Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Back to a tiny, 90-square-meter apartment, Xiyan took off the coat.
She laid the black coat on her bed, rummaging through every pocket until a business card was found in an inside pocket.
There was the man’s information –
Ye Hao, General Manager of Chenyuan Trade LLC.
Underneath the name and title were his email address and a QR code.
She scanned the code with her phone and a low resolution profile of a man playing guitar popped up. His name, Ye Hao, was used as his alias.
This is his WeChat profile.
Should I add him? Xiyan crumpled a bit, hesitant.
Never mind, I’ll add him tomorrow. It’s late anyway. He probably had gone to bed already. It would not polite to bother anyone this late at night.
She threw herself in bed and fell asleep soon. She’d been crying too much and eating too little. Plus she didn’t get much sleep lately, she had worn herself out.
It had been 2 pm when she woke up.
After changing she cooked herself a tomato and egg noodle, the one she used to enjoy, except she couldn’t taste anything this time.
She kept feeding herself despite her eluded craving for food for fear of starving to death without some calories to burn.
She took out the business card from the closet and scanned the QR code again. This time she went on sending a friend request with a note saying: Woman at the theater from yesterday, please add me.
It was quickly agreed.
The man greeted her with a polite smile.
She replied back with the same smiling emoji, her lip twitching.
(From He Xiyan) “Hello, Mr. Ye, sorry to bother you, but could you please let me know where to find you? I want to return the coat. Thank you for yesterday!”
Xiyan kept staring at her screen after sending that out, waiting for his response.
The coat is worth almost 20,000 RMB. Many needed to work for months to have that money. She had to return it.
The screen showed the man’s response before long.
“I was only in the city for a business trip and has left this morning. You can keep the coat.”
A frown climbed up on her face. No, she must return it.
“I’ll ship it to you, then. Please send me an address.” She insisted.
This time she was left hanging for a while and didn’t hear back from him until two hours later.
“I have plenty of coats like that at home, so you can keep it. Besides, why would I wear something that has been worn by a woman?”
Hm…
Xiyan sensed extreme despise. True, with her crying like that the coat probably stank already. He clearly thought so.
“Alright, I’m really sorry! I’ll apologize in person if I have a chance. ” She felt worse, for ruining a coat that expensive for someone. It was such a misfortune for him to meet her.
The man followed up with another message:
“No need to apologize. You can thank me with a meal. Also, don’t you have a job? Go find something to keep you busy instead of lingering on some relationship nonsense.”
Xiyan paused, staring at his last message. Tears started pooling again.
She wasn’t “lingering on some relationship nonsense”; it was her marriage. She even lost her only family.
She drew a tissue and wiped her swollen eyes. Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, haggard, she looked ages older.
Are you going to continue like this? He Xiyan, what’s wrong with you?
She questioned herself in the mirror, the one that scared herself, lips pursed. Perhaps she should try to make some changes. Perhaps she wouldn’t be so miserable that way, drowning in sorrow.
She sparred herself on the head. She hated herself in that state.
