The Shelf Life of Love

Our first meeting was two years ago. At that time, I had just ended a heartbreaking relationship when my friend Dapeng invited me to go singing. I am going through a breakup, I am not in the mood. I am not going! I refused him outright. I know you are in a bad mood. Is this not my way of comforting you? Dapeng put on a hypocritical face of crocodile tears. Classmate Yutong, do you know the best cure for a breakup? Of course, it is finding someone better than the last one. I have also invited a few buddies. They are all decent guys. See if any of them catch your eye. Dapeng's wife, Li Xixi, was my best friend from college. When her husband could not get me to come out, she took matters into her own hands and showered me with nauseating affection: Tongtong, come, come. I have not seen you in so long, I miss you so much. Shut up, I am about to throw up my dinner from yesterday. By the time I arrived at the private room Dapeng had booked, they were already having a blast. The room was large and dimly lit, with about eight or nine people sitting inside, both men and women. Later, the group split into two teams. The singing group sat on the sofa near the karaoke machine, while the remaining people formed another team, drinking and playing games. Li Xixi was leaning against Dapeng, playing games with her husband. When she saw me come in, she quickly greeted me: Tongtong, come, sit here. I sat down beside her. Dapeng paused the game and introduced me to everyone: This is my and Xixi's good friend, Chen Yutong. My sister here is amazing. She is a model. Wow. The crowd gasped in admiration. The young lady is so impressive! Part-time, okay? Being praised like this, I was so embarrassed I could dig out a KTV private room with my toes. Rather than letting them introduce me, I might as well do it myself: Hello everyone, my name is Chen Yutong. I am Dapeng and Xixi's college classmate and good friend. Currently, I am starting a business with a few friends, working in media brand public relations and brand promotion. If anyone has needs in this area, feel free to contact us. We provide proposals first, payment later. Small business, honest operation, no deception for young or old. Goodness, you have turned our friend gathering into a business networking event. Dapeng chimed in: Brothers, you all heard that. If you are interested, you can add this beauty's LINE. By the way, this young lady just went through a breakup recently. She is currently single. Who went through a breakup? A male voice cut in. I followed the voice and looked over. The person asking was a man standing by the karaoke machine. The dim light from the screen on the wall shone on him. He was standing with his back to the screen, and I could only see a deep silhouette, unable to make out his facial features clearly. But his voice was truly pleasant to hear. Oh, I forgot. Youchen, did you not also just break up? Dapeng patted the table beside me. Come, come, come, sit here. Let you two heartbroken people sit together and comfort each other. Before Youchen could respond, another girl sitting beside the karaoke machine spoke up: Youchen, the next song is yours.