Li Na found herself spending a long Saturday at her office, working on her research papers and assessing students' progress by grading papers and tests. Part of her secretly hoped that Li Jun would surprise her again, but he didn't. And she remembers his reaction when he received a call from a person called "Daiyu''the last time they met.
Li Na realized that it was more than possible that Li Jun had a girlfriend named Daiyu. Li Na remembered that Li Jun had assigned what looks like a special tone to Daiyu's ring tone. Was Daiyu in Taiwan? Or was there something about the call that Li Jun thought was important and distressful?
She wasn't naive; she knew he wasn't and hadn't been a virgin when she first met him. She was hoping to find out who Daiyu was. Though she didn't believe she was being played, the possibility of being played by him lingered in the back of her mind.
Her thoughts wandered to Li Jun and Daiyu, and the notion of Li Jun bringing another girl, any girl, to his apartment, hurt her greatly. However, the prospect of another girl being in a relationship with him made her sad and pissed off.
However sad and sordid her imaginings were, they didn't stop her from somewhat pathetically touching and smelling his green sweater and hugging her arms across it, just to embrace herself with his softness and his scent. She felt pathetic as she washed the piece of cloth with sober longing the other day, ha! she never thought that she wanted affections from someone so much.
Li Na had spent most of her life waiting for good things to happen, keeping her hopes and dreams to herself. But soon there would come a day when she would have to make something happen. Have what is called true love even at her age.
She found the music she was playing soothing and distracting, and it enabled her to make a lot of progress on her research papers as she worked away until she closed the office by evening.
She put her earbuds in her ears and ignored the Kuai Che Pork Paper vendor outside in favor of a Sugar and Spice Nougat as she walked out of the department. She bought a large bubble tea and a bag of Nougat and started walking home, nibbling and enjoying her lunch while thinking.
Because she was deep in thought, wondering where Li Jun was and what he was doing, she almost missed Chia-hao, who waved at her as she came across the long line-up in front of the clubhouse she and Xiu often visits.
"Hey, Chia-hao." She smiled as she took the earbuds out of her ears.
He gestured to her to come closer. "Hi, Li Na. Thanks again for helping me choose the flowers for my girlfriend on our date. She really liked it." If Chia-hao could have blushed, he would have; his dark eyes sparkled, as he shuffled his feet and he smiled widely. "Where is Xiu? is she coming to meet you later"
Li Na grinned, happy that he and his girlfriend were happy. " No, I'm just coming back from my workplace and strolling back to my house. So, how are things tonight? Lots of people?" She glanced at the long line.
" Busy as usual. I'm about to let some more people in, but I have to take someone out first."
"Really? That doesn't sound good."
"Yep, Man got to do what he ought to do! Li Na. Well see you later Li Na and greet Xiu for me"
"I Will, bye!" Li Na smiled at him.
As she turned towards the opened door of the clubhouse, she was stunned when she saw a person who appears to be Li Jun. He was sitting at the bar, drowsily calling out the bartender to get him another drink.
Chia-hao shook his head. "That guy has been here drinking his ass off. The bartender is refusing to serve him, which means I need to put him in a cab and send him home," he grumbled.
Li Na's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she moved closer to the clubhouse's open entrance. Li Jun's here? What happened? What about Daiyu?
"The last time I tried to throw him out he took a swing at me. Right now, I'm just waiting for one of the other bouncers to replace me on the line. I'm going to have to go in to remove him and probably take back-up." Chia-hao looked at Li Na appraisingly as she kept on looking at the man at the bar with a stunned expression on her face. " Excuse me Li Na do you know him?
She nodded distractedly, "Yes, I do."
" Can you persuade him to come out peaceably with you?"Chia-hao pleaded with Li Na.
Li Na came out of her stunned expression and shook her head violently. "Are you kidding? That's my student and I'm not going to drag him out like that. What if I ran into someone from the school? This may result in a major scandal and endanger my image as a professor."
"I get it, Li Na. It's cool. I'll just find another way to get him out" He shrugged nonchalantly and looked at his watch.
Li Na sipped her bubble tea as her conscience nagged at her to go and pick up Li Jun from the bar. She wondered if this was a situation where she had a moral obligation to keep an eye on Li Jun as a student. What if I don't say anything and he ends up in prison? Feeling worried she turned back to Chia-hao.
"Um, I could try to talk to him. See if he'll come out on his own," she suggested somewhat hesitantly. "I don't want him to get arrested."
"Really, thank you Li Na. I do not want him to be arrested. We like our VIPs to stay happy. But he has been throwing back doubles since he got here, and they can't serve him anymore. Maybe he'll listen to the voice of reason and agree to go home and sleep it off." Chia-hao moved the velvet rope so that she could walk in.
"I'm not really dressed for it." Li Na looked down at her sneakers and ripped jeans and the oversized sweatshirt. she was wearing.
"You're fine. But listen, if he's too far gone, or if you're just not up to it, come right back. He can be a handful when he's drunk."
Li Na was taken aback by the warning but readied herself for what was about to happen. She reminded herself that he had been sweet to her that she can't harm her like her Ex.