A Friend I've Loved for a Long Time - Chapter 6

At 8:00 AM on Saturday, Yun Zhi set out from home. The drive took an hour; she and Nan Qiao had agreed to meet at the foot of the mountain at 9:30 AM.

When she arrived at the base of Yunsan Temple, it was exactly 9:00 AM.

Regardless of who she was meeting, Yun Zhi liked arriving thirty minutes early. It wasn’t just a habit; it was a matter of courtesy.

Yunsan Temple sat atop Mier Mountain. Getting from the base to the summit required a stretch of mountain road followed by a climb up ninety-nine stone steps—a physically demanding task. Because the temple had strict rules and forbade stalls within its grounds, the foot of the mountain had become a bustling hub for vendors.

As soon as Yun Zhi stepped out of her car, she heard the cries of street hawkers. The entire street ahead was lined with stalls selling everything from food to jewelry.

“Little girl, buy a string of Buddhist prayer beads! It’ll keep you safe!”

Yun Zhi had barely approached to take a look before she was stopped by a woman selling jewelry. Both of the woman’s wrists were draped in bracelets, all of them prayer beads.

“No thank you,” Yun Zhi declined.

“You don’t like bracelets? Then look at these peace charms. What kind do you like? Hanging ones? Stickers? Something to carry with you?”

The woman’s aggressive sales pitch made Yun Zhi wave her hands frantically. “No, really, it’s fine.”

Seeing that Yun Zhi genuinely wasn’t interested, the woman stopped bothering her and turned to pitch to the next passerby.

Even though it was only 9:00 AM, the sun was already high. Beams of light hit the stalls, creating a scene that made Yun Zhi instinctively reach for her camera. She could add this set to her “Humanity and Fireworks” collection.

“Little girl, you have an eye for quality. These beads were used by the former abbot of Yunsan Temple. I just opened my stall and this is the last string. I’ll give you a discount—399 yuan, how about it?”

Yun Zhi, who had just raised her camera, paused. She glanced at the stall and saw the woman was now pitching to a young couple.

As she adjusted her settings, Yun Zhi couldn’t help but wonder: Does anyone actually believe that line?

To her surprise, the couple did. Without a second thought, the man pulled out his wallet to make his girlfriend happy, buying the—admittedly decent-looking—bracelet.

But whether people believed it or not was their own business; perhaps the beads were real. Yun Zhi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, let the thought go, and stepped back to take a wide-angle shot.

Time ticked by, and the crowd at the mountain base grew denser. It was nearly 9:30 AM.

It was then that Nan Qiao sent a message saying something had come up mid-journey and she couldn’t make it. She hoped Yun Zhi wouldn’t be mad.

Yun Zhi didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she dialed Nan Qiao’s number. She wanted to ask what could possibly be important enough to make her go back on her word again.

The call was declined. Nan Qiao sent a text saying she was driving and it wasn’t convenient to talk.

Not convenient to talk while driving? It seemed convenient enough before, Yun Zhi thought.

She let out a long breath. Around her, the vendors continued their shouting, and a never-ending stream of pedestrians brushed past her. In the press of the crowd, someone accidentally bumped into her, causing Yun Zhi to stumble back two steps.

She avoided a fall and wasn’t hurt, but in that moment, she felt a sudden surge of grievance.

The person who bumped her stayed to apologize repeatedly, insisting it wasn’t intentional. Yun Zhi still felt a lump in her throat and her eyes began to burn. Fighting back the tears, she forced out a “It’s okay.”

Only then did the person feel relieved enough to leave.

Yun Zhi found a bench and sat down, staring at the camera in her hands. The watch on her wrist pointed to 9:31 AM.

“I should have guessed.”

It was a long time before Yun Zhi muttered the words to herself.

After sitting for a few minutes, she picked up her camera again, intending to snap a few random photos before heading up to the temple anyway.

As she looked through the viewfinder, she froze. She looked up at the vendor’s stall where she had stood upon arrival. A familiar woman was standing there.

A red knee-length chiffon dress, thick dark hair loosely pinned back with a claw clip, and wispy bangs framing her face. As the wind blew, she reached up to tuck her hair back, leaning forward slightly to listen to the stall owner.

Yu Mingxia.

As she whispered the name in her mind, Yun Zhi’s finger clicked the shutter several times. The scene was too beautiful; it deserved to be captured.

Yu Mingxia was still listening to the saleswoman, oblivious to her surroundings. After taking the photos, Yun Zhi walked toward her.

As she got closer, the conversation reached her ears clearly:

“Little girl, I’m not lying to you. These beads were used by the former abbot… last string… 399 yuan…”

Why does this sound so familiar? Isn’t that the exact same thing she told that couple?

Is Yu Mingxia really going to buy them?

It wasn’t Yun Zhi’s money, but they were acquaintances now—they were on each other’s contact list, after all. She figured she should save the woman’s wallet if she could. But…

There was no “but.” Before she could think of a reason not to interfere, Yun Zhi had already reached her side and grasped Yu Mingxia’s hand just as she was pulling her phone out to pay.

The sudden contact seemed to startle Yu Mingxia. Her eyes were full of questions as she looked at Yun Zhi. However, she didn’t pull her hand away.

“What a coincidence! Are you going to Yunsan Temple too?” Yun Zhi didn’t let go of her wrist; instead, she gave her a bright smile and a wink.

Distracted by the interruption, Yu Mingxia forgot what she was doing. A smile touched her lips, and she said joyfully, “What a coincidence indeed.”

Yun Zhi nodded. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Before Yu Mingxia could respond, the stall owner glared at Yun Zhi, looking as though she wanted to curse her for cutting off her income. “Little girl, look again! These beads were touched by the abbot himself…”

Given Yu Mingxia’s previous gullibility, Yun Zhi pulled her away without a second thought.

By the time they reached the bench where Yun Zhi had been sitting, the vendor was still glaring at them. Yun Zhi sat down on the bench while Yu Mingxia stood to her right, her expression a bit dazed, as if she didn’t quite know what had just happened.

Seeing that Yu Mingxia didn’t seem inclined to sit, and noting the vendor’s lingering glare, Yun Zhi reached out and tugged Yu Mingxia’s wrist, pulling her to stand directly in front of her to block the woman’s hostile gaze.

Yu Mingxia looked down at her left wrist. She felt a phantom heat spreading from where she’d been touched, as if her skin were burning. She flinched slightly.

Yun Zhi, sensitive to the reaction, thought Yu Mingxia was uncomfortable with the touch. She quickly let go. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Yu Mingxia didn’t seem to hear her, her eyes still fixed on her wrist.

Strictly speaking, they weren’t close yet, and Yun Zhi had already grabbed her wrist twice. Seeing Yu Mingxia’s reaction, a strange thought crossed Yun Zhi’s mind. Does she have a germaphobia or something? Should I go buy some hand sanitizer to help her clean up?

She started looking around for a place that might sell soap or sanitizer.

“You said you had something to talk to me about?” Yu Mingxia asked, still standing before her, eyes slightly downcast.

“Oh, it’s not really a big deal. It’s just that the story that vendor told you… I heard her tell the exact same thing to someone else half an hour ago, so…”

Would Yu Mingxia think she was being nosy? Yun Zhi hadn’t expected her to actually be on the verge of buying the beads.

“Thank you,” Yu Mingxia said softly.

Yun Zhi shook her head, indicating it was no trouble. As long as she didn’t think it was intrusive, it was fine. This was the first time she’d seen such a “gap” in someone’s personality. At first meeting, she seemed cold and unapproachable; after talking, she seemed gentle and understanding; meeting again… she seemed somewhat naive.

“Are you alone?” Yu Mingxia asked.

At the question, Yun Zhi’s gaze dropped. Her hand instinctively brushed the edge of her camera. She gave a quiet “Mm.”

Yu Mingxia looked up toward the distance. Two women were walking toward them; the one in front had picked up her pace and was waving a bottle of mineral water.

—“Don’t come over.”

Yu Mingxia mouthed the words to the lead woman. The woman froze, caught sight of the figure sitting on the bench in front of Yu Mingxia, and seemed to realize something. She pulled the other woman back. The two of them stopped a short distance away and didn’t approach any further.

Yun Zhi only then realized that since she had pulled Yu Mingxia in front of her to block the vendor, Yu Mingxia hadn’t moved an inch.

“Sit down,” Yun Zhi said. She almost reached for her wrist again to pull her down but remembered Yu Mingxia rubbing her wrist earlier. Her hand dropped; she didn’t dare touch her.

Yu Mingxia saw the gesture and pursed her lips. She sat down beside her. After a moment, she said: “I was supposed to meet friends, but they left early. So, for all intents and purposes, I’m alone, too.”

Left early—to go buy water, Yu Mingxia added silently in her head.

“Really? What a coincidence.” Feeling as though she had found someone in the same boat, Yun Zhi’s tone turned cheerful. Meeting Yu Mingxia’s eyes, she realized her cheer was perhaps ill-timed.

She cleared her throat. Emboldened by Yu Mingxia’s words, she opened up about the thing she hadn’t wanted to say. “I was supposed to meet a friend, too. It seems something came up, and she stood me up at the last minute.”

Because she had found a “companion,” Yun Zhi didn’t look as disappointed as before. A few seconds later, an idea struck her, and she invited the other woman: “If you don’t mind, why don’t we go together? The ‘Stood-Up Alliance’?”

“Sure,” Yu Mingxia replied with a smile.

“Let’s go then.” Yun Zhi stood up.

Just then, the phone in Yu Mingxia’s bag began to vibrate incessantly. Following half a step behind Yun Zhi, she opened her phone to check the messages. As expected, they were from the sister she had just chased away.

Yu Chuxue: [What do you mean ‘stay away’?]

Yu Chuxue: [Who is that girl?]

Yu Chuxue: [Your friend?]

Yu Chuxue: [If she’s a friend, why can’t we go together?]

Yu Chuxue: [Or is she someone you like?]

Yu Chuxue: [Treating us like outsiders because you’re afraid we’ll disturb you?]

Yu Chuxue: [You should thank me for dragging you here.]

Yu Mingxia scanned them and replied: [Pretend you don’t know me, thank you.]

Yu Chuxue replied instantly: [You’re actually saying ‘thank you’ to me?!]

The path up the mountain was crowded. Even with an orderly queue, the entrance was blocked. Yun Zhi stood on her tiptoes to look ahead; they would be waiting for a while. Just as she was about to speak to Yu Mingxia, someone ran out from the front of the line. Caught off guard, Yun Zhi was bumped. As she lost her balance, Yu Mingxia—who was right behind her—caught her by the waist, steadying her.

“Sorry, sorry!” The person who bumped her bowed several times in apology and hurried off before she could react.

Yun Zhi composed herself. “Thank you.”

Yu Mingxia pursed her lips and clenched her hands. Now, it wasn’t just her wrist that felt hot; her whole body felt like it was burning, and her earlobes were incredibly flushed.

“It’s too hot. I’m going to buy a bottle of water,” Yu Mingxia said hurriedly before Yun Zhi could notice her state.

“Oh, I’ll go with you.” Yun Zhi didn’t notice anything unusual; it was nearly 10:00 AM, and the weather was indeed getting hotter.

Yu Mingxia didn’t refuse, and they walked toward the cold drink stall. On the way, they passed many people, including the “friends” Yu Mingxia had mentioned.

Yu Chuxue and Qu Lan watched the two of them enter the drink shop. Even as they brushed past, they didn’t call out to them.

“Is that Mingxia’s friend? Why isn’t she with us?” Qu Lan asked, unaware of the situation.

“Maybe they just met,” Yu Chuxue said. She could guess that Yu Mingxia cared about this girl—cared in a way that exceeded the boundaries of friendship—but she didn’t tell Qu Lan.

“If I hadn’t dragged her here, would she have even met this ‘friend’?” Yu Chuxue was still brooding over the events of the past few days; she had only wanted Yu Mingxia to come out and clear her head after being cooped up in her room for so long.

“Um… actually, Mingxia was the one who sent out that link,” Qu Lan noted truthfully, even though she didn’t know what had happened between the sisters.

Yu Chuxue: “?”

It took a moment for Yu Chuxue to realize she had been played by her sister.

“But that girl looks familiar. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere,” Yu Chuxue mused, thinking back to Yun Zhi as she watched her walk away.