In the end, Mai Ding never managed to ask An Zi Yan those questions. He could not bring himself to. Two days later, however, the answer came looking for him. Late at night, thunderous pounding erupted from outside. Mai Ding woke with a start, sat up, and switched on the bedside lamp. Even An Zi Yan had been awakened. Mai Ding stammered, “B-be honest with me. Did you borrow money from loan sharks outside or something?”
An Zi Yan kicked him. “Go open the door.”
“Me? What if it’s dangerous?”
“That’s why I’m sending you.”
“You’re sending me out there to die?!” Mai Ding got up. The pounding outside continued without pause, as though whoever was there would never stop until the door opened. An Zi Yan threw off the covers and walked out. Mai Ding hurried after him. The moment the door opened, An Su stood outside reeking of alcohol. She grabbed An Zi Yan by the clothes. “I never knew you were so good at playing matchmaker.” Her tone was full of sarcasm and anger. Mai Ding, standing beside them, had no idea what was happening.
“This has nothing to do with me.”
“Nothing to do with you? You think one sentence like that clears you of everything? Has Fu Shu fallen for that woman?” An Su could no longer control her emotions. When she said Fu Shu’s name, her voice actually trembled. Mai Ding was not stupid. He saw the feeling in An Su’s eyes. Was that why An Zi Yan had worn that fleeting expression when he saw Fu Shu leave with Ji Meng the other day? Had An Zi Yan understood everything from a single glance?
An Su released An Zi Yan and sank weakly onto the sofa, murmuring, “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. I’ve liked him for so many years. I kept waiting for him, and now he’s with another woman… Maybe it’s only a temporary impulse, right?” Mai Ding had never seen An Su like this. The pride rooted so deeply in her had vanished. In love, she looked defeated and painfully humble. Sometimes love was a frightening thing. Mai Ding felt miserable too. He wanted to comfort her, but he also knew nothing he said could actually do that.
“You’re drunk. I’ll take you home.”
“I’m not going home! What would I go home for?” Ignoring her resistance, An Zi Yan hauled her to her feet and dragged her toward the door. He turned to Mai Ding. “Go back to sleep.” Without waiting for an answer, he shut the door behind them. Mai Ding could still hear An Su shouting outside. His mind was in complete chaos. By the time An Zi Yan returned, Mai Ding was still sitting on the sofa. An Zi Yan frowned. “Didn’t I tell you to sleep?”
“Where is she?”
“She fell asleep the moment she lay down.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s just drunk.”
Mai Ding paced back and forth in front of An Zi Yan. He always did this when he was anxious. “I can’t sleep. I have too many questions. Doesn’t Fu Shu have a child? Then he must’ve been married. Was your sister his mistress? And now he’s fallen for someone else? That’s infuriating. Looking at him, I thought he was an upright gentleman. I’m going to beat him up.”
“Who exactly can you beat?”
“But… he’s playing with your sister’s feelings. Aren’t you angry?”
“Watch your wording.” An Zi Yan walked back toward the bedroom. Mai Ding was about to speak again when An Zi Yan continued, “First of all, Fu Shu has always treated An Su like a younger sister.”
“Then what about his wife?”
An Zi Yan lay back down and said unhurriedly, “She died in childbirth five years ago.” Mai Ding fell silent too. Feeling guilty about all his wild assumptions, he climbed back into bed. “Didn’t he notice how your sister feels about him? Fu Shu hasn’t known Ji Meng for very long. I think we should take your sister’s side and help get Fu Shu and her together. Then everyone would be happy.”
“You’re worrying about things that aren’t yours again.” An Zi Yan switched off the bedside lamp. In the darkness, Mai Ding kept looking at him, his eyes gleaming faintly. “Because she’s your sister.” An Zi Yan pulled Mai Ding closer and settled his head on his arm, teasing, “You love me a little too much.”
“Narcissist.”
Mai Ding had just acquired another mission. He wanted to make An Su happy. If she was happy, An Zi Yan would surely be happy too.
The next day, Mai Ding used a break at work to call Bai Xiao Si. He had to admit that when it came to the past, An Zi Yan’s ex-girlfriend knew far more than he did. He even found himself grateful that An Zi Yan had an ex-girlfriend. That was not a feeling people experienced very often.
An Su had refused to tell anyone before, so Bai Xiao Si had never said anything either. Now that Mai Ding already knew, Bai Xiao Si wanted to help An Su too, so she told him the story.
It turned out An Su had liked Fu Shu since she was a child. Fu Shu, however, always treated her as a younger sister, so she decided she would simply wait until she grew up. Before she had fully grown up, Fu Shu got married. The blow hit An Su hard, and from then on she locked her feelings away. After Fu Shu’s wife died, An Su used every bit of strength she had to stay beside the lonely Fu Shu, even helping him take care of his child. Fu Shu did not want to hold An Su back. He had told her very clearly that nothing could ever happen between them, that he saw her only as a younger sister, and that he was merely Grandpa’s housekeeper and was not worthy of An Su. But An Su refused to listen and continued waiting for Fu Shu in silence.
Mai Ding learned a great deal about the sister he had never known. It was not as though An Su and Fu Shu had no possibility at all. She was not really Fu Shu’s sister. Perhaps Fu Shu saw Grandpa as his benefactor and believed that, as a man who had already been married and now had a child, being with An Su would somehow wrong the An family and Grandpa. If they could only overcome those problems, the two of them might still have a chance. It was a complicated, winding love story, and Mai Ding wanted to give it a happy ending. The thought brightened his mood again.