Chen Linyun arrived at the restaurant they agreed on. It was half past six.
He had a hunch about what they were going to discuss. The past couple of days Guangxi had been agitated, and had been asking lots of questions about the opposite gender, about liking them etcetera.
There must have been grave thing that had happened. Xue Guangxi called off their tutorial session in the afternoon, that's why he could come here and meet with Xue Jinxu.
Speaking of which, this will be the first time that they will meet after her trip from Shanghai. The last time was when he had given his personalized bag of travel kit and had sent her off.
When he arrived at the restaurant, she was already there.
She had a haggard countenance and a defeated aura. She appeared too frail. It was so different from her usual strong persona.
"Chen Linyun, you're here." She had been drinking.
"You shouldn't be drinking. Have you eaten dinner yet?" He grabbed the glass of beer that she was drinking from.
"Chen Linyun." She started off, as straightforward as she had been. "Do you know what happened to Guangxi?"
Chen Linyun furrowed his brows. "What happened to Guangxi? I haven't heard. Is he okay? Where is he?"
"Probably at home. Or maybe he's with the girl."
She grabbed her glass back and took a sip. Right after she brought her glass down, two teardrops fell from her face.
"Why are you crying?" Chen Linyun panicked. He abruptly stood up and extended his hand on her face. He brushed the back of his finger onto her face to wipe away her tears.
"Guangxi has a girlfriend." She said. Chen Linyun still did not understand. 'Is it a bad thing? Why is she crying?' He waited patiently.
"It's not supposed to turn out this way. Definitely not this way, in this direction. Do you know about it? Has he told you anything of significance?"
He tried to recall what had transpired in past few days.
"Nothing quite unusual. Well, he was happy, but he was always happy anyway. He seemed to be always excited about something."
"He did ask about how to curry favor to a girl or how to get a girl to like him."
"What did you say?"
"Well, I cannot really contribute much.." He was embarrassed because he was reminded of the time when he pursued this very lady before him but faced a humiliating rejection.
"How's his studies going? Has he been doing well?
"In fact, he is. He's too fueled up and pumped up that we are completing the topics quite fast."
She still wasn't smiling. She looked dejected. She looked as if the whole world went down on her.
"Chen Linyun, tell me, did I fail as his guardian?" Another two teardrops fell.
Chen Linyun clenched his fists. Whatever's happening to his woman? Was it that time of the month? He should give Guangxi a good scolding for whatever it was.
"No. You were doing well. Aside from having a girlfriend, what else did Guangxi do?"
"Nothing. Do you think having a girlfriend is not bad enough?"
"Xue Jinxu. The kid is sixteen years old. He's around that age already to like a girl. He is not neglecting his studies, in fact he has been excelling. What did he fail to do?"
"I think you were just surprised since you did not expect it. But sooner or later, if it's not now, it is bound to happen."
Another two teardrops fell. As was before, Chen Linyun reached the back of his index finger and wiped the two teardrops that fell. She was also sniffing now. She looked like a kitten that was abandoned in a corner. She took a gulp of her beer.
"You're drinking too much." Chen Linyun warned her. "What do you want him to do? If you cannot tell him, I'll tell him for you."
"I.. I don't know." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was clinging her both hands to the beer bottle. She rested her head on the back of her hand.
"If you tell him to stop it he might simply become rebellious. His first love, his young love, in his eyes, it's the most innocent in the world, that, if anyone goes against it, he will surely not understand it. His young mind might read it as the adults ganging up on him. It might hurt him even more, and might impede his learning and his growth. If it gets out of control it might even leave him a scar." He gave his opinion to her.
"A person's first love is the most beautiful thing." Chen Linyun said.
She glanced up at him from the beer bottle. "Why are you saying so much about the matter?"
Chen Linyun, "Because I was given the chance to also experience it when I was young." He looked deeply and tenderly at the drunkard in front of him.
"I was eighteen. It was a fateful encounter. At the most unexpected time, I had my first love. I just knew. There were no reasons for it. It was momentous." He never left his eyes on her. They were staring at each other's eyes.
"Even if other people told me that I was stupid or crazy for liking a girl I just saw for the first time, and had been with for a short time, and even if I did not know whether I will still see that girl or not, I could not help it. It's beyond reason. I chose to listen to my instinct, to what my inner being was telling me."
"I have not regretted ever since."
They were on a staring contest. No one was inclined to break their stares. The lady was dizzy with drunkenness, and could barely understand his words but somehow he had caught her in his palm, and could not let go. She could not run or escape. She was enthralled.
Chen Linyun caressed the side of her face. "I'll talk to Guangxi. Pull yourself together. It pains me to see you like this."
"En." Was all she could say.