The moment Gu Wei had remembered the girl's name, it'd flown out of his lips without a second thought, and he'd completely forgotten to use honourifics.
He may have been familiar with her during school, but years had passed now, and he'd called her name like two old friends who'd kept tabs on each other through the years.
In his situation, that wasn't the case.
The girl hadn't said anything since he'd arrived, and Gu Wei was starting to think he'd got the name wrong, so he said it once more, this time using the proper honorifics.
"I'm sorry, are you Zhai Mei?"
A smile on the bloomed girl's face as she nodded twice. Her eyes found their way up to his face and their eyes met for the first time.
Gu Wei relaxed the moment she nodded her head. It would be quite embarrassing if he'd got the name wrong or the person mixed.
Zhai Mei was grinning now, her cheeks pulled into two round blurbs.
She was looking up at Gu Wei with so much expectancy in her eyes, that he wasn't sure what to say next.
The vendor they were standing at saved the day, and they both bought their respective steamed buns.
Gu Wei made sure to pay for both of them, it would be rude not to.
Surprisingly, Zhai Mei didn't protest to his show of manners and Gu Wei found himself relaxing further as they made their way through the busy street towards the clear seating area by the small statue of King Cai Shin.
The walk was silent. Gu Wei threw a furtive glance at her, finding her still smiling, her cheeks more redder than before.
Was she cold?
She was bundled up in a Jacket but her neck was exposed.
Gu Wei himself was wearing a scarf and he remembered how the group of women at the stadium had all seemed one step closer towards hypothermia.
This wouldn't do. Gu Wei searched through his tote bag, miraculously bringing out a red scarf with wooly fingers at the tip of the edges, and offered it up.
Zhai Mei tilted hers in confusion.
"For the cold," Gu Wei clarified, quietly adding, "If you want," at the end of the sentence.
Zhai Mei gratefully took the scarf, proceeding to warp it around herself.
This boy she'd met today was exceedingly different from the Gu Wei she was familiar with in school.
He was polite, more put together, and exceedingly caring. Zhai Mei giggled softly into her scarf. She liked this version too.
They had stopped on the road while Zhai Mei wore the scarf, and Gu Wei tapped his foot rhythmically on the floor, looking around them.
They'd made it to the less busy area, the seat a few paces away.
Staring at the seats, Gu Wei could feel the ache in his legs from the strain he'd put them through, and he suddenly longed for reprieve.
Wondering what was taking so long, Gu Wei turned his head back to its original place and a laugh tumbled out of him.
During his time sightseeing, it seemed that Zhai Mei had been struggling with her hair.
She'd worn the scarf perfectly, but then she'd tried to pull her curly mane out in a single move, swiftly and efficiently right?
But Zhai Mei's hair had never listened to her, so she was left with half-pulled curls and was now turning tugging at it bit by bit, almost strand by strand, all to wear a scarf.
The sight had been so unexpected Gu Wei hadn't been able to keep his laugh in, and Zhai Mei narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to say a thing.
Gu Wei swiftly looked away and pressed his lips tightly together. The statue up ahead was really shining eh. So smooth and… carved.
Zhai Mei didn't wait for Gu Wei to catch up before finding a seat and settling in. Gu Wei kept his laugh in as he joined her. This classmate was really one of a kind.
Their steamed buns were wrapped in transparent nylon and protected by a small paper bag. Gu Wei unwrapped his with an enthusiasm so shocking Zhai Mei was alarmed.
Was he that hungry?
Yes, he was that hungry. Sighing contentedly at the first bite, Gu Wei rolled his head back and enjoyed the sweet fresh taste of flour, honey, and other ingredients he couldn't place.
Steamed Buns were just so perfect.
It wasn't until he was eating the second bun serving that he realized this person he was sitting with hadn't said a single word throughout their encounter.
Maybe she was just that quiet. Come to think of it, she'd always been just as quiet in school then.
Coming to the conclusion that she really didn't like to talk, Gu Wei continued to devour his delicacy.
Stupid Gu Wei did not remember that Zhai Mei had always been mute and couldn't hear words the way every human did.
But then another thought entered his mind and his head snapped up.
Did she know who he was? Gu Wei stupidly assumed she knew him, but if she didn't, she would say wouldn't she?
To settle any misunderstandings, Gu Wei inquired, "Uhhh, do you know who I…"
But she was already nodding her head profusely before he could finish his sentence. That was solved then.
Gu Wei could enjoy his bun contentedly but he still wondered why Zhai Mei still hadn't uttered a single word.
As if remembering something, Zhai Mei lit up and pulled out her phone, scrolling till she found her app for flawless conversation.
Gu Wei must've thought it weird that she hadn't written anything on paper since he'd seen her.
Zhai Mei had evolved to an app to make life easier for herself and those around her, and she went to that app now to assure Gu Wei she knew who he was.
However, Zhai Mei had never been good with words, so she typed, deleted, re-typed, and continued that cycle to get the right words in.
Words were limited when you weren't speaking them out loud yourself, and Zhai Mei remembered that Gu Wei had never been a fan of reading, so she was trying to keep it brief.
While Zhai Mei had been battling with words on her phone, Gu Wei suddenly let out a breath and smacked himself on the head.
How could he forget?
His Jie Jie always did a livestream after her show, and she dropped so many easter eggs for her next project, it was almost like hearing the full story.
Seeing Zhai Mei's phone now had juggled his memory, and Gu Wei took out his cellphone.
Checking on Weibo and seeing that his Jie Jie had begun a live 15 minutes ago?! Heavens have mercy on him, 15 minutes?!
Gu Wei had already missed so much, but he wouldn't miss more than he already had. Not over his dead body.
He collected his earbuds and was about to insert them when he paused. It would be rude of him to watch a video while sitting with another person.
But Zhai Mei herself was on her phone and Gu Wei could not miss Fu Yuan's live, it was not ideal.
His eyes flitted from his phone to the Zhai Mei and back again. This was difficult.
Gu Wei waited a bit to see if Zhai Mei would look up from her phone, then he'd have no choice but to concede.
Secretly, he hoped she stayed focused on it, and she did. Brow furrowed in concentration as she typed away.
Zhai Mei looked so serious Gu Wei wondered what she was typing so attentively for a second, then he dismissed all thought that wasn't related to Fu Yuan.
Seeing as Zhai Mei was preoccupied, Gu Wei plugged in a single ear, he was going to watch for a little while, just until Zhai Mei was done with her business. His Fu Yuan Jie Jie couldn't wait.
But for Gu Wei, time flowed differently whenever he laid eyes on Fu Yuan, and he had a history of forgetting himself.
This was no exception.
Gu Wei lost himself completely in the livestream, even with a single earpiece, he was still far far away.
You saw Gu Wei sitting by the plastic chair beside the statue of King Cai Shin, but Gu Wei was not there.
Gu Wei was in a bubble of idolization, commenting and listening intently to Fu Yuan as she recounted her experience on stage, thanked her fans, and gave them the waited-upon easter eggs.
For the person watching Gu Wei from afar, they would shake their heads and know that even fireworks exploding in the sky couldn't snap him back to reality.
So immersed as he was in his world. For the person sitting next to Gu Wei, calling on him would be the same as trying to shake a lifeless corpse awake.
For Zhai Mei, who relied on written words and signs, and had no voice to call upon a person, snapping Gu Wei from his reverie was a challenge for the gods.
Without even taking a look at his screen, Zhai Mei knew what he was watching. Rather, who he was watching.
That actress Fu Yuan, who had become the center of Gu Wei's world from a young age.
Zhai Mei had tried competing for that attention 10 years ago and failed miserably.
She was an adult now, but that sense of inferiority reared its head up like a snake, leaving Zhai Mei with a bitter sense of failure.
This boy with his new look and personality, so different from the troublemaker she'd known, but he was still the same. Still had his heart only for Fu Yuan.
Zhai Mei had always been quiet, a fate forced upon her and not by choice.
But in that moment, seeing Gu Wei's happy face, directed towards his phone, Zhai Mei grew even more quiet.
She receded further and further into her shell, and the hand holding the phone like a lifeline drew back.
Zhai Mei had forgotten that Gu Wei was already taken, and just like how she appeared, silently with her brown curly hair, Zhai Mei left without a sound.
The cold wind blew through the space she'd previously occupied, moaning a long sad note at the missing presence.
Only the wind felt her leave, and the black-haired boy sitting by her side did not move a single muscle as she left.