Here is the translation of the text into English:
Qi Xiaojun, for the sake of his “fair-weather friend,” stubbornly refused to pull his hand back. Gu Ming had no choice—she couldn’t exactly rip his arm off—but the delay didn’t last long before Shi Lei appeared.
The moment Gu Ming saw Shi Lei, she refused to even look him in the eye. Qi Xiaojun patted Shi Lei on the shoulder. Standing outside the car and peering inside, Shi Lei naturally spotted Zhong Xiao’ou. His face flickered with shock. Zhong Xiao’ou saw him too—wasn’t this her unscrupulous landlord?
“Why are you in my fiancée’s car?” Shi Lei asked in astonishment.
“I…” Zhong Xiao’ou was stunned into silence by the word “fiancée.”
“You two know each other?” Gu Ming was also surprised, turning her head to ask Zhong Xiao’ou.
“Not really. The house I rented before belonged to him,” Zhong Xiao’ou said, waving her hand dismissively. She and this unscrupulous landlord weren’t exactly acquaintances; they’d only met twice and spoken on the phone a few times.
“You rented his house?” Gu Ming pointed at Shi Lei outside. “Where was it?”
“Over on Fangcao Street.” Zhong Xiao’ou had an intuition that something bad was about to happen.
“How come I didn’t know you had a property on Fangcao Street?” Gu Ming turned back to ask Shi Lei.
“No, Xiao Ming, get out of the car first. Where have you been the last few days? I’ve been looking for you everywhere. About what happened the other day… let me explain, okay?”
“Explain what?” Gu Ming asked, crossing her arms.
Shi Lei glanced at Zhong Xiao’ou. He never imagined his former tenant would be sitting in Gu Ming’s car. “Get out first. There’s an outsider here.”
Gu Ming gave him a deep, piercing glare. She twisted the key to start the engine. Shi Lei, following Qi Xiaojun’s lead, reached his hand through the window. Gu Ming didn’t care anymore; she slammed on the gas. Driven by self-preservation, Shi Lei quickly yanked his hand back, left standing stunned in the cloud of exhaust.
…
Ever since seeing Shi Lei, Gu Ming had been driving extremely fast. Seeing her distressed expression—which looked exactly like someone in the middle of a bitter lovers’ quarrel—Zhong Xiao’ou realized that President Gu’s bad mood all day was likely related to this. She didn’t dare speak, simply gripping her seatbelt tightly. As Gu Ming wove through the heavy traffic, Zhong Xiao’ou watched in terror, hearing the curses of nearby drivers. Don’t joke with your life, President Gu! We are both women in the prime of our lives, we need to cherish them! Zhong Xiao’ou cried inwardly.
Finally, Gu Ming slammed on the brakes. Zhong Xiao’ou was so dizzy from the erratic driving she had no idea where they were.
Gu Ming stepped out of the car, her mind heavy. She had driven aimlessly and ended up in the outskirts where the streetlights were dim and sparse. Seeing Gu Ming get out, Zhong Xiao’ou followed. That was the first time she saw Gu Ming smoke. It was also Gu Ming’s first time; she had found a pack of Shi Lei’s cigarettes in the car, but after a moment’s thought, she threw them away and went to a nearby kiosk to buy a fresh pack. Since Gu Ming didn’t smoke, she didn’t know how; her first puff sent her into a coughing fit that brought tears to her eyes.
“Do you want one?” Gu Ming asked.
Zhong Xiao’ou shook her head quickly. She didn’t smoke either. She watched as Gu Ming smoked while choking back tears. “Tonight is truly a miserable night,” Gu Ming muttered.
“Yeah,” Zhong Xiao’ou thought. Working overtime, a power outage, moving to a café to finish the job, and then running into a cheating fiancé. For Gu Ming, it was indeed miserable. But for Zhong Xiao’ou, she felt she must have done something virtuous in a past life to have this chance to be alone with the woman she liked. She knew Gu Ming had been in a bad mood all day, and being able to accompany her like this was enough.
“I’m sorry you had to see this. Dragging you to this god-forsaken place for no reason.”
It was true; middle of the night, two women, in the middle of nowhere—it wasn’t safe. Zhong Xiao’ou didn’t dare persuade her to leave yet, so she just looked around vigilantly. If any suspicious characters appeared, they’d have to bolt back to the car. Luckily, there was a kiosk nearby and a gas station further down.
“The house you rented really was Shi Lei’s?” Gu Ming still wasn’t used to the acrid taste of the cigarette and snuffed it out after a few puffs.
“I think so. I only met him twice. Once to sign the contract and pay him. It was supposed to be a one-year lease, but after only six months, he suddenly wanted the place back, saying he wanted to live there himself.”
“Live there himself?” Gu Ming let out a cold laugh. So he had already prepared a nest for his mistress. Well played, Shi Lei. Gu Ming clutched her chest; she was so angry it physically hurt. She leaned against the car, looking haggard and thin. Zhong Xiao’ou felt a pang of heartache watching her.
A moment later, the kiosk owner brought a crate of beer to Gu Ming’s feet. Gu Ming paid and handed a bottle to Zhong Xiao’ou. Zhong Xiao’ou was apprehensive—two drunk women in the wilderness was a recipe for disaster. “President Gu, let’s drink in the car.”
Gu Ming looked at her cautious expression and didn’t argue. They got in, turned on the light, locked the doors, and Gu Ming began to chug. “I’m supposed to get married in two months. We’ve been together for nearly ten years. A few days ago, he told me he was going to Beijing for business. Then a friend saw him and a woman coming out of a hotel to go get dinner…” No matter how turbulent or soul-stirring a relationship is, when spoken aloud, it becomes just a few bland sentences.
“Drink with me, Zhong Xiao’ou,” Gu Ming said, raising her bottle.
Zhong Xiao’ou took a bitter sip. It turned out everyone looked the same when their heart was breaking.
“So, what will you do now?” Zhong Xiao’ou asked with concern.
Gu Ming shook her head and opened another bottle. “I don’t know. If it were you, what would you do? Would you still go through with the wedding?”
“No! Impossible! I cannot tolerate cheating!” Zhong Xiao’ou said decisively.
Gu Ming froze for a moment. She wondered why she was even hesitating. After what Shi Lei did, was he even worth the doubt? Was she only hesitating because she feared the hassle of canceling a wedding? Was she living her life based on the thought that “canceling now is too much trouble”?
Gu Ming’s movements for opening bottles were becoming more skillful. Zhong Xiao’ou knew that you shouldn’t try to stop someone who is drinking away their sorrows; the more you persuade them to stop, the more they drink and the drunker they get.
“But we’ve been together since university. I admit, since my promotion, I’ve spent more and more time at the company, but what choice do I have? I’m exhausted too. Even if we have irreconcilable differences, you shouldn’t deceive me. How can you complain about the stress of our wedding on one hand while hitting it off with another woman on the other?”
Gu Ming leaned over the steering wheel, asking Zhong Xiao’ou as if she were the one at fault. Zhong Xiao’ou, being innocent, could only chime in, “Men are all no good.”
“Is that so? Is your boyfriend a ‘no good’ person too?” Gu Ming’s eyes were becoming glazed as she began to relax.
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Gu Ming nodded vaguely. “That’s good. Sometimes being alone is better; it saves a lot of trouble.”
Zhong Xiao’ou sat quietly in the passenger seat.
Gu Ming had drunk too quickly; her head was spinning, but her mind was still clear. “Zhong Xiao’ou, why aren’t you drinking? If you get drunk, you’ll forget everything I said tonight by tomorrow.”
“President Gu, don’t worry. I promise I won’t tell anyone about your business,” Zhong Xiao’ou assured her quickly.
Gu Ming shook her head and patted her hand. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just… not used to this kind of private interaction between colleagues…”
Having had some alcohol, Zhong Xiao’ou felt a flush of heat. Looking at Gu Ming’s captivating state, her heart felt heavy.
Seeing her expression, Gu Ming thought she had misunderstood something and frowned slightly. “In all my years at Jindian International, I’ve never had a private meal with a colleague outside of necessary business socialites. So, Xiao’ou, I feel we have a bit of ‘fate’ (yuanfen) between us.”
Zhong Xiao’ou’s face turned bright red. What Gu Ming didn’t know was that all these “mysterious instances of fate” were actually the deliberate actions of one person. There are no such things as coincidences or chance encounters in this world. Those who want to see you will create a thousand opportunities—waiting for you on a street corner on your way home or “bumping into you” at a restaurant. For those who don’t want to see each other, the city is never small enough.
Zhong Xiao’ou felt a sudden wave of melancholy because of the word “fate.” she desperately wanted to tell Gu Ming that she had liked her since the first moment she saw her at the new employee orientation. Caught up in her emotions, she wanted to grab Gu Ming’s hand, but she still didn’t dare.
“I’m a bit drunk. Tell me about yourself, Zhong Xiao’ou,” Gu Ming said, lightly tapping her own head.
“Me? What is there to say?”
“Anything is fine,” Gu Ming said, patting her cheeks.
“Me… I’m twenty-six, no boyfriend. I want to work hard and save money to buy a house. I’m from Sichuan, but my parents aren’t in Chengdu, so sometimes I feel lonely. I don’t like cooking for one—prepping and cooking takes so long, I can’t eat much by myself, and then I have to wash the dishes. Going to a restaurant alone just makes the loneliness more obvious. I want to be with the person I like… as long as we’re together, anything we do is fine…”
Zhong Xiao’ou rattled on, fueled by the alcohol. It was only after a long while that she realized Gu Ming had closed her eyes and fallen asleep.