The night was quiet. The moon hid behind the clouds, the sky was full of stars, and the evening breeze gently rustled the leaves of the phoenix trees by the roadside.
Gu Xiaoxiao was sitting in a milk tea shop with Zhao Jiaqi. Both of them held a cup of hot milk tea in their hands. Neither spoke, and the atmosphere felt heavy.
Zhao Jiaqi finally sighed and broke the silence. “Xiaoxiao, since he’s already chosen to give up on you, then forget him.”
“I told you, I don’t like him. So what is there to forget?” Gu Xiaoxiao casually took a large sip of her milk tea. The sweet, cloying flavor spread from her tongue down to her throat. But strangely, no matter how sweet it was, it couldn’t suppress the bitterness rising inside her. She frowned, set down her cup, and looked out the window.
Outside, the night was glittering and beautiful, city lights shining everywhere, yet her heart grew heavier. Zhao Jiaqi shook her head at the sight. This silly girl, clearly unwilling to admit the truth, still pretending as if nothing mattered.
“Stop pretending. You’ve already fallen for him,” Zhao Jiaqi said, frustrated. “I don’t get it. You clearly like him, so why didn’t you accept Lu Chen’s pursuit? If you had, you’d be the one walking with him right now. Instead, here you are hiding in a milk tea shop, drinking away your gloom.”
Gu Xiaoxiao knitted her brows, irritably tugging at her hair. “Lu Chen is a scumbag. You should be glad I never agreed to him. Otherwise, in the future, I would’ve just been hurt even worse.”
Zhao Jiaqi was stunned, then sighed. “You really are stubborn to the core.”
Gu Xiaoxiao ignored her and lowered her head, looking at her own legs. She was wearing a delicate black short skirt, her long, fair legs exposed to the air, smooth and tender as if water could drip from them. Even she couldn’t deny how alluring they were. But unfortunately, a certain man never knew how to cherish them.
She tilted her head slightly, one slender finger resting on her knee while the other hand stirred her milk tea absentmindedly with a straw.
“What’s wrong? Do you feel unwell?” Zhao Jiaqi asked with concern.
Gu Xiaoxiao looked up at her. “Do you know, he once promised me he would always stay by my side? He swore he’d always like me. But now… it seems it was all a lie.”
“Men’s words are lies, that saying really is true.” She let out a mocking laugh, her tone light, as though she wasn’t that sad.
But Zhao Jiaqi looked at her dazzling smile and felt her heart ache. She reached out to hold Gu Xiaoxiao’s hand, comforting her. “Alright, Xiaoxiao, stop thinking about it.”
Gu Xiaoxiao shook her head. “I’m fine. I just can’t understand why Lu Chen suddenly changed like this. Clearly, at first he…” Her voice faltered, and she couldn’t go on.
She kept insisting she was fine, but she couldn’t even deceive herself, let alone others. Her chest felt stuffed with cotton, suffocating and heavy.
Lu Chen had once said he’d treat her well for a lifetime, that he’d take care of her forever. But how long had it really been before he forgot all those vows completely?
What Gu Xiaoxiao hated most wasn’t Lu Chen—it was herself. She had always known his scumbag nature. She had prepared herself, warned herself countless times that he wasn’t worth it, that he didn’t deserve her. But reality was far crueler than she imagined.
Even though she had guessed he would end up with another woman, the moment she actually saw it with her own eyes, her heart felt like it was being ripped apart—painful beyond words. It was a sharp, suffocating agony that made her chest seize.
She bit her straw hard, her eyes gradually reddening as she looked out the window. She used to be the one standing by his side. But now… all the beautiful things between them were gone because of her own mistakes. This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.
Her head lowered slightly, her thin shoulders trembling with her breath, making her look especially fragile. Zhao Jiaqi couldn’t help but mutter, “Silly girl.” She patted her shoulder gently. “Xiaoxiao, don’t think about him anymore. Let’s just go home and sleep. A night’s rest will fix everything.”
She picked up her bag from the table, pulled Gu Xiaoxiao up, and led her out.
“Mm.” Gu Xiaoxiao lowered her head, hiding the tears in her eyes, and followed behind.
The two walked slowly down the empty street, one behind the other. The night sky was dark like ink, the stars sparkling above. Gu Xiaoxiao tilted her head back, gazing at the distant stars, taking a deep breath as if that was the only way to calm her heart.
Suddenly, a brilliant star streaked across the sky, instantly lighting it up. Gu Xiaoxiao froze in place, astonished. “Look, how beautiful.”
Zhao Jiaqi followed her gaze and exclaimed, “Wow, it’s a meteor shower… huh? Why is there only one?”
Gu Xiaoxiao felt an odd pang in her chest. “Yes, it looks so lonely.”
“But it was so bright and flew so fast. I barely took out my phone and it was already gone.” Zhao Jiaqi grumbled, putting her phone back in her bag in disappointment.
They continued walking until they reached their shared apartment. Along the way, Zhao Jiaqi muttered endlessly about the meteor. “It was way too fast. If only I’d managed to record it, I could’ve posted it on my Moments.”
Gu Xiaoxiao said nothing, distracted as she trailed behind. That meteor didn’t seem simple to her. Normal meteors shouldn’t vanish in an instant, disappearing as though they’d never existed—unless it wasn’t a meteor at all. But if it wasn’t, then what was it?
After thinking about it for a while, she gave up.
Back at home, Zhao Jiaqi changed shoes, turned on the TV, and played a program to distract her. “I’m going to shower first. Wait for me, and later we’ll eat supper together, Xiaoxiao.”
“Alright.”
Gu Xiaoxiao nodded, watching her head into the bathroom. Then she pulled out her phone to kill time.
She opened Feixin. Her gaze immediately fell on a familiar Teletubby profile picture, and her heart ached faintly as memories of Lu Chen filled her mind.
She remembered he once told her his favorite cartoon character was Makka Pakka from Teletubbies. Every time she saw that childish profile picture, she found it ridiculous. How could a grown man like something like that?
Staring at the screen, lost in thought, she hesitated, struggled, and finally tapped into their chat.
[Xiaoxiao, I have a meeting tonight. It will end very late. I’ve already arranged for the steward to send you home. Remember to rest early.]
[Oh.]
[Good girl. When I’m free in a couple of days, I’ll take you out for a feast.]
She had only replied with a single “Oh,” and completely ignored the second message.
Their conversations had always been cold and distant. Her replies were curt, rarely over five words. But despite this, Lu Chen had never tired of sending her messages every day.
Her slender finger trembled as she scrolled.
[Xiaoxiao, guess what lunch I made for you today. If you get it right, there’s a reward!]
[Xiaoxiao, I have a business lunch today. Don’t wait for me.]
[Xiaoxiao, tomorrow is your birthday. Guess what gift I’ve prepared for you?]
[Xiaoxiao, let’s go to the countryside this weekend. A new farm opened there, and I heard it’s great.]
[Xiaoxiao, how’s work going? Nobody’s giving you trouble, right? If someone is, tell me, I’ll handle them!]
[…]
Every message was from the same person—Lu Chen.
Reading them, Gu Xiaoxiao’s heart trembled, sourness choking her throat as her eyes burned hot with tears. She stared at the screen for a long time before finally closing the chat window.
She clicked into his Moments page. As expected, it was empty. All his past posts were gone.
So he had blocked her after all…
Gu Xiaoxiao gave a bitter laugh. She realized she didn’t even have the courage to send him a message to test it. She was terrified of seeing that red exclamation mark, preferring instead to deceive herself. As long as she didn’t see it, she could still pretend she hadn’t been blocked.
She closed her phone and curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees. Her delicate face buried in her palms, her nose stung, and the tears she had been holding back finally fell.
She didn’t know if she had truly made a mistake. But she knew one thing—she might really regret it now.