Being called weird wasn"t actually a compliment that they ever got before this day but for some reason, both of them didn"t mind it at all. In fact, being weird with that adorable little fella seemed the right thing to do to both of them."You okay, Zi?" asked Qiu Jiayi as he looked at his best friend"s face.
"Hmm..." Xin Zimen hummed in reply. "Why wouldn"t I be?"
"Why do I feel like you"re gonna cry?" Qiu Jiayi raised his brow inquisitively. He really felt like his best friend was gonna cry.
"I"m not," answered Xin Zimen as he sniffled sneakily to hold back his tears. He definitely wasn"t gonna give this satisfaction to Qiu Jiayi.
"You know I won"t say anything even if you did cry," remarked Qiu Jiayi. But the other one really didn"t believe his words. Perhaps, the track record of a certain someone wasn"t as exemplary as it seemed.
Xin Zimen looked at his best friend with red-rimmed eyes and said, "I"ve read somewhere, some strangers have familiar souls. She"s that stranger who took a moment to make my life flash past my eyes."
Qiu Jiayi stayed quiet because he knew what his best friend was talking about. It actually took him off guard when Xiu started her one-man melodrama. Some memories really couldn"t just stay buried...
"So, this is how the show will begin. I"ll announce to your father that I"m marrying Zi whether he likes it or not!" A melodious feminine voice announced with her hand held high up facing the sky like a warrior holding his sword up.
"Stop being dramatic and get to the point," said an irritated voice of Xin Zimen looking up at those familiar pitch-black eyes.
"As always, impatient Zi," she scoffed before continuing, "Anyways, then the battle of wits will begin. Your father being your father will say, "I won"t let my son marry you! You"re an uncultured girl with no family!""
Another hand raised and she sighed out, "Yes, Yi what"s up with you now?"
"I say, that"s not the right order. I mean, everybody knows that you"re uncultured, and yes you don"t have a family but your family name is still there to back you up," Qiu Jiayi remarked. "Honestly speaking any sane person wouldn"t really mind making you his daughter-in-law. After all where else would they find the prestige of Wen Family? You"re the last descendent."
"Where is your girl?"
"Oh. she went home today," he answered.
"No wonder you look so lost," she answered making him scowl while Xin Zimen burst out laughing. "Don"t say the obvious. I know that already."
"So, moving on, I"ll say, "But Uncle I love Zi very much and-"
"Wait!" Qiu Jiayi interrupted her once again. "That"s a big lie! You don"t love Zi at all!"
"Oh, really?" Both of them nodded in agreement.
"That"s my script and I"ll go with it!" Her conviction was fascinating and a little too contagious. "You have an issue go deal with it!"
"How about crying at the end and making it look really sad?" suggested Xin Zimen.
The girl looked at him as if she was looking at an idiot, "Dear future husband, you must be out of your mind if you think that I, Wen Ai am someone who would cry over a guy." Seeing her reaction both of them rolled their eyes while she placed her arms around their shoulders and said, "If push comes to shove, dear future husband, I"ll just kidnap you. Hehehe..."
"Nothing good comes out when she laughs like that," reminded Qiu Jiayi.
"Like I don"t know that," replied Xin Zimen in a duh kind of tone.
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Xin Zimen was brought back to the present as he looked into his best friend"s sympathetic eyes. Did he have to look at him as if he was dying? He was just missing his late wife, wasn"t gonna die so easily.
"Don"t look at me with those eyes," he warned his best friend.
"I"m not trying to make you sad but I think Xiao Ai won"t like seeing you this upset because of her," reminded Qiu Jiayi in an attempt to lift up his best friend"s mood - who really looked like he was gonna breakdown any minute now.
"She won"t be upset. She always found joy in my misery."
Qiu Jiayi shook his head, "Nah, that was you."
Xin Zimen glared at his friend, "If you continue like that, I"m gonna tell Xiao Wei what you did during our summer break in college."
"Zi, that"s not fair! It"s been decades!"
Xin Zimen shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "Do you really think she will also think like you that it"s been decades?" He smiled and answered his own question, "No, I don"t think so. Instead, she will make you face the wall and reflect on your actions. Do you really wanna do that at this age?"
"I"m so done with you." Qiu Jiayi put his foot down.
"So am I!"
Both of them huffed and turned around to walk in opposite ways. Qiu Jiayi knew why his friend was being this moody now. He had missed his wife in the past months when he wasn"t around, he could tell how much Xin Zimen missed Wen Ai in all those years. Especially when she was his biggest pillar of support.
Qiu Jiayi, Wen Ai, and Xin Zimen were childhood friends, so it wasn"t even hard to tell how deep their bond was. They had been stuck together through thick and thin. But then she suddenly left his hand and Xin Zimen was left alone to carry out all the responsibilities. He lost his best friend, his wife, the mother of his sons, and most importantly, the one person who trusted him the most.
Today, Xin Zimen was feeling really frustrated at how easily Xiu reminded him of Wen Ai. He saw an image of his old friend, his best friend, his wife in Xiu and it left him feeling at a loss all over again.
He bit a cigarette between his lips and lit it up as he slowly took a puff of smoke. As he watched the wisps of smoke blowing out of his mouth, his eyes stung as the tears that he had been holding back fell down.