A Friend I've Loved for a Long Time - Chapter 10

After returning home, Yun Zhi sat on the sofa for a while before heading to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, she gathered her hair into a bun and tidied the stray strands on her forehead. The red silk ribbon on her wrist caught her eye again, causing her movements to pause.

This is a gift from a new friend; it should be placed somewhere proper.

Yun Zhi went back to the bedroom and sat at the vanity to untie the ribbon. She intended to put it in a drawer, but her gaze fell upon the rabbit plushie on her nightstand. Wearing a pink hat and carrying a small yellow bag, the rabbit seemed to be reaching out its round little paws toward her.

Looking at the red ribbon in her hand, a good idea flashed through her mind.

A minute later, the rabbit plushie’s round paw was adorned with a red ribbon tied into a bow.

Yun Zhi was satisfied with the result. After repositioning the rabbit, she returned to the bathroom.

Once finished with her nightly routine, she sat down to handle her work for the next few days. The first order of business was deciding on the collaboration.

Xiao Bai [Message]: The person in charge at L&Y invited us to visit their office.

While Yun Zhi was weighing her options, another message from Xiao Bai popped up.

Xiao Bai: Actually, I think both companies are quite good, but L&Y offers better terms and seems to value you more. Yi Sheng Lan is more focused on your traffic—they kept hinting at using the collab to boost the company’s popularity. The L&Y representative is the opposite; they seem to genuinely just like your work.

Xiao Bai’s assessment mirrored Yun Zhi’s own thoughts. With a clear mind, she made her decision.

Yun Zhi: Schedule a time. Let’s go visit L&Y.

Xiao Bai understood immediately. Barring any surprises, Yun Zhi planned to partner with L&Y.

After finishing her work, Yun Zhi began editing today’s photos. Her phone screen lit up repeatedly. Jiang Yan’an had shared several photos of her dinner with Zhu Qingmeng and asked if she was free to join them later.

Yun Zhi: Busy right now, can’t make it.

Jiang Yan’an: Am I disturbing your work?

Yun Zhi: No, I’m editing the photos I took at Yunsan Temple today.

Jiang Yan’an: Show me, show me!

Ever since university, Yun Zhi would leave Yun City for a period every year to take the photos she wanted. She would send postcards to her friends from different places and share her beautiful shots with them. Jiang Yan’an was always one of the first to see them.

Yun Zhi selected a few photos from today and sent them over. The internet speed was slow, and the loading icon spun for a while before the upload succeeded.

Jiang Yan’an: Huh? Who is this? I don’t think I’ve seen her before?

Seeing the message, Yun Zhi was confused for a split second before reacting. Before replying, she quickly recalled the image.

Jiang Yan’an: Why did you recall it? I already saw her.

Yun Zhi: A friend I just met recently. I didn’t get her permission to post her photo.

Jiang Yan’an: …Fine, I respect your professional ethics.

Jiang Yan’an: But she is so pretty! Is she your type?

Yun Zhi: Just a friend we hit it off well. Don’t ask questions like that.

Jiang Yan’an: Tsk. Anyway, anyone is better than Nan Qiao. You know I’m not trying to help Nan Qiao, I’m trying to help you. I know saying this is useless and you won’t listen, but really, really, can you please stop liking Nan Qiao?

This wasn’t the first time Jiang Yan’an had said this. Two years ago, when Nan Qiao first entered a relationship, Jiang Yan’an was hit just as hard as Yun Zhi. She had always thought the two were in an “ambiguous” phase and had dropped countless hints for them to get together. She hadn’t known Yun Zhi’s confessions had been rejected; she simply thought both were waiting for the other to break the ice.

Jiang Yan’an’s “reflex arc” was long, and Yun Zhi was kind to all her friends. It wasn’t until junior year of college that she vaguely realized Yun Zhi liked Nan Qiao—and that Nan Qiao often displayed possessiveness toward her. She had even felt guilty for a long time, thinking she wasn’t paying enough attention to her friends, and spent a lot of energy trying to play matchmaker.

Then Nan Qiao went and “ate someone else’s cabbage,” which made Jiang Yan’an so angry she cut ties with Nan Qiao for a significant period.

In contrast, Yun Zhi had been much calmer. She offered her blessings and then left the country for three months. On the third day after her departure, Nan Qiao broke up. Later, Nan Qiao mentioned that Yun Zhi hadn’t contacted her once during those three months. It wasn’t until Nan Qiao had an accident that Yun Zhi returned, and the two reconciled shortly after.

Even though Yun Zhi insisted the trip was for work and not to heal a broken heart, Jiang Yan’an didn’t believe a word of it. She even tried to introduce several people to her against her will.

That was until Yun Zhi told her:

“My life isn’t just about romance, An’an. Traveling the world has always been my dream. In the time I’d spend grieving over a relationship, I could take several sets of beautiful photos. You know I’m not that kind of person. But, thank you for being on my side.”

Jiang Yan’an: Just remember, I’m on your side no matter what. One word from you and I can introduce you to eight hundred girls. Let Nan Qiao regret it then.

Reading this, Yun Zhi could practically visualize Jiang Yan’an’s expression.

Jiang Yan’an: But Zhizhi, are you really ‘just friends’ with that big beauty? She really is gorgeous.

Yun Zhi: “…”

She would definitely be more careful when sending photos next time.

Usually, she only took landscapes and was used to being casual. Today, she hadn’t been paying attention and just picked a few random shots to send. She had known since the first day they met that Jiang Yan’an was a “visual” person.

On the first day of high school registration, Jiang Yan’an had run up to her to introduce herself, praising her beauty and saying she wanted to be friends. She was so enthusiastic that even Nan Qiao couldn’t stop her. Once they became close, Jiang Yan’an became her regular model; she had even more photos of her from high school than of Nan Qiao.

Thinking of Nan Qiao, Yun Zhi felt a bit complicated. She felt that if things continued like this, their relationship would eventually break down.

Shaking off these messy thoughts, she looked back at her screen.

Jiang Yan’an: Don’t worry, I’ll never mention anything about you to Nan Qiao again, including this big beauty.

Yun Zhi laughed at the message. She replied to the previous texts before clicking on her other conversations.

Just moments ago, Yu Mingxia had sent over the photos they took today—both the raw files and the edited versions. Yun Zhi was genuinely impressed.

Yun Zhi: Designer Yu, aren’t you being a bit too modest?

Yu Mingxia [Instantly]: My skills are average. It’s mainly because you’re beautiful, so you look good no matter how the photo is taken or edited.

Coming from Yu Mingxia, these words felt incredibly sincere. Yun Zhi found it amusing.

In the gap between messages, Yun Zhi remembered seeing Yu Mingxia’s avatar in her Moments notification earlier and prepared to click into her profile to take a look. Unexpectedly, her finger slipped. A single tap became a double tap.

A line of small text appeared in the chat window:

— I nudged Yu Mingxia and said, “Be my girlfriend.”

Yun Zhi: “…”

Silence is the chat box tonight.

Why did she double tap? And why on earth was Yu Mingxia’s “nudge” status set to that?

Yun Zhi wasn’t very familiar with WeChat features and had never accidentally triggered a “nudge” before. She had only heard jokes about it. Now, she was the joke.

What was even more terrifying was—Yu Mingxia replied.

Yu Mingxia: Okay.

Yun Zhi’s brain stalled for several seconds. She couldn’t react, her mind racing: What does she mean? What does “Okay” mean? How do I explain this?

Before Yun Zhi could figure out how to respond, another message from Yu Mingxia arrived:

Yu Mingxia: Okay.

However, this time, Yu Mingxia had quoted a previous message Yun Zhi had sent: “If you’re interested in the old alleys, shall we go shoot there together next time?”

She was answering the previous question about going to the alleys.

Yun Zhi nearly died of fright. Her heart had almost jumped out of her chest. Yu Mingxia didn’t recall the “nudge” reply, making the interface look incredibly strange:

— I nudged Yu Mingxia and said, “Be my girlfriend.”

— Okay.

Yun Zhi didn’t reply. She didn’t understand the feature, so she went to her browser to search for how to cancel a “nudge.”

Time limit: 3 minutes.

She checked the time; four minutes had passed. Long-pressing the text did nothing. She chose to close her eyes and accept reality.

Yu Mingxia: My sister set that up earlier to prank me. Don’t take it to heart.

Since Yu Mingxia said so, Yun Zhi stopped being so awkward. Based on what she knew of her, Yu Mingxia really didn’t seem like the type of person who would play around with those things.

Yun Zhi: Why would your sister play a joke like that on you?

Isn’t that actually pranking the other person? After all, Yun Zhi was the one dying of embarrassment right now.

Yu Mingxia: I don’t know. I’ve never had much status at home, so I didn’t dare ask.

The previous embarrassment vanished, replaced by confusion and curiosity. Yun Zhi even felt a faint pang of pity for Yu Mingxia. The image of a poor “little pitiful” who couldn’t even protect her own phone emerged in her mind.

On the other side, just as Yu Mingxia sent the message, her sister Yu Chuxue handed her a proposal. She reminded her casually, “You aren’t allowed to cancel that status until someone actually ‘nudges’ you. That’s the price for threatening me.”

To Yu Chuxue’s surprise, Yu Mingxia wasn’t silent or resistant. Instead, she looked at her with a smile and asked:

“What do you want for a late-night snack? My treat.”

Yu Chuxue: “?”

“Bribes won’t work. This is your punishment for threatening me today.”

“Lobster? Hairy crab? Coke and fried chicken? Do you want dessert?” Yu Mingxia ignored her and continued asking.

Yu Mingxia’s sudden helpfulness left Yu Chuxue bewildered. She assumed her sister was just trying to get her to rescind the “punishment.”

“Isn’t that girl today your friend? Just have her ‘nudge’ you and get it over with.”

Yu Mingxia was used to Yu Chuxue’s childish antics. Usually, she just let it go; even today, she hadn’t given the “nudge” status a second thought. For the longest time, no one had actually triggered that feature on her.

Who would have thought that Yun Zhi would be the one to stumble upon it?

Yu Chuxue watched Yu Mingxia as she looked down at her phone to order food. Something felt off—especially that trace of a smile on her lips. It looked incredibly suspicious. And she was even buying her dinner.

So… is there some good news she’s happy about?