Chapter 84: Naïve and Foolish

On the evening of the ninth day of the lunar new year, Wang Jie invited Li Dong to dinner.

By the time Li Dong arrived at the Hotpot City, Wang Jie was already drinking alone.

Seeing Li Dong, Wang Jie looked up and greeted, "Dongzi, you're here."

Li Dong nodded and sat down across from Wang Jie.

He glanced at Wang Jie, who no longer had the watermelon hairstyle or the youthful look from high school. Instead, Wang Jie now had a short, mature haircut.

Wang Jie, noticing that Li Dong had sat down, asked, "Beer or baijiu?"

"Baijiu."

Wang Jie scolded with a smile, "What beer in this cold weather? Let's have baijiu!"

"Then why did you ask?"

Wang Jie laughed heartily and filled Li Dong's glass, raising it, "We haven't seen each other in half a year. Let's have a drink!"

Li Dong clinked glasses with him, took a sip, and noticed Wang Jie downed his glass in one gulp. Li Dong frowned slightly.

The two didn't talk much after that. They enjoyed the hotpot and drank baijiu, occasionally discussing amusing stories from school.

During the meal, Li Dong suddenly asked, "Did you break up?"

Wang Jie's hand paused as he was picking up food. After a while, he self-deprecatingly said, "You have a talent for divination."

Then he laughed, "How about saying it's a matter of incompatible personalities?"

Li Dong said nothing and raised his glass to clink with Wang Jie's.

Both drank their fills, and Wang Jie soon started feeling uncomfortable, clutching his mouth and retching.

Li Dong poured him a glass of water.

Wang Jie drank the water and sighed in relief before laughing ruefully, "You know, it's amazing how people's hearts can change so easily."

"Back then, you said distance creates beauty, and I scoffed. Now, I believe it."

As Wang Jie prepared to drink again, Li Dong stopped him, "Don't harm yourself."

"Ha ha, that's true. Love belongs to others, but the body is mine," Wang Jie said, laughing with a flushed face.

As he laughed, his expression grew pained again, "Dongzi, why are women so changeable? I went to Beijing for her, just to protect this love. But in the end, it was all in vain, leaving me with nothing but wounds."

Li Dong had no words.

Wang Jie didn't mind and continued talking, "I've realized it. Love is bullshit. Nowadays, people would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle."

"Incompatible personalities? I laugh when I hear that!"

"It's just that others are richer than me, driving luxury cars, giving roses, and dining at fancy restaurants. Does he think I don't know anything?"

Li Dong remained silent, still finding it hard to believe that Chen Yue could turn out this way.

During the New Year, he had called Chen Yue, and she had been cheerful on the phone. It was hard for Li Dong to reconcile that cheerful woman with the materialistic person Wang Jie described.

Wang Jie continued drinking, and Li Dong didn't try to persuade him further.

As Wang Jie drank more, he suddenly choked up, "Dongzi, I regret it!"

---

When Li Dong sent Wang Jie home, Wang Jie kept lamenting his regrets, clearly drunk.

Li Dong couldn't guess what exactly he regretted.

Perhaps he regretted falling for Chen Yue in the first place?

Or maybe he regretted going to Beijing?

No matter what, this love that never existed in his previous life had ended in failure.

It seemed history was always being corrected by an invisible hand, adjusting all that shouldn't happen.

Li Dong felt a bit disheartened, wondering if his own butterfly would face such correction one day.

---

On the twelfth day of the lunar new year.

Li Dong had just seen Qin Yuhan off.

Once again, it was a farewell, and Li Dong seemed to have grown accustomed to Qin Yuhan's departure.

Watching the train to Beijing slowly leave, Li Dong stood for a long time.

As he turned around, Li Dong's footsteps faltered.

"You… are leaving today too?"

Like a blooming snow lotus, Yuan Xue smiled and said, "Yes, I'm also leaving today."

Li Dong opened his mouth, pointing at the departing train, "The train has already left."

"I saw that," Yuan Xue nodded, as if discussing something irrelevant.

Li Dong was stunned. You saw it? If you saw it, why aren't you on the train? There's only one train to Beijing every day from Qingyang!

"Is it important?" Yuan Xue asked curiously.

Li Dong's mouth moved, almost asking, "Isn't it important?"

But it seemed foolish to ask, so he ended up bitterly smiling and saying, "It seems it really isn't very important."

Yuan Xue smiled again, looking very happy, completely different from the frosty beauty Li Dong remembered.

This was their first meeting after the college entrance exam.

After a moment of silence, Li Dong asked, "Are you returning to Dongping?"

Yuan Xue shook her head, "I don't want to go back."

"Well then…"

Li Dong was at a loss for what to do.

Yuan Xue said with a smile, "Can you accompany me for a walk?"

Li Dong hesitated for a moment before Yuan Xue playfully complained, "The train has left and won't turn back."

Li Dong's face turned bright red, and he coughed awkwardly, "What nonsense, am I afraid of Qin Yuhan? I just want to go for a stroll."

After saying this, Li Dong wanted to slap himself!

Wasn't this just an obvious attempt to cover up his real feelings?

Still, feeling a bit guilty, Li Dong forced a laugh and said, "Well, I see you're carrying luggage, so it might be inconvenient. How about we do it another day?"

Yuan Xue looked at him silently, making Li Dong feel uneasy. Finally, she said, "You can go out with her every day, so can't you accompany me for a walk?"

Li Dong almost cried. You know about that? You must be following me around.

But he didn't dare to ask. In front of Yuan Xue, he always felt inexplicably guilty and timid.

He didn't know when this situation started, but it had probably been most severe since after the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month last year.

Since Yuan Xue's phone call, Li Dong had felt a kind of fear in facing her.

Eventually, Li Dong nodded, "Alright, where would you like to go?"

"Just around here."

Yuan Xue said and naturally handed her suitcase to Li Dong. Li Dong took it reluctantly.

As they left the station, Yuan Xue remained silent, making Li Dong feel awkward. He broke the silence, "Do you know Chen Yue and Wang Jie broke up?"

Yuan Xue nodded and sighed, "I knew they wouldn't work out."

Li Dong rolled his eyes. You knew? You're even better than me!

Yuan Xue seemed to sense his thoughts and said with a knowing smile, "Don't you believe me?"

Li Dong remained silent, his expression clearly disbelieving.

"Actually, they really weren't suited for each other. Wang Jie was timid and conservative, while Chen Yue was bold, yearning for beauty and romance. It might have worked for a while, but eventually, they were bound to break up."

Li Dong pouted, feeling like Yuan Xue was speaking like an expert on love.

Why is Chen Yue praised in your words while Wang Jie is portrayed as timid and cowardly? It's clearly feminism.

With a sense of justice for his fellow men, Li Dong countered, "But I heard Chen Yue was materialistic and ended up with a rich second generation."

Yuan Xue looked at Li Dong with a strange expression.

That look nearly drove Li Dong to a meltdown!

Why does she keep looking at him like that? Does she think it makes him look foolish?

Yuan Xue, seeing Li Dong's flustered reaction, laughed and said, "Why is it that when a woman likes a man, you all first think in terms of money? Can't there be true love between them?"

Li Dong didn't want to argue further, snorting, "That doesn't mean it was her reason for dumping Wang Jie."

Seeing Yuan Xue's familiar look about to appear again, Li Dong immediately interrupted, "Let's stop talking about them. Are you still planning to walk around, or should I take you to the hotel?"

Yuan Xue hesitated but finally couldn't hold it in anymore, "Actually, there are buses to Beijing from Qingyang. I've booked a bus ticket for half an hour later."

Li Dong's face changed repeatedly.

He felt like the biggest fool in the world!

No wonder Yuan Xue said the train leaving wasn't important. No wonder she looked at him strangely.

It turned out he was truly naive and foolish!

Li Dong felt like crying, overwhelmed by his own stupidity. He felt like Yuan Xue had played him.