Turning behind the commercial street, the low walls printed with ink-wash paintings stretched straight ahead.
Circular landscape lights appeared at intervals, providing meager, warm light to the dark, cramped path.
Behind the streets of Suzhou, there were almost always these old residential areas.
As the elderly reached the end of their years, most of the houses stood vacant.
I stepped into one of the vacant courtyards and leaned against a corner of the wall where the moonlight couldn’t reach.
I watched Xiao Ji walk in with his hands in his pockets, his steps loose and seemingly indifferent as he followed me.
“What, you want to fight?” he blustered.
With his high stature and dyed red hair, anyone else would have run away long ago upon seeing him here.
‘He’s still the same, lacking composure. If he had stayed in the shop, the police cars would definitely be parked outside by now.’
“Even now, is fighting the only thing on your mind?”
“What? If something’s bothering you, a fight will solve it!”
He always used this crude method.
‘Why can’t he use his brain a little?’
“If a fight could get you together with Senior and send me back to my college days, I’d be happy to oblige.”
‘During college, I at least did high-intensity training. I probably wouldn’t lose too badly… right?’
He rubbed his palms and cracked his knuckles, but the trembling of his arms didn’t escape my eyes.
‘Yeah, he definitely still likes Senior. He won’t make a move.’
I kept my eyes on him, and the silence stretched on.
“Fine, fine, I really can’t beat you.”
He exhaled sharply.
“Hitting you would be my mistake anyway.”
“Tell me, what happened between you and Senior?”
“Hey! Why do I have to talk about my business first?”
“I’ll listen to yours in a bit. Besides, considering how things have developed, you’re partly at fault too.”
“Huh?”
Seeing him frown again and clench his fists, I waved my hand and said, “Before, you were trying to convince me to go after other women, but now you’re actively helping me find my ex-girlfriend’s whereabouts. What’s the deal? Are you intentionally trying to make my life difficult? Me just slamming the table was already being very restrained.”
“Haha… Okay, I didn’t think about that.”
He lowered his fists.
“Hurry up and say it. What exactly happened?”
If he finished talking and could forget about An Zhi, that would be for the best.
Given his personality, he might actually forget.
‘Sigh, when did I become so cunning…?’
“It’s… it’s about relationships. I’m telling you, Senior has been mentioning a guy frequently lately. That guy keeps going to her bookstore. Senior says he has great taste, the books he reads match her style, he’s a nice person, and even his outfit choices are… anyway, it’s all praise! Think about it, damn it, how can I endure that?”
‘The Senior I know, Xu Yinyin, has always been cautious. She weighs every word she’s about to say. After all, she used to be the Student Union events planner. It was thanks to her that I had a private activity room for my secret dates with An Zhi.’
‘Wait, I’m getting off track.’
It was a professional requirement for her to talk about books, but to talk about another man’s personality and outfits…
“Think about that later, I’m not done! Once, she even mentioned you. She said you’re very steady, your books are good, and that she should have recommended you for the Student Union back then. She even wanted to find time to chat with you. Even her junior who just graduated is interested in you… It’s making me furious. They absolutely cannot start plotting against my brother! Dammit!”
‘Regarding me? Wants to chat? Interested??’
At this point, I thought I understood the reason.
But before that…
“Xiao Ji, answer me calmly. Does Senior… know you like her?”
“Well, hehe… ahaha…”
‘Hehe my foot! How could you not know! Even I know!’
The sight of my good friend scratching his head in embarrassment made my blood pressure rise.
“Of course she knows! You used to send her romance books all the time, and after graduation, you’ve been chatting with her every day about so-called ‘literary guidance for love.’ How could she not know!?”
I pointed at his broad forehead and spoke the truth.
“That’s true! So then what? She got annoyed and her heart wandered!?”
He was still scratching his head, looking like he couldn’t wrap his mind around it.
“If her heart had wandered, why would she come and tell you? Her emotional intelligence isn’t that low. She… used reverse psychology.”
‘You’ll have to figure out the rest yourself!’
Truly an enviable fellow.
“Oh~ Oh~~” He grinned widely.
To be honest, his expression was quite lewd.
“Brother Li, I didn’t expect that while your own situation is a mess, you’re quite skilled at guiding me! I’ve finally seen the light!”
‘That sentence was completely unnecessary…’
‘But a bystander sees things clearly. How do I look in Xiao Ji’s eyes?’
‘No…’
I quickly shoved away the dangerous thought of asking for his evaluation and said, “The matter is settled, I’m leaving,” as I headed toward the courtyard gate.
“Hold it!”
I had only taken two steps when my collar was gripped tightly.
It seemed he wasn’t that stupid.
“I don’t really want to hear about An Zhi. You said it yourself before—she and I have already reached a default breakup.”
“Brother Li, I came prepared too. It’s true that I used your situation to act out, but it’s also true that I want to help you.”
My intentionally lowered voice couldn’t stop him.
“Do I look like I need help?”
“You, you really don’t treat me like a brother! You can fool that big-chested girl, but you can’t fool me!”
Turning my head to see his triumphant face, my blood pressure rose again, and my head felt dizzy.
“I… wasn’t trying to fool her.”
“Cut it out. I’ve been checking up on you through the platform’s private messages. I know exactly when you’re online and which livestream room’s ranking list you’re hanging on! Don’t try to escape!”
‘I should have used a burner account.’
“That was also from before. I was just… idling there; I didn’t even know it myself.”
Even though I knew being stubborn was useless, I still tried to cover it up like a fool, unable to control my tongue.
“I don’t care about this or that. Anyway, not a word I said in the shop was a lie. I saw An Zhi go in with my own eyes. I’d recognize her even with a mask on. Only she has a figure that well-proportioned; she’s much more noticeable than those other heavily made-up female streamers.”
I could imagine the scene—An Zhi with her head down, shrinking behind the other streamers, unaware that she was attracting the most attention.
No, she was probably just not used to accepting those gazes.
“Xiao Ji…”
The sound of Xiao Ji’s impatient foot-stomping reached my ears.
‘Here it comes again. So annoying…’
‘She’s familiar with livestreaming now; she should be used to enjoying those gazes. After all, it was like that before. She slowly grew familiar with my gaze, my praise, and became straightforward only with me.’
‘I don’t want to remember anymore.’
I tried hard to imagine Su Xixia’s face, but after finding that I couldn’t overwrite those memories no matter what, I simply thought of her proud figure, her fair skin, her soft, bouncy…
‘How terrible. To both of them. I’m being truly terrible.’
“I haven’t seen her lately, so I thought I’d report to you first. You can think about it, just don’t regret it later. …Er, it’s okay if you do regret it; just come find me for a drink! We won’t go home until we’re drunk!”
My heart rate continued to accelerate.
Suddenly realizing the opportunity within this, I couldn’t help but feel restless.
“Drink less.”
I forcibly suppressed the desire in my heart and buried that opportunity deep inside.
“Listen, you’re a man; taking a few detours is normal. You’re always trying to have it both ways, but life doesn’t work like that. If you say you really like that Su Xixia, I have no objection. But if you’re saying your feelings for An Zhi are still…”
I never expected the day would come when I would be lectured by Xiao Ji.
“It’s fine now, Xiao Ji. Thanks.”
Without waiting for him to finish, I forcibly shook off his hand and walked toward the courtyard gate.
At this moment, the moonlight on the path outside had overtaken the orange lamplight, turning everything white.
I couldn’t even tell where I had turned in from before.
I had never expected a perfect result.
“Brother Li! I thought An Zhi’s expression looked unhappy! If you were there, you definitely would have seen it more clearly! Think it over — !”
His shout startled a nearby old house, and a light flickered on as someone inside began to scold him.
Because of that, he didn’t say anything more.
‘An Zhi is unhappy… that shouldn’t be the case.’
I just didn’t want to hurt the people around me.
When I got home, I would see Su Xixia again and sink into that gentle embrace.
And with An Zhi being so popular, she must… she definitely must be doing well.
That was enough —