The designated driver Chen An had called was a middle-aged man around forty years old.

After sitting in the back seat for a while, Chen An asked, “Master, do you have any cigarettes? I’ve smoked through all the ones in my car.”

The driver, judging from the steering wheel in his hands that his employer was wealthy, said, “I smoke Red Plum cigarettes that cost a few yuan. Do you mind?”

Chen An shook his head, “As long as there are cigarettes.”

The driver handed him the cigarettes.

Chen An asked again, “Do you have a lighter?”

The driver fished out a cheap plastic-shelled lighter, “You’re not a smoker?”

Chen An nodded slightly and took it, “Thank you.”

Then Chen An cracked the car window open a bit, turned on the car’s air purifier, and began smoking one cigarette after another.

Having established rapport with those opening exchanges, after driving for a while, the driver asked, “Did something happen to you?”

Chen An seemed to wake from a daze. He smiled and said, “Yes, I played the clown for once. Quite ridiculous and laughable.”

In the very beginning, he had stayed by Cheng Lele’s side with an Ah Q spirit, content in his role as her superior. Then he let his greed expand, and knowing full well she had a long-distance boyfriend, he harbored ulterior motives, coveting and desiring her.

For a brief period, he felt that Cheng Lele had become different toward him. Her gaze upon him had always been upright and clear, but occasionally it would reveal confusion, heartache, and caring emotions. She seemed to no longer be so averse to his feelings. She would hold his hand a bit longer on the bus, would lie without hesitation in front of others saying he was her boyfriend, would feed him popcorn, would go on dates with him, would embrace him.

And then, in a certain ambiguous moment, she shattered all his absurd and confused fantasies.

He didn’t want to be far away, yet didn’t dare get too close. Because of his anxiety over gains and losses, these past two days he had been thinking about how to position himself beside Cheng Lele, to find an appropriate place where she wouldn’t run away and he could still see her.

Like an out-of-season product that knows it’s unpopular but is still fighting not to be stored away at the bottom of a box.

He had planned so humbly, never imagining the situation could get even worse.

There had never been a long-distance relationship. Zhong Ming had returned with her. The two were very much in love. There wasn’t even the slightest space for him.

His yearning day and night was a joke that couldn’t be spoken aloud.

The driver asked no more questions, and the car interior returned to silence.

The grayish-blue car sped along through the quiet night. Chen An gazed out the window. Apart from endless darkness, he saw nothing.