Long Huojin drove to the bar where Yin Shou waited for him after work. Yin Shou sat at a booth entertaining two women over drinks; nothing about him changed. He had straight shoulder-length black hair, often tied half up in a tight bun. His hazel eyes narrowed when he saw Long Huojin, almost surprised that he even came.
Yin Shou murmured something in the girl's ears before they left, leaving the two of them.
Long Huojin didn't like women chasing after him, but Yin Shou was frivolous and courted them often.
Yin Shou gestured him to sit on the opposite side of the booth. He sat, and his best friend began to order drinks.
"Are you still a virgin, Jin?"
"You need to stop greeting me like this," Long Huojin responded.
"Call it a check-up. These are things I need to know," Yin Shou said.
"It's none of your business," Long Huojin retorted.
Yin Shou smiled. "You've inherited a chain of companies at a young age; it's my business. Our families have been friends, and I've known you since we were children. You know your mother almost bribed me to force a female on you, I shredded the money," he responded. "As frivolous as I can be, I believe in consensual intimacy."
Long Huojin looked at him gratefully. Yin Shou had been loyal to him since they were young, and he never wavered even when all the other members of the High Society did.
"There might be a woman," Long Huojin said.
Yin Shou's eyes widened; he leaned in just when the server gave them drinks. Long Huojin downed it.
"Whoever it is, tell me," Yin Shou said.
Long Huojin sucked in a breath. "It's complicated," he responded.
"Does she not want you?" Yin Shou asked.
Long Huojin laughed. "She never wanted me," he said. "It has been like that from all my time of knowing her."
Yin Shou knitted his brows. "How could this be? Your Long Huojin! Is this woman stupid? Ohhhhh...Please don't tell me it's Xia Xi that rich heiress who rejects everyone. Rumour has it that she fucks her butler, it's interesting—"
"No!" Long Huojin interrupted his nonsense. "It's someone else," he said.
"Then, who?" Yin Shou demanded with a curious tone.
Long Huojin stared into his empty glass. He had never admitted this out loud before, and it would be the first time saying it. But he was sure, and he trusted Yin Shou more than anyone.
"Xue Li," he said.
Yin Shou froze, blinking. "Xue Li...Xue Li...Xue Liena?" he asked.
"Xue Guangli," Long Huojin answered.
Yin Shou scratched his temple. "I was afraid you would say that," he said. "But she's engaged to Wang Weimin! Are you insane?"
Long Huojin shook his head. "They broke up," he said.
"But she hates you...or hated you," Yin Shou responded.
"Hated. Past tense," Long Huojin said.
"All right. You convinced me. Should I arrange something for you two? It's a good time now." Yin Shou said.
Long Huojin smiled, soft and genuine. "I don't plan in courting her right now," he said.
"Huh? Why not?" Yin Shou asked, puzzled.
Long Huojin kept smiling. "Xue Guangli is still growing. The last thing she wants or needs, at the moment, is a relationship. I will do my best to be there for her to lend my support. She doesn't need me to thrive in success; she's good at doing that on her own. I will wait," he said.
Yin Shou gaped and pointed at him. "You love her!" he accused him.
"What?" Long Huojin responded.
"You fucking love her! Bro, I didn't think this day would come. And before me?" Yin Shou called the server to return with more drinks. "Drink up," he said.
Yin Shou and Long Huojin drank recklessly and caught each other up things in their lives. Yin Shou continued to give Long Huojin advice on women, but he only paid half-attention. Yin Shou mainly spoke up his experiences with girls he hooked up with which was not helpful.
Around midnight, their ride came to pick them both up.
Long Huojin and Yin Shou staggered to the car. Long Huojin sat in the front, and Yin Shou sat in the back of the vehicle.
"You idiots need to stop waking me up in the middle of the night, I work at the company tomorrow," Song Ren said to them.
"It's lovely to see you, Ren. You're as beautiful as always," Yin Shou said.
Song Ren rolled her eyes. "I'm married," Song Ren reminded him as she started the car and they drove away.
Song Ren dropped off Yin Shou first.
When they were left alone, Long Huojin pulled out a cigarette and began to smoke.
"Is there anything wrong?" Song Ren asked him.
"The opposite," Long Huojin said.
It piqued her interest. "What is it?"
"Xue Guangli broke off her engagement," he responded.
Song Ren stepped on her brakes hard for a moment before she kept driving. "Shit. No way!" she said, excited. "What are you going to do?"
Long Huojin chuckled. Song Ren was the first person to guess his feelings for Xue Guangli. She was the one who called him out on it, and though he denied it, she knew he was lying. "I'm going to wait," Long Huojin responded, looking out of the window, smoking.
Song Ren smiled. "You know that you two always reminded me of my husband and I. We never got along. Hell, I hated him even when we were engaged. He was the one who chased me."
Long Huojin smiled wordlessly. He knew how much Song Ren and her husband were good together.
"It's a good thing you saw me," she began again. "I am good at playing match-maker, you know."
"Don't do anything that would scare her," Long Huojin said.
Song Ren smirked, shaking her head, "I promise." Long Huojin glared at her, knowing her, she was lying.
At the driveway, Long Huojin had stepped from the car and parted ways with his friend. He walked down at his driveway when he caught a glimpse of Xue Guangli on her balcony, gazing up at the moonlight.
Long Huojin paused, watching her. She then turned to face him; their eyes met. Her hair flew with the wind, and she smiled. Long Huojin shuddered.
He knew he liked her. For years to be exact. But she had always been interested in Wang Weimin, and she barely looked at him. But she was looking at him now.
He never admitted his feelings before.
In high school, he saw the way Xue Guangli looked at Wang Weimin with admiration, longing and respect. Long Huojin watched as her eyes never looked away from him, keeping them on Wang Weimin. And with him, she had a look of disdain. So he acted cold towards her. He treated her like a stain, and she treated him as if he was bothersome.
But years ago, he had outgrown it. But it was too late, Xue Guangli hated him, passionately even. But when he was about to tell her everything he felt for her, he realized something: She wasn't ready to hear it. They weren't on good terms and had he told her; she would have never spoken to him again.
So he waited, but when she got together with Wang Weimin, he realized that he was the one who brought them together. They sought and confided in each other during their worst moments.
And when he received news of her engagement, he racked his brain until he concluded something: Long Huojin would let her get married to Wang Weimin, as long as it made her happy, that's all he needed to know. If she was happy with Wang Weimin, what would give him the right to get in the way?
Xue Guangli was still looking at him, and she wasn't giving him a sharp look of disdain or disgust, she was smiling, genuinely. She waved at him, and he waved back before proceeding to go into his house.
Indeed, it was worth waiting for her, he thought.