Hooking up was way simpler than getting all artsy.
F had said before, “Willing to spend time on someone is a form of emotional expression.” Li Xia got it now.
Waiting was her one-sided emotional lean toward him.
It meant a possibility of actively prolonging things.
Whatever.
Whether it was overanalyzing a guy’s words, narcissism, or F just being bored enough to wait for her.
In any case, Li Xia’s heart now felt like it was bubbling in a hot spring.
She reined in her earlier flippant attitude from scarfing down fast food and gave a simple explanation of where she’d been.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said politely.
“No need to apologize,” F replied with gentlemanly ease. “I have plenty of time.”
Li Xia remembered he’d cleared his schedule just for this and grew curious. “Mind if I ask how long exactly? So we can figure out how long we can talk.”
F made a soft, thoughtful hum.
“I’ve got the whole afternoon today, which means all your evening. Including my night and your early morning hours. In other words, as long as you’re up for it, this call can go right up until your tomorrow morning.”
He answered earnestly.
Li Xia’s head spun from that rule-breaking stretch of words.
An all-nighter phone call.
Bridging the time difference between China and France.
It sounded kind of romantic.
And F’s voice had this magical quality that soothed and calmed the heart. Every word, every sentence, delivered unhurriedly, like feeding her into a cotton candy machine, wrapping her in threads of sweetness.
Li Xia bit her lip but still refused rationally.
“I thought your work kept you super busy,” she said.
“It’s not bad. My friends headed out shopping this afternoon, leaving me alone—which is perfect, since they’re pretty noisy otherwise.”
“So you’re by yourself in the hotel right now?”
“We’re in a rented villa, since the team’s pretty big.”
“Didn’t they ask where you were going when they left?”
“They did.”
“What’d you say?”
F replied, “I told them I had something more important to do.”
Was she important?
She knew it was just smooth talk, but Li Xia fell for it anyway.
She couldn’t hold back her smile. “Sounds like you’ve been sneaking lessons in charm school.”
F said, “Guilty. Just learned the technique. It’s called stating facts.”
Ah!
Li Xia curled into a little ball on the bed, shoulders shrugging, her throat tightening from holding back squeals.
She felt a bit powerless, like her heart had been captured.
A pro.
She surrendered.
“Teacher Fang, if I may be so bold— what do you do for work?”
“Me?” For some reason, F’s light laugh carried a hint of self-mockery. “I guess you could say I make films.”
Li Xia asked, “So, a director?”
F replied, “You could call me… a third-rate one?”
From his tone, Li Xia could already picture the casual self-deprecation as he said it.
He showed no pride in his job, but how bad could a director be who was leading a team to shoot abroad?
Out of nowhere, she blurted, “A third-rate director is still a director. Who cares? I saw this in a Japanese drama once—folks like us third-raters just need to get the job done with some fun. The world’s one big improv show anyway. Second-rate, third-rate—who’s counting?”
She concluded, “You’re too humble.”
After that rapid-fire outburst, Li Xia realized she’d gone overboard, clamped her mouth shut, and scratched her head in silence.
But F laughed on the other end. “You’re right.”
“Do you always talk like that?” he asked.
“Like what?”
“Like you’ve got endless words.”
“Does it annoy you?”
“Not at all. I like it.”
“…”
Li Xia’s damn heart skipped again.
Knowing the topic was getting heavy, she smartly skipped past it.
She asked if F spoke French.
He said he only knew basic greetings and rattled off a few clumsy sentences.
Li Xia burst out laughing and corrected his pronunciation.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Li Xia’s eyebrows arched smugly. “Bet you didn’t expect that.”
“Oh, charm school in France?”
Li Xia chuckled. “I took French as my second language in college.”
F got it. Then, as if remembering something, he asked suddenly, “Teacher Lizi, want me to bring anything back for you?”
“Huh?”
“You know, Paris has all these bags and stuff…”
“You do personal shopping?”
F sounded a bit helpless. “Not shopping. I just want to get you a gift.”
Li Xia was shocked again. “You buy gifts for people you’ve known just a few days?”
F explained patiently, “I’ve got the location advantage right now. Might as well offer borrowed flowers as tribute. Plus, I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Since I don’t know what you like…”
Suddenly, Li Xia’s inner scam alert blared.
Luckily, after she turned it down, F dropped the subject. Otherwise, she’d have wondered if he’d turn out to be some overseas personal shopper drumming up business.
She switched gears. “Where are you off to tomorrow?”
“Firenze. Florence.”
He pronounced the city’s name beautifully.
Li Xia let out an awed “Wow.”
“It’s a city I really love,” she said, her tone full of longing. “I’m so jealous.”
“Been there?” F asked.
“Nope, just dying to go.”
“Why do you like it so much?”
“The reason might take a while. You still want to hear?”
“I’m all ears.”
Li Xia thought for a moment and shifted into a more relaxed sprawl on the bed. At some point, her head had migrated to the foot of the mattress, feet propped against the headboard, her lazy gaze fixed on the glaring chandelier overhead.
With her body relaxed, the blurred light ahead pulled her out of any tension, letting her simply reminisce.
“I read this poem by Xu Zhimo in college called ‘One Night in Florence.’ It’s so romantic. I still remember the line that stuck with me most.” Li Xia recited it word for word:
“You taught me what life is, what love is.
You awakened me from my stupor and repaid my innocence.”
Her voice was slow, laced with yearning.
Back then, Li Xia had found that line to hold a melancholic yet fiery Western romance. She’d even copied it down by hand. Florence had become her dream city ever since, one she’d yet to visit.
Now, after reciting it, the room and her earpiece fell especially quiet.
Li Xia felt awkward and spoke up softly. “Teacher Fang, do you know the poem?”
“I read it recently, but not the whole thing.”
Li Xia let out a long breath of relief. Good, not a solo act.
After graduation, she’d done jewelry export for a bit. Then she joined a publishing house, trapped in the nine-to-five grind. She hadn’t left words behind, but she felt farther from the dreams of her college days, to the point where even memories faded.
F was a great listener, but Li Xia still felt embarrassed.
Sure enough, hooking up was way simpler than getting all artsy.
With that thought, she felt a little down.
Then F asked, “Why’d you go quiet?”
“…”
Li Xia playfully pinned her mood on him. “Scared you won’t like it and call me artsy-fartsy or something.”
“How could I?” F said. “The sun’s shining great here. While you were reciting, I suddenly thought today feels truly romantic. Makes me a bit eager for Florence even.”
He was so sincere.
Li Xia’s face warmed.
“And in a way, we’re both in the arts. Colleagues,” F added patiently.
Li Xia teased, “Doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
F laughed. “I was just thinking, I’m not great at chatting. Hope Teacher Lizi doesn’t feel like it’s a waste of time.”
“Not at all.”
She tsked then, putting on a dramatic sigh. “But Teacher Fang, I don’t feel like I’ve gained much tonight.”
“Hm?”
“See, I wanted to check out some abs—nada. We’ve talked forever, but I still don’t know if you like bold types or reserved ones. You’re always so even-tempered; I can’t tell.”
“…”
F coughed lightly at the worst moment.
“Too blunt?” Li Xia said.
“I think I should call you Teacher Yiming from now on.”
“Why?”
“One sound, shocking the world.”
“…”
Li Xia shook with laughter, hand over her mouth to muffle it from the phone. “You’ll get used to it.”
F asked, “So, straight up—what do you want most out of this?”
Li Xia gave a threatening reminder. “You sure you want me to say it? Aren’t you scared I’ll…”
“Still after those abs?”
She perked up. “Can I?”
F’s voice turned cool. “Dream on.”
“Back muscles work too. I’m not picky.”
“…”
In the end, F gave in a little.
Li Xia said she wanted to see his Florence shots—just for her, not the shared social media kind.
F agreed, drawing out a soft “Okay.”
Time flew like water; happy time like a waterfall.
Li Xia’s phone was hot to the touch. She realized it was nearly eleven. Washing up too late would disturb Grandma, so she said she had to go.
“Bedtime already?” F asked.
“It’s eleven.”
“Yeah, pretty late.” He murmured it low.
Li Xia somehow detected a trace of reluctance in his words—a reluctance that mirrored her own heart. She even entertained the wild notion of staying up all night on the phone with him.
Absurd.
The thought flickered through her mind and vanished. Li Xia shook her head frantically, urging herself to stay calm.
At the same moment, F’s voice pierced her thoughts right in her ear.
“Actually,” he said, “the time difference can be overcome.”
“If you don’t want to hang up, we could just keep going…”
What a tantalizing idea.
His voice was so gentle, impossible to refuse.
This was dangerous.
Li Xia steeled herself with a bitter smile and cut him off. “We can’t just skip sleep forever. Wage slaves like me have to go to work tomorrow, Director Fang.”
“Mm, true enough,” F replied.
“Sorry, Teacher Lizi. I got too greedy.”
“Hm?”
Li Xia had a hunch about what was coming next, and tension gripped her.
“Nothing,” he said. “I just… don’t really want to hang up.”
Ah—
Cupid’s red arrows struck Li Xia’s heart yet again tonight, piercing it countless times.
She couldn’t help rolling around on her bed, but she had to stay silent.
“Get some rest,” F said.
She waited, but no further words came. Finally, Li Xia shot back, “Aren’t you going to say goodnight or something?”
“You want to hear it?”
“Ah? Isn’t that just basic social courtesy?”
“Oh,” F said, his voice turning listless, “but I don’t really feel like it tonight.”
“…”
How could this guy be so stubbornly obtuse?
And a little childish, too.
Li Xia savored the bittersweet sweetness of their reluctance to part. In a syrupy voice, she said, “Then I’ll head to bed first.”
“Get some good rest.”
“Let’s hang up, then.”
“Mm.”
Even as they said this, the call lingered in silence for another full minute. F made no move to end it, so Li Xia gritted her teeth and pressed the “hang up” button.
–
That night, Li Xia naturally couldn’t fall asleep right away. While washing up, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror: her face glowing with a rosy flush after a night of building warmth. She turned her head this way and that, amused by the sight.
Once she settled comfortably into bed, she came up with a fresh ploy and sent a message to F.
Li Xia: 【Teacher Fang, I have a question】
F: 【Not asleep yet?】
Li Xia: 【How could I sleep? Shh, don’t ask why】
F: 【Go on, what’s your question?】
Li Xia thought for a moment, then deployed her secret weapon: 【Since what I said tonight was too forward and caused a trust crisis between us, I’ve decided to punish myself】
F: 【How?】
Li Xia: 【Let’s play a round】