Zhao Pingchi squatted on the fire escape in the back alley of the Internet cafe, the cigarette between his fingers had burned to the filter.
At one in the morning, a chilly breeze blew through his thin coat, but it couldn't quench the burning pain in his chest. His phone lit up with a message from Xi Wanrong: "I'm staying at my bestie's house tonight. Don't wait for me."
He stared at the message for three full minutes before suddenly crushing his cigarette butt against the wall. This was already the third time he'd stayed at a friend's house this week.
"Fuck!" Zhao Pingchi suddenly stood up, slamming the back of his head against the fire escape. The pain made his vision go black for a moment, but it was nothing compared to the burning pain in his chest.
He unlocked his phone tremblingly and logged into the cloud photo album account he had secretly memorized.
There was a new set of photos in the album.
The first photo was taken at the L'éclair dessert shop, with Chao Youye sitting by the window, the sunlight gilding his profile. The second photo was of Chao Youye standing up from behind, his shoulders sharply defined by his well-tailored suit.
Zhao Pingchi's fingers froze.
In the photo, the photographer's figure is clearly reflected on Chao Youye's coffee cup - the familiar cherry blossom hairpin was the birthday gift he bought for Xi Wanrong last week by saving money.
"It's another fucking secret photo shoot..." Zhao Pingchi's knuckles turned white and the phone screen creaked as he squeezed it.
He recalled the first time he caught Xi Wanrong secretly photographing Ye Qingliu. She'd said coquettishly that she'd just taken the photo because she thought it looked pretty. And now? Chao Youye? The Chao family heir?
Zhao Pingchi dialed the phone tremblingly, and it rang seven times before the call was picked up.
"What's wrong again?" Xi Wanrong's voice mixed with the background music came from some high-end place.
"Is the dessert at L'éclair good?" he heard his own hoarse voice.
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
"You looked through my phone?" Xi Wanrong's voice suddenly turned cold.
"Chao Youye." Zhao Pingchi bit the name as if he were chewing broken glass. "Are you fucking sick? One night of clear water isn't enough?"
"Zhao Pingchi," she suddenly laughed, and that laugh stabbed him like a knife in the heart, "Do you know how much that cup of coffee cost for Chao Youye? It's more than your day's salary."
This sentence was like a heavy punch, hitting Zhao Pingchi's temple.
He remembered the black card Ye Qingliu threw to him in the alley, his father's hesitant expression, and Xi Wanrong's focused gaze in the reflection of the coffee cup - the kind of gaze he had never received before.
"When you hit them," his voice was terribly low, "did you ever consider that I would feel pain too?"
Xi Wanrong was silent for a few seconds.
"Let's break up," she said. "You don't understand what I want."
The busy tone when the phone was hung up was like a slap in the face.
Zhao Pingchi stood in the alley and suddenly remembered their first date. Xi Wanrong held her phone in the same way, but the camera was aimed at the blooming cherry trees on the roadside.
And now, her lens always only features those unattainable young men.
"Oh shit......"
Zhao Pingchi's fingers unconsciously stroked the screen, as if this could erase Chao Youye's presence.
But the photo didn't move at all.
Just like reality - Chao Youye was born in a high position, and for Zhao Pingchi, even jealousy seemed ridiculous.
—Did she look at him like that too?
The thought stabbed into his brain like a knife.
When Xi Wanrong took this photo, was she like those star-chasing girls, secretly holding up her phone, her heart beating fast, afraid of being discovered? Did she stare at Ye Qingliu's profile for a long time, so long that she even forgot to breathe?
Zhao Pingchi suddenly remembered a time when he accompanied Xi Wanrong shopping in a mall. She stood in front of a window display, staring at a dress for a full ten minutes. He had jokingly suggested, "If you like it, go in and try it on," but she shook her head and pulled him away.
Later he found out that the skirt cost more than 8,000 yuan.
And now, she secretly took pictures of Ye Qingliu, just like when she looked at that skirt - longing for it, but not daring to reach out.
"Oh......"
Zhao Pingchi pulled the corners of his mouth, trying to laugh, but only a dry breath came out.
He exited the photo, his finger hovering over the "Delete" key, paused for a few seconds, and finally did not press it.
What’s the point of deleting it?
Xi Wanrong will have a backup in her phone, memories in her mind, and fantasies in her heart...
But he, Zhao Pingchi, will never be as good as the boy in the photo.
He turned off his phone, pushed open the toilet door, and walked back to his seat in the Internet cafe.
The game character on the screen was still standing there, with half of its health bar empty, like a forgotten defective product.
Zhao Pingchi stared at it for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his hand and slammed the keyboard hard.
"Brother Chi? What's wrong?" The younger brother next to him was startled.
"Nothing." Zhao Pingchi put on his headphones, his voice muffled by the fabric. "Playing games."
He controlled his character to charge into the enemy camp, pressing buttons frantically, as if he wanted to pour all his emotions that had nowhere to vent into the game.
The characters on screen die and are resurrected, then rush forward to die again, over and over again.
Just like his feelings for Xi Wanrong - even though he knew it would have no result, he still couldn't help but be a cheapskate.
My teammates' scolding came from the headset: "Zhao Pingchi, do you know how to play?!"
Zhao Pingchi didn't answer, but just stared at the screen. The scene when Chi Wanrong secretly photographed Chao Youye appeared in front of him——
She must have been very cautious and nervous, with her heart beating as fast as a thief.
——But she had never done this for him.
This realization hurt him more than any insult.
Zhao Pingchi suddenly took off his headphones and stood up to pay the bill.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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