2. Her Left-Swipe Friend
Bumble is similar to Tinder. The difference is that Bumble presents itself as an app designed from a female perspective.
After matching on Bumble, the woman must send the first message in order to start the conversation.
In other words, it lets women serve first.
Last night, that Bumble user listed his “motivation for using dating apps” as finding a sex partner.
Wang Meili had seen plenty of answers like that, even more explicit ones.
But on that lonely night, immersed in the circuitous, restrained context common among Asians, paired with the sudden appearance of an ascetic, expressionless face, it carried a certain jarring novelty.
That was why she served first.
She happened to be riding against the current of heterosexual social fervor, not a pure sapiosexual. After weathering countless experiences, Wang Meili had given up on love and returned to the simplest sensory pleasures, remaining loyal to her own animal nature.
Of course, all that lofty talk aside, the main reason was that after swiping for half the night she had barely seen any men who looked decent, all the damn profiles were stunningly beautiful women.
Moving from Bumble to Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, WeChat and so on is generally a positive signal. It means both sides have the intention of moving toward real-life social interaction.
She did not mind adding male netizens’ real contact information. More friends meant more paths. Although dating sites are full of fools, idiots, and perverts, casting a wider net still meant occasionally catching a few avant-garde, independent, or equally perverse friends.
The gentleman from last night had made it very clear that he did not want to continue developing any second offline encounter.
To be honest, it was so clear that it slightly hurt the usually invincible Wang Meili.
She had not given much thought to that virtual connection, but she had never expected to see him again so soon.
Wang Meili had run into one-night stand partners in real life before. Some had forgotten her, some recognized her, and they would subtly curl their lips and exchange a knowing glance. Naturally, there were also cases that developed into a second spark.
But running into each other again in less than twelve hours was truly fate.
A fate so exquisite that the corners of Wang Meili’s mouth stayed pinned to her sleep-deprived, swollen cheeks throughout the entire tasting event.
She obtained the attendee list before her segment and easily found the name ST.
As for Mr. Sui Tang, after catching Wang Meili’s fox-like triumphant smile, he remained composed.
His movements were unhurried. Following the tasting procedure, he accepted glasses of whisky passed along by the service staff, took a light sip, then picked up a stack of soda crackers and chewed them slowly. Not a trace of indulgence showed on his handsome face.
He really did look like he was tasting the whisky.
Wang Meili moved around organizing things and never saw him refuse a drink, so this must have been the “work setting” he mentioned.
#
#
Fresh flowers from a greenhouse surrounded the room, while outside the wind was biting cold.
The PPT opened with the title: “No One Dislikes Whisky, You Just Haven’t Found the One That Suits You,” with the name Wang Meini in the bottom right corner.
This tacky title had been written by a friend well-versed in marketing.
She despised it, yet had no choice but to try believing in it after he ran through a series of bestselling book titles and trending headlines for her, breaking down the formulas.
She formally introduced herself to the distinguished guests as the sommelier, her gaze landing meaningfully on Sui Tang’s face.
Those brief few seconds scratched at the nerves, no less intense than several rounds of riding.
He met her eyes calmly, like a boundless dead sea.
During her segment, Wang Meili tried to squeeze out a hint of affected charm somewhere between professional explanation and pretentious phrasing.
She raised her glass, leaned slightly forward, and introduced the flavor profiles and interesting histories of various whisky brands one by one, while reminding the men present that it was best not to smoke, as tobacco dulled the senses.
They did not care and continued smoking.
These wealthy patrons lifted their nosing glass lids with practiced gestures, sniffed the peaty aroma, and searched for the year on the bottles.
Wang Meili explained that, according to regulations, in order to maintain consistent flavor year after year, new and old whiskies are usually blended, and the age stated on the bottle reflects the youngest whisky, so the contents are actually older than indicated.
When some people could not find an age after searching for a long time, she continued, saying that due to the rapid expansion of the whisky market, some brands no longer list an age, but that does not necessarily mean the contents are new, they may still include aged whisky.
Wang Meili blinked. “Whisky is different from wine, we do not judge heroes by vintage.”
A man whose shirt hem could not contain his belly, with two rolls of flesh spilling over his belt, said that at home they always used crystal decanters, and that the amber liquid swirling inside crystal looked more beautiful at night than a luminous pearl.
Wang Meili professionally asked, “Did you soak it in an alcohol solution for at least a week before use?”
After she explained that lead dissolved from crystal when in contact with whisky could endanger health, the tasting finally reached a lively peak of discussion, though it was unclear how far that was from getting them to spend money.
Fortunately, the burden of sales was not on Wang Meili.
Under the influence of alcohol, most people present, after a few drinks, began to slouch, slur their words, and enthusiastically respond to the salesperson’s rehearsed pitches.
A few pretty girls had been hired to fill out the scene, wearing cheap rented suits, whispering among themselves while watching the promotional brewing film on the projector.
Sui Tang sat upright with a stern face, like a model student. But Wang Meili knew he was actually inattentive. Not only did he show no reaction to her humor, he even frowned and took out his phone twice while the surrounding crowd burst into applause.
Wang Meili muttered under her breath, bastard, hypocrite. I should have kicked you off the bed the second time.
#
#
She did it on purpose. After finishing her presentation, she moved among the guests and seized a gap to ask him, “Mr. Sui, may I have your business card?”
The big-bellied man next to him was signing an order and urged Sui Tang to hurry up. “The beauty wants your card. She did not even ask for mine.”
Sui Tang felt his pockets and laughed at himself. “Sorry, I did not bring any.”
Wang Meili gave a cold snort, then professionally winked at the big-bellied boss. Without mentioning that she was not responsible for sales, she explained with a deliberately coquettish tone of regret, “It would not be proper for me to take your card. We handle everything one-on-one.” He already had a salesperson in charge standing right there, how could he “cheat,” and how could she disregard professional ethics and play the “other woman.”
“Hahahaha.”
“I really did not bring one.” Sui Tang caught the sarcasm in her eyes, pushed aside the cluster of wine glasses in front of him, and found a piece of paper to write down his phone number.
The entire sequence was done with his left hand.
The slip of paper was pressed under the base of Wang Meili’s glass by the same hand holding the pen.
She said thank you, tapped it lightly with her fingertip, then looked toward the projected promotional film without picking up the paper.
The salesperson girl circled around Sui Tang several times, bringing him drinks three or four times for his indifferent, cold gaze to assess, and ended up with nothing.
Later, Sui Tang began discussing work with the big-bellied boss, completely ignoring the salesperson.
#
#
This was a temporarily cleared out floral workshop, to be returned to the owner in its original state later.
After the wine event ended, Wang Meili followed the servers in pouring out the leftover liquor and clearing the glassware.
The planner asked her if she was not in good spirits today, whether she had slept well last night.
Wang Meili replied that she had not closed her eyes at all, her insomnia was severe.
“Jet lag?”
“Not sure, maybe.” She glanced at the density of light and shadow by the restroom entrance. “Or maybe I was worn out from all the tossing around last night.”
After finishing a call, Sui Tang washed his hands and walked out of the restroom, running straight into Wang Meili, who had four tulip glasses pinched in one hand.
Wang Meili smiled formulaically. “Mr. Sui, take care.”
She muttered inwardly, what a cheapskate, among all the bosses present today he was the only one who did not order a single bottle.
Sui Tang paused. “Alright.”
Clink, clatter, the glasses were passed along in relay.
Sui Tang glanced at his phone and said to Wang Meili, “My WeChat is my phone number.”
Wang Meili pretended to be extremely busy, exaggerating the sway of her waist as she moved, brushing aside her short, hanging hair. “Oh?”
Sui Tang took two steps toward the exit. The server lifted the curtain, but he did not move, turning back instead to remind her, “Add me.”
As if anticipating that Wang Meili would not add him, he gave her one more look before leaving.
#
#
Sleep-deprived Wang Meili, after smashing a tulip glass, turned down a dinner invitation and went home to catch up on sleep.
The room was still a mess. She kicked at the suitcase carelessly, planning to tidy up after waking. It had already been a week since she returned to the country, yet everything in her luggage was still in disarray, and she had somehow managed to hook up twice. Truly putting the cart before the horse.
Before sleeping, she checked Bumble. No messages.
Very good!
Very cool!
Of course, the way he had kept looking back while leaving still gave her a faint sense of having regained some ground.
#
#
[Tinder Chat]
Wang Meili: [Just saw your message, wishing you a pleasant trip!]
JY.: [That is indeed late, three months.] [The trip is over, it was indeed pleasant.] [Alps.jpg]
Wang Meili: [Have not been on Tinder for a long time.] [Very beautiful!]
JY.: [Are you in Paris?]
Wang Meili: [I am in China.]
JY.: [For work?]
Wang Meili: [Mm.]
JY.: [When will you go back to Paris?]
Wang Meili: [Not sure, I have been moving around a lot lately, even gave up my apartment in Paris, my luggage is with a friend.]
JY.: [Is your career going well?]
Wang Meili: [At least I can feed myself now.]
JY.: [Congratulations! As a fellow countryman, same as before, if you go hungry, come find me.]
Wang Meili: [Touched!]
#
#
She went to Guangzhou again for another tasting event, then returned to France to handle all the procedures. She did not know how to say goodbye, so while in France she ignored JY.’s message: [When are you coming back to France.]
They had chatted for almost two years without ever meeting.
She rarely maintained contact with an online acquaintance for so long. It was not that she was particularly devoted, it was simply that he was good at conversation.
He often initiated chats, sharing his daily life and beautiful scenery, and had also said he wanted to treat her to a meal, extending invitations with a mix of enthusiasm and shyness.
When they had just matched on Tinder, she was in a difficult period: a partner had run off, an exhibition had fallen through, and someone had come to her door demanding the remaining venue payment. She stayed cooped up at home, eating baguette while drinking watered-down wine, yet still had the mood to swipe through handsome men on Tinder and chat idly.
She found a stranger whose photos looked cheerful and joked about her situation of barely having enough to eat. JY. was very warm and said he could treat her to a meal. He even assured her it would just be a meal.
At the time, she had no mood for dating and declined. Laughing it off, she got through that difficult period.
Just like his Tinder photos, wearing an Arsenal jersey, cheerful like a Christmas Santa, a bright and sunny young man. In person as well, he was kind and warm, always giving the comfort of a fellow countryman. Even someone as indifferent as Wang Meili could not bring herself to coldly reject him.
Although later JY.’s chats were trivial and everyday, lacking the rollercoaster excitement that could stir her heartstrings, there was at least that shared hardship between them. The friendship continued intermittently, though largely maintained by his initiative.
After Wang Meili ordered whisky from a distillery in the UK and returned once again to China, she finally decided to reply to JY.’s message.
Only then did she tell him that she probably would not be returning to France for a long time. It was a pity, she did not know when they would meet offline.
That sounded somewhat hypocritical. If she had wanted to, they would have met long ago. The main point was that she did not really want to, her interest was minimal.
She thought: little brother, I have made my lack of interest in you quite clear, right.
JY. was four or five years younger than her, their life experiences too different. Often they could not find common ground. She did not understand Arsenal and did not like sports, while he did not understand the mystique of alcohol and did not like hooking up.
He said he used Tinder just to make friends, and that she was the most interesting friend he had talked to.
Friend. That was a kind of moral pressure. The most interesting friend could not be a heartless person. She had to keep chatting, to uphold that title.
Wang Meili moved effortlessly across social media, more than half her friends were online acquaintances. She had a filter in her mind, and JY. had long been filtered out.
But…
JY.: [I am in China!]
Wang Meili: [wow! Have you graduated?]
JY.: [Mm, add me on WeChat.] They were Facebook friends, but had never added each other on WeChat.
Two friend requests popped up on WeChat—
7s requests to add you as a friend: I am JY.
ST.: contacting you to order whisky (source: added via group chat “High-end Whisky Tasting Event”)
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