The typhoon was approaching, and the wild wind roared like a beast breaking free from its cage, recklessly smashing through the streets.
Trees lining the roads were clawed by invisible talons, leaves swirling continuously in the air.
Trash bins skidded and flew along the ground, and pedestrians’ umbrellas were turned inside out, then blown away entirely, leaving only the bare umbrella frames.
Five minutes later, in the corridor of the top-floor bar of a five-star hotel, someone stormed in holding one of those bare umbrella frames, sweeping the bar like a machine gun blazing into a village.
When he reached the two people sitting in the corner, the pair exchanged glances and then applauded him enthusiastically with expressions as if they were caring for mentally challenged children.
Gao Dian plopped down triumphantly, then immediately stared in disbelief, “Who’s this?”
“It’s Qiao, haven’t you seen her before?”
Yu Jinyang teased him with a smirk, casually tossing over the menu they’d brought up from downstairs.
“She just ordered two dishes; you can order two more.”
“No, I know Qiao, I’m talking about you—what’s with that hairstyle?”
Gao Dian grabbed the menu, shifting seats to sit opposite Li Yingqiao.
“Linda’s not here? Didn’t I tell you—if Linda’s not here, you should just leave.”
Yu Jinyang half-leaned against the back of the sofa, turning his back to the two of them.
His long legs stretched casually to the floor, towering awkwardly over them both.
He was waiting for Gao Dian to finish ordering downstairs and speak to the chef about dietary restrictions, so he hadn’t properly taken his seat yet.
“You’re saying you still went with him to buy a hat looking like that?”
Gao Dian looked up incredulously from the menu at Li Yingqiao, who had now taken her seat.
“He’s really grown up, huh? Learned some social skills? Back in middle school, his face was swollen like a pig’s head, and you and Zheng Miaojia wouldn’t even walk with him.”
Yu Jinyang didn’t bother replying; he grabbed the newly bought hat and pulled it over his forehead, silently lowering his head to reply to a message.
Sun Taihe was asking if he was coming to play badminton at the gym tonight.
“Anyway, I’m just killing time,” Li Yingqiao leaned back into the sofa, sipping her wine slowly, swirling the ice cubes in her glass.
She tilted her head to glance at Yu Jinyang sitting beside her.
“Not that bad, really. Just messy. Like a little curly mop.”
“That’s because you two haven’t seen him in a long time. Wait till you compare,” Gao Dian flipped through the menu, clicking his tongue.
“A few years ago, he was so handsome it was almost tragic. After college, his life got pretty interesting—”
Yu Jinyang finally turned his head and coldly shot him a glance.
“Are you ordering or not? People downstairs are waiting.”
Li Yingqiao couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Really? Interesting how?”
“Oh, very interesting. There was a woman who even jumped straight off a green train for him—”
Gao Dian got more animated as he rambled on.
Yu Jinyang rolled his eyes, leaning over to snatch the menu from his hand. “Stop ordering.”
“Is he okay?” Li Yingqiao asked, surprised.
“He’s fine,” Yu Jinyang said while flipping through the menu.
“Not like you think. Just take half of what Gao Dian says with a grain of salt.”
Gao Dian realized he’d let his mouth run too much.
Yu Jinyang had warned him countless times not to treat that incident as a topic for conversation.
He glanced around and changed the subject: “I won’t eat, just drinking, okay?”
The top-floor bar was Yu Renjie’s private place, mostly closed to outsiders.
He rarely came here himself now; it was mostly Yu Jinyang, Gao Dian, and a few other young guys who occasionally gathered here for drinks and chats.
“No one’s making drinks for you,” Yu Jinyang said without lifting his eyelids.
“What’s in her glass then?”
Gao Dian doubted.
“RIO, bought downstairs.”
Gao Dian asked, “Where’s the glass bottle from outside?”
“I drank it.”
Li Yingqiao smiled, pointing to a wall of glowing wine bottles.
“There’s a fruit wine over there about to expire.”
Gao Dian stood up.
“Miaojia knows how to mix drinks; have him make it.”
Yu Jinyang didn’t bother replying, focused on scanning the menu and asking Li Yingqiao, “Want to order beer duck?”
“Do you have foie gras?”
Li Yingqiao asked.
Yu Jinyang glanced at her.
“That picky? No, the Western kitchen hasn’t been working these days.”
Li Yingqiao’s gaze began wandering between Yu Jinyang and the menu.
“Miao, looking at you now, you really do have some charm. The hairstyle’s ugly, but with the hat on, you look much better.”
With a “slap” sound, Yu Jinyang wordlessly tossed the menu onto the table and strode off downstairs to place the order himself.
Li Yingqiao clicked her tongue and pulled back her gaze, teasing Gao Dian: “Looks like Miao’s grown up and carries the handsome guy burden now.”
Gao Dian absentmindedly sipped the fruit wine, watching Yu Jinyang’s broad back striding away.
He said slowly, “Maybe he’s just shy. Wait and see, his ears will definitely turn red.”
“No way,” Li Yingqiao replied in surprise.
She glanced back but he was already gone.
The elevator dinged, signaling he’d gotten in.
“He hasn’t dated anyone, has he?”
“I haven’t asked,” Gao Dian thought for a moment.
“He was studying in Chicago a few years ago, and we lost touch. I only found out he’s back in Fengtan this year. I thought he was still abroad. But I think he’s probably still a virgin.”
“Pfft—”
Li Yingqiao nearly spat out her drink.
“Really. I’ve been back for almost two months, and besides work, Miao either plays ball with me or goes back to the countryside to keep his grandma company. His life’s pretty dull. Don’t be fooled by his good temper or the way it looks like any girl can just pester him into dating. He’s actually hard to get along with—”
Gao Dian always had no filter.
Li Yingqiao didn’t want to hear any more adult talk about Yu Jinyang and quickly changed the subject.
“Is he working at Uncle Yu’s company now?”
“No, Siyi still runs the whole show himself. But sooner or later, the company will have to be handed over to him. The Fengtan toy business isn’t as big as when we were in school—back then, Siyi’s business was booming worldwide. Now, it probably makes less than the hotel’s annual dividends. So last year, Miao opened his own design studio next to my gym, focusing on toy design.”
“Didn’t he study business administration?”
“He studied design in Chicago. Started with mechanical watch design. Didn’t he tell you?”
Li Yingqiao shook her head.
The sound of hairdryers buzzing filled the barbershop as they barely spoke a few words.
Outside, the wind from the typhoon was so fierce it seemed to want to blow everyone away.
They hadn’t chatted much when buying the hat, mostly focused on choosing the right one.
The clerk had even given them two gua sha boards, which Li Yingqiao still had tucked in her pocket.
Gao Dian sighed.
“Do you know Siyi nearly went bankrupt one year?”
Li Yingqiao thought for a moment.
“Was that during senior year? Uncle Yu and Aunt Tang almost divorced, and Yu Jinyang’s grades dropped.”
“No, not that time. That one was Siyi’s own doing. I don’t know the details; he never told me fully. There was another time.”
Gao Dian put down his glass.
“When Miao was in Chicago, he almost went bankrupt. All of Siyi’s accounts got frozen. Miao went about a year without living expenses, working and studying at the same time. Back then, he hung out with an underground street dance crew called SWG. During the day, he performed on the streets under the Michigan Avenue Bridge, earning tips. It was normal at first, but at night they tricked him into going to clubs to strip dance for rich ladies.”
“Wow, he…”
Li Yingqiao’s expression was loaded with meaning.
“Miao refused, so he didn’t get paid and almost offended them. He really wanted to go home then, but the pandemic hit.”
“What did Uncle Yu do to resolve it?”
“Siyi is an honest businessman; he’s not afraid of shadows. You’d better pretend you don’t know about this. Siyi always thought your uncle was behind the scenes causing trouble.” Gao Dian suddenly remembered, “Oh, and Miao has a little sister, born during those pandemic years in Chicago. She’s three or four now, named Tian Tong—super cute. So Siyi bought a plot of land near Little Painting City, planning to build a children’s playground as a gift for Tian Tong. Miao found an architect design team and plans to design it himself.”
Li Yingqiao felt a pang of guilt for having pitied Yu Jinyang even for a second.
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse.
Yu Renjie’s family was so wealthy that even if they lost some weight, they wouldn’t starve.
***
When Yu Jinyang returned, Li Yingqiao was chatting with Gao Dian about some random stuff.
“You have to learn to avoid tempting fate. You know why incense is burned with three sticks? It’s actually a math problem. Taoism says: ‘One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things.’ Christianity has the Trinity. Ancient Greek schools thought three was a perfect number. Dig deeper, and you find many theological things relate to three, six, and nine. It’s still a math problem—”
“Got it, this world’s full of strange things.”
Li Yingqiao summarized.
Gao Dian, obviously clueless, made a confused face like Zhao Benshan scratching his head.
“Why are you suddenly studying this? I remember after the college entrance exam, you and Miao argued about these things.”
Li Yingqiao glanced at Yu Jinyang, who had just sat down beside her with a plate of peanuts.
She popped one into her mouth.
“Did we? I forgot.”
“Yeah, Siyi is superstitious. Every big exam, he’d take Miao to Wutai Mountain to pray. You thought it was a waste of time—you’d rather do more practice problems. You two even fought over it.”
Gao Dian said.
Yu Jinyang shot him a sidelong glance, expressionless.
“You’re drunk. I’ve never argued with her over such nonsense. If you want to go for a walk now, I bet you can’t even walk straight.”
Gao Dian smacked his head in realization.
“Definitely. Also, I remember Miao wanted to change his college application to R University in Beijing, and you refused. You called him a follower, stuck to you like glue. You two had a huge fight. Miao was so mad that we canceled our planned National Day trip. You two argued so much during senior year, like two firecrackers. Don’t pretend you don’t remember, or I’ll call Miaojia; she definitely recalls.”
“Youthful recklessness, youthful recklessness,” Li Yingqiao smiled, clinking her glass against Yu Jinyang’s water cup, then drank hers in one go without waiting for him.
For some reason, after so many years apart, Yu Jinyang thought Li Yingqiao had become much more “gentle.”
Though that word didn’t quite fit her age, or rather, she had become a lot softer.
In the past, she and softness had nothing to do with each other, not even a radical stroke.
From Yu Jinyang’s lifelong understanding of her, Li Yingqiao looked very attached to Aunt Li Shuli, but inside, there was always a little boat eager to set sail, dreaming of faraway places.
She was impulsive and reckless, and no one had prepared enough supplies for her journey.
She just took a few Wangzai buns and a tattered oar, waiting for a fair morning to set off grandly—she wouldn’t turn the boat around until she hit an iceberg, and even then, she’d try to ram through it.
Even if she suffered hardship and pain outside, she never mentioned it after returning.
Instead, she spoke at length about the wondrous adventures in her life—she’d chat about pink beaches, strange and magnificent cloudscapes, or moonlight over the Tonga Trench, but never told anyone about how the iceberg capsized her boat, how her oar shattered, or how she got lost.
She only came back proudly declaring, “Yu Miaomiao, the outside world is really wonderful!”
After finishing her wine, Li Yingqiao was about to tell them she had actually already started working in Fengtan.
She remembered everything, even how they made copies of her acceptance letter and sent them to Tan Xiujun.
Yu Jinyang had said at the time—because of her words, “Stop fussing around and just enjoy what your family gave you in Shanghai.”
There was some stubbornness in his reply.
He said he wanted to make a name for himself before returning to Fengtan.
But after so many years, hadn’t Li Yingqiao wanted to come back all along?
The outside world was not wonderful at all.
Fengtan was better.
Fengtan had Shuli, and so many old friends.
Yet just thinking that Yu Jinyang had a house in Shanghai and was probably doing well with his looks and abilities made her unwilling to swallow her pride.
She was determined to buy a place in Beijing before coming back.
But unexpectedly, he came back first.
With such a good start, why did he come back?
Li Yingqiao turned to look at Yu Jinyang, who was also side-faced toward her, seemingly thinking about their childhood promises.
His eyes seemed to ask, Why did you come back?
The two stared at each other stiffly, as if competing, or pondering how to convincingly explain to the other that they had really made it.
But knowing each other too well, they could tell from each other’s eyes that they were hiding some mischief.
The air froze for half a second, then both lowered their heads and burst out laughing at the same time.