“Help me out!” Those four words from Han Ke Fei flashed on the screen like an imperial edict. I sighed, unsure whether I should agree.
I turned over to my right and saw Hao Yi still fast asleep, oblivious, as always, to the secrets buried in his bedmate’s phone.
The saying goes, “You can’t bite the hand that feeds you,” and by extension, “You can’t ignore the person whose stories you’ve eagerly listened to.” My appetite for Ke Fei’s tales of romantic exploits had left me with no choice but to repay her with action.
After work the next day, I barely had time to escape before Ke Fei whisked me straight from the office to a restaurant. Before I could even take in the surroundings, she dragged me into the restroom.
“What now? I’m starving! Weren’t we here to eat?” I asked, utterly baffled.
Ke Fei gave me a disdainful once-over. “Are you seriously planning to attend a mixer looking like that? Your eye makeup’s smudged, there’s no cleavage on display, and—ugh—your stockings are ripped?! There isn’t a single part of your outfit showing off your curves. How are you supposed to exude any pheromones?”
“Pheromones? I’m just here to play your supporting role, right? The scruffier I look, the better you’ll shine in front of your dream guy...”
“Zhou Wei Wei, listen carefully. I managed to invite my dream guy out tonight thanks to last night’s 2891. But 2891 keeps clinging to me. I need you to distract him so I can get some alone time with my dream guy.”
“What?” I almost thought I’d misheard. “What do you mean by take?”
“I mean pretend you’re interested in him. Get him so worked up he’ll follow you out of here.” Ke Fei’s face looked as though she was lamenting my hopelessness. While bluntly explaining her plan, she deftly unbuttoned the top of my blouse and reached into my chest, trying to push up my cleavage with practiced precision.
“I’m not doing that!” I snapped, pushing her hand away in frustration. Even helping out has its limits. Flirting with another man behind my boyfriend’s back? That’s absurd!
“Oh, come on! I’m not asking you to actually go with him. Once you lead him out of the restaurant, make up an excuse to leave—pretend something came up or call Hao Yi to pick you up. Whatever works!” Ke Fei clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. “Wei Wei, please. This guy is really different. Just this once...”
“That’s your business. You know how steady Hao Yi and I are right now. I already feel guilty enough coming to this mixer with you. Don’t you have other friends? Why not ask one of your single girlfriends to do this instead of dragging me into it?”
Ke Fei fell silent, staring at me for several seconds with an innocent expression that made me think she was on the verge of tears. Just as I was about to apologize for raising my voice, she spoke.
“Because your relationship is the most stable.”
I didn’t understand. What did she mean?
“To put it bluntly, that 2891 guy from yesterday isn’t a good man. If I ask one of my single girlfriends to help me tonight and sparks fly between them, it could cause all sorts of problems. We might end up as frenemies, or worse—my friend might actually develop feelings for him and get hurt. If there’s any fallout, do you think our friendship would survive?”
I got it. “But still, you can’t—”
Before I could finish, Ke Fei placed her hands on my shoulders. “Wei Wei, you’re different. It’s because I trust the strength of your relationship with Hao Yi that I feel comfortable asking you for this kind of favor. Besides, haven’t you always said, ‘After dating the same man for so long, I don’t even know if I’m still attractive anymore’?”
“Wait a second—that’s not what I said! The original line was, ‘After dating the same man for so long, if I ever become single again and re-enter the dating pool, I’d probably have zero competitiveness left.’”
Ke Fei ignored my clarification and proceeded to swap my outfit for a light, sheer dress, expertly pushing up my chest to create a noticeable cleavage and touching up my makeup. “There, almost done! Take a look.”
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