Every time I see them, my heart aches a bit more. My mind involuntarily paints scenes of them together, imagining how his gaze and fingers once traced over her snowy chest, her slender arms, her delicate waist… Such baseless fantasies drive me to the brink of madness. Life has become devoid of vitality, and I’ve started spending my free time in various restaurants and bars around the city, whether new or old, stylish or not. Guo Ke has officially parted ways with Qi Xuan and Wang Bin to venture out on his own. With Wang Bin, there’s no worry about the business, but Guo Ke has to stay in Beijing, and Wang Bin can’t leave the southern operations, so they can only meet on weekends, becoming frequent flyers. Normally, I drag Guo Ke and Wang Yang to accompany me, and Wu Di joins in whenever he’s free. Recently, Wang Yang has been acting very strangely, often leaving me puzzled. For example, once at dinner, I showed off a jade bracelet I had swindled from Wu Di’s house. Guo Ke was amazed: “Li Zheng, you really did it! You managed to swindle the family heirloom from the Wu family. Although I prefer Lin Feng out of the two, if you’re really set on breaking up with him, Wu Di would do.” They always make me sound so crass. How could I be so shallow, swayed by petty gains? When Wang Yang saw the bracelet, his face turned sour, he kept his head down, drinking sullenly, and banged his chopsticks on the table, making Guo Ke and me exchange puzzled looks. Then he stood up, threw out a line, and left: “You women are so damn vain, rushing at any man with money and power like vampires, one word, cheap!” Hey! Is he out of his mind? What did we do to offend him? With one sentence, he insulted both me and Guo Ke. If Guo Ke hadn’t held me back, I would have chased after him to give him a piece of my mind. Guo Ke concluded that Wang Yang must have suffered a setback in love, a symptom of what we call “love syndrome.” Guo Ke was right; Wang Yang was definitely in love, his mood swings rivaled those of my six-month-old nephew, but soon he was back to his sunny self, cheerfully accompanying me to meet clients, calling me ‘sis’ affectionately. I really see Wang Yang as my brother; how could a sister be angry with her own brother?
One weekend, Wu Di invited me for tea by Houhai Lake. It was a rare sunny day, and we sat lazily in our chairs chatting. We talked about national affairs one moment, company gossip the next, but he seemed distracted, often losing the thread of his conversation. “Do you have something to do later?” I asked. “No, I have nothing to do today,” he quickly denied. “Then why did you ask me out today?” “Yeah, there’s something, but it’s not a big deal.” I found it odd: “What’s going on? You’re being so secretive. You’re usually so straightforward. What trouble have you got into? Tell me, I’m good at solving problems!” He looked at me, furrowed his brows, and asked, “How are things with Lin Feng? What are your plans?” I didn’t expect him to suddenly bring up Lin Feng, and I replied helplessly, “We haven’t been in touch. I’m trying to shake off the shadows of the past to welcome a new life.” “How do you feel about us?” He asked, making me almost drop my teacup in shock: “What do you mean ‘us’?” He stirred his tea: “You’ve seen how anxious my parents are! I’ll be thirty-two after the New Year, and you’re thirty, right? If you think there’s no future with Lin Feng, why not consider me?” I got flustered: “Who’s thirty? I’m only twenty-eight by the lunar calendar, my birthday hasn’t come yet!” “Okay, twenty-eight then. Let’s talk about serious matters. We know each other well, why not consider it?” “Forget it, I feel you know me well, but I know nothing about you. You’re too deep, not my style.” Wu Di laughed: “You’re pretty direct, not afraid of hurting my feelings. But you should consider it; marrying me wouldn’t be embarrassing, and after marriage, I’ll give you ‘absolute’ freedom,” he emphasized the word ‘absolute,’ “and I can even share part of my savings with you, not a small amount. You won’t lose anything, just come back to my hometown for a wedding!” He lit a cigarette, watching me calmly. I instinctively reached out to feel his forehead: “You’re not feverish, why are you talking nonsense in broad daylight?” He pushed my hand away: “Stop messing around, I’m serious!” I found it incredible: “It sounds like you’re offering me a deal from heaven! What charm do I have to deserve this?” He calmly said: “These generous conditions are tailored for you, fitting your personality and needs. It’s just a sudden whim today that I want to get married. Think it over; once this opportunity is gone, it’s gone!” I pondered and realized something was off: “Are you proposing to me? It feels more like a negotiation. You’re using your client tactics on me!” As Wu Di was about to speak, he suddenly froze, looking behind me. I turned around to see Wang Yang standing there. I quickly greeted him: “Hey, isn’t this my brother! No date today? Come join us!” Wang Yang sat down with a grim face, staring coldly at me and Wu Di. I was baffled: “What’s with you guys today? One stranger than the other! Wang Yang, don’t you recognize Wu Di anymore? You two used to get along well, didn’t you?” Wang Yang snorted through his nose, ignoring me. I suddenly realized: “You’re acting up again, have you offended Wu Di? I’ve told you countless times, no matter how close we are, he’s still a client, you can’t always act on your whims.” Wu Di gave me a puzzled look: “It’s fine, I’m not mad at him.” Turning to Wang Yang, he said: “Li Zheng and I have some business, you go back first, I’ll catch up with you later.” That only made Wang Yang more agitated: “What business could you possibly have? Say it to my face!” Wu Di lowered his voice: “Wang Yang, didn’t we agree? This kind of scene isn’t good for anyone.” The scene was almost comical, reminiscent of when I unexpectedly encountered Lin Feng and Xu Ling in Huangcheng. Thinking about it, I burst into laughter, and their attention turned to me.
I pointed at the two of them, laughing heartily: “You two grown men are killing me! One looks guilty as if caught red-handed, the other as indignant as a wronged wife, and here I am, like some meddling third wheel, the little bee buzzing around! Hahaha…” I laughed so hard I was in tears, truly amazed at how I came up with such an amusing analogy. From the corner of my eye, I noticed neither of them was laughing; they were staring at me with pale faces. Suddenly, a possibility flashed through my mind like lightning, leaving me utterly bewildered. My laughter screeched to a halt as if I had hit the brakes, leaving me with my mouth open, staring blankly at them, tears still glistening on my face…
Chapter 31
After a while, I finally composed myself. Scenes from the past replayed in my mind like a movie. Their first meeting, the tacit understanding when they helped me decorate my house, their sometimes incomprehensible conversations — now everything made sense. My face inexplicably turned red, and I stammered, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that, really, I didn’t.” Heaven and earth can testify, I genuinely hadn’t thought in that direction, but even if I had been more perceptive, I wouldn’t have said something so thoughtless. However, one can’t blame me; even with the perceptiveness of a honeycomb, I wouldn’t have guessed this, mainly because I had no experience.
Wang Yang, on the other hand, calmed down: “Sis, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’m not afraid of you knowing. Let me make it clear now, this has nothing to do with you, don’t meddle!” I’ve never been so obedient; I nodded and shrank back into my chair, thinking, my brother understands, as long as it’s not my business, that’s fine!
