Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

A hotel lobby in S city.

A tour guide announced, “We'll meet here at eight tomorrow morning. After breakfast, we will depart to Lijiang Island and stay the night there. Remember to bring all your belongings with you.”

After that, Mu Tongrui took a stroll in the area for some food before she returned to the hotel.

She checked her phone to find neither a text nor a phone call from Fu Lingye.

Mu Tongrui collapsed on a bed then opened WeChat. She searched Fu Lingye's name but she failed to find his profile.

That prompted her to sit up straight and focus on every way to search for it.

Unfortunately, after several trials, Fu Lingye's profile still didn't pop up.

I got testy after a few drinks... I didn't block him, did I?

Mu Tongrui sat in stillness, trying to recall that part of the night. Moments later, she finally did.

Mu Tongrui and Ye Guo had dared each other to block their crushes' contacts. The alcohol took control of her and...

Mu Tongrui buried her face under her blanket. Right now, she just wanted to hide and melt away.

Then, she remembered “breaking up” with Fu Lingye one-sidedly. So what am I doing, expecting him to reach out?

Mu Tongrui turned on the television to shut down her uncontrollable inner thoughts. She flipped through the channels and stopped at a show which had a four-year-old performing. That child, who was almost Sweetheart's age, reminded Mu Tongrui of Sweetheart and further messed with her head. Mu Tongrui ended up switching the TV off.

After Sweetheart’s call last time, Mu Tongrui tried calling back, but they were never connected. She speculated that Sweetheart’s phone must have been taken away. In the process of organizing her thoughts, Mu Tongrui eventually passed out on her bed.

The next morning, Mu Tongrui met up with the tour guide after breakfast. They left at eight o'clock sharp for the island.

Lijiang Island was a popular tourist attraction in S city. It was known as the Little Maldives and was the perfect spot for many honeymooners. It explained all the newlyweds in the group. Mu Tongrui was glad that she wouldn't be following their agenda after reaching the island, or it'd be too much to bear for a lovesick woman like her.

tour bus drove for an hour to finally arrive at a jetty. Mu Tongrui boarded a ferry with her tour group and found herself a seat. Not long after, a man sat

turned and flashed a bright smile,

“No.” Mu Tongrui answered.

same tour group? It's good to find another single person. I feel isolated around

Tongrui paused. They made

but I only signed up for the good deals. I'm not interested in

excited hearing that, “What a coincidence, me too! Would you like to

but she

“I'm Qiu Zekai.”

meet you. I'm

They shook hands.

Tongrui looked out the window to appreciate the glistening seawater and a trail of waves created

sports together. Qiu Zekai was a decent photographer and offered to take photos. Mu Tongrui

then who took

Tongrui replied with an eye-roll emoji and typed: Not a lover, just

to S

Ms. Mu's phone, and it is now on Lijiang

a cab and

horizon as gushes of wind grew stronger. A

Lingye narrowed

Qiu Zekai went to a random restaurant after a

served, a television on the wall presented

a sudden storm which caused a few boats to sink.

It happened out of nowhere! The weather was fine when we

hard to imagine a

Luckily, we got here early. I think we should stay two more days just to be safe.” Qiu Zekai

Zekai finished, Mu Tongrui's