Bad memories

Lijuan lazily reached for her phone and dialed Wang Yun's number.

"Who the hell does he think he is? Does he think he is better than all the guys you have rejected?" Shan continued to ask angrily.

Lijuan put down her phone on the table and looked at her. "The guys I have rejected?" She laughed dryly.

"I really wish I had rejected them all because I really wasn't interested" She said as she smiled sadly.

"What... are you talking about?" Shan asked as she looked at Lijuan's face with unstable eyes.

"You remember that bastard Jiang Lian right?"

Shan moved a finger about as she tried to recall who that was...

"Jiang Lian? Isn't he the hottie from high school? The one who asked you out to the school dance?"

"Yes. That Jiang Lian" Lijuan said with a vigorous nod.

"Remember I told you I refused going with him because I didn't like him?"

"Yes.. I remember." Shan nodded. "It had surprised me then because I knew how happy you were when he asked you to the dance."

Lijuan began to cackle as she remembered that day.

Jiang Lian had asked her to go to the dance with him and after saying a casual "Yes" to him, she had ran to the bathroom with Shan and jumped happily. Jiang Lian was the guy everyone wanted but he had asked her out instead of the other girls... she couldn't believe it.

"I lied back then.." Lijuan said with a sad face.

"I overheard him talking with his friends. They had asked if it was true that he was going to the dance with me and whether he liked me... he laughed and said these words which I still remember clearly... 'Are you kidding me? She is cute, yea, but I only asked her because I know no one else would. Besides, I would have preferred her elder sister but you know how much of a snob she is.' He had said those words and laughed with his friends."

Lijuan paused and began to laugh dryly.

"It did hurt me a lot Shan.. trust me." She looked at Shan who was looking at her sadly. "Maybe I deserved being looked down on and being called a thief, but I didn't think I deserved being treated like that. It was the same reason I rejected every other guy. I was scared they were are Jiang Lian in different forms"

"Li–juan"

"It makes.... makes me feel like I'm different from every other person. I mean... it's not my fault that I pick things right?" She asked as her eyes began to tear up.

"Do they think I like to pick things? What do I even need them for?" She asked as she began to cry.

"I can buy a hundred pens if I want to, I can buy a thousand hair clips if I want to... what do I even need a man's tie for?" She began to laugh as she remembered all the absurd things she had picked.

"I reaaallly.... do not deserve this treatment. Just when I thought someone was finally being nice to me despite everything I have done to him, he called me pitiful. I know they always called me pitiful but they had never said it to my face. He said it directly to my fa–" She buried her face in her hands and sniffed back tears. "He is even worse than Jiang Lian... because Lian was a teenager but someone like Wang Yun is supposed to be a bit understanding right? I just..."

"This one hurts more Shan, not that I like him or even want a relationship with him, but I didn't expect him to say I was pitiful. It hurt more than hearing that punk say so in highschool." Lijuan babbled on.

"Am I that pitiful?" Lijuan asked Shan in a drunken babble.

"Noo, they're pitiful." Shan said shaking her head sadly.

"This makes me very sad and angry... it's bringing back bad memories... I feel like hitting my head against a wall. Do you also remember that punk Li Wei from our senior high school? Do you remember how he told Cao Shufen that he had asked me out on a date out of pity?" Lijuan asked Shan.

"Yes, yes. And we decided the best punishment was for you to stand him up. He was so angry when you didn't show up on the date and confronted you at school." Shan said giggling drunkenly at the memory.

"And I told him before everyone that he wasn't my type. Hahaha! At least I have the right to be a Kleptomaniac with a taste." Lijuan added before she started to sob.

"It's okay Lijuan." Shan said as she moved closer to hug her. "You don't want to ruin your birthday by sulking"

Lijuan shot her head up immediately. "That's right. Today is my birthday!" She said with a smile.

"Screw him! I liked him though, and thought you both would suit each other. But if I see him right now, I'm going to break his head for hurting my baby!" Shan said angrily and also relieved that Lijuan was okay now.

"At least I have Yanju, my option B. I will arrange a date with him soon." Lijuan said wiping her eyes sloppily in a way that made the mascara she had applied on her eyes stain her face.

*********

Yun sat on his bed feeling like an arsehole after disconnecting the call. Even though he knew he hadn't meant it the way he had said it, he blamed himself for making her sad.

Maybe he did deserve to be called a monkey head, but not in public. She should have given him a chance to explain himself... instead she was hurting over something he hadn't really meant.

Earlier when he tried to work, he hadn't been able to concentrate on his work because he was still fuming in anger so he had decided to call it a night. He thought sleeping it off would get it out of his mind. Immediately he switched off his bedside lamp his phone started ringing.

Now what? He asked himself in a groan as he picked up his phone, Pen thief? Why was she calling again? Was she planning on insulting him some more or apologizing? He scoffed at the thought... maybe she finally found his pen and wanted to give it back so he quickly took the call.

"Hello? Hello?" He asked when no one was saying anything at the other end of the phone. He frowned when he remembered that she had gone home by herself and he hadn't bothered calling to check if she arrived safely because he was mad.

Was she in danger? Was that why he was calling? he wondered with a frown... probably not, he could hear the sound of loud music at the background... she was probably at the club partying again.

He decided to end the call but paused when he suddenly heard her speaking to someone drunkenly. He wasn't eavesdropping, after all she called him herself, he said convincing himself and then... he heard her talk and realised just how much he had hurt her.