“Just keep me company for a bit.” Before I could type my next response, his message froze me: “I’ve had too much to drink and need someone to talk to.”
“Just a few minutes,” I replied, forcing patience. As long as we don’t meet, things won’t spiral out of control, I reassured myself. “And no more talk about life shapes.”
“Fine. Let’s drop life and houses. Let’s just talk about you and me.” Chu Ke Huan cut straight to the point. “What am I to you?”
I thought for three seconds. “Someone I know.”
“Just someone you know?”
“I’ve said before, having shared interests doesn’t mean we have to be friends. Besides, our visions for life are completely different. You and I are far from being friends.”
“I agree.” Chu Ke Huan seemed to concede, but then added, “But just being friends with you would be such a waste.”
“We’re not going to be lovers, either.” I shut him down firmly, cutting off any possibilities.
“Then it seems there’s only one option left.”
Reading his response, I felt a chill run down my spine.
“I’m not interested in knowing.” I hurried to change the subject. “It’s so late—where’s your girlfriend?”
“She’s part of my life. But we agreed not to talk about this, didn’t we?”
“What kind of twisted logic is that?” My instincts told me it was late, and I should let it go, but my irritation flared instantly. My hands trembled with anger as I held the phone, unable to put it down. “If she’s truly part of your life, then you should be fully devoted to her, not sitting here contemplating what we are.”
“You need a drink—or at least pretend you’ve had one. Then you’ll understand my logic.”
“I don’t want to understand.” After a back-and-forth battle of words, I was utterly drained. “I have work tomorrow.”
“Let’s find a time to have a drink together,” he suggested.
“I’m going to sleep.”
“I want to sleep with you.” His next message came out of nowhere, rendering me completely defenseless. “Before you get married.”
Those two short sentences sent chills down my spine. I pretended not to see them, swiftly deleted the messages, and flung my phone aside as if I were banishing an evil spirit. Shutting my eyes, I forced myself to sleep.
I knew I had made a mistake. I should never have engaged in a conversation about the “shape of life” with Chu Ke Huan. I had thought I was exorcising demons, but instead, I had flung open the door and invited one inside.
Chu Ke Huan was the ghost haunting my heart, and tonight, I had let him possess me.
Filled with unease, I clutched the ring Hao Yi had given me as if it were a talisman to ward off evil and forced myself to close my eyes. How I wished this was nothing more than a nightmare, one I could wake up from to find everything reset to zero.
But the unfortunate truth was that tonight was just the beginning of a cascade of mistakes.
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