“Everything I’m talking about happened before you and An Zi Yan even knew each other.” Bai Xiao Si deliberately emphasized that point, yet still did not get to the actual subject. Mai Ding did not rush her. He even asked himself whether he truly wanted to hear it. Only after the coffee in her cup was gone did Bai Xiao Si finally speak slowly. “Back then, my ex-husband and I were both too young. We were curious about everything, including that kind of thing. We were also at that hazy stage in our relationship. An Zi Yan never imagined he would meet you someday, and I didn’t care that much either. So naturally, we…” Bai Xiao Si stopped and studied Mai Ding’s expression. Mai Ding tried hard to remain calm, but it was useless. His voice trembled as he asked, “You two slept together?”
“Mm. And it wasn’t only that, Mai Mai. I was pregnant with An Zi Yan’s child.” Mai Ding could not process the news. He kept trying to tell himself it had all happened in the past, but no amount of reasoning helped. He truly could not shrug it off or laugh as though it meant nothing.
“And then?”
“There was no ‘then.’ You appeared, and we agreed to keep the secret to ourselves.”
“I-I mean the child. What happened to the child?” Mai Ding struggled to force the question out. His lips felt dry and his chest tight. Bai Xiao Si looked out the window. “You should ask my ex-husband about the rest. Mai Mai, I told you, it happened a long time ago. Do you still want to be friends with me? I know this isn’t something you can accept all at once. I know telling you is cruel, but I also think not telling you might be even crueler.”
“That was something between the two of you before. It had nothing to do with me. Thank you for telling me. I’m just a little shocked, that’s all.” Mai Ding’s fingers kept clawing at his knees. He had no idea what expression he should wear or what he should do. His mind was completely blank. Bai Xiao Si looked at him with pity. “I think I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No, no…” Mai Ding only shook his head and repeated the words under his breath, unable to find anything else to say. A long silence followed. He did not even dare look up at Bai Xiao Si, because if he did, he would not be able to stop imagining her and An Zi Yan together. Bai Xiao Si saw through him. She stood. “I think I should leave you alone for a while. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? It wasn’t your fault!”
Bai Xiao Si only smiled and left. Mai Ding wondered whether the expression he had shown her just now had been too cruel. Compared with him, should she not have been the greater victim? He hurried after her, but Bai Xiao Si was already gone.
The wind against Mai Ding’s face was neither cold enough nor warm enough. He put his hands into his coat pockets and walked home. Thoughts kept appearing and disappearing in his head. What had happened between them before was something he could never have been part of, but things were already what they were. If it was An Zi Yan and Bai Xiao Si’s child, Mai Ding thought he could probably accept it. No, not probably. He definitely could. A child? He had never thought about children before, nor had he ever imagined what having one with An Zi Yan would be like. He was a man. He could not have children. That was all.
When he got home, Mai Ding sat on the sofa. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there, maybe a few minutes, maybe dozens. Finally, he said weakly, “An Zi Yan, I don’t blame you for hiding it from me. And I don’t believe you would’ve done something cruel to Bai Xiao Si and forced her to get rid of the baby. So tell me. Where is your child?”
An Zi Yan’s fingers stopped on the page of his book. Mai Ding did not want to look at his expression. In an utterly calm, almost absurdly calm tone, An Zi Yan said, “Mai Ding, could you look at a calendar or your phone once in a while? I can’t even be bothered to lie to you anymore. Can you stop falling for this every year right before April Fool’s Day?” That single sentence seemed to rip Mai Ding’s soul straight out of his body. If this were a comic, he would have been colored completely gray. His blood rushed upward and he nearly died of fury. He yanked out his phone. March 31! It was not even April 1 yet! Bai Xiao Si must have moved the prank forward this year because she was afraid he would catch on. What a bastard!! That damned bastard woman!! No wonder she suddenly had time to meet him today!! The more Mai Ding thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted to grab a knife and charge straight to Bai Xiao Si’s house.
“Y-you! Why didn’t you warn me?!”
“Living with you is an insult to my intelligence. Last time she said she was going to marry me. This time she says she had my child. Next time, if she says she and I traveled here from ancient times, are you going to believe that too?”
“No, but you didn’t see how convincing she was just now!!” No matter how Mai Ding tried to defend himself, the look An Zi Yan gave him did not change at all. Why did he keep making the same stupid mistake? Maybe he really should just stop existing. Stop existing altogether!
Bai Xiao Si had another nasty hobby too. Every so often, she liked using Mai Ding to annoy An Zi Yan. She had assumed Mai Ding would go home and make enough of a scene to give An Zi Yan a headache. Unfortunately, she had once again overestimated Mai Ding. She had not actually expected him to believe her either, since she had fooled him with variations of the same theme plenty of times before. The fact that he still believed it could hardly be blamed on her cruelty.
The next day, carrying extreme disappointment in both his friends and himself, Mai Ding went to work. He looked at the pile of files on his desk that he was responsible for sorting. His coworkers’ desks did not look much better. Mai Ding could not help sighing. Whatever youthful energy he had possessed yesterday had been completely sucked dry by that demoness Bai Xiao Si, and An Zi Yan had spent the entire night mocking him on top of it.
Fan Shao Jun was still complaining because An Zi Yan had ordered them a few days earlier to sort through ten years of Public Relations files. “I thought Yan was only trying to scare us. I didn’t think he was serious. How long is this going to take?” Gao Shuang said gloomily, just as always, “You could go tell Yan you’re unhappy about it.” Fan Shao Jun rolled his eyes at Gao Shuang. “I was just complaining. Mind your own business.” Liu Wei stole a moment from work to pick up his phone and rapidly scroll through messages. “Sigh. It’s April Fool’s Day and there’s no atmosphere at all. Playing a few pranks would be fun.”
Mai Ding snapped angrily, “What’s fun about that? Can’t people just live ordinary lives? Why does everyone have to prank someone? What kind of thinking is that? You’re all hopeless!”
“What are you getting so worked up about?”
“I’m just angry.” At least Bai Xiao Si’s prank was already over. Today he only had to be careful around everyone else. Now that he knew it was April Fool’s Day, there was no way he could be fooled again. When An Zi Yan walked in from outside, he tapped Mai Ding’s desk. “Idiot. Make me a cup of coffee.” He was still mocking Mai Ding over what happened yesterday. Was he ever going to stop?!