"I'm going to start now."
"Mmh."
Qiao Anhao raised the phone and stared at Lu Jinnian silently for about ten seconds, as though trying to organize her thoughts. Clearing her voice, she began, "Long ago, there was a man and a woman who had an ambiguous relationship. One day, they decided to have dinner together."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs she started her story, her mind floated back to Valentine’s day the previous year.
"The woman tried on all the clothes in her closet before finally settling on a piece. She then headed to the mall nearby to get her makeup done. At that time, it was just 1 pm, there was about six hours before their dinner, so she walked around the mall to kill time. After walking aimlessly for a while, she suddenly thought of something, heading to the male department to choose a present.
"While the woman was queuing up to pay for the gift, something happened. She went to find the man and inadvertently said some hurtful words, infuriating him. They quarreled and he left."
Qiao Anhao's voice was soft and warm, calming to the ears.
Lu Jinnian remained silent, taking in everything seriously. He seemed to have guessed what she was saying, his expression turning solemn but he continued to listen silently without interruption.
"At that time, the woman had apologized but the man was too angry. The woman didn't do it intentionally and couldn't help feeling wronged. Just like that, they went into a cold war.
"Because of the man, an auntie that had always treated the woman well since she was young fell ill so she went over for a visit."
As she continued, Lu Jinnian was brought back to the memories of that day. "That man wasn't really angry, he was just upset that the woman was comparing him to someone else. That day, he went to the gym and ran for two whole hours before finally realizing that he had been impatient, so he sent her an apology message."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmQiao Anhao took a steadying breath. "But the man didn't know… When the woman went to the auntie's house, she heard some things which caused her to be slightly affected. When she was in the bathroom and saw her exquisite makeup, she became reluctant to see their dinner date get ruined so she wanted to send the man an apology message.
"The woman didn't just want to do it, she had even crafted the message to him."
Lu Jinnian stared straight at Qiao Anhao without saying a word.
"The woman thought for a very long time before putting down her thoughts."
Even though her tone was light, somehow Lu Jinnian could sense a hint of sorrow.
"The woman's message went like this - I was too agitated this afternoon, I'm sorry. You wanted to meet for dinner, shall we have a talk then? I'll wait for you at home..."
Lu Jinnian looked doubtful. On a corner of the phone that she couldn't see, his fingers started to tremble.