Chapter 65

Bai Kou quickly turned her head and glanced over. Facing that face not far away, she felt utterly bewildered for a moment.

The escalator reached the end at that moment.

She hurriedly pulled back her attention, stepped off the escalator first, and turned around once more.

Eight years—no, to be precise, it had been nearly nine years. After all, she and the other hadn’t truly seen each other since after the New Year in 2013. They’d only had countless insubstantial video calls online.

She occasionally missed her during university, but after graduation and so many years of work, Bai Kou truly hadn’t imagined she’d see Pei Yue again in this lifetime.

The person who called out to her descended from the left side of the escalator to the bottom, then hurried up the right escalator toward Bai Kou’s curious but not overly joyful gaze.

Ah, upon closer inspection, Pei Yue’s face was still very much like before, especially that mole on the tip of her nose, which Bai Kou always recalled in her midnight dreams.

But it wasn’t entirely the same.

Her hair was noticeably longer than before, parted in the middle with some loose bangs on her forehead.

She wore a warm white crewneck sweater.

…

Bai Kou silently observed her like this until their gazes met. She then appropriately revealed a smile.

“Pei Yue.”

Unlike the heart-pounding moment when she first spotted the other, now that they truly stood face-to-face and exchanged updates on their lives, Pei Yue found they suddenly had nothing to say to each other.

While she racked her brains for the next topic, Bai Kou suddenly said, “Then I’ll head off first. I forgot something in the car.”

In the past, Pei Yue probably would have just watched her leave.

“I’ll go with you.” Pei Yue hurriedly said.

“Ah…” Bai Kou’s expression seemed a bit hesitant, but a second later, she smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

By now, dusk had fallen. The warm lights in the open-air parking lot shone on the cars, reflecting off them, making everything around seem glistening and moist.

The two walked one after the other, slightly out of step. Occasionally, Bai Kou would remember to turn her head and ask Pei Yue something.

“Are you here for dinner?”

Pei Yue’s gaze lingered for a long time on Bai Kou’s hair fluttering in the wind, on the shoulder carrying her bag. A good while after Bai Kou asked, she finally snapped back. “Ah, yeah, with Wen Yan and the others.”

She wasn’t sure if Bai Kou still remembered Wen Yan. After all, that was just a brief “encounter” during high school.

After the Sports Meeting ended, they never went back to the gymnasium, so Bai Kou and Wen Yan naturally hadn’t met again.

Who would have thought.

Bai Kou let out an “Ah—” and continued, “Boss Wen.”

Pei Yue blinked, puzzled by Bai Kou’s familiar tone, when a car’s taillights suddenly flashed.

Bai Kou said no more and went straight to the driver’s seat, pulling out a white gift bag from inside.

“OK, let’s go.”

It turned out the two of them were heading to the same restaurant.

Seeing that Pei Yue didn’t know, Bai Kou enthusiastically introduced it to her. “The beef here is pretty good in terms of texture. Skip the fish and shrimp though—they’re not great.”

Pei Yue’s eyes stayed fixed on Bai Kou’s profile. Without thinking, her responses came slowly, making her seem absent-minded. “Oh… okay… fish and shrimp…”

“Then—” Bai Kou maintained her steady smile and pointed to the corner on the right. She repeated something similar to before. “My classmates are over there, so I’ll head off first?”

Pei Yue could only nod.

As Bai Kou turned, she quickly grabbed Bai Kou’s hand and said, “In a couple days, when you have time, let me treat you to dinner.”

“Sure.” Bai Kou agreed.

Bai Kou carried the item she’d grabbed on the way for Lu Tongtong to the table. Quite a few people immediately turned with smiles and called out to her, “Class Rep!” She responded warmly a few times as well.

After sitting down, Lu Tongtong propped her chin and watched her, eyes narrowed in that “I know everything” gossipy expression.

Bai Kou stealthily pushed the white gift bag to Lu Tongtong. “Here, the autograph you wanted. Next time, get it from Yang Wanxi yourself.”

“Wow, so efficient! Thanks!”

“I really don’t get how you—” could keep fangirling at twenty-six, suddenly chasing someone they both knew. Bai Kou didn’t say the second half.

But Lu Tongtong read between the lines. “What’s wrong with fangirling over Xiao-Xi-jie? We can see each other during holidays—what could be better!”

Bai Kou shrugged and poured herself some hot water.

“Oh come on, stop pretending.” Lu Tongtong tugged at Bai Kou’s arm. “I saw it all. Who was that just now? Never seen her before, huh?”

Bai Kou gave Lu Tongtong a baffled look. “What? You haven’t met Pei Yue?”

“Ah?” Lu Tongtong exclaimed in surprise. “Pei Yue? For real?”

“Yeah, for real. Go ahead and message her on WeChat right now—she might even come over to say hi.”

Lu Tongtong clearly wasn’t concerned about whether she’d say hi. She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Bai Kou, you didn’t secretly get together with her behind my back, did you?”

“…” Bai Kou nearly spat out her water and looked at Lu Tongtong somewhat helplessly. “Come on…”

After a moment, Lu Tongtong puzzled again. “Why do you seem so calm about this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be calm?”

Lu Tongtong spread her hands. “Pei Yue! Pei Yue!”

Bai Kou didn’t even know how to explain. After thinking, she gave an example. “What if you suddenly ran into Ya-Ya right now?”

“Who’s Ya-Ya?”

Bai Kou then laughed. “See? So why should I be anything but calm?”

“What? Are you pretending? Are you embarrassed to admit in front of me that you’re still hung up on your white moonlight?”

“A white moonlight at least hangs in the sky every day where you can see it.” Bai Kou picked up a slice of beef. Sizzle. Steam rose. “Pei Yue and I haven’t seen each other in eight or nine years.”

Lu Tongtong wasn’t convinced.

That night, she deliberately plied Bai Kou with alcohol, both openly and subtly. Once she saw a flush rise on Bai Kou’s face, she stopped and grabbed Bai Kou’s wrist again.

“Bai Doudou! Rapid-fire Q&A! Dare or not?”

Bai Kou lazily leaned back on the sofa, boredly twirling the end of Lu Tongtong’s hair. “Mm, go ahead.”

“What year is it this year?”

“2022.”

“What’s my name?”

“Lu Tongtong.”

“Do you still like Pei Yue?”

“Nope.”

“What! Are you not drunk?”

“Nope.”

Bai Kou laughed and pinched Lu Tongtong’s arm. “Sorry, I know you’re a lightweight. I wasn’t planning to drink with you, but your intentions were too obvious, so you’ll cover the designated driver’s fee tonight.”

Lu Tongtong had classmates who could share a cab home with her.

They first kept Bai Kou company while waiting for the driver, then watched her get into the back seat.

Before closing the door, Lu Tongtong suddenly tugged at Bai Kou’s sleeve. Their eyes met. Bai Kou glanced at the person next to Lu Tongtong and spoke first. “Don’t ask—”

“No, no, not that.” Lu Tongtong of course knew some things could only be discussed between them. She got serious. “Can you ask Xiao-Xi-jie about that thing for me in the next couple days?”

“You guys are serious?”

“Dead serious!” Lu Tongtong clasped her hands together. “I told you, if we don’t get through this wave, we’ll go under! Then I’ll be unemployed, Bai Kou!”

“Shh.” Bai Kou covered Lu Tongtong’s mouth. “Don’t say stuff like that. I’ll ask when I get home.”

“Love you, love you, muah muah muah! Go on, bye-bye!” Lu Tongtong cheerfully slammed the door shut with a bang.

The car rocked and swayed as streetlights flashed by. Bai Kou leaned against the back seat in a daze, phone clutched in her hand, tapping it against her arm over and over.

Sigh. She’d promised Lu Tongtong, but this really wasn’t easy to bring up.

Though Yang Wanxi wasn’t yet a top-tier superstar, she was already a well-known actress who’d won Best Actress.

From what she knew, Yang Wanxi had basically been holed up in the film studio city all last year, with schedules packed tight. She could only squeeze in events occasionally, her calendar overflowing.

Someone too busy to even celebrate her own birthday… would she really give face to their childhood acquaintance and come help shoot a documentary for the zoo?

She wasn’t stupid.

“Xiao-Xi-jie did promo ambassadorship for another zoo before, right? Think about it! Jingshan Zoo is the only one in her hometown! And we’re going all out this time! We’ve shelled out big money to bring in experts! If this works, it’s all upside for her image, plus doing good deeds, right…”

By the last point, even Lu Tongtong had lost confidence back then, her voice trailing off.

Bai Kou sighed, unlocked her phone, and tapped into her blank chat with Yang Wanxi.

She opened the input box…

Click.

After typing for a while, she deleted it all, leaned her head back. Nope, think again. Think about how to phrase it.

【Group Chat: Oil Bean Sprout (3)】

Sheep: [Happy New Year, big fortune and prosperity!]

Bean: ?

Sheep: New Year’s coming, here’s a red packet first to wish everyone booming success all the way!

Bridge: Thanks.

Sheep: How’d you only get 2.8? I sent 200.

Sheep: @Bean come claim the red packet /penguin spinning/

The group, dead for a year, suddenly came back to life.

Bai Kou sat in the car looking at Yang Wanxi’s “come claim the red packet.” She vaguely remembered that last year, the year before… well, pretty much every year around this time, the same conversation repeated.

She tapped the red packet: 138.9, the max.

Bai Kou sent a simple “Thanks” and tossed out a new 200-yuan red packet. Click. She locked the screen, wanting to close her eyes and rest.

Her phone dinged again.

【Group Chat: Oil Bean Sprout (3)】

Sheep: @Bean how was the class reunion? Fun?

Bean: How’d you know about my class reunion?

Sheep: Yang something-or-other mentioned it.

Bean: Oh.

Bean: It was okay.

Sheep: Okay as in fun or not? Come on, spill!

Bean: Just okay.

Sheep: ……

Perhaps the alcohol had some effect after all. Bai Kou looked at Yang Wanxi’s string of “……” and suddenly found it pretty funny.

After so many years, she recalled how those two in the group had once teamed up to firmly oppose her dating early.

【Group Chat: Oil Bean Sprout (3)】

Bean: Oh right, something fun happened. I ran into someone I haven’t seen in forever /Yellow Doudou smug/

What.

Finally wanted to chat a bit and no one responds after half a day?

Bai Kou was a bit speechless.

Whatever.

She’d said it, time to wrap it up.

【Group Chat: Oil Bean Sprout (3)】

Bean: Remember how you two opposed me dating early back then?

Bean: Hehe!

Bean: Looks like I’m rekindling things with Pei Yue!

Bean: /red lips kiss/

After sending these, Bai Kou laughed at herself. She didn’t even know what she was laughing at—maybe imagining the hilarious expressions on the other two’s faces in the group.

Whether they actually rekindled or not didn’t matter. Getting revenge for back then felt the most satisfying.

Back home, Bai Kou called out while changing into slippers, “Mom, I’m back—”

Her clothes reeked of teppanyaki smoke.

She tossed her bag and phone onto the sofa and headed straight to the bathroom to shower.

Bang.

Humming a tune, she cheerfully shut the bathroom’s glass door.

Then, the door to Bai Yuqiao’s room quietly opened from inside.