SES Chapter 36

Chapter 36

She’s not overthinking… right?

She was overthinking.

Mu Dai stood frozen in place. In the script she had planned in her head, this was the moment where she should’ve tilted her chin and scoffed something dismissive. But none of that happened. She didn’t even have the energy to wonder whether Luo Ren was telling the truth anymore—she just felt deeply wronged and completely humiliated.

She hadn’t slept well the night before. She’d written and rewritten that message over and over before finally sending it, anxious and on edge. Even in her dreams, it was all about him. When she’d nervously stood in front of him and finally asked her question, her palms had been sweating.

Mu Dai turned and walked away.

But then came hurried footsteps behind her. Luo Ren somehow cut in front of her and blocked her path. His voice, no longer confident, said, “Mu Dai, listen to me, I was just messing with you.”

Mu Dai didn’t speak. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and a sheen of tears glistened inside them.

Luo Ren instantly regretted it. He knew Mu Dai was prone to tears—he’d even teased her for being a little crybaby before—but today… she really shouldn’t have been made to cry.

“I was joking, Mu Dai. I’m sorry, okay? Don’t take it to heart.”

She had been holding it in, but his soft, apologetic tone just made the dam break. Tears started to fall in fat drops: “How is that something to joke about?!”

Luo Ren was filled with remorse. He didn’t even have tissues on him. He stepped closer and gently pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair softly. “I said I’m sorry, okay? What can I do to make it up to you?”

As he spoke, his eyes inadvertently flicked down to the courtyard below. There stood Uncle Zheng, Yiwansan, and Cao Yanhua, all craning their necks, mouths slightly open like they were watching a drama unfold. Even Ping Ting was giggling behind her hand.

A line of sweat appeared on Luo Ren’s forehead. He leaned down and whispered in Mu Dai’s ear, “Everyone’s watching, Mu Dai…”

Still choked with tears, she muttered, “Then you… announce it…”

Luo Ren relaxed a little. Good, she was back. She was shy and proud—this kind of thing was on him to say out loud.

Only, he’d never done anything like this before. Under the weight of all those curious eyes, he felt a bit awkward. “Yes… what you’re seeing is real. Starting today, Mu Dai is my girlfriend…”

Not sure what else to say, he braced himself and added, “Um… how about a round of applause?”

Zheng Bo and Yiwansan were still trying to process everything, but Ping Ting started clapping enthusiastically—clap, clap, clap. Cao Yanhua, spurred on by her excitement and the fact that this was his mentor’s big moment, was about to join in when—

Mu Dai suddenly shoved Luo Ren away.

He’d been too distracted watching the crowd and hadn’t braced himself. He stumbled back several steps.

Tears still wet on her cheeks, Mu Dai now stood tall, her face a mask of righteous fury.

Luo Ren knew that look. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Who’s your girlfriend? Who? Did I agree to that? Did I ever say ‘I agree’?”

Then she spun on her heel and stormed off down the stairs.

The onlookers fell silent.

Once she reached the bottom, Mu Dai turned into a little general and glared at Yiwansan and Cao Yanhua. “Move it!”

The two looked at each other, then scrambled after her like loyal sidekicks.

Luo Ren leaned over the railing, watching them disappear, heart sinking like a stone. Ping Ting sighed and went back to sitting by the koi pond, poking at the fish with a bamboo stick, chasing them into hiding.

After a beat of silence, Uncle Zheng burst out laughing and pointed up at Luo Ren like he was pressing an invisible button on his forehead.

“Serves you right! Luo Xiaodao! That’s what you get for joking around—look what happened now. You messed up, didn’t you? Thought you were smooth, thought you were charming. Figured you could just say, ‘She’s my girlfriend,’ and she’d come running? Did you get her permission? Did she say she agreed?”

This old man, always ready to kick someone while they’re down…

Luo Ren gritted his teeth.

Uncle Zheng laughed like he hadn’t had this much fun in ages. “You deserve it! Luo Xiaodao, you need someone to keep you in line!”

Then he turned to Ping Ting. “Tingting, what do you want for lunch? Uncle will cook for you.”

Tingting tilted her head up and beamed like a little kid. “Meat!”

—

Back at the bar, Cao Yanhua was excitedly retelling the whole drama to Uncle Zhang, adding plenty of flair. Uncle Zhang chuckled, completely forgetting he’d told them he’d only stay an hour. “Oh ho, the young man’s making a move, huh?”

Then he added, “That’s right—girls should play hard to get. Can’t let them win too easily.”

Cao Yanhua disagreed. “But Uncle, my Brother Luo’s got great qualifications. He’s handsome, and did you see his car—?”

Uncle Zhang immediately wavered. “Ah, Mu Dai, don’t be too aloof. Know when to quit while you’re ahead.”

Mu Dai was speechless. If this were wartime, Uncle Zhang would be a double agent with how fast he switches sides.

Cao Yanhua, still grinning, turned to Yiwansan. “So what do you think? Is there hope? Wanna bet on it?”

Yiwansan snorted. “Bet what? Isn’t it obvious? They were hugging, weren’t they? You think you can hug someone if there’s no mutual interest?”

Back when he was young and foolish and crushing on Mu Dai, he’d even tried to hold her hand once—used his drawing skills as an excuse.

And what happened?

She shut him down so hard he couldn’t lift a bowl for three days.

—

That night, Luo Ren showed up at the bar to make peace.

It was pretty crowded. He chose a corner table and sat quietly. Uncle Zhang greeted him warmly, Yiwansan gave him a nod from behind the bar, and Cao Yanhua zipped over to chat several times.

Only Mu Dai, “too busy,” paid him no attention. When she finally had a moment, Cao Yanhua, looking every bit the bribed middleman, gently nudged her: “Hey, boss lady, you should at least take his order. He’s hogging a table.”

So Mu Dai walked over, slapped the menu on the table, yanked a pen from her apron, and said coldly, “What do you want?”

Luo Ren smiled at her. “Mu Dai, can we talk?”

She tapped the menu with her finger. “We’ve got soda, coffee, and cocktails. ‘Talk’ isn’t on the menu.”

Luo Ren gave a helpless smile and ordered a coffee. He sat there for over half an hour. When he finally got up to leave and pay, Mu Dai asked, “No tip? After such stellar service?”

Then she tossed him the bar’s suggestion notebook.

Luo Ren nodded. “You’re right.”

He borrowed her pen, jotted something down in the notebook, and pulled two hundred-yuan bills from his wallet. He watched as she grinned smugly and pocketed the money, thinking: Fine, take it—it’s not like it’s leaving the family.

After he left, Mu Dai sneakily grabbed the notebook and flipped to what he’d written. His handwriting was neat, just like him.

“This server provided excellent service—highly commendable.”
— Sincerely apologizing.

Mu Dai burst out laughing.

Uncle Zhang walked by and sighed. “Know when to quit while you’re ahead, little boss lady.”

—

And so it went for three days. On the third afternoon, Cao Yanhua came back from a stroll and said a bunch of tour buses had arrived—some big company doing a group outing. Sure enough, that evening the bar was unusually quiet as wave after wave of tourists filled nearby restaurants, snapping photos, shopping, and making noise until past nine.

Around ten, Uncle Zheng strolled in cheerfully. Ping Ting had taken her meds and gone to bed early, so he had time to wander. He’d been meaning to visit ever since Luo Ren kept mentioning the “neighbors.”

Though he wandered the bar once, most of his time was spent chatting with Yiwansan at the counter. As Mu Dai passed by, she caught fragments of conversation:

—“Ping Ting gets along with you. Amazing how you make time every day.”

—“The air here’s better. Her complexion’s much improved.”

—“The doctor said… well, they can’t say for sure, but Ping Ting’s probably on the better end. She’s not the wild, out-of-control kind. I just keep hoping—maybe one day she’ll get better. That’d be a miracle…”

Ping Ting, Ping Ting—every sentence had her name.

Even someone like Yiwansan sat there patiently listening. Mu Dai thought to herself, if it were her, she’d be sick of it by now… Truly unexpected.

And wait—Yiwansan visited Ping Ting every day? She had no idea. He made use of every spare minute…

Mu Dai leaned on an empty table, twirling a pen between her fingers. Uncle Zheng wandered over.

“Mu Dai,” he said, “Luo Ren told me he’s been getting the cold shoulder every day.”

Oh yeah? Mu Dai felt a little embarrassed… but also amused.

Uncle Zheng continued, “The ball’s in your court. If you like our little Luo Xiaodao, don’t keep icing him out forever. Gotta give him a little sweetness sometimes.”

She was stunned. Did he just say “sweetness”? What was he, eighty?

But Uncle Zheng went on like a wise old sage: “I can tell. You two like each other, but it’s still shallow. This kind of feeling’s like a seed—it needs care to grow. Once it becomes a tree, it’s solid. Then no matter how much you mess up or throw a tantrum, he won’t leave. That’s when you’ve got him.”

Mu Dai bit her lip, smiling. First, Uncle Zhang told her not to be too aloof. Now, Uncle Zheng was giving her love lessons. Felt like the whole world was trying to coach her into a relationship.

“Don’t blow it right at the start. Don’t end up like Luo Wenmiao and Luo Ren’s mom. One misstep… and it’s a lifetime of regret.”

Mu Dai blinked. “Luo Wenmiao and Luo Ren’s mom?”

Uncle Zheng sighed. “Who else? She said one thing, and Luo Wenmiao took Luo Xiaodao in for six years. You think just any relative would do that?”

Then, sounding a bit bitter, he added, “I spent ten years trying to match Luo Xiaodao with Ping Ting. I thought if we older folks couldn’t make it work, at least the kids could. Who’d have thought…”

He let out a deep sigh. “Then you came along, like a bolt of lightning outta nowhere, ruined everything.”

Mu Dai laughed so hard her stomach hurt. As Uncle Zheng slowly wandered away again, she took off her apron and tossed it to Cao Yanhua.

“I’m heading out. You’re covering.”

Cao Yanhua calmly tied the apron around his waist, struggling to get the strings to meet. It wasn’t his waist’s fault, he muttered—it was the apron’s string that was too short.

Someone in the corner yelled, “Waiter, can we order?”

“Oh, what the hell,” Cao Yanhua muttered, tossing the apron over his shoulder like a towel. Then, in a thick Beijing opera accent, he called out, “Coming~!”

—

Just then, Uncle Zheng was wrapping up a conversation with Uncle Zhang when he looked up and saw Luo Ren coming out from the back of the bar.

He jumped. “You—weren’t you at home?”

It was a ridiculous question—Luo Ren was right in front of him. But Luo Ren just smiled. “I took a walk and picked up a few things.”

Uncle Zheng immediately grabbed his arm and started pushing him toward the door, whispering urgently, “Go, go, hurry up and get back. I just tricked Mu Dai into going to find you.”

This old man! Luo Ren didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Years ago, Uncle Zheng spent every day trying to pair him with Ping Ting—and now suddenly it was Mu Dai?

Luo Ren turned back the way he came. The walk from the bar to his place wasn’t far, but you still had to go through a few alleys. It was getting late, and most shops were closing up.

In the distance, he saw Mu Dai.

His heart lifted—then dropped.

She was standing motionless in front of a Sichuan restaurant, the owner beside her, looking helpless and fidgety.

What’s going on? Luo Ren broke into a run. “Mu Dai?”

As he got closer, he finally saw—and his expression changed.

Mu Dai stood with her head bowed. Oil dripped from her hair, her face, her body—red oil, the kind used in spicy fish soup. Someone had dumped an entire bowl over her head. Peppercorns clung to her hair, red chili and white fish slices clung to her shoulders. Even her eyelashes were soaked in chili oil. She kept blinking—she must be in pain.

Luo Ren rushed to her and grabbed her hand. “What happened?”

She didn’t speak. Her lips quivered, and she trembled all over like a frightened animal. Her hand was icy cold.

Luo Ren took out a handkerchief and tried wiping her down. But the oil was too thick—one swipe turned the pristine white cloth completely red.

His eyes snapped toward the restaurant owner.

The chubby middle-aged man waved his hands frantically. “It wasn’t me! I swear! I kept asking if she was okay, told her to come in and clean up, but she didn’t say a word.”

Then he added nervously, “Good thing that table had been eating for a while. If that dish had just come out, the oil would’ve been hot. Can you imagine?!”

Luo Ren’s eyes narrowed like a blade. “Are you saying… someone poured it on her?”

He finally realized: the spot where she stood was far from the restaurant tables. On the ground at her feet, a puddle of red oil and soup ingredients had formed—she hadn’t moved an inch.

This wasn’t an accident.

Someone had walked right up to her, holding that bowl, and dumped it straight over her head.