Chapter 53

After shedding their lovestruck mindset, women learn to rewrite their destinies

Hu Xiu, who had spent a night in the hospital, hurriedly checked out the next day. After all, hospital beds were in short supply, and there were many emergency patients who needed them. Those who weren’t missing limbs should quickly vacate the beds and return to work.

Her worries didn’t end there. Zhao Xiaorou sent her a text message, her tone calm: “I’m dating Gong Huaicong. You might see me in gossip magazines frequently in the future. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”

Hu Xiu might not know about other people, but Gong Huaicong was a household name. He was one of the first wave of internet entrepreneurs, and in 2014, he received investment at the age of 21 for his innovative gift-giving app. Since then, his career had skyrocketed. He was involved in private equity funds and invested in new types of small companies. He always seemed to be ahead of the curve and never missed a beat, like a fortune teller who had predicted the werewolf’s demise in advance.

He often mingled with celebrities in the entertainment industry, his sexual orientation was a mystery, and he had a sharp tongue. People nicknamed him the “Director of the Entertainment Industry Commission.” But any internet celebrity who had dated him would become a hot topic of gossip among netizens, after all, he was the Gatsby of the tech industry.

Years ago, Hu Xiu went to a meeting at a riverside development in the Bund to work on a copywriting. The state-owned enterprise’s large-scale development project had hired a local advertising company and their ATL integration startup to brainstorm on how to make their boutique apartments the number one in the country. No matter what solutions they came up with, they couldn’t satisfy everyone. That afternoon, Gong Huaicong brought a first-line male celebrity to the sales office on the first floor. The value of the Gerber Executive Apartments at No. 88 Yinpu Road immediately skyrocketed, and the 180-square-meter one-bedroom apartment became the first choice for new elites to rent, with the average price now reaching 180,000 yuan per square meter.

## English Translation

Hu Xiu arrived at Zhao Xiaorou’s place early in the morning and was puzzled to see her organizing outfits for a shoot and going over the script with her assistant.

It wasn’t that she thought Zhao Xiaorou wasn’t good enough; she just couldn’t figure out how she had managed to hook up with Gong Huaicong.

The mystery was soon solved. The boy with the lip ring who had played a drinking game for gifts at Li Ai’s place turned out to be a young master from this circle. His family owned several bars in Shanghai, including the large electronic music venue LYX, the smaller indie rock bar FF, and the newly opened hip-hop bar ON$.

He had come to Li Ai’s place for the gift exchange purely out of boredom during Christmas and had met Zhao Xiaorou. He willingly acknowledged her as his older sister and brought her to a birthday gathering at ON$, where she met many people in the industry: singers, internet celebrities, idols who made money from variety shows, and Gong Huaicong, who was there to pass the time.

Zhao Xiaorou’s consistent skincare, fitness, and aesthetic treatments paid off. She looked refined and natural from head to toe, wearing tight jeans and a white U-neck shirt, sipping a drink in a corner. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry and had barely any makeup on (at least no bright lipstick), standing out like a lotus flower among the crowd of flamboyant people.

When they arrived at Gong Huaicong’s place, Zhao Xiaorou pretended to be on her period and sadly talked about her unhappy marriage to Wang Guangming. The two of them spent the night drinking and chatting, and they even revealed a shocking piece of news:

Gong Huaicong had also gone through a quick marriage and divorce not long ago, and he had just gotten a minor celebrity pregnant. He had paid a breakup fee of 500,000 yuan and an A5 car.

Zhao Xiaorou laughed as she spoke, “Gong Huaicong’s sexual orientation is very questionable. When he was letting his ex-girlfriend choose a car, he couldn’t bear to part with his 718 and TT. Are those cars for men to drive? But now he’s given me the 718.”

Diao Zhiyu and Li Ai were in the living room. Hu Xiu pulled Zhao Xiaorou into the bedroom, “Aren’t you playing with fire a bit?”

“Playing with what? This is a normal relationship.”

“Gong Huaicong is that kind of playboy...”

“What can’t be handled? Men, there’s always a way to deal with them. Do you know why so many internet celebrities can still live so well despite being criticized? It’s because they provide emotional value to men. Remember Wang Guangming’s girlfriend? She was cheated on and scolded so badly. Those photos of her wearing backless dresses, how many men still use them to masturbate? I didn’t give Gong Huaicong anything else, just gentleness. He’s been hanging out in bars for so long, and when he met a woman like me who isn’t so vulgar, of course he would take a second look.”

Hu Xiu was a bit dumbfounded by this series of targeted solutions.

“Low-quality dreams are the root of all evil, but no one doesn’t fantasize about people who are unreachable in the clouds.

The moment I saw Gong Huaicong in the bar, I understood that there was nothing he couldn’t get, but I just made him unable to get it, at least not that night.

And he took the bait—it shows how easy it is for him to succeed with women, which is despicable.”

“Do you really like him?”

“I don’t dislike him, and he’s rich. He brings me real attention, allowing me to maintain a high status even after my divorce.

Since feelings don’t mean much to me, why not use them to exchange for something?”

“What about your heart, don’t you care what you think?”

“The problem is that sincerity isn’t worth much either.” Zhao Xiaorou packed her things quickly, too busy to pay attention to Hu Xiu. “Or are you saying I’m not good enough.”

“I didn’t...”

“Isn’t Diao Zhiyu and Pei Zhen enough to tell you this? There are perfect people in this world, and there are also perfect partners who meet all your fantasies, but it depends on whether you’re lucky enough to meet them and whether you have the ability to match them. Most people don’t get the opportunity even when it comes, but I’m different. I can act.”

A chill ran down Hu Xiu’s spine as she thought about the drama Zhao Xiaorou and Wang Guangming had put on.

Someone knocked on the door. Zhao Xiaorou dragged her suitcase and said, “I’m going now. I have three vlogs to shoot today, I’m so busy. I also have to go out to dinner and a bar with Gong Huaicong tonight.”

“Wait...” Hu Xiu was a little upset, “What about Li Ai?”

Zhao Xiaorou smiled, “Hu Xiu, sometimes don’t take what you see and what you think as reality. You might think I really like Li Ai and won’t marry anyone else.

But in fact, a lot of times, it’s just that feelings come and go, and it’s just a casual fling. I don’t take it that seriously. Don’t ship us and get so invested, okay?”

Hu Xiu was confused. Zhao Xiaorou picked up her suitcase and dragged it a few steps, then realized she had forgotten to unlock the wheels. She got a little annoyed, “See, it’s just that the wheels are locked and it won’t move. It’s fine if you just unlock it.”

Li Ai and Diao Zhiyu were outside looking for a location. Zhao Xiaorou wanted to open an escape room and had asked Diao Zhiyu to be in charge of selecting the location and operations, while Li Ai would be responsible for the design.

The two of them were indecisive between the Yangpu Creative Park and the commercial district of Global Harbor. Zhao Xiaorou left after just saying hello.

Looking at the computer screen filled with compressed web pages, it seemed like opening an escape room was serious. Li Ai made a latte and handed it to Hu Xiu, “Are you feeling better after falling into the water?”

“She still has a slight fever,” Diao Zhiyu replied.

“These beans are great, they have a hint of alcohol.”

Hu Xiu angrily snatched the cup away, “All you know is how to taste coffee!”

She then went into the guest bedroom and lay on the bed, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Diao Zhiyu knocked on the door and came in, with a fever-reducing pill in his palm, “Take this...”

Hu Xiu swallowed the pill and curled up in the blanket. Diao Zhiyu sat on the bed and leaned over her, “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”

“Did you see Zhao Xiaorou dating?”

“Yeah, everyone on Weibo is asking who she’s with, and they’re laughing at Gong Huaicong for not being picky, even going for divorced women. Are you upset about that?”

“No. I just don’t understand. Feelings can’t be faked. How can you pretend to have feelings for someone you don’t like at all?”

“That’s not within our realm of feelings. Besides, you can’t easily say that there are no feelings between them.”

“Can you teach me how to tell the difference between real and fake?”

Diao Zhiyu laughed, “Sorry, that’s also a knowledge blind spot for me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be sitting here at your bedside now.”

Drowsiness began to envelop her, and finally, she managed to open her eyes and ask, “So what about you now? Are you acting towards me, or are you being sincere?”

“Guess what...” Diao Zhiyu tucked the blanket in and rested his chin on his interlaced hands, watching her, “I’ll wait until you fall asleep before I go out.”

Hu Xiu’s eyelids were drooping, and the camel in front of her blinked too. He must have been a boy with mature facial features at the age of ten.

Even with the naivety of youth, his prematurely adult sharp angles had given rise to premature youthful emotions, and that jawline made the already unavoidable emotional life even more complicated.

Perhaps he had become immune to confessions from the opposite sex a long time ago, and had learned how to reject others long before he became an actor in murder mystery games, so he maintained a distance and gentlemanly became a face-blind patient.

And who confessed first, besides Lin Qiumei, who else did he have a crush on, and who made him such a charming boy?

She was eager to know everything. A bellyful of questions reached her lips, but all that came out was, “Do you know, I have a quirk, I have to hold something to fall asleep.

A corner of the blanket, a pillow, pajamas, a phone... I always feel insecure if my hands are empty.”

“What kind of alien from which planet has such a strange habit.”

“A hand-grabbing star...”

He couldn’t help but tease her, “Do you mean you want to borrow my arm to hold?”

“If you’re willing, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Diao Zhiyu couldn’t help but mock her, “You just want to trick me into staying here with you.”

Why would she want to trick you? Hu Xiu pouted. Diao Zhiyu probably played word games every day, and the question was: “Is Hu Xiu acting?”

The phone suddenly rang, it was her senior. She was anxiously looking for her on the weekend, most likely because of work: “Xiao Hu, I have something urgent to ask you. My daughter has acute pancreatitis, and my husband is still on a business trip. I have to take my child to the hospital, can you help me cover a translation?”

Hu Xiu, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, woke up half-way: “Where are you now?”

“I’m at Zhongshan Hospital, the lecture is here, and it starts at 10 o’clock. Can you make it?”

Hu Xiu glanced at the time and got up, “I’ll take a taxi there now.”

Although it was comfortable, Hu Xiu pulled her hand away, “I have to go to the hospital. You heard the phone call...”

“You still have a fever.”

“But I’m responsible for international academic exchanges in medical history.” Hu Xiu shook her head vigorously, “Since I can still chat with you, my mind is clear.”

In the taxi, she received the materials sent by her senior. It was a real headache. 52 pages of materials on oncology, and only forty minutes to prepare. She might as well tell her senior to ask her to go with her to the hospital to accompany her daughter with pancreatitis.

When she got the materials, her senior looked tired and apologetic, “I’m sorry, Xiao Hu, I didn’t know what to do when my daughter suddenly had pancreatitis. I can’t just leave work.”

Walking into the venue, Hu Xiu checked, her electronic dictionary, keyword list, and sticky notes were all there.

She quickly circled the keywords with a marker in the simultaneous interpretation booth, quickly went over the key points outlined by her senior, and posted the key progress of the conference in front of her to remind herself not to flip to the wrong important time. The rest depended on her on-the-spot performance.

She was 90% sure of her normal translation, but this one was only 60-70%. As soon as the first pediatric professor from Johns Hopkins University came in, Hu Xiu started to sweat.

While she couldn’t say she was completely clueless, there was definitely an information imbalance. Transforming a week’s preparation time into forty minutes and diving headfirst into translation was something she would absolutely refuse to do under normal circumstances; it would damage her reputation!

For the first fifteen minutes, she was flustered. Thankfully, her training during her student days was sufficient, and even though she was panicking inside, her tone remained calm and collected. She even managed to maintain a steady output of language despite having a fever.

During the break, she quickly reviewed the remaining materials and felt that she had done a decent job improvising. Perhaps her acting skills were actually... not bad?

The calmness and control that this profession had given her were not something that ordinary people could easily acquire.

Of course, for this pediatric oncology research, she had to thank American dramas, and especially “Grey’s Anatomy.” Out of curiosity, she had looked up all the difficult cases that Alex encountered, so when she heard about pediatric tumors and lesions now, she wouldn’t be stumped by a lack of information.

And... compared to her days writing copy at the advertising company, she felt much more at ease now.

When she came out, Hu Xiu was wearing her senior’s name tag and happened to meet the deputy dean.

They usually worked in the same office, and the deputy dean was particularly friendly when he saw her, “Xiao Hu, why is it you? Didn’t you fall into the water?”

“My senior’s daughter is in the emergency room, so I’m filling in temporarily.”

The deputy dean introduced her to the professor next to him, “She’s a child from my office, 27 years old, a graduate of Nanjing University’s School of Translation, and she’s exceptionally talented.

She’s usually in charge of administration and foreign affairs, and she does translation work on weekends. She’s a reliable and hardworking person. Such talent is hard to come by!”

Hu Xiu’s fever had started to rise again, and she hadn’t taken any medicine. She saw four heads for the deputy dean.

Her phone was ringing. It was Pei Zhen: “My farewell party is at 7 pm. Are you coming?”

It was only a four-stop subway ride away, so she might as well show her face.

When she arrived at the restaurant outside the hospital, a group of people were already drunk. Dr. Jin and his girlfriend were also there. Her senior greeted her when she saw Hu Xiu coming over, “Why are you late, Teacher Hu? Oh right, you saved someone and then fell into the water.”

It felt like countless eyes were on her. After falling into the water, she had become a sensation. Dr. Jin walked over to her and said a little spitefully, “Teacher Hu, drink this glass of wine, and I’ll consider us friends.”

“Aren’t we friends already?”

“Before, Pei Zhen was around, but now he’s going to America. He also told me to take good care of my juniors, and there was definitely a subtext that I should take care of you.”

He leaned into Hu Xiu’s ear, and the smell of alcohol made her frown, “Teacher Xiao Hu, if you don’t like Pei Zhen, you should just say so. It’s not a good look for a girl to enjoy the privileges given to her by Pei Zhen because of her position and also have a young boy pursuing her.”

Normally, Hu Xiu would have angrily refused, but there was no point in arguing with someone who was drunk, especially since she didn’t really have a position to get angry.

Thinking about it, she smiled politely, “Dr. Jin, you may not know, but they’re both pursuing me. Pei Zhen even specifically said that they would compete fairly, so I didn’t refuse.”

“There might be some misunderstanding, but I definitely didn’t mean to take advantage of him. It’s not easy to get a permanent position in the hospital, and I’ve worked very hard to prepare for it.”

Dr. Jin took two steps back and squinted at her. Hu Xiu didn’t dodge. At that moment, her gaze must have been clear. What she had just said was indeed genuine. Pei Zhen’s early morning classes had taken up her time, and she had studied hard to the point of having gray hair. Even if the outcome didn’t lead to love, it couldn’t be considered blatant exploitation.

Saying this made her feel a bit sad, but she was different from Zhao Xiaorou.

Dr. Jin smiled. He was a doctor with a unique temperament, with a mole at the corner of his eye and a hint of caution in his eyes. Looking closely, one could understand that these were eyes that had been hurt, and they would instinctively avoid being stared at.

At this age, he was no longer a man without a story. Hu Xiu filled up her beer, “Dr. Jin, let’s drink this big glass together, and let’s digest all our guard and learn from each other in the future.”

She finished it in one gulp.

After a few drinks, Hu Xiu felt like her feet were floating on water. Pei Zhen stopped her and pulled her aside, gently capturing her thoughts, “What happened?”

Hu Xiu burped, “I don’t want to let you go...”

This was indeed true, even though they were just colleagues who had fought side by side in the hospital, they were adult comrades who could share their thoughts.

After leaving the hospital, Hu Xiu realized she no longer had a friend she could confide in.

Pei Zhen’s eyes were filled with sadness. Hu Xiu coughed a few times and took a mask out of her bag and put it on, “Sorry, I haven’t fully recovered from my cold, don’t want to infect everyone.”

“It’s not contagious. You caught a cold from falling into the water and you’re worried about infecting others, how silly.”

He smiled, “I’m a doctor, and yet I wasn’t there for you at the first moment.”

He was referring to the incident of performing CPR after she fell into the water. Hu Xiu only stared at his eyes, grateful that the mask could cover half of her face, hiding her expression. Perhaps Pei Zhen wouldn’t be able to understand her response, and maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

“So even if we date, get married, and become a family, I can only do less for you. In that sense, Diao Zhiyu can give you more.”

“Don’t compare like that...”

“Men care a lot about what they can give to girls.” Pei Zhen searched in his bag, “There’s one more thing I can’t accept, and that’s that I lost to Diao Zhiyu.”

“You didn’t lose...” She wanted to hold Pei Zhen’s hand, but then she suddenly remembered Zhao Xiaorou’s wordsa lot of times, it’s just that feelings come and go, and it’s just a casual fling.

If she wanted to act at this moment, perhaps she should hug him now and say not to be discouraged, he hadn’t lost yet.

But she couldn’t do it either. Diao Zhiyu said she was a great actress. What a joke, she couldn’t do something that went against her heart.

“In Teacher Hu’s heart, Dr. Pei is just a boringly handsome doctor, right? If you think I’m just a traditional doctor, then you’re wrong.

Half a year before I met you, I was even put in jail for fighting. A week later, the police brought the family members to the hospital for treatment, and I ran into them. It was very embarrassing when we recognized each other.”

“When they asked me why I couldn’t control myself, what I thought was, I was having dinner with a girl I knew and ran into a rather unreasonable table next door, so I had to show off a little in front of the girl.”

“Just kidding. I’m not that patient, and I don’t have much patience with girls. You’re probably a special case in my life, breaking quite a few rules.”

“It sounds like fighting for a girl is even more exceptional.”

Pei Zhen didn’t say anything, just smiled and opened a can of Coke. The sound of the carbonation passing through his throat was a lonely sound. Hu Xiu heard Pei Zhen’s voice amidst the slightly noisy white noise of the private room, “Maybe when I come back from the US, you and Diao Zhiyu will be together. It’s not something I can be indifferent about. Not being able to control the situation is the most unbearable thing for a doctor. Maybe adults are always struggling with things they can’t have.”

And a sense of loss also rose in Hu Xiu’s heart. She wasn’t without regret for missing out on a good relationship. Pei Zhen would be the top choice in any girl’s heart, in every sense.

Even if you set aside his profession and conditions and threw away all the worldly frameworks, he was still a charming luxury item, a rare commodity.

Wanting to keep such a priceless treasure for herself, selfishly wanting to have him all to herself, any girl would feel the same when they saw Pei Zhen. She just knew that what she could give Pei Zhen at this moment was love, not romance.

Her love had been given entirely to someone else.

Pei Zhen shook the can with a smile, “Now that it’s come to this, I won’t hide it from you. Initially, I applied for the Boston University program because I heard that my ex-girlfriend was also participating. I couldn’t let go of her. Even though so many years had passed, I still wanted to work on a project together. It would be best if we could rekindle our old flame, and it wouldn’t be impossible to break up her family if necessary.

But after I applied, I met you, and I liked you so much that I even regretted applying for this three-month exchange.

Isn’t that a bit shameless? Maybe there’s just a little bit of fate missing between us, meeting three months later.

If you’re still single, I still have a chance—just like when I went to jail, I’m not a good person, and I don’t have that many principles.”

He hugged Hu Xiu, and as the can of Coke brushed against her ear, she heard the sound of the carbonated bubbles bursting, like dreams shattering in her ears. The tiny worries of adults emerged and then shattered at a similar speed.

After accumulating for a long time, the refreshing carbonation would eventually turn into a calm and sweet drink, and all the previous waves would disappear in the embrace of the air.

At that moment, she truly understood Pei Zhen, even if it was just a sympathy between adults. Diao Zhiyu’s call came in, and Hu Xiu gently declined it.

After all, he had already seen Pei Zhen holding her at the door.