115. The Pretend Couple in a Fairy Tale

Eileen Chang once said that in this world, there is always someone waiting for you, regardless of the time or place; you simply know that such a person exists.

Chen Xuan knew this, yet she still could not distinguish whether the gift she had just received from Li An was his Qixi Festival present for this year, or the birthday gift she had been waiting for throughout her long, drawn-out youth.

Regardless, from the moment she took that lipstick, she knew she would never forget this instant.

This moment was not merely the perfect conclusion to her youth.

She knew that after this moment, there would be no room left in her heart for anyone else.

-

However, what she did not know was that even more unexpected things would occur later that night.

She believed those events would ferment and settle with the passage of time, becoming her most private and exclusive memories.

-

With five minutes left until the end of the 2021 Qixi Festival, the No. 1 elevator in Unit 2, Building 34 of the Wanhe Mansion, slowly came to a halt on the 25th floor.

The elevator doors opened slowly.

A moment passed.

Two people walked out, one after the other. Li An held Chen Xuan’s hand, and Chen Xuan cradled a large bouquet of vibrant roses.

Both were drenched from the rain; Chen Xuan was draped in Li An’s white dress shirt.

"Satisfied now?"

"Of course~"

After leaving Blue Whale, Chen Xuan had insisted on going to the Jiangbei Cinema. Her reasoning was that although they hadn't managed to watch the movie, the tickets had to be collected and kept as a memento.

Braving the torrential rain, the two had gone through quite an ordeal to finally secure the ticket stubs Chen Xuan had been longing for.

Stopping at the corner between apartments 2501 and 2502, Li An reluctantly let go of her hand.

He then took off the little yellow duck charm that had been hanging around his neck all evening.

Chen Xuan took off Li An’s shirt. Through her rain-soaked white T-shirt, a hint of black was faintly visible, but she paid it no mind.

She returned the shirt to Li An, reached out to take her little yellow bag, unzipped it, and pulled out an exquisite box.

"Happy Qixi."

It turned out her own Qixi gift had been hanging around his neck the whole time. Li An took it, "Thank you."

Chen Xuan: "Aren't you going to open it and see?"

Li An: "Who opens a gift right in front of the giver?"

Chen Xuan: "Who says you can't?"

Li An said, acting a bit petulant: "I'll wait until I'm inside to open it."

Chen Xuan smiled: "I have no stories to tell you, but I hope you like it."

Li An nodded. Hearing her mention "stories" again left him feeling a bit irritated; the weight of the gift in his hand even seemed to lessen by half.

From behind the door of 2501, the aggrieved meowing of "Eighty Thousand" drifted out once more.

Chen Xuan: "Eighty Thousand is hungry."

Li An: "Yeah."

Eighty Thousand had been hungry for most of the night, yet neither of them was in a hurry to reach for their room keycards.

Chen Xuan lifted her wrist to check the time: "Two minutes and forty-seven seconds left."

Li An nodded again.

Seeing no further reaction from Li An, Chen Xuan hesitated for a moment, then tilted her head and pursed her lips:

"Nothing else you want to say?"

She finished with a radiant smile, bright and beautiful as ever.

Yet, to Li An, it felt like a begonia without its petals.

The atmosphere turned quiet.

Two minutes and thirteen seconds remained until the end of the Qixi Festival.

-

When they had left the claw machine arcade in Chengnan Alley, the two had agreed to be a Qixi couple for three hours.

-

Time ticked away, second by second.

One minute and fifty-one seconds remained until the end of the Qixi Festival.

Li An only had two questions.

He had been very happy tonight, especially when they rose from the steps to go play the claw machines; he had taken the initiative to hold her hand, and in that moment, her small hand had squeezed his tightly in return.

From that moment on, he thought they had both stepped out of the "story."

But when they came out of the arcade, Chen Xuan, drenched in sweat, had asked him, "Shall we be a Qixi couple for three hours?"

At that point, he knew Chen Xuan was still immersed in another world.

Perhaps it was a common trait of every Pisces, but from that moment on, a somewhat poignant story appeared in his mind again.

But what did it matter? She was like a blank sheet of paper, ready to accept him, colorful and doodled upon.

In that moment, he couldn't tell which Li An he was: the boy in the story, the memories he hadn't fully digested from deep within, or his own conscious self.

In any case, he said: "Okay."

During the romantic two and a half hours that followed, he had shown Chen Xuan so much.

However, the melancholy after the revelry was like Cinderella’s glass slipper. As the clock approached midnight, hearing those light, drifting words from Chen Xuan—"anything else you want to say?"—the soft thorn in his heart began to prick.

He wanted to ask Chen Xuan who exactly he was, standing before her at this very moment.

That was his second question.

The first was: "Are you happy today?"

Chen Xuan nodded vigorously, "Yes, I am!"

Hearing that she was happy, he felt he had nothing left to ask. Li An let out a gentle breath and pulled out his room keycard.

"Good night."

In truth, the answer to the second question didn't matter. Regardless, today had been a perfect day. As a mature Pisces man, he knew it was just the emotions brewing in his heart playing tricks on him.

He knew that starting tomorrow, he and Chen Xuan would continue forward from a new starting point.

That was enough.

Chen Xuan asked: "Are you happy?"

Li An said: "Yes, I am."

Their eyes met.

Chen Xuan stared into Li An's eyes for a moment and shook her head: "You said you wouldn't lie to me."

"When?" Li An frowned.

Chen Xuan affirmed: "When we were buying bubble tea."

Li An remembered. When they were buying tea, he had been messaging Song Sheng and hadn't paid much attention to what Chen Xuan was saying; he recalled saying something like "I won't lie to you."

Looking at Chen Xuan’s stubborn gaze, Li An scratched his head: "It’s probably because tomorrow is almost here, and I’m... I’m a bit reluctant to see it end."

As he spoke, he rubbed his nose. He was good at spinning stories, but when it came to expressing his deepest feelings, he felt uncomfortable.

Chen Xuan seemed to understand something instantly.

Her expression softened.

"Aren't you going to ask if I have anything else to say?"

This.

Li An truly hadn't thought of it: "If you have something to say, hurry up, it’s almost time."

Only thirty-seven seconds remained until midnight.

Chen Xuan bent down to set her bouquet aside, stepped right in front of Li An, and slowly raised her arms.

Li An tensed up.

The next second.

It felt as though the weight of the entire world had been hung upon him.

He took a half-step back with his left leg.

Then, his whole body tightened, only to relax a moment later.

The shirt slipped from his arms.

He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, the familiar scent of her shampoo lingering on her shoulders.

Then, a soft, gentle reproach sounded in his ear: "Knowing it’s almost time and not cherishing it—shouldn't you hug your girlfriend before sending her home?"

Li An no longer knew what to answer; he could only convey his feelings through his actions, pulling Chen Xuan tighter into his embrace.

"Give me your phone."

Li An reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and extended it behind him. Chen Xuan took it.

"Password."

"1111."

A moment later.

"Is there really nothing else you want to say to me?"

"There is."

"You have ten seconds."

"Chen Xuan, do you like me?"

Behind his back, where Li An could not see, Chen Xuan smiled.

She held Li An’s phone, waiting.

When the time on the screen turned to 00:00.

"Li An, you are the first person I have ever liked in my life."

"And I hope you are the last."

——

Xiaomi: So please, let us give each other a little more time.