Things Have Changed

Turning around, Wang Li opened the door and let her in first before following her in. Finding an empty table by the window, they sat themselves and had a moment of silence, looking at each other.

"I want to say sorry for before. I shouldn't have poked my nose into your business like that."

He lowered his head immediately, taking the chance to apologize to which Liu Wang replied in kind.

"No, I should say sorry how I acted. It was rude of me to just leave like that. It's been nearly eight years since we saw each other, a lot of things have changed."

"A lot of things... have changed, haven't they?"

They looked at each other, strange emotions rose out before Liu Wang suddenly spoke.

"Now that this is dealt with, let's get order something to eat and we can talk for a while."

Taking off her jacket, she then stood up and walked to the counter, looking at all of the desserts before picking one or two. He looked at her before standing up to see what sort of desserts they had. In the end, they both had ordered a slice of cake and tea.

"Chocolate Lava Cake..." said Wang Li.

"...and a Strawberry Cheesecake." Liu Yang followed.

They looked at each other's choices before eating, taking a few bites. It was still an awkward atmosphere between them as they didn't quite know how to start.

Taking another bite, Wang Li spoke up.

"Your clothes, did you leave work early for this?" he asked.

Liu Yang looked at herself, wearing a blue blouse and a pencil skirt with heels and stockings. ANd suddenly looked at her bag.

"Ah, I forgot to change into the outfit I chose last night, damn it", she thought to herself.*

Her face, however, revealed a frustrated expression upon realizing her mistake which Wang Li saw.

"Perhaps, we should have done this on a weekend", he said.

"No, no, it's perfectly fine, besides, weekends are much harsher on you."

She shook her hands, denying his words.

And suddenly they were back to that awkward silence, the both of them taking small bites of their cake slices.

"Should I say something? I don't want us to just be eating cake in silence! That's so sad!"

Liu Yang thought long and hard, struggling to start the conversation but Wang Li suddenly pointed out of the window.

"Say, doesn't that cloud look like something?" he asked.

She looked up at him before glancing out of the window, studying the cloud he was pointing at.

"Kind of looks like a dog", she replied.

"I don't know... Seems more like a horse to me."

He looked at the cloud with interest.

"You always liked to look at the clouds when we were students. Whether it was studying in the library or outside in the field, you would always take a moment to look up and find a cloud that looked interesting to you", he said.

Liu Yang was silent for a second before laughing.

"What about you? Every time, I asked you what some cloud looked like, you would just call it a cloud. It didn't remind you of anything. And here you are, looking at clouds with such interest."

"I don't really know, one day I looked up and realized why you liked looking at clouds so much."

He turned to her, giving a glance before taking another small bite of his cake.

"Heh, when was the last time we talked like this?" Liu Yang asked.

"Well, it's been... almost eight years by now. The last time we talked... It might have been at our graduation, right before going to university."

Wang Li looked up trying to remember as he replied to her.

"Those were fun times, helping you study was a bit of a hassle but it was fun."

"Of course it was fun, it was me."

Liu Yang helps her head up high as she pointed herself proudly.

"So, Golden Treasure... How did you end up in a place like that?"

"Ah, well, a career in art, it isn't exactly the best choice. So rather than going to a university for art, I went to one for business. Pretty much studied like crazy and got a job there, that was a few years back but I should be getting a promotion soon."

"Oh, that good to hear, that's great."

"What about you? We all thought that you would enter some top institution but you never answered any invites. You practically vanished for the past several years and here you are, managing your own stall at the night market. What happened?" she asked.

Liu Yang was genuinely curious, concerned even for what disaster might happen to him. Wang Li gave a quiet smile as he looked down for a moment.

"I was a smart kid, I won't deny it. I studied all the time but I didn't really know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. Just a month after entering university, I quit and began helping one of the hawkers near it. Managing a stall, I found interest in that and never regretted it. I never came to those gatherings because I was too focused on getting my business started", he explained.

"But your parents... what about them?"

He looked at her with indifferent eyes.

"As you might have seen earlier, I live on my own. My parents... I haven't seen them ever since I decided to do this. To them, I don't quite exist."

"I- I see."

She didn't expect to hear such an answer, for Wang Li and his parents to separate.

"It's fine, we never saw eye to eye from the beginning."

"But your business, they never helped or came to visit?" she asked.

Wang Li shook his head.

"No, I never told them where I set up my stall nor did they ask. It was tough but I managed to get through with a bit of help and now I'm living quite happily like this."

Giver her a brief look, he took another bite of his cake.

"Did you really give up art? Everything? Your drawings, your paintings, all of it is gone?" he asked, choosing his words carefully.

Liu Yang took another glimpse at the window.

"Yes, I stopped all of it the summer we graduated."

"But... why? What happened?"

She was silent looking at what was left of her cake, playing with it with her spoon. She was hesitant to talk, quietly thinking to herself.

"If- if you don't want to say it, it's fine. You don't have to."

Wang Li quickly spoke but she shook her head.

"No, no, I should say it, you revealed so much about yourself. And, you're probably one of the few people in our class who doesn't know."

She let out a somber breath before answering him.

"A week before our graduation, my mother... collapsed and had to be hospitalized until after. The doctors told us that her heart was weak and if it wasn't dealt with properly, she would have to go into surgery. The bills alone would have crippled us and sent our family into debt. If I were to pursue art especially at a top art university, the tuition itself is more than six figures. As for the return, what would my income have been? Would I be able to pay for the bills?"

Her voice was very still, controlled but her eyes showed a tinge of worry and fear.

"I needed a stable job, one with good income because... I don't know when my mother may collapse again."