Chapter 30: CH 30

The next morning, a Chinese compatriot came to see me at the dormitory. I’d known her for about four years. We occasionally met at gatherings and exchanges of Chinese students. We spoke a few times and then stayed in touch with each other.

This time she came to ask for my help to take pictures of an exhibition tomorrow. Her reason was that Chinese people should help each other.

“I’m not the only Chinese you know.”

She is very talented, good at dancing, and has a wide range of social interactions.

“But only you have taken an art photography course. If I remember correctly, you won the Croire Photography Award in our school, right? You are really talented in art! Just be a sister to Tina, please, help me this once.”  She put her hands together in the shape of a plea.

“I finally got the admission qualification for this event. The photographers of our club have gone back to China this week, and I really can’t find anyone else.”

“Actually, your club just wants some photos of the opening ceremony. After the exhibition is over, you can search the Internet and there will be many.”

“We don’t want to be the same, we need something unique,” she said. “So it’s decided, I’ll call you tomorrow.” She grabbed her bag and ran away.

Facts have proven that I am really more tolerant of my compatriots.

The following day I followed Tina to the exhibition place, and rode the bus for nearly twenty minutes. There were four people including me, but I only knew Tina.

The opening ceremony was at ten o’clock in the morning. We arrived early, but found that there were already people waiting at the door.  After Tina gave us the admission card, announced she was going to buy us all coffee.  I told her I would go in and have a look.

Upon entering the exhibition venue, the layout that greeted me inside was quite grand. The hall was set up with a simple yet atmospheric stage, and behind it was the exhibition hall, which was currently not open.

I walked around for a while before unexpectedly running into a familiar face. Familiar, but unknown.

“Hey, we are really destined to keep meeting.” The woman in front of me was the same person I had met at Xi Xichen’s hotel room. “I didn’t introduce myself last time. My name is Fang Hua. Hello.”

I had no intention of saying my name. “Hello.”

“Are you attending the exhibition?” She glanced at the introduction booklet in my hand. “It’s an exhibit of all the classic advertisements from the 1980s to the present. I think it will be a worthwhile event.”

I flipped to an advertisement for a sports car featuring two hounds.

“Well, some look interesting.”

She looked down at the picture.

“These two stars are very impressive.”

At that moment, I saw Tina waving at me a couple meters away. I started to turn to leave.

“You and Xichen,” Fang Hua said hesitantly, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t ask. You seem to have a very close relationship. I mean he treats you very kindly. I have known him for many years and I have never seen him treat a woman that way. The lad cared so much.”

I should have understood what she meant, so I said objectively: “I don’t know him well.”

“You must at least know him as a friend.” She smiled, obviously in a little disbelief, but didn’t pursue the subject. “If you’ve got a chance, next time I can take you to the film festival. It will be better than this. Much more interesting.”

Just then, a staff member came up to ask her about something, and I slipped away. Tina was also already running over.

“Student Jian, you know one of the organizers of the exhibition? We are lucky!”

“I do not understand.”

“The lady you were talking to just now!” She looked happy. “I can catch such a powerful person…”

“I’m only in charge of taking pictures.” I said firmly. I was really afraid of trouble.

“Don’t worry, you just have to help introduce me to her, and I will deal with the rest. Oh my God, the students of our Fifth University are shocked!”

I was speechless. “How can it be so exaggerated?”

“Classmate,” She patted my shoulder earnestly, “you truly are a real person without being boastful.”

Half an hour later, five minutes before the opening ceremony, I was waiting for Tina at the periphery. I don’t know what she was doing again. Her eyes were looking around, but in the next second her attention was taken by a distinguished figure in front of her.

He had a straight body and a light coffee suit that made him look very elegant. In fact, seeing Fang Hua there, I should have known that he might be there too. He must have seen me first because the way he was looking  at me at that moment made me unable to stay calm.

“Hey, where are the two helpers?” Tina asked, finally reappearing.

I turned my head, pointed them out, and when I turned back around again, I no longer saw him.

The opening ceremony was starting on time with the organizer giving a speech, followed by the ribbon cutting, and then finally the visit.

“I always think that foreigners have more handsome facial features. Now I want to say that in the ranking stream just now, only that Chinese man is the most handsome.” Tina said, turning to me,.”Anjie, how was the shot?”

“Go through the camera and see for yourself.”

“OK, I believe you.You can take a few more pictures later. Now we are going to start the interview. You first introduce the lady to me, and then I will see if I can ask her to help introduce some other celebrities.”

I felt helpless.

“I will try my best,” I said weakly.

I was very hesitant to do this. I didn’t have any friendship with Fang Hua at all, and I had only properly met her a moment ago. She was naturally among the few “celebs” surrounded by everyone. The outstanding appearance and calm posture were always conspicuous.

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She suddenly turned her head and saw me.

Walking over with a smile, she asked, “You didn’t go to see the exhibition inside?”

I ignored her question, and instead said, “Miss Fang, my friend wants to get to know you.”

After I introduced Tina to Fang Hua, I walked away.  I was tired of the noisy crowd around me, and I felt a bit bored. But right as  I decided to go outside to get some fresh air, someone took my arm.

“Mr. Xi, you are here?” Fang Hua’s voice floated over from the crowd.

Tina reacted quickly and ran over to me.

“Hello Mr. Xi, we are students of the Fifth University. My name is Xian. I don’t know if you have time, but we would like to invite you to do a simple interview.”

“Interview?” He glanced at Tina and then at me.

“Although we are a school magazine and are not as famous as a large media, please consider my proposal. This is very important and critical to us.”

“When did you start doing interviews?” He asked me.

What a headache.

“Today.”

A man came over and whispered a few words to Xi Xichen. He nodded and motioned for the other person to go first, before leaning down and whispering softly in my ear, “Wait for me, wait for me for ten minutes. I want to talk to you.”

I was a little surprised at the closeness he was portraying towards me on this occasion. His attitude was ambiguous, and he didn’t seem to be leaving without my promise.

I was afraid of what else he might do, so I casually agreed.

He took my hand, hinting at the establishment of a certain agreement before letting go. He asked Fang Hua, who was next to him, to give Tina his business card “You can contact me when you want the interview.”

“Dear classmate,” Tina leaned close to me as soon as they left. “Do you mind if I gossip with you?”

“If I said I mind, you would still say it.”

“You obviously seem to be a very simple person. I have known you for so many years. You don’t have boyfriends, don’t attend student parties, don’t play around. You either read books in the library or work outside school to make money. Even the year before my college, I heard you almost got dropped out of school because you didn’t have money to pay the tuition—”

“What do you want to say?”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It wasn’t dropping out of school, but changing departments, but it was true that I had been short of money all these years.

I walked to the exhibition hall to take pictures, and Tina followed me.”

Is he not your boyfriend?”

What logic. 

“No.”

“It’s okay, I’m mentally balanced.” She looked at the business card in her hand, “He’s a CEO. I still work in the media, this kind of person really can’t fight us.” She patted my arm, “Kid I think you are pretty good. Since you and him are acquainted, you can still grasp this rare opportunity to be his girlfriend. Although the degree of difficulty in pursuit is definitely great, you can try.”

“Since you say it is difficult, why should I waste my time.”

“Students who don’t say that, always try it. If you were to have such a boyfriend… wow, that’s simply… at least you wouldn’t have to worry about being dropped out of school if you don’t have the money to pay.”

I laughed.

Just then, my phone pinged. It was a text message.

[Xi Xichen: You are busy taking the elevator down, and I am waiting for you in the underground garage.]

I couldn’t be bothered to guess how he got my number.

“Tina, I’m leaving now.” I returned the camera to her.

“Hey,” she stopped me, “Where are you going?”

“Just walking around.”

I sent a message back.

[Jian Anjie: Sorry, I have other business, don’t wait for me.]

How small is Paris that I am able to find myself in this situation?

But no matter what, there was no future there.  As Tina said, I’m so different from him, even if we stand together, it doesn’t seem to conform to outsiders.

I thought there would be no more surprises that day, jumping out to challenge my nerves, until I received a call from the doctor who had treated me.

I thanked her for her help after the car accident.

She had been transferred from Paris to Lyon. I usually contacted her several times a year. Her children were about the same age as me, but they were all in the United States.

As I listened to her, she told me something that she had kept silent about for a long time.

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