Qian Fei didn’t end up spending the last day of the year alone after all.
At eight in the morning, she was awakened by her phone ringing.
Cradling her throbbing, hungover head, she answered the call. Yao Jingjing’s voice came through, as solemn as if she were singing the national anthem: “Feifei, I’ll be at the Capital Airport in two hours. Come pick me up!”
Qian Fei’s heart skipped a beat, sobering her up considerably. “Alright! Send me the flight details, I’ll be there on time!”
After hanging up, she noticed her eyelid twitching.
She suspected something must have happened to Yao Jingjing in Dalian.
She got up to wash and was about to leave when Li Yifei emerged from his room with disheveled hair to use the bathroom.
After a moment’s thought, she stopped him. “Li Yifei, I probably won’t be able to make you stir-fried eggplant tonight. Why don’t you eat out with your girlfriend?”
Li Yifei looked at her, bewildered. “Huh?”
In a rush to leave, Qian Fei said, “What do you mean ‘huh’? I’m saying I’ll be spending the evening with someone else, so don’t come back especially to have dinner with me!”
She finished speaking and noticed Li Yifei staring at her intently. A few seconds later, he replied expressionlessly: “Understood.” Then he turned stiffly and went to the bathroom.
Qian Fei had no time to analyze the emotions behind those three words. She hurried out the door.
After Li Yifei came out of the bathroom, he was wide awake and couldn’t go back to sleep.
He texted Da Jun: I’ll take Jin Tian out during the day. In the evening, could you organize a KTV gathering for us to celebrate New Year’s Eve together?
A moment later, Da Jun replied: Li Yifei, you bastard! You called me drunk at 2 AM last night saying we weren’t meeting today, and now you’re telling me to organize a gathering for tonight! You jerk, do you think I won’t end our friendship?
Li Yifei responded: Don’t make a fuss. Your brother is in a bad mood.
Da Jun, ever the chatterbox, asked: What’s wrong? What happened? Did Jin Tian upset you? So you don’t want to spend the evening with her? But didn’t you just say you were taking her out during the day?
Feeling a wave of irritation, Li Yifei replied: Stop asking. Just organize the gathering!
How could he tell Da Jun that he was upset because the tomboy had ditched him? They’d tease him about it for a year.
When Qian Fei picked up Yao Jingjing at the airport, she was startled.
“What foundation did you use? Your face is way too pale!” Qian Fei peered closely at Yao Jingjing’s face, teasing her.
Yao Jingjing looked as if she had just done something monumental and was exhausted. “Stop it, I’m tired! Quickly take me to your place so I can sleep!”
Yao Jingjing had given up her rented apartment in the second month after going to Dalian. Now her only refuge was Qian Fei’s debt-ridden little place.
Qian Fei led her to get a taxi. Sitting in the car, she asked Yao Jingjing, “What’s wrong, Demon? Why are you so listless during the New Year?”
Yao Jingjing replied wearily, “I’ll tell you the details when we get home. Let me sleep for now. I barely slept last night, and on the plane, the kid next to me kept kicking me the whole way. I haven’t had a chance to close my eyes until now!”
Qian Fei guided Yao Jingjing’s head to her shoulder. “Poor thing, hurry and rest on your big sister!”
Yao Jingjing leaned on her shoulder, wrapping both arms around one of Qian Fei’s. “Feifei, it’s so good to have you!”
Qian Fei patted her shoulder with her free hand. Yao Jingjing quickly fell asleep. Looking at her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes, Qian Fei’s heart sank. She could no longer maintain the lighthearted teasing from earlier.
She felt certain that Yao Jingjing must have suffered some injustice in Dalian.
When Qian Fei brought Yao Jingjing home, Li Yifei had already left.
She made a pot of porridge for Yao Jingjing and blanched some broccoli. After eating, Yao Jingjing collapsed onto her bed and slept like the dead. When she finally woke up, it was already evening.
Qian Fei was preparing dinner when Yao Jingjing, after washing her face, came to help in the kitchen.
“I’m making a few special dishes tonight. We’ll celebrate New Year’s Eve together!” Qian Fei said excitedly.
While sorting vegetables, Yao Jingjing studied Qian Fei. “Feifei, are you dating someone new?”
Qian Fei shook her head while scrubbing a pot. “No, why do you ask?”
Yao Jingjing tilted her head, looking at her thoughtfully. “Impossible! You look better than before, and you’ve become more feminine!”
Qian Fei chuckled. “So you’re saying dating makes people look better? Then why did you say I looked more and more like a country bumpkin when I was with Wang Ruohai?”
Yao Jingjing examined her closely. “If it’s not dating, then someone must be pursuing you! Just like Auntie did back then!” She paused, then added, “Feifei, I’ve noticed you can now mention Wang Ruohai calmly and on your initiative!”
In the short months she’d been away, Qian Fei seemed to have undergone many changes, which surprised her.
Qian Fei lit the stove and poured oil into the wok. While waiting for the oil to heat up, she thought for a moment. “I guess you’re right. It seems I don’t get angry anymore when mentioning that bastard Wang Ruohai!”
Yao Jingjing smiled. “That’s great, you’ve finally let him go!”
Qian Fei tossed the fish into the wok to fry. Yao Jingjing, having finished sorting the vegetables, stood nearby with a plate, waiting to transfer the fried fish.
“Demon, why did you suddenly come back from Dalian?” Qian Fei tried to ask casually.
“Nothing much, just tired,” Yao Jingjing replied briefly.
Qian Fei sensed something was seriously wrong. She had never seen the talkative Yao Jingjing so tight-lipped, nor had she ever known Yao Jingjing to refrain from chatting and joking with her.
She stopped asking and focused on cooking.
She fried a fish, stewed potato and beef brisket, stir-fried shrimp with bamboo shoots, made a cucumber and jellyfish salad, and prepared an egg drop soup. After finishing the dishes, she sat Yao Jingjing down at the table. After a moment’s thought, she went to the kitchen and brought out some leftover beer she and Li Yifei had been drinking.
“I’ve been thinking, even though we’ve been close friends since school, we’ve never had the chance to celebrate New Year’s Eve together. Today, we must have a proper celebration!” Qian Fei opened a beer and handed it to Yao Jingjing.
Yao Jingjing took the beer and looked at it. “Imported? Feifei, who provoked you into improving your quality of life?”
Qian Fei laughed it off. “I didn’t buy these. That spendthrift did!” She pointed towards Li Yifei’s room.