Su Xu was right. The relationship between Tan Xingwei and her sister was indeed interesting.
So interesting that by the time Tan Xingwei calmed down, she realized she had actually cried in front of Su Xu. To have cried in front of Su Xu because of Tan Yinqing was truly very strange.
What on earth was wrong with her, crying like that in a smoky barbecue place? How mortifying.
“Don’t you tell Tan Yinqing,” Tan Xingwei said to Su Xu, putting down her drink.
Su Xu had still been somewhat immersed in Tan Xingwei’s emotions, but this sentence made her laugh out loud.
Su Xu: “What would happen if she found out?”
“If she knew I cried for her,” Tan Xingwei wore an expression of embarrassment, “I’d rather just die.”
Su Xu’s smile deepened. “You’re so cute.”
The change in Tan Xingwei and Tan Yinqing’s relationship also started from that point. Before that argument, Tan Xingwei’s feelings for Tan Yinqing weren’t very deep. She had indeed, as Tan Yinqing said, enjoyed several years of life as an only child. After they moved to Haicheng, her sister, whom she had only seen during holidays and New Year’s, was also brought over to live with them. Therefore, she didn’t really have the concept of Tan Yinqing as a close older sister.
Tan Yinqing was always fierce at home, especially towards her. When she was little, her impression of Tan Yinqing was that this person was aloof and unresponsive to her. And because their parents were indeed a bit partial to Tan Xingwei and always made Tan Yinqing give in to her whenever there was a dispute, Tan Xingwei would naturally be fierce back. Whenever she felt wronged, she would run to their parents, which caused their relationship to remain distant.
She felt that Tan Yinqing disliked her, so she didn’t like Tan Yinqing either.
Come to think of it, the timing of that outburst was quite perfect. At that time, Tan Xingwei was just starting to understand things. If it had been a little earlier, Tan Xingwei wouldn’t have understood anything and probably wouldn’t have cared what Tan Yinqing said; she would have just cried. If it had been a little later, Tan Xingwei would have understood too much, her sense of morality would have kicked in, and she would have taken it to heart. Then, they might not have had the fun of arguing anymore in the future.
Everything was just right. Less than a week after that incident, the two of them argued again. But this time, their parents didn’t help, and Tan Xingwei didn’t seek backup. The two of them relied purely on themselves, letting their strength do the talking.
Tan Xingwei no longer treated Tan Yinqing as a sister who had to give in to her and take care of her in everything. Tan Yinqing became the person closest to her.
“About this,” Su Xu said after hearing the story, “Yinqing actually told us about it.”
Tan Xingwei found this novel. “Ah… ah? What did she say?”
Su Xu said: “She said she yelled at you once in her second year of high school, saying some very harsh things. She must have been talking about this incident.”
Tan Xingwei was silent for a moment. “What else did she say?”
Su Xu: “She said she regretted it a lot. She knew it wasn’t your fault, she simply wanted to vent and said whatever came to mind. This matter has been weighing on her heart ever since.”
Okay, great. Tan Xingwei’s eyes, which had already recovered, started to sting again.
The tissue in her hand hadn’t been thrown away yet. She tilted her head back and pressed it to the corner of her eye.
But in the next sentence, Su Xu said: “Yinqing loves you very much.”
Tan Xingwei instantly started laughing, tears streaming down her face as she did.
Anything but that. She raised her hand to interrupt Su Xu. “That’s so cheesy, I can’t take it. I’m getting goosebumps.”
Su Xu laughed.
Speak of the devil. Just then, Su Xu’s phone rang.
She turned the screen over to show Tan Xingwei. On it were the two prominent characters “Yinqing”.
It was a phone call, not a WeChat voice call.
Su Xu answered and put it on speakerphone.
“What are you up to?” Tan Yinqing asked from the other end.
Su Xu said: “Eating.”
Tan Yinqing: “Still eating?”
Su Xu: “Yeah.”
Tan Yinqing: “Ooh-yo-yo…”
She was clearly about to say something, but Su Xu interrupted her: “I have you on speaker.”
Tan Yinqing’s strange tone came to an abrupt halt. She said “Oh,” and asked, “Did you see the message in the group chat?”
Su Xu: “Not yet, what’s up?”
Tan Yinqing: “Nothing much, just asking if you guys want to come out for a late-night snack tonight? The other two said they’re fine with whatever.” She added: “I got paid today, my treat.”
“Let’s do it tomorrow,” Su Xu said, propping her chin on her hand and looking at Tan Xingwei. “It’s not convenient today.”
Su Xu had a smile on her lips. Tan Xingwei felt like she was being teased.
On the other end, Tan Yinqing readily agreed: “That works too. Tomorrow then, either for dinner or a late-night snack. Otherwise, that girl Tan Xingwei won’t be able to wake up.”
Su Xu smiled at Tan Xingwei. “Okay.”
Tan Yinqing: “Do you really have it on speaker?”
Su Xu: “Yes, why?”
“Why are you…” Tan Yinqing on the other end seemed to be searching for words, but after thinking it over, she still said: “So flirty.”
Su Xu: “…”
It was Tan Xingwei’s turn to laugh.
She almost laughed out loud, which would have given her away.
“Alright, you go on and eat,” Tan Yinqing said. “I’ll go talk to the others.”
Su Xu: “Okay.”
The call ended, and Tan Xingwei still couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Your sister really is annoying sometimes,” Su Xu said.
Tan Xingwei laughed even louder.
Soon, Tan Xingwei’s phone also lit up. Tan Yinqing had sent a voice message.
As expected, she was asking if Tan Xingwei was free tomorrow, and whether she wanted to have dinner together or a late-night snack.
Tan Xingwei chose dinner. After all, after dinner, the night was still long.
From this, it was also clear that Tan Yinqing was quite free tonight.
After the meal, it was dark outside.
The darkness had fallen swiftly and completely. The city lights all came on as night descended.
Even though the call from Tan Yinqing had later made the atmosphere more playful, they had, after all, taken a trip down memory lane and even cried. The mood was inevitably not as lighthearted. The silence between them now was not the same as the silence when they first started eating.
Walking to the parking lot, Tan Xingwei got her wish and experienced the feeling of being so awkward around Su Xu that she didn’t know what to say and could only smile.
The night was long, and she didn’t want to go home just yet.
But how should she bring it up?
“My colleague gave me two movie tickets a few days ago, what a coincidence, they’re for tonight…”
“Oh, I checked the almanac before I left today, it said the evening is suitable for post-dinner recreation…”
“Haha, it’s a bit early. Where should we go for a walk?”
“…”
“Xingxing, I need to go home for a bit. There’s something from work I need to take care of.”
Tan Xingwei was still brainstorming when Su Xu said this.
All the words in Tan Xingwei’s mind shattered, clattering to the ground.
“What about you?” Su Xu asked. “Any plans for later?”
Tan Xingwei thought Su Xu was going to offer her a ride and was already planning her excuse, when she heard Su Xu add: “If you don’t have plans, come over to my place.”
Tan Xingwei was screaming “yes, yes” in her heart, but her mouth hadn’t caught up yet, and she blurted out, “What for?”
Su Xu said: “My cat can do a backflip.”
Tan Xingwei was surprised: “You have a cat now?”
Su Xu said: “I don’t.”
Tan Xingwei was confused: “Then what cat?”
Su Xu said: “I’ll do a backflip for you.”
Tan Xingwei was even more confused: “You can do a backflip?”
Tan Xingwei wasn’t sure if Su Xu sighed at that moment, but she was certain that many years later, on a certain afternoon when this incident was brought up again, Su Xu’s sigh echoed through the heavens, and also made Tan Yinqing, who was listening to the story on the side, collapse with laughter.
Tan Yinqing’s comment was: “Truly, casting flirtatious glances at a blind person.”
