Tan Xingwei lifted Tan Yinqing’s blanket and lay back down.
Tan Yinqing was just shifting toward the middle, and Tan Xingwei nearly sat right on top of her.
“What are you doing, what are you doing!” Tan Yinqing yelled.
“Sorry, sorry,” Tan Xingwei laughed, moving a bit to the side. “And then? What did Big Sister Ah Xu say?”
Tan Yinqing: “She said…”
Tan Xingwei was impatient. She interrupted Tan Yinqing, tugging at her hand. “Don’t tell me, just show me. Show me, quick, quick.”
Tan Yinqing: “Fine, fine, I know, I know, stop shaking me.”
Resigned, Tan Yinqing picked up her phone from beside her pillow and unlocked the screen.
It was suddenly very bright, and both sisters squinted at the same time.
Tan Yinqing tapped the screen a few times and held the phone in front of Tan Xingwei.
On the screen.
“
Tan Yinqing: 「By the way, I have to tell you something」
Tan Yinqing: 「I just told Tan Xingwei that you’re a lesbian」
Tan Yinqing: 【Kneels】
Ah Xu: 「How did you end up talking about that?」
Tan Yinqing: 「She’s so reckless with you, I had to tell her how serious this is! So she won’t keep bothering you for no reason」
Tan Yinqing: 「Big Sister Ah Xu, you’re not mad at me, are you?」
Ah Xu: 「I thank you」
Tan Yinqing: 「It’s okay, right?」
Ah Xu: 「It’s a small matter」”
“You’re taking a bit too long to look,” Tan Yinqing complained after a while. “Are you not done reading yet?”
Not only was Tan Xingwei taking a long time, she also said, “Send me a screenshot.”
Tan Yinqing: “???”
Tan Yinqing: “What about this is worth screenshotting?”
Tan Xingwei started shaking her again. “Screenshot it for me, screenshot it for me.”
Tan Yinqing cut her off, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t!”
Muttering to herself, she turned the phone back, reread the conversation herself, and, despite her complete lack of understanding, obediently took a screenshot and sent it to Tan Xingwei. “There, happy?”
Tan Xingwei’s voice was sweet. “Thank you, sister~”
Tan Yinqing: “I’m very sleepy, Tan Xingwei.”
Tan Xingwei: “I know.”
This time, Tan Xingwei finally left Tan Yinqing’s room. The first thing she did upon flopping back onto her own bed was open her phone and look at the screenshot from Tan Yinqing again.
She savored the four words, “I thank you.”
So what did it mean?
Tan Xingwei felt even more tormented now than before she went to Tan Yinqing’s room. It was like being a student who hadn’t finished one test paper when the teacher handed out another.
Based on her usual way of thinking and the apparent meaning of the conversation, she would naturally assume Su Xu didn’t want her to know, but since it had already happened, she had no choice but to let it be.
But now, Su Xu was a lesbian.
So it was hard for her not to think…
What if.
It was, it was, right…
It wasn’t just this matter. After the “lesbian” label was attached to Su Xu, looking back on all their interactions…
It was truly intriguing.
That night, Tan Xingwei was too excited to sleep. One moment she would reach a conclusion, the next she would overturn it herself. One moment she thought about discussing it on Weibo, the next she felt she could already guess what everyone on Weibo would say. One moment she was thinking, my god, how could Su Xu be gay, how could she, and the next she was thinking, my god, it’s so great that Su Xu is gay, this is simply the greatest gift heaven has given her this year.
Her excitement lasted until today became like yesterday. The next day at noon, she was once again woken up by Tan Yinqing for a meal.
But she had stayed up far too late, and her mother immediately noticed her dark circles. She was called out and criticized right at the dinner table. To repay Tan Xingwei for helping her refuse the blind date yesterday, Tan Yinqing started putting in several good words for her.
The two sat side-by-side, one saying, “Then she might as well wake up at seven-thirty on weekends just like on workdays,” and the other adding, “Since she can’t do what she wants anyway, might as well just get rid of weekends.” One said, “Getting scolded right after waking up ruins your mood for the whole day,” and the other added, “What’s the point of this on a perfectly good weekend?” They put on a grand show of their deep sisterly bond.
One person feeling guilty and two people becoming arrogant was enough to leave their mother speechless.
After eating, Tan Xingwei lay back down on her bed.
Her body was exhausted, but her mind was buzzing. Yesterday, in her daze, she didn’t know what chaotic thoughts had gone through her head, and nothing was resolved. Now, the picture in her mind was very clear.
She felt that first, she had to let Su Xu know her sexual orientation too.
So, how should she do it?
After much thought, she decided she could start with “Meteor” from Su Xu’s movie list.
Of course! What straight girl would watch “Meteor”!
Alright, tomorrow. Tomorrow, she would first ask Su Xu out for dinner. After dinner, she’d find an excuse to go to Su Xu’s place, say something like she wanted to watch another movie of that type, get Su Xu to open her movie list again, and then.
“Hey, what’s this?”
No, that’s a bit too fake.
“Hey, isn’t this ‘Meteor’? You’ve seen it?”
That’s not right either…
“Hey, it’s ‘Meteor’! You’ve seen it too?”
This one is good, this one is good. This one can express that the speaker has also seen “Meteor.”
Or maybe.
“Hey, it’s ‘Meteor’! I’ve seen this one too.”
This one is also very good. It’s more direct, in case Su Xu was busy with something else and didn’t catch the subtle underlying meaning.
That’s the plan, then. Tomorrow.
After thinking all this through, Tan Xingwei’s mind instantly quieted down.
So, what then?
You tell Su Xu you’re also gay, and you’re going to?
Yes, she was. Why couldn’t she? On what grounds could she not? Su Xu’s sexual orientation was women, and Tan Xingwei happened to be a woman. Tan Xingwei’s sexual orientation was women, and Su Xu happened to be a woman. She was also Huanbi, so what was so wrong with that!
As for Su Xu liking older sisters or whatever, who cared.
If she really liked them that much, she could just have Su Xu call her sister. It was just a title.
Tan Xingwei felt she was not far from going crazy. Though she was sprawled on the bed like a corpse, her heart was like a lion’s—ambitious and bold. It was as if Su Xu would date her just because she wanted her to, and she was full of confidence and pride.
Tan Xingwei was very satisfied with her thoughts and decisions. She placed her hands on her stomach, closed her eyes, and finally drifted into a sweet sleep.
In that sleep, she dreamed of Su Xu.
It wasn’t a good dream. Tan Xingwei, full of joy, went to confess to Su Xu with a bouquet of flowers. Su Xu, with her usual gentle, faint smile, said to Tan Xingwei, “Little Sister Xingxing, did you misunderstand something? I’m straight.”
When she woke up, Tan Xingwei’s neck was covered in sweat. She felt sad for a moment, then dazed, before gradually emerging from the dream.
The damn weather was sweltering, giving her nightmares.
She opened her phone, intending to check the time, but her eyes were drawn to the WeChat message at the bottom.
Tan Xingwei was instantly wide awake.
It was from Su Xu. She had asked: 「What are you up to?」
The message was from two hours ago. Tan Xingwei quickly tapped on it.
Tan Xingwei: 「I was just sleeping」
Tan Xingwei: 「Just woke up」
Tan Xingwei: 「What’s up?」
Su Xu replied quickly: 「Nothing much, I just suddenly felt like making some pottery and wanted to ask if you wanted to come along」
Tan Xingwei typed furiously: 「Is it still possible now?」
Su Xu: 「They’re about to close」
Tan Xingwei’s world collapsed.
Su Xu sent another message: 「I’m near your place. Dinner together tonight?」
Tan Xingwei’s world was whole again.
Tan Xingwei: 「Okay, okay」
After sending it, Tan Xingwei checked her other unread messages and found nothing from Tan Yinqing about having dinner together.
Just then, Su Xu’s chat window popped up again: 「Secretly」
Su Xu: 「Shh」
Tan Xingwei froze for a second, which was followed by a silly laugh. Forgetting herself, she yanked the blanket over her head, only to immediately kick it off because it was too hot.
A certain tacit understanding was quietly unfolding.
Tan Xingwei: 「Okay, okay」
It was a good thing Su Xu said that, otherwise she really would have asked Tan Yinqing.
Su Xu said there was no rush and gave Tan Xingwei an hour.
An hour was enough time to do a lot. She showered, put on makeup, sprayed perfume, and wore a necklace and a ring. So when she went out to the living room, she gave Tan Yinqing another big shock.
“Why do you look so good today too,” Tan Yinqing said.
Taking it as a compliment, Tan Xingwei accepted it graciously. “Thanks.”
Tan Yinqing was curious. “Going on a date?”
Tan Xingwei was noncommittal. “I’ll tell Mom in a bit that I won’t be home for dinner tonight.”
Tan Yinqing: “You’re really going on a date?”
Only then did Tan Xingwei say, “A friend.”
Once outside her residential complex, Tan Xingwei spotted Su Xu’s car at a glance. She tidied her hair again, touched her barrette to make sure it was still in the same position as when she’d looked in the mirror before leaving, hitched her bag up a little higher, and slowed her pace.
“Big Sister Ah Xu.” Tan Xingwei opened the door and got in.
Su Xu said, “Good afternoon.”
Tan Xingwei: “Good afternoon.”
She buckled her seatbelt, sat properly, and placed her bag on her lap.
So happy.
“I thought you all were having dinner together again today,” Tan Xingwei said.
Su Xu replied, “Nope.”
If Su Xu hadn’t spoken like that, Tan Xingwei wouldn’t have realized how light and sweet her own tone had just been.
Tan Xingwei’s smile widened. “Is that how I sound?”
Su Xu laughed along with her.
After they laughed, the car fell silent.
Tan Xingwei gradually grew a little self-conscious. She felt there were many things she could do right now. For example, Su Xu was wearing a dark blue camisole and wide-leg jeans today; she could praise her for being so beautiful. For example, Su Xu had a small rabbit charm pinned to her jeans; she could say it was so stylish and cute.
She could say, Big Sister Ah Xu, how do you look so good in everything you wear? She could say, Big Sister Ah Xu, your perfume is different today. She could say, Big Sister Ah Xu, you have such great taste in rings, they’re all so pretty.
“A mushroom,” was what she actually said, unable to bring herself to comment on Su Xu’s appearance. Her gaze finally landed on a car ornament that hadn’t been there the last time she was in the car, and she said in a restrained and calm voice, “it’s cute.”
Hearing this, Su Xu glanced at it. “You like it? I’ll buy you one.”
Tan Xingwei said, “No need, I don’t have a car.”
Su Xu: “You can put it in your room.”
Tan Xingwei waved her hands politely. “No, no, thank you.”
Su Xu said nothing more, and the car fell silent again.
From the moment she got in and sat down until now, Tan Xingwei’s hands had remained on her bag. The bag had a slightly grainy texture, and the clasp was on top. Tan Xingwei would sometimes scratch it with her fingernails, and sometimes unfasten and refasten the clasp over and over.
Su Xu probably also felt it was a bit quiet, so she turned on some music.
The first song that came on shuffle was a Western pop song with a strong beat. The thumping of the drums soothed Tan Xingwei’s tangled emotions a little.
“What do you want to eat?” Su Xu asked after a while.
Tan Xingwei answered without any thought, “Anything is fine.”
Su Xu smiled. “Actually, I’ve already booked a restaurant.”
Tan Xingwei let out an “ah.” “Then why did you ask me? What if I had something I wanted to eat?”
Su Xu: “Then we would have changed course.”
It was quiet again.
Actually, there were many times when they were silent like this, but it was different now.
Now, Su Xu was a lesbian.
Haha…
Tan Xingwei didn’t know what she was so nervous about. She hadn’t planned on doing anything.
“Did you go make pottery this afternoon?” Tan Xingwei decided to make some small talk to ease the tension.
Su Xu said, “No.”
Tan Xingwei asked again, “Then did you have something to do over here this afternoon?”
Su Xu said, “Let me think.”
Although Tan Xingwei didn’t understand why Su Xu needed to think, she let her think.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xu said, “Let’s just say I came over to see a client this afternoon.”
Once she said that, it was Tan Xingwei’s turn to think.
She was a little puzzled. “Let’s just say?” She was very puzzled. “You sound like you’re lying to me.”
Su Xu answered quickly this time. “Yes, I am.”
Tan Xingwei was even more puzzled. “Huh? Why?”
Su Xu: “I came to see you.”
Tan Xingwei froze. The tension that had gradually eased after their brief chat suddenly returned, and her heart rate instantly shot up.
“See me?” Tan Xingwei asked.
Su Xu gave a very soft “mhm,” then continued, “Didn’t Yinqing tell us not to interact?”
She added, “I came to be a bad influence on you.”
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