Kyoto Holiday
Xiao Bai had been holding back all the way, wanting to ask Ding Xuefei and that Actor Yu what was going on, but Ding Xuefei kept giving him warning looks and threatening him with "If you dare ask, I'll dock your bonus," so he didn't dare to say a word.
Only after getting off the plane and breathing in the slightly salty sea breeze of Kansai Airport, no longer having to worry about being in a cramped space with Yu Songlin, did Ding Xuefei grab Xiao Bai's neck in the back seat of the taxi and say fiercely, "Listen, you're not allowed to say a single word about that guy surnamed Yu or what happened in the lounge! Keep it to yourself! Got it?"
"I know, I know! Don't worry, boss! I'll keep my mouth shut!" Xiao Bai nodded hurriedly, almost swearing an oath to the heavens.
The car was quiet for a moment. Ding Xuefei guessed that Xiao Bai wouldn't give up his curiosity so easily, and sure enough, she heard him say:
"Um, boss, since I've been so tight-lipped, could you please tell me what's going on?"
*
It was a boring summer night. In fact, the first half of that summer was quite boring. Ding Xuefei was a junior in college. She didn't have a heavy academic workload, and there was nothing that would drain her energy. She had everything she needed except someone to date.
"Hey Xuefei, what do you think of that guy? Doesn't he look just like your future boyfriend?" Duan Jun patted Ding Xuefei and nodded.
Ding Xuefei followed his gaze and saw that he was quite handsome, with black hair and a gentle, innocent-looking face.
Duan Jun nudged him and couldn't help but urge, "Seriously? We've been waiting for you for half an hour. Why don't you just give us a week's worth of lunch and go back to the dorm earlier?"
Ding Xuefei lost a game to her roommate, and the punishment was to find a guy to confess to and get his phone number within a day.
Ding Xuefei was naturally unwilling to do such an embarrassing thing at school, so she went to a nightclub. After looking around and picking and choosing, she couldn't find anything suitable. She realized that if she didn't go back to the dormitory soon, the lights would be turned off.
Ding Xuefei walked towards him, ignoring the glares of her mischievous friends behind her. Upon closer inspection, she realized that this guy actually seemed quite decent. Ding Xuefei closed her eyes and prepared to die a glorious death; at worst, she would just get beaten up!
"Hey." He patted the man on the shoulder, and the man turned around.
The lights were dim, and the music was strange.
Ding Xuefei thought she was very composed, but what she said was actually distorted and incredibly hollow, yet she pretended to be confident.
"do you have a boyfriend?"
Great! The other person doesn't seem angry at all. Looking closer, I noticed how beautiful their eyes are—round and round. They should be easy to talk to.
He shook his head and smiled slightly.
Ding Xuefei mustered her courage and spoke up, feigning confidence: "Then...then can I be your boyfriend?"
He laughed again, a really happy laugh, not mocking, but as if he was charmed by her cuteness.
Ding Xuefei thought, "This person is so strange, but he's actually quite handsome when he smiles."
The boy said, "Are people always this direct these days?"
Oh my god, her voice is so nice, so gentle and just the right amount of gentleness.
"I'm going all in! Let's treat this as a once-in-a-lifetime adventure!" Ding Xuefei felt his face burning up as he uttered his final line, his voice trembling.
"Yes! Please give me your phone number!"
The other party was quite straightforward, taking Ding Xuefei's phone and entering a string of numbers.
The three roommates exchanged a glance, and Duan Jun said, "What's Yu Songlin up to? This isn't what we agreed on."
After returning to school.
Having already flirted, and thinking that the other person might not take it seriously, Ding Xuefei, having nothing better to do in class, started composing a text message.
Hi, are you busy? :D
"Hello! What are you doing?"
"Have you eaten? I ate very well."
Are you a student, or are you already working?
"If you don't answer, I'll call you brother?"
"Are you there, bro?"
"Brother, do you want to play games? Brother, carry me through the game, or I can carry you through the game too."
Ironically, this person would reply, even though on average Ding Xuefei would send ten messages for every one the other person replied to.
"Actually, I asked you for your phone number that day because I lost a bet with a friend, but you seemed really interesting, so I couldn't help but text you."
"Why haven't you blocked me yet? :P"
"You're not really trying to pick me up, are you?"
"Would you prefer milk or coffee?"
Do you like watching movies?
Did you miss me?
"Do you genuinely want to have a boyfriend?"
The other party replied: "It's true."
"I'm warning you, you'll be punished for toying with the feelings of innocent male college students."
Reply: "What's your name?"
Receiving replies in a row was a rare treat, and Ding Xuefei smiled happily and replied immediately.
Hmph, I can't just reveal my real name so easily, that would be too boring. Ding Xuefei thought for a moment and then typed.
"Superpowered Plush Bear!"
It was almost time for the elective course, and Ding Xuefei arrived early to reserve a seat. He sent out a message, but hadn't received a reply for several minutes, so he picked it up to check every now and then.
There seemed to be some commotion at the front of the classroom, but Ding Xuefei wasn't interested in knowing. She quietly stayed in the last row, waiting for his message.
It sounded like the girls were talking about something. Ding Xuefei looked up and was surprised to find that they were looking in his direction.
What's going on?
"Is anyone sitting here?" Yu Songlin couldn't help but laugh, so his next question was tinged with a deep smile, "A superpowered plush bear?"
Ding Xuefei whispered "no," put her phone aside, took out her textbook and pretended to read a few pages seriously, but in the end she couldn't help but bury her face in her arms and fumble with her phone under the table.
"I'm sorry! I really didn't know you were from our school!"
"I only asked for your phone number because I lost a game! That's not what I meant!"
Yu Songlin checked the two new messages, smiled, and moved slightly closer to Ding Xuefei, watching as the other person's ears turned red after he finished speaking.
What do you mean?
Later, when Ding Xuefei learned that Yu Songlin was younger than him, he never called him "brother" again.
Yu Songlin wasn't a student at their school either. He was Duan Jun's friend and was originally called in to mess with Ding Xuefei, but something went wrong at some point. He probably couldn't bring himself to refuse when he saw Ding Xuefei's face.
Although Ding Xuefei cursed Yu Songlin a thousand times in her heart after the breakup, she still felt quite moved whenever she thought of the ambiguity when they first met.
He didn't intend to tell anyone about these things.
Even if you told Xiao Bai, he probably wouldn't believe that the aloof boss would actually do something like pursuing someone.
That summer seems like it will never come back.
*
As soon as she landed, Ding Xuefei's bad mood caused by the chance encounter with her ex was completely dispelled by the spring breeze in Kyoto in April, which carried the faint fragrance of cherry blossoms.
Xiao Bai was a very competent assistant; he had already filled his phone with food guides, which he proudly showed to Ding Xuefei.
"Brother Fei! There's a century-old eel rice restaurant not far from here with amazing reviews! We can go now and avoid the peak meal times!" Xiao Bai suggested, his eyes sparkling.
"Let's go!" Ding Xuefei waved her hand, put down her luggage, and headed straight for her destination.
It truly lived up to its reputation. The small shop was quaint and cozy. The eel was grilled to a golden brown and glistening perfection, mingling with the aroma of white rice. With each bite, the crispy skin revealed a tender and sweet fish filling, while the savory sauce perfectly permeated the rice.
Without Guo Chu's nagging about diet control, Ding Xuefei ate until her eyes were squinted, temporarily forgetting all about the system and her ex.
"Mmm...delicious! Can I pack this up and take it home for Lu Huai and the others to try?" he mumbled indistinctly, taking another big mouthful of rice.
"Oops, I got photographed again!" Xiao Bai suddenly exclaimed in annoyance.
Ding Xuefei looked up from her eel rice and glanced at the phone Xiao Bai handed her. The photo was taken at Kansai Airport, clearly taken by a passerby. He was wearing a mask and sunglasses, standing tall and pushing a luggage cart with long strides.
"Tsk, this photo makes me look pretty handsome!" Ding Xuefei raised an eyebrow, tossed her phone back in a good mood, and continued to enjoy her food without a care in the world. "Relax, Japan is so big, and Kyoto has so many people, how are they going to pinpoint our location? Don't worry about it, just enjoy your vacation!"
Seeing how calm he was, Xiao Bai relaxed and chuckled, "That's right! Brother Fei, you should eat more!"
For the next two days, Ding Xuefei was completely immersed in the slow pace of spring in Kyoto.
Instead of flocking to crowded Kiyomizu-dera and Kinkaku-ji temples, he became fascinated with wandering through unknown alleyways.
Wearing a loose and comfortable hoodie and sweatpants, canvas shoes, a baseball cap pulled down, and sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose, he aimed to blend in with the local style.
In the early morning, stroll along the Kamo River with elderly men and women who are jogging, watching the water birds flap their wings on the river; in the afternoon, wander into a quiet alley with indigo-dyed curtains, discover a small hand-drip coffee shop with a rich aroma of coffee, and sit there for an entire afternoon, gazing at the swaying cherry blossom branches outside the window and letting your mind wander.
Xiao Bai was an extremely competent assistant. His phone was full of off-the-beaten-path food guides, and he could always find those hidden gems that were so delicious they would bring tears to your eyes.
Ding Xuefei munched on a crispy-skinned, juicy fried pork cutlet, slurped up chewy noodles, and drank a perfectly chilled Asahi draft beer, her eyes practically squinting with satisfaction. If she still didn't want to sleep at night, she'd go to an izakaya for yakitori, the sizzling chicken thighs grilled over charcoal, accompanied by a few drinks, listening to the whispers and laughter of Japanese around her—that felt like the real life.
*
Ding Xuefei's good mood lasted until the morning of the fourth day, when it was shattered by the "bad news" brought by Xiao Bai.
He slept until he naturally woke up, then lazily reached for his phone to text Xiao Bai: "I'm up, starving, going to find some food."
Xiao Bai replied instantly: "Got it! I've looked into it, let's rent a car today, go to Nishiki Market to shop and eat first, then go to Shijo Kawaramachi to do some shopping! We can get everything on the list!"
Ding Xuefei replied with a "Go for it!" emoji and sat up with a somersault.
Tourist attractions can be skipped, but gifts for family and friends, and his own coveted figurines and models, are absolutely essential!
As he brushed his teeth, he listened to Xiao Bai excitedly planning his route on the other end of the phone. Suddenly, as if remembering something, Xiao Bai said in a light yet mysterious tone, "By the way, bro, guess who I ran into this morning?"
Ding Xuefei, with a toothbrush in her mouth, mumbled, "Who is it? An undercover agent sent by Sister Guo?"
"No way! Bro, you'd never guess!" Xiao Bai's voice was tinged with excitement. "It's that guy we met at the airport last week, Actor Yu! What a small world, they're staying at this hotel too!"
"Pfft—cough cough cough!" Ding Xuefei almost choked on her mouthwash, coughing violently until her face turned red and tears streamed down her face.
Good heavens! Why are there people with the surname Yu everywhere?
"Brother, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"N-nothing," Ding Xuefei finally caught her breath and immediately went into high alert. "Tell me in detail how you encountered this!"
Xiao Bai, completely unaware of the bombshell he had dropped, continued with great enthusiasm: "It's in the hotel restaurant!"
Ding Xuefei's heart skipped a beat. Was this the only hotel in Kyoto?! Was her luck really that bad? What a nuisance!
Xiao Bai continued, "They saw that I was also Chinese, and they were quite friendly. They took the initiative to talk to me, saying that since we were both abroad, in a foreign land, we could look out for each other if anything happened. They even exchanged contact information with me!"
Ding Xuefei frowned. Huh? Yu Songlin has changed his ways like this now?
Wait a minute, Xiao Bai's reaction is very strange. Not only did I not notice his resistance, but there was also a little shyness in his excitement?
After considering the other party's team composition, Ding Xuefei instantly understood.
"Is it the girl with the bun hairstyle next to him?"
He knew it! Yu Songlin, that pretentious jerk, didn't seem like the type to say those kinds of things. It must have been that the young girl saw that Xiao Bai was handsome and well-behaved, so she struck up a conversation with him.
"Brother! You're amazing! How did you know?" Xiao Bai exclaimed on the other end of the phone.
Ding Xuefei rolled her eyes at the mirror: "How should I know? Even a fool could figure it out! Stop trying to get close to that guy's people! Hurry up and get ready, let's go shopping!"
He needs to quickly use the joy of shopping to dispel this sudden "bad luck"!
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