Friend
Bastard“Gale.” No response. “Gale,” Mei Lin says again.
“Hm?”
“Did you hear me? I said I need that report by tomorrow.”
“Oh, alright.”
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or am I going to have to pull teeth?”
You could waterboard me and I still wouldn’t tell you jack . “You shouldn’t be worrying about me; doesn’t Henry’s flight land today?”
“You’re dodging.”
“I’m doing my job,” Gale says without looking up from her microscope. “Which is what you should be doing instead of harassing me.”
Mei Lin returns to her office but she can’t help but shake the fact that something is off about Gale. She’s so concerned that she doesn’t notice that someone is sitting on her sofa. “Mei.” Mei Lin jumps and sees Henry sitting properly.
“Hin Wah…” I’m not prepared for this yet. “I thought your flight wasn’t until tonight.” That did not sound right.
“I used the jet,” Henry states dryly. What? Did you have plans tonight with your boss?
“Oh…” What do I say?
“Mei Lin-ah,” Henry says without really looking at her. “Wǒ men kě yǐ liáo tiān ma?” ("Can we talk?")
Why so serious? “Xiàn zài?” ("Now?")
“Duì. Nǐ hěn máng ma?” ("Yes. Are you busy?")
Mei Lin looks at the pile of work on her desk and ignores it. “Wǒ bù máng. Yǒu shì ma?” ("I'm not busy. What's up?)
Henry chews on his lips and looks away. “Wú Yì Fán…”
“Tā bù shì wǒ de nán péng yǒu, nǐ shì wǒ de nán péng yǒu. Nǐ zhī dào ma?” ("He's not my boyfriend, you are. You know that, right?")
“Shì ma?” ("Really?") he says, his voice sounding more sad than anything else. “Wǒ yǒu shí hou bù zhī dào.” ("Sometimes I don't know.")
“Wèi shén me?” ("Why?")
“Yīn wèi nǐ gēn tā qù huā yuán.” ("Because you went to the gardens with him.")
“Yīn wèi tā wèn wǒ gēn tā qù!” ("Because he asked me to go with him!") This is ridiculous; why am I yelling?
“Nà wǎn shàng wèi shén me?” ("Then why [did you go] at night?")
“Wǒ bù zhī dào. Nǐ wèn tā.” ("I don't you. You ask him.")
“Yào shi nǐ bù zhī dào, nǐ wèi shén me gēn tā?” ("If you don't know, then why did you go with him?")
“Yīn wèi tā shì wǒ de lǎo bǎn.” ("Because he is my boss.")
That’s your answer for everything.
“Nà nǐ xiǎng wǒ shuō shén me?” she asks, referring to his silence. “Wǒ ài nǐ, bù tā.” ("I love you, not him.")
“Shì ma?” ("Really?/Is that so?") he asks softly.
Mei Lin throws her hands in the air. “If you don’t believe me, then you should go,” she says firmly in English.
Henry gets up off the sofa and buttons his blazer. Before he leaves, however, he adds, “I took the deal last month, by the way.” Mei Lin smiles a bit under her set jaw. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I will? “Okay.”
Gale walks in shortly after and raises an eyebrow. Mei Lin says nothing. “That sounded like a fight.”
“At least we’re talking,” Mei Lin says.
Don’t remind me. “Ball’s in his court.”
“Stress like this isn’t good for the baby.”
“Don’t call it that,” Gale says. “It’s been two weeks, Mei. If he hasn’t made a move by now, I might as well take that as a sign that he—”
“Gale,” Mei Lin says. “I know you’re not—”
“No,” Gale says firmly. “You don’t know anything right now.”
The tense air is chokable. “We should get back to work”
Gale walks towards the lab but stops before she slides her ID. “Mei, I care about you. I’m worried about you. And I get that you’re worried about me too. But right now, it might be best if we don’t talk to each other. Just know that I know, okay?”
Mei Lin stares at the back of Gale’s head and does her best to read the reflection in the glass. “Okay, Gale,” Mei Lin says.
She watches at Gale slides her ID and returns to work as if nothing has changed. Unfortunately, something has: Gale made a decision, and no one was going to convince her otherwise. Of course, it’s not like anyone could even get the chance to; Gale has taken extra precaution to ensure that she would not be disturbed. Sorry Mei.
That night, Mei Lin stands in front of Henry’s estate as if it is the very first time. She feels the same mix of nervousness and discomfort from being here. Xue opens the door and greets Mei Lin with a bright smile and a small bow. Mei Lin forces a practiced smile to hide her insecurities about tonight. Henry is already in the kitchen making dinner and gives Mei Lin a glance before returning his eyes to the cutting board. She stands there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Mei Lin would normally grab an apron and help out Henry but she feels very out of place in spite of the many days and nights that she has spent here.
“Don’t be a stranger now, Mei,” Henry says with a bittersweet smile. Unless you have a reason to be.
Mei Lin breathes a bit easier the moment she had heard Henry speak in English. She helps set the table and poses the question that’s been on her mind for the last two weeks. “Are you mad?”
“No,” Henry says a bit too quickly. Do I have a reason to be? “I’m just very confused.”
“About what?” Mei Lin asks.
Henry takes a deep breath before placing the food down. He intentionally stares sharply into Mei Lin’s eyes until she shudders before speaking. “About the type of relationship you have with Kevin.” I find it hard to believe that you don’t love him. Be honest with yourself, Mei. “He’s more than just your boss, Mei. People don’t do that sort of thing with their boss.”
“‘That sort of thing?!’” For some reason, Henry’s choice of words strikes a nerve. “And what would ‘that sort of thing’ be exactly?” You wouldn’t be this upset if it was Lu Han instead, or even Tao.
“Going out in the middle of the night, alone, with—”
“It was not ‘the middle of the night,’” Mei Lin corrects. “Are you upset at what happened or whom it happened with?”
“I don’t know,” Henry says honestly, trying hard to ignore the sharp edge of annoyance in Mei Lin’s voice. Maybe both. “What happened exactly?”
“You saw the pictures,” Mei Lin says. I wish you didn’t. “Nothing happened.” For the most part.
“And what if that scandal never came to light? Would you have even told me about it?”
It wasn’t a scandal. “No,” Mei Lin says firmly. “Because it’s none of your business.”
Now it’s Henry’s turn to get mad. “You are my business, Mei. What else have you two done ‘that’s not my business’?”
“You mean aside from walking and talking?” Mei Lin asks in a flat, almost sarcastic voice. “Because that’s all that we ever do. We talk. Sometimes we argue.” Kind of like what we’re doing now. “And sometimes we’ll walk and talk. The location varies sometimes.” It’s not like I invited him over when you’re not around. He’s the one who asked me to join him. Who am I to say no? What reason do I have to say no? I trust you and our relationship; why don’t you trust me?
“Why are you getting so defensive?” Is it because of Kevin or—
“Because why the hell would I cheat on you?” I know how it feels; I don’t want to put you through that. “What about my boss is so appealing? What is there to even worry about?” Yes, he’s attractive and is actually a good person at heart (even though he’s a bit misunderstood), but that’s not even close to—“I’m not Angel and this isn’t payback.” Why can’t you just accept the fact that he’s changed?
Henry flinches at the sound of his late friend. No, you’re more real than Angel.
“It’s not like this is the first time that you’ve taken a trip for your—”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?!” Mei Lin lets a huff of air feather her bangs. “Because to be frank, Henry, I’m getting sick and tired of arguing with you on this.”
The way Mei Lin juts her hips as her hands rest on them; the tense look of annoyance, frustration, and even discontent; even the rough yet sharp edges in every syllable; they all make Henry march forward, pinning Mei Lin between the closest wall and his body. He bends down and practically slams his lips onto hers and when she struggles, he wraps his arms around her possessively, enclosing her arms to her side. He fights with her until Mei Lin parts her lips for air. Something between a moan and a whimper reaches Henry’s ears and the way that Mei Lin shivers tells him that he’s won. “The point is,” Henry says after breaking their kiss. “I’ve missed you.” He bruises her lips again until she moans. “And I don’t like sharing.”
The moment that Henry loosens his grip, Mei Lin breaks free and pushes Henry away to get some much-needed air. “That was uncalled for,” she says breathlessly. Henry attempts to get her in his arms again but he fails as Mei Lin retreats.
“Mei—”
“You’re not a child anymore, Hin Wah,” Mei Lin says as she grabs her bag. “And I’m not property that you don’t want to share. I’m a human being that has free will. Jealousy is an ugly color on you. Uncalled for jealousy is even more hideous.”
“Uncalled for?”
“And this is why I don’t allow these two parts of my life to ever interact,” Mei Lin sighs aloud.
“You can’t separate and compartmentalize your life like that.”
“Can’t I? You should try it sometimes.” Mei Lin walks towards the door. “I know it’s cliché that one would sleep with their secretary but it has never worried me that you might be sleeping with Bai Fu. Do you want to know why? Because I know you love me and I trust you. I know you don’t have any feelings for her. Don’t you know that that’s how it is between Wu Yi and me? I love you; you should trust me; I don’t have any feelings for him.”
“Wu Yi?”
“I’m leaving now.”
“Wait—” And click goes the door.
Mei Lin returns to her car with the small hope that Henry would come after her but he doesn’t, so she proceeds to open the car door. She jumps when she looks up because she sees Zi Tao leaning on her car. “You left without telling me,” he said.
“Then how did you find me?” she asks as she unlocks the rest of the doors so that he can get in as well.
“Where else would you be tonight?”
“How did you get here?” she asks as she starts the car.
“Taxi.”
“Sorry for not telling you,” Mei Lin says as she drives. “I’ll pay you back for the taxi fare.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Zi Tao says. “You seem to have enough to worry about. May I ask what’s troubling your heart, Ms. Chan?”
“My boyfriend is being a three year old with trust issues,” Mei Lin hisses. “I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
“Perhaps you’re being a bit too harsh on him,” Zi Tao says, flinching a bit at how intense Mei Lin is at the moment. “He didn’t tell me why he wanted to go,” Zi Tao says. “But my guess is he wanted to be alone.”
“Then why did he ask me to go with him?”
“Because he didn’t want to be alone.” Mei Lin steals a glance at Zi Tao because she is confused by the contradiction that he just presented. “Maybe he wanted a break from it all, something different. Maybe he wanted you to have that too.”
“Ironic much?” Mei Lin mutters to herself in English.
“Ms. Chan, I understand that you are upset, but please don’t be upset at duì zhǎng.” He loves you, even if he won’t admit it or even know it himself.
“Tao,” Mei Lin sighs as she finally feels herself calming down. “You’re a good friend. I hope you know that.”
Zi Tao feels his cheeks burn so he quickly looks out the window. “T-Thank you Ms. Chan.”
Mei Lin giggles to herself from Zi Tao’s reaction. “Tell me something, have you any other friends other than Wu Yi and myself?”
I’m your friend? “N-No, not really.”
Mei Lin’s smile turns into a dramatic frown. “That’s unfortunate. But then again, I’m not one to talk.”
“How so?”
“There’s a blurred line between co-workers and whom I consider my friend. It’s hard to say whether or not I consider Lu Han to be my friend. The same goes for Suho and Victoria. I sometimes question whether or not Wu Yi considers me a friend, but I guess he does if he cares—not to say that Lu Han, Suho, or Victoria don’t care.”
“Am I your friend?” Zi Tao asks softly.
A bright smile takes over Mei Lin’s pallor again. “Of course.”
“So aside from duì zhǎng, Liu, Ms. Estella, and myself—”
“That’s about it.”
“Surely you have acquaintances from your university or secondary school days.”
“Other than Gale, I wasn’t really very close with anyone else. Yeah, they knew of me and I knew of them, but we kept to ourselves. In college, I had a small group of friends that…we don’t talk anymore.”
“Why is that?”
Mei Lin parks the car and shuts off the engine. “After what happened with Victor, I stopped talking to everyone from university. Most of them I knew through the dance crew that we founded. The rest of them were part of a band that I would sing back up or adlib for. All that we really had in common was our hobbies. I can count all of those who know the real me on one hand.” She gets out of the car and fishes through her keychain for the front door key, only to find that the door is already open.
Mei Lin freezes in place and Zi Tao quickly steps in front of her. “Call the police,” he whispers before going in slowly. Mei Lin silently dials as soon as Zi Tao clears the rooms. “Stay close behind me just in case.”
Mei Lin makes a report to the police that someone had broken into her home. The odd thing is, however, nothing is missing. Everything is simply a mess and out of place. As they clean, Mei Lin does not leave Zi Tao side as if his request still applies. “What were they looking for?”
“I doubt that they were looking for anything.” I think they just wanted to scare you. “Ms. Chan—”
“Tao,” Mei Lin stops him. “Don’t. It’s not your fault. You didn’t turn my apartment into a typhoon aftermath; in fact, you’re helping me clean it.”
Tao sweeps the apartment for bugs and finds none but is still unsatisfied when the two finally decide to call it a night. “Are you going to shower first, Ms.Chan?” he asks, even though he already knows the answer.
“No, you can go first tonight,” Mei Lin sighs. Zi Tao bows and heads into the bathroom. Once she hears the water run, Mei Lin calls Henry, who almost doesn’t want to answer. He picks up but says nothing. Confused, Mei Lin asks, “Hello?”
“Does this mean that you’re talking to me again?” Henry is tired and he sounds more than annoyed.
“It’s not like you tried to continue our conversation,” Mei Lin says bitterly.
“What’s this about, Mei? Did you call me at one in the morning just to bicker?” Henry yawns, wanting desperately to sleep.
“Did I wake you?”
“…No.” I can’t sleep.
“I just thought I should let you know that someone broke into my apartment. I wasn’t home when it happened. Nothing’s missing. I called the police already. I’m fine.”
“You’re not telling me something.” Though, I wasn’t exactly expecting you to tell me something like this.
I tell you that my safety is compromised and the first thing that you jump to is me keeping something from you? “I’m not alone, does that count?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I have a friend staying with me tonight.”
“Mei, if you don’t feel safe—forget what’s going on between us, you are always welcome here. This will always apply.”
I’m glad you didn’t get too suspicious about who my friend is. “I’ll be fine. Thanks though.”
“Mei, if you weren’t calling to ask if you could spent the night, then why did you call and tell me this?” I’m worried now.
“Just thought you’d like to know what’s going on in my life.” Mei Lin hears the bathroom door open. “It’s late. Sorry for waking you. Night.”
Mei Lin hangs up before Henry could give a response but not before he hears a familiar voice in the background of the call. “Chén xiǎo jiě.” ("Miss Chen.")
Mei Lin turns around at the sound of her name and sees that Zi Tao is standing before her in nothing but a towel around his waist with his black hair still dripping wet. “Hm?”
“Could you please hand me my bag; I’d like to avoid getting the floor wet.”
Mei Lin grabs Zi Tao’s dufflebag and hands it to him without batting an eye. “When are you going to let me take you shopping?” Mei Lin asks as he gets dressed on the other side of the door.
“Maybe when all of this is over,” Zi Tao jokes. He walks out with a small towel ruffling through his hair. “I have more than enough clothes, Ms. Chan. It won’t be necessary.”
“Who knows how long Wu Yi is going to be a worry-wart,” Mei Lin sighs as she steps into the bathroom. “We’ve been living like this for over two weeks now, Tao; you can drop the formalities.”
I can’t. You’re my boss’ secretary.
“We’re friends after all, aren’t we? I’m sorry that you have to sleep on the couch,” she says when she comes out in a tank top and shorts.
“It’s fine,” Zi Tao ensures. “I’ve slept in worse.”
Mei Lin frowns even though she is familiar with the kind of life Zi Tao used to have. She walks over and takes the small towel from him. She’s about to return to the bathroom with it when she notices that Zi Tao’s hair is still very wet. Mei Lin steps towards Zi Tao who raises an eyebrow as to why Mei Lin would go in the opposite intended direction. She motions for him to lean down a bit as if she’s about to tell him something secret, but instead, she dries his hair in a playful manner. “Use my hair dryer; you shouldn’t sleep with wet hair.”
Zi Tao snickers. “Yes, mom.”
“I’m younger than you,” Mei Lin says, acting offended.
“You are still more of a mother to me than my real mother was.” She tried, but I didn’t listen. She tried too hard to make me who I didn’t want to be.
Mei Lin frowns again as she removes the damp towel. Zi Tao stays leaned forward and earnestly smiles from under his frayed fringe. Mei Lin rustles the almost-dried locks and pushes him a bit so that he stands upright. “Where is she?”
“Qingdao,” he says as he runs his fingers through his hair. “That’s where my dad is too, I assume. I doubt that they’ve moved.”
“Have you tried—”
“I was essentially disowned when I moved to Korea without telling my family.” Well, actually, it was when they went to Korean to try and convince me to come back home; and found out what I’ve become. “Surely you would understand, Ms. Chan. Sometimes, parents just are not as understanding and accepting as they should be.”
“At the very least, they understand and accept the concept of formalities, which, you can drop now,” Mei Lin points out, hoping to lighten the mood again.
“My apologies, Ms. Chan, but I wouldn’t do so even if we were married.”
“So even if we were equals, you wouldn’t see me as so?”
“You know how this society is.”
“Yeah, but in this society, it’s male dominat—”
“I still would not; I have too much respect for you.”
“You mean to tell me a guttersnipe of Seoul has too much respect for little old me? What drivel.” Mei Lin crosses her arms and holds her nose in the air, waiting for a reaction. When there is none, she provokes him further by asking, “So you mean to tell me that if I punch you, you wouldn’t hit me back?”
“What kind of man would strike a woman?”
“A smart one,” Mei Lin says, walking up to Zi Tao. “You shouldn’t care who it is. If someone attacks you first and is threatening your life, you should always fight back.” Mei Lin reels her arm back and gives uses half force.
Zi Tao catches Mei Lin’s fist and forces her hands to her sides. “I said I wouldn’t hit you back because I wouldn’t let you hit me to begin with,” he says in a low voice.
Mei Lin glares into Zi Tao’s feline-like eyes as she attempts to shake his grip, but it’s far too firm. She let’s out a huff of defeated air and drops her shoulders. As Mei Lin waits patiently for the usage of her arms to be returned to her, Zi Tao is smirking in victory. The smirk is only to hide what’s brewing, what he refuses to acknowledge. Even after he lets go, Zi Tao can still feel the warmth from Mei Lin’s wrists in his palms. He finds himself rubbing the tingling feeling off of his fingers with his thumb but it only settles in his chest.
Zi Tao is denied of sleep that night and Mei Lin finds Zi Tao standing on the balcony in nothing but the tank top and sweats from the night before. “You’ll catch a cold that way,” Mei Lin says, offering the man a cup of coffee.
“You don’t like coffee, Ms. Chan,” he says, wondering why she is also holding a cup.
“You looked like you could use it,” Mei Lin shrugs. When are you going to start calling me Mei like everyone else? “You always look like you could use a cup of coffee.”
Zi Tao smiles at the mild insult to his dark eyes and takes a sip of the vanilla hazelnut blend. I’m going to miss this. I’m going to miss her. I wonder how long we get to stay like this? Zi Tao catches himself staring at the young woman who has yet to change out of her camisole and basketball shorts. Your hair is a mess, Mei Lin.
“Then why don’t you do something about it?” Mei Lin teases, smiling brightly at the use of her given name.
Zi Tao flushes an embarrassing shade of pink at the realization that he said such a thought out loud but he doesn’t pass up the opportunity. Instead, he sets down his cup of coffee to rake both hands through Mei Lin’s long locks, rustling them like she did to him the night before. Mei Lin is very quickly buried under a nest of messy black hair and the couple finds themselves laughing and a giggling mess.
“Stick to being a driver,” Mei Lin says as she tries to fix what had just been done to her. “You would make a terrible hair dresser.”
Zi Tao breathes out the last of his laughs and gets up from the table he had been leaning on. Mei Lin jumps away at the sight of Zi Tao’s hands, but after exchanging looks, Mei Lin allows Zi Tao to straighten out the mess he had made. “Is that so? Give me an hour and not even your own boyfriend would recognize you.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” Mei Lin asks. “We don’t have an hour.”
“Then I guess we should change.”
“Not until you eat your breakfast,” Mei Lin nags.
“But mom.” Zi Tao snickers at the dirty look that he’s given.
“How rude,” Mei Lin says dramatically. “What happened to all that respect?”
“It went out the door when we got married.” Zi Tao regrets those words the moment they left his mouth.
But Mei Lin plays along. “Well, then you’re also a lousy husband.”
“You’re the one who married me!” Zi Tao laughs, humoring himself with the possibility.
“Not by choice,” Mei Lin snickers.
Though they’re simply teasing and playing with this impossible fantasy, such words strike Zi Tao a lot harder than they appear. Mei Lin is right, however, and Zi Tao knows this. She’s only putting up with me because she has to. She’s only making the best of this terrible situation. With those three words, Zi Tao is gravely reminded of his place in Mei Lin’s life.
“, we’re going to be late,” Mei Lin says, snapping Zi Tao out of his state of rumination.
“I’ll drive,” Zi Tao offers, mostly due to his experience in speed driving.
When the two arrive at the parking garage, they exit the car together like they always do but as you will soon come to find out, today is simply not Mei Lin’s day. Because today, Henry is also running late and it just so happens that the as the two are exiting Mei Lin’s car, Henry catches sight of them. “Mei?” he says, not wanting to believe his eyes.
Zi Tao and Mei Lin are laughing for a reason that Mei Lin quickly forgets once she makes eye contact with Henry. Zi Tao realizes how this must look and tries to leave but quickly discovers that there’s no where he can go without leaving Mei Lin. “Hin—”
Henry quickly jumps to the most logical explanation. “What the is Kevin’s driver doing driving your car?”
Mei Lin opens but finds that she has nothing to say—nothing that wouldn’t reveal something damning about her boss.
“Mei, what was he doing driving your car?” Henry repeats, trying his best to keep his voice even.
“He was at my place last night,” Mei Lin says honestly.
Zi Tao starts to feel hot up to his ears, realizing that his presence may result in something. Isn’t this what you wanted though? a sick voice asks. Zi Tao shakes it off and focuses on the developing fight before him.
“Why?” Henry asks, still praying for a reasonable explanation.
“He was driving by on his way home and saw the police cars in front of my building. I was still too shaken to drive so—”
“You’re lying,” Henry says. You’re hiding something from me. “What happened to telling me what’s going on in your life?”
“I am telling you,” Mei Lin says, keeping an almost cold composure. “He’s the friend that stayed with me last night.”
“He’s your friend?”
Zi Tao flinches even though he can’t completely understand what’s being said now that they couple are using English. “Yes, do you have a problem with my friends now too?” Mei Lin asks.
You’re too composed. “Only when they’re the driver of—”
“Of whom?” Mei Lin has no problems throwing sharp glares into Henry’s unsuspecting direction.
Why do you always get so defensive when it comes to Kevin? “Of the that you’re too good for.”
“I didn’t realize that Tao was your driver; talking to a mirror again, are we?” The three turn around to see the golden boy himself. “You three are going to be late.”
I don’t even work here. Zi Tao walks towards the elevator anyway.
“By three, are you including yourself, Kevin?” Henry hisses.
“Me? I’m never late,” he smirks. “Everyone’s simply early.”
“This isn’t The Princess Diaries,” Henry rolls his eyes. Clearly he’s being a princess.
They get off at their respective floors and Mei Lin practically drops herself into her chair as she buries her face in her hands. “I’m sorry,” Zi Tao apologies.
“It’s not your fault,” Mei Lin sighs. This isn’t the first time that we fought. “Could you please get Gale in here? I need the reports from the latest tests.”
Zi Tao hops up from the couch and uses Mei Lin’s ID to get into the lab and Gale’s office. Zi Tao comes back with the reports but not Gale. “She’s not in her office.”
Mei Lin stops half way into opening the file. “What do you mean she’s not in her office?”
“There’s a bunch of files on her desk but she’s not in there.”
Mei Lin stands up and takes her ID from Zi Tao to see for herself, not wanting to believe it. “She’s never this late. What the hell is this—” Mei Lin almost drops the file.
“Ms. Chan?”
Mei Lin flips through resume after resume until she gets to what she feared was coming: a letter of resignation. “She can’t do this… there has to be something in her contract that—” Mei Lin pulls out her phone and walks to the elevators as it rings. “Lu Han, I need you to pull up Gale’s file, now.”
“What? Why?”
“Just do it.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know, have you talked to her recently, because she sure as hell hasn’t been talking to me.”
“Uh…no…” Gale… “I have it pulled up, what do you need?”
“When did she first start to work here? I don’t mean officially, I mean as an intern.”
“That would be the beginning of her fall semester, her senior year. Why?”
“.” Mei Lin exits the elevator and hangs up. Lu Han comes into view shortly after due to Mei Lin’s long strides.
“What is this about?”
“Pull up her work visa,” Mei Lin says, even though she could already guess. “.”
“It expired today…”
“She never renewed it. So even if I could get a hold of her—which, knowing her, I wouldn’t be able to even if I tried—I have no way of bringing her back into this country. And I sure as hell have no means of getting to her.”
“I can find her.”
Mei Lin scoffs. “Right. Tell me how that goes.”
“What’s that in your hand?”
“Resumes of possible replacements along with her letter of resignation. You might want to file that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to try and replace my best friend now.”
“Mei—”
“No. Don’t you dare apologize even though it sure as hell is your fault. You don’t deserve the satisfaction of expressing your so-called sorrow. She’s gone, Lu Han. And in about half an hour when you can’t even find a single trace of her, you’ll truly understand what those words really mean.”
Mei Lin stomps her way back up to her office and as she passes the lobby, Victoria informs Mei Lin that she has a visitor in her office. Mei Lin does her best to plaster on a composed face but that shatters when she sees who it is. “Yo, hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn.” ("Yo, long time no see.")
“… Amber.”
Translations/Author's Notes:
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"Wǒ men kě yǐ liáo tiān ma?" (我們可以聊天嗎？) = Can we talk?
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"Xiàn zài?" (現在？) = Now?
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“Duì. Nǐ hěn máng ma?” (對。你很忙嗎？) = Yes. Are you busy?
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“Wǒ bù máng. Yǒu shì ma?” (我不忙。有事嗎？) = I'm not busy. What's up?/What's the matter?
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“Tā bù shì wǒ de nán péng yǒu, nǐ shì wǒ de nán péng yǒu. Nǐ zhī dào ma?” (他不是我的男朋友，你是我的男朋友。你知道嗎？) = He is not my boyfriend, you are my boyfriend. You know that, right?
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“Shì ma?” (是嗎？) = Really?/That so?
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“Wǒ yǒu shí hou bù zhī dào.” (我有時候不知道。) = Sometimes I don't know.
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“Yīn wèi nǐ gēn tā qù huā yuán.” (因為你跟他去花園。) = Because you went to the gardens with him.
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“Yīn wèi tā wèn wǒ gēn tā qù!” (因為他問我跟他去！) = Because he asked me to go with him!
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“Nà wǎn shàng wèi shén me?” (那晚上為什麼？) = Then why [did you] go at night? This is actually incorrect on purpose.
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“Wǒ bù zhī dào. Nǐ wèn tā.” (我不知道。你問他。) = I don't know. You [can/should] ask him [yourself].
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“Yào shi nǐ bù zhī dào, nǐ wèi shén me gēn tā?” (要是你不知道，你為什麼跟他？) = If you didn't know, then why did you go with him?
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“Yīn wèi tā shì wǒ de lǎo bǎn.” (因為他是我得老板。) = Because he is my boss.
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“Nà nǐ xiǎng wǒ shuō shén me?” (那你想我説什麼？) = What do you want me to say?
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“Wǒ ài nǐ, bù tā.” (我愛你，不他。) = I love you, not him.
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Ms. Estella = Gale's last name. French: metronymic from the female personal name Estelle, from Latin stella ‘star’; the name was popularized by a 3rd century martyr.
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"Everyone's simply early" = a paraphrased quote from the movie: The Princess Diaries 2
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"It expired today" = work visas for US citizens in China can last up to 5 years.
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hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn (好久不見) = Long time no see.
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