Chen Yi didn’t get home until around 11:30. He had an apartment in the east of B City that his maternal grandparents had jointly purchased for him when he turned 18. Now he would only stay there a couple days when he was back on leave.
After getting out of the car and checking his phone, he saw the message Ruan Mian had sent and thought it was something urgent. He was still replying as he walked, but it turned out to be someone else trying to make a move on her, and she was giving him an opening.
Chen Yi found it amusing, but then realized it was normal. They were still just ordinary friends after all, so her asking was already pretty good.
Just as he was about to reply, his grandmother called. He chatted with the elderly woman for a bit and said he would go over tomorrow before finally hanging up.
By then, it was almost midnight. Chen Yi stood in the living room bathed in moonlight, carefully typing out those few words – a rejection but also a hint.
Ruan Mian replied with a perfunctory “Okay.”
He wasn’t sure if she understood the implied meaning behind his message. When there was no further reply after waiting a while, he put down his phone and went into the bathroom.
When he came out, it was already the next day. B City was still brightly lit and bustling all night long, with the roar of car engines on the streets.
Chen Yi closed the balcony door. The room instantly became quiet. The sudden ringing of his phone seemed especially abrupt in the late hour.
It was Shen Yu calling.
His parents had been staying in B City for half a year. Today they had called him back home and sprung an arranged meeting on him out of the blue. To save face1 for his parents, Shen Yu had endured until returning late at night before erupting. After arguing noisily, he stormed straight out.
Going back to base at this hour wasn’t convenient either, so he thought of Chen Yi and made this call.
“Leave the door unlocked for me, I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Shen Yu said, “Drink some alcohol?
“Sure, go buy me some cans of beer, best if there’s skewers too. I was so angry I barely ate dinner.”
“I’ve spoiled you.”
Chen Yi laughed. “Let’s go to that skewer stall we used to frequent. I’ll wait for you there.”
“Alright, I’ll just grab a cab first then.”
“Mm.”
After hanging up, Chen Yi went back to his room and put on a black short-sleeved shirt. He preferred dark clothing, with most of his daily outfits in black.
Stepping out of the residential complex, the streets outside were bustling and lively, with all kinds of shops lining both sides of the road. The skewer stall was right across the street, just a few hundred meters away.
In the two years Chen Yi had been in B City, he and Shen Yu were regulars there. Occasionally the squad would also come here for meals. The boss recognized him and asked with a smile when seeing him come alone, “The usual today?”
Chen Yi nodded. “The usual, two portions.”
“You got it!”
Chen Yi found an empty table under the canopy set up outside and sat there scrolling through his phone. The boss’s wife brought over two opened bottles of beer. He looked up to say thanks before putting his phone down.
Just now he had seen the latest photo Li Zhi posted on Moments, marked in Sahara. Following that post, Chen Yi clicked into Li Zhi’s Moments.
Li Zhi updated once a month, always from different locations. He scrolled down quickly until reaching one from two winters ago.
It was a selfie of him and Ruan Mian at a hot pot restaurant. Chen Yi had no mutual friends with him. Below was only a reply from Li Zhi, probably to someone asking if the girl in the photo was his girlfriend.
His blanket reply: Don’t ask, she’s not my girlfriend, just a very good friend. Ask again and I’m blocking you.
Smiling face emoji smiling face emoji smiling face emoji.
In the photo, Ruan Mian’s hair was casually tied up, exposing her smooth forehead. She smiled rather reservedly with lightly pursed lips, but her eyes were bright.
That was before their reunion. Compared to the Ruan Mian of recent times, it seemed there were some differences in Chen Yi’s impression of her.
Just then, Chen Yi exited Li Zhi’s Moments and tapped into Ruan Mian’s. The page showed “Friends can only see posts from the last month.”
Shen Yu arrived much faster than expected. Chen Yi watched him get out of the cab, then poured him a cup of beer.
He walked over hurriedly, looking rather unhappy. He downed the drink in one go and sighed, “I’m screwed. I’ve never seen my parents this angry before in my life.”
Chen Yi didn’t respond, letting him vent it all out. Shen Yu grumbled a long tirade, then ruffled his short hair in irritation. “How come I’ve never seen your parents nag you about this? Aren’t they anxious?”
“They do nag.”
Chen Yi said, “But they’re far away, not as urgent as your parents.”
Shen Yu gave a knowing sigh.
After chatting for a bit, he suddenly recalled something and gossiped, “Oh right, didn’t you go find Ruan Mian today? How was it?”
Chen Yi’s motions paused while pouring wine, the bottle knocking against the glass with a clink. Head lowered, his expression was natural as he said, “Nothing much.”
Shen Yu tsked, sitting lazily as he took a sip of wine. “I’m quite confused though, how did you suddenly become interested in Ruan Mian?”
These words made Chen Yi stop moving and fall silent. The table became quiet then, only the sounds of Shen Yu eating and drinking remaining.
After finishing the last lamb skewer, Shen Yu tapped his fingers on the table edge twice. Just as he thought Chen Yi wouldn’t answer, the person across from him suddenly moved again.
“I can’t really explain it either. If you must ask for a reason…” Chen Yi turned his head aside, chuckling lightly. “I guess it was just fate.”
Fate that the earthquake happened when he was not away on a mission, so among all the places needing rescue, he just happened to go to Luolin.
And again by chance, he was there when the aftershock hit, witnessing Ruan Mian’s reckless actions and hearing her talk of duty above all.
Later, Chen Yi thought for a long time – if it wasn’t Ruan Mian, he actually wouldn’t pay much attention to a doctor he’d never met.
But sometimes destiny was just marvelous like that.
That person he thought he wouldn’t cross paths with turned out to be an unexpected acquaintance. Their unforeseen reunion delighted Chen Yi, but also surprised him.
He was astonished by the changes in Ruan Mian over the years, even becoming engrossed at times without realizing it. Before he knew it, his gaze had lingered on her too much already.
Often, feeling attracted to someone originated from that initial extra attention and concern. By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late.
But their new story had only just begun.
That night, Chen Yi and Shen Yu chatted until after midnight. Neither had poor alcohol tolerance, but still couldn’t withstand that much drinking. By the time they got to the door, they almost came to blows because the key wouldn’t go into the hole.
Pushing and shoving, they finally got inside. Chen Yi first went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face, sobering up a little. When he came out and saw Shen Yu sprawled out sleeping on the living room sofa, he didn’t wake him up but instead went to the guest room to grab a blanket to cover him.
By the time he showered again and lay down, it was already 4am. Too lazy to bother anymore, Chen Yi flopped into bed with wet hair and fell asleep.
He woke up the next morning to the sounds Shen Yu was making outside. Grabbing his phone next to him, he saw it was only 8 o’clock.
Chen Yi sat up, rubbing his throbbing hungover temples. He reached over to put on the pants and T-shirt on the floor, then went to open the door. Shen Yu was just standing up from the floor, massaging his arm.
“Damn, is your coffee table made of stone? It’s so hard.”
He had accidentally rolled off the sofa and half his body landed on the table.
Chen Yi was too lazy to respond. He turned and went back to the bedroom bathroom to wash up. After getting ready and taking his car keys, he said, “I’m going to the military district today. Go home yourself later.”
Shen Yu was still lying in the living room. Hearing him but not getting up, he lazily drawled, “My phone’s out of battery. Get me some breakfast first.”
Chen Yi’s only response was the uncompromising slam of the door.
Chen Yi’s maternal grandparents lived in the military district compound in the west of the city. He happened to hit rush hour traffic on the way there, so while stuck on the road, he ordered some delivery for Shen Yu.
By the time he arrived, it was past 10 o’clock. His grandma Liu Wenqing was in the yard watering flowers with a hose. Seeing him come in, she handed the hose to the maid and came over smiling, “Traffic jam this time of the day?”
“Still okay.”
He let the old woman pull him along. “Where’s Grandpa?”
“Sitting in the living room waiting for you. He got up early this morning expecting you, didn’t think you’d come so late.”
Liu Wenqing got him slippers at the door, then called inside, “Old man, Xiaoyi is here.”
Chen Yi went in to see his grandfather studying a chess setup. He sat down across from him and they started playing with that unfinished game.
Grandson and grandfather took turns making moves while Liu Wenqing stood by asking this and that. Finally she circled back to Chen Yi’s marriage prospects again. “Your mom called your uncle the other day, telling him to keep an eye out for you. Tell Grandma, what kind of girl do you like? I’ll help screen for you too.”
Chen Yi was picking up black pieces, answering distractedly, “Good-looking ones.”
The old man captured one of his pieces and glanced over, “You can’t be so shallow.”
He smiled, touching his nose, and made two moves before replying, “Tell Uncle I said don’t bother him with this. I know what I’m doing.”
Liu Wenqing exchanged a look with her husband. “So you have someone in mind? Which girl is it? Why haven’t we heard you mention her before? Pick a day you’re free to bring her home for a meal.”
Chen Yi was exasperated by the old woman’s attitude of wanting to know today and marry tomorrow. He evaded, “It’s not set in stone yet. We’ll talk again when it’s confirmed.”
Seeing his stance, the elders didn’t press further. But that night when Song Huai came home and heard about it, he asked over dinner, “Whose daughter is it? Don’t tell me you randomly made someone up just to avoid the matchmaking, you little rascal.”
Chen Yi nearly choked and put down his chopsticks to drink some soup. “Uncle, you think I’d be that reckless?”
“Can’t put it past you.”
After the meal, Chen Yi followed Song Huai’s car back to the military district. Bored in the ride, he scrolled idly on his phone. Before he knew it, he had clicked into Ruan Mian’s Moments page again.
But this time, it was no longer a blank page. Ruan Mian had shared a new post two hours ago, a photo of food.
Chen Yi tapped the picture to take a look. It was a table full of Japanese cuisine, set with just two places.
In addition, a hand could be seen in the top right corner of the photo.
A male hand wearing a watch.
- Saving face – In China (and many other collectivist cultures around the world), it’s a sociological concept tied to protecting the other party’s dignity and honor in social relationships. Especially in China, the idea of saving the ‘face’ (mianzi) is especially important. Think fighting over a bill at restaurant.
This is a fantastic write up if you are outside of the culture and want to understand more about this concept of mianzi to help you gain a deeper understanding behind the social motivations behind characters in c-novels/c-dramas. It can be understandably harder for people participating in more individualistic/low-context cultures to understand, but really interesting to learn about if you’re interested! ↩︎
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