Pandora’s Box

After class at five or six o’clock, I went out with Yuan Keke. She asked me, “Are you going back by subway? Do you still have money to take a taxi?”

“Neither of them,” I spoke triumphantly, “Zhuo Wenyang will pick me up and then, we’re going to eat, hehehe.”

A bit surprised, Yuan Keke sighed, “That’s good.”

Actually, it wasn’t supposed to be a sweet date between Zhuo Wenyang and me. It just so happened that Lu Feng decided to take Cheng Yichen to dinner tonight, so our small group of three made a reservation to have a big meal ourselves. The restaurant we chose was one that I recommended, premium Japanese teppanyaki.

Compared to the wonderful and luxurious teppanyaki, Zhuo Wenyang waiting for me overfilled my heart with joy and anticipation. I could see his tall and straight figure from a distance, waiting for me at the school gate. Even though I couldn’t see his face clearly, his silhouette was enough to make you feel as though you’d ascend.

A notification sound indicated a message on my mobile phone. I looked down and saw that it was Ke Luo chatting in our small group of three.

Ke Luo said, “Brothers, I have something to do temporarily so I can’t go.” He also sent a straight-faced, emotionless emoji.

“???? Just like that?”

Ke Luo frantically sent over emojis. “We are good brothers, how can I make it up to you?”

“Our friendship is over.”

“No, I’ll bring you milk tea later!”

Although I booked a reservation for three people, it didn’t really matter.

Then, I had a moment of inspiration and suggested to Yuan Keke next to me, “Why don’t you come to dinner with us? You don’t have to work part-time tonight. This will give you an opportunity to have dinner with your idol.”

Hearing this, Yuan Keke vigorously shook her head, “No need!”

“Hey, I know what you’re thinking, but we are old friends. We have a good relationship. Zhuo Wenyang and I are also good friends. Rounding that up, it means that you two are also friends. You don’t need to deliberately keep a distance from him.”

Yuan Keke still declined, “It’s really not good…..”

“What’s the problem,” I said, “Zhuo Wenyang doesn’t even feel the burden of acting as your idol, but you do?”

Yuan Keke continued to hesitate.

“Are you afraid that after getting close to your idol, his image will collapse and it’ll ruin your image of him?”

Yuan Keke didn’t say anything.

I patted my chest loudly, “I assure you, that absolutely won’t happen! Zhuo Wenyang is a man who can be seen from a distance and up close!”

We got closer as we were talking and I waved to Zhuo Wenyang, “Ke Luo won’t come tonight! So I’ll invite Keke and have her come to dinner with us?”

Wenyang nodded and greeted her, “Hello.”

“Wait, let’s go eat teppanyaki.” I asked her, “Do you like teppanyaki?”

“Well,” she said, “I’ve eaten at the one next to school.”

“Hey, that one is cheap. Today’s is completely different in quality.”

Yuan Keke immediately countered, “If it’s too expensive, I don’t want to go.”

I proudly said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s my treat.”

Yuan Keke waved her hands dismissively, “That won’t work.”

Zhuo Wenyang lightly said, “It’s okay, he likes to treat people to dinner. If you don’t let him treat you, he still won’t be able to save that money.”

“No way,” I clarified, “I only use my money to treat you, and I’ll even treat you to an extra cocoa today. Ke Luo didn’t even drink a cup of milk tea!”

Don’t make me sound like someone who’s nice to everyone, I thought.

Zhuo Wenyang looked at me and smiled, “Really?”

We all took Zhuo Wenyang’s car to the famous teppanyaki restaurant. The three of us sat down in the front row of the teppanyaki table, waiting for the chef to finish frying up the ingredients for us. Given that the two did not know each other very well, I naturally sat in the middle as their mutual friend.

The appetizer was crab salad with caviar. I turned to Zhuo Wenyang on the left and said, “Last time you said you didn’t like caviar, but you should try this. It’s not too salty and fishy because the crab meat is very sweet. Paired with cheese, the whole thing tastes fresh…”

Zhuo Wenyang took a bite and raised his eyebrows, “It’s really delicious.”

“Right? Their soup and bread are also worth eating.” I helped him tear a piece of bread, “This walnut bread served with truffle sauce has an intense aroma.”

“Oh, this bread is really delicious.”

After appetizers were served, cooked lobsters, plump scallops, and fresh Australian abalone were cooked.

“This abalone is very chewy, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s not too tough,” Zhuo Wenyang said, “I think my father will like it.”

Zhuo Wenyang and I continued our conversation until I had to turn my head over to glance at Yuan Keke. She was staring at us, looking uncomfortable.

It struck me to realize how inconsiderate I was being. Unlike Zhuo Wenyang, she had never been to such a fancy restaurant and would feel inevitably restrained. I simply thought that her school life was hard and so, I took her here to enjoy high-end food. Yet, I ended up ignoring her existence.

She was so uncomfortable and felt too out of place to lift her head, let alone serve herself food.

I quickly added two scallops onto her plate.

“You eat some of this.”

“Thank you.”

“You can pair scallops with this mentaiko sauce. It will be sweeter and it’ll add to the taste.”

Her eyes shot wide open. “It’s delicious!”

“Isn’t it?” I picked up another piece of lobster for her and said, “Their house sauce is very distinctive and very well mixed. You can dip it in with a little honey mustard sauce to enhance the taste.”

Zhuo Wenyang stared, “…..”

I hurriedly turned to Zhuo Wenyang and said, “I ordered your favorite Kobe Wagyu so you can eat more later.”

So this night, I was preoccupied on the left side and courteously taking care of the right side. My mouth did not stop talking the moment it opened but did not have much of a chance to eat.

After dinner, we went out. I ignored Yuan Keke’s polite refusal and helped her call a Shenzou special car for her to ensure her safe return to school. Then, I walked to the parking lot with Zhuo Wenyang.

Looking eagerly at his car, I asked, “Can I drive?”

I liked his car very much. I had a driver’s license and experience, but I didn’t have a vehicle of my own. His car made my hands itch, and I really wanted to drive it.

Without hesitating, he nodded, “Okay.”

On the way, I recalled that I originally intended for Yuan Keke to get in touch with her idol so that she could finally achieve her dream of writing an academic paper as soon as possible. What resulted instead was that they didn’t talk to each other tonight except for adding each other on WeChat out of politeness.

“What do you think of Yuan Keke?” She was his real 24K golden fan.

Zhuo Wenyang raised his eyebrows, “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Hey, she’s too nervous at dinner with you. Otherwise, she’s usually very chatty and funny.”

I truly appreciated Yuan Keke. She was down-to-earth, sincere, hardworking, and was not pretentious or bitchy.

Her family’s financial difficulties were obvious, but she happened to be pretty. Among the T University boys who chased after her to flirt, there were quite a few from well-off families. However, she seemed like she didn’t want to take these financial shortcuts at all.

I never made such a friend.

Most of the friends I had made were not poor, must less not materialistic. Of course, Zhuo Wenyang and Ke Luo were not materialistic but they had nothing to do with being “poor” at all.

Yuan Keke was the first girl I came into contact with who had economic distress weighing her down. She had the opportunities to get rid of this embarrassment quickly but chose to never lose herself in T City, an eccentric and ruthless city.

I sometimes thought about my friend in Nangao back then, Duo Duo. I didn’t know how she was doing, if she was still together with Mr. Fatty, and if she was still looking forward to a new Chanel bag every season.

Of course, I didn’t despise Duo Duo. I knew her. We were once mermaids in the dark sea, empathizing each other’s horrific self and self-defeating frivolity.

However, a girl like Yuan Keke showed me that life could be more meaningful and grounded.

Zhuo Wenyang shortly said, “You like her very much.”

Only then did I realize that I had praised Yuan Keke the entirety of the time. Hey, this girl really should grant me two chicken legs and help me with my homework. Look at me working so hard, helping her to eventually speak to her idol.

“Haha, she’s cute, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Zhuo Wenyang agreed, “but if you want to compare, she’s still not as cute as you.”

“…??!!!”

I almost drove the car onto the safety island. I whipped my head to look at Zhuo Wenyang and found him serious and earnest, and was not being frivolous.

I composed myself and asked, “Hey, why do you say that?”

“Based on my observation, you have cuter features than her.”

“…thank you.”

After returning home, in order to prove this point, Zhuo Wenyang created a “who is the cutest” pole online on WeChat. I voted for Yuan Keke while Yuan Keke and he voted for me, verifying the accuracy of his conclusion.

“… =___=”

Zhuo Wenyang made people think a lot, but he couldn’t think as much.

Not long after I returned home, I was hungry. I really missed the wagyu I didn’t finish, Kobe A5 Wagyu. It was perfectly fried and rich in fat. It was fried on the hot iron plate, resulting in a crispy outer shell and a beautiful pink cross-section on the inside. No wonder Zhuo Wenyang ate it while it was hot! There was also Angus Wagyu beef (??), with just the right chewiness, rose salt, and the taste…..

Why didn’t I have time to finish them?

Zhuo Wenyang looked at me, “Are you hungry?”

“Mm.”

He said, “It’s because you were too busy.”

“???” Did he just blame me?

Cheng Yichen and the others hadn’t returned back yet, so I could only rely on myself. “I’ll go to the convenience store and buy a small self-heating hot pot.”

Zhuo Wenyang shook his head and said, “It’s getting late so don’t eat such greasy food. Let me make you some porridge. There should be rice left by my father from lunch in the refrigerator.”

So, he quickly cooked me a porridge with dried scallops and lean meat. I strongly requested for him to add minced meat. It was really delicious!

Moreover, this was Zhuo Wenyang personally washing his hands to make soup for me alone. This was so gratifying!

After washing up and saying goodnight to each other, he stopped me and commented, “Speaking of which, Lin Jing, you like to treat others. You don’t have any money this time.”

“Hey, hey.”

Really, because I ordered king crab legs, lobster, and wagyu beef for this meal, I almost emptied out all of my pocket money saved up from squatting at home this time.

“If you’re short of money, don’t hesitate to ask my father.”

“I know that,” I said even though I was still very self-conscious.

He looked at me and suggested, “You can ask me.”

“…..”

I thought I needed to buy some blood pressure medication and melatonin. Otherwise, all the blood would rush to my head, causing insomnia throughout the night. This would be very bad for the body.