Chapter 58

That intimate form of address stung Lu Yao’s heart with a dull ache—even Jie Jie had never called her “Little Friend.” She had planned to give Shen Zhirou some space during this period, avoiding her to prevent seeming too pushy, and gradually win her back with a softer approach. But now it looked like that wouldn’t fly. This “Little Friend” seemed off right from the start. If she didn’t act soon, Jie Jie might get stolen away by someone else.

Just picturing Shen Zhirou playing claw machines with another girl made Lu Yao’s heart twinge with jealousy, sharp pains radiating through her chest. Her stomach started cramping too—she hadn’t been eating properly lately, and the pains came frequently.

Ignoring the ache in her gut, Lu Yao opened her chat with Shen Zhirou and fired off a voice message. “Jie Jie, who’s that ‘Little Friend’ in your Moments? Jie Jie, I really know I messed up. I’m sorry. Can you please not have any other ‘Little Friends’? Isn’t one me enough?”

“Jie Jie, I miss you so much. When are you coming home? I’m kinda scared being here by myself.”

“Jie Jie, will you talk to me? Please?”

She sent voice message after voice message, but they vanished into the void without a ripple. Lu Yao clutched her phone in a death grip, unable to tell if her heart or her stomach hurt worse. Cold sweat beaded on her face and trickled down; her complexion was deathly pale. She burrowed under the covers, and muffled sobs leaked out from beneath. Lu Yao didn’t even dare imagine what she’d do if Shen Zhirou really ended up with someone else.

Tears streamed down her cheeks like beads from a snapped necklace. Panic rising, she had no idea what to do next. Tomorrow was Saturday, and she had no clue where Shen Zhirou was living now—she couldn’t get in touch with her at all.

So what would Jie Jie do over the weekend? Go shopping with that new “Little Friend”? Or hole up at home together?

The thought made fresh tears pool on Lu Yao’s face. Going out might be bearable, but when she and Shen Zhirou had been together, staying in usually meant spending the day in bed.

Lu Yao squeezed her eyes shut tight. She couldn’t bear to think about it anymore. If Jie Jie really had someone else now, what was she supposed to do?

Lu Yao slept straight through until two in the afternoon the next day. Her stomach was still cramping in waves. She couldn’t force down a single bite of food, so she just grabbed two stomach pills from the drawer and swallowed them dry. The pain eased a little. She dragged herself up for a shower, which perked her up somewhat, but the moment her thoughts turned to Shen Zhirou, her heart grew heavy again.

In the end, she pulled out her laptop and searched for “how to win your girlfriend back fast.” The advice online was a bizarre mishmash. Lu Yao spent the entire afternoon scrolling through it, but instead of solutions, she only felt more despondent. No wonder Jie Jie wouldn’t forgive her—she really had been awful before.

With a sigh, Lu Yao messaged Chu Su, Zhao Ke, and the others to meet up at a bar for drinks.

It was still early when Lu Yao and her friends arrived, but Crown Bar was already buzzing with people. They grabbed a random booth and sat down. Lu Yao ordered a ton of booze.

Chu Su noticed her pallid face and tried to dissuade her. “Maybe we should go easy on the drinking tonight?”

Lu Yao shook her head. “My heart hurts. Let me drown it a little. Just make sure to get me home later—and don’t call my mom or anyone. That’s the last thing I need.”

She typed out her home address in WeChat and sent it to Chu Su, then dove into the drinks. Worried she’d knock herself out too fast, Chu Su and Zhao Ke kept her company, chatting as they sipped along.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhirou’s department had thrown a welcome dinner for their new colleague and had now migrated to Crown Bar to unwind with some drinks.

Fu Ning had clung to Shen Zhirou’s arm the whole walk over, like a living accessory. Shen Zhirou chalked it up to childishness and paid it no mind.

At the reserved booth, Fu Ning plopped down right beside Shen Zhirou.

The department was packed with young folks, and it wasn’t a grueling job, so the office vibe was surprisingly chill—everyone got along like friends off the clock. Before long, the department’s enthusiastic big sisters had talked Fu Ning into a few drinks, turning her cheeks a rosy pink.

She wasn’t much of a drinker; after those few, she was already woozy. She slumped her cheek against Shen Zhirou’s shoulder, humming softly as she nursed the buzz.

Seeing her tipsy, Shen Zhirou teased with a light laugh, “I told you to sip slowly. Look at you now—drunk already?”

“Doesn’t matter if I’m drunk. I’ve got Jie Jie. Mmm~ Jie Jie, I wanna drink more.” Fu Ning’s ear tips flushed red as she reached for the glass in Shen Zhirou’s hand, but Shen Zhirou smoothly dodged.

“Can’t drink any more, or you won’t make it home later. Be good and rest for a bit—don’t let them tease you.” Shen Zhirou was worried Fu Ning might actually get sick from drinking too much, so she wouldn’t let her have another drop. The girl was about the same age as her own Mianmian, and her clingy nature was just as irresistible, making it impossible for Shen Zhirou to turn away the little tail that always trailed after her.

After a short rest, the alcohol hit Fu Ning even harder. She’d been mixing beer and red wine, and now her head was spinning badly.

Fu Ning fought off the dizziness and nuzzled against Shen Zhirou’s shoulder. Across from them, Huang Qingqing burst out laughing.

“Zhirou, it’s a good thing you’re single right now. Fu Ning’s gotten lipstick all over your shirt.”

Shen Zhirou hadn’t noticed until Huang Qingqing pointed it out. She glanced down and sure enough, the right side of her shirt bore the smudges from her little drunkard leaning against her. Shen Zhirou shook her head with a helpless chuckle. “I can’t let this little drunkard go out drinking again. Just a few glasses and she’s out like this—her lipstick’s all smeared.”

Worried she’d squirm around and make it worse, Shen Zhirou held the back of Fu Ning’s head steady with one hand while grabbing a few tissues with the other to roughly wipe the lipstick from around Fu Ning’s mouth, sparing her own shirt further damage.

Seeing Shen Zhirou wipe lipstick off Fu Ning, Huang Qingqing probed tentatively, “What do you think of Fu Ning?”

“She’s great—lively, chatty, full of energy. A really cute girl.” Shen Zhirou smiled as she replied.

Huang Qingqing winked at her. “Any ideas brewing?”

Shen Zhirou could tell from Huang Qingqing’s eyebrow wiggles that she’d misunderstood, so she laughed lightly and explained, “You’re overthinking it. This kid’s about the same age as my little sister. I just see her as a Little Friend.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, Zhirou, that’s not right. Our company allows office romances, you know—keeping it in-house is way more convenient. And who knows, your Little Friend might turn into a girlfriend before you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah! Another round! Another round!”

The others joined in the teasing, and Shen Zhirou could only take a helpless sip from her glass amid the clamor from her colleagues. Ever since Fu Ning had arrived, Shen Zhirou rarely thought of Lu Yao during work hours anymore.

The Little Friend was such a chatterbox that Shen Zhirou couldn’t stay quiet for even a few minutes before she’d come over whispering in her ear. And truthfully, this had been the best week Shen Zhirou had felt since parting ways with Lu Yao.

Her gaze drifted to the girl still leaning on her shoulder, and she shook her head with a soft laugh. She really hadn’t grown up yet.

“Jie Jie, I want some water.” Fu Ning rubbed her forehead against Shen Zhirou’s shoulder, whining coquettishly.

“Alright, coming right up.” She asked the server for a glass of warm water. Afraid Fu Ning might spill it in her state, Shen Zhirou held the glass herself and helped her drink about half of it.

Once she’d had her water, Fu Ning settled obediently against her shoulder again, sobering up a little while listening to Shen Zhirou and the others chat. Fu Ning’s mind was still fuzzy, but every now and then, she couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be if she could lean like this in Shen Zhirou’s arms forever.

On the other side, Lu Yao’s face was frighteningly cold. Her fingers gripped her glass so tightly her knuckles were white, and her eyes were rimmed red, like a little kitten abandoned by its owner, gazing at her mistress with resentment—while it seemed her mistress already had another little dog by her side?

Without warning, tears began streaming from Lu Yao’s eyes. She’d noticed the moment Shen Zhirou and her group had entered, and she’d been watching that girl beside Shen Zhirou especially closely. It was obvious the girl had designs on her Shen Zhirou, constantly trying to sidle up to her.

At first, it had been bearable—Shen Zhirou had kept some distance from Fu Ning. But after seeing the lipstick marks on Shen Zhirou’s shirt from Fu Ning, Lu Yao had lost her composure entirely. And then Shen Zhirou had gently wiped the lipstick from Fu Ning’s mouth… Now Lu Yao felt like a fish drowning on dry land, her tears flowing like a kite with a snapped string, impossible to stop. In the end, she’d truly lost Shen Zhirou.

Suddenly, Lu Yao shot to her feet. Propriety, face—none of it mattered anymore. She just wanted to beg Shen Zhirou not to be with the girl beside her, not to spend the night with her.

Chu Su jumped in alarm. “Lu Yao, what are you doing? Calm down—where are you going?”

Worried for her, she and Zhao Ke hurried after Lu Yao, afraid something might happen.

Lu Yao wiped haphazardly at the tears on her cheeks and strode quickly to Shen Zhirou’s booth. She stared fixedly at Shen Zhirou, then at Fu Ning still leaning on her shoulder. Her hands hung at her sides, clenched into tight fists. “Jie Jie, who is she?”

The moment Lu Yao spoke, the lively booth fell deathly silent. The other booths around them continued their noisy chatter, but this table went completely still.

Shen Zhirou hadn’t expected to run into Lu Yao here. Their eyes met, and after a long pause, she finally spoke. “It has nothing to do with Miss Lu.”

“Heh, Miss Lu? Jie Jie, you’re really heartless. It’s only been a little over a month, and you’re already calling me Miss Lu?” Tears streamed down Lu Yao’s cheeks. By now, she no longer cared about looking disheveled—what she feared was not being disheveled enough. If appearing even more wretched could make Shen Zhirou change her mind, Lu Yao wished she could be even more miserable. In her current state, she seemed to stand no chance at all.

Shen Zhirou hadn’t expected Lu Yao to approach her like this. She glanced around and saw that everyone had fallen silent. She handed Fu Ning, who was leaning against her shoulder, over to Huang Qingqing to look after, then rose to her feet and faced Lu Yao. “I made myself very clear last time. Does Miss Lu need something else? Please don’t disturb my colleagues.”

Lu Yao’s face drained of color. Jie Jie could let other girls lean on her shoulder and wipe lipstick from their lips, yet even exchanging a few more words with her counted as a disturbance?

Her stomach churned violently. She hadn’t eaten all day and had just downed quite a bit of alcohol. Lu Yao felt as though her gut was being wrung out, aching with a sour burn that paled in comparison to the pain in her heart.

“Jie Jie, I just have a few words I want to say to you—a few sentences, that’s all. Please, just give me a few minutes, okay? Let’s talk over there.” Lu Yao’s eyes were rimmed red, her voice laced with pleading, as if she feared Shen Zhirou might refuse. Tears slid from her eyes from time to time.