The Lady I Flirted With Is Here - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Mutual Understanding

By the time Fang Daiyu was ready to leave work, the daylight had vanished. As far as the eye could see, there was only a vast darkness, punctuated by the lights of distant skyscrapers that served as the only proof of the city’s bustling prosperity.

However, Beijing couldn’t quite match the clamor of Shanghai, especially where Fang Daiyu lived in the quiet, old district of Haidian. Her office was only eight hundred meters from her home—a single bus stop away—yet she preferred to take a leisurely stroll through the shimmering shadows of the trees on breezy nights. It was in this silence that she could recapture the leisurely memories of her childhood hometown.

Being alone in Beijing felt a bit lacking in warmth; it would be best if a lover were by her side. As Fang Daiyu passed a small, lit-up shop, the warm yellow light cast a triangular shadow onto the road. In a daze, she looked up, almost experiencing an illusion.

She imagined a girl with jet-black hair and crescent-moon eyes—cute and obedient—standing under a streetlamp not far away, waiting for her to come home.

The house would be tidied by her; oh, and there would be steaming hot food waiting.

Thinking this, the lines of her face softened unconsciously. But when she focused her gaze again, there was only the early autumn night wind swirling fallen leaves. Where was the warmth? She was simply lovesick.

In just a day and a night, she had started fantasizing like a green, love-struck teenager—dreaming of the start of a romance, then skipping ahead to the cozy beauty of living together. She really shouldn’t!

Could it be that I’ve been single for too long and I’m just lonely?

Her profession was specialized; she rarely encountered young girls, let alone someone who suited her tastes so perfectly.

That girl she had noticed—first secretly checking her reflection in a mirror by the roadside, then meeting her again at the fan event—made her marvel at the coincidence of fate. Seeing the “kid” stealing glances at her from time to time had made her heart swell with the secret hope that spring had finally arrived.

And now—

Her phone was still stuck on the reply she sent today: “Who are you?” Her little Chibi Maruko-chan hadn’t replied for four hours and thirty-eight minutes.

This caused a flicker of regret in Fang Daiyu.

This social circle was narrow enough as it is; why push away the lamb that had delivered itself to her door? When you like something, you should take the initiative to fight for it.

Gritting her teeth, she sent another follow-up message: “Sorry, I looked at it wrong. What I meant was, little sister, you didn’t add the wrong person, did you? I’m the ‘Jiu Wu’ from that day.”

At that moment, Lin Xian’s phone was lying on her desk. Due to her “coming out” incident in her freshman year, her mother and the school didn’t allow her to live on campus anymore. However, they weren’t too extreme; they kept her bed for her. When it was just the Northeast girl in the dorm, Lin Xian would go back and stay for a few nights. That afternoon, just after she finished washing her hair, her other two roommates returned. Seeing this, Lin Xian silently packed some books and headed back to her rental.

Her rental was not far from the school. Beijing’s housing prices were terrifying, but even so, to prevent her from having “improper relations” with girls, her mother insisted on renting her a single room for over 3,000 yuan a month.

This room was the second bedroom in a three-bedroom apartment. The flat was rented by a classmate and her boyfriend; Lin Xian took one room, and the remaining room was shared by two other girls from her class who were studying for their postgraduate entrance exams.

The moment the WeChat notification chimed, Lin Xian lunged at the desk. Seeing the message, she hugged her phone and jumped onto her bed. The Northeast girl was right—the other woman likely had some interest in her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have reached out again after so long.

Lin Xian struck while the iron was hot for Step Two. She pretended to be oblivious and replied instantly: You’re the short-haired older sister who sat next to me that day, right? If you’re her, then I didn’t add the wrong person.

Less than a hundred meters from home, the buildings of her residential complex were faintly visible. Fang Daiyu was wondering if she’d receive a reply by the time she walked through the door. To her surprise, before she even reached the gate, her phone buzzed. Surely it’s not that coincidental? She opened it; it really was the girl’s reply. But shortly after her joy, her old habit kicked in. Fang Daiyu typed out: “Did Microscope Girl take a trip to outer space?”

Huh? Lin Xian scratched her head. Why was she saying she went to space? Lin Xian sent back a question mark.

Fang Daiyu explained, somewhat unyieldingly: “Four hours and forty-five minutes.”

Lin Xian finally understood and felt her face flush. She wasn’t good at lying, but she had to try, clumsily explaining: “I had class at noon. I didn’t bring my phone, so I just saw it now.”

“Is that so?” Fang Daiyu chuckled. Kid, you hadn’t even added me as a friend at noon. After a thought, she decided to let the girl off the hook.

Lin Xian toughened her resolve: “Yes!”

While the capital offense was pardoned, a lesser punishment was unavoidable. A strange sense of possessiveness over being ignored surfaced in Fang Daiyu: “Then let’s not have a second time, classmate Microscope.”

On the other end, Lin Xian nodded like a chick pecking at grain. Realizing the other person couldn’t see her, she hurriedly replied: Okay okay okay.

The three consecutive “okays” dispelled Fang Daiyu’s gloom from the day. She had to cross a road to get home, so she held down the voice message button: “I’m on my way home from work, just crossing the street. I’ll chat with you when I get home.”

A four-second voice message arrived. Lin Xian never expected it. Remembering the woman’s beautiful voice, she tapped it with an excited heart.

Like a flustered child, Lin Xian typed back: “Stay safe. I’ll wait for you.”

Fang Daiyu saw it and smiled—a natural smile that made the night seem different. She could almost hear the girl’s soft, sweet voice saying, “I’ll wait for you.”

“I’ll wait for you”—what a phrase to spark one’s imagination. Those four words were enough to warm Fang Daiyu’s heart.

She sent back a voice message saying “Okay.”

Lin Xian, at the other end of the network, didn’t know Fang Daiyu was only steps away from her door. Under the glow of her room’s light, she didn’t dare move, her eyes wide with tension as she sat on her bed, waiting for the news that the other woman had arrived home.

She said “I’ll wait for you,” so she truly put everything down to wait in silence.

Lin Xian watched the time in the corner of her phone screen tick by. To her surprise, only two minutes later, a message arrived: “I’m home.”

Lin Xian’s eyes lit up: That was fast!

Fang Daiyu replied: “I was almost home just now. Why? If it took me a long, long time to get home, would you still wait for me?”

Fang Daiyu was changing her shoes at the entrance, her mood light enough to tease.

“Of course,” Lin Xian replied.

“Even if it took an hour?” Fang Daiyu walked into the living room and flicked on the light.

“I’d wait even for two hours.” After sending it, Lin Xian worried she sounded too eager or suspicious, so she added a neutral follow-up: “It’s a matter of politeness; you should do what you promised.”

Fang Daiyu was delighted by the first sentence, but her face fell at the second.

Politeness? So it’s just the distance of Internet friends? Was I just being wishful? She realized she shouldn’t be too familiar too fast, or she might come off as “greasy.” The other girl was still a student who hadn’t left campus; she would naturally be wary of strangers.

What should we talk about?

Fang Daiyu walked to the balcony and looked at the scenery outside. She typed: “I forgot to ask your name? If you don’t mind, I’d like to update your contact info.”

Lin Xian couldn’t have asked for more; she had been wanting to ask the same thing.

“Lin as in Lin Daiyu, Xian as in Xian Xinghai—Lin Xian. You?” Lin Xian typed so much because her name was rare; many people mispronounced it as “xi.” To avoid embarrassment, she always gave a detailed introduction. For her surname, the most famous figure was “Sister Daiyu.” Even though she was a fictional character, Lin Xian had been fascinated by her since childhood. If she could enter the book, the first person she would protect and cherish would be Sister Daiyu.

Lin Xian’s mother had loved Dream of the Red Chamber since she was young and had once entertained the whimsical idea of naming Lin Xian “Lin Daiyu.” If her father hadn’t stopped her, Lin Xian really would have become Lin Daiyu and been teased by countless classmates.

What Lin Xian didn’t expect was that after Fang Daiyu received the message, her eyebrows arched significantly: “Fang as in Fang Wenshan, Daiyu as in Lin Daiyu—Fang Daiyu.”

Lin Xian dropped her phone.

She had imagined thousands of beautiful, poetic names for her, thinking that only such a name could suit a “masterpiece.” Who would have thought—who would have thought her name was actually Daiyu?

“What a coincidence,” she managed to type after a long silence.

Fang Daiyu explained: “It is quite a coincidence. I’ve been bored of introducing my name as ‘Daiyu from Lin Daiyu’ since I was a kid, but this is the first time I’ve met someone introducing themselves as ‘Lin from Lin Daiyu’.”

“Because I love Sister Daiyu,” Lin Xian replied naturally.

“Oh, then why don’t you like Elder Sister Daiyu?”

Lin Xian’s brain didn’t quite catch the turn: “Sister? I guess I can call you that. Younger sister, older sister, it’s all fine. I just like ‘Daiyu’ best anyway!”

“Then thank you for your ‘like’.” Fang Daiyu attached a happy emoji.

Lin Xian’s head heated up as she connected the dots of the previous conversation. She dove under her covers, hiding her head and mumbling, “Seriously, I’m such an idiot. Lin Xian, how can you be so embarrassing!”