"Lufei, do you have a girlfriend?" The girl suddenly brought up this topic after dinner today.
"Why? Are you trying to play matchmaker or sell yourself?" I replied as I cleaned up the dishes. I've noticed that I've become more diligent lately, and doing household chores doesn't feel too tiring.
"Don't talk nonsense, just answer the question." The girl sat on the couch, focusing on her nails.
"No, if I had a girlfriend, how could I dare to have such a beautiful girl like you staying at home?" I took the dishes into the kitchen.
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe your girlfriend is in another city."
"Even if she's in another city, I still wouldn't dare. What if there's a sudden inspection? If my girlfriend flies away then, you'll have to keep me company." If it weren't for the fact that we weren't facing each other directly, I wouldn't dare to make such jokes. I could be targeted by "friendly fire" at any moment.
"Hmph, look at you men, thinking about cheating while worrying about inspections. Not good."
"Hey, don't generalize. I'm not keeping you because I don't have a girlfriend. I've never stooped to such despicable behavior as two-timing." I indeed despise cheating. While I can accept some people constantly changing partners, I can't accept the idea of being with two people at the same time. At least the former makes me feel like there's some genuine presence.
"Then, have you had girlfriends before?"
"I'm not flawed, so of course I have."
"How many girlfriends have you had?" Rang Jing suddenly seemed very interested.
"Don't be so nosy. Why should I tell you?" I finished washing the dishes and sat down next to Rang Jing.
"Come on, tell me," Rang Jing grabbed my arm and shook it.
"Hey, don't poke me with your nails. Actually, Rang Jing was just trimming her nails. "If you don't tell me, I'll poke your face." She's the one I don't mind "accusing" me.
"Okay, okay," I have never been immune to Rang Jing's demands. "Let me count. One, two... ten... um... probably more than ten."
"What?! You're so fickle."
"It's not that I'm fickle, it's just that my personal charm is too outstanding."
"Tsk... conceited. Do you really have that many girlfriends?"
"Why are you suddenly interested in this today?"
"Just bored, chatting casually. Come on, answer the question. Do you really have that many girlfriends?"
"It depends on how you define girlfriend. If you're being strict, then... two."
"I thought so. With or without looks, with or without height, with neither talent nor wealth, if you've had more than ten girlfriends, you must be desperate."
"Hey, I can't believe someone as clear and transparent as you would say something so cliché, so materialistic. I'm a person of outstanding character, exceptional temperament, loving, and possessing a strong sense of humor. These are all qualities, understand?" I immediately protested against Rang Jing's evaluation. Surely I have a better position in her heart than that.
"Okay, okay, you're the best. So, how far did you go with them? Were they pretty? Why did you break up?" Rang Jing was really determined to get to the bottom of things.
"I'm not telling you. It's personal privacy. Unless you use your own experiences in exchange." I also wanted to know about Rang Jing's past. Although many people nowadays don't ask about their partner's past in love, perhaps not knowing their past is a way of preserving some secrets for oneself. But Rang Jing and I haven't reached that stage of the relationship yet, and I want to know more about her, including her past romantic experiences.
"Um... alright, but you have to answer my question first," Rang Jing agreed to my request.
"I go first? I've already said everything. What if you play dumb later? Do I look like I'm easily fooled?"
"Well, someone has to go first. Since I asked you first, it's only fair that you go first."
"Okay, here's the deal. You ask me a question, I'll answer it, then it's my turn to ask you. We'll take turns."
"How far did you go with your ex-girlfriends?" Rang Jing quickly asked.
"The first one just kissing, I guess. The second one, we did everything." I understood that "how far" naturally referred to physical intimacy because ever since college, all the guys I knew categorized their interactions with girls into various levels, such as: A - holding hands, B - hugging, C - kissing, D... So I naturally answered Rang Jing's question.
"Huh... what do you mean by 'we did everything'?"
"Weren't you asking about the extent of our relationship? We did everything that could be done." Doing everything meant things had gone very far indeed. How could Rang Jing not understand this?
"Oh." Rang Jing seemed to have just understood what I meant.
"Alright, it's my turn to ask you. How many boyfriends have you had before? And how far did you go with them?"
"One boyfriend, and things were pretty good. Just regular boyfriend-girlfriend stuff." I waited for Rang Jing to continue, but she didn't say anything for a while, looking at me strangely.
"Are you done?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm done."
"Did you go as far as 'doing everything'?"
"I'm not telling."
"Playing hard to get?"
"No, not at all. I wanted to ask you how far you've gone. Are you blaming me for your own rambling?" Rang Jing really left me speechless.
"Wait, you have to answer one more question for me. Do you have a boyfriend now?" At least I had already answered that question.
"I probably don't."
"What do you mean 'probably don't'?"
"Then I don't."
And so, Rang Jing and I continued chatting, taking turns asking and answering questions. I told her about my two ex-girlfriends: one was my college sweetheart, a real beauty. I pursued her for over half a year, but we only dated for a short two weeks. To this day, I still don't understand why we broke up. The relationship ended as soon as she suggested it, but it's still a memorable first love, albeit not perfect. The second girlfriend was introduced by a friend, also quite pretty. We met near the end of college, but as we started working and spending less time together, our differences became more apparent. Plus, I moved to Shanghai, and with the long-distance relationship, we naturally drifted apart. I knew Rang Jing had a boyfriend who also worked at an airline, the same guy I saw when I brought the drunk Rang Jing home. That day marked the end of their relationship, but Rang Jing refused to provide further details.
Although I now knew Rang Jing didn't have a boyfriend and was in a state of emotional vacancy, which might increase my chances, I became even less willing to pursue her formally. In my opinion, women in emotional vacuums are fragile. While it might be easy to pursue them during this time, such relationships often don't last long. They're just transitional products. When they gradually recover from their previous relationships, they tend to leave. I didn't want to be a temporary solution for her emptiness, so I never took advantage of such situations. I think it's better to maintain the current casual relationship with Rang Jing. Maybe that's the best approach for now. At least, I'm the closest male to Rang Jing at the moment.