Are We Dating?

Holding hands with Lin Yang in secret made Xu Zhitong feel a little better.

The restaurant was in a manor-like residence. The car was handed over to valet parking, and they crossed a courtyard with a large fountain before entering the building and being led into a fairly secluded private room.

The three of them sat around a round table. Xu Zhitong glanced at the menu and saw that it was a set course, already divided into appetizers, starters, mains, and so on.

This restaurant must have been expensive.

But Yu Yaojiao was smiling brightly, completely at ease. “Miss SleepyBlue, what do you think? Is the menu to your taste?”

Xu Zhitong read the long descriptions for each dish carefully, then leaned closer and asked in a low voice, “This place isn’t cheap, is it? Won’t it cost you too much?”

Heaven knew, the last time she’d treated Lin Yang to a meal, it had only been at a braised snack stall by the school gate.

Xu Zhitong had thought Japanese or Korean food would be about the limit. She hadn’t expected Yu Yaojiao to go this far.

Yu Yaojiao laughed when she heard that. “I even come here by myself sometimes. It’s really good. Besides, little SleepyBlue, isn’t the whole point of making money so we can enjoy life?”

Xu Zhitong had only been earning money for a few days and didn’t really get it, so she just went, oh.

“You’re really something, you know that?” Yu Yaojiao stopped whispering and sat up, smoothing her hair.

That was when Xu Zhitong noticed Yu Yaojiao had nicely manicured nails too.

Yu Yaojiao was already chatting up Lin Yang. Since she considered herself the host treating the “little couple” to a meal, she was especially enthusiastic.

She brought up all kinds of common topics on her own initiative. For example, what certain streamers had done before they started streaming, or what gossip was going around, or which channel had been making a huge mess lately and absolutely could not be followed...

Xu Zhitong was happy to listen to all that gossip; after hearing for a while, she would still jump in with questions.

As Yu Yaojiao talked, she was observing them too.

She realized that, at least for now, her friend’s woman was very attentive to her.

Not aloof at all, not very talkative, but extremely polite; she would never let the conversation truly die. She could even be called considerate. Even while chatting happily with her, she still kept part of her attention on Xu Zhitong.

Xu Zhitong spilled a little soup on herself, and while she was talking to Yu Yaojiao, Lin Yang still promptly handed her a tissue.

When they were waiting for dessert, Xu Zhitong called out, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Yu Yaojiao exchanged a few more words with Lin Yang, then made an excuse to ask the server about the dishes and went out too.

The private room had its own washroom, but Xu Zhitong apparently didn’t know that and went to the one at the end of the hallway.

When Yu Yaojiao pushed the door open, Xu Zhitong happened to be washing her hands.

“Not bad,” Yu Yaojiao said, giving her a thumbs-up.

Xu Zhitong: “Huh?”

Yu Yaojiao was as chatty as ever. “She’s so pretty, and her personality’s nice too. Not the kind of rich lady sister you see in gossip threads.”

She had never met a big-donor lady in person before, and honestly, before this meal she’d been pretty nervous.

She’d known Xu Zhitong for years. She knew Xu Zhitong had always had someone she liked, and both of them were the type who didn’t care about vanity. Yet that person had suddenly hooked up with a rich woman; no matter how she looked at it, it didn’t sound reliable.

But the moment she saw Lin Yang in person and looked at her twice, she knew this woman wasn’t ordinary. A young lady with impeccable manners, and on top of that so generous; she also treated Xu Zhitong specially. It’d be strange not to be dazzled.

She had completely given up on the idea of probing on behalf of her friend.

Even if she asked, it wouldn’t mean much. When introducing herself, Lin Yang had only said Lin Yang; she hadn’t added any title connected to Xu Zhitong. Maybe they weren’t even a couple.

Yu Yaojiao sighed inwardly.

Before, Xu Zhitong had been hopelessly in love with someone unknown, and that depressed state of mind worried her that one day Xu Zhitong might just do something drastic.

Now Xu Zhitong was “together” with someone whose status and position were worlds apart from hers, and she was even more worried.

Yu Yaojiao tested the waters. “Then are you and her dating?”

Xu Zhitong took the tissue she’d used to dry her hands, paused, and tossed it into the trash.

“Sort of,” she said.

Yu Yaojiao’s heart sank halfway. She walked out of the washroom with Xu Zhitong, hesitated, but still couldn’t help saying, “Sigh, I told you long ago; women like that who are rich and beautiful have plenty of options around them. You’re not the type who can handle a short-lived fling, so in the end the only one who gets hurt is you.”

“...” Xu Zhitong said, “It’s not what you think.”

Yu Yaojiao asked, “Then what is it? It can’t be that she discovered your singing talent and wants to make you a star, right?”

“...”

Xu Zhitong said, “I’ve known her since middle school. We’ve always gotten along really well; we just had a little disagreement recently.”

Huh?

Yu Yaojiao couldn’t hide her surprise. How had she never heard of that?

Before she could ask more, the elevator door beside them opened, and someone walked toward them. The moment they passed each other, the woman paused and suddenly called out, “Xu Zhitong?”

She was a beautiful woman dressed like someone in the workplace, wearing a white blouse, gray trousers, long hair, and glasses.

Xu Zhitong froze for a moment, looked at her twice, and recognized her.

“Senior Wen Jing,” she said.

She had been a senior in middle school whom she’d often played with for a while; they had once been in the same club.

Though back in middle school, that senior might have been even more chuunibyou than Xu Zhitong herself, always saying things she couldn’t understand. Later on, they slowly stopped hanging out.

As an adult, she looked fairly mature.

Wen Jing was surprised too. She looked at Xu Zhitong and said, “You dyed your hair this color? I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Then she looked at Yu Yaojiao. “And this is your...?”

Xu Zhitong said, “Oh, this is my friend.”

Wen Jing smiled. “When did you come to Hai City? Why didn’t you tell me? I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Xu Zhitong figured the only contact they still had was probably each other’s QQ numbers from middle school.

Looking at Wen Jing’s current elite look, was she supposed to send her a QQ message to ask her out for dinner?

Besides, they weren’t that close.

Xu Zhitong said, “It’s fine. I’m only staying a few days anyway, and we haven’t been in touch for a long time.”

If that came from anyone else’s mouth, there would probably be some hidden implication. So Wen Jing waited, but after waiting, she still didn’t get any further hint from Xu Zhitong.

Still the same block of wood.

Wen Jing couldn’t help laughing. She took a business card out of her bag and handed it over. “Here’s my card. My current contact info is on it. Call me; I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Xu Zhitong took it, tucked it into her pocket, and casually said okay.

At that moment, the door to a nearby private room opened. Someone poked out with a phone in hand, and when they saw Wen Jing, they hurriedly called out, “President Wen, you’re finally here. The clients..."

Seeing outsiders, they stopped talking.

Since there was still business to handle, Wen Jing nodded at Xu Zhitong and the others before turning and going back into the private room.

The door closed. Yu Yaojiao said, “Wow.”

Xu Zhitong: “Huh?”

Yu Yaojiao complained, “I feel like you’ve got that pretty-boy magnet constitution. This so-called president is rich too; the watch on her wrist has got to be worth a fortune. The moment she looked at me, it was like she was looking at a rival in love. She sized me up from head to toe... People with jobs like that are probably more reliable, right? If not, you should just change who you like.”

Xu Zhitong glared at her. “Don’t say that. I only like Lin Yang.”

That was pretty disastrous, Yu Yaojiao thought.

After all these years, she was still hopelessly in love.

Yu Yaojiao wanted to ask when exactly Xu Zhitong had gotten together with Lin Yang.

Then she remembered that Cotton Empress had actually been sending gifts to Xu Zhitong for a long time already.

Yu Yaojiao’s mind immediately filled in all kinds of broken-mirror-reunion, bitter-ocean-and-hateful-sky melodrama.

She also knew she’d said too much today. When a friend was too caught up in things, pouring cold water on them would only push them away.

Yu Yaojiao said, “Alright, that’s my bad. I didn’t know you liked her this much before, so don’t blame me for talking too much just now.”

After a pause, she added, “I can tell she likes you too. Good luck. When you two make it official, I’ll treat you to another meal.”

Xu Zhitong was silent for a moment, then quickly gave a snort. “Then I’ll treat you.”

She didn’t actually have any issue with Yu Yaojiao.

Yu Yaojiao’s way of talking was a little frivolous, but she meant well; otherwise, why would she go to such trouble to arrange a meal?

Probably because, before her memory loss, she hadn’t told Yu Yaojiao about this secret relationship. Her friend didn’t know the situation and was worried she might get hurt. That was normal.

Still, she didn’t need Yu Yaojiao’s encouragement; she had plenty of energy and plenty of means.

After they returned to the private room and finished dessert, Yu Yaojiao still had to go back and prepare for her livestream, so they didn’t continue the outing.

When they went downstairs, Yu Yaojiao deliberately lagged behind a few steps and spoke to Lin Yang.

“Sister Xiaoyang, how many days are you two staying in Hai City? After the garden fair ends, can I treat you both to a meal?”

Lin Yang smiled. “No need to be polite. How can we keep letting you pay? We’ll treat you.”

“Sure, then I’ll gladly accept.”

Yu Yaojiao thought she might have been infected by Xu Zhitong’s lovestruck brain, because every time she heard Lin Yang say “we,” she felt like these two people, whose relationship was still uncertain, were kind of sweet.

Lin Yang said, “Thanks for taking care of Xiaotong.”

She could tell Yu Yaojiao had spent this meal worrying the whole time, like a family member from the bride’s side.

After the meal, she even deliberately chased after them; she must have spoken with Xu Zhitong, because when she came back, the way she looked at Lin Yang was even more serious.

Yu Yaojiao waved her hand. “You’re too polite. SleepyBlue, she... sigh, I don’t even know how to put it. As long as you two can be happy, I’m happy. It’s a pity you don’t have time today. There’s a nice little bar nearby too; we could’ve gone for a few drinks.”

Her thinking had shifted. She had gone from not being very optimistic about SleepyBlue and Cotton Empress to wanting, in a roundabout way, to give them a little push.

Xu Zhitong, that dumb, wooden girl, probably wasn’t very good at acting pitiful.

Yu Yaojiao had never used the “I’m miserable, please pity me” approach to romance, but she did know that when dealing with this kind of rich woman, you needed a little tragic performance to stir up protective instincts and deepen the relationship.

As she thought about it, she started worrying again.

Lin Yang took out her phone. “Add me on WeChat.”

Yu Yaojiao hesitated for a second. Looking at Lin Yang’s calm expression, she added the contact.

Lin Yang changed her note and said, “The one pestering you and acting like an emperor online is my younger sister. If she causes any trouble for you, you can tell me.”

Yu Yaojiao was surprised. “Oh, okay. Thank you.”

-

After sending the two of them down to the underground garage, Yu Yaojiao quietly told Xu Zhitong before getting out that she and Lin Yang had added each other on WeChat.

Xu Zhitong really did get jealous for a second, but she calmed down very quickly and put on a generous front. “It’s fine.”

Yu Yaojiao was exasperated. “I’m just telling you. Bye, see you at the garden fair.”

“Okayyyy, see you at the garden fair,” Xu Zhitong said quickly, still thinking about the matter she needed to discuss with Lin Yang. “Bye.”

The elevator lobby in the underground garage was silent.

When the elevator passed the first floor, they vaguely heard some noise from the lobby.

Xu Zhitong thought of what had happened in the hotel lobby and curled her lips.

They walked all the way back to the hotel room and closed the door.

The central air conditioning was keeping the room warm. In the wardrobe area, Lin Yang took off her coat and turned to get a hanger.

Lin Yang was in a pretty good mood. She had met one of Xu Zhitong’s friends from recent years whom she had previously misunderstood; although Yu Yaojiao might have had some misconceptions about their relationship, they had at least exchanged goodwill.

She had never had any intention of intruding too deeply into Xu Zhitong’s social circle; all along, she had only watched from afar.

Having obtained a contact today, perhaps one day in the future, after Xu Zhitong regained her memory, it might prove useful in some way.

She hung up the clothes and turned around, only to be tugged by Xu Zhitong, who had no idea when she’d sat down on the soft bench.

Xu Zhitong used some force, and Lin Yang staggered a step before catching herself with both hands on Xu Zhitong’s shoulders, lowering her head in confusion.

For some reason, Xu Zhitong’s expression looked a little strange.

She caught Lin Yang’s wrist, hesitated for a moment, and then hugged her.

Sitting on the upholstered bench, Xu Zhitong wrapped her arms around Lin Yang’s waist while Lin Yang was still standing, burying her head against Lin Yang’s abdomen.

From Lin Yang’s angle, she could only see the top of Xu Zhitong’s fluffy head.

Xu Zhitong’s muffled voice came through the fabric. “I don’t feel well.”

“Hm?”

Lin Yang didn’t have time to think about how overly intimate this posture was. Though a little stiff, she immediately reached out and patted Xu Zhitong on the head.

Thinking back on today’s menu, she asked, “Is it your stomach? Or somewhere else? Did you not get used to the food today?”

“No.”

Xu Zhitong shook her head against her soft abdomen. Her hair brushed over the knit fabric, making her fringe lift a little; it was ticklish. Lin Yang almost felt that the discomfort was spreading from her abdomen outward through her whole body.

Her hand trembled. She forced herself to ignore the faint itching sensation and softened her voice. “What is it, Xiaotong?”

After a while, Xu Zhitong finally lifted her head.

Her expression carried a hint of half-true, half-false grievance. She asked, “Are you planning to push me away?”

Author’s Note:

Actually, this little dog was buried for a second and then got dazzled by how fragrant it was. (No, not really.)