The sun sank below the horizon, and the clamor of the day gradually faded. Gao Sijin stepped out of the taxi and returned to his apartment.
“I’m back.”
“Yo, you’re back.”
Yu Qingxue lounged with her long, shapely legs crossed, wrapped in black stockings. Her evening gown fit her perfectly—still the same brownish-red dress, low-cut and off-shoulder, making her fair skin glow like jade. She looked like a proud queen, and compared to her, the other girls seemed like maids attending her in a palace.
She held a wine glass, from which a rich aroma of alcohol drifted. The liquid inside matched the color of her dress.
“Sorry for leaving without a word earlier.”
“I don’t mind. Studies show that people in love have reduced activity in brain regions like the prefrontal cortex—the part responsible for reasoning and making rational decisions. You fell for that girl at first sight, and your behavior turning foolish is perfectly understandable. Don’t people always say, lovers are idiots?”
“Stop scolding me, stop, or I’ll really lose it.”
Melodious music floated to his ears, tinged with a faint sense of age and sorrow, perfectly matching the mood of Gao Sijin, who had failed to see the kimono girl again.
He tried to mask the melancholy inside with a forced smile.
“Come sit over here. Sit next to me and tell me what happened after you went to the library.”
Yu Qingxue patted the seat beside the sofa, inviting Gao Sijin to sit. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over.
“Did you see her in the end?”
Even without proof, Gao Sijin felt that Yu Qingxue was taking pleasure in his misfortune. Her half-smiling eyes glittered with mockery and sarcasm, and her slender willow-leaf brows curved into a perfect arc.
She was clearly asking a question she already knew the answer to.
“I didn’t see her. The librarian mixed her up with someone else. After all, this is Tokyo—you occasionally run into other people wearing kimonos. When I got there, I found she wasn’t the same kimono girl I’d met before.”
“What a pity.”
Yu Qingxue lifted her chin and said teasingly:
“Truly a pity. Our Sijin finally felt something for someone, but lost so completely.”
Faced with Yu Qingxue’s slow, cutting sarcasm, Gao Sijin felt his head spin with anger. However, she seemed to be wearing a citrus-scented perfume, a fragrance so poignant it almost brought tears.
So desolate.
Maybe some people are just destined never to find love in this life, and Gao Sijin was one of them.
He sighed:
“I may never see her again. Tokyo is too big.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Yu Qingxue covered her mouth and chuckled softly. “Maybe you two will meet again this week, who knows?”
“I’ve been going to the library to look for her for a whole week already, and I haven’t seen her even once. Today I really thought she’d come, but…”
“Sijin, nothing in this world is absolute. When you try to find a forest fairy, the more you cling to that utilitarian hope of meeting her, the less likely you are to see her. You need to keep a calm heart, breathe some fresh air, and once you’ve cooled down, look back—you’ll realize she was always right behind you.”
“That’s way too idealistic. Besides, appearing behind you… is that a female ghost?”
“How about we make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“A bet on whether you’ll see her again this week.” Yu Qingxue’s lips curled upward, revealing a crescent-moon smile like the Cheshire Cat.
“Fine, let’s bet. But I’m betting I won’t see her this week. The world doesn’t work so conveniently.”
“Then I’ll bet you definitely will see her this week. I think coincidences like that happen all the time.”
“What if I win?”
“I’ll let you do me.”
Yu Qingxue winked her lustful eyes and gave Gao Sijin a seductive, entrancing smile.
A very Yu Qingxue-style answer.
“I feel like I’m being set up.” Gao Sijin coughed softly twice. “And what if I lose?”
“That’s easy. If you lose, you just come and let me do you. Simple.”
Gao Sijin was momentarily speechless. Yu Qingxue giggled, patting him on the shoulder:
“Relax, I’m joking. You’re not my type at all. I’m going to find handsome guys to do in the future. Though, if you round it off, you’re sort of a handsome guy too.”
“Funny, you’re not my type either. Though if you round it off, you’re sort of a beauty too.”
Night approached, and the girls had prepared a lavish dinner. Since Yu Qingxue’s home had several halls, including one with a long table specifically for banquets, the twenty-some girls attending the back-to-school party easily filled the seats. The long table was laden with a rich variety of dishes, and the venue was dazzlingly decorated with colorful balloons and streamers, thick with a festive atmosphere.
Gao Sijin took a bite of a slice of double-layered cream cake. It tasted good, sweet and pleasant. But being here made him recall the disappointment of searching for the beautiful girl at the library earlier today, a search that had come to nothing.
Could they really meet again?
“Sijin, you can do it!”
Just then, Uzuki suddenly poked Gao Sijin from behind.
Turning around, he saw a girl as exquisite and delicately beautiful as a porcelain doll. Gao Sijin instinctively put on a smile.
“Uzuki, did you have fun today?”
“If Sijin had been here the whole time, it would’ve been really fun. But Sijin left halfway, so it was a little lonely.”
“Sorry.”
Among the many girls, although everyone was warm and kind to him, there was also a slight sense of distance.
Uzuki was the only one who left a deep impression on Gao Sijin. She showed no sign of distancing herself; her eyes easily reminded him of a cute puppy adoring its owner. She was also one of the few girls whose name he’d remembered.
“I think Sijin can definitely find true love.” Uzuki clenched her small, pink fist. “So Sijin, you absolutely must not be discouraged by what happened today.”
“Are you that sure?”
“Precisely because it’s Sijin, I’m that sure.” Uzuki leaned closer, full of trust. “Sijin is really amazing, writes really well, and is a good person. If even Sijin can’t find a satisfying love, then this world would be way too strange.”
This unsolicited comfort had no real basis. These past days of failing to see the kimono girl at the library had already started to make Gao Sijin waver. Finding someone in a city as densely populated as Tokyo, without any clues, was like buying a lottery ticket.
Yet, in the face of Uzuki’s kind encouragement, Gao Sijin still smiled gently:
“Thank you, Uzuki. With your encouragement, the future looks hopeful.”
“By the way, Sijin, can I message you on Line to chat normally? Although suddenly reaching out might disturb your private life, when I think that after the party ends I’ll have to part with you, I feel so lonely…”
“Of course. We’re already friends.”
Uzuki and Gao Sijin had some similarities. In this boisterous party, they both belonged to the type that quietly stayed in a corner.
And that trait drew them to each other.
What Gao Sijin never expected was that the very next day, he truly met the kimono girl again, and even managed to learn her name.
