Lu Wan Wan stared at herself in the full-length mirror and cocked her head to the side, contemplating her outfit. She had on a white, short sleeve blouse with a tie neck that she tied into a bow that was tucked into her black pleated skirt. She paired the outfit with a pair of white Converse. Her long hair was in loose waves that fell gently down her back. She pulls some hair behind her left ear and decided to just meet An Jia Xin like this. She was a natural beauty and needed very minimal makeup.

            She got on her bike and rode her bike to Red Lantern, one of his favorite restaurants in Xincheng. It was a trendy modern restaurant that showcases contemporary Chinese cuisine with a creative twist. She locked her bike at the bike station and made the short walk to the restaurant. She walked in and saw An Jia Xin sitting with Huang Xiao Mei. She smiled and walked over to them.

            “Hey,” she said, cheerfully as she approached them. They looked up at her with forced smiles. She sat down opposite them and noticed that they were nervous. “Sorry, for being late,” she said, putting her purse on the empty seat next to her.

            “No worries,” An Jia Xin said, “we, um, just got here.”

            “You didn’t tell me that Huang Xiao Mei was going to be there too,” she said.

            Huang Xiao Mei turned to An Jia Xin and then to Lu Wan Wan, forcing an awkward smile. “Lu Wan Wan, we need to talk about something important.”

            Lu Wan Wan's smile fades, sensing the tension in the air. “What's wrong? You both seem off. Is everything okay?” she said, concerned.

            An Jia Xin looked away, avoiding eye contact with Lu Wan Wan. “Well, the truth is, we've been keeping something from you, Lu Wan Wan,” he said.

            Huang Xiao Mei takes a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. “We... we've betrayed you, Lu Wan Wan,” she said, with tears in her eyes. Lu Wan Wan looked between them, confused. She wasn’t sure what they meant by that.

            “What do you mean?” she asked.

            An Jia Xin looked up at her, his voice trembling as the said the words that will forever change their relationship. “Xiao Mei—she’s—she’s pregnant.”

            Lu Wan Wan's eyes widen in shock, her heart sinking. Wha... What? I can't believe this. How could you do this to me? I mean, is it yours?

            “Wan Wan...” he said, “it just happened. I—we were both in Xuzhoua, alone. I—I met Xiao Mei at the hotel when she was with her boss meeting a client. Since, we were there alone, we decided to go out to dinner together, and I don’t know...”

            Huang Xiao Mei wipes away tears, her voice filled with remorse. “You've always been such a good friend to us, Lu Wan Wan. We let you down, and we understand if you can't forgive us. We didn’t mean to. One thing led to another, and we just ended up sleeping together...”

            “How long?” Lu Wan Wan asked, fighting off her tears. She was trying to piece everything together.

            “We, um, I found out that I was pregnant a few weeks ago. But this incident happened a month ago,” Huang Xiao Mei, wiping her tears.

            Lu Wan Wan's face reflects a mix of hurt, anger, and disappointment. She scoffs and shakes her head. “This makes sense. Everything makes so much sense now.”

            “Wan Wan—”

            “I trusted you both. I never thought you would do something like this. It's going to take time for me to process this betrayal,” she said, her voice trembling. She takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “I—I—I got to go.” Lu Wan Wan stands up, leaving the restaurant. An Jia Xin and Huang Xiao Mei watch her go, their faces filled with regret and remorse. She got on her bike and rode home, fighting hard to keep the tears from flowing until she is in her home.

            Lu Wan Wan enters her bedroom, her face stained with tears. She walks over to her bed, collapses onto it, and sobs uncontrollably. The room is dimly lit, reflecting the heaviness in her heart. Lu Wan Wan clutches a pillow tightly, burying her face in it as she tries to muffle her cries. Her whole-body trembles with the weight of her emotions, and the room feels suffocatingly silent. The sound of her raspy breaths fills the room, accentuating her pain and betrayal. She lifts her head momentarily, looking around her room, filled with reminders of the once cherished friendship she had with An Jia Xin and Huang Xiao Mei.

            Tears stream down her face once again, as she stares at a photo frame on her nightstand, a picture of the three friends laughing together, their smiles now a painful memory. I trusted them, believed in them. How did it come to this? How can they do this to me? I loved him with all of my heart.  

            She curls into a ball, hugging herself tightly, seeking solace and comfort that seem so distant now. Her cries echo through the room, a mix of sadness, anger, and confusion. What did I do wrong? What did I miss? I gave them my heart, my trust, and they threw it all away. Her tears continue to fall, landing on her pillow, dampening it further. The weight of the betrayal hangs heavily in the air, casting a dark cloud over her once vibrant spirit.

            Lu Wan Wan continues to cry on her bed, her emotions overwhelming her. Suddenly, her phone rings, interrupting the silence. She hesitates for a moment, contemplating whether to answer or not. With a trembling hand, she picks up the phone and sees that it's Gu Qiao calling. After a moment of hesitation, Lu Wan Wan takes a deep breath and answers the call.

            “Hello?” she said, her voice trembling.

            “Lu Wan Wan, are you okay? I can hear that something's wrong. What happened? Were you crying?” she heard her friend said through the phone, concerned. She can also hear other voices in the background asking what was wrong, clearly concerned about her.

            Lu Wan Wan's voice cracks as she tries to speak through her tears. “Gu Qiao... An Jia Xin and Huang Xiao Mei... they betrayed me. He—he—he got her pregnant!”

            Silence. Gu Qiao did not say anything for a few seconds. After what felt like forever, Gu Qiao finally said something. “Oh no, Lu Wan Wan, I'm so sorry to hear that.”

            Lu Wan Wan's sobs intensify, but she finds comfort in Gu Qiao's understanding voice. Silence filled the air between them once again. She can hear the voices in the background fall silent as she sobbed.

            “Do you want me to come to you? If I buy a ticket now, I should be there tomorrow,” Gu Qiao finally said, breaking the dreadful silence.

            “Um, no. I’ll be fine,” she said, through her sobs. “I just need, um, to be alone at the moment.”

            “Wan Wan...” she said, “I may have not known you for long, but you deserve better than An Jia Xin. I’m just a phone call away if you need anything.” Lu Wan Wan hung up the phone and continued to cry.  Lu Wan Wan sits on her bed, still reeling from the betrayal of her friends. Her phone buzzes, indicating a new message. She hesitates for a moment, contemplating whether to check it or not. With a mix of curiosity and apprehension, she picks up her phone and sees a text from An Jia Xin. Lu Wan Wan takes a deep breath and opens the message, her heart pounding in her chest.

Lu Wan Wan, I'm sorry. I know I messed up. Can we talk?

Lu Wan Wan's emotions swirl within her, torn between anger, hurt, and a glimmer of hope for closure. She stares at the message, unsure of how to respond. After a moment of contemplation, Lu Wan Wan gathers her thoughts and begins to type her reply.

Jia Xin, I need some time to process everything. It's been really difficult for me. I'm not ready to talk just yet.

She hesitates, her fingers hovering over the screen, unsure if she should send the message as is or add more.

But I do hope that one day we can have an honest conversation about what happened.

Lu Wan Wan takes a deep breath, her heart heavy with the weight of the situation. She presses send, feeling a mix of relief and uncertainty. 

Wan Wan, I’m going back to Xuzhou tomorrow. I’ll give you time to think about what happened. I’ll talk to you again at the end the of summer.

As she sets her phone down, she contemplates the future of their relationship, unsure if it can ever be repaired. The room remains silent, leaving Lu Wan Wan with her thoughts and the lingering pain of betrayal.

---

            “Now this,” Zhu Yi Ran said, her voice low, “makes me nervous.” The crew were looking out from the kitchen. Lu Wan Wan nodded in agreement. But Zhu Yi Ran was referring to the fact that they were at a museum where there are antiques artifacts crowded just about everywhere and they had just sent out Xu Xin Ru out with a trayful of wineglasses, and for Lu Wan Wan, it was something else completely. Namely the fact that a mere two feet away, deep in conversation with someone, was An Jia Xin’s parents, their presence casting a shadow over her heart. It has only been two weeks since An Jia Xin and Huang Xiao Mei dropped the bombshell on her. They have decided to talk about their relationship at the end of August when he returns to Xincheng.  

            Since they have arrived, Lu Wan Wan was in kitchen with Ren Chu wrapping the har gow as fast as they can because Zhu Yi Ran, distracted by the fact that her husband was called into work and now she must find a babysitter, had forgotten to get it done earlier. Suddenly, she heard a high-pitched laugh that she recognized. As Xu Xin Yi pushed through from the reception area, her tray picked clean of the potstickers she’d walked out with only minutes earlier, Lu Wan Wan saw Mrs. An laughing with another female. And as the door swept shut, she was certain that Mrs. An saw her.

            She paused midway and her hands start to tremble as her eyes focused on the door.  Ren Chu, who had been working alongside her, noticed the sudden change in Lu Wan Wan's demeanor. Concern etched across his face; he gently touched her arm. “Lu Wan Wan, are you alright? You seem tense.”

            Lu Wan Wan's gaze remained fixed on An Jia Xin's parents, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ren Chu, it's them. An Jia Xin's parents. I haven't spoken to them since...” Ren Chu's brows furrowed with understanding as he watched her.

            “Wan Wan?” he said. She looked at him and realized that he was watching her. She cleared and forced a smile. She hasn’t told him about An Jia Xin nor their impending relationship. Since that day, she hasn’t really talked to anyone about it.  Xu Xin Yi did not probe her about it either, so they just pretended that nothing happened.

            “I’m sorry,” she said, turning her attention back to the har gow. He watched her as she ignored the elephant in the room.

            “Those potstickers are going fast!” Xu Xin Yi shouted as she came back through the door, balancing the tray on her upturned palm. “That crowd is full of rich businessmen who are ultra-polite, but really grabby at the same time. They would be like, “oh, my, doesn’t that look tasty” and then bam, cleans out my entire tray.”

            “Two and move,” Ren Chu said.

            “Oh, don’t I know it,” she said, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. Just then a crash can be heard from the reception area, just as Zhu Yi Ran was placing the steamed har gow onto a tray. They all froze.

            Xu Xin Yi eased open the door a tiny bit. “It wasn’t anything of theirs,” she said, and Zhu Yi Ran’s face relaxed a bit. “But a couple of wineglasses hit the floor.   

            “Red or white?” Zhu Yi Ran asked.

            “Um...” Xu Xin Yi said, squinting her eyes, “Red.”

            “Oh, no,” she said, as she crossed the room to a plastic Tupperware container that she always brings with them. “And Ren Yu would pick today to have other plans.”

            Lu Wan Wan looked at Ren Chu quizzically, and he whispered, “Ren Yu’s a whiz with stains. He can get anything out of anything.” She raised her eyebrow, impressed. She yanked a bottle of some mild detergent and a rag out of the container and turned to Lu Wan Wan.

            “And how are you?” she asked her, handing the bottle and rag to Lu Wan Wan.

            “How am I what?” Lu Wan Wan asked, taking the bottle and rag.

            “Getting stains out,” she said, smiling.

            “Um...” she said, looking at the rag and bottle in her hands. She glanced at the open door, and she could see Xu Xin Ru on the floor, hands trembling as she picked up the broken pieces one by one. Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the shards on the floor. “I’m not—”

            “Good,” Zhu Yi Ran said, pushing her out the door. Zhu Yi Ran nudged her hard enough where she actually stumbled over the threshold; luckily, she was able to catch herself before doing a face plant on the floor. She caught her breath, and then crossed the room over to Xu Xin Ru, who was fighting off tears.

            “Hey,” Lu Wan Wan said, as she kneels down beside her. “You okay?” She wiped her tears and stood up, and started across the floor to the kitchen, leaving Lu Wan Wan behind to clean up the mess. She put the bottle and rag down beside her, and started to pick up the broken glass as fast as she can. She had just gotten done picking up the glasses, and had just started to spay the floor with the detergent, when she heard someone called her name.

            “Lu Wan Wan? Is that you?”

            For a second, she continued spraying, as if doing that will make her disappear from the situation. After she gave the floor a good dousing, it was clear to her that she had no choice but look up.

            “Hi,” she said to An Jia Xin’s mother, who was standing over her holding a glass of red wine. “How are you?”

            “We’re well,” she said, glancing at An Jia Xin’s father, who was helping himself to har gow from Xu Xin Yi’s tray. “Are you, um, are you working here?”

            Even though she knew that this was a valid question, the fact that she was wearing a Delightful Bites apron, holding a rag, and on her knees trying to fight a stain, made her wonder if Mrs. Chen was really that smart after all. “Yes,” she said, tucking a piece of hair behind her hair. “Um, this is just something I’m doing to pass the time since my parents are in Suyang helping during this tragedy.”

            “You’re still interning at the hospital though, right?” she asked. Lu Wan Wan can see An Jia Xin in her features.

            She nodded. “I’m just doing this occasionally. You know for extra money,” she said.

            She glanced over at Mr. An who was standing in next to a painting, deep in conversation with someone else, holding his napkin and wineglass in one hand. “Well, that’s wonderful,” she said. “Um, Wan Wan?” She was hesitant with what she wanted to say.  She glanced at Mr. An again and then sighed. “We are truly sorry, Lu Wan Wan. We never thought that Jia Xin would do something like this...” Her voice trembled as she spoke, her remorse evident.

            Lu Wan Wan ducked her head back down, trying to keep her composure, and after a second, a woman came up to her, asking about their newest development, and thankfully, they moved on. She was dousing, then dabbing, then dousing for a good five minutes when a pair of boots appeared at her eye level, foot tapping.

            “You know,” Xu Xin Yi whispered, kneeling besides her, “it doesn’t look good for you be on the floor like this.”

            “There’s a stain that I’m trying to get rid of,” she said. “How’s Xin Ru?”

            “She’s doing fine. She stopped crying and is no longer on wine duty,” she said.

            “That’s good to hear,” Lu Wan Wan said, as she scrubbed the floor out of frustration. Xu Xin Yi took the rag from her and helped her up. As they stood up, they heard a man’s voice behind them.

            “Wan Wan, hello,” she heard him say. They turned around and saw Mr. An standing behind them.

            “Hello, Uncle An,” she said, “it’s good to see you.”

            “Chen Ying tells me that you have taken this job on top of your internship at the hospital,” he said, “that’s very ambitious of you.”

            “Um, thank you...” she said, trailing her words.

            “Look, Wan Wan, I want to formally apologize for what happened. An Jia Xin told us everything when he visited us a few weeks ago. I hope that you can still accept him and stay with him despite the fact that he’s having a baby with Huang Xiao Mei,” he said. “I know that he hopes, as we do, that you two can work things out when he returns at the end of the month. It was a mistake and I hope that you can give him a second chance. You two were childhood sweethearts and have been engaged since birth. Your mother would be so disappointed if she was here to find out that you couldn’t forgive him for his mistake.” Xu Xin Yi’s mouth dropped as she heard this. She scoffed at Mr. An, and grabbed Lu Wan Wan’s right arm, dragging her across the reception area, knocking the door open as they walked into the kitchen.

            She let go of Lu Wan Wan and stormed to the opposite side of counter and put her tray down with a loud bang. Ren Chu and Zhu Yi Ru were putting more wineglasses on two trays, looked up at them. Xu Xin Yi paced back and forth before stopping and take a breath.

            “You are not going to believe what just happened out there,” she said, frustrated.

            “Did something else happened out there?” Zhu Yi Ran said, with a worried look.

            “No,” she said. Lu Wan Wan looked at her and realized that she was upset, even hurt but Xin Yi, she was pissed. “Do you know who’s out there right this second?”

            “Xu. Xin. Ru?” Zhu Yi Ran asked, looking at the door worried.

            “No, well, yes, she’s out there. But not her. Wan Wan’s cheating, jackass of a boyfriend’s father. And do you know what he said to her, in front of me, and everybody else?!” She was livid. Ren Chu and Zhu Yi Ran was just looking between them, not saying anything. She took a deep breath and said, “He said that he hopes that Wan Wan will stay with his cheating son despite the fact that he’s having a baby with someone named Huang Xiao Mei. That they were childhood sweethearts and that were engaged since birth.”

            Zhu Yi Ran raised her eyebrows, while Ren Chu stared at Lu Wan Wan. She kept her head down because she knows that if she was to look up and saw Ren Chu, she would cry. She’s trying so hard to hold her composure.

“And then,” she continued, her voice trembling as she speaks, “he said that if Wan Wan’s mother was still here she would be so disappointed to hear that Wan Wan did not give his cheating son a second chance. Can you believe that?! I just wanted to punch him.” She made a fist with her hand and hitting the counter with her fist.

“But...” Zhu Yi Ran said carefully, “you didn’t get him though, right?”

“No,” she said. Zhu Yi Ran sighed a breath of relief, “I only dragged Wan Wan back here. But if I see him again, I’m punching him in the face!”

“Xin Yi, violence is not the answer,” she said. Lu Wan Wan kept her gaze on the floor, as she tries to calm herself from the various embarrassments that had been thrown her way in the last few minutes. She didn’t want anyone to know, especially Ren Chu and now, everyone knows. All she can do now is fight off the tears and keep her composure until the end of the cocktail party.

“More har gow,” Xu Xin Ru said, as she busted in through the door. Everyone looked up and stared at her in silence. She shrugged and walked over to the counter and put down her empty tray. She grabbed the tray filled with sesame balls and walked out the room.

“I’m on it,” Xu Xin Yi called out after her. She grabbed the try with the har gow and stormed out of the kitchen, muttering the word, “bastards” as she left. Zhu Yi Ran looked around the kitchen with a worried look. She quickly grabbed a tray of wineglasses and followed her out the kitchen.

“Just to be on the safe side,” she said, as the door closed behind them. It was just Ren Chu and Lu Wan Wan standing alone in the kitchen. Her gaze fixated on the ground, avoiding any eye contact. Ren Chu, standing beside her, watched her intently, his concern evident in his eyes. 

“Hey,” he said, Lu Wan Wan braced herself for what is to come next, “are you—”

“I—I'm fine, Ren Chu. Really, it's just... an embarrassing moment. I'll get over it,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she spoke those words.

“—going to be able to grab that other tray?” he asked, pointing to the other tray of wineglasses that he managed to complete while they were talking. She looked up and stared at him with silence and more embarrassment.

“Um, yeah, I can,” she said, walking over to the counter, “you can go first, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Alrighty then,” he said, picking up his tray, “I’ll see you on the other side.” And then, for a second, just a split second, he looked at her as if maybe he should say more. But he didn’t. He just walked to the door, pushing it open with his free hand, and giving her a smile, before stepping out of the kitchen. She watched as the door closed behind him. She sighed and picked up the tray and follow behind him.

---

            “Zhu Yi Ran,” Xu Xin Yi said, “just go, would you please? Everything’s fine.”

            Zhu Yi Ran shook her head, “I’m forgetting something. I have this nagging feeling that there is something important that I am forgetting about.”

            Her husband, Zhou Chen, who was standing by his car with his keys in hand, said patiently, “Is it that our dinner reservations were for ten minutes ago?”

            “No,” she said, as she stood in the middle of the parking lot, with a perplexed expression on her face. “I don't know, something doesn't feel right. I can't shake this feeling that I'm forgetting something important. Think, Yi Ran, think.”

            Xu Xin Yi, standing beside Lu Wan Wan, yawned and then looked at her watch. Itw as nine-thirty and, they were finally done with the cocktail at the museum, they were amassed in the parking lot, waiting to leave. They have been ready to go, when Zhu Yi Ran had a nagging feeling that she was forgetting something important.

            “You know what I mean,” she said, snapping her fingers as if doing that might cause some sort of molecular shift that would jog her memory. “When you just know you’re getting something but can’t quite put your finger on it.”

            “Are you sure it’s not an old age kind of thing?” Xu Xin Yi asked.

            Zhu Yi Ran glared at her. “I’m sure,” she said, “And plus, I’m not that much older than you are.”

            “Dear,” Zhou Chen said gently, tentatively reaching to put his hand on her arm, “our sitter is costing us $12 an hour. Can we please go to dinner? Please? Let's focus on enjoying our time together.”

            Zhu Yi Ran closed her eyes, still trying to remember, then shook her head. “Fine,” she said. And with that one word, everyone began to scatter—Zhou Chen opening the door to their car, Xu Xin Yi digging out her own keys, Ren Chu started towards the van, “but then, I’ll remember in five minutes, and it will be too late.”

            She was still mumbling under her breath as she got into the passenger side of Zhou Chen’s car, buckling the seatbelt. As Lu Wan Wan got into the van with Ren Chu, she watched as Zhou Chen pull out of the parking lot, then start down the road.

            “So, listen. This party is in Jingmen. You take a right on Yuyuan Street, left on Dongfang Road, and it’s the bar at the end of the street. We’ll see you guys there. Oh, and Wan Wan?  Xu Xin Yi called out as she and Xu Xin Ru pulled up besides them. About twenty minutes earlier, when the van had been packed and they’d been paid, Xu Xin Yi had disappeared for a few minutes into the bathrooms, emerging in an entirely different outfit: a short black tulle skirt with a black fishnet, a distressed graphic tee with patches and studs for added flair, a black leather jacket, and combat boots, her hair shoulder length hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.  

            She leaned farther out the window, as if she was sharing a confidence, even though there was a fair amount of space, not to mention Ren Chu, between us. “I heard from reliable resources,” she said, her voice low, “that there will be extraordinary boys there. You know what I mean?”

            Lu Wan Wan blinked blankly at her. “Um, no,” she said, as Ren Chu fiddled with his visor next to her.

            “Don’t worry,” she said, putting her car into gear, then pointed to her, “by the end of the night, you will. See you two there.” And then, in a cloud of dust, with the radio blasting, she was gone, hardly slowing down for the stop sign at the end of the road.

            “Well,” Ren Chu said, as they pulled out of the parking lot, “to the party, then. Right?”

            “Let’s go.”

            As Lu Wan Wan and Ren Chu sat in the car, a comfortable silence enveloped them. The hum of the engine provided a soothing backdrop to their journey. Lu Wan Wan glanced at Ren Chu, her mind racing to find a topic that would break the silence and spark a conversation. Outside the car window, the cityscape unfolded, with tall buildings and bustling streets passing by. Lu Wan Wan's eyes wandered, searching for inspiration.

            “So,” she began, but that was as far as she got. The engine, which had been humming along merrily up until that point, had suddenly began to cough. Then lurch. Then moan. And then, there was nothing. They were stopped dead in the middle of the road. For a second, neither of them said anything.

            “So,” Ren Chu finally said, picking up where she had left off. “that’s what Aunt Yi Ran forgot.”

            Lu Wan Wan turned to look at him, “what?”

            He lifted his finer, pointing ot the gas gauge, was was flat on the E, empty. “Gas,” he said. Lu Wan Wan sat there, staring at the gas gauge. She could hear Zhi Yi Ran’s voice, echoing the word gas, finally remembering with a palm slapped to her forehead. Ren Chu already had his door open and was getting out, letting the door fall shut behind him. Lu Wan Wan did the same, and then walked around the van to the road, looking both ways.

            “How far,” she said, “would you say it is to the nearest gas station?”

            Ren Chu squinted back the way they came from, then turned and looked ahead of them, as if he was gathering facts for a scientific guess. “Hm, I have no idea,” he said. “I guess, we’ll just have to find out.”

            They pushed the van to the side of the road, then rolled up the windows and locked it. Everything sounded loud in the quiet air: their footsteps, the door shutting, the owl that hooted over them, making Lu Wan Wan jump. She stood in the middle of the road while Ren Chu did another round of checking the van to make sure that everything as it should be, then he walked over, his hands in his pockets, joining her.

            “Okay,” he said, “where do we go: left or right?”

            Lu Wan Wan looked one way and then the other. “Mm, left,” she said, and then they started walking.

---

            “我 (I),” she said.

            Ren Chu, matching her enthusiasm, quickly responded, “欧洲 (Europe),” his voice carried a touch of wanderlust, imagining far-off places.

            As they continued walking, the game intensified, their words intertwining with the rhythm of their footsteps. Lu Wan Wan, determined to keep the chain going, thought for a moment, and then exclaimed, “中国 (China).”

Ren Chu smiled, appreciating the connection between their current predicament and the word. “山 (mountain),” he replied.

Lu Wan Wan's eyes sparkled with amusement as she thought of her next word. “梦想 (dream),” she said, her voice filled with hope and determination.

Ren Chu was quiet for a minute, thinking. They have been walking for about thirty minutes, and not one car had passed. Lu Wan Wan had her cellphone with her, but Xu Xin Yi was not picking up, Ren Yu wasn’t home, and his parents were out of town for a much-needed vacation, while parents were still in Suyang, so they were pretty much on their own, at least for the time being. After walking in silence for a while, Ren Chu suggested they play a game to make the time go a little faster.  It was too dark for them to play I Spy, so Lu Wan Wan suggested they play Word Chain, which he had never played before, so she explained the rules to him, and they started the game. He confidently responded, “香蕉 (banana).”

“Ren Chu, that's not quite the right word.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, 香蕉 means ‘banana,’ not ‘dream.’”

Ren Chu turned to her. “Are you seriously getting competitive about this?”

“No,” she said, sliding her hands into her pockets. A breeze blew over them, and she heard the leaves on the trees nearby rustling. “But it is still the wrong word. That’s all I’m saying.”

“You’re a rule person, aren’t you?” he asked.

“My mother was a cheater. So, yeah, rules were important.”

“Your mother? She cheated at this game?”

“She cheated at everything,” Lu Wan Wan said, with a chuckle. “When we played Monopoly, she would always insist on being the banker, and she would help herself to multiple loans and she would charge my father and I, what she would call them ‘service fees’ for every real estate transaction. My father would also just go with what she said, so I just assumed that that was how it was played until I went to a sleep over at Huang Xiao Mei’s house and played with her family when I realized that my mother was cheating.”

Ren Chu laughed, his laughter seeming loud in the quiet night sky. She can feel herself smiling, remembering.

“She even cheated in staring contests,” she said. “She would always blink and then swear up and down that she didn’t, and she’ll make us do it over and over and over again. And when we played Truth, she would always lie. Blatantly.”

“Truth? As in Truth or Dare?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder as something—another owl, she had hoped—hooted behind them.

            She looked at him, cocking her head. “You’ve never played Truth either?” she asked. “What did you guys do on long road trips?”

            “We,” he said, “discussed current events and politics and we engaged in academic discourse.”

            “Really?” she said, surprised.

            “No, I was just joking,” he said, smiling. “My dad was always busy with the restaurant, so we rarely went on road trips. There was one time we drove to visit my grandparents in Fucheng, Ren Yu and I were playing and apparently, I had cheated or something, so he threw a huge tantrum, crying and yelling, so my father threatened to pull over and leave us behind. It was so silly now that I think about it. Anyways, for the reminder of the trip, my mother made us sing folk songs as a punishment.”

            “Folk songs?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. Somehow, she couldn’t picture the Ren brothers singing folk songs.

            “We didn’t have a choice. It was either that or my father pulling over and leaving us behind,” he said. “I know every folk song there is.”

            “Sing something for me,” she asked, nudging him with her elbow.

            “I’ll pass,” he said.

            “Oh, come on. I bet you have a lovely singing voice.”

            “I don’t.”

            “Ren Chu,” she said, her voice serious.

            “Wan Wan,” he replied, equally serious, “no.”

            They walked in silence for a moment. Far off in the distance, Lu Wan Wan spotted headlights, but it turned off in another direction, disappearing into the night. Ren Chu exhaled, shaking his head. They didn’t know how far they had walked since the van ran out of gas.

            “Okay, Tell me about Truth,” he said. “How do you play it?”

            “Is it because you were wrong about 香蕉 (banana) and couldn’t come up with the correct word?” she asked.

            “No,” he said indignantly. “Maybe. How do you play Truth?”

            “We can’t play Truth,” she said to him, as they crossed the road.

            “Why not?”

            “Because” she said, “I don’t know you well enough. And it can get ugly. I remembered playing with my parents, a year before my mother’s death. We were driving to Jing’an to see the ocean, and we were playing Truth. My father asked my mother a question about something, I don’t remember, and they got into a heated argument. It was the last time, we played Truth. You have to tell the truth, no matter what.”

            “You can’t even think of a word for 梦想 (dream),” she said.

            “Can you?”

            “希望 (hope),” she said, “实现 (achieve), 追求 (pursue).”

            “Okay, point proven. Now tell me how to play the game.”

            “Okay, but you ask for it,” she said.

            “Hit me,” he said, looking at her.

            “So, it’s like Truth or Dare, but we there’s no dare. Pretty simple, right? The only rule to the game is that you have the tell the truth. There’s nothing else to it.”

            Ren Chu thought for a moment. “Hm, how do you win?”

            “That is such a boy question,” she said.

            “What? Do you girl not like to win or something?” he snorted. “I mean, you’re one to talk. You were getting all competitive over a simple game. Saying that I was wrong about 香蕉 (banana).”

            “Because you were wrong,” she retorted back at him. He rolled his eyes at her. She couldn’t believe this. She wasn’t sure if he was messing with her or being for real.

            “Any way,” he said, “back to Truth. You were saying.”

            “There is no winning to this game. The game ends when you reach your destination or if you were my parents, when an argument ensued.”

            “Hm,” he said, thinking. “How about we create our own game of Truth?”

            “Like what?”

            “Well, since there’s no winning, we can add a rule in there so that one of us can win.”

            “Hm...” she said, “okay, I got it. To win, one person has to refuse to answer a question. For example, if you asked me a question and you refuse to answer it, then you get to ask me a question and if I answer it, I win.”

            “That’s too simple,” he said, after a few seconds of contemplating. “What if I asked you something easy?”

            “But you wouldn’t,” she said to him, “it will have to be a hard question so that I don’t win since you wouldn’t want me to win, would you?”

            “Ahh, I see,” he said, nodding his head. “This is some game.”

            “It’s a girl’s game,” she said. “I told you, my parents got into a heated argument over it.” She tilted her head back and looked up at the stars. “Always a good game for a little drama at a slumber party. I warned you already, didn’t I? Told you that you wouldn’t want to play the game.”

            “I never said that I didn’t want to play,” he said, “I really do.”

            “You sure?
            “Of course. I can handle it.”

            “Are you sure?” she asked, looking at him.

            “Definitely. Hit me.”

            Lu Wan Wan thought about it for a few seconds, as they continued their walk under the moonlight. The stars and moon were shining brightly above them. “Okay. I got it. What is your favorite color?” she asked.

            He looked at her. “Don’t go easy on me,” he said, “it’s insulting.”

            “I’m just trying to ease you into the game,” she explained.

            “I can handle it. Just someone real,” he said.

            “Let me see,” she said, thinking. “why did you get into fights in middle school?” She had heard from Xu Xin Yi that when Ren Chu was in middle school, he would constantly get into fights. It had gotten to the point where his father wanted to send him to military school. And then one day, out of the blue, he just stopped. No more fighting. No more getting into trouble. He turned his entire life around and became a top student in high school and was the first student ever from Xincheng No.1 High School to get a perfect score on the college entrance exam, ever.

            He fell silent for a few seconds. Lu Wan Wan was worried that she had overstepped. But then he said, “My parents were always so busy with the restaurant. Ren Yu and I were often home alone. And I don’t know, I was pretty pissed about it, I guess. I mean, at that age, I felt that my parents prioritized the restaurant over us. You know? They would spend all day there. And as I mentioned before, we never really travel as a family because my dad didn’t want to close the restaurant.”

            “Why’d you stop?” she asked.

            “Fighting?”

            “Yeah.”

            He shrugged. “My father,” he said. “After beating up some kids pretty bad, I got arrested so my father went to the police station to get me. It was my first time getting caught. I was with some friends of mine, well they’re not my friends anymore, but they were rich kids and their parents put the blame entirely on me. They were saying that I was the bad apple and that I was the one who convince their “good” sons to beat up the kid. I was the only one with the bad grades, so the police believed them.  That was the first time, I’ve seen my father begged the police, those rich parents, and the victims’ families to let me off easy. He was bowing so low that his forehead was touching the dirty floor. Watching that, watching him, plead for me, made me realized that he worked hard in the restaurant for me and Ren Yu. His begging and pleading worked because I was given two months community service at Terracotta Vanguard Correctional Center, and the victims’ families asked that my family paid for all medical expenses. I guess, I realized that my parents were the ones who was helping me all this time.”

            “My boyfriend—” she said, then feeling the need to correct that, “sort-of-boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, he used to volunteer there.”

            “Oh, really?”  

            “Yeah...” she said, trailing off.

            “So, what’s the deal with that?” he asked. “The boyfriend. Sort-of-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.”

            “What?” she asked, confused.

            “I get to ask a question now, right?” he said, “that’s how the game is played?”

            “Um, yeah,” she said, her voice low. Silence filled the air. She wasn’t sure how to answer this question. She looked in the distance, hoping that a car would just pop out to help her, but no such luck.

            “Are you passing on this question already?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

            “No,” she said, thinking. “I’m just...collecting my thoughts.”

            A few seconds have passed.

            “Is there a time limit to this?” he asked.

            She sighed. “Well, um, we’ve been dating for a year and a half now, I guess. As you know, he is my childhood sweetheart. His mother and my mother were close friends, and we were neighbors. Our families got along really well. Growing up together, everyone would always joke that we would one day get married. The idea of us getting engage, was something that our parents have always talked about, like a joke or something. It wasn’t until today, that I realized how serious they were about it. Anyways, he went away for the summer, interning at his family’s other hotel. Their first one, actually. His family owns Rixiang Hotel. Anyways, the one in Xuzhou was the first one that his grandfather had started, before Rixiang Hotel went global. I guess my best friend, Huang Xiao Mei, was also in Xuzhou—which I didn’t know by the way. She told me that she was interning at her father’s friends’ law firm as a law clerk, but she didn’t tell me that she was going to be in Xuzhou.”

            She went quiet, watching him digest her story. She waited a few seconds before continuing. “But she was there. And according to them, they met in the hotel lobby and since it was just the two of them in Xuzhou alone, without me, they kind of just, um, slept together.”

            “So, because you weren’t there, they felt the need to spend the night together?” he asked.

            “I guess so.”

            “Let me get this straight. He went to work for his family’s business in Xuzhou. You stayed in Xincheng to work for your father at the hospital. Your best friend is also in Xuzhou for work but did not tell you. And then they spend the night and now she’s pregnant?”

            “That pretty much sums it up,” she said.  “Wait a minute, I think that you should be penalized for asking a question that you already know the answer to, and that is totally against the rules of the game.”

            “Rules of the game?” he asked, raising his eyebrow, “I thought that the only rule was that you had to be honest, no matter what.”

            She made a face at him. “There are two rules to the game,” she said.

            “Next, you’re going to tell me that there are service charges too.”

            “What is your problem?”

            “I don’t have a problem, Wan Wan. All I am saying it’s not fair that you’re adding rules to the game. I vote to have the second rule removed.”

            “You don’t get to vote,” she said, her voice loud in the night. “This is an established game. There are no changes being made.”

            “Clearly this is not an established game,” he said, frustrated. She looked him and realized that he was so stubborn. “You seem to be making up the rules as you go.”

            “I am not,” she said, offended.

            “You are too,” he fought back.

            “Okay. Fine. If you want to change the rule, you will have to present a case for it.”

            “Are you serious? We’re not in court you know.”

            “I’m waiting,” she said. And then they saw headlights in the distance. They came closer, and closer, and closer, and then finally turned left, disappearing down the road. So close, yet so far.

            He sighed and cocked his head. “forget it. I drop my case. From now on, we just tell the truth and nothing else.”

            “Okay,” she agreed.

            “Well, it’s your turn now,” he said.

            Lu Wan Wan thought about it before asking him. “So, what’s the deal with your last girlfriend? I mean, someone as handsome as you must have tons of girlfriends.”

            “My last girlfriend,” he said, “or the girlfriend that I have now?”

            That question had taken her off guard. She was surprised, shocked even. And then, that turned into something else. She was hurt. For a split second, she was disappointed to hear that he has a girlfriend. But then again, a boy like him would have a girlfriend.

            “The current one,” she said, not hiding the disappointment in her voice. “What’s the story there?”

            “Well,” he said, “For starters, she’s in London right now.”

            “London?” she asked, raising her eyebrow.

            “Yes,” he said. “I met her in my first year of college.  I guess, we’ve been dating for a while now.”

            “A while? You mean, a few years,” she said, correcting him.

            “Yes, I’m in my fourth year of college, so yeah, a few years,” he said. She turned to look at him. She knew that he was a college student from Xu Xin Yi, but she was surprised to find out that he was a fourth year. “Anyways, she’s a ballerina. She attends the dance academy next door to the college—that’s how we met; she was one of the performers that came to perform for our freshman orientation.”

            “What is she doing in London?”

            “Well,” he sighed, “she had this great opportunity to dance for the Royal London Ballet—a prestigious ballet company. Not everyone can dance for that company, and she worked hard to audition for them. She had always wanted to work under the esteemed director, Alexander Harrington, so when she passed the audition. Well, she said that she didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity, and trust me, I wouldn’t want her to pass up on it too since I totally understand where she’s coming from. I’m actually working on my postgraduate interview too. But she said that she didn’t want to do long distance relationship and she wasn’t sure if she was going to return, so, we’re sort of waiting until she gets back to see what happens.”  

            “And when is that?” she asked.

            “End of the summer.” He kicked a rock, sending it skittering across the pavement. “Until then, everything’s just sort of on hold.”

            “Well, I’m in the same boat,” she said. “He hopes that by the end of summer, I can make a decision on where we are at with our relationship.”

            “Hmm.”

            So, there they were, just Lu Wan Wan and Ren Chu, walking in the dark, on a break from their respective relationships.  Silence filled the air as they took in what they have just learned about each other. Who would have thought that that first encounter would change everything. That first night at her parents’, he’d just been a good-looking boy, one she figured that she would never see again, and here they were, walking together, sharing their secrets.

            “Okay,” he said, breaking the silence, “my turn.”

            She slid her hands in her pockets. “Okay, shoot.”

            “Why do you want to become a doctor?”

            She felt herself take in a breath, like this had just her in the gut: it was unexpected. Questions about An Jia Xin, she can handle, but this was something else. Something more. But that’s how the game was played, and so far, he’d been fair. It was dark and quiet, and they were alone. And suddenly, she found herself answering his question.

            “The day my mother died,” she said, keeping her eyes on the road ahead, “she came into my room to wake me up. She was going to a seminar in Xiacheng District. I was mad at her because I wanted her to be there for me when I went in for my college entrance exam. So, I waved her off. I didn’t say bye to her or tell her that I love her.”

            This was the first time that she ever told the story out loud. She couldn’t believe that she was doing it. “A few minutes later, I ran out of my room, but it was too late. She had already left,” she stopped, taking a breath. She didn’t have to do this. She could pass, and lose the game, but for some reason, she kept going. “I rode my bike to the exam. I texted her that I was there, and the last thing she texted me was, ‘Okay, honey. I’ll see you when you’re done. Good luck and I love you.’ I couldn’t respond since I had to turn in my phone to the proctor, but I made a note to respond as soon as I can.”

            Ren Chu wasn’t saying anything at all, but she knew that he was listening to her. She could just tell that he was.

            “Well, after my exam, I forgot to text her, and I didn’t bother to check my phone. I was expecting to see her out there, with flowers or something, just waiting for me. But she wasn’t there. I waited for a good thirty minutes or so, until something in my gut told me to check my phone. When I did, I had twenty missed calls from my father, a few from my aunts and uncles. It wasn’t until I called my father back that I found out what happened. I jumped on my bike and made the five-mile bike ride to Xincheng Hospital. By the time I arrived, it was too late, she was gone...forever...”

            She can feel him look at her, but she knew that if she looked at him, she would stop. So, she just kept talking, keeping her gaze in the road ahead. Her footsteps, their footsteps, were steady. Keep going, she thought, just keep going.

            “At first,” she said, “it didn’t even compute, you know? I mean, my mind couldn’t put it together. I couldn’t register this. One minute, she was here and the next she was gone.”

            The words kept coming, almost too fast, tumbling over her tongue like they’d been held back for so long that now, they’re finally free, like nothing can stop them. Not even her.

            “I broke down. It was the first time that I felt lost.” All she can hear was their footsteps. And the quiet dark.  And her voice.

            “I had my first panic attack. My heart was beating fast, so fast that I could hardly breathe. For the first time, I saw my father broke down. He couldn’t even look at me. Anyways, after her funeral, I made a promise to her that I will become a doctor for her. That I will complete what she started. You see, she loved being a doctor. She loved helping little kids overcome trauma. She just enjoyed watching her tiny patients get better. She had always wanted more children, but she couldn’t, so being a pediatrician was something that filled her heart with happiness.”

            And then it was done. Over. She could feel her breath coming quickly, through her teeth, and for a second, just a split second, she felt unsteady, as if the story no longer held so closely against her, that she’d lost her footing. Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, to how it holds you in place.

            “Wan Wan,” he said quietly.

            “Don’t,” she said, because she knew what came next, some form of ‘I’m Sorry,’ and she didn’t want to hear it, especially now, especially from him. “Please, just—”

            And then, as if the universe heard her, there was light. Bright white light, rising over the other side of the hill, splashing across them: instantly, they had shadows. They were squinting, Ren Chu raised one hand to shield his eyes. The car had rumbling engine, and it seems like it took forever to pull up beside them and slow to a stop.

            “Hey.” A man’s voice came from behind the wheel. “You kids need a ride someplace? What are you doing out here in the dark?”

            “Ran out of gas,” Ren Chu told him. “Where’s the nearest gas station?”

            The man jerked his thumb int the opposite direction. “About four miles that way. Where’d you break down?”

            “About two miles that way,” Ren Chu said.

            “Well, get in then,” he said, unlocking the back door. “I’ll run you up there. You about scared me to death though, walking out here in the dark. Thought you were deer or something. You know?”

            Ren Chu opened the door for her, holding it as she climbed in, then sliding next to her. The car smelled like cigarettes and as the man began to drive, she can make out his profile: he had white hair and a crooked nose, and he drove slowly. He’d just appeared out of nowhere, as if he’d dropped out of the sky or something.

            As she leaned back against the seat, her heart felt like it was shaking she couldn’t believe what she’d just done. There was no way take it back, from here on out, he was part of her story. Her story no longer hers alone, it was his as well.

            “That you?” the man asked, as they drove passed the van.

            “Yes,” Ren Chu said.

            “Well, there is no way you would have known,” he said. Lu Wan Wan looked at Ren Chu, unsure of what he meant until a minute later, they pulled up to the nearby gas station, all lit up. The neon sign in the window said, almost cheerfully, OPEN. “How close you were to the gas station.”

            “No,” Ren Chu said, shaking his head. “I guess we didn’t.”

            As they pulled up to the gas station, Lu Wan Wan turned to look at him, to say something, but he was already halfway out of the car, he walked around to the trunk of the car, where the old man handed him a gas can. She sat there, the fluorescent light was flickering above her, as the man went inside, as Ren Chu pumped gas, his back was to her, eyes on the number as they clicked higher and higher.  She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes when she heard a knock on the window. She turned towards the window and saw Ren Chu motioning for her to roll down the window.

            “Hey,” he said.

            “Hey.” She waited for what came next. What words would he say to try and make everything better?

            “I thought of one,” he said.

            Lu Wan Wan just blinked at him, confused. “What?”

            “想象 (imagine),” he said. And then he quickly added, “And don’t say that it’s wrong because it’s not. I’m willing to fight you on it.”

            She smiled at him. “I’m not going to argue with you. It’s correct.”

            The pump stopped, and he hung the hose back up, screwing the top on the gas can. “You need anything?” he asked. Lu Wan Wan shook her head ‘no,’ he walked toward the store.   As she waited for him, she heard buzzing from under her feet: her phone. She ped her purse and fished out her phone, pressing the ‘talk’ button as she raised it to her ear. “Hel—”

            “Where are you?” she heard Xu Xin Yi asked over the phone. She could also hear loud voices and music through the phone. “Do you know how worried we were? We have been waiting for you guys. Are you—”

            “We ran out of gas,” Lu Wan Wan said, “I left you a message. We were stuck out in the middle of nowhere.”

            “Message? What message? I didn’t get any—” she paused, as she presumably checked for the first time. “Oh. My. God! I am so sorry. Are you okay? Do you need me to come and get you?”

            “We’re fine. We got a ride and we’re getting gas right now.”

            “Oh, goodness,” she said, as she relayed the information to someone else on the to end, presumably Xu Xin Ru. “Wan Wan, this party is a bust. Just go back home. There is nothing, but ordinary boys here.”

            Lu Wan Wan turned her gaze towards the gas station, where Ren Chu was paying for the gas, as the old man looked on. “That’s too bad,” she said, with a smile on her face.

            “It’s okay,” Xu Xin Yi said, “I’ll show you an extraordinary boy. They do exist. Trust me on this, Wan Wan.”

            “I know they do,” she said, staring at the handsome man just a few feet away.

 

[Note: For the word chain game, I am not entirely sure how it's play since I am not fluent. I tried my best. If i'ts incorrect, please forgive me. ]