Upstairs, the light music in the quiet bar had been playing for an hour. Su Qin had also been sitting there for an hour.
The place was small. It belonged to a friend of a friend of Su Qin’s. Every Thursday night, she used to invite Su Qin here. They’d chat, drink a little, then walk shoulder to shoulder under the starry sky through the empty, silent streets in the early hours, before finally heading home in their own directions.
Well, to be precise, that “they” referred to Su Qin’s friend and her friend.
He would always sit by the window with a Coke in his hands, watching the city stained in neon hues through the glass, listening to the two beautiful girls beside him gossip. He would sit there from the time the place was packed until it was empty, then leave.
That life was interrupted last Thursday.
He probably shouldn’t have come back here again, yet for some reason, he still found himself seated here once more.
To Su Qin, quiet bars, night bars, or whatever kind of bars were all equally unfamiliar and baffling. He was the textbook definition of a lightweight—just one sip and he’d feel sleepy, a whole drink and he’d be out cold. So that whole thing about using alcohol to numb oneself simply didn’t apply to him. Whether that was a curse or a blessing, he couldn’t quite say.
Suddenly, the click of high heels sounded beside him. A moment later, someone leisurely took the seat across from him. A pleasant fragrance of perfume followed close behind.
The bitter scent of orange peel quietly slipped into his nose.
If he remembered correctly, that was a men’s cologne—very light, with a short lifespan, requiring frequent reapplication. But the girl across from him liked it just the way it was.
It wasn’t that he knew a lot about perfumes. It was just that his friend liked giving a bottle to every one of her friends, whether they used it or not.
And in the end, the only ones who actually used it were Su Qin and the girl now sitting across from him.
Su Qin looked up.
“Why didn’t Mengmeng come today?” The girl sitting across from him was Yu Yue, the owner of this quiet bar. The Mengmeng she referred to was the mutual friend between the two of them.
Su Qin lifted his now-empty Coke bottle, instinctively trying to take a sip, but drank only air.
“She probably won’t be coming this week. Next week, though.” He set down the bottle without feeling awkward. He was never afraid of socializing, he just didn’t enjoy it.
“What about you?”
“I’m here this week. Starting next week, I won’t be coming anymore.”
“You two, honestly... So weird. Things were fine before.”
Yu Yue sighed, propped her chin up with one hand, and gazed out the window. The neon lights blanketed the city, blending with the background music and the faint scent of alcohol and smoke at her nose, forming the essence of this world.
Yeah, things were fine before.
But who could’ve predicted Su Qin would suddenly get dumped? The reason given was careless and absurd: “I suddenly realized I’m not into men.”
Just like that.
Even now, thinking about that reason made Su Qin want to laugh.
“Heh.”
And he really did laugh out loud.
“You two even laugh the same weird way.” Yu Yue tugged up her white shirt sleeve, revealing her fair forearm, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from her denim shorts and tossed it on the table. “Want one? A little booze and a smoke, no more worries.”
“Not gonna work on me. You know I can’t drink or smoke.” Su Qin grinned. Despite usually appearing gloomy, his smile was strikingly bright.
He was actually quite handsome.
Yu Yue stuck a cigarette between her lips and fumbled around for a lighter. “Then you just don’t know how to enjoy life.”
Su Qin turned his head back toward the window. He couldn’t stand the smell of smoke. It used to give him splitting headaches. He’d gotten better about it now, but it still made him uncomfortable.
“Girls should smoke less. It’s bad for you,” Su Qin blurted out.
Yu Yue had just found the lighter. With a click, the flame sprang up, but she closed it again, intrigued. She looked at Su Qin teasingly. “Then why don’t you be with me? If you are, I’ll listen to you and quit smoking.”
“Better not. Wouldn’t want you to smoke yourself to death.”
Su Qin said indifferently. Outside, the neon lights suddenly blurred as a splattering sound echoed—it had started raining.
Then, at the street corner, Su Qin suddenly spotted a familiar silver-gray car. His brow twitched involuntarily—so did his chest.
Yu Yue noticed it too. She set down the unlit cigarette and said, “Look, Mengmeng’s passenger seat is still empty. Maybe it’s waiting for you.”
“Forget it.” Su Qin stood up. “A story can end with a period anywhere, but let’s skip the ellipses.”
“I’ll lend you an umbrella.”
“No need.”
He timed it perfectly with the moment the car headlights dimmed and walked out of the quiet bar. He opened Yu Yue’s WeChat and sent over payment for the Coke.
When Su Qin first stepped out, the rain wasn’t heavy. No umbrella was fine. But as he walked alone down the empty street, the rain suddenly poured. His clothes and pants were drenched in an instant.
Still, since he had already made the first move, he couldn’t quit halfway. So Su Qin trudged forward through the pouring rain toward home, silent. He couldn't run—he had to maintain his cool.
Yu Yue raised her phone and snapped a blurry photo of him. Then she found a contact labeled “Mengmeng” and sent it, adding: “Look at this guy. It’s pouring and he still won’t use an umbrella.”
Then she looked out the glass again. Beneath the neon glow, the car’s headlights flicked back on. Its engine roared through the silent rainy night, splashing through puddles as it sped after that “cool” figure in the rain.
Beep-beep!
The sharp blare of a horn rang out behind him.
Su Qin wiped the rain off his face with one hand and muttered, “Who the hell’s honking in this weather? No manners at all.”
Then a beam of light hit him from behind without warning. Su Qin shielded his forehead and turned to see a car slowly cruising beside him.
In the downpour, the silver-gray car looked like a gray knight. The passenger-side window rolled down bit by bit, letting rain spill into the cabin. At the driver’s seat sat a girl with a cold expression.
Her long black hair flowed behind her. Her face, full of collagen, was pale—making her red lips stand out all the more. She wore a simple white shirt that stretched just enough over her chest. Calmly, she looked at Su Qin walking on the street. She said nothing.
Su Qin didn’t speak either. Instead, he smiled suddenly and waved toward the car.
Then he said, “Driver, I’m not hailing a ride. Keep going.”
The girl’s hand tightened around the steering wheel. Her expression finally shifted, just slightly. She spoke with that same icy tone: “Get in.”
Su Qin muttered something under his breath, then slowly approached the car and pulled the door open just a crack. “Front seat?”
The girl clearly hesitated but eventually gave a small nod.
“No need to force yourself if you don’t want to.”
Su Qin caught that hesitation instantly. He let go of the door, took a step back, and turned to leave. The horn exploded behind him again like thunder.
Su Qin was rarely stubborn. Rarely tried to be cool. But hey, you only live once. Might as well try everything once, he thought.
If he really wanted to go full cool mode, then when he got home, he should’ve ignored everyone’s WeChat, kept his coolest pose while drinking, numbed himself with alcohol, lit a cigarette, and stared off into space through a haze of smoke.
But alas, he wasn’t the type cut out to act cool.
He clumsily threw his soaking clothes into the washing machine, took a hot shower, boiled some water, and made himself a cup of cold medicine.
Then he sat by his bed, sipping the medicine and listening to the rain pounding outside.
His phone screen lit up again. In the unlit room, it became the only source of light. Su Qin glanced at it.
Yu Zhongmeng: Take a shower when you get home. Don’t forget to boil some water and drink some cold medicine.
Su Qin’s lips curled up slightly—then slowly fell again.
(End of Chapter)