Chapter 12

The Four-Sided Mirror - Xiao Ying (2)

Xiao Lajiao was speaking the blunt truth. The next morning, she really began her first job. More than ten people had already told her that girls shouldn’t work in this line. Everyone’s heard of delivery guys, but few have seen delivery girls. But she just let it go in one ear and out the other and stuck to it.

That morning, the street-side shops were still bustling with business. Some people swayed their heads to music, the saturated tones lingering in their hearts; some were irritated by the hot weather, angrily waving their hands to fan the air, lighting cigarettes with the spark; some, with an air of elegance, even though they lived in a dilapidated old house, had planted orchids and peonies in front of their doors; others stepped out of luxury cars to buy coffee for their bosses, completing the transaction efficiently in just a minute... The colorful diversity of the world was exactly what she wanted to experience in this job.

She started delivering parcels on her electric bike to a nearby upscale community, “Saint Tiru,” but unfortunately, her first delivery nearly cost her life. One customer had ordered twelve packages, big and small, and she had to carry them all to the property office. Just as she was about to leave, the property staff suddenly stood up: “If it’s the package for 4948 in Building 2, please be sure to deliver it to the door for the homeowner’s signature.”

When she arrived at Room 4948 on the 49th floor, she rang the doorbell, but no one answered. She tried calling the customer’s number, but there was no response. She knocked a few more times, still no answer. Her patience was wearing thin, and she began typing a message: “Mr. Lu, I’m from Shuntong Express. No one is home, so I’ve left the parcel with the property...” Finally, there was a clattering noise from inside. She paused, then rang the doorbell furiously again. A soft, sleepy woman’s voice called out: “Coming, coming, just a second.”

When the door opened, Xiao Lajiao was shocked: the woman in front of her had glamorous, voluminous hair, was about 178 cm tall, and wore a silky red nightgown that hugged her slender waist but couldn’t hide her ample chest and long legs. Xiao Lajiao stared wide-eyed at the name on the package, then at the stunning woman in front of her: “Lu Xiren?”

The woman yawned, made way for her, and sleepily leaned against the wall: “Just leave the packages in the hallway.” Xiao Lajiao moved the items inside and, upon glancing around the living room, saw lace bras, panties, bondage ropes, handcuffs, and some other items she had never seen before. She accidentally looked up and saw the woman’s obvious figure, swallowed hard, her face turning red as she hurriedly left the packages in the hallway and asked the woman to sign for them. She rushed to the elevator in embarrassment.

Once settled into her job, Luo Wei began her social life. Her college roommate, Ding Qing, also worked in Gongzhou, and after getting in touch with her, Ding Qing invited her out for a meal.

Luo Wei remembered that during their university days, Ding Qing’s boyfriend was from the Finance Department, and they were considered one of the most famous loving couples. After graduation, they both came to Gongzhou, so Luo Wei asked if they were planning something serious. Ding Qing’s face darkened, and she coldly replied, “He cheated on me with a green tea b****. We broke up.” That was the end of the conversation.

Luo Wei quickly changed the subject, but no matter what she said, Ding Qing remained deeply depressed, unable to lift her spirits. The result of saying the wrong thing was that Luo Wei was forced to attend a gathering with Ding Qing’s friends.

Originally, Luo Wei thought the gathering was just a casual dinner. After finishing work at 9 PM on Friday night, she went to the address Ding Qing had given her, only to discover that the destination was a luxury nightclub. She had come straight from work, wearing her office clothes, which completely clashed with the club’s upscale atmosphere. She remembered her first Halloween in university when she had gone to a nightclub with Ding Qing and two other roommates. The deafening music, with its rhythmic beats, surrounded them. When a woman passed by wearing fishnet stockings, holding a cane, and sporting a large top hat, Luo Wei realized for the first time that heavily made-up women could be so bold, so seductive. They looked like they had walked out of Jam Girl. It was like Liu Laolao stepping into the Grand View Garden; she and her classmates wandered around for two hours, awkwardly swaying to the music, before sneaking back to their dorm. Though they didn’t feel the urge to return to the nightclub, they all had that sense of “I’m an adult now,” a kind of proud foolishness, similar to how boys feel when they first smoke in their teenage years.

To her surprise, Ding Qing had become a regular at nightclubs. As soon as they entered the club, Luo Wei almost didn’t recognize her. Ding Qing was wearing a mini skirt, towering high heels, and had her curly hair swept to one side, exposing her fragrant shoulders. Her makeup was flawless, fit for a TV show. She hooked her arm around Luo Wei’s and gave her a once-over. “Oh my god, Wei Wei, why did you come like this?”

“I’ve been too busy with work to dress up. I almost had to work overtime, but I rushed here instead. Aren’t I loyal? But you, you look like a star! Do you really have to go all out like this?”

Ding Qing smiled, clearly pleased, and whispered in her ear, “Actually, the scumbag and the green tea b**** are often here on Fridays. I want to look extra beautiful so that when he sees me, he’ll regret it.”

Luo Wei thought for a moment. If it were her, she would think that breaking up meant becoming strangers, and his regret would mean nothing. It felt like a waste of time to go through all that effort. But everyone had different views on life, so she could only offer her support for her old friend. She gave Ding Qing a thumbs-up. “Smart.”

Ding Qing had reserved a private room with her friends, about ten people in total, but only three of them were men. After introducing each of them to Luo Wei, a girl named Xiao Rong coquettishly said, “Ding Qing, I don’t mind having more girls, but if it’s all girls, we won’t be able to have any fun, right? Are you trying to play the role of the ‘elderly lady’ here? Should I call a few more guys to join us?”

“Hey, hey, hey, no need for Mr. Zhou to make such a fuss. If you want to call some guys, I’ll do it,” Ding Qing whispered to Luo Wei, turning her head. “Xiao Rong is really pretty, can you tell?” When Luo Wei nodded, she rolled her eyes and sighed. “But she’s also quite troublesome. The guys she invites are basically like cult followers. This is my gathering, and I don’t want her to cause trouble. Do you know any reliable guys? Get them to come and fill in.”

During college, Ding Qing was always in a relationship, and after their sophomore year, she moved in with her boyfriend. Luo Wei, like the other roommates, was a single dog, always watching Ding Qing and her boyfriend’s sweet love. They weren’t exactly on the same wavelength, so they weren’t that close. Before fully understanding Ding Qing, Luo Wei didn’t want to bring her close friends like Xiao Lajiao or Su Jiannian into this circle. But calling a casual friend to join seemed impolite. After thinking for a while, she finally came up with a solution: call someone who was unlikely to show up and then be rejected. The thought of Xiao Ying’s imposing gaze crossed her mind, and she sent him a message: “I’m out with friends, want to come?” She then sent him the club address. Afterward, she waved her phone at Ding Qing, indicating that she had asked a friend. “This is the only guy I know well. If he doesn’t come, I have no other options. We’ll see.”

Ding Qing understood and called other guys to join. As expected, Xiao Ying’s response was exactly as Luo Wei anticipated. After a long wait, he still hadn’t replied. Luo Wei knew this was his usual way, but she still felt a bit disappointed. Later, a guy asked if he could come play games with her, but she had to honestly admit she didn’t know how to play. The guy nodded but still sat beside her, pouring her tea. Feeling a little awkward, she casually mentioned that she had a boyfriend. He paused for a moment, then awkwardly smiled and said, “You’re such a good girl,” before going off to play with others.

Half an hour later, Ding Qing called Luo Wei and two other girls to the restroom. Luo Wei checked her phone repeatedly in the bathroom. Aside from news updates, there were no new messages. Xiao Ying was really something—at least give her a reply. Not responding at all just made her overthink things. But then again, maybe he was busy, so she stopped dwelling on it. She just felt a little disheartened and started getting sleepy, wishing she could go home. Just then, one of the girls nudged Ding Qing, “Oh my gosh, Ding Qing, look over there! There’s a man who’s so handsome, and his body is amazing, with long legs!”

Ding Qing turned her head, then impatiently said, “There are so many people, where do you want me to look? Which one...” Her words trailed off as she stared, wide-eyed. She blinked without moving, nudging Luo Wei a couple of times. “Quick, look, look!”

Luo Wei followed the direction Ding Qing was pointing and saw a man standing in the corner, talking on the phone. Suddenly, a loud rumble sounded in her head, followed by her phone vibrating. The name “Xiao Ying” appeared brightly on the screen. She shakily answered the call but heard nothing, so she quickly hung up and rushed towards him. At that moment, the DJ was playing a slow K-pop song, with a male and female duet harmonizing in a passionate melody, mixed with lazy, sensual sighs that echoed throughout the dance floor. Xiao Ying, who was frowning and preparing to call again, looked up at her when she tapped his arm. Under the blue and purple lights dancing around them, Luo Wei felt inexplicably nervous, waving at him with a small gesture. “You... you really came.”

He didn’t hear her. He walked over, bent down, and said something, but the music was so loud that all she could hear was the beat. She blinked and pointed to her ear, signaling that she couldn’t hear. He sighed helplessly, stepped closer, and leaned down to speak in her ear. “How did you end up here?”

For some reason, people nearby kept casting indifferent glances at them. Though he wasn’t standing very close, his low, pleasant voice wrapped around her ears, seeping into her eardrums and making her cheeks flush. She couldn’t even look him in the eye. “It’s a friend gathering. It’s my first time here, too.”

“You don’t belong in places like this. Look at how sexy the other girls are.” He tilted his chin toward the crowd, then scrutinized her from head to toe with a critical gaze. “...You look like an elementary school student.”

The momentary feeling of shyness quickly disappeared. Luo Wei shot him a glare and led him over to where Ding Qing and the others were. On the way back to the private room, Ding Qing and the other two girls looked at them, stunned. Once inside, everyone turned to look at Xiao Ying. The girl who was singing stopped when she saw him, leaving only the karaoke music playing. The girl hesitated and said, “Ding Qing... who is this?”

“This is Luo Wei’s—”

Ding Qing glanced at Luo Wei, and Luo Wei quickly said, “A friend.”

“Oh, oh, this is Luo Wei’s friend.” Ding Qing’s gaze flickered as she became somewhat flustered. “What’s your name?”

“Jim,” Xiao Ying replied casually.

“Oh, okay,” the girl nodded and resumed singing.

It wasn’t until Xiao Ying and Luo Wei sat down side by side that the awkward silence began to ease a little. However, the atmosphere in the room had completely shifted. Originally, the girls were playing dice and rock-paper-scissors with the boys, but after seeing Xiao Ying, they stopped playing with the guys and sat together, talking about more feminine topics. The boys noticed this subtle change and instinctively continued drinking and playing dice with each other, pulling long faces and staring at the floor. Some of the more individualistic ones even sneered derisively.

Luo Wei didn’t pay much attention to the reactions around her. Since Xiao Ying didn’t know anyone, she felt the need to chat with him more to make him feel comfortable, otherwise, she feared for her life the next day. Fortunately, Xiao Ying was relatively talkative and they exchanged words for a while. During the conversation, she felt someone lightly pinch her waist. She straightened her back, then turned around to find Ding Qing winking at her, looking shy in a way she had never seen before. Luo Wei opened her mouth to ask if something was wrong, but before she could, she quickly understood Ding Qing’s intention. She smiled and moved aside, letting Ding Qing sit between her and Xiao Ying. Noticing Xiao Ying raise an eyebrow at her, Luo Wei cleared her throat and introduced him. “Let me introduce, this is my best friend from university, Ding Qing. Ding Qing, Jim and I have known each other longer than you. When we met, we were both just kids in our diapers.”

“I know, he’s Xiao Ying,” Ding Qing said, pushing a lock of her curly hair to the side, showing off a poised and intellectual demeanor. “Luo Wei talked about him all the time in college; I almost got calluses in my ears from hearing about him.”

“Exactly, it’s him! Qing’er, you’re so clever,” Luo Wei said, her face lighting up with joy. She wanted to say a few more words to Xiao Ying to liven up the atmosphere, but when she met his cold and complicated gaze, she realized she might have said something wrong. She quickly stopped talking, shrugging her shoulders to signal them to continue their conversation.

Xiao Ying didn’t look at her again and took the drink Ding Qing handed him, politely asking, “Ding Qing, what do you do?”

“Like Luo Wei, I’m a jewelry designer. How about you?” she replied.

Before Xiao Ying could speak, Luo Wei quickly interrupted, “Insurance! He’s, he’s in insurance!”

“In insurance?” Ding Qing frowned. “Do you work in sales?”

Luo Wei nodded vigorously. “Yes, he’s in sales.”

Luo Wei knew that Xiao Ying was working at Zhenji Wangcheng now, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to disclose too much information. Since Ding Qing had always enjoyed interacting with wealthy and high-status people, and her ex-boyfriend was a rich second-generation, the quickest way to deter her interest in Xiao Ying was to downplay his job. Luo Wei firmly closed her eyes and nodded, assuring herself she was doing the right thing. To her surprise, Ding Qing didn’t lose interest but instead raised her glass to Xiao Ying. “That’s impressive, being an insurance salesman is a really tough job.”

Luo Wei was stunned, unable to blink. Xiao Ying sighed, clearly irritated by Luo Wei’s behavior, and skillfully shifted the topic to jewelry. He and Ding Qing chatted for a while, and to Luo Wei’s surprise, Ding Qing dropped her usual domineering, lecturing attitude and became a serious listener. Luo Wei could only brace her head in her hands, hoping nothing would go wrong. Throughout the conversation, Xiao Rong sat restlessly, occasionally pounding her chest or sighing dramatically, drawing the attention of all the girls around her as she shared some emotional gossip. Ding Qing noticed Xiao Rong’s exaggerated behavior but was too focused on chatting with Xiao Ying to pay her any mind. It wasn’t until Xiao Rong yelled out, “Ugh, I’m so annoyed!” that Xiao Ying glanced at her. Ding Qing finally couldn’t hold back and, with a forced polite expression, pretended to show concern. “What’s wrong?”

The surprising thing then happened. Xiao Rong stood up, leaving her group of friends in the corner, swaying her hips and kicking her long white legs under her mini skirt. She walked over to Xiao Ying, sitting next to him but pretending not to notice him, while talking to Ding Qing on his left. “Ah, Qing Qing, you wouldn’t believe, I’m so annoyed.”

Ding Qing furrowed her brow slightly, her lips curving into a forced smile. “What’s bothering you?”

“It’s that eighteen-year-old hottie from last time, look.” Xiao Rong pulled out her phone and showed the WeChat chat history to Xiao Ying and Ding Qing. “I’ve rejected him so many times, but he keeps pestering me, confessing to me in all sorts of ways, even harassing me at midnight. It’s really annoying...”

The screen displayed numerous messages with “I miss you” and heart emojis, along with kiss symbols. Ding Qing glanced at Xiao Ying and noticed he was looking at Xiao Rong’s phone too. His eyes narrowed, and he quickly snatched the phone from her, scrolling back up. “Wow, it’s all from him, no replies from you? Look at this one, he says, ‘Yeah, I’m thinking of you.’ What about the earlier messages? Bad signal?”

Xiao Rong’s face turned as red as if she had been braised, and her smile became just as awkward as Ding Qing’s. “Oh, maybe it’s the signal. But it doesn’t matter, he still sends them to me even with a bad signal.”

Ding Qing propped her chin up with one hand, smiling casually. “Well, that’s great. I remember you saying he’s really handsome, so you must like him a lot.”

Xiao Rong put on a pitiful expression, as if she was about to cry. “No, no, I just see him as a little brother. Who knew he would be like this?”

Although they were talking about normal topics, the exchange between the two women created an intense atmosphere, and everyone around could feel the tension, all turning to look at them. As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, Xiao Ying finally laughed. “It’s quite popular nowadays, this whole age-gap relationship. Why don’t you consider it?”

“I don’t like him, but I like your open-minded thinking,” Xiao Rong said, looking more surprised than any concubine being favored, raising a glass towards him. “Here, a toast to you.”

Xiao Ying didn’t refuse and took a sip. Xiao Rong covered her mouth, looking like she couldn’t handle her alcohol, and sweetly said, “By the way, you’re called Jim, right?”

“Yes, and you?”

“I’m Xiao Rong.”

Xiao Rong works as a part-time model and knows how to present her femininity better than Ding Qing. She is bolder and more attuned to men’s preferences. She sat so close to Xiao Ying that they were almost touching, and her laughter had a sweet, seductive tone. She was full of energy, constantly asking Xiao Ying questions and not giving Ding Qing any chance to interrupt. Xiao Ying answered her questions smoothly, but he didn’t have the time to engage with anyone else. As their conversation went on, Ding Qing’s smile slowly faded into a more serious expression, biting her lip, her face even more displeased than the ignored boys around her.

Luo Wei had been watching the entire time, unable to express her surprise, wanting to laugh but holding herself back, staring at the three of them in a daze.

Finally, Ding Qing couldn’t maintain her composure any longer and, expressionless, stood up, walking over to sit with the other girls. Xiao Rong relaxed her shoulders, but instead of feeling triumphant, she seemed a bit down, sitting in silence for a while before turning to Xiao Ying. “By the way, Jim, you kind of look like King.”

-Rose Theater-

Xie Xinqi: “I’ve heard that listening to rhythmic music while watching drama unfold makes you feel happier.”

Luo Wei: “I’m just curious, who actually feels happy watching drama unfold like that?”

Xiao Lajiao: “I do.”

Xie Xinqi: “I do.”

Luo Wei: “The calm and gentle lady refuses to sink to your level.”

Shanshan: “...And I do too.”

Luo Wei: “:)” (manually waves goodbye)