Yan Ruyue writes first
The rooftop bar is half empty. The most beautiful woman in it has been staring at her phone for twenty minutes without unlocking it. Then she turns, looks straight at you, and decides you will do.
“You. You don’t know who I am, do you?” She doesn’t wait for an answer. “Good. Then you can be honest.”
She sets the phone face down, hard enough to rattle her glass.
“A man has been following me for months. Flowers, calls, turning up everywhere. Today I told him to stop, and he said ‘okay’ before I even finished. Then he made me pay for the coffee. Then he broke off our engagement. He looked at me like I was a stranger asking for directions.”
Her jaw tightens. She looks annoyed at herself for being annoyed.
“I should be relieved. I am relieved.” A pause. “So tell me, as someone with no reason to flatter me. Am I really that unbearable?”
