Chapter 54

A love stolen with a sword.

She didn’t know what had happened in the past six months. Before, every small expression had to be analyzed, but now the answer was suddenly laid out before her, leaving her so shocked that her mouth couldn’t close. Liang Daiwen raised his hand and gently pushed her chin with his finger. Just the touch made Gu Yi take a step back. What the hell is going on? The most terrifying thing was that Liang Daiwen’s eyes were now speaking, filled with eagerness and desire, looking directly into her eyes, stirring her heart.

Liang Daiwen looked at Gu Yi and said, “I’m back. His confession can’t be accepted because I like you.”

But Gu Yi’s first response was to turn to Xu Guanrui, asking, “Did I see too many sparklers? Am I hallucinating?”

Liang Daiwen quickly interrupted, “You didn’t see wrong. I came back to find you.”

If Xu Guanrui’s fireworks were a reenactment of summer, then Liang Daiwen had thrown a bomb into her mind, and it exploded, making her head spin. Liang Daiwen had been gone for 162 days—less than half a year—and although she hadn’t expected his return, it had come earlier than she thought. She had wanted to ask about the blank space of those six months, but now, all she could feel was rage. Every time, he showed up at just the right moment, as if he had been in cahoots with fate to disrupt all her turning points. Was God giving her a rocket boost, and Liang Daiwen just timed his return to crash into her life at these pivotal moments?

When their eyes met, it made her dizzy. The moment became beautiful in its sadness, with the orange light enveloping both her and Liang Daiwen, turning them into a warm golden-red. Xu Guanrui stood outside the light, his figure now shaded, as if tired. She didn’t cry, but the liquid inside her body began to stir, especially when Liang Daiwen’s expression appeared. Every second drew her in. Words like “eyes full of affection” and “eyebrows showing tenderness” could not only describe a beautiful woman, but also someone like Liang Daiwen—someone who had been discarded by the world and was now desperately trying to express his feelings. She realized that his lashes were long, his brow would furrow slightly, and his eyes could show both sadness and joy. She heard Liang Daiwen speak slowly, each word clear: “Gu Yi, I came back for you. I want to pursue you.”

This was really unfair to Xu Guanrui. You were the one who left Shanghai, didn’t tell me when your father was sick, refused to talk to me about being in a relationship, and now you come back and stir things up with Xu Guanrui—why? Do you think you have a free pass with me?

Gu Yi grabbed Xu Guanrui’s hand and turned around—more like fleeing in a hurry. Xu Guanrui laughed behind her, his words tinged with sadness: “Liang Daiwen is really a bit annoying.”

This made Gu Yi uncomfortable. She also felt uneasy about Liang Daiwen coming back and disrupting things—she even understood the meaning of “alexithymia” now. At this moment, seeing Liang Daiwen felt like all her senses were either on high alert or failing altogether. Her chest tightened, and her body trembled as if she needed to see a doctor.

Xu Guanrui, on the other hand, grasped her hand: “You know, I’ve been by your side this whole half year, not to wait for him to come back and mess things up. You’ve had so many fragile and hopeless moments, and I felt like reaching out would hurt you. But for him, it’s as easy as playing with your emotions—just like that. I really wanted to punch him earlier.”

“I’m not a woman who revolves around him.” Gu Yi turned back to look at Xu Guanrui, his expression sad. “Can you trust me a little?”

Turning a corner, Liang Daiwen was still watching her out of the corner of her eye.

Back at home, Gu Yi immediately called Guan Xingxin: “Do you know that Liang Daiwen’s back?”

“I know. I told him to go to Ounce and find you. Yu Dule just got home and told me that the new version of Liang Daiwen can smile and get angry now—his expressions are much more expressive. He didn’t catch the stand-up show, but he wanted to surprise you. He asked Yu Dule to call you upstairs to meet, but when he looked out the window, he saw you walking with Xu Guanrui, so he rushed downstairs…”

“Definitely a big surprise.” Gu Yi wrinkled her nose. “Xu Guanrui was confessing to me.”

Guan Xingxin laughed on the other end of the phone: “Oh my god. Gu Yi, don’t ever say I’m the stand-up comic here, you’re the real one.”

“What’s going on with all this!”

A message arrived from Liang Daiwen: “So Xu Guanrui’s confession didn’t succeed, right? I get it. I still have a chance.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to be my girlfriend.”

Gu Yi spat water onto the computer—he’s that direct?

Liang Daiwen didn’t stop messaging: “I can feel 50% of it now. In other words, I’m qualified to be in a relationship. When I saw you downstairs at Ounce, the feeling in my chest was a heartbeat, not suffocation—I felt it, and seeing you made me happy. During my time in the U.S., I received treatment from Dr. Shen every day. He told me, now that I can feel more, and can distinguish between emotional pain and physical discomfort, I should express my feelings. When he asked me what I wanted to express, the first thing I thought of was you. So the first thing I did when I got back was tell you that I want to date you.”

“But you said you made a bet with Dr. Shen, and I was just a wager, anyone could have done.”

“Dr. Shen likes to joke around, make light of things. He said the bet to provoke me. I’ve been receiving treatment from him for a year and a half with little effect, but I still paid him a lot of money. He joked about refunding me and said it was a bet.”

Gu Yi froze. The screen showed “The other party is typing.” She could almost picture Liang Daiwen furiously typing on the keyboard.

“I don’t care. The first time I went to Ounce and heard that the soul is the one ounce that controls all emotions, I felt something was wrong with my body. Then, you kept pestering me, asking me why I wasn’t smiling. It wasn’t just that I picked you, it’s that you also chose me. Out of so many people, you were the one who was interested in me.”

“……”

“You picked me, so I’m yours.”

Goosebumps covered Gu Yi’s entire body: “Liang Daiwen, no more cheesy lines from now on. If you keep this up, I won’t reply!”

The other party immediately stopped typing. Gu Yi held her breath for a moment, then sent a message: “You went to Dalian because your dad was critically ill. Why couldn’t you say that at the airport?”

“I had already rejected you so many times. Back then, anything I said would have sounded too pale. Plus, you’ve already blamed yourself enough. If I had told you about my dad’s stroke, whatever you said after that would have made me feel guilty.”

Gu Yi took a deep breath, feeling her temples throb. She typed and deleted several times, then finally sent: “I don’t know if what I said now will make you sad. You have alexithymia, so after weighing things, you chose not to say anything and would rather let me hate you than let me know what happened. I understand that. But what hurts the most is… self-doubt. I wonder what I did wrong or if I wasn’t good enough that you didn’t even want to tell me your secrets. We’ve known each other for so long, and even until the last moment, you didn’t want to be honest with me. Even if you become normal, you’ll still push me away when things happen. So you’re not better than Xu Guanrui, maybe we’re just not right for each other.”

She was still angry.

“I won’t give up—I won’t give up no matter what you say.”

Gu Yi truly didn’t understand the sudden change in Liang Daiwen. But right now, with Liang Daiwen chasing after her, she didn’t dare ask Guan Xingxin or Dr. Shen for advice—these two might not be allies at the moment. Anyway, he had already returned to Shanghai, and when things got tense, she would keep as far away from him as possible. What was most important now was stand-up comedy. After the New Year, she might not be able to get into Ounce, so she couldn’t afford to miss every open-mic opportunity. Having finally gotten a spot for open-mic, Gu Yi sat on the backstage sofa, absent-mindedly thinking about Liang Daiwen, when the curtain was lifted by the wind. Liang Daiwen was sitting in the front row, casually glancing toward the stage. Their eyes met right at that moment.

Her hairs stood on end, and Gu Yi asked Yu Dule: “Is it too late to leave now?”

“It’s too late, why would you leave after finally getting a spot?”

“Liang Daiwen’s in the audience!”

“So what if he’s here? He’s just an audience member. Why are you nervous?”

It wasn’t just nerves. Gu Yi was afraid that if she dropped the mic, it would end up in a fight with him—or worse… kissing. As she stepped onto the stage, she saw Liang Daiwen. His dark hair gently covered half of his eyes, and Liang Daiwen was smiling at her—gentle, curious, expectant… Every muscle in his face was lifted. Gu Yi cleared her throat, trying not to look at him—this time, unlike the first meeting, she not only didn’t want to tease him, but she also wanted to run away.

But the content was all about a breakup.

“Hello everyone, I’m Gu Yi. I’ve been dumped.”

In just twelve words, the audience quickly laughed. That’s the magic of stand-up comedy—no matter how sad the story is, it becomes a comedy when told on stage. Gu Yi was still wearing a T-shirt with the words “Love Desensitization” printed on it, which only made it more tragic.

“I won’t go into the details of the breakup, but looking back, it was all a misunderstanding. But at the time, I was really blinded by love. I confessed my feelings at the airport, begging him to take me to Beijing. Then I accidentally saw his plane ticket—destination wrong. Later, I thought about it, maybe the person wasn’t right either, after all, falling for a handsome guy is an offense to a stand-up comedian.”

“Anyway, during the breakup period, I was completely out of it. I walked around like a blind person. Bumped into trees, got honked at by cars, and while walking, I fell into a fountain and got soaked. Naturally, I caught a fever. Lying in bed, trying to get medicine, the medicine was a bit far from me, so my friend on the phone helped me with slogans: ‘Attention, stand at attention, turn left, turn right...’ My friend ended up in the fountain too, and had a higher fever than mine—burning even more fiercely than me.”

“I even took a midnight ride on another friend’s electric bike around Shanghai. I didn’t realize how beautiful Shanghai’s night view is. We’re so busy working, drowning in overtime and love, we’ve neglected Shanghai. It was still a bit chilly, my neck, knees, and spine frozen through. At that moment, I was especially exhilarated, feeling like my heart was in agony, independent and above it all, I no longer cared for love. Cupid hated me, Aphrodite was jealous of me, and the God of Fate worshipped me. I was the most solitary and pure woman, roaming the city. Suddenly, a car came up behind me, and the man in the passenger seat turned around and looked at me with a disdainful gaze. I was so furious. At the moment when even the Greek goddess of love would be overshadowed, how dare a mere mortal cast such a contemptuous look at me? Of course, within a minute, I realized I was on the Nanpu Bridge, heading towards Pudong, and there was a police car behind me...”

The entire audience burst into laughter. After finishing the story, Gu Yi couldn’t help but glance at Liang Daiwen, who was still the only one in the crowd not laughing, sitting in the front row with a look of pity and guilt in his eyes. Gu Yi didn’t look back and walked off the stage.

After the show, Gu Yi couldn’t avoid it any longer, Liang Daiwen walked backstage, and the other performers wisely left. Liang Daiwen spoke first: “I’ve been watching your stand-up for a week straight. When you’re not on stage, I’m in the corner working, waiting for your turn. Unfortunately, you only perform on weekends.”

“I’ve been busy this week. The audience can come in directly, but we have to draw lots.”

“The number of performers has increased.”

“Because stand-up comedy has become popular.”

“It’s a good thing, you’ll become popular too.” Liang Daiwen licked his lips. “I didn’t expect you to talk about the breakup today. After listening... sorry, it’s my fault.”

“I’ll keep doing stand-up at my own pace, but... lately, I don’t really want to see you in the audience. My recent routines are all about breakups, but don’t overthink it, I didn’t do it intentionally for you.” Gu Yi coldly looked at Liang Daiwen. “I won’t make jokes specifically for you anymore.”

With that, she walked out, leaving Liang Daiwen alone backstage.

For the next few days, Liang Daiwen had no news. Even when he finally got a chance to attend an open-mic, he didn’t show up. Maybe she had been too harsh. Liang Daiwen had always been a well-behaved person. Thinking of what he said, “I won’t give up,” Gu Yi didn’t want to open her phone—giving up seemed to happen too quickly.

Recently, the office was collaborating with an event company for upcoming Dior and Prada fashion shows, with “Yi Zhou” magazine covering them. The best copywriters were in new media, and the public account didn’t have any suitable writers, so Jacqueline immediately transferred Gu Yi back. She had two days of meetings with the event company’s clients, working until 10 PM every night, while Gu Yi had to write drafts and draw cartoons, never resting. The next day, she came back to the office feeling exhausted.

“Calabash Baby, delivery!”

Gu Yi was dozing off in the tea room when she heard someone shouting “Calabash Baby” outside. She thought she heard wrong. The shouting continued for three minutes, and no one responded. There were four companies on the floor, and the delivery man had been shouting “Calabash Baby” for 180 seconds. Gu Yi wondered who was being made fun of like this, and everyone was waiting to see who the “Calabash Baby” was.

Back at her desk, Gu Yi saw 20 missed calls. An ominous premonition rose in her chest as she answered the phone, and the voice from the receiver and the shouting outside the door overlapped. “I’ve been calling you for ages. Where are you? Come out and get your delivery!”

Huh?

Confused, she opened the door, and everyone from the neighboring company and the floor above was looking at her. The delivery man was anxious. “I’ve been calling you for so long. I’m about to die of anxiety! I’ve got other orders!”

Who ordered it? Gu Yi was totally confused. “I didn’t order any delivery...”

Back at her desk, Gu Yi awkwardly smiled and checked her phone records. She hadn’t ordered any, since she had lunch with Xu Guanrui. Could it be a joke from Xu Guanrui, wanting to come over for lunch? No, that didn’t make sense. The man who loves to explore new places would never prank her like this.

She opened the delivery and then realized. Salmon with poached eggs and lemon soda, Liang Daiwen’s usual order.

Before she could react, another delivery person shouted outside, “Calabash Baby!”

Gu Yi rushed to grab it, and it was her favorite roast meat with three combinations. Her coworkers, enjoying the spectacle, laughed, “Lindsey, who’d you offend? You’re the Calabash Baby now!”

“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding.” Gu Yi gritted her teeth. Just then, she still hadn’t figured out what to have for lunch, and as she was about to find Xu Guanrui, the voice came again outside. “Door 3, 204, Calabash Baby, your delivery is here!” And the delivery man didn’t forget to add, “Calabash Baby, delivery!”

Only the first delivery left a phone number, and the rest had to be delivered by calling the door. Shouting so loudly that even Jacqueline, who had returned from the gym, couldn’t help but glance around the office, seeing Gu Yi’s desk piled high with deliveries, slightly raising her eyebrows. This trick was really clever. With all the deliveries, Gu Yi couldn’t go out to meet Xu Guanrui for lunch, and without leaving a number, she couldn’t let the delivery man leave it at the front desk. She could only wait passively in her office. How had this person become so shameless?

“Pumpkin Baby!”

... Shameless!

She couldn’t stand it any longer and dialed Liang Daiwen’s number: “Liang Daiwen, are you being a rascal?”

“If I didn’t do this, how would you call me first?”

“You’ve changed. You wouldn’t have been like this before.”

“It’s because you stopped talking to me first.” His tone actually had a hint of grievance.

“What do you want?”

“I can’t date Xu Guanrui. My calls need to be answered—I’m not going to bother you with nothing to do. But I want to see you, at least give me a fair chance to compete.”

“If you stop the takeout, I’ll agree to meet you. Liang Daiwen, how did I not notice you were such a rascal?”

“I don’t want to be like this either, but I’ve almost gone crazy trying to contact you. I can’t go to your house and harass you, that would be rude.”

“Shouting ‘Pumpkin Baby’ outside my office is polite?!”

“This is just giving you material for your stand-up.”

“You haven’t even come to see the stand-up, what use is the material?”

His tone became noticeably smug: “So you do care whether I come or not. That night I had a sharing session, but your bartender recorded the content for me. Sometimes when you pursue too eagerly, cooling down a bit makes you miss it—you girls call this ‘playing hard to get,’ right?”

... Quick progress. Gu Yi took a deep breath and shook her head wildly: “I didn’t expect your recovery to be this fast.”

“It’s not a disease, it’s a personality type. I see a therapist because I wanted to get rid of this pain, and over time, I thought my emotional expression disorder was a mental illness. I’m much better now, and I understand it’s just a type of personality, similar to autism.”

Quick-witted and sharp, Gu Yi initially felt pity for him, but now that was no longer necessary. A man who mastered the push-pull dynamic quickly evolved from pitiful to detestable. Gu Yi thought for a moment: “Got it. Give me your office address. Before you go abroad, I have a gift to give you. Now that you’re back, I’ll send it to you.”

“Face-to-face.”

“No, I don’t know how to face you.”

She ended the call. Liang Daiwen immediately sent the address, which was indeed at the Google building in Lujiazui. Liang Daiwen, who had become an excellent barrier-free designer, was now making a grand effort to pursue her.

She couldn’t let it go like this—Liang Daiwen, just wait.

Three days later, Liang Daiwen received a beautifully wrapped red package at the front desk. A newcomer who was always humble and restrained, Liang Daiwen received the delivery in his office. The item wasn’t large but was very heavy. His colleagues laughed and asked, “Is it from your girlfriend?”

Liang Daiwen couldn’t hide his joy: “Someone I like.”

In the afternoon, his mood was noticeably brighter. With a cheerful face, Liang Daiwen was accommodating to everyone, even during a three-hour conference call. After work, while waiting for a cab, Liang Daiwen reached the limit of his delayed gratification. Happily, he carried the five-kilo gift home, weighed it down the fourteen flights of stairs, overjoyed. He couldn’t resist dancing in the elevator, refusing to put the five-kilo gift down to rest. Upon arriving home, he didn’t even take off his shoes, squatting by the door to quickly unwrap it. As he reached the final layer of wrapping paper, he excitedly washed his hands, sat cross-legged on the floor, took a deep breath, and opened it—when the gift came into view, his face turned green.

It was a five-kilo red-brown brick. The wrapping paper had a layer of dust, and as Liang Daiwen opened it, dust covered his face and hair. Upon closer inspection, the three words spray-painted on it were:

“Don’t dream.”