Love Rival

At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, a group of people walked into a private room at Mingyue Hotel.

One of them was a girl in a wide-brimmed hat and a bean-green sporty dress, still on the phone.

“We’re here. Where are you? Almost there? Then we’ll order first.”

After hanging up, someone beside her said, “Hua Yu is still as busy as ever. It’s been so long since we last saw her.”

Xu Ya Qing pulled out a chair at random and sat down with a smile. “Exactly. She’s devoted the best years of her youth to medicine.”

The person sitting at the head of the table suddenly turned and glanced at Xu Ya Qing.

“Ever since she was little, Hua Yu’s always had the best grades. First place every year.”

“It’s not just her grades. We’ve all graduated and are still asking our families for money, while she’s already built her own career.”

“Comparing people will only make you miserable. Hua Yu’s been the kind of kid everyone else envies since she was small; you still haven’t gotten used to that?”

Once the topic turned to Hua Yu, the group quickly started chatting. They lived close to one another, their parents all knew each other, and they’d grown up together, so everyone was familiar with everyone else. The atmosphere was relaxed.

Then someone blurted out, “Has Hua Yu really been single all these years?”

Gossip was always part of any gathering with friends. Xu Ya Qing lowered her head to drink tea, planning to pretend she hadn’t heard, but when she looked up, everyone was staring at her in unison.

Xu Ya Qing’s mouth twitched. “I’m not really sure. Probably. I’ve never seen her announce anything.”

Someone sighed theatrically. “No matter how busy work is, she can’t let it delay the rest of her life. She’s thirty this year, right?”

“So what if she’s thirty?” Xu Ya Qing answered before she even thought about it. “Thirty is the prime of a woman’s life. She’s busy researching diseases and saving patients; where would she find the time to date?”

Everyone laughed together. Someone pointed at Xu Ya Qing and teased the person who’d just mentioned Hua Yu’s age. “This is Hua Yu’s own cousin. Say one more bad word about Hua Yu and Ya Qing’s going to snap at you.”

Xu Ya Qing smiled. “You’re all just jealous.”

The word jealous hit a nerve. After all, not everyone could stay calm when it came to Hua Yu, who had been “someone else’s child” since she was little. Someone immediately let out a mocking snort, their face full of derision.

“I don’t think it’s that she doesn’t have time. I think she can’t even have a normal relationship at all.”

The speaker sat beside the head seat. Her hair was dyed red, and she wore a strapless dress that revealed a broad stretch of bony chest; she looked like one of those unruly, trashy girls.

It took Xu Ya Qing a full half minute to remember who she was.

Fatty.

That had been her nickname, because she really had been quite fat as a child; at one point she couldn’t even see the tips of her own shoes. Her real name was Li Leran.

Once Xu Ya Qing remembered who she was, she still felt a little uncomfortable, but she didn’t snap back right away. “Long time no see. You’re back too? How have you been? Have you graduated?”

It was a perfectly normal question, but Li Leran, who had been in Japan for five years and was about to be kicked out without graduating, thought Xu Ya Qing was deliberately mocking her. Furious, she said, “What are you so smug about? Hua Yu had good grades, so what? Didn’t she still get dumped? What kind of crappy job is it, working overtime every day and serving patients, miserable and exhausted and not even making much money? And that’s worth you all kissing up to her?”

Xu Ya Qing looked completely WTF. There were still people these days who looked down on doctors? Her standards were low enough to come from Korea? No, wait, hadn’t Li Leran gone to Japan...

At that moment, someone noticed that Li Leran had mentioned Hua Yu’s “love life” twice. Driven by curiosity, they crowded in closer.

“What relationship problem? Hua Yu dated someone?”

“She got dumped?”

Someone looked directly at the person sitting at the head of the table. “Tiantian, you used to be the closest to Hua Yu. Tell us what happened.”

Yu Tiantian sat up straight in her chair. First she smiled without saying anything; then she gave a proper but helpless little laugh. “It’s nothing. Don’t make wild guesses.”

Li Leran said indignantly, “Tiantian, why are you covering for her? It was clearly her who acted immorally and stole your boyfriend—”

“Fatty, have you taken your meds?” Xu Ya Qing finally cut in. Her tone was no longer polite. “Did your brain run out with your fat?”

Xu Ya Qing could tell these people were deliberately targeting Hua Yu. Some supposed relationship flaw, dumped during a relationship, heartbroken and single ever since; screw that.

Setting aside the fact that this was already an age where using romance to measure a person’s worth was ridiculous, even if Hua Yu had dated someone, what kind of person was she? From childhood to adulthood, the people who’d pursued her had spanned every race and crossed countries from Britain and the U.S. to Japan and Korea. If they lined up, they could stretch from the hotel entrance all the way to a trench polluted by an oil spill.

Yes, those disgusting creatures who opened their mouths only to slander and insult others belonged in a trench, Xu Ya Qing thought. She said, “If I remember right, you chased Hua Yu before too. Can’t have her, so now you want to ruin her?”

Li Leran’s face instantly went green and red. “Bullshit. Shut up!”

Xu Ya Qing gave her an innocent little shrug. “Why are you so worked up? You’re allowed to gossip about other people’s love lives, but no one can say anything about yours?”

“Ahhh, I’m going to rip your mouth off!”

People with weak minds often had terrible tempers too. Li Leran immediately shot up from her chair, crossed three meters in a single stride, and lunged across four people, arms outstretched, nails bared, slashing fiercely toward Xu Ya Qing.

Xu Ya Qing raised her red wine glass in front of her face. Li Leran’s nails scraped across the glass and shattered it into several pieces.

Xu Ya Qing mocked her to her face. “Japan has started cultivating zombies too?”

Li Leran trembled so hard even her bony frame shook.

Yu Tiantian spoke, her tone reproachful. “Ya Qing, can you say a little less? Can’t you see how angry you’ve made Leran?”

The others seated near Yu Tiantian also held Li Leran back while backing her up. “Exactly. How could you talk to Leran like that?”

“You’ve ruined the whole mood of the gathering.”

One after another, they turned on Xu Ya Qing, refusing to let her speak, all of them condemning her behavior as inappropriate.

Xu Ya Qing hadn’t been that angry at first, but now that she saw them twisting right and wrong, she was so furious it felt like a sewer stone was clogging her chest; she was disgusted to the point of nausea.

Right as they were collectively attacking Xu Ya Qing, the door was pushed open and someone arrived.

The newcomer didn’t come all the way in, only lifting a hand to knock on the door panel. The crisp rap-rap of her knuckles cut through the mobbing at once.

Everyone looked over. The one nearest the door called out her name: “Hua Yu!”

Xu Ya Qing kicked her chair back hard and stood in one motion, storming over to Hua Yu with an indignant look.

Hua Yu pushed the door open and stepped fully into view, looking quietly into the room.

Today she wore a thin herringbone coat over a silver-white satin fishtail gown. Understated and elegant, she carried a presence that set her apart from the crowd; she was nothing like everyone’s image of a “tired, overworked gland doctor.”

And she didn’t belong at all in this noisy mess.

Hua Yu looked at Xu Ya Qing, her gaze questioning, but her words were directed at the people inside. “Sorry I’m late. But I think I may have come at the wrong time. Are you... arguing?”

The last two words came with a slight upward lilt. Paired with her calm, graceful voice, it made everyone feel a little awkward.

“Let’s go. I can’t eat this meal.” Xu Ya Qing grabbed Hua Yu’s arm.

Hua Yu didn’t refuse; she turned with the force of the tug, and just as they were about to leave, Yu Tiantian called out to them.

“Leran, Hua Yu, since you’re here, sit down. We were just joking with Leran earlier.” Yu Tiantian stood up. Her outfit today was far more formal than Hua Yu’s; she wore a spring haute couture piece from a major luxury brand, and her earrings were high-end jewelry. Although she had deliberately chosen restrained colors and a subdued style, the effect was still completely different from Hua Yu’s casual natural elegance. She was practically radiating wealth and ostentation.

Yu Tiantian walked toward Hua Yu and affectionately took her arm. “It’s been so long. We’ve all been waiting for you. Hurry and sit down.”

Hua Yu’s expression stayed calm, showing no change. Only when Yu Tiantian reached for her did she subtly step aside. “Ya Ya, do you want to eat?”

The question was directed at Xu Ya Qing.

Xu Ya Qing looked at Yu Tiantian, then at Hua Yu. Her gaze held anger, but also concern.

These people were gossiping behind Hua Yu’s back, saying all sorts of things. She didn’t know how her childhood playmates had become like this after a few years apart, and she only regretted agreeing to the gathering and then calling Hua Yu over.

Hua Yu nodded. “Okay. Since Ya Ya doesn’t want to eat, then we’ll leave.”

Yu Tiantian’s smile froze on her face. Being rejected in front of everyone made her feel awkward and angry.

Especially when Hua Yu remained so cold and unmoved, refusing to yield even half a step; it only made the rest of them look like a joke.

Yu Tiantian curved her lips, her eyes turning cool. “It was only a few old stories from our university days. Just casual chatting.”

She stepped forward and lowered her voice, so only the two of them could hear. “...Talking about my ex-girlfriend Wei Yin; you want to interfere with that too?”

With that, Yu Tiantian stepped back, satisfied as she watched Hua Yu’s expression change instantly. “Hurry and sit down. The food will be ready soon.”