It had been over a week since Liang Xiao had actively contacted Hai Baihe, and Hai Baihe was a bit worried. Their relationship was like a fleeting encounter, with no promises or commitments, capable of ending unilaterally at any time.
She had experienced situations where she lost interest once a relationship was established, and she would block them on WeChat, severing all ties.
But why would Liang Xiao do such a thing? Was he tired of her? That couldn't be true! Just the last time, they had enjoyed themselves so much that they lingered until the next morning before parting ways.
It couldn't be because she had treated his arm like a tail, rubbing it and even drooling on it in her sleep, right? They had already gone beyond that stage, it couldn't be.
Then, what was he concerned about? Could it be that he saw through her previous attempts and decided to cut ties to prevent any further development between them?
Hai Baihe was worried. If it were someone else, she might not be so entangled and would simply let it go. She couldn't be bothered with such matters.
But her feelings for Liang Xiao were different.
Aside from her superficial attraction to him, there was also a certain unconventional connection she felt towards him. There was a liking, and it was hard not to like a man like him. His background and experiences evoked a sense of pity or even maternal love, and they had shared two extraordinary encounters together, which created a unique bond akin to revolutionary friendship(?).
In conclusion, she was very interested in him and didn't want to end this relationship in the short term.
However, if she became too proactive, she was afraid of scaring him away. Liang Xiao had too many concerns, and he had just experienced emotional pain. It would be unfair if she didn't genuinely like him but still provoked him.
"Hey... Baihe?" Muge shook her in front of her eyes. "What are you thinking so deeply about? Are you checking out handsome guys?" She craned her neck, trying to spot a handsome guy worth Hai Baihe's attention in the crowded cafeteria.
Of course, she was disappointed.
Hai Baihe picked at the two pieces of egg in her tomato and egg stir-fry, her tone uncertain. "You know... if I have a strong interest in a man, should I pursue him or not?"
"I don't quite understand what you mean," Muge asked, "Are you interested in sleeping with him?"
"Here's the key point. I've already slept with him. I admit that aspect attracts me about him, but I..." Hai Baihe bit her lip. "I'm also interested in his inner world. I want to understand him. Do you think I like him?"
Mugedropped her spoon with a clatter onto the stainless steel tray, stunned. "Are you... in love?" She felt like the world had suddenly become magical. "Sorry, I need a moment to process this."
Muge's reaction wasn't surprising. They had been good friends since childhood, but their experiences with relationships were completely different.
Muge had her first love in high school, a secret crush on the class monitor in the neighboring class. She suddenly fell for him one day, maybe because he looked good when he smiled at her, or maybe because he happened to pick up a sanitary pad she dropped. Whatever the reason, love had suddenly arrived.
She started actively and passively paying attention to him. When people mentioned his name, she would listen intently, not missing a single word. She knew his birthday, his test scores, his favorite female celebrity. When someone asked her what she thought of someone
, she blushed as if a secret had been discovered.
During physical education class, she would secretly rejoice if she ended up in a line adjacent to him because it meant she could steal glances at him when she turned sideways. Even when she went to the bathroom, she would intentionally walk past his window, hoping he would see her but also fearing that he would.
Later, the class monitor got together with a girl from their class. She saw them holding hands on the playground, and she felt heartbroken for a long time, as if the sky had collapsed.
Although the bittersweet experience had an unfortunate ending, it was still a memorable memory.
But Hai Baihe had liked many boys, including the so-called "boyfriend" she had in ninth grade, but she never thought of being together with them all the time. That kind of liking... was different for her.
Muge reminisced about her own first love and came to a firm conclusion. "You like him."
"So should I pursue him?" Hai Baihe was torn.
Muge understood her dilemma. Hai Baihe would flirt with anyone she found attractive and directly approach those she wanted to sleep with. But when it came to emotions, she feared moving on too quickly and ultimately hurting the other person. So she firmly said, "Go for it! Pursue him! That's what you told me."
Hai Baihe bit her chopsticks, unable to make up her mind. "I'm afraid I'll lose interest after pursuing him... It's one thing with other people, but Liang Xiao just got dumped recently. What if he gets dumped again?"
Muge couldn't help but retort, "If everyone thinks like you, no one would be in relationships. Dating is about the process, not the outcome. Who can guarantee a good result? It's not like writing a novel where the author says it's a 'happily ever after' ending."
Hai Baihe felt a bit troubled. On one hand, she thought Liang Xiao's idea of enjoying the present without any pressure was quite appealing. On the other hand, she felt a bit resentful and wanted to possess him.
"That's not like you at all," Muge picked at the diced meat in the Three Delicacies dish and asked while eating, "You never cared about these things before. You liked... Well, liked them. Do you really like him?"
Hai Baihe pondered for a moment. "It's not to that extent. I'm not concerned about the outcome, but I... don't want to hurt him."
Apart from that, she had another concern. She couldn't shake the feeling that Liang Xiao was intentionally distancing himself from her for no reason, no signs, just her sixth sense.
Could it be that he saw through her attempt that night and sensed her growing affection, so he wanted to sever it like she had given up her intentions?
"You won't know the result until you try. Maybe you'll end up happily ever after with Prince Charming," Muge reasoned.
Hai Baihe found it reasonable. Speculating like this was no fun. It was better to take the initiative. After class at 5:30 p.m., she and Muge quickly had a bite to eat at the cafeteria and rushed back to the dorm.
Muge sat at her desk, watching as Hai Baihe changed her clothes in five minutes and applied makeup in another ten. That alone would have been enough, but just as she was about to leave, she turned back and asked, "Did you buy MM beans? Give me a pack."
"What's with the snacks?" Muge looked puzzled. "Aren't you full? I still have a chocolate bar."
Hai Baihe
didn't hold back and packed everything into her handbag. Muge looked at her new bag curiously. "Why aren't you carrying a small bag?"
Unlike other girls who carried a bunch of things when going out, Hai Baihe usually only carried a small bag, just enough to fit a wallet, a cellphone, a lipstick, and a small bottle of perfume. Hai Baihe gave her a pitiful look. "You wouldn't understand!"
Now she felt unsafe if she didn't have some snacks with her. Because of that, she had been eating a lot more lately, afraid that she would be hungry and have to fight monsters with an empty stomach.
But Muge completely misunderstood. "Oh! I get it. You're going to spend the night at his place, right? You'll need a lot of skincare products. For a girl, spending one night or one week away doesn't make much of a difference."
Hai Baihe's footsteps hesitated for a moment, but she quickly composed herself. "Well, I'm leaving then."
"Bye, I won't keep the door for you." Muge waved goodbye.
Hai Baihe went straight to Huayang, where the lights were just coming on. The bar was not yet crowded, and the members of the Hurricane band entered one after another, with Hai Baihe trailing behind.
Zhuang Yijian called out to her, and Hai Baihe greeted them with a smile. "Hey, why are you all here so early today?"
"We didn't encounter any traffic," Mao Xiao poked his head out from behind, grinning. "I don't know why, but lately, none of us feel like taking the subway. The traffic is terrible. We left early, thinking it would be congested, but surprisingly, it wasn't. Lucky us."
Although Hai Baihe had some suspicions about Mao Xiao, seeing him safe and sound made her happy. Her smile became even more genuine. "Well, if you're not taking the subway anymore, doesn't it require several transfers to get here from your school?"
"Yeah," Mao Xiao and Wang Dong had cheerful and outgoing personalities, but Mao Xiao was more enthusiastic about pretty girls. The difference was that Mao Xiao always called them "brother," while Wang Dong liked to banter with her.
"All right." Zhuang Yijian glanced at Hai Baihe and said calmly, "Go get ready. It's almost 8 o'clock."
Only then did they excitedly rush to the backstage to do their makeup and change clothes. Hai Baihe sighed and sat at the bar counter. The bartender looked at her with a smile. "You're here again? Why the furrowed brow this time?"
"The Pain of Graduates." Hai Baihe still had the recent disappearance on her mind as she casually asked, "It's Tuesday today. Why isn't Miss Di here?"
"Hurricane is going to participate in a charity event tomorrow, so she switched shifts with Miss Di," the bartender replied. "What would you like to drink?"
"Anything."
"Oh, what's happened?" The bartender poured her a glass of ice water. "Heartbroken? Then I dare not serve you alcohol. Drinking only makes it worse."
Talking about love made Hai Baihe angry. She snorted, "No love, so how can there be heartbreak?"
"Can't fool me." The bartender chuckled. "Among the women who come to the bar, more than half of them are heartbroken. Did you have a fight with our boss?"
Hai Baihe ordered a sunrise cocktail. "A fight? What are you thinking? Couples fight, not friends. Boring."
"Hey hey hey." The bartender couldn't help but laugh. "That explains it. No wonder the boss came but didn't come down. Probably upstairs having a private conversation with someone."
The bar had two floors. The first floor had an open environment, noisy and bustling, while the second floor had several separate rooms, offering much more privacy than downstairs, usually reserved for couples.
"Upstairs?" she raised an eyebrow, couldn't hold back, and sighed, "Fine, I came here for nothing. Quickly give me absinthe. I need to drown my sorrows in alcohol."
The bartender hesitated. "Drinking hard liquor so early. Are you really heartbroken?"
"No, I plan to get drunk and see if someone will pick me up," she replied.
The bartender laughed and cried, "Are you serious? You want to try being a corpse? Don't cry if someone takes compromising photos of you tomorrow."
"Today, I'll show you my drinking capacity," Hai Baihe said. "If I get drunk, I'll give you 500 yuan. If I don't get drunk, next time you'll introduce me to a handsome guy."
The bartender thought he couldn't lose in this bet. "Deal!"
In the glass, the absinthe had a milky color, resembling milk itself. Hai Baihe swirled the glass and finished it in one gulp. She pointed to the bottle, signaling him to pour more.
Absinthe is green before diluted with water, but after adding ice water, it turns a pale white. So, diluting a bottle of absinthe results in several glasses of alcohol. If she drank them all... the bartender recalled, he had never seen Hai Baihe get heavily drunk. Either she had an exceptional tolerance or she was quite restrained.
The second glass went down as well.
By the time she reached the third glass, there was only a small amount of alcohol left in the bottle. Gradually, a crowd had gathered around Hai Baihe, with cheers and encouragements. When a beautiful woman drinks hard liquor, it inevitably triggers an adrenaline rush in people.
Hai Baihe indeed showed no signs of being drunk. The alcohol entered her body, instantly diluted, leaving only a lingering fragrance between her teeth. She was somewhat surprised. Since she got off the subway, she hadn't been drinking for some time, but she didn't expect this change.
She quickened her pace and reached the fourth glass.
Liang Xiao came down from upstairs, accompanied by an incredibly charming woman holding his arm. When he saw the crowd gathered, he paused and glanced over.
Through the sea of people, he saw Hai Baihe waving at him.
Although they rarely communicated, whether due to busyness or the thought of leaving, they could sense it without words
. It was an intuition without any scientific basis, yet undeniably real.
Liang Xiao knew she sensed it.
That glance conveyed everything.
She didn't come up to greet him or say anything. Instead, she turned her head, held up an empty glass to the bartender, and said, "The last one."
The bartender had a feeling he was going to lose. He poured the last glass for her. "Alright, sister. You're amazing. I acknowledge it, wholeheartedly."
Hai Baihe finished the last glass, paid with her card, and didn't accept any invitations from the men around her. She walked out slowly.
There were still persistent men following behind her, attempting to take advantage when she was drunk.
But Hai Baihe was unusually clear-headed. She turned around, smiled ambiguously, and said, "Stay away from me."
However, alcohol emboldens people, and this slightly tipsy guy was no exception. Instead of retreating, he took a step forward, trying to put his arm around her shoulder.
Little did he know that when Hai Baihe's arm was pulled back, his action missed its mark.
Liang Xiao said, "I'll take you home."
Hai Baihe tilted her head, looked at him without speaking for a long time. Liang Xiao couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Hai Baihe smiled slowly. "Sorry, I've had too much to drink. I thought we were back to the first time we met."
Their first encounter was on a train, where she was taken advantage of by a stranger. It was Liang Xiao who stepped forward to help. She couldn't quite remember what he said at the time... but it was close.
Liang Xiao felt extremely bitter. He said, "Let me take you home."
"Sure."
A chance encounter, tonight he would accompany her home, and tomorrow when dawn breaks, they would become strangers with no connection.