Why did these two act so much like a couple having a lovers’ quarrel?
Lin Xuqing didn’t know what had gotten into You Hui today—she’d been forcibly seated twice now—but she gave her the face and didn’t refuse again.
Jiang Min touched her forehead; her head felt dizzier still.
She didn’t want to say anything more to her either.
Xu Chun couldn’t hold back, offering a word of advice. “Little Lin, you young people are just a bit hot-tempered. Everyone here gets along well—just take things slowly when you talk.”
The words were tactful, and the good intentions behind them plain.
Lin Xuqing, resigned, nodded. “I know. Thank you, Sister Xu Chun.”
“What are you thanking me for?” Xu Chun shot a glance at Jiang Min, signaling with her eyes for her to say something conciliatory.
“Sister Chun, never mind,” Jiang Min said, taking over with a smile. She turned her head to say something to Lin Xuqing—her head swam, her balance failed, and her forehead knocked against Lin Xuqing’s shoulder.
Her last words came out slurred: “Her… she’s my creditor.”
Lin Xuqing froze.
…Creditor?
Quickly, Jiang Min sat upright again.
That instant just now had felt like drunkenness—she’d lost her balance, her body swaying beyond her control.
“Senior Sister, how much have you had?”
Mi Wei bit down on her chopsticks. For a moment there, she’d genuinely feared Lin Xuqing’s temper would flare and she’d shove Jiang Min away.
But Lin Xuqing hadn’t.
She lowered her eyes, pressing her lips tightly together, her voice a little dry. “Are you okay?”
Jiang Xuezi’s eyes were full of concern. “A-Min, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy,” Jiang Min said, waving a hand. “You all eat. Don’t mind me.”
Jiang Xuezi knew she didn’t want to spoil everyone’s mood, so she called to Lin Xuqing, “Little Lin, come with me—let’s take A-Min outside to sober up.”
This time Lin Xuqing agreed at once. “Okay.”
Jiang Min said nothing more, taking Jiang Xuezi’s hand to rise.
Jiang Xuezi helped Jiang Min into her own car and shut the passenger door.
She turned and held the car keys out to Lin Xuqing, her tone firm beyond refusal. “Little Lin. Drive my car. Take A-Min home.”
“Quickly.” Jiang Xuezi gave her a long, deep look and pressed the keys into her hand.
Lin Xuqing made up her mind. “Okay. Don’t worry.”
Jiang Min sat in the passenger seat, waiting—then realized it was Lin Xuqing getting in. She looked out the window as Jiang Xuezi waved at her. “I’m staying here.”
She did need to stay—after all, so many people were still at dinner.
Jiang Min nodded to her, and only once the car was moving did she speak slowly. “My home is far. Just drive back to the park later and drop me—I’ll take a cab the rest of the way.”
“I’m taking you home. Which complex?”
Lin Xuqing drove with her eyes on the road ahead, her profile clean and crisp.
“I said no, so it’s no. Drop me off later.” Remembering Lin Xuqing’s behavior tonight, Jiang Min gave a cold laugh. “Who asked you to drive me?”
Her tone was hard, brooking no refusal.
Lin Xuqing didn’t want to argue, her tone flat. “Then I’ll have Sister Xuezi send me your location. She knows where you live.”
“Why ask? Weren’t you the one keeping me at arm’s length, refusing to sit next to me? Why volunteer to drive me now? Aren’t you sick of it?”
Had it been any other day, Jiang Min would never have said such a thing. It sounded like a confrontation—and a little like a complaint.
Lin Xuqing said nothing.
Seeing her silence, Jiang Min lost patience. “Forget it. Don’t I know your temperament by now? What was I expecting you to say?”
“Stop the car. I’m getting out.”
Lin Xuqing refused. “It’s night. You’re unwell. It’s not safe.”
Jiang Min: “Then you get out, and I’ll call a designated driver.”
Lin Xuqing pulled over to the roadside—but she didn’t unlock the doors.
After a few rounds of argument, both fell silent.
Outside, the night was pitch dark.
Dizzy and foggy, Jiang Min’s mind drifted back to that fight eight years ago. It had been at night too. Autumn. She’d just jumped from a bank to a state-owned enterprise. One evening, she was driving a client back to the office, the car parked at the entrance of an office building.
She saw Lin Xuqing come out of the lobby, and murmured to herself, “Why is she here…”
“Who? The one who just walked out? That’s my management trainee hire this year.”
“A management trainee? Or an intern?”
“Oh, right—an intern, hasn’t even graduated yet. She signed a trainee contract with us; once she gets her diploma she’ll start officially. The girl’s surname is Lin—pretty name, too. Lin Xuqing.”
“Oh… I mistook her for someone else. I have things to attend to, President Xu. Until next time.”
“Sure. Thanks for driving me back. See you next time.”
Jiang Min started the car, drove on a stretch, and saw from a distance Lin Xuqing enter the subway.
She called her. The other party sounded surprised. “Sister Jiang Min? Is something the matter?”
“Where are you right now?”
“I… I’m at school.”
“I’ll come find you shortly. I’m nearby.”
“I have something on—could it be a bit later? Would seven work?”
“Seven’s fine.”
Jiang Min hung up and drove to Mingchuan University.
She waited nearly half an hour below Lin Xuqing’s dormitory, watching the girl hurry back with her bag, change out of her shirt and slacks into a denim jacket, then come scrambling back down in a fluster.
The timing was precise—two minutes to seven.
Lin Xuqing looked this way and that below the building, twice taking out her phone and putting it away again.
Watching her back, Jiang Min suddenly thought: it really had been a long while since her last visit. This past half year, she’d been run off her feet—no time at all.
A fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.
At seven sharp, Jiang Min walked over and tapped Lin Xuqing’s shoulder from behind.
“Sister Jiang Min…”
Classmate Little Lin, twenty-one years old, still couldn’t hide what was in her heart—a flicker of panic crossing her eyes. “Just arrived?”
“Just now. It’s been ages since I came to see you. How have you been?”
“Pretty good. A little busy. Very fulfilling.”
“What kept you busy today?”
“…Running experiments for my advisor.”
“That advisor you chose for your recommended master’s program?”
“Yes.”
“You weren’t at school today,” Jiang Min said, studying her, coming straight to the point. “You were working at Xinhua Office Building. At six ten, you came downstairs and took the subway back.”
“Ten minutes ago, you ran back to your dorm, changed clothes, and put down your bag.”
“Three minutes ago, you came downstairs.”
Her tone was calm, stating facts, without a trace of emotion—and yet immensely oppressive. “Not long ago, you told me you’d been recommended for graduate school. I transferred you a year’s tuition and living expenses for your final year, so you could study with peace of mind. You promised me. You promised.”
“Now, Lin Xuqing, look me in the eye. Tell me—why did you give up your recommendation?”
Lin Xuqing couldn’t meet her eyes, yet couldn’t look away either. Her expression shifted from initial panic to a calm like utter surrender—as if she’d finally received the verdict she’d long been awaiting.
She said quietly, “I don’t want to study anymore.”
“Why?”
“There’s no why.”
“No why? And what did you tell me before?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m asking you one last time. Why did you give up your recommendation?”
Lin Xuqing was silent for a long while, and finally forced out a few words: “It was my choice. It’s none of your business.”
It was like a basin of ice water poured over her heart. All her fury froze solid—and her concern along with it, made suddenly a joke.
“Fine. None of my business. From now on, everything about you has nothing to do with me.” Jiang Min gave a cold laugh, turned, and walked away.
The autumn rain fell. She walked on, not once looking back.
Lin Xuqing stood rooted in place, watching Jiang Min’s back—one step, two steps, farther and farther away.
The autumn rain fell on and on, the wind icy. The rain soaked her clothes, her hair, until she could barely keep her eyes open. A classmate passing under an umbrella kindly asked what was wrong and reached to pull her along. Lin Xuqing brushed the hand away, as if nailed to the spot.
She knew Jiang Min’s character. She knew she would never turn back—and yet she hoped, desperately, that she would stop, and look at her one more time.
……
Lin Xuqing looked out the window, her thoughts returning from that autumn rain of eight years ago to the present—recalling what Jiang Min had just said… Her? She’s my creditor.
Words long buried in her heart; slowly, she spoke.
“That money from before—after I graduated, I tried to give it to Sister Ning Rou, and she said she couldn’t accept it on your behalf.”
“That fifteen thousand. I’ll repay you—accounting for inflation over these years it should be… no, wait, there’s also what you gave me before, I…”
“Lin Xuqing!”
Jiang Min nearly laughed with fury. Who knew what had set this woman off, that she was tallying up this ancient account. Many things she’d long resolved never to mention again—yet now she couldn’t hold back. “You think I’m angry over that ten or twenty thousand yuan?!”
What she was angry about was that this woman had thrown away her own future on a whim!
Angry that in eight years she never once reached out, never said a single word to her!
Lin Xuqing froze.
In her eyes… she saw hurt.
“Unlock the doors. I’m getting out.”
Once her emotions peaked, Jiang Min suddenly felt only exhaustion. Her tone turned calm. “Don’t make me say it a second time.”
Lin Xuqing pressed the unlock.
Jiang Min unfastened her seatbelt and got out.
The car’s heater had been running; outside was cold. In the clash of hot and cold, rising so abruptly, her head spun worse, blackness crowding her vision, the world nearly whirling.
Lin Xuqing was out of the car in an instant, chasing after her. Seeing Jiang Min about to collapse, she instinctively reached out and caught her, hands and feet not knowing where to go, fumbling for a long moment before loosely holding her, saying in a small voice, “I’m sorry… I was wrong.”
Jiang Min’s strength had nearly given out entirely, her forehead pressed to Lin Xuqing’s shoulder, borrowing what support she could—yet unable to stand on her own.
This embrace—its warmth gentle and clean.
She heard it.
In the moment before consciousness dissolved into chaos, she said in her heart: Forget it. I don’t blame you anymore.
After all… what could I ever do with you?
