Later, the men took turns asking Yirou to dance, while I pretended to be still recovering and stayed on the sidelines. Surprisingly, the shy little girl Yirou seemed quite adept at both BLUS and high-energy dances. Her youthful body and beautiful dance moves were dazzling in the dimly lit dance floor, especially when she danced with Wilson. They seemed perfectly in sync, spontaneously performing various moves to the rhythm of the music, which eventually led everyone else to join in. The atmosphere was so vibrant and captivating. Wilson was handsome, and Yirou was beautiful too. Although I felt a pang of sadness, I had to admit that the scene was classic and beautiful. Fate seemed to be working against me; the more I tried to extricate myself, the more I realized how worthy he was of a woman's heart. How could such an outstanding person be possessed by an ordinary woman like me? Thinking this, my heart felt like it had been squeezed hard, a painful, unfamiliar ache. I instinctively clutched my chest.
On the way back, we took Yirou home first. Peter chattered incessantly to Yirou, but she seemed to be intentionally keeping her distance, which was puzzling. I tried to remain silent and minimize my presence, wanting Willson out of my sight, but my eyes kept unconsciously searching for him, whether from the front, the side, or even just a reflection in the lamplight. This was enough to calm my nerves, but at the same time, it fueled my self-reproach. What's wrong with me? I'm so indecisive that I hate myself. To knowingly do something impossible isn't courage, it's idiocy. Fortune and misfortune have no fixed gate; they are summoned by oneself.
Part One, Chapter Four
On the plane back to Guangzhou, unable to sleep any longer, I half-intentionally, half-generatedly immersed myself in the ever-present in-flight meals. The beautiful flight attendants, probably used to seeing country bumpkins like me, patiently and politely kept refilling my drinks and bringing me food. Wistron had initially given me a window seat, worried I might get airsick, but the attentive business class service and the constant stream of in-flight food quickly wore down his already limited gentlemanly manners. He asked the flight attendant carrying a plate of satay beef, "Miss, are there any other seats available?"
"Oh, there's just one business class seat left, on the left side of the aisle in your row. This way, please."
Wow, when did domestic flight crew services become so high-class?
He was quite pleased and immediately stood up to follow the young lady to the other side.
"WILSON! It really is you!" A male voice with a Taiwanese accent rang out beside me. Seriously? He runs into someone he knows on the plane?! I looked over and saw my boss across the aisle greeting another young man of similar build with strange hand gestures. I felt like I recognized that voice, but I couldn't place it. Whatever, as a professional white-collar worker, "minding one's own business" is paramount to keeping my job, especially since I was deliberately trying to distance myself from him. I relaxed and continued eating my meal, but the commotion beside me kept getting to my ears:
"What's the purpose of your trip to Shanghai? Business or vacation?"
"A vacation? You're so lucky. I came with my colleagues. We just finished a project."
"A colleague? She must be a beautiful woman." The Taiwanese man seemed to have low expectations of human nature.
"You little brat, you think you're someone else? Look, the 'beauty' is sitting across from me. Don't say I didn't warn you, you'll regret it if you offend her."
Damn it, am I really that pathetic?! I was about to turn around and politely greet the person opposite me, but hearing this, I decided to pretend I didn't hear and continue my airplane meal journey. So, even though I knew someone was looking at me, I still forked a piece of curry potato and put it in my mouth. Suddenly, the plane lost its weight, plunging down and then rising again. I was caught off guard, and the potato I was about to eat landed right on my nose, smearing curry sauce all over my face.
"Xia Mengmeng? Oh, no, Li Hao!" the man shouted at that moment.
That shout finally made me recognize him, and it also made me realize what it means to run into an enemy on a narrow road—he was the little Taiwanese man I had kicked in anger downstairs at Hengwei!
I glared at him angrily, speechless for a moment.
"Hey, miss, how come you always look so surprising every time we meet?" The young man still had a mischievous grin on his face.
Then I remembered I hadn't wiped the curry sauce off my nose. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my face while retorting, "Because every time I see you it's like stepping in dog poop!"
"Xiao Jing, get some more tissues." The guy suppressed a laugh and called out to a tall, fair-skinned flight attendant next to him, acting as if he were at home. The flight attendant actually obeyed and ran to get a stack of tissues, looking quite pleased with herself. While tidying up my table, she apologized, "Sorry, we encountered turbulence earlier, it was a bit bumpy."
"Why do you listen to him so much?" I suppressed my dissatisfaction and took the tissue, but I couldn't help but scold her.
“Firstly, because he’s a customer of our airline, and secondly,” she smiled wryly, “because he’s my brother.”
"What? Your brother? No way? There must be something wrong with your family's genetics." I stared wide-eyed.
"No, he's not my biological brother, he's just a good friend." She said proudly.
I stared in astonishment at that Taiwanese scoundrel. Seriously? People still use such outdated methods to woo girls? All the romance novelists in Taiwan should just commit suicide by burning charcoal!!!
He remained unfazed under my gaze, while Willson wore an expression that said, "I knew it would happen."
"Oh, you haven't introduced yourself yet. I'm Yin Tianyu. And you? Should I call you Miss Xia or Miss Li?" He completely ignored my disdain and was as enthusiastic as fire.
"Wait, wait," although I was a little puzzled by his unusual relationship with Willson, I hadn't suspected anything else. But now that I heard his name, it all made sense: "You're that bastard Hengwei heir who never goes to work properly, spends all his time walking his dog and fighting cocks and running around the world just to take pictures of beautiful women, and made me spend three months in Hengwei's finance department for a check?!"
“Wow, Willson, your sales representatives are quite professional, but I’m not bad either,” Yin Yutian said, seemingly unfazed, as if he’d found a worthy opponent. He strutted across the aisle and plopped down next to me. “Your name is Li Hao, 23 years old, 158 cm tall, 40 kg, blood type O, Gemini.” I glanced at Willson instinctively; he was engrossed in his newspaper, completely oblivious to the commotion. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of melancholy.
Seeing that I didn't react to his words at all, Yin Tianyu became even more excited: "Right, right, I even know your measurements, let me think, it seems to be 3..." Before he could finish the 3, I grabbed a lunch bag and stuffed it into his mouth, making him choke and roll his eyes. At the same time, Willson also dropped his newspaper, rushed over, grabbed him, and threw him back to the seat across the aisle, then sat down next to me.
Yin Tianyu coughed as he pulled the bread out of his mouth. Xiao Jing handed him a glass of water, her face full of concern. Yin Tianyu took the glass, took a sip, and as soon as he cleared his throat, he yelled at Willson, "What's wrong, Willson? Do you know how outrageous this young lady is? On our first meeting, she almost crippled my leg, the best in Taipei basketball, and left me a fake business card. I ended up being pestered by that braces-wearing old lady for over half a month. In the end, I had to have the finance manager personally go to your Lao Huang to get all this information. After finally getting the contact number, she said she was transferred to another department. Turns out she just recruited your people. I should have just contacted Joyce directly."
"Don't even think about messing with my people." Wilson casually picked up the newspaper and continued reading.
"What do you mean 'your people'? During work hours they're yours, and after get off work hours they're mine." Yin Tianyu looked like he had me cornered.
I got angrier and angrier as I listened: "Are you crazy? If I kick you, you bump into me and I fall down, you trick me into helping you upstairs, I give you a fake business card, we each get two rounds, it's a draw, we don't owe each other anything. You're still too green to settle scores with me."
"But I owe you something, I still owe you a dress."
"No need, I have plenty of skirts, most of them are cheap ones from street vendors, they're not worth much. I'll let you off the hook."
"No way. Even brothers should keep clear accounts. Debts must be repaid; it's only right. Otherwise, do you want me to owe you for the rest of my life? Do you like expressing your affection for me this way? Don't worry, no matter what, I will never forget you for the rest of my life." He said affectionately.
I couldn't believe it and shivered. Why was the air conditioning on this plane so high?
"Hmph, does he think I'm easy to take advantage of?! Even if it's Willson's best friend, I'll stop here to save face for him: 'You still insist on whether it's good or bad? Fine, then give me back a dress exactly the same as before it was torn. Remember, the brand is PINKLUDY, not LADY, but LUDY, bought at the West Lake Road night market. It was originally a long dress, but I accidentally burned a big hole in the hem, so I turned it into an A-line dress with slits on both sides. The dress was originally white, but I accidentally dyed it while washing clothes, so I simply DIY-dyed it brown. The clasp on the dress has a little bit of paint peeling off, and the hem has come undone, so I used gray acrylic thread to pick up the hem. The dress has been worn for two years, washed countless times, and has a little bit of barely noticeable fading.' I finished speaking in one breath, and when I looked, Willson and Yin Tianyu were both dumbfounded." I smiled smugly and asked Yin Tianyu, "Did you remember it? Do you want me to say it again?"
“No need, I’ve memorized it all,” he said, pointing to his head. Seeing my disbelief, he actually recited everything I had just said verbatim, leaving me speechless this time.
"WILLSON, is your company's treatment really that bad? Why are your employees treated so poorly?" Yin Tianyu questioned Willson angrily.
Willson didn't say anything, but just looked at me with a puzzled expression. I immediately understood what he meant by that look and quickly declared, "Don't overthink it. I have loving parents and no lonely illegitimate children. I just like saving money."
This time, both men stared at me like I was an alien: "What?" I really had no experience of being stared at by more than two grown men, so I felt a little guilty and quickly explained, "Money, RMB or HKD, USD is fine."
"What do you need so much money for?" Yin Tianyu pressed on, unwilling to give up.
"Change to rice and sit at home counting rice grains!" I rolled my eyes at him, thinking to myself, why should I tell you?
"How long will it take you to save money like this? Hey, how about this, you can marry me. I have a lot of money. After you marry me, my money will be your money. You can buy rice and count it for fun, or even buy diamonds and count them for fun."
"I like money, and I have my own ways to make it. Why should I marry you?! So what if you're rich? How vulgar!"
Yin Tianyu was somewhat dumbfounded to be called "vulgar" by me, who always talks about liking money. Willson's face showed a meaningful smile.
Although I was exhausted, I couldn't fall asleep at all in my small bed in the rented room. My mind was a jumble of thoughts, one moment recalling the feeling of being embraced by Willson while dancing, the next remembering his usual cold gaze as he swept over me. Remembering that tomorrow was Monday, I couldn't afford to borrow tomorrow morning's time for tonight's wild thoughts. I got up, grabbed a copy of "Business English," and started reading. It worked! Within fifteen minutes, I was fast asleep.