A Peach Wood Comb

Xie Jia Yi had booked a private room at the most famous Sichuan restaurant in City A. Lai Hui was twenty minutes late due to traffic. At the moment Lai Hui entered, Xu Ya felt an indescribable emotion. He hadn’t imagined their reunion; he thought it was a privilege only Jia Yi could enjoy. He and Lai Hui were just friends; there wouldn’t be that kind of reunion years later, filled only with silent confusion. He considered himself merely a stake, guarding, waiting for her, that was enough. He regretted wanting to see Lai Hui so urgently; he should have waited until his job was stable. He thought this to himself but kept justifying himself — who could have expected Lai Hui to become so beautiful after a few years? He only saw her in a moon-white long dress, her hair elegantly pinned up, her features refined to perfection, and a deep sense of inferiority sprouted in his heart. And there she sat, with Jia Yi by her side, looking like the perfect couple in anyone’s eyes. When ordering, the waiter asked, “Sir, can your girlfriend handle spicy food?” Just like in high school, wherever they went, no one ever mistook him and Lai Hui for a couple. After all these years, even though Jia Yi had broken up with her, even though he had given up his job to come to City A, they were still on different paths leading to the same destination. The tender sprout of inferiority grew robustly, its branches almost reaching his throat, making him want to strangle himself, when Jia Yi finished ordering, and Lai Hui turned to him with a smile. “Xu Ya, why haven’t you grown any taller in all these years?” Xu Ya was certain he should find an excuse to leave and end himself in the bathroom, but then he thought, Lai Hui always talked to him like this. Did it mean she still considered him a friend? He tentatively picked up his chopsticks and, like old times, tapped her on the head. “That’s because I listened to you. Don’t you remember in middle school when you warned me not to be a head taller than you?” Lai Hui picked up the long-handled skimmer in front of Jia Yi and tapped Xu Ya’s head three times, then with a beaming smile, said, “Don’t blame me. If you really listened to me, would you sneakily drink that bone broth?” Xu Ya countered, and they went back and forth, making Jia Yi feel like an unnecessary fixture, less useful than chopsticks or a ladle. Xu Ya was happy that although Lai Hui’s appearance had changed, she was not at all distant with him. Lai Hui was initially happy to see Xu Ya, perhaps would have been more courteous if it were just the two of them, but with Jia Yi there, she felt awkward and had to create some playful tension to ignore Jia Yi’s presence. It wasn’t until the dishes were served, and the spicy oil bubbled in the pot, that Xu Ya saw through the steam that Jia Yi was sitting silently, feeling a bit guilty, and quickly said, “Are you and Jia Yi the only classmates from A city?” Lai Hui replied, “I don’t know, I’ve lost touch with all our old classmates.” Jia Yi, having been sidelined for too long, felt uncomfortable watching Lai Hui and Xu Ya’s playful interaction, thinking, we’re not teenagers anymore, isn’t this flirting right in front of him? He remembered how during their meals together back then, Lai Hui would always sit close to him, and now, he felt a pang of sadness. He asked coldly, “Is it that you can’t contact them, or you don’t want to?” Lai Hui was taken aback by his words, not understanding where she had offended him, but considering Xu Ya’s presence, she suppressed her anger and said, “It’s really that I can’t contact them.” “Am I not your classmate?” Jia Yi pressed on aggressively. “Why haven’t I seen you contact me? Or am I not even considered a classmate in your heart?” Each word he spoke pierced his heart, and by the end, he felt a twinge of sadness and the urge to cry. What he didn’t say was that he had made up so many excuses just to get her to agree to have a meal, and yet, Xu Ya just had to call, and she rushed over.