【14】Would you like to know more about Tan Xu besides the gossip?
This time, Tan Xu's friends didn't stand him up. After all her time at the pool hall "generating revenue," Liang Zhiyao greeted the owner for the first time. He was a Chinese-American who had been in business for just two years. After a few brief pleasantries, the two men went to the billiard room inside to play snooker, while she wandered the hall, looking for opportunities to play pool. A little after eight o'clock, Tan Xu sent her a message on his phone, asking if she wanted to come over. She replied, "Never mind, Friday nights are busy, and we need to make money quickly." Strangely enough, Liang Zhiyao felt awkward when they first found out, but over time, she felt more indifferent. Perhaps she'd finally figured it out: "Respect" ranks on Maslow's fourth level, a level above social needs. One shouldn't be too greedy, or else one will lose sight of the other. By the time the meeting was over, it was already past nine-thirty. Tan Xu produced two bottles of water from nowhere and gave her one. "Why are you so listless?" he asked. "Your performance wasn't good?" She said nothing. The results were indeed not good. She didn't know if it was because it was raining outside or for some other reason, but the pool hall was less crowded today. She only played against two people in total, and unexpectedly ran into a master with both strong strength and luck. She won three games out of five, and the opponent cleared the table with one shot in the first three games, leaving her no chance. The wins and losses offset each other. She didn't get any closer to the astronomical numbers on the calculator, and couldn't help feeling discouraged. Fortunately, seeing that she didn't intend to say anything, he didn't ask, turned up the music, and drove quietly. When turning the S-curve on the highway, the slender mineral water bottle placed in the passenger door was thrown out. Liang Zhiyao picked up the empty bottle from the ground, and suddenly remembered the last time. "Do you remember the last time I took your car home from Fortune?" "Two weeks ago?" he asked. "Yes. There was a cup of coffee Thea had drunk on your passenger door, with her name on the label," she said, "so when Ye Xin and I saw you at the bar, she guessed you two were dating, and I felt like I was reading a mystery novel, feeling that the foreshadowing in the front and the plot in the back were all connected." "...Is that so?" He exclaimed in surprise, and then teased: "Your observation skills are quite good, but your imagination is a bit too much, and you made up a breakup drama out of nothing. Can't two people drinking in a bar just be friends chatting?" "It's normal to have misunderstandings," she said. In fact, although Ye Xin was a gossip, she rarely made up stories or spread rumors. It was probably because Tan Xu had a "reputation" that she had a preconceived notion and made a mistake. "In short...
This time, Tan Xu's friends didn't stand him up. After all this time trying to "generate income" at this billiard parlor, Liang Zhiyao finally greeted the owner. He was a Chinese American who had been in business for just two years.
After a few brief greetings, the two men went to the billiard room inside to play snooker, while she looked for opportunities to play American billiards with others in the hall.
At around eight o'clock, Tan Xu sent her a message on his mobile phone, asking her if she wanted to come over and play for a while.
She replied, forget it, it’s a busy Friday night and she has to make money quickly.
Oddly enough, Liang Zhiyao felt awkward when the other person first found out about this, but as time went on, she started to feel indifferent. Perhaps she had finally figured it out: "Respect" is ranked fourth on Maslow's hierarchy, a level higher than social needs. One shouldn't be too greedy, or else one might lose sight of the other.
By the time the meeting was over, it was already past 9:30. Tan Xu produced two bottles of water from nowhere and gave her one.
"Why are you so listless?" he asked. "Didn't you do well in the battle?"
She didn't say anything.
Her results were indeed poor. She didn't know if it was the rain or something else, but the pool hall was sparsely populated today. She only played against two other players, and unexpectedly ran into a skilled and lucky opponent. She won three games out of five, and the opponent cleared the table with a single shot in each of the first three games, leaving her no chance.
Wins and losses evened out. She couldn't get any closer to the astronomical figure on the calculator, and she couldn't help feeling discouraged.
Fortunately, seeing that she had no intention of saying anything, he did not ask, turned up the music and drove quietly.
As they turned the S-curve on the highway, the slender mineral water bottle placed in the passenger door was thrown out. Liang Zhiyao picked up the empty bottle from the ground and suddenly remembered the previous mistake.
"Do you remember the last time I gave you a ride home from Fortune?"
"The one two weeks ago?" he asked.
"Yes. There was a cup of coffee Thea had drunk on your passenger door, with her name on the label," she said. "So when Ye Xin and I saw you at the bar, she guessed you two were dating. I felt like I was reading a mystery novel, and I felt like the foreshadowing in the beginning connected to the rest of the plot."
"...Is that so?" He sighed in surprise, then jokingly said, "Your observation skills are quite impressive, but your imagination is a bit exaggerated, making up a big breakup drama out of nothing. Can't two people drinking in a bar just be friends chatting?"
"It's normal to have misunderstandings," she said.
Although Ye Xin was a gossiper, she rarely made false accusations. It was probably because of Tan Xu's reputation that she had a preconceived notion and made such a mistake.
"I always feel like you have some prejudice against me." He then asked, "Do I really have a bad reputation?"
She hesitated for a moment and said: "No."
The pause made the answer seem insincere, but Tan Xu didn't care. Instead, he said something without a clear beginning or end: "Liu Siyan's car was scratched a while ago, so she took my car to go to the Asian supermarket. I think she put the coffee there at that time."
"Oh." He didn't actually need to explain to her.
Seeing Liang Zhiyao's perfunctory response, Tan Xu asked again, "You only denied the first question just now, right? So my reputation is really bad?"
"Well, you want to hear the truth?" she said. "Maybe... it's not very good."
Tan Xu raised an eyebrow and said nothing. The atmosphere was a little awkward.
Liang Zhiyao discovered that he really couldn't be the kind of person who could remain calm after saying something bad.
She didn't think she was a people-pleasing person, but when she saw the other person's expression, she felt that her straightforwardness was unnecessary and wondered if she had been too harsh.
If I had known that the result of speaking ill of others would be internal friction, I would have been better off being sophisticated and tactful from the beginning and saying things that everyone likes to hear.
So after a brief silence, she added carefully, "Just kidding, it's not that bad, um... not as bad as my reputation."
Tan Xu was from the business school, so he might not have heard the gossip circulating in the computer science department. However, the other person seemed to understand: "Oh, you mean that rumor about the three million gambling debt?"
"...A new version has been released so quickly?" She was stunned. "The last time I heard people from our school talking about it, it seemed like they hadn't even reached three million yet."
He laughed, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The rumor spread from the Computer Science Department to us. People in the Business School are really anxious to see the world in chaos. They probably can't stand pure storytelling without concrete numbers. Even spreading a rumor requires data to back it up. Otherwise, they feel it's lacking a bit of soul, so they add it for you."
After hearing his remarks, Liang Zhiyao couldn't stop laughing.
This guy is really interesting. He changed his personality again today. He is no longer pretentious nor childish. He has changed to a humorous and self-deprecating style.
She thought deeply about it and suddenly asked him, "How can you be sure it's just a rumor? We're not that close, are we? You caught me gambling with a stranger at Fortune. Doesn't that make me look like a desperate international student with gambling debts?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Then why?"
Tan Xu didn't answer immediately. Liang Zhiyao thought he was going to launch into some serious, lengthy speech, or perhaps attempt to logically dismantle the rumor. Instead, he pondered for a moment before finally saying, "Maybe it's because I'm smart. Rumors stop with the wise."
“…”It’s so cold.
She was completely speechless, thinking to herself that this man was indeed too frivolous. His self-deprecation was just a facade, and he soon reverted to his narcissistic nature.
"Just kidding," he suddenly changed his expression to be serious. "Rumors stop at the wise. This may be true, but who would seriously investigate whether the gossip after dinner is a rumor? Even a wise man would not have the energy to care about a stranger. So -"
They got off the highway and just as the red light ahead came on, the car stopped steadily in front of the sidewalk. He was able to take a moment to turn his head, look at her face and say seriously:
"So, it's probably because I met that 'Liang Zhiyao, who's not the one with the gossip' first, so I have my own judgment and what I'm willing to believe. Otherwise, whether I'm smart or stupid, it probably wouldn't make much difference."
She rarely heard Tan Xu speak so seriously, and she didn't know how to respond. The car fell silent again. Fortunately, the red light turned green, and the person in the driver's seat looked forward again, which prevented the atmosphere from becoming even more eerie.
Liang Zhiyao suddenly discovered that people who are always frivolous and unserious also have some advantages - this is probably a rather alternative expectation management. Once they say something seriously, it often has the effect of first suppressing and then praising, making people believe that this is what they say from the heart, and even a little moved.
It wasn't until Tan Xu parked the car in the basement that she finally said, "Thank you."
He asked, "Thank you for what? Ride?"
"Pfft—thank you for believing I don't owe three million. Although I do appreciate the ride."
Tan Xu locked the car and they walked towards the elevator.
"There should be many people who will believe you," he said after a while. "A lot of times people just like to gossip. Since it's gossip, of course the more sensational the better. In reality, people may not necessarily believe it so readily."
"Yeah." She nodded. "And it seems like rumors are like that. People close to you won't believe them, and it seems like there's no need to care what strangers think."
"Yeah," Tan Xu nodded, then suddenly changed the subject: "But I probably won't be that lucky."
"What's the meaning?"
"It's different from how I knew you. You heard about me from others first, and then got to know me as a person, right?" He said thoughtfully. "I don't know what that version of me was like, but from what you just said, it must have been terrible."
She didn't say anything, which was considered as her agreement.
"So, would you consider getting to know Tan Xu beyond the gossip?" He walked into the elevator, pressed the buttons for the 3rd and 6th floors respectively, and turned to look at her: "Maybe... he's not what you imagined."
Liang Zhiyao didn't answer at first. When he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a "ding" sound.
The elevator didn't ascend quickly from the basement level, but instead stopped at the first floor. Ye Xin walked in, her makeup done just after a date, looking exhausted.
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