The Silly Alchemist

“Dating...it’s just two people walking around, watching operas and eating. We never hold hands... My mother said girls shouldn’t be too casual with guys,” said Zhen Xiaoyan.

“...Please... How are you going to compete with Sha Lan like that? I mean... Look at her! She’s literally clinging onto Moya! Fatty, you can’t be like this. Ah, why don’t you get Moya drunk tonight, and then you just..." said Ye Lang before he burst out laughing.

“Fuck off! Seriously, how can I beat Sha Lan? She’s clinging onto him and she's not going to let him go,” replied Zhen Xiaoyan. She was reluctant towards physical contact - and only she knew the reason.

“If you’re going to be like this, then it would be very hard for you to win over Moya.  If you keep this up, any other guy out there would prefer Sha Lan.”

“Holding hands... okay, I’ll let him hold my hand!” said Zhen Xiaoyan, as if making a very hard decision.

“That won’t be enough, you still have to hug him and kiss him…” continued Ye Lang.

“NO!!” exclaimed Zhen Xiaoyan, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Come on, are you really in love with him? These are all common things couples do in a relationship. I’m not even asking you to marry him.”

“I said no, and that is final. I like him, but I can’t make myself do these things unless I'm certain we're going to get married!”

“You’re so old fashioned. Guess I can’t help you anymore, you'll have to figure this out on your own,” said Ye Lang. He didn’t bother to pay attention to Zhen Xiaoyan anymore. It'd take a miracle for things to work out for her.

“If you don’t help me, I won’t give you food anymore!”

“I’ll get food from someone else…”

“You…”

…

“You mean you both don't know what the problem is?” asked a friend who was there the entire time. She couldn’t bear to listen to this conversation anymore.

“What problem?” asked the both of them at the same time.

“The problem is that you two are always with each other - of course Moya doesn't like it!" said their friend, about to faint.

"...That makes sense. Fatty, it's best you go away!" waved Ye Lang, maintaining a safe distance from Zhen Xiaoyan.

"Fine! I want to be as far away from you as possible too, you're interfering with my dating life!" shouted Zhen Xiaoyan while also maintaining a distance from him.

"...You two…"

After the 'hint', they stopped hanging out as often, always maintaining a safe distance between one another. Now, it was Sha Lan who felt uneasy. If things kept going this way, Moya's misunderstandings would soon clear up. After all, there really wasn't anything serious between those two.

Although Ye Lang was eating Zhen Xiaoyan's food during lunch, he no longer stayed to spend time with her. Whenever he took a stroll or a nap, Zhen Xiaoyan wasn't there to accompany him anymore.

They indeed maintained a safe distance between each other, but things didn't turn out for the better, simply because there was still a woman between them.

"There must've been something going on between them, she left him because she felt guilty for it," said Sha Lan to Moya. Nothing would've changed if Sha Lan hadn't said that. 

"I'll clear things up with her later!" Moya frowned. He couldn't take this anymore.

…

"Why? Why do we have to break up?" Zhen Xiaoyan looked at Moya and tears started trailing down her cheeks. She was hurt. She really liked Moya.

If it wasn't for the misunderstanding, they would still be together.

"Why? Ask yourself. You care more about Ye Lang than me, your boyfriend. You're always with Ye Lang every day. Did you care about my feelings at all?" Moya couldn't stand it.

"I didn't know...why didn't you tell me...if you told me, I would've kept away from him! And I did! Can we not break up?" cried Zhen Xiaoyan.

"..." Moya remained silent. He suddenly realised something - it was his fault too.

This outcome wasn't only Zhen Xiaoyan's fault, but also Moya's. He didn't tell her how he felt, and he didn't stop Zhen Xiaoyan from spending so much time with Ye Lang.

If he spoke out, Zhen Xiaoyan would've definitely noticed the problem and make up for it. Although she'd still care for Ye Lang, she wouldn’t have expressed it like this.

This was simply a mistake from the start - one was blindly infatuated while the other was merely touched, that was why this problem arose in the first place. 

First they had a shaky start, then they both didn't know how to resolve conflicts between themselves. The outcome was more or less predictable. The fact that there was a woman between them made it even more so.

“Telling you wouldn’t have made any difference- you spent so much time with Ye Lang... It's been months! You’re playing Moya's feelings!” Sha Lan interjected immediately. She was afraid Moya wouldn't go through with the breakup. 

“Do you promise, from now on, that you won’t meet Ye Lang at all and break off all ties with him?”

“No! Ye Lang is my best friend, I won’t break ties with him no matter what!” said Zhen Xiaoyan without thinking twice. Even if these words would make her lose her love, she didn’t want to give up her friendship with Ye Lang.

“But what if you have to break all ties with Moya for Ye Lang? What will you do then?” questioned Sha Lan.

“I…” hesitated Zhen Xiaoyan.

This situation was clear to anyone that Ye Lang was more important than Moya!

“That’s enough, let’s go!” Moya didn’t want to talk anymore. He left immediately, dragging Sha Lan with him.

Zhen Xiaoyan watched as they left and she stood there speechless. Tears flowed down her cheeks, the tears commemorating her first love…

Zhen Xiaoyan’s mind went blank with all the crying. When she came back to her senses, she found herself standing in the field, Ye Lang napping beside her.

So she crouched beside Ye Lang, knees in her arms, tears still flowing. She still hadn’t recovered yet…

“What happened? Why are you crying?” asked Ye Lang once he woke up to a crying Zhen Xiaoyan.

“Ye Lang...I broke up with Moya!” cried Zhen Xiaoyan.

“Oh, you broke up? Do you want to lean on my shoulder? But first, don’t wipe your mucus on it!” Ye Lang lent his shoulder unwillingly.

“You asshole, asshole, asshole…” Zhen Xiaoyan punched Ye Lang and eventually ended up crying on his shoulder.

“Stop crying! It’s his loss for breaking up with you - you’re so pretty!" comforted Ye Lang softly.

Zhen Xiaoyan continued crying…

“Three-legged toads are too rare, but two-legged men are everywhere! Wait till I introduce you to a rich and handsome young man!"

“I don't want one..." she continued crying.

“Then I’ll get you the best fighter in the whole world.”

“No…” She shook her head and carried on crying.

“Then…”

“I don’t want anything, I just wanna cry my heart out- I’ll be okay once I've cried enough…” cried Zhen Xiaoyan. She wrapped her arms around Ye Lang and leaned on his shoulder.

“Then just cry your heart out,” replied Ye Lang. After that, Ye Lang didn’t say much and just sat on the field, with Zhen Xiaoyan crying on his shoulder. Her body was glued to his.

At that moment, time seemed to stop…

And they were the only two people in the entire world.