Flash marriage Chapter 2

Ever since he started using this ridiculous dating app, Zhang Dai had been feeling extremely anxious and irritated! That person was really popular; every time she posted, a bunch of guys would like and comment, and she would ambiguously like and comment on some handsome guys’ posts.

After a month of agonizingly monitoring her activity on the dating app, he noticed a particularly impressive guy interacting with her frequently. He had a bad feeling and had to call to test the waters. Fortunately, she said she was single, meaning that the online relationship hadn’t progressed, and he was finally relieved.

But his relief didn’t even last a week. On Friday, after work, Zhang Dai suddenly received a call from Chen Shuangshuang, and her tearful voice came through the line. He was so scared that he immediately took a taxi to her rented apartment.

Chen Shuangshuang lived in an urban village, in a maze of narrow alleys. He jogged all the way, and by the time he arrived,he was  sweating profusely. He hurriedly knocked on the door, afraid something bad might have happened to her at home.

The door slowly opened. Chen Shuangshuang stood there, dressed in a loose T-shirt, with her long messy hair hanging over her shoulders, with a pale face and red-rimmed eyes filled with sadness. She looked pitiful as if the whole world had abandoned her.

The moment she saw him, she burst into tears, completely disregarding her image.

Afraid that others might see, Zhang Dai quickly put an arm around her shoulders, closed the door, and helped her sit down.

Chen Shuangshuang, crying uncontrollably, poured out her sorrows: “Woo woo~ I’m so miserable! Why are so many bad things happening to me all at once! Woo woo…”

Chen Shuangshuang’s misery could be summed up in one word: double loss! A breakup and  job loss. That day, she was terribly unlucky; her company told her she was being laid off, and the person she had been dating online for over a month, whom she had planned to meet in person over the weekend, suddenly said they weren’t suitable and canceled the meeting! Then she saw that the person had changed their status to being in a relationship.

It was terrible! Really terrible! Heartbreakingly terrible! Zhang Dai felt so heartbroken listening to her. He gently patted her back and comforted her in a soft voice: “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all over now.”

She cried like a pear blossom bathed in rain, her voice trembled. But that didn’t stop her from accusing the scumbag of his vile behavior: “You don’t know, we had video calls and I felt a good connection, I thought we could develop something. Since confirming our online relationship, I haven’t chatted with any other guys, waiting every day for his replies… Who would have known that he was just a scumbag, casting a wide net, continuing to flirt with other girls. I thought I was being paranoid, but now I realize I was just being stupid! When he told me we weren’t suitable, he must have met someone else and thought she was better, then dumped me! It’s so disgusting, I’ve never seen such a gross guy! If he didn’t like me, he should have said so earlier, instead of stringing me along and wasting my time and feelings!”

The more Zhang Dai listened, the more his brows furrowed. He scolded her, “I don’t know whether to call you naive or just plain dumb! Luckily, you didn’t meet him in person. What if he was a human trafficker?”

She retorted righteously, “Impossible, everyone on the app has to be verified. The information must be real to pass the review!”

“Even photos can be faked, how hard is it to fake an identity? Using someone else’s information to get verified and register an account, isn’t that a common scam? Now there are AI face-swapping and voice-changing tools too! What if the person on the other side is an old man? Can you sober up?” He was really frustrated; she had no sense of safety awareness!

Having him lay the facts in front of her, Chen Shuangshuang became even more upset: “I’m already so miserable and sad, and instead of comforting me, you scold me! You have no heart!”

Zhang Dai raised his hands in surrender and admitted his fault: “Alright, alright, the heartbroken person is the boss! My bad!”

“Exactly, it’s your fault, and you need to make it up to me!” Chen Shuangshuang, acting unreasonably, tugged at his clothes, forcing him to comply.

“Fine, fine, whatever you want!” He had already mentally prepared himself to be taken advantage of.

She suddenly stood up with renewed energy, indignantly declaring: “I want to drink, and I want strong alcohol. I need to drown my sorrows and forget all these unlucky things!”

Zhang Dai turned towards the door, then brought in the large bag he had left there earlier and handed it to Chen Shuangshuang: “Here!”

“You really understand me!” Chen Shuangshuang, familiar with the routine, opened the bag and neatly arranged its contents on the table.

With a serious face, he used a bottle opener to open a bottle of wine: “I give up! How many times have you been heartbroken now? Every time, it’s over before it even starts, and every time you don’t dare tell your family, using me as your confidant and making me keep your secrets! You also make me drink with you, even though your drinking capacity isn’t something ordinary people can handle. You don’t even get drunk! It’s a waste of my good wine!”

Chen Shuangshuang indignantly retorted: “It’s clearly because your drinking capacity is poor! Every time you get drunk first, and then you blame me for having a good tolerance!”

“Then I won’t hold back!” She held up the mug with both hands and downed it in one go, then exclaimed, “This wine tastes much smoother than the previous one!”

“Of course, it’s an imported brand that I asked a colleague’s family to buy for me! I originally planned to bring it home as a gift for my dad and your dad, but you intercepted it!”

“Then I’ll drink more on behalf of my dad and your dad!” She giggled and handed him the mug, signaling for him to pour more.

Zhang Dai, resigned to his role as the bartender, sighed. Why did he have such a troublesome childhood friend? Ah, life is tough, the childhood companion sighs…

She had no idea how many drinks she’d had by now. She started to feel a bit tipsy, sniffling as she began reminiscing about her sweet moments with that online scumbag: “I thought I found love and invested my whole heart in it, caring for him morning, noon, and night, waiting stupidly every day for his messages, even buying him fruit online. Every time we video-called, his voice was so gentle, and his smile was so charming…”

Then she entered the next stage of drunken melancholy:

“I’ve drunk so much, why am I still so sad? My heart still aches so much! Woo woo woo, how did it suddenly turn out like this? I haven’t even processed it, and it’s already over!…”

Then she moved into the third stage of drunken rage:

“Why the hell did he lie to me? Choosing someone else, what a fool! His ancestors must have all been blind! I’m so amazing, I wouldn’t even give him the time of day!”

“Right, right, it’s that scumbag’s fault. He’s not worth your tears!” Zhang Dai gently patted her back, trying to calm her down.

Because he had to work overtime on Saturday, Zhang Dai was very restrained and didn’t drink much with her. In the end, as she was about to finish the wine, she realized he still wasn’t drunk!

Chen Shuangshuang, with her blurry, drunken eyes, stared at Zhang Dai incredulously: “This doesn’t make sense! How are you not passed out drunk?”

Chen Shuangshuang looked at him with pity: “No wonder, that’s really tough! Your company is practically squeezing your life out of you, making you work overtime on a Saturday! That’s inhumane!”

He didn’t like being looked at with that kind of pitying gaze, so he reflexively retorted: “Not as bad as you, suddenly becoming a ‘double loss’ youth! I suspect your name might be unlucky! Shuangshuang¹shuang means double, a double loss: breakup + job loss! Maybe you should see a master to change your name and possibly your fate!”

“Change my name, my foot! My name refers to ‘double success in career and love’. You’re just jealous of my name! Who has a more common name like Zhang Daishan?”

Zhang Dai was exasperated. She always liked to dig up his childhood embarrassments, so he reluctantly called for a truce: “Alright, alright, let’s call it even. Everyone’s name is nice, no personal attacks on each other’s names!”

However, drunk logic is illogical. She grabbed his clothes and acted shamelessly: “No, we can’t call it even. I’m so miserable, and you don’t seem sad at all. You have no heart!”

“How do I have no heart? I’ve been your brother for decades, haven’t I? Wasn’t it me who covered up for you when you wet the bed as a child? And wasn’t it me who took the blame when you got caught stealing mulberries from the old man’s tree? He was getting a bit tipsy himself, and started recounting all their embarrassing incidents from childhood.

Chen Shuangshuang, feeling annoyed, interrupted him dismissively: “Got it, got it! You’re the best!”

She then changed her position, laying her head on the table with her hands clasped, burying her head in them.

Seeing her posture, Zhang Dai guessed she was tired and wanted to sleep. He walked over and tugged at her arm, but got no response.

He squatted down and looked up at her. Her little face between her arms was flushed, her eyes swollen, and her expression filled with sadness.

When Chen Shuangshuang noticed him, she mumbled grumpily: “Go away, don’t look at me! I want to be alone!”

With that, her tears started falling uncontrollably again, and she began to sob once more.

Zhang Dai couldn’t understand her rapid mood swings, which seemed faster than flipping pages in a book. She was suddenly crying again for no apparent reason!

He quietly sat on the floor, looking up at her, waiting for her to cry it out.

Finally, as her sobbing subsided, she asked Zhang Dai, “Why do I fail even before confessing every time? Why does it end before it even begins? Am I destined to be alone forever? Am I just that unattractive?”

Zhang Dai felt a sudden, inexplicable pain in his heart. If this setback made her become self-conscious and sensitive, he would never be at peace.

He answered without hesitation, “You’re great! You’re really great!”

Chen Shuangshuang looked up in surprise, staring blankly into his eyes, trying to discern the truth from them.

The man in front of her had a pair of captivating peach blossom eyes, and his thin red lips curled up slightly, forming a faint smile. In a firm and serious tone, he confirmed once again, “Really, you are really great! I’m not lying to you, really! They just don’t recognize a good thing when they see it!”

Before he could finish his speech, a sudden kiss interrupted him.

Diary entry:

Chen Shuangshuang, can you like me?

— Zhang Dai

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  shuang means double