Unreliable

"What's wrong?"

Lu Zhiyi was out shopping and having lunch with Li Wei when he noticed she kept hesitating to speak. He set down his chopsticks and looked at her, asking the question.

Li Wei shook her head. "It's nothing. It's just that every time we've been apart for a while, the second I see you again, I always feel a sense of distance and unfamiliarity."

Lu Zhiyi naturally knew why: it was because he frequently entered the Universe Scroll, where he would stay for months at a time. While only a day might have passed for Li Wei, for him, every reappearance was a long-awaited reunion.

Lu Zhiyi smiled and said, "Doesn't that add a bit of mystery? It feels like the sensation is different every single day!"

Li Wei didn't seem to have her usual queenly air today; she had become somewhat sentimental. "But I feel like you never truly belong to me. You can always easily tell what I'm thinking, what I like, and what my hobbies are."

"Yet I've discovered that I know nothing about you. You are tall, handsome, gentle, and able to give me the romantic love I desire, fulfilling every fantasy I have of a man. You are perfect, but I don't know what you're thinking. I've thought about it carefully, and I realize I don't understand you at all. I don't know what you like, what you hate, or even your family background or your past!"

Lu Zhiyi looked into Li Wei's eyes, and they stared at each other. "Why are you thinking about such serious questions today? When two people are together, isn't being happy enough?"

Li Wei lowered her head. "My mom called me. She said I have to settle down this year and find someone to marry. I'm not young anymore; in two years, I'll be thirty. You know, we women are different from you men. Once we pass thirty, we truly start to age, and you're even younger than me!"

Lu Zhiyi paused for a moment, then took Li Wei's hand. "So, do you want to marry me?"

Li Wei glanced at Lu Zhiyi, her eyes dazed, but for the first time, she pulled her hand away from his. "I don't know!"

Lu Zhiyi waved his hand to pay the bill and said, "Let's go for a walk. Haven't you been saying you have nothing to wear lately? I also bought two movie tickets for tonight—it's that action film you like best. We can go watch it together then!"

The two walked around shopping. Inside a shoe store, Lu Zhiyi stood at the counter holding several bags, waiting. A few sales clerks were pointing at him; one of them even pretended to play on her phone while secretly trying to take a picture of him, but she forgot to turn off the flash. When Lu Zhiyi looked over, she immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.

"Lu Zhiyi? Why are you here?"

A crisp voice called out from behind him. Lu Zhiyi turned around and immediately saw an old acquaintance. "Cai Jiajia?"

Cai Jiajia was wearing tight jeans and a sports top today, along with a pair of glasses, looking both healthy and a bit playful. She pushed up her glasses and looked at Lu Zhiyi. "Why haven't I seen you at the gym lately? The VIP membership you bought wasn't cheap, you know. You're just going to stop going like that?"

Lu Zhiyi shook his head. "I was afraid of affecting your life, so I didn't go. How about you? Are you still working there?"

Cai Jiajia nodded. "Still working as a coach. What about you lately?"

Just as Lu Zhiyi was about to speak, Li Wei walked out from the back after trying on shoes and saw Cai Jiajia. "Who is this?"

Before Lu Zhiyi could speak, Cai Jiajia immediately explained, "I'm a friend of Lu Zhiyi's. You must be his girlfriend, right? Hello!"

Cai Jiajia didn't even mention her name. After nodding, she said to Lu Zhiyi, "I won't disturb your shopping then. Goodbye!"

Lu Zhiyi nodded, and Cai Jiajia turned and left. At this moment, Li Wei frowned and asked Lu Zhiyi, "Who is she? I feel like your relationship isn't just ordinary!"

Lu Zhiyi immediately said, "She's just a friend. We barely said a few words, and you already feel it's 'not ordinary'?"

Li Wei retorted immediately, "The way she looked at you wasn't right, and the way she looked at me was full of hostility. Tell me, is she your ex-girlfriend?"

Lu Zhiyi was about to argue, but seeing the look in Li Wei's eyes, he sighed. "Fine, I don't want to lie to you, but we haven't been in contact since we broke up. We just happened to run into each other today!"

Li Wei suddenly became very angry. "Just how many ex-girlfriends do you have? You never tell me anything about your past. What exactly are you hiding?"

Lu Zhiyi was at a loss. "I'm not hiding anything. I'm this old; it's normal to have had a few girlfriends, isn't it?"

"A few? There's her, and that Xia Fan who goes to your shop to find you every day, and Xiao Le in your shop is always flirting with you too!"

"I've said it before, I haven't done anything to wrong you. Please, stop guessing blindly. Let's calm down and talk."

Li Wei's emotions were running high, and they began to argue right there on the street. Many people turned to look. Lu Zhiyi picked up the bags she had thrown on the ground and looked at her, trying to reach for her hand, but she pulled away again.

The two walked down the street, one after the other. After a long while, Li Wei finally said, "Didn't you say we were going to see a movie?"

The entire movie was watched in silence. Even though it was a comedy and others were laughing, the two of them didn't speak. Lu Zhiyi didn't probe Li Wei's thoughts; just as she had said, he knew everything about her, yet she knew nothing about him, which made Lu Zhiyi feel somewhat despicable.

"Let's break up."

"Why? Our relationship doesn't have any major problems, does it?"

"Perhaps it was a mistake from the very beginning. I was attracted to you, but we really aren't a good fit, and you're a few years younger than me."

"Are these the only reasons?"

Li Wei was silent for a long time before saying the words Lu Zhiyi had heard before: "I feel like you don't belong to me. You don't love me!"

At the entrance of the cinema, Li Wei wrapped her arms around Lu Zhiyi's neck, and after a long kiss, she ended their relationship. If it were the old Lu Zhiyi, he might have found it romantic, but now he only felt a sense of bitterness.

Sitting in the square at night, Lu Zhiyi scrolled through his phone and found that Cai Jiajia had sent him a few WeChat messages. He replied to them casually.

"Ding-dong!"

Just as he finished replying, he saw his phone ring again. Lu Zhiyi looked and saw Cai Jiajia's reply: "Since you're free, let's go out for a drink!"

He sat at the bar of a lounge with Cai Jiajia. It was a quiet bar playing soft, gentle music in Italian; as for what the hell they were singing, Lu Zhiyi had no idea.

"Got dumped? It wouldn't be because of me, would it?" Cai Jiajia sat next to Lu Zhiyi, her legs crossed, her profile looking somewhat alluring under the lights.

Lu Zhiyi shook his head. "It has nothing to do with you, though the reason is similar to yours!"

Cai Jiajia immediately burst into laughter. Lu Zhiyi felt helpless. "What are you laughing at? Is it that funny?"

Cai Jiajia covered her mouth and said, "That's because you're unreliable!"

Lu Zhiyi sat for a while, then picked up his jacket and stood up. "I'll be heading off then. If there's anything..."

Before Lu Zhiyi could finish, Cai Jiajia grabbed his hand and pulled him close, pressing her entire body into his embrace. "Are you just going to leave like this?"