company was located in the heart of Chengdu, and during the peak of rush hour, the traffic was an absolute mess. It took half an hour to cover a distance of just a few kilometers; Gu Ming’s car never even crossed 40 km/h. “There really are more and more cars these days,” Gu Ming remarked, her patience wearing thin as they sat in gridlock.
“Yeah, the speed of road construction can never keep up with people buying cars,” Zhong Xiao’ou replied, appearing calm and unhurried. Of course she wasn’t in a rush—as long as she could be with Gu Ming, what did a traffic jam matter? It would be even better if they were stuck forever. Realizing her thoughts were turning a bit dark, Zhong Xiao’ou had to mentally slap herself.
They arrived at a Yunnan restaurant, and Gu Ming considerately handed her the menu to order. When Zhong Xiao’ou reached for it, her fingertips brushed against Gu Ming’s hand. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly withdrew her hand; moments spent alone were always a mix of anticipation and trepidation.
The restaurant was elegantly decorated. These days, restaurants seemed less focused on the food and more on “atmosphere,” plastering the walls with lines of sentimental poetry:
“Think of this as my past love, a crush, or a dream; if we cannot be together, I wish you well.”
“The world is so big; it’s not a crime for me to like you.”
“I stood at the peak of Mount Tai, braving the cold wind all night, finally seeing the sunrise on the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, yet I wasn’t happy; I kept thinking, how wonderful it would be if I could see this sunrise with you.”
…and so on.
Zhong Xiao’ou leaned her head on her hand, thinking the owner must be a heartbroken, sentimental youth. Every word seemed to echo her own feelings. She wasn’t sure when her feelings for Gu Ming started—could it be called love at first sight? Chi Wei always said she was unrealistic, but does love need to be realistic?
Neither of them ordered alcohol; Zhong Xiao’ou ordered mango juice for both. They drank in silence, feeling a bit awkward. In this state of being “somewhat acquainted but not quite close,” Gu Ming broke the silence. “Are you a Chengdu local?”
Zhong Xiao’ou: “No, I’m from Sichuan, though. How about you?”
“Shanghai. But I’ve been in Chengdu for several years now.”
“Do you like Chengdu?” Zhong Xiao’ou asked, slowly opening up the conversation.
“It’s alright.”
“I suppose Chengdu isn’t as good as Shanghai—it lacks that level of prosperity and fashion.”
Gu Ming said thoughtfully, “Every place has its own merits. Chengdu is already like a second home to me; it’s a very gentle and inclusive city.”
It is inclusive, Zhong Xiao’ou thought. Especially regarding the community; seeing pairs of same-sex couples showing affection on the streets of Chengdu was quite a sight. But she didn’t dare say that to Gu Ming. Knowing the woman was about to get married, what was the point of probing her stance on sexual orientation?
As they chatted, the initial awkwardness faded. Zhong Xiao’ou began to feel that Gu Ming wasn’t as “terrifying” as the office rumors suggested. Perhaps it was because she had seen Gu Ming’s vulnerable side—both when she was crying and when she was helplessly drunk. Gu Ming didn’t talk much, but she wasn’t exactly silent either.
“Has your face fully healed yet?” Gu Ming pointed toward the spot where she had been swollen from the fall.
“It’s fine now, almost completely healed.”
“It seems your alcohol tolerance isn’t great.” Gu Ming remembered that Zhong Xiao’ou hadn’t actually drunk that much at the last dinner, yet she couldn’t even walk straight. Recalling her clumsy tumble, Gu Ming couldn’t help but laugh.
“What is it?”
Gu Ming shook her head. “Sorry, I just remembered the way you fell last time. It was actually quite funny.”
Great. Zhong Xiao’ou covered her face with her hands.
“Xiao’ou?” Zhong Xiao’ou felt a weight on her shoulder as someone tapped her. She looked up and saw, of all people, Wang Ling.
“Wang Ling?”
“What a coincidence. You’re eating here too?” Wang Ling’s gaze flickered subtly toward Gu Ming.
Zhong Xiao’ou hurriedly introduced them. “VP Gu, this is my friend Wang Ling. Wang Ling, this is our company’s Vice President.”
Wang Ling nodded with a meaningful look in her eyes. Gu Ming politely stood up to shake Wang Ling’s hand. After a brief greeting, Wang Ling left.
Zhong Xiao’ou’s palms were dripping with sweat. She suddenly felt very hot, even though the restaurant’s air conditioning was blasting.
“Your new girlfriend is very beautiful.” A WeChat message from Wang Ling popped up on Zhong Xiao’ou’s phone. She glanced at it and quickly moved the phone off the table. “It’s not like that,” she replied.
Wang Ling didn’t respond, but Gu Ming noticed Zhong Xiao’ou acting strangely and looked over at her friend. “Your friend keeps looking at you. Does she need something? Do you want to go over?”
Zhong Xiao’ou followed Gu Ming’s gaze toward Wang Ling. Their eyes met for a second before Wang Ling looked away; she seemed to be dining with a group of friends who were clearly part of “the circle,” including two very obvious “T”s (masculine-presenting lesbians).
Before Zhong Xiao’ou could figure out how to answer, Gu Ming’s phone rang. She answered it without moving away. “Hm? I’m not with him. I’m out for dinner. No way… he told me he was in Beijing on a business trip. Are you sure you saw right? Fine, I’ll check my phone in a bit. Okay, I got it.”
Zhong Xiao’ou was mesmerized by the sound of Gu Ming’s voice, but then she noticed Gu Ming’s expression turning sour. After hanging up, Gu Ming began tapping at her phone. Her face grew increasingly dark and somber, her thumb swiping faster and faster as if she were about to crush the screen.
“Is everything okay?” Zhong Xiao’ou asked with concern.
Gu Ming’s face was livid. She didn’t answer but stood up to make another call nearby. “It should be him. Have they left yet? Them? Already out of the hotel?” Gu Ming hung up furiously and slammed her phone onto the padded leather sofa of the booth. Zhong Xiao’ou watched in fear; what had started as a nice dinner was clearly not going to have a happy ending.
Gu Ming grabbed her phone again, her hands trembling slightly, her expression cold and stern. Zhong Xiao’ou didn’t dare ask more. Gu Ming apologized, “I’m sorry, Xiao’ou. Something came up. I have to go.” She grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.
Zhong Xiao’ou could clearly hear the tremor in her voice. She was left alone in the Yunnan restaurant. They had agreed to have dinner together, and two dishes hadn’t even arrived yet. VP, you said it was your treat, and you haven’t paid the bill yet.
Zhong Xiao’ou felt like this restaurant was a jinx. Nothing good happens in a place this sentimental. She had no idea what had happened to Gu Ming, but it seemed like something terrible. Facing the new dishes the waiter brought out, she wanted to cry. Three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup—how was she supposed to eat all this? Moreover, with Gu Ming gone, she had no appetite.
“Waiter, bill please. And pack this up to go,” Zhong Xiao’ou said dejectedly.
She carried three plastic bags home alone and ate leftovers for the next three days… it was a miserable experience. For two or three days after that dinner, she didn’t see Gu Ming at all. Since Chi Wei was closer to Secretary Su, she asked Chi Wei to investigate. Secretary Su said VP Gu was sick and had taken three days off.
“Sick? How did she suddenly get sick?” Zhong Xiao’ou was puzzled, but she couldn’t keep prying. Coincidentally, she was busy moving those few days. Chi Wei made three trips with her car to move all of her belongings. By Saturday, only a few small things were left. Zhong Xiao’ou was in her old apartment packing a stack of books, waiting for the landlord to return her deposit and collect the keys.
She waited for a while, and it wasn’t until nearly noon that the landlord arrived. He was a typical Chengdu man in his 30s, about 170cm tall. Zhong Xiao’ou had only seen him once when she moved in six months ago. Today, however, he was accompanied by a woman. Was it his wife? The woman looked to be only in her early 20s. Zhong Xiao’ou was annoyed about the sudden breach of contract to take back the house, but since he returned her deposit and paid the one-month penalty, there wasn’t much to say.
Before she left, she heard the woman say, “Let’s go to the hospital later; your face is going to be scarred. Dammit, can we sue that woman for malicious assault?”
“Enough, enough. You’ll be living in this house from now on. Just let me have some peace.”
Zhong Xiao’ou left the apartment with a look of disdain and put the books in Chi Wei’s car. She dazed out for a moment… then shook her head.
Moving was physically exhausting, but luckily Chi Wei was there to help her carry things and organize the new place. Zhong Xiao’ou was very happy with the new rental. She spent the entire weekend cleaning. After two days of help from Chi Wei, the new home finally looked the part—clean, tidy, and decent.
“So, are you… better?” Chi Wei asked while crawling on the floor to wipe the tiles.
“Better about what?” Zhong Xiao’ou was organizing her clothes in the bedroom.
“VP Gu.”
“There was never anything to begin with,” Zhong Xiao’ou replied softly, her words betraying her heart.
“Do you know you’ve been walking around with ‘heartbroken and miserable’ written all over your face for days?”
“I don’t look in the mirror every day, how would I know?” Zhong Xiao’ou rolled her eyes, then caught a secret glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror. She did look a bit like a wilted vegetable.
Chi Wei climbed up from the floor, rag in hand, and leaned against the bedroom doorframe. “How about we just go for it and try to ‘pry the corner of the wall’ (steal her away)?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Gu doesn’t get married for another two months, right?”
“You think I have a chance?” Zhong Xiao’ou’s eyes widened.
“Statistically? Basically 0%.”
“…”
“Think of it as ‘treating a dead horse as if it were alive.’ It’s better than you being half-dead like this. If it doesn’t work, consider it practice. Zhong Xiao’ou, you can’t keep being this passive. If you like someone, you have to pursue them; you have to try.”
“…The last time you advised me, you said I was like a moth to a flame and overestimating myself. Do you have any principles at all?”
“I’m a Libra. Libras don’t have principles.”
“…”