WHBU Chapter 14

Nothing has Changed

Posted by April Fox, ? Views, Released on September 18, 2024

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Chapter 14 – Nothing has Changed

Novel Title: 我们已经分手了 (We Have Broken Up)

Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 刘帆 (Liu Fan -MC), 陈谦 (Chen Qian -ML)

*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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Liu Fan managed to finish the first draft of the proposal at home and sent the document to Tuan Tuan through his contact.

Tuan Tuan, who was always online, didn’t respond immediately. Liu Fan left a message: Review the first draft with Assistant Li and let me know if any modifications are needed. The design samples will be ready by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Liu Fan: Mengjiao, how’s the draft for Fanyu coming along?

Liu Mengjiao sent him a few images: How’s your foot?

Liu Fan: It’s fine. As long as I don’t put pressure on it. Let me take a look at the files.

There were three main colour schemes, each with three sample designs. Liu Fan trusted Liu Mengjiao’s skills and believed in not meddling in areas outside his expertise.

Liu Mengjiao: So are you staying home all day? What did you eat? Zheng Nian’s girlfriend brought him lunch today. Two whole thermal containers, one full of angelica chicken soup, super delicious! The girl is really pretty, seems so gentle, and her cooking is great. It’s a bit unfair that she’s with Zheng Nian…

Liu Fan: Jiejie, what are you upset about? Remember, you’re straight.

Liu Mengjiao: *Sigh* You don’t understand.

Liu Fan indeed didn’t understand. So he shifted the topic back to work, discussing the design instruction manual. Determined to finish this project quickly, he worked on the manual until bedtime. The next day, he took it to the office for revisions and packed it with the three sample designs from Liu Mengjiao to send to Tuan Tuan.

“What’s wrong? Why so glum?” Liu Mengjiao, sipping on coconut milk, leaned over with a gentle smile like a kind older sister. “If you’re upset about something, share it so we can all have a laugh.”

Liu Fan stared at her blankly.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Mengjiao asked, “Is it about your recent blind date?”

Liu Fan’s expression turned even more wooden.

Seeing him like this, Liu Mengjiao knew he was genuinely upset. She put an arm around his neck like a good buddy, “Alright, alright. Tonight I’ll take you to a great place. I guarantee it’ll cheer you up.”

Her mischievous grin was quite disillusioning for such a beautiful woman. Liu Fan rolled his eyes at her, “I want to go home.”

“What home? No one’s waiting for you to eat dinner there. You’re wasting that handsome face of yours by being such a homebody. It’s settled then,” Liu Mengjiao said.

Liu Fan felt a bit down himself and seeing her so insistent, he didn’t argue further.

***

By the time they arrived at their destination, Liu Fan regretted it.

Liu Mengjiao, holding his arm, was about to lead him into a bar called ‘Lotus’. Liu Fan said, “I just remembered I left the water boiling at home. The fire’s still on. Gotta go.”

“Bullshit,” Liu Mengjiao scolded him. She clearly didn’t want him to leave. She used both hands to drag him inside. “This place just opened. And there’s a fantastic show tonight. I came here just for that! Don’t embarrass me.”

“My foot is still injured, I can’t keep up with you, Jiejie,” Liu Fan protested as she pulled him inside. There weren’t many people yet. But as someone in the community, Liu Fan immediately recognized that this was no ordinary bar.

Once they sat down at the circular bar, Liu Fan rubbed his forehead, “You…-“

“-I’m doing this for your own good, aren’t I? You’ve been so worried about your personal issues. This gay bar is said to have high-quality people.” Liu Mengjiao ordered drinks for them and nudged him with her elbow, “With so many people here, you might just meet someone you like.”

Liu Fan thought; I don’t want a hookup.

But since she already ordered the drinks, he stopped resisting and sat properly, focusing on his drink.

Liu Mengjiao was busy on WeChat, enthusiastically sharing her experiences with her girlfriends. Gradually, more people arrived. And indeed, as the rumours said, there were various types of men with good looks and vibes. Liu Fan wondered; is the entry ticket to this bar a facial scan?

He dressed very ordinarily, like an office worker with nothing special about his outfit. But his handsome face couldn’t go unnoticed. In no time, several gazes lingered on him.

Liu Mengjiao smiled and said, “I should sit farther away. So I won’t block your admirers.”

“That’s enough, okay?” Liu Fan thought to himself, hoping that a waiter wouldn’t come over with a drink saying, “This drink is from that gentleman.” That would be too tacky.

Liu Mengjiao was smiling and looking around when she suddenly froze. “Hey, Liu Fan. Look over there…”

Her tone was strange. Liu Fan looked up. He also froze for a moment.

“Is that…?” Liu Mengjiao asked uncertainly, “Is that Zheng Nian?”

Liu Fan squinted his eyes and had to agree with her. It was indeed their colleague who sat in front of them at work.

Zheng Nian was still wearing the jeans and shirt from work, except the top few buttons were undone. A man next to him had his arm around Zheng Nian’s waist, chatting and laughing intimately with him. Their lips touched several times.

Both Liu Fan and Liu Mengjiao were silent for a few seconds.

Liu Mengjiao sighed first, “What about his girlfriend…-“

Liu Fan didn’t know what to say. He would never do something like this. But this kind of phenomenon wasn’t uncommon. As Chen Qian once said, not everyone has the courage to come out. Many choose to hide their sexual orientation and even marry and have children under societal pressure.

Liu Fan didn’t want to stay here any longer. Running into Zheng Nian would be even more awkward. “Let’s go home.”

Liu Mengjiao’s face showed conflict for a few seconds. It was as if she was debating whether to confront the cheater. In the end, she reluctantly followed Liu Fan out of the bar.

Liu Fan stood on the street next to Liu Mengjiao. “If you get a chance… you should still tell his girlfriend.”

“Haa… how should I say it? She probably doesn’t even remember my name. Just going up to her and saying her boyfriend is gay and might be trying to deceive her into marriage, would she even believe it? Plus, that girl looks so well-behaved. Forget it, I’ll think of another way.” Liu Mengjiao was also feeling helpless. She looked at Liu Fan and leaned in, “Fortunately, you’re not like that. Damn, why is it so hard to find a reliable person to spend a lifetime with?”

“I think that ‘chicken soup’ guy is pretty reliable.” Liu Fan rubbed the sides of his nose. “It’s not that hard to find a reliable person to spend your life with. The hard part is finding someone reliable who you also will have feelings for.”

That’s easier said than done.

For a moment, Liu Fan felt empty inside. Everything seemed trivial and uninteresting.

At that moment, for some reason, he suddenly thought of Chen Qian. It wasn’t longing or nostalgia. It was like when you get tired of staring at something, you instinctively gaze out the window into the distance, allowing yourself to take a breath from the fatigue.

Liu Fan lowered his gaze, then waved his hand. “I’ll take you home first.”

“I’ll take you home first. You’re still injured.” Liu Mengjiao raised her hand to hail a cab. “Speaking of which, was your last blind date really that bad? Not reliable at all?”

“Reliable.” Liu Fan spoke the truth. If it was just about living a life together, Zhang Zhou was definitely very reliable.

Liu Mengjiao asked, “Then what was the problem? Was he ugly?”

“Not bad looking… There was just no spark.” Liu Fan shrugged, hailing a taxi and escorting Liu Mengjiao inside.

“No spark again…” Liu Mengjiao muttered a couple of words, looking at Liu Fan’s indifferent profile. “Hey, Liu Fan, are you still in touch with that ex you mentioned last time?”

Liu Fan looked out the window and nodded.

“Wow, there’s hope.” But before she could get too excited, Liu Mengjiao remembered something else. “Too bad he has a current partner.”

Liu Fan’s mind was a bit blank. He responded casually, “No partner.”

But there is a potential one.

“No partner?” Liu Mengjiao perked up. “I mean, is your ex the one I saw last time? Fanyu’s CEO, right? So handsome! Liu Fan, why let such good soil be farmed by outsiders?”

“What?” Liu Fan snapped back to attention. He was unable to suppress a laugh. “Hey, who told me that ‘a good horse doesn’t turn back to graze on old pastures’ before?”

“Isn’t that just to comfort you? He’s successful, handsome, reliable, and someone you like. You should grab this chance.” Liu Mengjiao blinked her eyes a few times. “So, who dumped whom between you two? No. Nevermind, that’s not important.”

Liu Fan turned silently towards the window.

“The most important thing is…,” Liu Mengjiao leaned closer, “do you still like him even just a tiny bit?”

Liu Fan remained silent for a long time.

In the end, he finally said, “it’s been seven years already. What’s the point of bringing this up now?”

“Oh, seven years… Huh? Seven years? And he’s still your only ex? You haven’t found anyone in between?” Liu Mengjiao seemed unsure of what to say next.

The taxi fell into a quiet lull, with only an unknown song playing softly on the radio.

Scenes outside the window flashed by. They were too fleeting to grasp. Liu Fan knew Liu Mengjiao had misunderstood something. He had never considered his single status all these years as a testament to his fidelity to Chen Qian. It was simply because he was unwilling to settle such matters.

In fact, over the years, Liu Fan had rarely thought about Chen Qian. But the strangest thing was that when he did meet Chen Qian again, there was neither a tumultuous outburst nor a sense of unfamiliarity. The more they interacted anew, the more a seemingly ordinary part of his heart began to loosen. It was like a painting he had thought had faded over time, only to find it covered by a layer of mist. With a touch, it was as vibrant as ever and nothing has changed.

Liu Fan sighed as he looked at his faint reflection in the window glass.

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*Translator’s Note: It’s like a long separation instead of break up, right? Hmm… Just get back together, will ya? -K

*GLOSSARY: