Overthinking…

Yes, she had been overthinking.

Mu Dai stood motionless. In the script she had prepared, this was when she should have lifted her head and spoken disdainfully, but it wasn’t like that at all. She had no energy to consider whether Luo Ren was telling the truth or not. She just felt humiliated and embarrassed.

She hadn’t slept well all night. That WeChat message had been written and deleted, deleted and written again, sent with such anxiety. She had even dreamed about him. She had stood before him so nervously, her palms sweating, when she finally asked the question.

Mu Dai turned to leave.

Hurried footsteps came from behind. Luo Ren had somehow gotten in front of her, his voice no longer so certain: “Mu Dai, listen to me, I was just teasing you.”

Mu Dai didn’t speak. Her eyelids were reddened, with a layer of moisture in her eyes.

Luo Ren regretted his actions. He knew Mu Dai cried easily—otherwise, he wouldn’t have joked about her being a little tear jar—but today, he shouldn’t have made her cry.

“I was just teasing you, Mu Dai. I admit I was wrong. Don’t take it to heart.”

Mu Dai had been holding back, but hearing his gentle, conciliatory words made her lose control. Tears fell drop by drop: “How could you tease about something like this?”

Luo Ren was filled with regret. He had no tissues on him, so he stepped forward and embraced her, gently stroking her hair, speaking softly: “I admit I was wrong, okay? Hmm? Or tell me, what should I do?”

After speaking, his eyes inadvertently drifted downstairs, where Uncle Zheng, Yi Wansan, and Cao Yanhua were all looking up with their mouths slightly open, as if watching a show. Even Pin Ting was covering her mouth and giggling.

A black line appeared on Luo Ren’s forehead as he lowered his head to Mu Dai’s ear: “Everyone is watching, Mu Dai.”

Mu Dai sobbed intermittently: “Then… an…nounce it…”

Luo Ren’s heart grew slightly more solid. Good, he had managed to comfort her. She was shy, and in this situation, it was indeed his responsibility to make the announcement.

However, he had no experience with how to “announce” such things. Facing the gazes from below, he felt somewhat embarrassed: “Yes, what you see is what it is. From today onward, Mu Dai is my girlfriend…”

Not knowing what else to say, he finally forced himself to request support: “How about… some applause?”

Uncle Zheng and Yi Wansan were still a bit dazed, but Pin Ting clapped enthusiastically—clap, clap, clap. Cao Yanhua, influenced by her and pleased about his master’s good fortune, was just about to join in with some hearty applause when the situation above suddenly changed.

Mu Dai abruptly pushed Luo Ren away.

Focused on looking downward, Luo Ren was unprepared for this and stumbled back several steps.

Mu Dai’s tear stains hadn’t dried, but she held her head high with an expression of vindication.

Luo Ren sensed trouble.

“Who is your girlfriend? Who? Did you get my consent? Did I say ‘I agree’?”

With that, she turned sharply and stomped downstairs.

The audience was completely silent.

When Mu Dai reached the bottom of the stairs, she glared at Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua like a small boss: “Let’s go!”

The two men looked at each other for a moment before hurriedly following her like henchmen.

Luo Ren leaned against the railing, looking down, his heart heavy enough to collapse a mountain. Pin Ting sighed and sat back down by the small fish pond, continuing to use her bamboo branch to chase the little fish that had nowhere to hide.

After a brief silence, Uncle Zheng suddenly burst into laughter, pointing upward at Luo Ren repeatedly, as if trying to press down on his head.

“Serves you right, Little Knife Luo! You deserve it. Teasing her for fun—how’s that working out? Went too far, didn’t it? Did you think you were so handsome and charming that saying ‘this is my girlfriend’ would make her rush to you with gratitude? Did you get her consent? Did Mu Dai say ‘I agree’?”

The middle-aged old man, adding insult to injury, was really…

Luo Ren was seething.

Uncle Zheng felt more refreshed than he had in a long time: “Serves you right, Little Knife Luo! You deserved to have someone put you in your place!”

Then he turned to Pin Ting: “Tingting, tell me, what do you want to eat for lunch? Uncle will make it for you.”

Pin Ting lifted her head, smiling as brightly as a child: “Meat!”

Back at the bar, Cao Yanhua embellished the story for Uncle Zhang, who was so amused he forgot that the one-hour deadline had long passed. He said: “Well, well, she’s got a young man pursuing her.”

He added: “That’s right, a young lady should keep her dignity. She shouldn’t be too easy to catch.”

Cao Yanhua disagreed: “But my brother Luo is quite a catch, Uncle. Not only is he handsome, just look at his car…”

Uncle Zhang was instantly swayed: “Mu Dai, don’t be too haughty. Know when to yield.”

Mu Dai was speechless. If Uncle Zhang had lived during wartime with such wavering positions, he would surely have been a double agent.

How would things develop? Cao Yanhua happily discussed with Yi Wansan: “Brother San, do you think they’ve got a chance? Shall we place a bet?”

Yi Wansan thought this was unnecessary: “Bet what? Isn’t it obvious? Didn’t you see them embrace? If they weren’t both interested, would they have embraced?”

Back when he was young and naive, still harboring unrealistic fantasies about Mu Dai, he had also tried to hold her hand, even using his drawing talent as an approach.

What happened? With two swift moves, she had left him unable to hold a bowl for three whole days.

That very night, Luo Ren came to make peace.

The bar was crowded. He sat alone at a table in the corner. Uncle Zhang went over with a smile to greet him. Yi Wansan nodded to him from behind the bar. As for Cao Yanhua, he scurried over several times to chat with him.

Only Mu Dai was too “busy” to pay attention to him. When she finally had a moment’s rest, Cao Yanhua, with an expression that suggested he had been bribed by Luo Ren, came to persuade her gently: “Little Master, why don’t you at least take his order? He’s occupying our table.”

Mu Dai finally went over, slapping the drink menu on the table and taking out the ballpoint pen from her server’s apron: “What would you like to order?”

Luo Ren looked at her with a smile: “Mu Dai, can we talk?”

Mu Dai bent her index finger and tapped the menu on the table: “We have beverages, coffee, and cocktails. We don’t serve ‘talk’.”

Luo Ren ordered a coffee with a bitter smile. He sat in the bar for about half an hour. When he was paying the bill to leave, Mu Dai said, “No tip? For such good service.”

Then she tossed a comment book his way.

Luo Ren nodded: “I should.”

He borrowed Mu Dai’s pen, wrote a suggestion in the book, and then took out two hundred-yuan bills for her. He watched as she smugly tucked the money into her pocket, thinking: It’s fine to give, since the money stays in the family anyway.

Once Luo Ren had left, Mu Dai secretly took the book behind the bar and opened it. Luo Ren’s handwriting was good, just like the man himself. He had written: “This server provides enthusiastic customer service and deserves praise.”

The signature read: “Sincerely apologizing.”

Mu Dai burst out laughing.

Uncle Zhang passed by, sighing: “Know when to yield, little boss lady.”

This continued for three days. On the afternoon of the third day, Cao Yanhua, who had gone out for a walk, said that several dozen tour buses had arrived, probably for a large corporate tour. Sure enough, that evening, groups of tourists wearing small hats and waving little flags came in waves, fond of taking photos, shopping, or noisily entering restaurants for local specialties. This hustle and bustle didn’t subside until after nine o’clock.

Yet the bar was relatively quiet all evening.

Close to ten, Uncle Zheng entered with his hands behind his back, smiling. Pin Ting had taken two pills and gone to bed early, giving him free time to wander. Luo Ren had often mentioned his “neighbors” nearby, and finally, Uncle Zheng had a chance to visit.

However, although he wandered around the bar, he spent most of his time talking with Yi Wansan at the counter. Passing by several times, Mu Dai vaguely heard:

—”Pin Ting does get along well with you. You can rarely make time to come every day.”

—”The climate here is indeed better. Pin Ting’s complexion has improved a lot.”

—”The doctor says it’s uncertain, but Pin Ting’s condition should be considered good. She’s not the kind of mad person who’s completely deranged. I just hope that one day she might suddenly recover. That would be a blessing of Amitabha…”

Pin Ting, Pin Ting—every sentence revolved around Pin Ting.

For someone like Yi Wansan to patiently engage in conversation with Uncle Zheng, Mu Dai thought that even she would grow tired of it after a while. She hadn’t expected this of him.

Also, did Yi Wansan make time every day to accompany Pin Ting? She hadn’t known. He was truly skilled at managing his time efficiently…

Mu Dai leaned against an empty table, playing with her pen. Uncle Zheng strolled over and said, “Mu Dai, Luo Ren told me he comes every day only to be rebuffed.”

Is that so? Mu Dai felt a bit embarrassed, but also found it amusing.

Uncle Zheng said, “The key is with you. If you like our Little Knife Luo, don’t keep him hanging all the time. Occasionally, you should give him some sweetness.”

At his age, what was Uncle Zheng saying? Sweetness? Mu Dai felt somewhat shy.

Uncle Zheng continued with patient guidance: “I can see that you and Luo Ren have some mutual interest, but the feelings aren’t that deep yet. Feelings are like sprouting seeds—at the beginning, they need cultivation. Once they’re solid and grow into a tree, then they’re secure. At that point, no matter how you act or how much fuss you make, he won’t be able to leave you.”

Mu Dai smiled with pursed lips. Uncle Zhang had told her not to be too haughty, and now Uncle Zheng was giving her a whole lecture. It felt like the entire world was teaching her how to date.

“Don’t ruin it at the start. Don’t end up like Luo Wenrao and Luo Ren’s mother—one misstep could mean a lifetime…”

Mu Dai was surprised: “Luo Wenrao and Luo Ren’s mother?”

Uncle Zheng sighed: “What else? She said one thing, and Luo Wenrao took Little Knife back to live with him for six years. Do you think just any relative would have such deep feelings?”

Towards the end, his tone became somewhat sour: “I tried to match Little Knife with Pin Ting for over ten years, thinking it would be good if the adults’ regrets could be resolved through the children, but who would have thought…”

He sighed endlessly: “A thunderbolt from the blue struck you into his life. So close to success, only to fail.”

Mu Dai laughed until her stomach hurt. Seeing Uncle Zheng slowly saunter away, she untied her server’s apron and tossed it to Cao Yanhua: “I’m going out for a bit. You cover for me.”

Cao Yanhua unhurriedly tried to tie the apron around his waist, holding the two ends of the strings, but they wouldn’t meet. It wasn’t that his waist was too thick; the apron strings were simply too short.

Someone called from the corner: “Waiter, order please!”

Since he couldn’t tie it anyway, Cao Yanhua slung the apron over his shoulder like a towel, responding in a thick Beijing opera accent: “Coming…”

Uncle Zheng chatted with Uncle Zhang for a while longer and was preparing to say goodbye when he suddenly looked up and saw Luo Ren come out from the back of the bar.

He was startled: “You… you… Aren’t you at home?”

Uncle Zheng’s reaction was too comical. With such a large person right in front of him, he asked if he wasn’t at home. Luo Ren smiled: “I was walking around nearby, buying some things.”

Uncle Zheng grabbed him and pushed him toward the exit, his voice lowered: “Go, go, hurry back home, I…”

At this point, his voice became a whisper: “I convinced Mu Dai to go find you.”

This Uncle Zheng! Luo Ren didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For years, he had tried to match him with Pin Ting, and now he had switched to Mu Dai?

Luo Ren retraced his steps. Although his residence was close to the bar, he still had to pass through several alleys. It was getting late, and shops on both sides were closing or in the process of closing. Luo Ren saw Mu Dai in the distance and felt a surge of joy, followed immediately by a start.

She was standing motionless at the entrance of a Sichuan restaurant. The restaurant owner stood beside her, wringing his hands, looking helpless.

What’s wrong? Luo Ren strode over: “Mu Dai?”

As he got closer and could see more clearly, Luo Ren’s expression suddenly changed.

Mu Dai stood with her head lowered. Her head, face, and body were all dripping with oil—red oil. Someone had drenched her entire head and face with Sichuan boiled fish sauce. There were Sichuan peppercorns in her hair, red chili on her shoulders, and white fish slices. What made it even more heartbreaking was that red oil hung from her eyelashes, causing her to continuously open and close her eyes involuntarily. It was chili oil—how painfully it must have stung her eyes.

Luo Ren rushed over, grabbed her hand, and asked: “What happened?”

Mu Dai didn’t speak. Her lips quivered like a frightened little animal. Her hand was ice-cold and trembling continuously. Luo Ren took out his handkerchief to wipe her face, but the oil was so thick that the snow-white handkerchief was completely soaked with just one wipe.

Luo Ren glared fiercely at the restaurant owner.

The owner was a middle-aged, overweight man who quickly waved his hands: “It wasn’t me, really wasn’t me. I kept asking her, ‘Miss, are you okay? Do you want to come in and wash up?’ But she didn’t make a sound.”

Then he smiled in a placating manner: “Fortunately, fortunately, those customers had been eating for a while. If it had just been served and the oil was still hot, being splashed like this would have been even worse…”

Luo Ren’s gaze sharpened, like a knife stabbing toward the owner: “You mean someone splashed her?”

He finally realized that Mu Dai’s position was quite far from the dining tables inside the restaurant. At her feet was a pile of red oil and boiled fish ingredients—she hadn’t moved a step since being splashed. She hadn’t been accidentally splashed by someone’s careless hand.

Someone had deliberately carried that pot of soup, walked up to her, and poured it over her head and face.