Ren Ying took deliberate steps towards the door of her best friend's rooftop apartment. With a bag filled with three bottles of wine snugly pressed against her chest, she hesitated, her hand hovering near the doorbell button. In that moment, it felt like she was stuck in a loop of uncertainty, as if she had been doing this all day long—standing in front of closed doors, unable to take the plunge.
Disgruntled by her own behavior, she shook her head, silently chiding herself for her hesitation.
"Seems like I'm stuck in this cycle today, just standing here and second-guessing," she muttered to herself. With a heavy sigh, she finally mustered the resolve to push the button and waited for a response.
'I hope Yan Mei is not asleep yet, she has to follow a strict schedule, after all.'
The response from her friend's apartment was nothing but silence. However, this wasn't surprising. Lin Yan Mei, a fitness instructor at one of the top fitness centers in the city, adhered to a strict and tight schedule, just like her clients. Consequently, it was only natural for her to maintain a regular bedtime routine, no matter what.
But at this late hour, it seemed she had already retired for the night.
Ren Ying sighed as she contemplated the situation.
"Coming here now was probably not my brightest idea. Maybe I should just check into a nearby hotel and call it a night."
Just as she was about to turn away, an unusual sound caught her attention, the hurried footsteps of someone approaching the door, followed by the distinct click of an unlocking mechanism.
"Ying Ying? Why are you here at this hour? Where's Jie?" her friend's voice called out with a mixture of surprise and concern.
Finally, it seemed like a heavy, suffocating weight had lifted from Ren Ying's chest. She felt a warm stream trickling down her cheeks, and she offered her friend an apologetic gaze, hoping to convey the depth of her emotions.
"Ren Ying, are you crying? What's going on... why are your knuckles all red?"
"Yan Mei..." Ren Ying interrupted her friend's flow of questions, her voice barely above a whisper, tinged with fragility.
"Can I stay here with you tonight?"
"Oh... Of course, come on in!"
Yan Mei stepped back, allowing Ren Ying to enter her place, and quickly shut the door behind them. She watched her friend in silence as Ren Ying moved slowly toward the living room, a space that doubled as Yan Mei's bedroom.
A dozen questions flooded Yan Mei's mind, but she hesitated, unsure of where to begin or if it was even the right time to ask. After all, Ren Ying had just celebrated her birthday, yet here she was, alone and in tears, clutching a bag of alcohol instead of being in the comforting presence of her fiancé.
But did Yan Mei really need to ask those questions? Wasn't Ren Ying's current state speaking volumes on its own?
***
"You got taken to the police station? Ying Ying, you know you can't go around fighting in public like that! And now you have to find a new job... Geez, this is crazy!"
Yan Mei wearily wiped her face with both hands and let out a deep, audible groan, clearly feeling the weight of the situation. Meanwhile, Ren Ying merely shrugged her shoulders, taking a hefty gulp of wine in a single breath.
"What else was I supposed to do? My day was already a dumpster fire, and then that jerk called me a bitch and accused me of driving him to cheat! He should be thankful I didn't knock his teeth out. I bet fixing that mouth of his would cost his little fling a small fortune."
Yan Mei let out another heavy sigh, recognizing that beneath Ying Ying's typically composed and resilient exterior lay a formidable fighter driven by a deep-seated sense of justice. Unfortunately, when pushed to her limit, she couldn't help but unleash her fury.
"Ying Ying... Ugh, I'm trying to be rational here, but that guy was just beyond awful! And to pull this on your birthday! What, he planned to break the news tomorrow? What a great favor, for sure. Damn it, I just want to snap his scrawny neck like a twig!"
Yan Mei mimicked snapping an invisible twig with her powerful, muscular hands and then performed a gesture akin to tossing out the trash, her face contorted in a disgusted expression. This prompted Ren Ying to burst into laughter, partially fueled by her intoxicated state and partially because she felt a sudden sense of relief wash over her.
Having shared a friendship spanning over a decade, Ren Ying knew that Yan Mei was the most empathetic and supportive individual in her circle. With Yan Mei staunchly taking her side, Ren Ying's burden seemed to lighten, and her heart felt a glimmer of solace.
Yan Mei gazed at her friend's beaming face and immediately sensed a shift in the atmosphere. She enveloped Ren Ying in a strong embrace, drawing her close and exhaling a sigh of relief.
"It's all for the best, Ying Ying. That job was draining and degrading, and as for Wen Jie... well—"
"He was just... there, you know," Ren Ying interjected softly, her voice trailing off.
As she spoke, Ren Ying absentmindedly traced her index finger along the smooth rim of the wine glass, inadvertently producing an eerie, unexpected howling sound that reverberated loudly throughout the otherwise quiet expanse of the apartment.
"Jie was there, you know, he was... comfortable. We had our share of ups and downs like any other couple, but I believed that if we weathered it all and stuck together, it must have meant something. I guess I was mistaken. Maybe he was just waiting for someone more convenient to come along."
"Tsk!" Yan Mei clicked her tongue in disapproval, playfully flicking her friend on the forehead before covering Ren Ying's mouth with her large palm.
"If he actually did that, then he's nothing but a despicable piece of trash who never deserved you from the start! And the fact that you don't have to spend any more time on him is undoubtedly a blessing. Ying Ying, you truly are stepping into a new chapter of your life. It's time to make a fresh start."
Ren Ying winced as her friend's words sank in. Yan Mei was spot on—now that she had lost everything, it was indeed time to rebuild. And what better way to kickstart this new phase than by finally celebrating her birthday?
Pouring herself another glass of crisp white wine, she downed it almost instantly, letting out a long, satisfied sigh as a genuine smile spread across her face.
"Yan Mei, you're the absolute best!"
With an affectionate gesture, she planted a kiss on her friend's rosy cheek before affirming,
"I'm going to do it. I'll start fresh, just like you suggested. And new beginnings definitely call for a proper celebration, don't you think?"
Yan Mei nodded thoughtfully, still unsure where Ren Ying was heading with her tipsy monologue.
"Then how about we hit a bar and mark my thirtieth birthday the way it deserves to be celebrated?"