Later, when Yan She and I left the Time Center, she asked me, "Was that girl the one you wrote the love letter to, Xia Shi?" I said, "Yeah, that's her. Isn't she pretty?" Yan She replied, "She's alright." I scoffed, "She's so beautiful, tons of guys have written her love letters. How come she's just 'alright' to you?" Yan She suddenly turned her pretty face to me and said she had a question for me. I asked what it was, and she said, "Who do you think is prettier, me or Xia Shi?" I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine, you're prettier, okay?" Yan She smirked and said she was naturally beautiful, adding that she had yet to meet a woman prettier than herself. I thought to myself, Damn, you're really confident, and then an image of Jiang Qingqing popped into my head. I compared the two—Yan She and Jiang Qingqing—and honestly, I couldn't decide who was more beautiful. Their beauty was just different. Yan She was charming and alluring, while Jiang Qingqing was unbearably cutesy. Each had her own appeal.
After dropping me off at home, Yan She went out again, saying she had plans to get a spa treatment with a girlfriend. Yan She had always been a woman who knew how to take care of herself. As she put it, the most important things for a woman to attract men were looks and temperament. Things like "inner qualities" were just nonsense.
After Yan She left, I was bored and went online to kill time. That QQ friend named "Little Woman" sent me another message—just two words: Dummy. I was annoyed. Who the hell was messing with me? I asked Gou Mao if he knew whose account it was. He said he didn't, and mentioned that the account was over five years old, so it didn't seem like a throwaway. He offered to ask around and see if he could find out whose it was. I agreed and told him to hurry up—this account was driving me crazy.
Yan She didn't come back until eleven. She said after the spa, she and her friend went shopping and even picked up two sets of summer clothes for me. She told me to try them on and see if I liked them. I put them on and felt like I looked way more handsome. Yan She also admired her own taste, bragging, "My eye for fashion is impeccable. The clothes I pick might not change your face, but they'll definitely elevate your style." After some more banter with Yan She, I went back to my room.
As soon as I logged into WeChat, Jiang Qingqing sent me a message: What time can you make it tomorrow?
I thought about it and replied, Probably sometime in the afternoon. She asked, How about dinner then? I hesitated—if I wasn't home for dinner tomorrow, Yan She would definitely grill me about where I was going. So I told Jiang Qingqing, Dinner might not work. The company's treating us to a meal after the business trip. Can't skip it. Jiang Qingqing sent a sad emoji and said, Alright then, guess we'll have to meet at night. Then she asked, Where do you live?
I replied, Guangci Lake neighborhood. Remembering that I'd lied to her earlier about not owning a place, I quickly added, I live with my parents. Jiang Qingqing said she'd take a taxi to meet me and asked me to pick a spot. That stumped me. After some thought, I suggested, How about we meet at Miik? Miik was pretty well-known in our city. Jiang Qingqing agreed. Alright, see you at Miik tomorrow night.
Honestly, I chose Miik for a reason. There was no way I was actually meeting Jiang Qingqing face-to-face tomorrow, but I could still sneak over. Miik was crowded, the music was loud and intense, and with the lighting and all, even if I showed up, Jiang Qingqing would have a hard time spotting me. What I really wanted to see was her reaction when she realized she'd been stood up. I imagined her face turning dark with anger right then and there.
Just thinking about it gave me an inexplicable sense of satisfaction, like I'd finally gotten revenge on Jiang Qingqing—it felt amazing. The only downside was that after this, she might never talk to me again. Even if I came up with excuses this time and she forgave me, what about next time? Whatever, I'd enjoy the show tomorrow!
After a moment, I sent Jiang Qingqing another message: I'll dress extra handsome for you tomorrow.
Jiang Qingqing replied with a shy emoji: I'll make sure to look extra pretty too.
She added, I don't like guys who've let themselves go. If I see you tomorrow and you've gotten ugly, I'm turning around and leaving without a second glance.
I said, Don't worry, I'm no heartthrob, but I'm not ugly either. She said she was just joking and added, Men don't rely on looks anyway. It's their charm and skills that really attract women.
Since I was planning to stand her up tomorrow anyway, I deliberately steered the conversation toward flirtier topics.
The next day, something strange happened—the sun must've risen from the west because Yan She didn't drag me out for morning jogging. By the time I got up, she had already left, leaving me a note: I've got stuff to do today and won't be back till late. Handle lunch and dinner yourself.
That made me ecstatic. I'd been worried Yan She wouldn't let me go out tonight, but now it seemed unnecessary. For breakfast, I called Gou Mao and asked him to hit the arcade with me. We played until noon but only won a little over 200 yuan. After splitting it with Gou Mao, I went home.
For the rest of the day, I kept WeChat open, waiting for Jiang Qingqing's messages. Sure enough, she couldn't hold back—around 6:30 PM, she messaged me: Is your dinner thing over yet? I said, Not yet. One of the bosses hasn't arrived, so we haven't even started eating. She sent a sad emoji and said, This is taking forever.
I replied, Don't worry, Miik isn't even fully open yet anyway. She said, Fine, I'll wait. Over the next hour, she kept messaging me, asking if I was done yet. Around 7:30, I finally said, Alright, just finished. She sighed, Finally! and asked when I was heading out. I said, I'm ready now. She said, I'm all dressed up and can leave anytime. I replied, Cool, see you at Miik.