Shine on Me

Since we had rented a car, our time in Chengdu felt wonderfully free and unplanned—we’d basically decide where to go the night before. But this spontaneous approach seemed to suit the city’s vibe perfectly, allowing us to blend right in.

Xiao Xie flew back to Suzhou the next day, while Lin Yusen continued staying in his room, waking me up each morning with a different breakfast.

Traveling together is truly an intimate experience.

If you already enjoy being with someone, traveling together amplifies that joy into something more concentrated.

We didn’t do anything particularly special. Just drove together to Dujiangyan, wandered the city’s famous streets and alleys, sat in teahouses sipping tea while the breeze brushed past us, shared every delicious dish…

But how do I describe this feeling?

The world seemed renewed, even the most ordinary things became fresh and fascinating. Every morning, I woke up brimming with anticipation, eager to share and discuss everything I saw and heard with him.

It felt like we had more and more to talk about, endless topics spilling over.

Even after spending the whole day talking, once we returned to the hotel at night, we’d still lean against the sofa together, chatting away.

I told him about my complicated feelings toward my dad—how I didn’t want to deal with him but couldn’t bring myself to ignore him. He shared that he’d once felt the same way about his grandfather.

I told him about my childhood in the countryside with my grandparents, and he told me stories of growing up in an old apartment complex. Then we made plans to revisit those places someday.

I’d take him to try the best baked cakes in the countryside, and he’d show me the jujube tree outside his old home that bore so many fruits every year.

Of course, we also had long stretches of silence…

This is terrible. I came all the way to Chengdu, but instead of easing that inexplicable urge to be close to him, it’s only grown stronger.

I find myself increasingly reluctant to part with him, even for just those few short hours at night before seeing him again the next morning.

Luckily, he seems to feel the same.

In my room, on the sofa, after another prolonged silence, he paused and sighed. “Tomorrow, I’m going straight back to my own room without looking back. Otherwise, it’s too much of a test for myself.”

“You said the same thing yesterday,” I murmured against him, my voice soft but not too weak to call out his half-hearted resolve.

“Don’t expose me.” He chuckled, his warm breath brushing my ear before his lips gently met mine…

The day before we left Chengdu, we got a call from President Qi.

We had just left the Chengdu Panda Base—Lin Yusen was driving while I sat in the passenger seat, passionately arguing on behalf of other provinces in China.

“Why don’t other places have giant pandas? Take Wuxi, for example—so many bamboo groves, yet no pandas. Does that make any sense?”

“No need to be so jealous,” Lin Yusen wisely consoled me. “After all, whether pandas grow in the ground or not, no one gets to touch them anyway. So it’s still fair.”

That’s when President Qi’s call came in. Since Lin Yusen couldn’t answer, I picked up his phone and glanced at the screen, a little excited. “It’s President Qi! Could it be…?”

“Put it on speaker.”

I did as he said, and President Qi’s Sichuan-accented Mandarin immediately filled the small car.

“President Lin, y’all left yet? Still in Chengdu?”

“Not yet. We just got back from the panda base.”President Qi let out a hearty laugh. "Pandas are great, everyone visits them when they come to Chengdu. President Lin, your girlfriend is here, and I haven’t treated you to a meal yet. How about this—I’ll find a nice restaurant tonight to welcome you both."

...Talk about a belated welcome. We’re leaving tomorrow.

Lin Yusen smiled. "No need to trouble yourself, President Qi. We’re leaving Chengdu tomorrow, so we’d like to stroll around the city tonight. I’ve already made dinner reservations."

"Leaving tomorrow?" President Qi’s voice instantly rose, no longer hiding his intentions. "Then I must insist! I also have a few things I’d like to discuss further with you, President Lin."

"Really, it’s unnecessary," Lin Yusen replied, his tone unhurried as always. "We’ve already covered everything. Our company fully understands your position—"

"No, no, no," President Qi cut in urgently. "President Lin, you don’t understand—you’ve misunderstood. We need to meet again and talk properly."

Lin Yusen smiled faintly, quietly focusing on driving.

I leaned over to study his expression. Hmm... President Lin seemed to be considering renegotiating the price.

After a pause, President Qi cautiously called out, "President Lin?"

"Fine," Lin Yusen finally relented. "My girlfriend isn’t great with spicy food, so I’ll leave the arrangements to you, President Qi."

"Don’t mention it! No need to stand on ceremony. I’ll text you the details once I’ve booked the place." President Qi hung up, overjoyed.

"I’ve gotten much better with spicy food these past few days," I protested as I put my phone back, then asked him, "Are you trying to haggle the price down further?"

"Worth a try. President Qi is in urgent need of funds lately."

"Then..." My eyes darted around. "Should you introduce me at dinner as the daughter of the major shareholder? I’ll be in charge of looking displeased the entire time."

Lin Yusen instantly caught on, amusement flickering in his eyes. "As you wish, young mistress."

So during dinner with President Qi that evening, Lin Yusen and I put on quite the performance.

I felt like I’d inherited a sliver of Nie-zong’s acting skills, gradually portraying impatience, displeasure, and an utter disregard for money.

My lines were especially distinctive, such as—

"Why buy secondhand equipment? It’s not like we’re short on money—can’t we afford brand-new ones? Who knows what hidden issues they might have?"

"All my friends know I’m stepping into the business world. Buying used equipment would be embarrassing. Besides, the next iteration is coming soon—who’d buy these then? Scrap metal?"

"If budget’s the concern, I can have my family transfer more funds to the company account."

Thankfully, President Qi was based in Chengdu—had this been the Yangtze River Delta, I wouldn’t have dared to act so boldly. I still had to establish myself in the business world someday, after all, and needed to maintain some semblance of decorum.

As for Lin Yusen, he played the meek subordinate throughout, barely daring to speak under the young mistress’s imposing aura.

In the end, President Qi, heart aching, voluntarily lowered the price further and even agreed to cover shipping costs before I finally stopped objecting. He quickly seized the opportunity to finalize the deal with Lin Yusen.

We didn’t push too hard on the price, though. With favorable policies rolling out recently, many were still hesitating, but the bolder ones had already started making moves—hence the competition for the equipment. Had President Qi not been desperate to fill financial gaps elsewhere, we likely wouldn’t have gotten a single cent knocked off.The next day, we were set to return to Shanghai. President Qi, in a frantic rush, revised the contract according to the previous terms, adjusted the prices, had it stamped, and sent someone to deliver it directly to us at the airport.

Waiting for the contract delivery person took some time, leaving us with little to spare after security checks. So, we headed straight to the departure lounge. Unexpectedly, the flight was delayed, and the place was packed. We barely managed to snag two seats.

Amidst the noisy environment, Lin Yusen carefully reviewed the contract.

"Everything looks fine."

He put the contract away just as President Qi called again. Lin Yusen didn’t play hard to get this time and readily agreed to transfer the full payment as soon as the equipment arrived at the factory.

During the call, President Qi must have said something that made Lin Yusen suddenly laugh. "Not at all, in that regard, we still can’t compare to you Sichuan men, though it’s somewhat nationally renowned."

What couldn’t compare to Sichuan men? My curiosity piqued, and as soon as he hung up, I eagerly asked, "What were you talking about? What’s not as good as them but nationally renowned?"

Lin Yusen slipped his phone into his pocket with a suave and proud gesture. "Pà ěrduǒ—afraid of one’s wife."

I was speechless.

Not one to let the title of "tigress" go to waste, I ordered him, "Then go buy some snacks for your... girlfriend."

Lin Yusen actually had an issue with my attitude. "Shouldn’t you be a bit sweeter when asking me to do something? I might fear my wife in the future, but not my girlfriend."

"...If you don’t do things now, there won’t be any upgrades later."

Lin Yusen pondered seriously for a few seconds before conceding. "Effective threat."

He stretched his long legs and stood up, adaptable as ever. "Alright, my precious girlfriend, what would you like to eat?"

Just then, my phone rang. Glancing at the screen, I saw an unfamiliar number. Answering it, I said to Lin Yusen, "You should figure that out yourself. Get it right, and you’ll upgrade to Girlfriend 2.0."

"Sounds like a long and arduous journey," Lin Yusen sighed, shaking his head as he went off to buy food. I said "Hello?" into the phone, but there was no response. After a couple more attempts with no answer, I hung up, puzzled.

Probably a wrong number.

After hanging up, I remembered I hadn’t replied to Jiang Rui’s text from this morning, so I decided to call him instead.

He picked up quickly. I got straight to the point. "I’m not back yet; I’m at the airport in Chengdu. Why are you asking if I’m back? Planning to treat me to a meal?"

Jiang Rui said, "Nothing, just checking in."

Huh? I joked about him treating me, and he didn’t immediately protest loudly?

"Once we’re in Shanghai, Lin Yusen and I are visiting Grandpa Sheng, then heading back to Suzhou. Probably won’t have time to see you this trip."

"Oh... Sis, did you have fun in Chengdu?"

"Yeah, didn’t I send you photos?"

He just said "Oh" again, sounding hesitant.

I found it odd. "What’s up with you?"

After a brief silence, he seemed to steel himself. "Sis, there’s something I think I should tell you."

"Then say it." If it was this hard to bring up, was it about his love life? I inexplicably thought of the girl we’d run into at Xinjiekou. "Did something happen between you and that girl?"

"What? No!" Jiang Rui exclaimed. "It’s about Brother Zhuang!"

My frown deepened instantly.After Jiang Rui finished calling out, his words suddenly flowed smoothly. "On the train back to Shanghai yesterday, I ran into Zhuang Fei. When we got off, Brother Zhuang came to pick him up and saw me, so he invited us both to dinner. I couldn’t really refuse, so we went together. We ate for quite a while. Brother Zhuang asked about my study abroad trip at one point but didn’t mention you. Later, it was Zhuang Fei who asked, ‘What’s your sister doing now?’ I said you were working in Suzhou. I was being a bit childish and deliberately bragged that you were so happy with your boyfriend you barely paid attention to me anymore. Zhuang Fei was shocked and immediately asked, ‘Your sister has a boyfriend?’ I said yeah, you got together just a few days before New Year’s. Brother Zhuang hadn’t said much the whole time, but for some reason, after I said that, his expression changed drastically. Later, he dropped us off at school but then came back to ask me, ‘When did your sister get together with Lin Yusen? Just a few days before New Year’s?’ I figured there was no harm in saying so and confirmed it. He seemed to look even worse after that. Sis, was it okay for me to say that? Is there something important here I don’t know about?"

Jiang Rui asked very perceptively.

I was silent for a moment. "Nothing important. It’s fine."

"That’s good." Jiang Rui let out a sigh of relief. "There’s one more thing—I’ll just say it all at once."

"I’ve been struggling since New Year’s about whether to tell you. Before you came to Nanjing for the holiday, Aunt Zhang suddenly mentioned to me that Brother Zhuang had come to our house looking for you. Aunt Zhang told him you’d gone abroad with me. She specifically said ‘study abroad’—I confirmed it with her several times. Actually, she still doesn’t quite understand and even asked me, ‘Isn’t that what you did? Didn’t I say it right?’ She said Brother Zhuang stood at the door for a long time before leaving, even forgetting his umbrella. It was pouring outside, and by the time she ran to the door to call after him, he was already gone."

"Sis, remember? Back when we went abroad, because we left in such a hurry, your phone wasn’t set up for international roaming. Even if he’d called my number, the time difference might’ve meant I had my phone off and missed it. He… probably couldn’t find us. That’s why during New Year’s, I kept dragging you around Xinjiekou—I wanted to see if we might run into him, leaving it all up to fate. If I hadn’t gone abroad, Brother Zhuang would’ve found you, and you two would be… Sis, I can’t help thinking, if it weren’t for me, maybe you—"

"Jiang Rui," I interrupted him.

He stopped.

"Thank you for taking me abroad," I said. "I think I’m happier now."

"Really?" Jiang Rui actually pressed further.

I knew why he was so uncertain—even though he’d seen me with Lin Yusen.

Because he’d also seen me chasing after someone else with reckless abandon, pouring my whole heart into that affection.

He was afraid I’d have regrets.

My brother wouldn’t take sides with anyone—he just wanted me to be with the person I liked most. But how could I tell him that the love back then was real, and now its complete disappearance was just as real?

Sometimes I wonder too—could I really change my heart so quickly? Lin Yusen and I have only been together for a few months, not even as long as I liked Zhuang Xu. Yet here I am, completely letting go of the past, allowing someone entirely different to fill my thoughts and life?

Sensing something, I looked into the distance.The tall, handsome man happened to emerge from around the corner at that very moment. Carrying two drinks in his hands and a large bag, he walked toward me with unhurried steps, bathed in the blazing sunlight streaming through the airport's floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.

Both the light and my mood softened into warmth at that instant.

The man approaching me was intelligent, resolute, tolerant, broad-minded, exceptionally brilliant, and effortlessly charming.

To me, he seemed to embody every virtue in the world.

With him, I never had to tread carefully or second-guess myself. I could demand selfishly and give without hesitation.

Perhaps I had changed my heart too quickly—but once you've experienced love as blazing and unrestrained as the sun, who would still care for flickering fireworks?

"Of course it's true," I said earnestly to Jiang Rui on the other end of the call. "Unrequited affection, compared to mutual love, is fragile beyond measure."