Having a meal together can change the relationship between people—at least on the surface.
After lunch, the biggest change was that I added Chu Ke Huan on Facebook, and now we were “Facebook friends.” Honestly, this wasn’t the outcome I had anticipated. But there’s truth to the saying “familiarity breeds friendliness.” No matter how much you dislike someone, when they’re sitting across from you, you end up putting on a pleasant face and agreeing to some of their requests.
As we walked back to the office after adding each other on Facebook, it gradually dawned on me that this might not have been the right move. But to avoid another trap from Ke Fei, I had to suppress the urge to unfriend him immediately and repeatedly reassure myself: “Adding someone on Facebook isn’t a big deal.” Facebook is full of people you like posts from all the time but barely have any real connection with. If a shallow online social relationship can secure a peaceful life in the future, it’s worth the trade-off.
For now, the priority was to get back to the office and demand an explanation.
“How was the date?” Sure enough, as soon as I stepped into the office, Ke Fei snuck over with a sly grin and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, fishing for gossip.
“I knew you two were in cahoots!” I shot back coldly. “You’ve got three minutes to explain why you’re acting like an inside agent and carelessly exposing my whereabouts to others.” The reason I ended up at that baffling meal was entirely thanks to this woman. Now that she had come to me on her own, it would be a waste not to scold her properly.
“I’d rather hear about your dating experience first,” Ke Fei replied with wide, innocent eyes, pleading for details. “So, what do you think of him? Isn’t he totally your type?”
“I just can’t understand your logic! No matter how ‘perfect’ someone is in your eyes, they’re your type, not mine! If you’re not going to date him yourself, why push him onto someone else and force them to choke it down? What kind of twisted mindset is that?” I glared at Ke Fei. Was I the one who was out of touch? How did modern relationships end up so warped?
“Well, it’s obvious he’s more interested in you!” Ke Fei replied matter-of-factly. “After you stormed out of the private room yesterday, he immediately found some random excuse to slip out too. Anyone could see he was going to look for you.”
“Hold on!” I was still struggling to process this. “Are you telling me this is some kind of ‘love by association’ thing? The guy you like is interested in someone else, so you’re going to help him get her? When did you, Han Ke Fei, become so magnanimous? Besides, I already have a boyfriend...”
“Wait—wait—wait! Don’t complicate things now!” Ke Fei interrupted, speaking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “This has absolutely nothing to do with Hao Yi!”
“Then what is it?” I crossed my arms, genuinely unable to think of a scenario where all this matchmaking wouldn’t damage feelings. “If you’re not giving up on Chu Ke Huan, at least tell me what the point of all this scheming is.”
Ke Fei sighed, as if I were a dim-witted student who just couldn’t grasp the lesson. “Have you ever heard of ‘the power of righteous indignation’?”
“What?!” I had heard of “the power of love” and “the power of beauty,” but “the power of righteous indignation”? What kind of nonsense was that?
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