Though Ruan Yu was shut out, she had expected it. Rui Shu had warned her that Teng Yi wouldn’t open his heart so quickly. Though she had occupied his thoughts these six years, his heart was also blocked by suffering. It would take time, requiring a gradual approach to reach the end goal. Of course, Ruan Yu wouldn’t give up so easily. She thought, in the past, he was always good to her; now it was her turn to be good to him.
Having made this decision, Ruan Yu spent every free moment hovering around Teng Yi, sometimes at the Teng house, sometimes at the bar. Although Teng Yi remained cold toward her, this didn’t stop her from chatting with him. That was the advantage of being a host – she excelled at carrying on conversations by herself. She told him everything, from small matters like what she saw on her way there, the day’s weather, and TV station gossip, to bigger issues like new national policies and their impact on ordinary citizens. Whatever came to mind, she spoke about it.
Teng Yi appeared not to listen, but in fact, he listened very carefully.
Once, when Ruan Yu was recounting news and accidentally quoted a wrong statistic, he immediately corrected her.
“Oh? So you watch the news every day too?” Ruan Yu asked.
Teng Yi didn’t answer.
Actually, he never used to watch the news. But recently, with her constant chatter, he had quietly started watching to achieve some kind of intellectual resonance with her. Who knew this would lead him to catch her mistake?
After discovering that her mistakes could get him to speak, Ruan Yu deliberately made occasional errors while talking to him. At first, Teng Yi would correct her, but after discovering her little scheme, he stopped responding altogether.
“It’s fine if Host Ruan makes mistakes in front of me, but it would be a serious matter if you made mistakes in front of the camera,” he reminded her.
“Why is it fine to make mistakes in front of you?”
“…”
She had caught his meaning too perfectly, causing him to completely ignore her after that.
Though Teng Yi ignored her, Ruan Yu wasn’t afraid. After all, she had two allies supporting her: Teng Hao and Rui Shu.
With their help, Ruan Yu boldly replaced all the alcohol in Teng Yi’s refrigerator with juice and all the cigarettes in his cigarette box with candy.
Teng Yi didn’t notice at first, until the next day when he wanted a drink. Opening the refrigerator to find it neatly stocked with juice, he was momentarily stunned.
Who had done this? He didn’t need to guess.
Suppressing his anger, he reached for a cigarette to calm down. Opening the cigarette box – ha, another “surprise.” The box was stuffed with various candies. Worried he might not like strawberry flavor, she had thoughtfully prepared several other flavors.
This woman, not only had she invaded his home, but she was also switching things around. Unbelievable!
Teng Yi went downstairs, seething. Downstairs, Ruan Yu, Teng Hao, and Rui Shu sat together, chatting and laughing over breakfast.
These three had been gathering frequently lately, like a cult, appearing mysteriously to be plotting something big, when in fact they were just childishly scheming against him.
Seeing Teng Yi, Teng Hao quickly waved: “Brother, come have breakfast! Top Scholar and Sister made it together, East meets West, it’s especially delicious.”
“I’ll pass,” Teng Yi looked at Teng Hao. “I have to go out for something. You eat more.”
“Where are you going so early?” Teng Hao pressed.
Where else could he go?
To buy cigarettes, of course!
Ruan Yu had been too ruthless, hiding all his cigarettes without leaving a single one. Even if she wanted him to quit smoking, she couldn’t be so absolute about it, right? At least give him a gradual process. After all, his smoking habit wasn’t formed overnight, and couldn’t be quit overnight either.
“Fine, go ahead then, but come home early tonight,” Teng Hao said.
“Why?”
“You forgot, today’s your birthday,” Ruan Yu spoke up. “Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
–_–
Teng Yi had thought Ruan Yu’s “dinner together” meant all four of them eating together, but when he returned home that evening, he found only Ruan Yu there.
She wore an apron and was cooking in the kitchen, fragrant aromas filling the house.
Since returning to China, neither Teng Yi nor Teng Hao cooked. Only Rui Shu occasionally used the kitchen when she visited, but having lived abroad for years, she knew nothing about Chinese cuisine, at best making “one-pot dishes” which she dignified by calling them stews.
The house hadn’t had these smells for a long time.
Teng Yi stood at the kitchen doorway watching Ruan Yu’s back, momentarily transported to years ago.
“You’re back!” Turning to see him, she immediately broke into a bright smile. “Wait until I cook two more dishes, then we can eat.”
“Aren’t Teng Hao and the others coming?”
“Teng Hao has a meeting tonight, and Sister Rui Shu has a friend visiting from abroad. They’re both busy tonight, so it’s just us two.”
Teng Yi remained silent.
Whether Teng Hao and Rui Shu truly had plans or just didn’t want to be third wheels, he knew well.
“If you think it’s too quiet, you can invite other friends over,” Ruan Yu said deliberately.
Hearing this, Teng Yi reached for his phone.
“Hey!” She quickly called out to stop him. “Are you going to call other friends?”
Teng Yi gave her a look, unhurriedly tossing his phone onto the bar counter.
“I was just going to change clothes,” he said.
Ruan Yu: “…”
When Teng Yi came back down after changing, Ruan Yu had finished cooking everything. In the middle of the dining table sat something that looked like a cake but wasn’t quite a cake.
“It’s made from sweet potatoes, no eggs,” she said naturally.
But this natural gesture touched his heart deeply.
After all these years, she still remembered he couldn’t eat eggs.
The high walls guarding Teng Yi’s heart suddenly lowered a notch.
Ruan Yu took out a candle and stuck it in the sweet potato “cake.”
“I know you never cared for blowing out candles and making wishes before, but I hope from now on you can live like an ‘ordinary person,’ occasionally creating some sense of ceremony in your plain life, believing in some intangible things, believing in the power of wishes. Perhaps the wish won’t come true in the end, but the process of anticipation is surely beautiful.” Ruan Yu lit the candle. “Make a wish. If you really can’t think of one, just wish yourself health and peace.”
Teng Yi thought for a moment, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and blew out the candle.
“Alright, let’s eat,” Ruan Yu smiled.
“Aren’t you going to ask what I wished for?” Teng Yi asked.
“If you tell a wish, it won’t come true.”
“My wish will only come true if I tell it.”
Ruan Yu looked at him warily: “What is it?”
“I hope no one will hide my cigarettes and alcohol anymore.”
“…”
She glared at him intimidatingly.
Teng Yi silently took a breath.
Well, it seemed telling did make it not come true.
They began eating. Ruan Yu’s cooking has improved since years ago. Teng Yi’s appetite had been poor lately, but tonight he felt he could eat several bowls of rice.
Halfway through the meal, Ruan Yu suddenly remembered something.
“Oh right, the gift. I prepared a gift for you.”
Teng Yi stopped her: “No need.”
“It’s nothing expensive.”
Ruan Yu stood up and took out a dark red brocade box from her bag. The box was rectangular, not large but looked high-quality. She pushed it in front of Teng Yi.
“Open it and see. I prepared it long ago, always wanting to give it to you.”
Hearing her say this, Teng Yi opened the box.
Inside was an autographed photo of Luo Han, the Asian Dance King.
Luo Han was Teng Yi’s most admired idol. What he meant to Teng Yi was like what Lin Hong had meant to Ruan Yu back then.
Getting this autographed photo was much easier for Ruan Yu than when Teng Yi had chased after a car for her. In her current profession, she often met various celebrities, and because of Luo Sheng, she saw Luo Han even more frequently.
Though Luo Han was of the older generation, his love for dance made his thinking more open and free than young people’s. Ruan Yu got along well with him; they were friends despite their age difference.
When she mentioned Teng Yi to Luo Han, surprisingly, Luo Han knew about him and what had happened to him.
“There’s writing on the back,” Ruan Yu pointed to the back of the photo.
Teng Yi turned it over.
On the back, Luo Han had written in his hand: “Teng Yi, battle-with-fate!”
–_–
At midnight, Teng Yi sat in his study.
Beside him were a glass of red wine and a photo. The photo was Ruan Yu’s gift, and the wine was from her too.
Before leaving earlier, she had magically produced a bottle of red wine, saying that since it was his birthday, she would fulfill his wish and specially permit him one drink.
Really, what a magnificent bestowal.
Teng Yi looked at this meaningful photo for a very long time without moving.
He knew she had truly put her heart into it.
Recently, spending time with him, accompanying him, teasing him, everything she had done for him, he had seen it all. Though he said nothing, he was deeply moved.
After a while, Teng Yi picked up the wine glass and took a sip of the red wine.
“Cough!”
He nearly spat it out.
What kind of red wine was this? Why did it taste so strange?
Teng Yi held up the glass, carefully examining it against the light.
Damn!
This wasn’t red wine at all – it was grape juice!
Teng Yi set down the glass with a “bang,” sat quietly for a long while, and finally couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth in a smile.
Ruan Yu was something else.
Teng Yi had originally planned to settle this account with Ruan Yu, but after parting on his birthday, she didn’t come to the Teng house or the bar for several days.
Having grown used to her constant chatter, suddenly not seeing her made Teng Yi’s briefly lightened mood turn dark and irritable again.
Teng Hao noticed too – his brother seemed like a completely different person depending on whether Top Scholar was present or not. When she was there, though his manner was cold, his eyes were warm. When she wasn’t there, both his manner and his eyes were cold.
At breakfast one morning, Teng Hao asked Teng Yi: “Brother, Top Scholar went to Hai City on a business trip these past few days. Didn’t she tell you?”
“She has no obligation to tell me.”
“Hey, don’t be like that. She must have left in a hurry and forgot to tell you, or maybe she asked Sister to tell you and Sister forgot.”
Teng Yi said nothing.
Both Teng Hao and Rui Shu knew, yet supposedly forgot to tell him. Her memory wasn’t that bad.
“Brother, don’t overthink it. I’ve checked – Top Scholar has been thinking of you all these years. She doesn’t have a boyfriend. That Luo Sheng is just her friend.”
“…”
“You’re not jealous of even friends, are you? What era is this? She’s not allowed to have male friends?”
“Teng Hao, you don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand?” Teng Hao grew serious. “I can see how much she loves you, and I know how much you love her. Since you truly love each other, you shouldn’t miss this chance.”
Teng Yi suddenly looked up at Teng Hao.
“Have you said these words to yourself?”
Teng Hao’s mood instantly shifted, his whole person suddenly falling silent.
“Brother, it’s precisely because I’ve tasted the bitterness of missing chances that I don’t want you to taste it again.”