Asking Again

He was taken aback by their straightforwardness, eyes widening as he almost took a step back.

"Um, sure. What is it?"

"It's about Liu Yang", said Hua Lee, "You need to ask her out again, bring her to that art exhibit you got that ticket for."

Wang Li just looked at them, feeling like something was off.

"So she told you about what happened, did she send you here?"

Rou Ming shook her head.

"No, we came here on our own, so we can get you two together. Now come on, go send her a text and asked her out again."

"No, I won't."

He shook his head, going back to his grill while they stood up and followed him.

"Why not? Just because she shot you down once, doesn't mean she won't accept it this time!"

Hua Lee smiled, trying to entice him to no success, he just ignored her instead.

"What if I make a big order right now? Like what we ordered last time, that skewer plate thing?"

Unfortunately, she was only ignored.

Meanwhile, her comrade took a different approach.

"I know that your meeting with her was a little chaotic but that doesn't mean she is angry at you. Things were just getting a little out of control. You can't just wait for her to contact you."

"Yeah, yeah, aren't you a man?" said Hua Lee.

It was then that Wang Li stopped what he was doing and looked at them straight in the eyes.

"Look, look, I know you two mean well but If she doesn't want to contact me then I won't do it. You can say whatever you want but I'm not going to budge."

Making his stand, the two women were slightly taken aback, looking at each other before quietly backing down.

"Okay, fine. Two beers then."

He bent down and grabbed two beer bottles from his little fridge, uncapping them and handing it to the two friends.

There was a silence between them while the street market slowly grew busier.

It wasn't long before he looked at them again.

"How was she? After that meeting" he asked.

Rou Ming looked at him while sipping on her beer.

"Liu Yang's fine", the woman replied, "If anything she feels like the hardest part is over but she isn't sure about meeting you. Even after our encouragement, she didn't know if it was a good idea."

"Is that so? I see."

Her eyes rested on Wang Li's face, his expression was blank as if he expected that response.

"You know, back then when we were all students, she liked you."

Dropping that line, Wang Li showed no reaction, in fact, he was perfectly still for several seconds. He then coughed and looked away from her.

"I didn't know that", he said quietly.

"Yep", said Hua Lee.

She then pointed at him while holding her beer in her other hand.

"Other than the two of us, you're the only other person she's shown her personal sketchbook to. Hey, she was even going to ask you to out but never didn't do it. She thought you would've said no, considering you were pretty much wrapped up in your studies."

Her eyes then sharpened into a curious stare.

"If she did ask you, would you have said yes?" she asked.

"Uh..."

Wang Li was silent, suddenly met with this question.

"How do I want to answer?" he thought.

Then suddenly, a crowd of tourists arrived, walking up to his stall to make a very big order.

"Oh, I should get back to work. Thanks for coming to my stall."

He quickly moved to another part of his stall, tending to these new customers. The two looked at him before taking another drink of their beer. They disappointed but not angry.

Hua Lee sighed and shook her head.

"My god, they're the same, they're both too scared to look at the other."

Rou Ming looked at her, adjusting her glasses while doing so.

"He is right though. We can't exactly rush it, can we?" she replied.

Her counterpart then finished her beer and stood up.

"Haah, at this rate, It'll be another decade gone before they even go on a proper date."

"Probably."

Together, they paid for the beers and left quietly, leaving Wang Li to his work. At the end of the day, he packed up and left, rethinking the conversation with Liu Yang's two friends.

"She was going to ask me out, would I have said yes?"

Driving back home, he didn't say it or think it, but he already knew the answer in his heart.

Days passed by as both Liu Yang and Wang Li went about in their lives. The difference was, Liu Yang had begun to draw again, but she didn't tell her friends. She wasn't sure yet, she wasn't sure if she was committed to this or if the wondrous feeling of drawing again would leave her.

But the latter wouldn't happen, she brought her sketchbook with her. When she went out or even going to work, she had it with her.

And on one of these days, Xiao Yin spoke up.

"You know, Ms. Liu, you seem much happier. Did something happen? Maybe with that guy?"

Her junior's voice perked up, somewhat excited to hear about her senior's life. Liu Yang looked at her sternly, causing her to grow somewhat scared.

"Why are you so curious? Nothing happened, go finish your work unless you want Manager Zhang to chew you out again."

She scolded the young woman before going back to her computer.

But she looked at her reflection on the screen and touched her face.

"I look happier?" she thought, "No, I probably did my make-up well this time."

But when lunch rolled around, Liu Yang reached for her sketchbook and pencil while eating. Granted, she had purchased some fast food and ate at her cubicle. It wasn't anything fancy, just a burger and some fries along with a drink from a nearby bubble tea shop.

She finished it quickly, leaving only her drink half done while she had her sketchbook out, doodling on an empty page. There was a peaceful quiet in the office as her pencil moved silently. With nothing to really look at she began to practice instead.

"Damn, I forget how hard it is to draw hands!"

She looked at her own hand while sketching, drawing it in different poses. Liu Yang was annoyed but that was it, after all, she hadn't drawn in years. She even smirked at how rough her sketches were.

"Hah..."

She sighed out loud, not noticing her junior walking up behind her and taking a look.

"Ms. Liu?"

Xiao Yin looked at her curiously whilst the former quickly closed the sketchbook and put it away.

"When did you start drawing? This is the first time I've seen you do it", she said.

Liu Yang looked at her with an embarrassed face.

"Oh, It was very recent. I thought it'd be good to brush up on my skills, you know."

"Really? I thought it was because of that stall owner."

"No, no! This is something I do from time to time. Break's about to end, let's get back to work!"

Quickly trying to move the conversation along, she pulled her chair in and opened up her computer. Xiao Yin looked at her for a bit longer before following her senior.

"I bet it is because of that guy!" she thought.

And unfortunately, a certain manager's voice shouted out from his office.

"Liu Yang! Come in here!"