“So, what’s the point of dating? I let the ex-girlfriend thing slide, but everyday life has countless points of contention. He doesn’t even argue with me; he just drags out endless cold wars. It’s exhausting.”
For the second stop of the friendly city exchange performance, the Cloud City Symphony Orchestra arrived in the new city. This was the north, far from Cloud City, with a vastly different climate. After winter set in, temperatures had already dropped below zero, and a new cold wave gathered strength. The night streets brimmed with chill, and the few pedestrians wore hats, huddled in thick coats, hurrying against the biting wind.
But the small tavern by the roadside had ample heating, so Miao Zhu and Jiang Jingjing both shed their coats. Miao Zhu especially flushed porcelain-white cheeks with red—one part heat, one part alcohol.
“It’s just the adjustment period…” She drawled in response to Jiang Jingjing, her speech still somewhat clear, but her mind teetered on the edge of shutdown.
Far from just dating being exhausting— not dating was exhausting too. That night at the campsite, when Sheng Xingran returned the shawl, she hadn’t seen Mu Shanyi since, nor contacted her. A cold war? Maybe.
“Luckily, I’m on this business trip. I can hide away in peace.” Jiang Jingjing reached for Miao Zhu’s glass.
A crisp clink of glass rang out. Miao Zhu stared blankly at the liquor swirling in her cup. Mu Shanyi probably felt the same, right? Luckily, the business trip spared their weekly meetings. So relaxing.
What was there to it? She didn’t even want to see Mu Shanyi! At that thought, Miao Zhu threw back her head and drained the entire glass.
“Hey, slow down!” Jiang Jingjing couldn’t stop her in time.
The excess alcohol surged and dispersed through Miao Zhu’s body, spinning her world in an instant.
Her phone screen lit up countless times; the battery had turned red. Now another new message arrived. Miao Zhu set down her glass, waited for the intense dizziness to pass, then picked up the phone and brought it to her face. Everything blurred in double vision, the text tiny. She stared for ages without making sense of it, unsure who it was from or what it said. She simply turned to Jiang Jingjing for help: “Who’s looking for me?”
Tonight was supposed to be Jiang Jingjing venting her bad mood, dragging Miao Zhu out for drinks and complaints. But Miao Zhu had chugged from the start, so Jiang Jingjing sipped lightly. One of them had to stay sober.
Glancing at the phone Miao Zhu pushed over, the clear-headed Jiang Jingjing read it aloud: “‘A Blacklist’ is looking for you, asking where you are and to send your location.”
“What blacklist? No idea.” The bustling tavern buzzed like ten thousand flies around her ears. Miao Zhu pressed a hand to her sluggish head, tilting it so her silky black hair slid from her shoulder.
Her eyes half-lidded, her voice soft and lingering: “Jingjing, I’m so dizzy.”
“With such a lousy tolerance, who else would get dizzy chugging like that?” Jiang Jingjing was immune to Miao Zhu’s allure, but even she couldn’t withstand the up-close visual assault. Some people were just too stunningly beautiful, every frame like a magazine shoot. She tsked: “No more drinking. Back to the hotel to sleep?”
In her peripheral vision, Miao Zhu’s phone lit up again. Jiang Jingjing glanced down—”Mu Shanyi” flashed on the screen.
After the World Future Energy Summit in early September, Jiang Jingjing had gained some understanding of the tAngel between Miao Zhu and Mu Shanyi. She pushed the phone back to Miao Zhu and reminded her: “Your sister’s calling.”
“…Huh?” Miao Zhu had no sister. She couldn’t process who Jiang Jingjing meant, fumbling several times before finally answering the call. Drunkenly, she drawled: “Whooo~”
Jiang Jingjing: “…”
Miao Zhu hadn’t turned on speaker or held it close. After a few seconds of silence, she poked the screen: “Not talking.”
She was completely fogged up now. Jiang Jingjing rubbed her forehead: “Let me handle it.”
The phone came back to Jiang Jingjing. She introduced herself as Miao Zhu’s colleague, explained the drunken state, and Mu Shanyi on the other end listened patiently before saying: “I’ll come pick her up now. Could you send me the location?”
Her tone showed little emotion—neither pleased nor upset—but it dripped with family vibes. Jiang Jingjing struggled to suppress a grin, then dropped the buzzkill: “We’re on a business trip, not in Cloud City.”
Mu Shanyi replied: “I know.”
!
Had she come all the way from Cloud City on purpose? Or passing through on business like last time?
Jiang Jingjing quickly covered the mic and excitedly told Miao Zhu: “She says she’s coming to pick you up! Do you want to go with her?”
Miao Zhu’s eyes widened blankly: “Huh?”
“Mu Shanyi!” Jiang Jingjing leaned to her ear. “Mu Shanyi’s here too—she says she’s coming to get you!”
The name “Mu Shanyi” sparked a miraculous flash of clarity in Miao Zhu’s mushy brain. After shock, she shook her head vigorously: “I don’t want to see her.”
Jiang Jingjing choked: “…You sure?”
Miao Zhu repeated loudly: “I! Don’t! Want! To! See! Her!”
Had Miao Zhu gotten into a spat with Mu Shanyi, hence all this drinking?
Jiang Jingjing’s mood complicated as she told Mu Shanyi on the phone: “Mia says…”
“I heard. Let her think it over.” Mu Shanyi’s voice cut in flatly, without inflection.
“…Alright.” Jiang Jingjing relayed Mu Shanyi’s words verbatim to Miao Zhu: “She says to think it over.”
She says to think it over.
Hah, Mu Shanyi always managed to sound so casual, so superior.
Of course—who held the power? Mu Shanyi offered the chance, leaving Miao Zhu room to choose.
Miao Zhu’s lips curved. She thought she looked indifferent, but Jiang Jingjing hurriedly comforted her: “Mia, don’t be sad. If you really don’t want to see her, I’ll turn her down for you.”
“See her.” Miao Zhu murmured, “I have to see her.”
She didn’t dare risk it. If she refused this time, would Mu Shanyi offer a second chance?
Mu Shanyi didn’t need her specifically.
Jiang Jingjing, unaware of the twists, was relieved by Miao Zhu’s change of heart. After all, the one who tied the bell must untie it—seeing each other was the way to resolve things.
“Then I’ll send her the location.” Jiang Jingjing, struck by inspiration, asked into the phone: “You’re ‘A Blacklist,’ right?”
She couldn’t be blamed for the association—’A Blacklist’ had just been asking for Miao Zhu’s location too.
Mu Shanyi paused half a beat, emitting a puzzled syllable: “Hm?”
“…One sec.” Jiang Jingjing grabbed Miao Zhu’s hand, unlocked with her fingerprint, opened WeChat, and tapped the top chat with ‘A Blacklist.’
Her hunch confirmed instantly—the chat background was a photo of Mu Shanyi.
Gotta say, Mu Shanyi in that photo had an incredibly textured beauty; even the ordinary street scene around her gained atmosphere. No wonder Miao Zhu set it as her background.
Jiang Jingjing didn’t peek at the messages, sent the location, and backed out.
Mu Shanyi responded from the earpiece: “Not far. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Won’t keep you that long?”
Jiang Jingjing assured: “Of course not, no problem. I’ll look after Mia.”
