Perfect Girlfriends

Journey to Yangzhou

I carefully folded the note Mo Han left behind and slipped it into my pocket. Her black trench coat was still hanging in my room. The whole morning, I found myself staring at that coat—imagining her wrapped in my scarf and gloves, disappearing into the cold rain. The more I imagined it, the more I smiled. She took my scarf and gloves… which must mean she’s afraid of the cold now. She’s no longer that fearless girl who never cared for anything.

Could this be her way of saying she’s finally ready to face life with a different attitude?

Still, disappointment crept in. I glanced at the empty glass jar, dug out a coin from my pocket, and tossed it in. Inside that oversized jar, the lonely coin clanked against the bottom—so tiny, so pathetic, so heartbreakingly alone. But sometimes the more you fixate on loneliness, the deeper you fall into it.

…

At night I couldn’t sleep; during the day I slept like the dead. Monday morning, I didn’t wake up until eight-thirty. Since I was already late, I stayed in bed for another half hour.

By the time I lazily dragged myself to the company, it was already past nine. Shen Man had her trademark scowl ready for me.

“Senior, this cactus looks great. When did you buy a new one?” I asked, eyeing the cactus that hadn’t been replaced for an entire year.

“Zhang Yixi, why are you late again?” she tapped her fingers aggressively against the desk.

“Don’t even mention it. Overworked lately—my spirit’s fading. I took the bus in the wrong direction! Totally wasted time both ways.” I wore the most dramatic expression I could muster.

She laughed furiously. “The route you’ve taken for over a year—and you suddenly go the wrong way? Do you really take my IQ for garbage?”

“Believe it or don’t. Everyone has stupid moments. Didn’t you run a red light last month because you mistook red for green? You drove that Mini like a UFO. So I’m not the dumbest here.”

“That was because you kept rushing me! Otherwise, why would I ever run a red light?”

I grinned and dropped the topic.

She glared for a long moment before sighing, “No one in the entire Marketing Department is as hopeless as you. If you weren’t my junior, I’d kick you out right now.”

“I’ll go make you some coffee.”

Seeing she was genuinely angry, I hurried to appease her.

“Senior, don’t be mad. I know you care about me the most. I swear I won’t be late again.” I handed her the coffee, then rushed behind her to massage her shoulders.

“Drop the act. Let’s talk business.” She smiled helplessly—enduring me was her only superpower.

I sat opposite her, looking as attentive as I could.

“Next week, Buick’s S-Curve Challenge will be held in Yangzhou. There’ll be one in Nantong next month too. I’ve decided to bring you to Yangzhou to learn from their event execution. When the Nantong one comes, you’ll be in full charge.”

She took a sip of coffee—then spat it out instantly, furious:

“Zhang Yixi you bastard! Why did you put so much sugar again? Trying to kill me with sweetness?!”

“Your tongue is so poisonous—clearly lacking sweetness. I’m just balancing nature.”

“Out!”

She clutched her chest, shivering with rage, pointing toward the door.

I stood my ground. “If I remember correctly, the Yangzhou challenge is on Saturday and Sunday, right?”

“Any problem?”

“You guys go. I want weekends off.”

She nearly lost her mind. “Can you grow a backbone for once?! Do you know how hard it was to get you this opportunity? I had to submit multiple requests to get approval for you to lead the Nantong event. Are you determined to piss me into an early grave?”

She lit a cigarette—this time, she was truly desperate.

I muttered, “Weekends are even rarer…”

“Weekend, weekend, weekend—that’s all you ever think about! When you got dumped—who was it that you promised you’d work hard, buy a house, and be a man?!”

Her face flushed red with anger.

I quickly surrendered. “Fine, fine. I’ll go with you.”

“Get lost—!”

She hurled a stack of documents at me. I dodged and escaped from her office.

…

Back at my desk, I opened my computer and—per routine—launched a game. Work wasn’t exactly my priority. I’ve been floating along under Shen Man’s protection for so long that real responsibility honestly terrifies me. I was afraid to disappoint her. That… was the real reason I didn’t want to go to Yangzhou.

“Yangzhou…”

I murmured. I shut down the game, lost in thought. I had never been there, yet it felt strangely familiar—like a whisper from the subconscious.

That evening, I had drinks with Wang Zi at a small restaurant.

“That woman from the bar—she’s your girlfriend, right?” he asked nosily.

“No.”

“Don’t bullshit me. You brought her home—did you get lucky?”

He leaned forward with a sleazy grin.

I drank and ignored him. He pressed on, so I changed the subject:

“I’m going to Yangzhou with Shen Man this Sunday.”

Upon hearing her name, he instantly dropped the gossip and sighed,

“You lucky bastard. You get to stay with Senior after graduation, while I—an exceptional talent—was tossed alone into an ad company!”

I snorted. “Exceptional talent? More like lust-tional talent.”

He suddenly looked serious. “I’m a flirt, sure—but I’m serious about her.” He lowered his voice.

“Yixi… do you think Senior hasn’t married yet because she’s waiting for me?”

“Pay the bill, and I’ll tell you.”

He immediately waved for the server and paid. Then stared at me with shining eyes.

I leaned to his ear and whispered:

“She likes women.”

The autumn wind howled outside. The receipt slipped from his hand.

“My god… everything’s gone dark… Server! Another bottle!”