Chapter 8: How Far Must I Travel to Enter Your Heart

Xu Mi was definitely not going to agree to her buying a phone.

This was reasoning from a normal, average person’s perspective. Think about it: she owed so much money and hadn’t made any back yet, yet she wanted to buy a phone? It was utterly unreasonable. Moreover, the phone in her hand was the very one Xu Mi had gifted her when she received her first salary during senior year. Xu Mi’s own phone was an old model she’d bought back in her sophomore year.

At this time, phones were mostly just for calling and texting and were durable enough not to break easily. No one felt the need to replace their phone every one or two years. Qu An’ge naturally couldn’t argue this was a rigid necessity to convince Xu Mi. She didn’t know her hesitation was blindingly obvious to Xu Mi. Xu Mi pretended not to notice and kept walking. Qu An’ge followed, but her steps grew slower and slower—a smartphone! To her, it truly was a necessity!

For one thing, to buy stocks later, she’d need a phone to operate it.

When the distance between them had grown to at least ten meters, Xu Mi stopped. She didn’t turn around, but she knew Qu An’ge was far behind. A wave of inexplicable emptiness rose within her. She unconsciously turned. Qu An’ge was standing about ten meters away, looking back every few steps. The crowd bustled, but Qu An’ge shone in it like a Mani Pearl, dazzlingly bright. People around were watching her, but Qu An’ge seemed utterly unaware. Xu Mi’s fingers unconsciously clenched, nails digging into her palms. This was, perhaps, exactly how she had walked away before: not entirely unaware, just with no other choice. And then, coming back to her senses, she’d found herself standing somewhere else entirely.

Just as inexplicable sorrow surged in her heart like a tidal wave, Qu An’ge turned and saw Xu Mi had stopped. She rushed over immediately. Perhaps because of her long legs, in the blink of an eye, she was standing right in front of her, grabbing her hand. Looking at her with a puppy-dog expression, as if expecting a pat on the head, she said, “…What about as a birthday present? We could both buy one.”

The sorrowful tide was forced to recede. Xu Mi, unable to grasp Qu An’ge’s meaning, just made a confused noise: “Huh?”

Qu An’ge was drunk on her own cleverness at finding a good excuse and completely missed Xu Mi’s oddness. “Isn’t my birthday on the 21st? It’s still a bit far, I know, but June is kind of my birthday month. I want to buy myself a new phone as a gift. Don’t worry, I still have some money on my card.”

Xu Mi’s feelings were complex.

She had actually prepared a gift back in the first half of the year—a pair of couple rings.

There wasn’t any deep meaning to it, really. She just felt that after being together for so many years, perhaps they needed a gift that could serve more as a witness, a memento. Just a few days after ordering the rings, Qu An’ge told her she didn’t want too many people knowing about their relationship because she wanted to enter the entertainment industry and become an actor.

Xu Mi had already decided not to give those rings away. So, picking a new gift seemed like the right thing to do.

Thinking this, Xu Mi nodded.

Though the words were her own, Qu An’ge now looked incredulous. “Really? You agree? That nod means yes, right?”

Xu Mi suppressed the urge to turn and leave. “It’s your own money. Can I tell you how to spend it?”

Qu An’ge slithered around Xu Mi’s arm with practiced ease, clinging like a snake. This time, Xu Mi tried to shake her off, but the grip was too tight. Qu An’ge’s body pressed close, pulling her towards the phone store. She spoke as they went. “Of course you can. My money is your money, but your money is still yours.”

Qu An’ge vaguely remembered her pay from a previous role had just come in around this time. Although Zhou Yue had taken a significant cut, there should still be twenty to thirty thousand yuan. She walked into the store and naturally headed straight for the Apple counter. Android phones at this time were prone to overheating and lagging. The moment she saw the price, Xu Mi’s face went dark. Qu An’ge could read this level of expression well enough and hesitated. She moved to the next counter—not cheap either. Then the next—a brand Qu An’ge had no memory of even ten years later. But it was cheap, just over a thousand yuan.

Qu An’ge stared, hesitating. That brand would go bankrupt ten years from now, so it must not be very good, right?

A sales assistant approached. “Miss, have you taken a liking to a phone? I can take one out for you to see.”

Qu An’ge thought: I at least need to buy a phone from a brand that won’t disappear in ten years.

She scanned around and finally settled on a Meizu model priced at 1,200 yuan. “This one, then. Two of them.”

Xu Mi had been standing quietly to the side the whole time. Now, she finally spoke. “What for?”

Qu An’ge said, “One for you, one for me.”

Xu Mi frowned slightly. “I don’t need one.”

Qu An’ge said, “Since we’re buying, let’s buy together. Smartphones are the future.”

Xu Mi said, “No need. I’m used to my current one.”

Qu An’ge said, “In a few years, even sixty-year-old grandpas will be using smartphones.”

The sales assistant also smiled and added, “Young people these days are all switching to smart phones.”

Xu Mi didn’t want to talk to the sales assistant. She tugged the hem of Qu An’ge’s shirt from behind and said, “Just buy your own.”

Qu An’ge, not grasping the seriousness of the situation, told the assistant, “Two, please.”

The assistant, not wanting to miss a sale, quickly boxed up two phones. Qu An’ge took out her card. She was a little nervous swiping it, worried there might not be enough money and she’d be embarrassed. Only when the payment succeeded did she finally sigh in relief. She turned to find Xu Mi, but she was gone. She quickly asked the assistant, “Where’s my girlfriend?”

The assistant, hearing the word “girlfriend,” was momentarily stunned, then said, “She went outside while you were entering your PIN.”

Qu An’ge was lost in confusion again. But no matter how baffling, she chased after her. Outside, the street was crowded; Xu Mi was long gone. Qu An’ge immediately called Xu Mi, but the call was rejected the instant it connected. Even a fool could tell from this response that she was angry. Qu An’ge texted Xu Mi: —【Where did you go? Let me come find you.】

Naturally, she received no reply.

Qu An’ge sat on the steps, dazed for a moment, then stood up and walked back into the phone store. Somewhat embarrassed, she still said, “I… I just left. Can I return one phone?”

The assistant said, “Ah, Miss, I’m afraid not. We can’t accept returns or exchanges without a quality issue.”

Qu An’ge pouted and texted Xu Mi: —【I asked, can’t return it. Sorry, I won’t do this again next time.】

Still no reply.

Qu An’ge left the store. She still had some unsold flowers. She unconsciously wandered towards busier areas. At a certain intersection, she saw a street performer on the sidewalk singing “Walking in the Cold Wind.”

It was the middle of summer, but this song struck a chord in her heart. She thought, wasn’t she walking in the cold wind right now, lonely at this very moment? Although her nerves appeared thick as steel, she could actually sense how precarious the situation was. She just truly had no other way. She’d thought if she just pretended not to know, if she could just make Xu Mi feel her passion and dedication, there might still be a chance.

But now she knew: if Xu Mi turned and left, there was absolutely nothing she could do.

She was on the verge of tears when someone beside her asked, “Miss, are the flowers for sale?”

Glancing over, she saw it was a couple. She said, “Roses, fifteen. Small bouquet, forty.”

Xu Mi had just arrived and heard this. The corner of her mouth twitched.

She had seen Qu An’ge’s text and felt the other seemed to have genuinely reflected. She wanted to come back and check. From afar, she saw Qu An’ge standing alone in the crowd with her head lowered, looking incredibly lonely and desolate. A trace of pity rose in her heart. Then she arrived just in time to hear—Qu An’ge had spontaneously raised the price of her flowers!

She stopped. She watched Qu An’ge successfully sell the flowers, but then, looking at the couple’s retreating backs, Qu An’ge wore an expression of sorrow and melancholy again. After a soft sigh, Qu An’ge walked up to the street performer and handed him ten yuan. “Can I sing a song?”

The man, a literary type with a scruffy beard, probably wasn’t busking out of poverty, just killing time. He smiled, stood up, and handed his acoustic guitar to Qu An’ge.

Qu An’ge took the guitar and looked towards the crowd. Xu Mi ducked behind others. Qu An’ge didn’t see her. But seeing so many people excited her, igniting a performer’s instinct. She thought for a moment, plucked the strings, and began to hum and sing—

“I’m fascinated by your eyes, traces of the galaxy can be found…”

Qu An’ge hadn’t thought much before choosing “Dream Journey.” A key reason was her very limited repertoire. She could play and sing because she’d participated in a variety show in 2020 where stars had to learn a new song each week and compete on stage. She hadn’t won a prize, but her popularity was high. The show’s director had been kind to her in the past, so she’d gone. Through immense effort, she’d learned five songs; this was one of them.

This song had won her first place that week. Singing it, she’d thought of Xu Mi and performed so movingly that tears fell on stage. The screenshot topped the trending topics that night, described as “Fairy Tears” or something similar. Qu An’ge had also posted on Weibo, saying she was thinking of someone from her past, hoping the high visibility would let Xu Mi see it and contact her.

Of course, nothing came of it.

Had Xu Mi ever seen it back then? Qu An’ge always wondered. Wondering made her sadder. Eyes lowered, she sang: “…How far must I travel to enter your heart…”

Tears pooled in her eyes again. Just as they were about to fall, she raised her gaze and saw Xu Mi standing in the crowd, looking at her with a complex expression.

As tears slipped down her cheeks, seeing Xu Mi, Qu An’ge smiled.

Thank goodness, this time she saw it for sure.