Lingering On and On

Chapter 6: Xiaolingzi and Xiaohaozi

That night, after taking a shower, Tong Yuling sat in front of the computer with her half-dry long hair draped over her shoulders and turned on MSN.

A dialog box popped up immediately. "HI, Xiaolingzi!"

With a smile on her lips, Tong Yuling quickly tapped on the keyboard with her slender fingers. "HI, Xiaohaozi, have you had lunch yet?"

It was over 9 o'clock in the evening in China, while it was just a little after 1 o'clock in the afternoon in the UK.

"Yeah, just ate. How was your day?" came the reply from the other side.

Recalling what had happened that day, Tong Yuling typed with a sigh, "It was so thrilling! And so embarrassing! I've never had such an experience in my life! This morning, I saw a well-dressed and imposing man 'assaulting' a woman. I was full of the spirit of helping others, but it turned out to be a big misunderstanding and I wrongly accused an innocent person! Turns out that woman was a bait for a criminal gang. They specialized in falsely accusing men of assault and then blackmailing them for compensation!"

"Oh, haven't you watched the police news?" Obviously, [Xiaohaozi] already knew about this kind of criminal behavior.

"I hardly have time to watch it usually. At most, I've heard some of my friends and colleagues mention some criminal acts, but not this kind! What's worse, the man I wrongly accused happened to be the one I needed to ask for a favor from!"

"Oh, my god! Poor Xiaolingzi. I can imagine how frustrated, annoyed, and helpless you were at that time! What happened then? Did he take the opportunity to make things difficult for you or get revenge?"

"He..." Tong Yuling suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "By the way, Xiaohaozi, there's someone here whose name has the same character 'hao' as yours! And he's also really talented in design and architecture. If I hadn't known you for a long time, I would almost have thought you two were the same person!"

"Oh? Really? What's his last name?"

"His last name is Long, and his name is Long Hao! He's a rich second generation."

There was an immediate pause on the other side, which aroused Tong Yuling's suspicion. "What's wrong? Don't tell me I guessed right and you're Long Hao?"

"Uh, how could that be! By the way, do you know that Long Hao? Is he your friend?"

"How could ordinary people like us know a rich guy? His father and older brother are both big bankers. The man I wrongly accused this morning is exactly his older brother!"

There was another silence on the other side.

Tong Yuling wasn't used to it and sent a "buzz" signal while typing, "Why are you silent again? Are you gone?"

"I'm here, listening to you."

"Oh. Do you know how smart I am? At first, that Long Chase, uh, Long Hao's older brother, wasn't at the company. His assistant ignored me and even tried to drive me away in the end. In a moment of desperation, I lied and said I knew Long Hao! Just as I hoped, the assistant let me stay and I waited until Long Chase came back. Long Chase probably agreed to my request because of Long Hao!" Remembering her little trick, Tong Yuling couldn't help feeling proud of herself.

"By the way, how did you explain to him that you knew Long Hao?"

"Me..." Tong Yuling thought for a while and then typed out the story she had made up at noon.

After reading it, the other side sent a smiling face emoji. "It seems that Xiaolingzi is a beauty! Xiaohaozi will have to meet this cute and lovely beauty next time!"

"Sure, I'll wait for you. I also want to meet..." Tong Yuling stopped herself in time and playfully stuck out her tongue. "By the way, that Long Hao is so amazing. He designed a unique building at such a young age. The office building of his family's bank was designed by him personally. He was only 15 years old at that time. He's really a genius!"

The other side didn't comment and just sent another smiling face emoji.

"Your name has the character 'hao' and his name also has it. It seems that people with 'hao' in their names are all very talented in design!" Tong Yuling inserted a thumbs-up emoji and then said goodbye. "Alright, I won't disturb your lunch break. I'm also going to bed. I have to get up early for work tomorrow!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow night. Good night, Xiaolingzi!"

"Good afternoon, Xiaohaozi!!" After shutting down the computer, Tong Yuling continued to sit at the table, a thoughtful look on her delicate face.

She had known Xiaohaozi for almost a year. At that time, she was originally going to add a classmate's MSN. Unexpectedly, she mistyped two letters by accident and got to know him instead. Maybe it was fate. She started chatting with him and they hit it off right away and soon became good friends.

People say the Internet is a very illusory thing, so she consciously didn't ask about his personal affairs. And he was also quite understanding. He even proposed that they just chat and not exchange photos. She thought he was ugly and didn't dare to show himself, so she respected his choice and never mentioned exchanging photos.

From their conversations, she knew that he came from a well-off family, had good manners, was very gentle, and had been talented in architecture and design since he was a child. He was currently studying in the UK and would graduate in about a year.

Although he was still a student, he seemed to know a lot. He never looked down on her for being inexperienced. Every time, he patiently shared with her what he had seen and heard in the UK, making her, an ordinary person who had never been abroad, feel like she had experienced a bit of foreign culture.

At the same time, he was also the best person for her to talk to when she encountered setbacks and difficulties.

Several close college classmates knew about her story with him and all said it was fate. They even joked and encouraged her to develop an online romance with him.

Every time, she outwardly denied that it was impossible. In fact, only she herself knew that in her heart, there was a bit of confusion and a touch of infatuation. She was a girl, and naturally, like other girls, she had the feelings of a young girl in love. But she had never been in love before, so she couldn't be sure how she really felt.

He had said that after he graduated and returned to China, he would officially meet her.

Whenever she was alone and quiet, she couldn't help looking forward to the moment when they would meet! Only at this time did she suddenly understand that the reason he didn't give his photo for the time being was for other reasons, not because he was ugly. After all, a person with such a gentle heart couldn't be that bad-looking! And even if he was ugly, she would still think he was good-looking! Just because he was Xiaohaozi!!

Her hair was already dry. Tong Yuling got up from the chair and slowly walked back to the bed.

Lying on the soft and comfortable mattress, looking at the white ceiling, Tong Yuling once again pictured a beautiful scene in her mind and finally fell asleep with a smile on her face.