Chapter 90

Being able to understand others is a kind of talent, but it appeared in the most unexpected person.

Guan Xingxin stared, unable to believe it, more shocked than if she had been struck by lightning: “Are you out of your mind?”

“Of course not. I’m the founder of a PR company, well-known in the industry. Your parents wouldn’t dare do anything to me. That couple who treats you like a substitute player, they should at least be polite and act like close family friends. A four-million-dollar house can control your family like this. To put it bluntly, it’s not even that much money. Your parents have no backbone.”

The window reflected Guan Xingxin’s disarray: “Stop joking like that. You’re willing to trade your lifelong happiness for my freedom? This is a joke, isn’t it? You came to Shanghai for Jacqueline...”

“That chapter is closed. And how do you know I don’t like you?”

“You’re crazy.” Guan Xingxin jumped up, shivering as she dove under the covers. “You should go home. Inviting you to dinner was a mistake. Late at night, people get impulsive. Yes, just like this, leave now. I don’t want to see you.”

Huang Wenda stood up, unfazed by the situation. “I’m serious. Talking about looks or what society expects doesn’t mean much here. We haven’t known each other long, so you probably think I’m a nasty, foul-mouthed jerk. But at least we both believe in love.”

Guan Xingxin felt her body go cold, but she couldn’t move. Yu Doule had said she didn’t love anyone, and Huang Wenda’s words about being “foolish lovers” cut through her easily. The door opened and closed again. She lay alone in the dark room, thinking she’d already cried all her tears, yet now they soaked the pillow once more. Understanding others was also a gift, just one that appeared unexpectedly from this person.

The next day, on the eve of her mother leaving Shanghai, Gu Yi invited everyone to the Van Gogh Museum for dinner. Her mother, who loved gatherings and enjoyed mingling with young people, insisted on hosting her daughter’s friends. Yu Dule and Lu Ming knocked on the door and saw Gu Yi’s mother, who was wearing a short haircut, a bright green T-shirt, loose jeans, and a headscarf. They exchanged looks. But it was Gu Yi’s mother who slapped Lu Ming’s back and said, “Why are you standing there? Come in!”

The outfit was, of course, designed by Guan Xingxin. She was wearing a floral dress with shoulder pads, her hair curled like an 80s Showa-era model, and she greeted Yu Dule. Gu Yi’s mother asked Guan Xingxin, “Why didn’t you bring your boyfriend? Aren’t you in a hot romance?”

Everyone in the room heard her. Guan Xingxin, used to being misunderstood, smiled and replied, “Auntie, my ex-boyfriend is still here.”

Yu Dule felt a bit awkward. He couldn’t leave with the elders present, but his mood clearly wasn’t great—breaking up so decisively, only to find out she had a new boyfriend. Typical Guan Xingxin.

Guan Xingxin didn’t explain. They were already friends, and explaining was unnecessary.

Gu Yi had invited Jacqueline, but the workaholic woman wouldn’t attend a gathering like this, choosing instead to avoid further interactions with Gu Yi. With both hands full of fruit, Dr. Shen stood at the door, “No one’s going to greet me?”

Liang Daiwen stuck his head out of the storage room, “Stop being dramatic, just come in.”

Inside the storage room were only him and Gu Yi. They had come to find extra storage boxes, but as they got too close, they couldn’t help but flirt for a while. The stethoscope was hidden deep in a drawer, but it didn’t stop them from kissing. A cough from the door interrupted them—Yu Dule was standing there. Gu Yi didn’t care, still kissing Liang Daiwen’s lips, rubbing his earlobe, her fingertips tracing down his neck, touching goosebumps. Smelling the scent of Gu Yi’s hair, Liang Daiwen asked, “What perfume are you wearing?”

“Cooking oil.” Gu Yi closed her eyes helplessly, “My mom was cooking and flicked some onto my hair.”

The culprit, her mother, shouted from outside the door, “Tonight, we drink till we drop!”

The music in the background was playing a random playlist. Gu Yi looked at her mother chatting with the young people, shaking her head to city pop and waving away hip hop. She said Yu Dule looked like a beggar who rummaged through trash, and that’s why he couldn’t get a girlfriend, especially after hearing about his past relationship with Guan Xingxin. She casually slapped Yu Dule’s shoulder, then used his lighter to light her cigarette, completely abandoning the role of an elder. When she heard that Lu Ming had divorced and remarried, she patted his shoulder, picked up Yu Dule’s cigarette, and offered it to him—a perfect example of giving flowers to someone else.

Dr. Shen stood beside Gu Yi, “Now I see why you and Liang Daiwen are so stubborn.”

“Because we both have the spirit of youth?” Gu Yi replied.

“Both of you are heartless.”

Gu Yi winced, “Quack doctor, do you have to put others down before you try to treat them?”

Dr. Shen laughed, “It’s admiration.”

“I can tell. You’re not very good at speaking nicely.”

“Seeing you two, I feel like I want to fall in love.”

“Oh? Who else besides me?”

“You haven’t seen them. Many girls, before starting a relationship, will first assess the conditions and character of the person, carefully screening them before making a decision. It’s natural, because once they fall into an intimate relationship, women find it harder to get out. I’ve treated many patients with emotional injuries—people who are socially withdrawn or depressed after a breakup... The more I see, the more I realize how complex human hearts are. I’ve become more skeptical about love. But this time, I met a few interesting girls that made me believe people shouldn’t be so disillusioned with love.”

Gu Yi patted Dr. Shen’s shoulder, “Dr. Shen, you’re being pushed along by external factors. It’s clouding your judgment, proving that you, too, aren’t good at facing love. You’re not as brave as Guan Xingxin, though—she’s no longer entangled with it. Don’t let your patients’ cases influence you. Whether you want to fall in love or not, first, you need to be firm about it.”

Dr. Shen looked at Guan Xingxin, who was chatting seriously with Liang Daiwen, completely not following the usual signs of attraction. Guan Xingxin was listening intently as Liang Daiwen talked about visual effect capture technology, and even mentioned her experience while working on a live broadcast: “When the company made Layla’s chest very noticeable and added motion effects while she walked, it wobbled; people have long gotten tired of this. The users who watch anime want companionship; the people behind them must be interesting and have a soul, bringing inner peace. I recently went to interview at a company creating virtual influencers. They’re very straightforward, they want realistic and avant-garde designs—down to the slight asymmetry of a person’s left and right face, the skin texture identical to real life. No more need for dolls; times are changing.”

This surprised Liang Daiwen, “You seem to have changed a lot since doing variety shows.”

“I’m tired of pretending to be a good person.” Guan Xingxin laughed a few times, “Staying single is also nice. My motto now is ‘Live fast, die young’—indulge in life, face death early.”

Yu Dule was sitting not far away, holding a remote control, the volume of the TV turned down low.

The table was full of dishes, and Gu Yi complained, “Mom, fifteen dishes, how did you manage that?”

“Can’t these young men finish them?”

Gu Yi knew all these dishes were made for the poor Liang Daiwen, but still pointed at the twenty big crabs in the pot, “This amount is more like feeding pigs.”

“That’s because you guys can’t afford them in Shanghai. I just asked Xiao Yu, how much is a drink in Shanghai? Good lord, one drink costs as much as a week’s worth of drinks at home. How can people like you stay here, addicted to poverty?”

Gu Yi had no retort. She was tired and didn’t want to argue with her mother anymore, just wanted to jot down the jokes. Yu Dule and she both grabbed their phones—exchanging a glance, they quickened their typing speed.

“This is what my mom said!”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s about who gets on the open mic first.”

This time, Liang Daiwen learned his lesson and was determined not to drink too much, focusing only on eating — he really seemed to like home-cooked meals. The bottles of liquor in the wine cabinet were all bought on a whim to accommodate this woman who loved to drink. When his mom heard that Liang Daiwen’s doctor was coming, she seriously asked about his emotional disorder again — from its causes to treatments and potential recovery, probably unable to accept the overwhelming amount of information. She learned that Liang Daiwen had only recovered to 50% and was smoking more heavily. Liang Daiwen obediently ate, occasionally glancing at Gu Yi, while everyone at the table felt tense. Finally, his mom spoke up: “Brat, self-respect, self-love, independence, and strength — I still stand by these as your motto. But this man, not understanding emotions isn’t a major flaw.”

This made Liang Daiwen freeze. Guan Xingxin asked, “Auntie, does this mean you’re agreeing to their marriage?”

“What’s the point of marriage? Eating, sleeping together, cleaning up.”

The group choked on their drinks. His mom slowly flicked the ash from her cigarette: “If you don’t even understand what love is, but rush into marriage, fighting to take advantage of the other person, that’s when life starts to fall apart. I’ve been married and divorced, and I still don’t understand what’s going on in a man’s mind. If Gu Yi understands, then marry him — what does it have to do with me? If marriage is something I push, she’ll just end up getting a divorce.”

Guan Xingxin nodded: “Auntie, I applaud you.”

“What’s there to applaud? A mother who says such things clearly has no heart.”

Gu Yi added, “Mom, accept reality. It’s been over fifty years, where do you think your heart comes from?”

Sure enough, another slap followed. Gu Yi was genuinely aggrieved — why did her mother always hit her in front of her boyfriend, even after coming all the way to Shanghai? Perhaps her mom’s role was to make her realize how resilient life could be? With that thought, she became even sadder and clinked glasses with the two stand-up comedians at the table. As mother and daughter drank more, the table became a mess, and Liang Daiwen, holding the unconscious Gu Yi, let her slap his face: “Idiot!”

Her hands were really heavy. Lu Ming laughed loudly as he recalled, “I remember, after they met at the ounce, when Gu Yi drank too much and tripped, she’d fall on Liang Daiwen like a Terracotta Warrior. Now you’ve got the perfect posture to catch her.”

Liang Daiwen frowned from the alcohol: “What else can I do? She doesn’t have other hobbies — drinking and telling jokes, let her be.”

Another hobby is playing with a stethoscope, but Liang Daiwen didn’t mention that. Leaning on his shoulder, Gu Yi had lost consciousness. Her alcohol tolerance was truly low. Her mom was still giving the young ones some psychological guidance and mentioned hearing that Lu Ming had once liked Guan Xingxin: “So why didn’t you end up together?”

Lu Ming pointed at Yu Dule: “Because she chose him. I wasn’t determined enough.”

Guan Xingxin smiled wistfully and poured more wine into Lu Ming’s glass: “Uncle Lu, what about the furry drama?”

“We’ll rent for six months, after that Liang Daiwen will still host sharing sessions. He’s paying the rent now.”

It wasn’t long before her mom got drunk as well. The two of them were finally moved to the bed, yawning side by side in a warm, comforting scene. Liang Daiwen, who used to never allow anyone into his house, and who didn’t even like the smell of cooking oil in the rooms, had been completely overwhelmed by these unkempt women. But somehow... he was enjoying it. Maybe life was about adapting to disorder and chaos; when it’s too organized, there’s less room for the joy of losing control. Just as he thought this, the movements of the drunken mother and daughter seemed off. Gu Yi took off her clothes first, squinting and smacking her lips, then started scratching her chest, an all-too-familiar motion. Thinking of what she said about inheritance, and seeing Gu Yi’s mom also grabbing at her clothes, Liang Daiwen hurriedly closed the door: “Goodnight!”

Guan Xingxin was carefully washing the dishes. Wearing gloves and humming a song, Yu Dule leaned against the door: “You seem to have changed a bit.”

“Really? I’ve always liked music, just pretended to be quiet in front of you.”

“Got a new boyfriend?”

“Please—” Guan Xingxin chuckled self-deprecatingly. “A few days ago, Gu Yi’s mom came to the place I rented, I couldn’t interrupt their meeting, so I made an excuse to go out. I’m not the kind of woman who falls in love at first sight and starts dating immediately. We’ve had many misunderstandings, but… it’s all in the past.”

“Mm.” Yu Dule leaned against the doorframe, unsure of what to say but couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“I checked my email just now. I have a new job, helping design virtual idols. I never expected that my experience with creating middleman characters would get me a job in such a new industry. The pay is enough for me to rent an elevator apartment. Looks like I’m not useless. I plan to take a set of wedding photos on my thirtieth birthday, alone. No matter what the future holds, I’ll marry myself first. Do you have any recommendations for a studio?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You’re not thinking of helping me take the photos, right?”

Yu Dule shook his head, smiling: “No.”

Guan Xingxin laughed and turned up the music, swaying her body as she washed the dishes, completely enjoying herself. Yu Dule stood there, like he was admiring a dynamic painting: fresh, full of life, as if she had undergone a transformation. The old Guan Xingxin was always sorrowful, with a weak body carrying misfortune. That aura had subconsciously drawn him closer, making him hesitate to extend a hand to comfort her. But now, she seemed to have let go of everything, confident, ready to take on the world with a punch. The only thing unchanged was that she was still hard to read. After finishing the dishes, Guan Xingxin flicked her wet hand toward his face: “What are you thinking?”

Yu Dule didn’t move. Guan Xingxin passed by him, grabbed her bag, and prepared to leave. While waiting for the elevator, she jokingly mentioned the recently remarried daughter who refused to be close to her dad, showing no hint of flirtation. Yu Dule felt bittersweet yet relieved standing behind her, hands in his pockets. Dr. Shen was waiting for the next elevator and was pulled in by Guan Xingxin, who boldly said, “Got a guilty conscience? There are three men in this elevator who’ve been involved with me. All that proves is... I’m still quite charming.”

Liang Daiwen was laying out a mat in the study when he was joined by a furry head. Gu Yi, freshly bathed but with wet hair, crawled into the bed, soaking his pillow and T-shirt. The light on the desk was still on, and Gu Yi said, “You really like my mom, don’t you?”

“Yeah. When I was mischievous before, my mom would pinch my leg, and it really hurt.”

Gu Yi clicked her tongue a few times: “Looks like to conquer you, a woman doesn’t need to conquer your stomach, she first has to understand where your skin is itchy.”

Liang Daiwen, pretending to sleep, refused to answer. Gu Yi poked him: “That painting on the wall, I was curious about it when I first came here. Did you paint it?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you only draw perspective diagrams after puberty?”

“It’s one of the few remaining impressions. I was passing by an abandoned house in Chongqing, and a little window with peeling paint fell off just as I was walking by. The pink, tattered curtains were blown out by the wind. I stood there for a long time, broke the glass, took the broken window frame back, and painted a picture with it as the frame. It’s not really a work of imagination, just recording what I saw. The smoke that drifted out of it was the only ‘imagination’ I had—quite clumsy.”

Gu Yi, leaning on the wall, shook her head: “No, the imagination that struggles out of you is very moving.”

People often bury unsatisfactory experiences, ignoring painful pasts and wishing for a button to explode all related memories. Over time, the part of the heart that can empathize becomes fewer and fewer. Those whose hearts were buried early in the rubble have to move away the thick remnants with bare hands, their hands covered in blood, their faces dirty, still clinging to the ground to listen for faint sounds, trying to turn the heart back into their chest. Gu Yi didn’t turn off the light, staring at the painting in a daze, feeling lucky that on the day she broke into this house, she noticed this imperfect piece of art.

The person beside her trembled for a second, suddenly opened his eyes, his breathing still irregular. Gu Yi had never seen Liang Daiwen like this: “What’s wrong?”

“I...”

“Did you cramp?”

“I think I dreamed about something.” Liang Daiwen still couldn’t believe it: “I didn’t remember, but it felt like I fell from somewhere.”

“Felt like you suddenly stepped into a void?”

“Yeah.” Liang Daiwen turned over: “Psychosomatic muscle spasms, right?”

“Congratulations, robot, you’re a little more normal now.”

Jacqueline said goodbye to her Alaska office, and the first thing she did when she arrived at her new company was to change the desk and chair that Huang Wendai had chosen for her. The office chair, like an e-sports chair, was terribly ugly, and the white desk wasn’t to her liking either. Not to mention the potted lucky bamboo on the desk—Roger’s superstitions she couldn’t get rid of, and in the new company, she wasn’t about to let him show her who’s boss. In fact, Huang Wendai didn’t have bad taste, but Jacqueline had gotten a raise and now had the budget to indulge herself.

She also dragged the floor lamp from Huang Wendai’s office. Her departure from “Yizhou” caused quite a stir, and Roger tried to keep her for a month, but he couldn’t keep her. It’s difficult to sever ties with an organization where resources equal value. Her new job in public relations, dealing with so much to learn, always made her excited when she thought about “new things,” while she had become a little bored with magazines. The investors Huang Wendai worked with also funded e-commerce and content platforms, and needed public relations, but no one could compare to her connections in the media world—thanks to Yizhou, Huang Wendai had to bow down. After glancing at the staff in the office, whose eyes lacked any vitality, she seriously considered whether to bring Gu Yi over.

Entering the conference room to sign the contract, another partner said, “I heard you two were in a relationship before. Now you’re working together, does that make you a couple?”

Both shook their heads vigorously. Huang Wendai showed impatience: “Forget it, who’s trying to patch things up? Even if we got married now, after one month of work, we can go straight to the civil affairs bureau for a divorce.”

“That’s harsh.”

“It’s a partnership, what’s there to be considerate of?” Jacqueline glanced at the other partner: “In the future, you might see us fighting in the conference room, don’t be surprised.”

The three of them laughed in the conference room. When they returned to the office and saw the floor lamp was gone, he couldn’t take it anymore: “Jacqueline, I don’t owe you anything now, don’t take my stuff.”

“I need a lamp. Can’t you just ask administration to buy another one?”

As expected, she heard Huang Wendai’s curses. He didn’t talk much with her, just glanced at his watch: “Isn’t it almost rush hour? I have something to do.”

“In such a hurry?”

“Of course,” Huang Wendai pulled a red velvet box from his drawer, not even looking at Jacqueline, shoved it in his pocket, and opened the door. “I’m going to propose.”