Chapter 18: Reunion
Chapter 18: Reunion
Fan Xiaoyao deliberately tossed her head, sending a cloud of powder from her face into the air, then struck a classic, exaggerated nose-picking pose. “What do you think?” she said.
Wu Yang, watching her outlandish behavior, couldn't help but confirm his suspicion. “So Miss Fan, should I take that as a yes?”
Fan Xiaoyao picked up the glass of orange juice Wu Yang had thoughtfully prepared for her, tipped her head back, and drank. “Yes. And what of it?”
Wu Yang stood up and leaned in close, their faces suddenly only inches apart, startling Fan Xiaoyao. “Hey—what are you doing?” she demanded, instinctively clutching at her collar in defense, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “You… stay away from me… Listen, I’ll be honest. I already have a boyfriend. I only came to this matchmaking meeting because I was forced to. Don’t get the wrong idea…”
Wu Yang gave a slight smirk. “Isn’t it fine to have one more admirer, Miss Fan?”
Only then did Fan Xiaoyao study Wu Yang seriously, and the longer she looked, the more familiar his face seemed. She was certain she’d seen him somewhere before. At last, she voiced her suspicion. “Have we… met before?”
When she asked, Wu Yang felt a flicker of hope leap in his chest. He grinned, flashing white teeth. “You remember me?”
Fan Xiaoyao scratched her head, embarrassed by his eager expression. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember where we might have met…”
A wave of disappointment washed over Wu Yang. He was about to say more when his phone rang.
After answering the call, Wu Yang apologized, “I’m sorry, Miss Fan, something urgent has come up at the office. Here’s my card—let’s keep in touch.”
He handed her a business card before leaving. Fan Xiaoyao glanced at it and saw the title: Sales Manager, GLT Company. A dull ache seized her heart. She quickly masked her discomfort and politely said goodbye.
After Wu Yang left, Fan Xiaoyao sat lost in thought, staring at the card embossed with GLT. She mocked herself inwardly—who would have thought, after two years, GLT was still in business in Kangcheng, not bankrupt as she’d imagined.
But if GLT was still here, where had he gone? He’d left so abruptly back then, vanishing from her world overnight.
She turned Wu Yang’s card over and over in her hands, finally unable to resist and dialed his number. “Hello, Wu Yang? This is Fan Xiaoyao. May I ask, how long have you been at GLT?”
Wu Yang was pleasantly surprised to receive her call and replied without guile, “I just started at GLT this year. Why do you ask?”
He picked up on the sigh she let slip over the phone. “Miss Fan, is something bothering you?”
Realizing she’d exposed herself, Fan Xiaoyao hurried to cover up. “No, nothing. Sorry to disturb you—goodbye!”
Wu Yang hung up, concern for her lingering in his mind.
Tim, noticing Wu Yang’s preoccupied look, asked, “What’s wrong? You seemed troubled just now.”
Wu Yang shook his head awkwardly. “No, nothing at all. President Zeng, how long will you be staying this time?”
Tim slumped into his chair, eyeing the mountain of paperwork with resignation. “I have to fly back to Y Country for exams the day after tomorrow. I probably won’t be back for a year. Someone from R Country will be sent to take over as general manager here.”
When he finished signing the stack of documents, he found Wu Yang still dazed in his office. “Manager Wu, is something the matter?”
Wu Yang gave a sheepish smile, embarrassed to have lost composure twice in front of the general manager. “Sorry, President Zeng.”
Tim stood and patted Wu Yang on the shoulder. “Is the sales pressure too much lately?”
Wu Yang shrugged. “If I said yes, would you lighten my load?”
Tim thumped him in the chest. “I’ll be off then.”
As the familiar ringtone—“Cloudy evening outside the car window…”—played, Tim instinctively glanced around, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. He knew he and Fan Xiaoyao would never cross paths again.
Fan Xiaoyao happened to be sitting right behind Tim, their backs to each other, neither aware of the other’s presence. Perhaps fate sometimes amounts to no more than a passing glance.
“Cloudy evening outside the car window…” This time, it was Tim’s phone that rang. In two years away from Kangcheng, he’d never changed his ringtone. He kept it because Fan Xiaoyao had once said she liked it—and for that simple reason, he’d never switched.
Hearing someone else in the restaurant with the same ringtone stirred something in Fan Xiaoyao; the feeling was written all over her face.
When she rose to look around, her gaze met Tim’s, and in that instant, she couldn’t stop the tears that welled up.
Tim saw her too—but when he took in her comically exaggerated makeup, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
That long-missed laugh brought a trace of longing to Fan Xiaoyao’s heart.
Their eyes locked across the room, and neither spoke. They simply gazed at each other in silence.
The other diners looked on curiously at the odd pair, but seeing no drama, lost interest.
Just as Fan Xiaoyao stood to approach Tim, she noticed a blonde woman beside him, clinging affectionately to his arm. “Darling, you arrived early and didn’t even call—I wandered the mall alone! Who’d have thought things in Kangcheng would be cheaper than in X Country…”
Fan Xiaoyao froze. She didn’t hear anything else the woman said.
She left the restaurant, wandering the streets of Kangcheng alone, weaving through the crowds. She cursed herself inwardly, never expecting that after dreaming of Tim for so long, seeing him again would leave her so unhinged.
“Fan Xiaoyao, how could you be so spineless? He has a fiancée now—he abandoned you long ago. What are you still hoping for? Why does your heart still race?”
Tim had seen her too. He wanted to shake off Jonce’s hand and run after Fan Xiaoyao, to explain his current situation. The urge was almost irresistible.
But reason prevailed. After all, there was no future for him and Fan Xiaoyao. Perhaps quick pain was better than prolonged agony.
Jonce chattered on, showing off her spoils, but Tim was growing weary. He finally snapped, “Shut up!”