Journey of Lies

At 6:30, Ren Jiayi drove to pick up Jiang Xia.

Upon seeing Sheng Zhizai, Ren Jiayi made no attempt to hide her surprise. Before getting into the car, she pulled Jiang Xia aside and asked, "Why is he here too? You two...?"

Jiang Xia explained the water bill issue, and just then Sheng Zhi called, so he asked him to come and help.

Ren Jiayi pursed her lips and didn't say anything. Jiang Xia was a little troubled. She opened the car door and saw a gym bag on the passenger seat.

"I just dropped my boyfriend off at the restaurant, how about I leave him at the back?" Ren Jiayi said, making her way around to this side.

Jiang Xia noticed two medium-sized dumbbells on the passenger side floor mat and couldn't help but say, "Never mind, I'll sit in the back. It's too much trouble to move them around."

"Seriously, he joined a club here this year, which is full of fitness fanatics. You know how it is with Europeans and Americans, they won't stop until they're sweating every day."

After closing the front door, Sheng Zhi had already opened the back door for her.

Jiang Xia pursed her lips and got in first, sitting close to the car door, as if to create distance between them.

As the car turned onto the main road, Ren Jiayi's radio was playing music very loudly. After turning it down, she looked in the rearview mirror and explained, "Xiaxia, I thought you might not be in a good mood lately, so I invited some friends over for a welcome dinner tonight. If you don't like it, we can sit separately..."

Jiang Xia had no reason to refuse Ren Jiayi's kind offer.

"It's good that it's lively."

After Jiang Xia finished speaking, he stared blankly at the street scene outside the car window.

Six months ago, she discussed the wedding venue with Xu Xiujie, and Xu Xiujie agreed to everything she said at the time.

At first, Jiang Xia was torn between a Western-style lawn wedding and a Chinese-style hall ceremony. She even suggested that Xu Xiujie draw a wedding photo of the two of them by hand so that he could feel involved, and he agreed to both.

After Jiang Xia went to the police station to identify the body, he went back to pack his things and saw the one-meter by two-meter drawing board in his studio. He hadn't even finished the draft.

That was a week before the wedding.

Perhaps Hsu Hsiu-chieh wasn't looking forward to their wedding at all, which is why he didn't care much about the wedding photos for the guests.

After turning three blocks and driving for a few minutes, you'll reach the entrance of a small alley.

After parking the car, Ren Jiayi led the way to an inconspicuous staircase. The narrow staircase was only 80 centimeters wide, and one could only go up or down from one side at a time.

Before even reaching the second floor, Ren Jiayi was already greeting people passing by in Spanish.

"Hola~"

Once Jiang Xia caught up, Ren Jiayi whispered, "The Spaniard has been in Chiang Mai for almost ten years. He has a lot of gossip to tell you about. I'll tell you about it another day."

The second floor is an open-air restaurant with a circular bar in the middle. The bartender, dressed in professional attire, shakes a cocktail shaker up and down. When he sees Ren Jiayi arrive, he nods familiarly to greet her and even makes a throwing motion, which draws cheers from the other guests.

The restaurant's name, Rooftop, is displayed in neon on the canopy above the bar.

At the farthest table sat a group of people of all skin colors.

"Hey, Babe—"

A white man with deep-set eyes stood up and waved.

Jiang Xia looked over and took a closer look. The man had long hair tied up in a small braid. His light brown curly hair and fair skin were still visible no matter how much sun he got.

"My boyfriend, Oscar, is of Italian and British descent. He claims to be Italian, but he can't speak a word of Italian."

Ren Jiayi smiled and blinked. "He's five years younger than me, a surfing instructor. He taught me how to surf. Do you want to learn?"

Jiang Xia shook her head repeatedly. She wasn't an adventurous person and rarely exercised.

In this respect, she and Xu Xiujie are the same type of people; they avoid moving if they can, and those sweaty exercises are almost irrelevant to them.

Jiang Xia was pulled over by Ren Jiayi and got to know these people one by one without really knowing what was going on.

I heard English one minute, Russian the next, and then Spanish when I turned my head.

"Bonjour~ Can I kiss you?"

A white-haired man with a buzz cut pulled Jiang Xia's hand closer, and before she could react, his face was right in front of hers.

"Hey..."

Sheng Zhi raised his hand and pushed the man's shoulder away. Jiang Xia took the opportunity to back away, barely managing to free his hand, his eyes filled with undisguised panic.

Although Jiang Xia knew about the so-called cheek kiss, he couldn't accept it from the bottom of his heart, especially since it was from a stranger.

The man who was greeting her in French froze when he saw Sheng Zhi standing in the middle, and switched to English, saying that Sheng Zhi didn't understand French culture.

Before they even sat down, the situation had already become awkward.

Seeing this, Ren Jiayi stepped in to smooth things over, explaining in English that everyone should respect each other's cultural backgrounds, and also emphasizing that China does not have such a custom.

Fortunately, everyone was young, and the matter was quickly resolved with a few jokes.

Ren Jiayi took Jiang Xia's arm and sat down, smiling as she said, "That's Leo, he's of French and Chinese descent, but he doesn't even know for sure where he's from... Don't take it to heart, he's bisexual."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia looked up at Leo sitting opposite him.

At this moment, Leo was already asking Shengzhi for his contact information. She was greatly impressed by his open-mindedness.

It seems that Ren Jiayi arranged the seating order in advance; Jiang Xia's left was Ren Jiayi, and his right was Sheng Zhi.

"We come here often. The fusion and local dishes are both pretty good. I remember you couldn't eat spicy food back in college, how are you now?"

"It's still not working. Don't worry about me, I'll just eat something."

"How can that be? Today is a special welcome party for you, you're the oldest."

After saying that, Ren Jiayi got up to order food, and Jiang Xia then noticed that there was only wine and snacks on the table.

The drinks menu and the food menu were separate. Ren Jiayi was chatting with her friend at the ordering counter when the waiter brought the drinks menu to the two new diners.

Jiang Xia casually ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, something Xu Xiujie had told him about before.

I can't remember how the conversation started, but they rarely chatted like that.

When asked to compare a person to a glass of wine, Hsu Hsiu-chieh said she was like a Long Island Iced Tea, a must-have in quiet bars.

"Longisland?" Sheng Zhi closed the drinks menu and laughed at her, "You don't usually drink? How about a Savory cocktail?"

"Isn't Long Island Iced Tea good? I've only had it once or twice, and it was alright." Jiang Xia leaned back in his chair, the air conditioner fan nearby occasionally bringing a cool breeze.

"It's fair to say it didn't make any mistakes; it's not particularly innovative by today's standards."

Turning his head to meet Sheng Zhi's gaze, Jiang Xia opened his mouth, unable to resist asking, "Then what does it mean if someone describes someone as a Long Island Iced Tea?"

"Perhaps they felt this person wasn't very interesting."

After saying that, Sheng Zhi noticed the change in Jiang Xia's expression and guessed what was going on in just two seconds: "Who said that about you?"

Jiang Xia pouted, picked up the Long Island Iced Tea that had just been delivered, and said while biting the straw, "Am I really that boring?"

"It's really bad if a man is boring. Women should be different. You always have your own shining points. Maybe he just hasn't discovered that you are actually very interesting."

The tartness of lemon spreads across the tongue, followed by an aggressive blend of various base spirits.

Jiang Xia was a little distracted and drank half a glass in one go, the ice cubes peeking out.

"You talk as if you know me very well." Jiang Xia let out a soft breath, her nerves, which had been tense for many days, seemed to relax under the influence of alcohol.

"You are innocent and kind, and sincere to others. Many people don't have these qualities anymore," Sheng Zhi praised without reservation.

Jiang Xia looked at him thoughtfully. The sunset's light was already lower than the rooftops, and lights were lit around the restaurant, including the square lamps on the tables.

"I haven't told Jiayi about that yet."

"This is a matter of privacy. Not saying anything doesn't mean you're not being honest. Why are you thinking so much?" Sheng Zhi took the half-full glass of Long Island Iced Tea from her and placed it on the table. "If you ask me, you're better suited to sparkling drinks. High-concentration cocktails aren't for you. You'll say the wrong thing."

Jiang Xia was somewhat dazed when Ren Jiayi returned, and their meals were served one after another.

"I've known the boss for many years. I just asked about real estate agents for you, and he recommended a local Chinese one, but we can only meet the day after tomorrow. Today is my day off."

"Okay, thank you, Jiayi."

"Hey you, it's been years since we last met, and you're acting like a complete stranger. Do you still consider me a friend?" Ren Jiayi feigned displeasure.

The unpleasantness from earlier was quickly forgotten amidst the restaurant's dance music. Leo, whose temper flared up and subsided just as fast, got up halfway through his meal, walked around to their side, and headed straight for Sheng Zhi.

Have we met before?

Sheng Zhi replied in English, "That's such a cheesy pickup line."

Jiang Xia rested her chin on her hand, eating the hollow noodles on her plate while watching the two people in front of her... flirting?

Soon, a group of people were dancing around the bar with drinks in hand, in all sorts of styles. Sheng Zhi was pulled up by Leo.

Under the influence of alcohol, Jiang Xia couldn't help but laugh absentmindedly.

Back in China, her schedule was packed. In previous years, she could have weekends off, but this year, with many company changes, especially in the second half of the year, she not only had to work overtime but also attend frequent meetings and travel for work...

When she lived at home, her mom would make her breakfast and dinner, and she would just order takeout for lunch.

After Xu Xiujie returned to China, the two moved into a new house and lived together. She not only had to take care of her work assessments, but also had to take care of Xu Xiujie's three meals a day.

Xu Xiujie isn't picky about food, but sometimes when he's in a bad mood, he won't eat for a whole day.

"Xiaxia, what are you thinking about?"

Jiang Xia was brought back to reality after Ren Jiayi lightly touched his shoulder twice. Looking at the group of people dancing wildly on the roof, he was filled with emotion.

"Jiayi, it would be great if Xiujie could see you more often in Chiang Mai. You have so many friends and the atmosphere is so nice, maybe he wouldn't be overthinking things..."

"Forget it. Although I'm not familiar with Xu Xiujie, from what you said, I know I won't get along with him. Look at us, jumping and dancing around. Xu Xiujie will find us noisy."

Jiang Xia smiled. Yes, Xu Xiujie really hates noise.

Neither the new house nor this house in Chiang Mai has a television, he said, because the frequency and sound from the television affect his creative process.

"I still remember the year of the pandemic, it was quite serious here too," Jiang Xia said, holding her wine glass and swaying her body slightly as she recalled, "Back then, Xiu Jie had a fever, and I couldn't do anything through the phone screen. Don't laugh, but I was so worried at home that I cried. That was the first time I felt that the feeling of being in a long-distance relationship was absolutely terrible."

Ren Jiayi nodded in agreement: "Yes, I hate long-distance relationships the most. Now I only date people who are close by, share similar interests, and can be together every day."

"By the way, you two met that time, right?" Jiang Xia asked.