Chapter Eighty-Nine: A Love Found by Chance

Seated in a fast-food shop on the western edge of the city, I sat in silence and watched the two girls before me, each turned stubbornly away from the other, unwilling to spare even a glance.

I cleared my throat and said to the red-haired girl, "Let's talk about the collaboration. First, introduce yourself, then tell me what you expect in terms of the work environment and compensation. I'll do my best to meet your conditions."

She lightly tapped the hat she had set on the table with her finger, thought for a moment, then looked up at me and said, "My name is Yang Xiaoyu. I'm nineteen, a local. I like dancing and photography, and I'm good at making cold drinks and costume roleplay."

I nodded. Everything seemed fairly standard. Being local mattered a great deal, since it would directly affect the salary she would ask for. If she had a place to stay, her demands would naturally be much lower, and the chances of us working together would rise considerably. I gestured for her to continue.

"As for salary, I want a base pay of no less than three thousand a month. Overtime and holidays would have to be negotiated separately. And as for the rest, I only have one condition: if I join your shop, then even if I am your employee, you absolutely cannot make me do anything against my will." Yang Xiaoyu looked at me with complete seriousness.

I could not help thinking that this was only a nineteen-year-old girl sitting across from me, yet the way she spoke had a sharp, mature poise to it. At her age, I used to spend my days with a guitar in my arms, singing and drifting through life...

"All right. I'll pay you a base salary of three thousand a month, overtime separate, and I definitely won't make things difficult for you over anything unrelated to work. How does that sound?" I considered it. Her demands were actually quite modest. Given the cost of living nowadays, especially in a place like Yichun, three thousand a month for someone renting a place on their own would barely cover the basics.

Yang Xiaoyu nodded and said nothing more, while Zhang Jiaxin beside her was idly playing with her phone, paying no attention to the conversation between us.

"Then let's settle it like this for now. This afternoon, come with me to Sister Rose's place and try your hand. If your skills are up to par, tomorrow I'll draw up a contract and give it to you. Then we'll have an agreement." I stood and offered my hand. "Here's to a pleasant cooperation!"

To my surprise, Yang Xiaoyu made no move to shake my hand. She looked at me with an even expression, twirling a strand of red hair around her finger, saying nothing.

I looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant. Was there still something that needed to be added?

Just as I was recalling whether our conversation had left any loopholes, Zhang Jiaxin suddenly stood as well, walked over to my side, and motioned for me to sit farther in. I felt more and more baffled. What were these two girls up to now? Weren't we just supposed to be at peace? Why did I suddenly smell gunpowder again?

Zhang Jiaxin slapped her pink-cased phone down on the table with a sharp crack, then said with visible displeasure, "You little nineteen-year-old thing, how can you be so rude in the way you treat people? Let me tell you, only because Yang Chen has such a good temper can he put up with this from you. Anyone else would have cursed you out already!"

Yang Xiaoyu exploded at once. She slammed both hands on the table and stood, glaring furiously at Zhang Jiaxin, who looked utterly disdainful. Her voice trembled with anger as she said, "Listen to me, if it weren't for Sister Qi's recommendation, I wouldn't have wasted my time coming here. I was supposed to go to the autumn comics convention in the east of the city. Did I say anything about that?"

"Heh." Zhang Jiaxin also stood and leaned in until their faces were nearly touching, confronting Yang Xiaoyu at close range and sneering, "Don't act like we were the ones begging you. We don't even know how good your skills are yet. Better not turn out to be some half-baked amateur once you try. You think my words are harsh now, but if you really can't do it later, I'll have even harsher things to say!"

"Fine, let's try then. I'll make you convinced in a minute. And if I do, you must apologize to me!" Yang Xiaoyu seemed entirely confident, wearing an arrogant smile.

Seeing Zhang Jiaxin like this, I was also a little confused. Was this girl trying to use provocation again, just as before? Or was she simply unable to stand seeing me looked down upon by a little girl, and so stepping in for me?

"All right, let's set out." After saying that, Yang Xiaoyu put on her hat and walked out first.

Watching Yang Xiaoyu stride away so casually, I felt a little ashamed. Was this what children of the new age were like? If all kids now were like her, then perhaps I really was old...

"What are you staring at like that for? Let's go." Zhang Jiaxin tugged me along and smiled with confidence. "That girl isn't bad at all. From now on she's your employee, so don't you dare bully her."

I scratched my head, not understanding what she meant. They had just been arguing so fiercely a moment ago, and now that the girl was gone, it was as if you two were suddenly close friends, and I wasn't allowed to bully her? I was the one getting bullied all year long. Who was there left for me to bully...

When we stepped out of the fast-food shop, I saw Yang Xiaoyu standing in the autumn wind, her red hair flying wildly. Passersby on the street kept turning to look at her. Indeed, her outfit alone, as if she had stepped out of an anime, was already enough to draw every eye, and with her naturally good height and looks, she was practically an idol for the homebound crowd.

We took a taxi. Yang Xiaoyu naturally took the front passenger seat, while I sat in the back beside Zhang Jiaxin. I shook my head with a bitter smile and leaned toward her ear, whispering, "Why are you acting childish like her? If we really lose later, how embarrassing will that be?"

Zhang Jiaxin smiled, her lovely eyes looking at me with unusual gentleness. She only shook her head lightly, then lowered her gaze again and resumed playing with her phone.

So I straightened myself and looked out through the car window at the streets and pedestrians gradually speeding by. I wondered what her head shake meant. Was she saying it wouldn't be embarrassing, or that we wouldn't lose? I kept feeling that something about her today was strange. Nothing in her words or actions seemed abnormal, and yet there was this subtle sense of discord that kept bothering me.

Just as the car entered the southern district, my phone gave a slight buzz. I took it out and, hesitating, glanced at Zhang Jiaxin beside me. She was looking out at the scenery through the window, her silky long hair falling to cover the side of her face, so I could not see her expression. Yet the text message on my phone showed that it had been sent by her.

I unlocked the screen and opened the message. Its contents were as follows:

Being alone always brings an indescribable sadness. I still cannot grow used to life without you. Every day feels like torment with no end. But I can do nothing to regret it. I can only hate myself, hate my family, hate those people who kept trying to stop me from throwing everything away just to be with you. And yet I envy you, because you could change for her, becoming not only more mature but so much more... I am proud of you... My heart for you will never change.

Looking at those cold words on the screen, a heat I could not name surged through me, warming my heart and scorching my eyes.

I quietly glanced sideways at Zhang Jiaxin. She still sat motionless, gazing out the window. I wanted to say something to her, but when the words reached my lips, I could not speak them. In the year and more since we had parted, perhaps I had suffered much from love, but I had moved on. Why, then, did she still cling so long to the past, unwilling to take another step forward?

I could not properly judge the reason Zhang Jiaxin had once left me, nor did I know who was right and who was wrong in that love affair already drawn to a close. But once the road has been walked, even the deepest longing is of no use. Here and now, we sit close enough to touch, your heart struggling in the grip of time, and is mine any different? It is only that the person has changed, and so has the manner.

"What was the reason you had to leave me, no matter what?" I asked softly.

Yang Xiaoyu, in the front passenger seat, seemed to have heard as well. She turned to look at me, then at the contemplative Zhang Jiaxin, gave a cold snort, and turned back around.

But Zhang Jiaxin did not answer for a long time. Only a faint, bitter smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Tell me. It's all in the past now." Suddenly I wanted a cigarette. I wanted to get out of the car, but when I felt in my pocket, the cigarettes were already gone, I did not know when.

"How could it be in the past?" Zhang Jiaxin turned to face me, her voice soft and fragile, and her eyes were wet. In the crystal sheen within them, I could see my own ridiculous reflection at this very moment.

Seeing Zhang Jiaxin like this, I fell silent. I did not know what to do next.

It seemed Zhang Jiaxin had long since expected this. She only smiled, raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye, then said quietly, "Yang Chen, do you know? I used to foolishly think that after we separated, if one day I felt sad and came back to find you, you would never push me away."

"You knew this day would come all along?" I looked at Zhang Jiaxin in confusion, feeling that some truth was about to rise to the surface.

"Yes... From the moment I ran to the entrance of your dormitory with everything I had, eyes red, and called for you to come out, I knew there would be a day like this... Do you know? The girl you are with now merely picked up a mature love, a love that has been tempered through far too much, a love that should have been mine... So why did she have to appear precisely when you were at your weakest?" Zhang Jiaxin bit her lip and looked at me, her voice a little dry. "I truly overestimated myself. It was my little cleverness that ruined the love between you and me, and what has happened now is perhaps my punishment... You and she became lovers, while we became friends."

Just as I was about to say something, the car suddenly slowed and stopped. Then Yang Xiaoyu opened the door and got out. I had no choice but to pay the fare, then followed her toward Sister Rose's cold-drink shop.

"Remember what you just said!" Yang Xiaoyu turned back to Zhang Jiaxin and said coldly.

"I will. Go on in." At this point, Zhang Jiaxin's thoughts were no longer on this baseless wager. She looked at me with distant eyes.

Yang Xiaoyu seemed to notice that Zhang Jiaxin was not quite right, and said nothing more. She was the first to enter the place called Unique Season.

I silently walked in beside Zhang Jiaxin, while in my heart I kept asking myself what manner of feeling really existed between Luo Qing and me. Was it, as Zhang Jiaxin said, merely a love that had been picked up from the roadside? Did she appear only when I needed her most?