There were many late nights when I lay in my dark bed, unable to stop myself from analyzing and guessing someone’s every action.
Back then, I would even categorize every detail of our daily interactions – this phrase, that gesture seemed to show he liked me, while other words and actions seemed to push me away.
He seemed to like me, yet also seemed not to. I couldn’t figure it out, tossing and turning sleeplessly, until finally convincing myself that the signs of his affection were iron-clad proof, and I confidently went to confess my feelings.
Reality proved I had guessed wrong.
So now I refuse to guess or make assumptions, especially since none of it concerns me anymore.
I started thinking about what to eat at Lin Yusen’s place tomorrow morning. Yes, because I have plans for lunch tomorrow, Lin Yusen could only invite me and Jiang Rui to his place for breakfast.
After pondering for a while, I sent Lin Yusen a message.
“Rice balls, youtiao, sweet soy milk, rice balls with pork floss and preserved vegetables.”
Still feeling unsatisfied, I was about to send another message: “Including but not limited to, the rest is up to you.”
Before I could send it, his reply came – “Including but not limited to?”
I burst out laughing, deleted, and rewrote: “That’s right, this is for my brother and me, order your own.”
“I’ll have wonton soup, and share half your rice ball – you can’t finish it yourself.”
Did he need to specify that? Isn’t it always like this? I magnanimously replied: “Fine, you can have half! Good night.”
“Good night ^_^”
His good night included an emoji?
I sent back a question mark, and he seemed to know what I was asking, “It popped up automatically when I typed good night.”
“Why didn’t it before?”
“I hadn’t tried Miss Nie’s cooking before, was more composed then.”
…How convincing. I carefully crafted a complex expression of speechlessness to send him, then went to sleep contentedly.
The next morning at just past six, Jiang Rui was banging on my door crying hunger, dragging my sleep-deprived self to Lin Yusen’s place. This reduced my fighting power so much that I only managed one bite of the rice ball before Lin Yusen ate the rest.
After breakfast, I crawled back to Lin Yusen’s guest room for another nap. When I woke up again, I was finally energetic. After washing my face and going out, I found Lin Yusen and Jiang Rui chatting on the balcony.
I tiptoed over and heard Jiang Rui enthusiastically praising me.
“My sister may be lazy, but she’s really smart. When she got into A University, she only crammed for a few months, but her mock exam scores kept improving, shocking all of us.”
“She’s not lazy, just efficient which makes her seem relaxed. She’s incredibly clever and smart, and handles things generously,” Lin Yusen said with a bright smile, holding his teacup while leaning slightly against the railing.
Am I?
I touched my face, somewhat doubtful.
Jiang Rui’s expression also seemed doubtful, but as my brother, he obviously couldn’t contradict this, “Exactly, exactly! Lin Ge, you have an eye for talent!”
Just as I was about to continue eavesdropping, my message tone rang. They both turned around, and Jiang Rui called out: “You’re sneakily eavesdropping!”
Ah, what a pity! It’s one thing for Lin Yusen to praise me – my boyfriend is always good at sweet talk – but chances to hear my silly brother praise me are rare.
I picked up my phone and saw it was a message from Si Rong. “Have you left yet?”
“About to.”
After replying, I directed Lin Yusen who was walking back inside, “I’m leaving, take me to lunch. Jiang Rui, you’re on your own for school lunch.”
Jiang Rui said smugly: “Lin Ge is treating me to a feast, we’ve already picked the restaurant. I want Australian lobster.”
“…” I turned to Lin Yusen, “He’s not worth that much importance, really, definitely not worth lobster money.”
Lin Yusen put down his teacup and picked up his car keys, “In my evaluation system, he’s very important. Xiguang, don’t interfere with my judgment.”
Jiang Rui made faces at me, looking extremely pleased with himself.
Fine, if someone wants to be a sucker, let them! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
After Lin Yusen drove me to the restaurant, he happily took Jiang Rui off for their men-only lunch. I arrived ten minutes early, thinking I’d be first, but unexpectedly the others were even earlier. As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I saw Rong Rong and Si Rong sitting by the window, Rong Rong seemed to have said something that had everyone laughing.
Si Rong saw me first and stood up waving. I went over and sat next to Boss.
Si Rong said: “Finally, the one paying is here. I’ve already ordered, didn’t hold back, see if you want to add anything.”
“No need to hold back, I did say I’d treat you all.” I looked at the menu – she hadn’t ordered much, so I called the waiter over and added several more dishes.
Si Rong said: “Only Xiao Feng couldn’t make it today.”
I returned the menu to the waiter, “She mentioned this morning, something came up at school.”
Boss seemed a bit sad: “After graduation, it’s so hard to get everyone together. Let alone Ah Fen in Xiamen, even those of us who live close by can rarely gather completely. At Si Rong’s birthday party last time, Xiao Feng was there but Rong Rong came late, and then at the KTV it wasn’t convenient to talk.”
Si Rong said: “It’s easy for us to meet up, mainly it’s Xiguang – when are you coming next time? See if we can get everyone together.”
I thought for a moment and said: “I do need to come back at the end of the month, but it’s for work, probably won’t be able to get away.”
“We’ll figure something out later then.” Si Rong moved past the topic and said to me with a smile, “You came late, missed the gossip, and we were just dying of laughter.”
“What gossip?”
“About Rong Rong’s boyfriend, he’s so unlucky.”
My heart sank, “What happened to him?”
Rong Rong was radiant, obviously in a good mood, “It’s funny thinking about it now, but I was quite angry at the time. Just a few days ago, he had work outside, and we agreed to meet at a restaurant at 7:30, but he didn’t show up until after 9, and nobody answered when I called. I was so angry I was thinking about breaking up with him, but when I asked what happened, turns out he had coffee spilled on him, got into a traffic accident, and was even taken away by traffic police that day. Too lazy to go through all the details again, it was just such a comedy of errors.”
This wasn’t some comedy of errors – there was something wrong.
Si Rong asked: “Did he make it up to you afterward?”
“How could I blame him when he’d been through so much? Though he did give me several gifts afterward.” Rong Rong took out a brand new compact camera from her bag, “I brought one today, it’s been ages since we took photos, shall we take some together?”
Si Rong and Boss immediately got excited, striking poses and taking pictures of each other, even calling the waiter over for group photos. After taking them, Rong Rong looked at the photos and commented: “Xiguang, why do you look so distracted? You seem lost in thought in the group photo.”
I forced myself to show some enthusiasm: “Really? It’s just been a while since I took photos.”
Boss leaned over, “Let me see.”
Rong Rong handed it to her: “I’ll export them all later and send them to your emails. Xiguang, do I not have your email address?”
Her gaze fell on me.
“You should have it, still the same one from the university, haven’t changed it.”
“Then I should have it, I haven’t changed mine either,” she said with a smile.
The waiters started bringing dishes, and as everyone ate and chatted, Rong Rong’s phone rang. She glanced at it and set it aside without answering.
Si Rong caught a glimpse and laughed, “Darling, that contact name is so old-fashioned.”
The boss said: “Why aren’t you answering?”
Rong Rong: “If I answer right away, how can I act hard to get? Haven’t you all dated before? Don’t you understand these little tricks?”
Ten minutes later, the phone rang again, and Rong Rong still didn’t answer. A few minutes after that, Rong Rong called him back.
“I’m having lunch with my university classmates, Xiguang came to Shanghai today… Oh, I went to the bathroom and my phone was on the table, didn’t catch it… I told you, what’s wrong with saying that? Yeah, she’ll find out sooner or later anyway… We’re taking photos… You can’t come pick me up? Then I’ll take a taxi… I’m not angry… Okay, that’s it then.”
Si Rong listened and shook her head: “You think too much about dating, deliberately not answering calls, earlier not accepting expensive gifts – what are you doing, playing hard to get?”
She said it jokingly.
Rong Rong’s expression froze for a moment before putting on a sweet smile, “Girls should play hard to get, that’s what makes it interesting.”
Her sweetness looked so natural that I couldn’t help but doubt myself. Was I seeing things? That “Read” status – was it an email system error?
Had she seen that email or not? Why was there no reaction at all? Had she been fooled by Sheng Xingjie, or did she simply not care?
I was at a loss.
That evening, returning to Suzhou with Lin Yusen, after reaching my dorm, I first opened my computer and logged into my new email.
In the inbox lay that single lonely sent email, with the crystal-clear “Read” status on the right.
My finger hovered over the mouse for a long time before I moved it to close the email.
After that, I stopped thinking about this matter entirely.
This wasn’t deliberate avoidance – in a few days, Lin Yusen and Little Dai would be leading a team to visit D University’s Photovoltaic Research Institute in Shanghai to discuss establishing a joint laboratory in Suzhou. As one of the attendees, I certainly couldn’t go in knowing anything, so I’d been buried in books about photovoltaic technology lately.
Because there were many details to discuss, this trip was scheduled for a day and a half. Thursday morning at seven, everyone gathered at the company to depart, with seven people split between two business vehicles.
Unexpectedly, halfway there, Lin Yusen received a call from Chengdu. The manufacturer selling us the second-hand production line suddenly said they wouldn’t sell because someone had offered a higher price.
The call ended abruptly without clarifying who the other party was, and they wouldn’t answer when called back. Everyone was caught off guard by such a development after the contract had been signed. Lin Yusen made a quick decision, taking one employee with him and diverting straight to Hongqiao Airport to fly to Chengdu.
I continued on to D University with Little Dai, spending the whole morning silently following everyone and attentively listening to experts explain cutting-edge technological developments, cross-referencing with what I’d been reading in books these past few days, and learning a great deal.
At noon, the research institute arranged for us to eat at the school’s VIP dining hall, with an afternoon symposium planned to preliminarily discuss establishing the joint laboratory in Suzhou.
While eating, I received two text messages.
“You mentioned you’d be coming to Shanghai at the end of the month. Free this afternoon? Let me treat you to coffee.”
“You probably don’t have my Shanghai number, this is Ye Rong.”