Chapter 16
The Rules for Maintaining an Atypical Long-Distance Relationship
7
One winter break, there was a class reunion. By then, many classmates already knew about us. At times like this, no matter what they really thought back then, someone always had to jump out and say:
“I knew you two were a perfect match from the start!”
After being blessed so many times, I felt embarrassed and escaped to another table to eat. The people there kept toasting me, and to save face I drank until I was completely drunk.
After dinner, the group was heading to a nearby KTV to sing. I staggered to the bathroom, and when I came out, I found San Ye standing at the sink holding my coat, waiting for me. Most of the others had already left.
After I washed my handsâand for some reason, also splashed my faceâSan Ye put my coat on me and then used his shirt sleeve to wipe the water off my face. Then he asked,
“Why have you been avoiding me all day?”
I grinned foolishly. “I was shy.”
San Ye gave a little “hmph.”
I donât know what came over me then, but I suddenly hooked my arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. The moment the kiss ended, I ran away, leaving him rooted to the spot, stunned.
That was our first kissâbut I drank way too much that day and completely blacked outâŠ
8
As for me drunkenly kissing San Ye⊠I honestly have no memory of it at all. Much later, San Ye, hopping mad, recounted step by step how I had taken advantage of him to ârefreshâ my memory.
But truthfully, he didnât really remember either. He said his mind just went completely blank at the time.
So the next day, when we met up after the reunion, San Ye kept giving me these strange looks, while I had no idea what had happened. Both of us kept our own thoughts and went shopping together, then had hotpot.
That day I wore a fluffy hatâit was very cute, very warm⊠and very good at absorbing smells.
So on the way home, all I could smell was hotpot clinging to my hair.
When we passed a dry fountain near my home, San Ye suddenly pulled me to squat down with him.
Confused, I asked, “Whatâs going on?”
He glanced toward a figure not far away and said, “Someoneâs there.”
I was even more puzzled. “Well, yeah, thereâs someone there.”
It was like he was talking to himself. “It wouldnât be good if they saw.”
Before I could figure out what he meant, he shuffled closer while still squattingâand then⊠kissed me.
Iâve regretted countless times that my first sober kiss happened like that: squatting beside a dry fountain, surrounded by bare trees and dim streetlights, the two of us looking like frogs in the night, kissing.
Maybe even heaven couldnât stand such an unromantic love story. Because just before I went inside that night, San Ye gave me a big bear hug. His chin rested on my head, and suddenly I heard a loud bang behind me. Turning around, I saw fireworks blooming in the sky.
We stood hugging for five minutes, watching all kinds of fireworksâdifferent colors, different shapes, bursting endlessly. It was beautiful. I asked him, “You didnât do this⊠did you?”
San Ye was quiet for a few seconds, then smiled. “Just pretend I did.”
9
After the new semester started, I missed San Ye terribly. One day, I secretly ran off to Xiamen to see him. At that time, I had no experience and no savings, so we ended up spending all our living expenses. Not long after returning to school, we were completely broke.
It was about a month before summer break. I broke my last hundred-yuan bill into piles of one-yuan notes and carefully wrote down in a notebook exactly how much to spend on each meal.
At the supermarket, there was this ice cream called âFour Ringsââtwo yuan each, with a big chunk of chocolate inside. Very filling.
I called San Ye: “For lunch today I had a Four Rings ice cream and a steamed bun. Surprisingly, that combo was pretty good.”
San Ye had just eaten a proper meal in his dorm. Hearing this, he was horrified: “Donât do this. You need to eat properly. If you run out of money, weâll find a way.”
I pouted: “Find a way how? I canât ask my family for more.”
After a pause, he suggested: “Just eat with your classmates! If theyâre eating meat, theyâll at least give you a bone or something. Better than how youâre living now.”
I was speechless. “That sounds even sadder⊠Itâs fine, Iâll just eat lessâitâs like dieting.”
He asked, “But doesnât eating ice cream just make you fatter?”
I wanted to cry. “Go away⊠Donât worry about me, just eat well yourself.”
San Ye cleverly read between the lines: “So youâre basically telling me you donât want me to eat well either, right? Fine, Iâll go to the cafeteria and drink free porridge at night⊔
I sighed. “Weâre so pitiful⊔
We ended up plotting all sorts of ways to freeload meals or survive off the schoolâs free porridge.
A few days later, San Ye told me, “My throat hurts⊠I think I caught the flu.”
Worried, I said, “Aww, it must be because youâre not eating properly and your immunityâs weak. Go see a doctor right away.”
San Ye replied, “Canât afford it.”
I asked, “Donât you have a medical insurance card? If you use that, it should be free, right?”
After a pause, he went, “âŠOh, right.”
Just as I was feeling smug about my cleverness, he added: “Well, I left my insurance card by the bed. The doctor will protect me.”
I nearly cried. “Are you sure the fever hasnât fried your brain?”
A few days later, I told him: “My mom sent me money for a train ticket! We donât have to live like this anymore!”
He was overjoyed: “Really?! Thatâs great! Now I donât have to stick around another half-month lying to my mom for money!”
I sputtered, “Lying for moneyâŠ? By the way, I paid all the rent in Xiamen! You lived there too, shouldnât you pay half?”
In truth, while I paid the rent, San Ye covered all the eating out and entertainment. But he didnât bring that up. He just said: “But I was the one cleaning every day, getting up early to buy you food, and even doing your laundry⊔
I remembered my skirt that had been stained during my period and went red. Cutting him off, I said, “Enough! No excusesâweâre talking about rent!”
After a moment of silence, he said, “Fine, Iâll owe you for now. Once I start working, Iâll give you my whole salary.”
I giggled. “Thatâs so cheesy⊠but why does it also make me so happy?”
Because of the bitter lesson of nearly starving, we later learned to set a date for meeting and then scrimp and save. So, when we werenât together, we were either saving up for our next meeting or just recovering after spending it all during one.
And during those days we did meet, we ate the best food, stayed in the best places, and had the most fun.
Thatâs why, when I look back on my college days, my happiest memories are all the ones I spent with San Ye.
