Americans’ love for chatting and their lack of shyness always left Xia Yao at a loss, especially now that her mind was elsewhere entirely.
Faced with the young man’s barrage of questions, she kept her answers as concise as possible without seeming rude. Name, occupation, major, hobbies…
After circling around for a while, Michael finally asked the question he most wanted to know: “Are you available this afternoon? We can hang out together.”
“Thanks for your invitation. But I have pretty much to do these days. Look, it’s almost final and I have several papers to write.”
Xia Yao deliberately emphasized that she was busy these days, not just this afternoon. She silently hoped Michael would get the hint.
“That’s fine. Could I have your phone number? We can do it during spring break then.”
Xia Yao sighed inwardly. He really was persistent. Her refusal had been quite clear—previously, mentioning homework was enough for anyone hitting on her to gracefully take their leave.
Spring break… She couldn’t think of a suitable excuse on the spot. She wasn’t cold-hearted, thick-skinned, or mean. Besides, this young man was quite handsome, and his behavior so far hadn’t displeased her.
More importantly, even though Ouyang Xun was sitting beside her, hadn’t he essentially gone public with his relationship years ago? All this time had passed—maybe they were married now! Maybe their kid was old enough to run errands!
Stop deluding yourself, Xia Yao. You’ve wasted your youth on a stranger who never reciprocated. It’s time to seize the chance and have a proper relationship.
She urged herself to stay grounded, to stop being so utterly smitten by Ouyang Xun. With the wisdom of an auntie, she reminded herself it wasn’t worth it. Meet more people, create more opportunities, keep your options open…
With this in mind, she acted accordingly, exchanging phone numbers with Michael.
“I’ll see you during spring break! Good luck with your finals!” Once Michael left, the area around Xia Yao fell quiet again, and her attention was once more drawn to that crisp, cool breeze. She knew she wouldn’t finish revising her paper this morning. With that thought, she opened her phone calendar to plan her study schedule.
Glancing at the time—8:30 PM—she realized it was 5:30 PM in China. Tang Wan must be online!
***
“Aaaaaaah, guess who’s sitting next to me?!” she messaged Tang Wan, her best friend of fifteen years.
Tangyuan: “Taylor?! Is it Taylor?!”
Brother Xia: “With Taylor’s fame, do you seriously think I could casually sit next to her and WeChat with you???”
Brother Xia: [Dog Head GIF]
Tangyuan: “Then who is it? Who could possibly get you this worked up? Don’t tell me it’s Ouyang Xun.”
Tangyuan: [Teletubbies Eye Roll JPG]
Tang wan truly understood Xia Yao. Xia Yao had only ever loved one man like this, and very few things could make the usually cool-headed Xia Yao fire off a string of “Ah!”s.
Brother Xia: “Tangyuan, I love you so much! It’s him! It’s him! It’s him! Our friend Little Nezha!”
Brother Xia: [Crazy Heart-Shaped Hands.JPG]
Tangyuan: “Holy crap! It truly is. …. Bro, you got lucky as hell. By the law of karma balance, you’re gonna fail your finals—no, fail every single one.”
Brother Xia: “I agree, ’cause I can’t study at all right now.”
The once-cool auntie mindset had long since vanished into thin air.
More friends, more connections? Snap out of it—give up chasing celebrities and settle down for a real relationship? Sorry, who said that? Definitely not Xia Yao.
Tangyuan: “Got his autograph? Pfft, forget that—go get a photo with him! Send it over for me to see! Quick! Quick! Quick!”
Brother Xia: “…No.”
Tangyuan: “Time waits for no one, Xia Yao! Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime! This is karma from past lives! If you’re a real hero, just kiss him!”
The tone shifted abruptly.
Tangyuan: “Kiss him! Kiss Ouyang Xun!”
“Kiss Ouyang Xun!”
“Kiss Ouyang Xun! “…
***
Xia Yao’s phone buzzed incessantly, flooded with “Force-kiss Ouyang Xun!” messages.
She tried to interrupt them, failed several times, then locked the screen and tossed it aside.
But Tang Wan was right—missing this autograph and photo op would haunt her for life. She’d never forgive herself.
Heaven tossed you a golden opportunity, you caught a whiff of it, then quietly walked away. (Your brain must be made of mush.)
But how could she approach Ouyang Xun? In front of her idol, she always felt utterly foolish and imperfect.
Sure, Ouyang Xun was a full ten years older than her, but didn’t time favor the young? It seems especially kind to the handsome. Thirty is considered middle-aged for a man, and middle-aged men usually carry an air of approachability…
But Ouyang Xun? He looked like a teenager cruising around campus on a skateboard. His skin was as flawless and snow-white as when he first debuted, radiating an icy, keep-your-distance aura. Approachable? Not a chance.
Xia Yao stared blankly at her computer screen, her mind in turmoil. Her cheeks flushed crimson with tension, and her usually sharp brain froze at this critical moment. To make matters worse, Tang Wan added to the chaos—seeing Xia Yao hadn’t replied for ages, she’d simply initiated a voice call.
The phone began to buzz incessantly. Xia Yao scrambled to silence it, only to realize how utterly useless she was! Where was her composure? Her fingers refused to obey her commands. After a flurry of clumsy movements, the phone flew out of her grasp like a missile, landing at Ouyang Xun’s feet.
That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that while the voice call disconnected, the screen had been unlocked. The page displayed Tang Wan’s flood of messages: Forcibly kiss Ouyang Xun!”
Xia Yao’s world froze.
She stared fixedly at the phone, bent down, and then—a pale, slender hand appeared before her, its knuckles defined, an index finger adorned with a Cartier ring. It seized the phone, paused for a second, rose under Xia Yao’s gaze, and extended toward her.
He saw it! He definitely saw it! What do I do? What do I do? He saw it!
Xia Yao’s brain felt like it was about to explode. Even if her mind were a supercomputer, it would have crashed now—the processing load had exceeded maximum capacity.
“Don’t want it?” Ouyang Xun spoke first, waving the phone in front of the dazed Xia Yao.
“Uh… Oh! Thanks!”
Ouyang Xun spoke first! She made eye contact with Ouyang Xun! She spoke to Ouyang Xun!
A fresh wave of shock sent another mental storm crashing through her, making her instantly forget the extreme awkwardness that had existed just a second ago.
Then, she snapped back to reality.
“Um, sorry, I was just joking.” She pointed at her phone, stumbling over her words.
What reached her ears was a tone that was neither quite a laugh nor quite a frown: “It’s fine. Just reply to messages promptly in the future.”
