Understood. Puberty lesbian phase, ambiguous friendship games, whatever—there were plenty of explanations.
Wei Shuyu nodded knowingly. Under the influence of alcohol, she felt a bit annoyed. An indescribable emotion fermented in her heart, crashing against her long-stagnant mind.
Jin Yizhu finished that glass of whiskey and asked, “Want another one?”
“No,” Wei Shuyu shook her head. “I’ll get drunk if I drink more.”
“Really?” Jin Yizhu hadn’t let go of her hand. Instead, she slid down along her wrist and clasped her fingers in her palm. “Accompany me for one more glass.”
She beckoned toward the bar counter. The waiter immediately came over with a tray, placed a cocktail and a whiskey on the rocks on the table, then quietly left.
Jin Yizhu was clearly very familiar with all this. She pushed the cocktail toward Wei Shuyu and picked up the whiskey herself.
“Wei Shuyu,” her voice was very soft, almost laced with a lingering tenderness. “How long will you stay in Hong Kong?”
“Leaving next week,” Wei Shuyu said. “Where else do you want to go? I’ll accompany you these next few days.”
“It’s already Friday,” Jin Yizhu sighed. “So annoying. Why did I meet you so late?”
Wei Shuyu smiled silently but said nothing.
She knew what she should say—something like, you can come find me to play later, or you have other friends, right? Anything to make Jin Yizhu feel better. But she didn’t. She didn’t want to say it, and the words wouldn’t come out.
Words that others could toss out casually were always so difficult for her.
“Where are you going after this?” Jin Yizhu asked. “Back to Shanghai?”
She had a carefree personality who didn’t take anything to heart. Since Wei Shuyu couldn’t stay in Hong Kong, seeing where she was headed next meant they might meet again someday.
“No, I’m going to Tokyo,” Wei Shuyu answered. “There’s an exchange program there.”
“Ah, Tokyo is fun. I’ll come find you to play then.”
Two glasses of whiskey down, Jin Yizhu still smiled faintly, her mind clear as if she hadn’t drunk at all.
“How long will you stay there?”
“Tentatively set for a year, but it might be two.”
Wei Shuyu found the topic’s direction unbelievable. They’d just been talking about sexual orientation, and now it had shifted to whether she’d go play in Tokyo. What was in Jin Yizhu’s head? Or maybe none of that mattered to her. She just thought things were fun—wherever, whatever, as long as it was amusing.
Under alcohol’s catalysis, her thorny personality began to emerge, shredding the mild surface.
“Jin Yizhu, do you have a lot of free time?”
“Yeah, I can work or not—it’s all the family’s company anyway.”
Mentioning work, a faint flicker of displeasure passed through Jin Yizhu’s eyes before her smile covered it.
“Will you be very busy?”
“Not really,” Wei Shuyu hadn’t planned to drink more, but in this atmosphere, not drinking felt uncomfortable. She took another sip and asked, “You must have other friends in Tokyo?”
“I do, but I don’t like playing with them.”
Jin Yizhu answered frankly, her smile fading a bit, making her seem unusually serious.
“Accompany me to play for a few years.”
Wei Shuyu’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at Jin Yizhu in disbelief and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Do you have a place to live in Tokyo?”
Jin Yizhu didn’t answer her directly or avoid her gaze. She just looked at her and said lightly, “I’ll rent you a place. How about Minato Ward? It’ll be convenient for me to visit.”
“…”
Wei Shuyu didn’t know what to say. She suspected she was hallucinating from the alcohol.
“The school has dorms.”
“That’s inconvenient. You probably don’t want to live with others?” Jin Yizhu beckoned again. The waiter brought another whiskey. She lifted it to her lips but set it down, eyeing her with a hint of hesitation. “You won’t get married in the next few years, right?”
“No,” Wei Shuyu finally regained her senses. “Still no. If I’m living off-campus, I’ll rent my own place.”
“Why not let me rent it directly for you? You won’t have to pay rent, and it’ll be much more convenient.” Jin Yizhu seemed puzzled, not understanding the refusal. “You just need to keep me company occasionally. I won’t come often. For pocket money, how about thirty thousand a month?”
“Jin Yizhu, what exactly are you saying?”
It grew more outrageous. Wei Shuyu’s brows furrowed. She simply took away her glass.
“Don’t drink anymore. Are you trying to keep me?”
“Is this keeping?” Jin Yizhu looked even more bewildered. “Then I’ll buy you three bags a month too. Go pick them in Ginza… I’ll give you a credit card. You can swipe it yourself.”
“…”
Wei Shuyu couldn’t tolerate it anymore and called her name.
“Jin Yizhu, you’re pretty practiced at this?”
“My uncles, elders, and brothers all keep girls outside. I’ve seen how they do it.” Jin Yizhu looked at her sincerely. “Accompany me for three years, and I’ll set up a company for you—no, would you prefer a gallery? Anyway, whatever you want.”
“First, I’m not some girl. Second, if you want to be friends with me, don’t do it this way.”
Wei Shuyu crossed her arms and sat back, stating calmly,
“Or does it not matter to you if we’re friends or not—as long as I keep you company?”
“As long as you keep me company.”
Jin Yizhu answered quickly. A hint of unease flashed in her beautiful peach-blossom eyes.
“Is that okay? I won’t do anything to you.”
“No,” Wei Shuyu shook her head. “I can’t accept it.”
Being friends with the Eldest Miss—eating out, going to amusement parks, accepting harmless little gifts—that was one thing. She knew they did the same with other friends.
But haggling over a price and proposing to keep her—that she couldn’t accept.
“Why?” Jin Yizhu asked. “Why not?”
Her tone was dejected, like a child who hadn’t gotten her toy.
“Because I can’t sell myself,” Wei Shuyu said quietly. “Even if I won’t marry, if I like someone someday, how do I explain my relationship with you?”
“Do you?” Jin Yizhu asked. “Who do you like?”
“No one,” Wei Shuyu answered. “But that doesn’t mean there won’t be someone later.”
Wei Shuyu looked around. Her gaze met the waiter’s. She beckoned him over.
Wei Shuyu said, “Bring some snacks. Jin Yizhu seems drunk… Never mind, it’s her family’s hotel. Can you go to the kitchen and bring her a bowl of porridge?”
The waiter nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes. Please wait a moment. I’ll bring it right away.”
“I’m not drunk,” Jin Yizhu huffed petulantly. “I don’t like porridge.”
“I want porridge, okay?” Wei Shuyu brushed her off. “Don’t leave. Look at the night view a bit longer before going.”
Jin Yizhu truly wasn’t drunk—two whiskeys were nothing to her capacity. She didn’t understand why Wei Shuyu insisted she was.
But hearing Wei Shuyu speak to her in that tone—not letting her leave, wanting to watch the night view together—she surprisingly didn’t want to go.
“Can you talk to me like this from now on?” Jin Yizhu came over from across and squeezed onto the same sofa with her. “It sounds nice. I love it.”
“…”
Wei Shuyu wanted to curse her for being crazy but gave up, considering she was drunk and wouldn’t understand.
“Why?”
“No idea, just feels nice.” The sofa was spacious, but Jin Yizhu squeezed in anyway. “No one’s ever talked to me like that. It’s so interesting.”
“So idol dramas are serious business?”
Wei Shuyu rubbed her forehead. She caught the faint scent of alcohol on Jin Yizhu and felt she was quite drunk.
“The CEO who’s only ever heard flattery and praise suddenly hears a nutjob spout weird stuff—thinks she’s so pure and unpretentious, loves it, finds it fun, wants to marry her?”
“I do love it and find it fun,” Jin Yizhu said. “But I can’t marry. I have a fiancé.”
“Hah?”
Wei Shuyu almost thought she’d misheard. Before any emotion could arise, she asked,
“Then you still want to keep me?”
“I’m not trying to keep you. I just want you to accompany me… You spend time on me, I give you money. Isn’t that normal?”
Jin Yizhu said aggrievedly. Squeezed on the same sofa, she simply hugged Wei Shuyu’s arm and shook it lightly. Her voice sounded like coquetry.
“And he’s a fiancé, not a boyfriend. What’s it got to do with him?”
“Aren’t fiancé and boyfriend the same?” Wei Shuyu sneered. “Play your friendship games if you want, but I don’t play with people who have boyfriends.”
“Of course not. I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me. It’s just a family arrangement. It might even change—have to wait and see when the time comes.”
Mentioning the family marriage alliance, Jin Yizhu’s face filled with annoyance. Even her brows furrowed, none of her earlier cheer remaining.
“My parents haven’t decided who yet, but their family and ours are longtime friends, and our businesses align. It’s probably him.”
“Haven’t decided who, might change, wait and see when the time comes?”
Wei Shuyu repeated it and asked,
“Are you engaged?”
“No,” Jin Yizhu shook her head. “But we’ll have to pick one eventually.”
“Hah, before engagement, we generally call that childhood sweethearts.”
Wei Shuyu didn’t know where her temper came from. Her tone dripped with sarcasm, barely restrained.
“Your fiancé even has to compete for the position.”
She could guess it well enough. Marriage was always a bargaining chip, a product of interest exchange. With Jin Yizhu’s family background, how could she not be involved?
She just didn’t know why she was so angry. Maybe it was the keeping talk that felt too offensive.
Wei Shuyu pushed Jin Yizhu off her and shoved the porridge in front of her, too lazy to say more. “Drink it and go back to sleep.”
While Jin Yizhu drank the porridge, she called the waiter over and said quietly, “Please open another room for me. I’ll go to the front desk to pay later.”
“Don’t open one for her,” Jin Yizhu suddenly looked up, her voice icy with overwhelming pressure. “She’s staying with me.”
The waiter’s shoulders trembled. He glanced at Jin Yizhu, then at Wei Shuyu, and finally replied softly, “Understood, Eldest Miss.”
“Jin Yizhu,” Wei Shuyu looked at her helplessly. “Stop fooling around.”
“I’m not fooling around.”
Jin Yizhu stared at her like an American leopard eyeing prey, emanating a dangerous aura.
“You’re not allowed to leave.”
