Chapter 23: Chapter 23
“I’m glad that they raised a daughter like you, so I had a friend all these years who didn’t care about high society and my lack of status all that much. I would have been lonely without you.”
“I guess we can high five Ava for sending you to an all-girls private school to get you out of the way and falling into my clutches, my little lamb. She done us both a favor, although I am truly disappointed that in my raising you, I didn’t even corrupt you a tiny little bit.” Linlin grinned, flashing a mischievous twinkle in her eye at the years of escapades she had gotten TangShi into. Not regretting a single one.
“You corrupted me a lot!” TangShi burst into joyful laughter as a million memories flickered through her mind too. So many naughty moments orchestrated by her best friend and started to feel a lot better than when she arrived. Linlin was always a mood enhancer and a ray of sunshine on the darkest of days. All these years she knew that Linlin was the reason she kept going, kept reaching for something better and never lost her optimism.
Linlin motioned for them to get up glad they had not yet ordered anything and led TangShi out of the restaurant in search of a hotpot café they could walk to from here. She hauled out her phone and hooked TangShi’s arm in hers as they hit the street into the dazzling sunshine and went searching.
“Oh, look before I forget. I found this last night while scrolling our old pictures on Weibo. It was taken eight years ago, right before your trip to Beijing. We look so young.” Linlin turned her phone to show the saved picture. It was a photograph of a polaroid photograph held in Linlin’s hand. A little blurry but still easy identifiable as both of them hugging and smiling. They looked like two different girls entirely in terms of fashion and beauty style.
“Oh my god, why is my face so round?” TangShi squealed and grabbed the phone, pushing it almost to her nose to scrutinize the baby face staring back at her.
“I know right, you look like you lived on a diet of instant noodles. Little puffy face. And your hair is so dark and flat. Did we even know how to beautify back then?”
The girls both laughed and poked fun at one another by pointing out a few other things in the picture, about their appearance, their weight, their general look, passing it back and forth to giggle at the memory.
“It makes sense though, that YuZhi didn’t recognize you now. I mean he has his green eyes and that jawline he’s had since he was a kid so you couldn’t mistake him. You slimmed down, your face became more defined and delicate. You got some decent eyebrows and you lightened and styled your hair way different. I honestly couldn’t pick you out if I was him, especially if you wore a mask that entire night.”
“Hmmm, I guess.” TangShi was reflective and took the phone one more time to give it a last look. She had to agree, even though she didn’t think she had changed all these years, she had lost her puppy fat and childlike cuteness and grown into a woman in the past eight years. It made her feel a little less devastated that he had no idea she was the same girl.
“Maybe you should just tell him?” Linlin offered with a shrug and then hauled TangShi to the left at the opening alleyway to a café. A hotpot favorite in sight.
“There’s no point. It’s the past and if it mattered, he would have shown up or found me all these years. He didn’t. Maybe I held onto it a lot more than he ever did and it’s nothing but a blip in his littered history of girls.”
“TangShi?” A voice interrupted them form behind and cut into the conversation before Linlin could argue the point. She still felt YuZhi should know.
TangShi turned to see Rhea walking out of a nearby boutique, waving her way with a genuine and warm smile, beaming across that pretty face and felt Linlin stiffen up beside her as she tightened her grip on her arm.
“Aye, aye, it’s the love rival” Linlin hissed mischievously and TangShi elbowed her in the ribs.
“Rhea. Hello. How are you today?” TangShi was pleasantly surprised to see her out here, especially unescorted but wasn’t unhappy. She liked the girl genuinely and didn’t have any issues with her. Evan if Linlin did.
“Out getting air and picking up a dress. Where are you off to?” She closed the gap between them and nodded a smile at Linlin.
“Oh, this is my best friend Linlin Choi. Eldest daughter of Anux Travel.” TangShi gave a brief introduction and leaned back as the two women shook hands. Linlin instantly reserved and cool towards the other woman and yet remained polite.
“Pleasure.” Linlin smiled.
“Anux Travel? The holiday agency? I know where to come when booking my next trip. You’re listed among the most known and respected. It’s lovely to meet you.” As always that kind and warm persona you expected form Rhea shone through, enveloping Linlin’s hand and smothering her with friendliness.
“The one and only. If you need a hook up, we do great discounts for friends of friends.” Linlin laid on the charm thicker than honey and TangShi tried to remain impassive and not react. She could feel Linlin’s dislike and the sarcastic tone was subtle but still there. She wanted to strangle her for being so obvious.
“Where are you off to?” Rhea was oblivious to the hostility.
“To eat. The hotpot place behind us is the best in Pudong and we’re starving.”
“Oooh, Hotpot. I haven’t had it in forever. YuZhi never eats it so never wants to take me for it! Can I join you?” Rhea’s enthusiasm was infectious, but Linlin squeezed TangShi’s arm in objection getting a silent rebuff as she shook her arm free.
“Sure. It’ll be nice to spend more time together and get to know one another a little better.” TangShi turned to lead the way, throwing Linlin a quick and hidden warning scowl to behave and getting a cross eyed tongue stick out in response. Shielded by TangShi’s body so rhea didn’t catch it. She had zero chance of controlling her best friend.
“Yahhhh, sure, let’s eat.” Linlin spun on her heel and followed with a trot and a wiggle, her brain calculating what mischief she could pull off through lunch and kept her guard up. Her bestie was maybe a soft touch and all too willing to let people in to become ‘friends’, but Linlin was made of sterner stuff. She didn’t like that subtle dig from Miss Rhea ‘I am too good for the common folks’, bringing up YuZhi’s name and eating preferences like she wasn’t trying to rub salt in. She didn’t trust this wench as far as she could toss her, and no one was going to mess with TangShi while she was around.