“Yeah, Jingjing’s cat,” Xiao Qing said, lowering her head to play with the cat. “Jiujiu.”
The light was red, and Yu Lingshan’s car, having just missed the green, stopped before the crosswalk.
After Xiao Qing spoke, Yu Lingshan and Xu Shi turned their heads at the same time. Their eyes met, but they quickly looked away, neither saying a word.
There was no music playing in the car, and it suddenly seemed to fall silent.
Yu Lingshan stared at the end of the road, presumably waiting for the light, while Xu Shi fixed her gaze on a small ornament in the car, her thoughts drifting far away.
Xu Shi had seen Heard’s profile picture many times. She had zoomed in on that cat many times—all white fur, with just a little gray on its nose and ears.
She could have told herself she didn’t need to suspect that the cat was Jiujiu; there were too many cats that looked alike, but it was just…
“A friend’s cat.”
In that instant, Xu Shi suddenly understood. This wasn’t just about a similar-looking cat anymore.
The morning after she left Yu Lingshan’s house, she had discovered Heard among the people nearby on the app.
Even though she and Heard were new friends who had never met, Heard’s tone always made it seem like they knew each other.
Heard said she could tell fortunes, and right after, Xu Shi ran into Yu Lingshan.
Heard said Xu Shi would have a new breakthrough at work, and the next day, she ran into Yu Lingshan again.
Heard’s flight was the same as Yu Lingshan’s…
She told Heard her favorite ice cream, and the next second, Yu Lingshan had it delivered to her…
Heard?
Yu Lingshan?
…
So many coincidences converged at once, flooding into Xu Shi’s mind. Layers upon layers of images flashed before her, and a severe case of goosebumps broke out all over her skin.
“Beep!”
The sudden honk of a car from behind broke Xu Shi’s train of thought. She looked up and saw the light was green.
Yu Lingshan slowly drove onto the next street. Xu Shi’s mind was a mess. She secretly glanced at Yu Lingshan and saw that she looked the same as usual.
This person suddenly seemed like a stranger, and a sudden tightness gripped Xu Shi’s heart.
After connecting all the dots, only one question remained in Xu Shi’s mind: Why?
Why, Yu Lingshan?
A few minutes later, prompted by Xiao Qing, Yu Lingshan pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Wait for me for a minute,” Xiao Qing said before getting out.
The moment the car door closed, the atmosphere inside the car seemed to shift again.
Yu Lingshan gently bit her lower lip, her nails tapping restlessly against the steering wheel.
Xu Shi clutched her phone with both hands, her gaze alternating between the small ornament and her own knees.
After a long moment, Yu Lingshan was the first to speak.
But she still didn’t look at Xu Shi, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “You recognized Jiujiu?” she asked.
Xu Shi’s grip on her phone tightened involuntarily. “Yeah.”
Yu Lingshan ran a hand through her hair, not too gently, not too roughly. “How should I put this?”
Xu Shi asked, “Why?”
Yu Lingshan seemed about to say something, but the back door opened. She glanced back, then said to Xu Shi, “We’ll talk when we get back.”
With that, the atmosphere in the car grew even stranger—so strange that even Xiao Qing noticed.
She tried to bring up several topics, but the two in the front seemed completely uninterested. Xiao Qing paused, puzzled, for half a minute before leaning forward slightly. “What’s wrong with you two?”
“Nothing,” Yu Lingshan and Xu Shi said in unison.
Yu Lingshan’s voice was more assertive, Xu Shi’s softer. One sounded like she genuinely meant it, while the other was just trying to smooth over the atmosphere.
Xiao Qing raised an eyebrow. “Ah~”
Xiao Qing didn’t say anything else. She had seen plenty of little lovers’ quarrels like this. Keeping quiet and maintaining distance was the right thing to do.
Their gathering was at a hotel. Just as Yu Lingshan parked the car, she ran into an acquaintance. After Xu Shi got out, Yu Lingshan, just as she always did, naturally linked arms with her and introduced her as she greeted the person.
Once inside, Xiao Qing wanted to go off and do her own thing, but Yu Lingshan pulled her back.
“Take a picture of us,” Yu Lingshan said.
Xiao Qing had no objection. She raised her camera, took a step forward, and aimed the lens at the two of them.
But then.
“Xu Shi,” Xiao Qing said as tactfully as possible, “smile a little.”
Hearing this, Yu Lingshan looked at Xu Shi. “Are you not happy to take a picture with me?”
Xu Shi shook her head. “No, that’s not it.”
“Oh,” Yu Lingshan said, pretending to let go of her arm. “Then forget it.”
Yu Lingshan had the pouting expression Xu Shi was familiar with. Xu Shi quickly took Yu Lingshan’s hand back. “No, I am happy.”
“Then give me a smile,” Yu Lingshan said.
Xu Shi’s eyes curved into a crescent, and at that exact moment, Xiao Qing snapped the picture.
“Yes!” The photographer was very satisfied. “This one is especially good. I’ll touch it up and send it to you guys later.”
Yu Lingshan thanked her, and Xiao Qing left.
The two continued further inside, Yu Lingshan’s arm linked with Xu Shi’s. As they walked, she quietly introduced people to her—who this person was, who that person was, what story this person had, what story that person had.
Quite a few people had brought their partners today. As they made their way through, Xu Shi listened to the stories about each person and found it all very novel.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter if you’re in design or not, it’s all the same. Once you call someone a colleague, there’s no such thing as a purely innocent friendship,” Yu Lingshan said as they arrived at a table. She pulled out a chair for Xu Shi, had her sit down, and patted her on the head. “Things like what happened between you and Ying Jie aren’t uncommon in this circle. Even though Ying Shide’s company is huge, everyone in the industry knows his hands aren’t clean. He’s a repeat offender.”
Xu Shi slowly looked up at Yu Lingshan.
Yu Lingshan sat down beside her, gently placing a hand on Xu Shi’s. “Does talking about Ying Jie make you unhappy?”
Xu Shi shook her head. “It’s okay.”
Yu Lingshan smiled, her voice soft. “You two are bound to run into each other in the future. There might even be more people who bring up what happened back then, both to your face and behind your back. But you’re not alone anymore.”
Xu Shi nodded. “Mm.”
Yu Lingshan’s fingers tapped on the back of Xu Shi’s hand. “I think, given Ying Shide’s usual tricks, he might even try to dig up what happened between you and Ying Jie in university.”
Xu Shi frowned. “Really?”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “It’s fine. As long as you have confidence, it’ll be easy to handle.” Then she asked Xu Shi, “Are you scared?”
Xu Shi shook her head and suddenly smiled. “It’s like, because I have nothing to lose, I’ve actually gotten braver.”
“That’s good,” Yu Lingshan nodded. “Just like how you were so proud and defiant that night.”
Xu Shi let out a small laugh. “I’ll be ready for them.”
Yu Lingshan pinched Xu Shi’s cheek. “So, can you be a little happier now?”
Xu Shi gave a helpless smile. Yu Lingshan’s attitude made it seem as if the gloom in Xu Shi’s heart had nothing to do with her at all.
Since she had put it that way, Xu Shi naturally replied, “I can.”
Yu Lingshan tossed her phone to Xu Shi. “Sit here for a bit. A few people just waved at me. I’m going to go talk to them for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” Xu Shi said.
“Be good,” Yu Lingshan said, patting Xu Shi’s hand. “If someone comes to chat with you later, can Customer Service Xu handle it?”
“I can.”
Yu Lingshan hadn’t brought a bag herself today, but she had insisted Xu Shi bring one. Then she proceeded to stuff her lipstick, powder puff, and everything else she couldn’t be bothered to carry into Xu Shi’s bag.
Now she couldn’t even be bothered to hold her own phone. So lazy.
Xu Shi watched Yu Lingshan walk away. The hall wasn’t that big, and she soon saw Yu Lingshan stop amidst a small group of people.
In a flash, Social Yu appeared—a completely different person from the one who was with Xu Shi. A faint smile, handshakes, conversation, expressions of surprise—she handled every action perfectly.
But after chatting for a while, the entire group’s gaze suddenly turned toward Xu Shi.
Xu Shi was taken aback for a second, but not for long. She gave a slight nod and a small wave in their direction.
Yu Lingshan went back to laughing and talking with them. Having already greeted them, Xu Shi felt it would be awkward to keep staring, so she averted her gaze.
Suddenly bored, Xu Shi’s thoughts inevitably returned to Heard.
No matter how much Yu Lingshan tried to cheer her up, she couldn’t feel genuinely happy.
So, for this short month, she had been chatting here and there, only to find out that Yu Lingshan and Heard were the same person.
Xu Shi couldn’t resist taking out her phone, opening Ding Dong Dong, and tapping on Heard’s profile.
They had exchanged a lot of messages, yet also not that many. Xu Shi scrolled back to the very first day they became friends.
But after two pages, she couldn’t bear to read anymore. She then scrolled to their chat from ten days ago.
The more Xu Shi read, the stupider she felt. She thought about her two different personas in front of Heard and Yu Lingshan and was suddenly so embarrassed her whole body felt hot.
Xu Shi really couldn’t understand Yu Lingshan. She didn’t understand anything at all.
Then, Yu Lingshan’s phone rang, pulling Xu Shi from the chat history.
She took Yu Lingshan’s phone out of her bag, scanned the room, and spotted her to the southeast.
The call wouldn’t wait. Xu Shi silenced the ringer first, then headed over with her bag.
To get there, she had to pass through a corridor. By the time Xu Shi emerged from it, Yu Lingshan had already separated from the group and was standing next to Xiao Qing, who was just passing by.
Xu Shi was standing in Yu Lingshan’s blind spot. Taking another step closer, she could hear their conversation.
She didn’t know what Xiao Qing had said, but Yu Lingshan replied, “What do you think?”
Xiao Qing asked, “You and Xu Shi have known each other for less than a month, right?”
Xu Shi didn’t hear Yu Lingshan’s response, only Xiao Qing’s next words: “That’s just like you.”
Suddenly, Xu Shi no longer wanted to deliver the phone. The call had stopped ringing anyway. Without much hesitation, she turned around and went back the way she came.
Great. Now it wasn’t just about Heard; it was about her and Yu Lingshan, too.
In that moment, Weiwei’s words, “Yu Lingshan isn’t just playing around with you, is she?” suddenly crashed into Xu Shi’s mind.
A wave of grievance washed over Xu Shi.
So, she had actually known all along. Yu Lingshan was always so effortlessly in control around her. Even though so much had happened, it always felt as if nothing had happened at all.
The inexplicable way she had gotten close, all the inexplicable events, and their inexplicable relationship.
It was just that Xu Shi had been unwilling to think about it. She didn’t know why she had become so captivated by this state of affairs, to the point that even now, she was still afraid Yu Lingshan would get angry and leave her.
Back in her original seat, Xu Shi was even more distracted. Yu Lingshan’s phone didn’t ring again, so it probably wasn’t anything important.
Her heart felt heavy. Suddenly, the chair opposite her was pulled out, and a stranger sat down.
“Hello there.”
“Hello,” Xu Shi replied.
The person smiled at Xu Shi. “I’m pretty blunt, so don’t mind me.”
“What is it?” Xu Shi asked.
“My friend and I made a bet. Are you Yu Lingshan’s girlfriend?” she asked, looking at Xu Shi expectantly. “Are you?”
Xu Shi suddenly had the urge to curse, just as Yu Lingshan had taught her that night—to ask this stranger, “What the fuck does it have to do with you?”
But she didn’t.
Instead, she answered properly, “No.”
After she replied, she saw the person’s gaze flick to a spot behind her.
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