Through the concerted efforts of my team and myself, the project has been progressing satisfactorily. While not perfect, the various activities have had their highlights. I felt quite proud when my quick thinking resolved some unforeseen issues. According to my boss, this project was just about passable, enough to give a decent report to the vice president sent by the chairman. My senior employee status was temporarily secure. However, this experience made me realize it was time for some self-improvement.
I had originally wanted to share this good news first with Ran Jing, who was waiting for it, but days went by without her return. This left me rather frustrated. When you encounter something joyful, the happiest feeling actually comes from sharing it with someone who will genuinely be happy for you. Although this sentence is a bit convoluted, it holds an undeniable truth. When you have no one to share your joy with, sometimes the joy turns into frustration. This is perhaps one of the reasons why people seek marriage and a companion.
A few days after the project ended, I received a text message: "Do you remember me, the 'bad guy' using his position for personal gain?"
Without the first sentence, I might have replied with "Are you crazy?" But with that sentence, I knew exactly who it was because the number of beautiful girls I knew was indeed limited.
"Hello, girl who was approached by the bad guy using his position."
"Did you approach me?"
"The shortest distance was only 0.03 centimeters. Does that count as an approach?" I feel like the relationships between urban men and women today can be summarized with the word "ambiguous." This feeling is not limited to couples; you can see "ambiguous" scenes and conversations everywhere around you. Even I, who used to disdain such behavior, unknowingly fell into it.
"Do you want to get close again?"
"Can we make it a zero-distance contact this time?"
"Depends on your performance. See you at 7:00 tonight at the same restaurant."
"See you at the restaurant entrance." Without Wang Lei, I didn't want to "enjoy" something I couldn't actually enjoy.
I didn't refuse Lu Qian's invitation, perhaps due to vanity. After all, being asked out by a beautiful girl brings a sense of satisfaction I couldn't bear to refuse. Hypocritically, I told myself it was just to make a new friend, though I couldn't even determine my own motives. Could it be that Ran Jing's "beauty immunity spell" on me had worn off during her absence?
At a Chinese restaurant next to the Western one, Lu Qian and I continued our "ambiguous" conversation. Sometimes, one has to admit that this kind of talk stimulates the pituitary gland, holding a certain "charm" that lets the conversers imagine freely without needing actual action.
Engaging in such "ambiguous" exchanges with a senior college girl made me feel a tinge of guilt and led me to change my perception of current college students. Despite a gap of just five or six years, today's college students have undergone significant changes compared to our university days.
When we walked out of the restaurant, and this beautiful senior girl asked, "Can I come over to your place?" my cognitive abilities were pushed to the limit. I started processing all the information I had, using my past experiences to make calculations, but I couldn't come to a definite conclusion. However, the calculation at least provided this information: this beautiful girl seemed to have a considerable liking for me.
"Sure." I clarified a fact to myself: up to this point, I hadn't developed any romantic feelings for this beautiful girl, nor did I have any improper thoughts. Yet, I didn't know how to refuse such a request from a beautiful girl. I was very aware that I was creating the conditions for a mistake. When the environment, time, and people align, a man's self-control can drop to zero.
Opening my door in this state of inner conflict, turning on the light, I saw someone who brought both surprise and unease: Ran Jing. The first thing I thought was why this girl returned home without turning on the light.
When Lu Qian saw Ran Jing, she gave me a look mixed with jealousy, resentment, and contempt, then left.
"Haha, a friend, never been here, just came to see the place." I said under Ran Jing's inquiring gaze.
Ran Jing didn't speak, continuing to look at me with a strange expression.
"Really, just a normal friend. We happened to meet downstairs, so she came up to sit for a bit." I knew I was lying; it's a habit, a bad habit men have.
Ran Jing still didn't speak, just looked at me with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, making me feel very uneasy.
"Alright, alright, the truth. She's a friend of a girl my friend is interested in. To help my friend get closer to the girl he likes, I took her friend away. Had nowhere to go, so we came up." I lied again, this time using a different method: swapping spatial and temporal concepts, applying the first event's facts to the second, to give a legitimate excuse for the second. This is another common male lying technique.
"You violated the eighth rule: without my permission, you are not allowed to bring anyone home." Ran Jing said and then went to her room.
I really regretted it. Although my mind was innocent and I had no ulterior motives, my actions were chaotic. I didn't know what impression this would leave on Ran Jing.
As they say, there are two types of peach blossoms: peach blossom luck and peach blossom tribulation. Now I understand that when two instances of peach blossom luck collide, they definitely turn into peach blossom tribulation.
However, lying in bed, I pondered two things: whether I would leave a bad impression on Ran Jing, damaging my image as a righteous, sunny "old" guy, and whether Ran Jing was jealous because of me.
When it comes to matters between men and women, my brain's calculation system fails to produce accurate answers, so I made a timely decision: "Sleep first."