The Gluttonous Wulin

Gu Yue stood beneath the sign for Yijiu Grilled Fish. The tear in her plain dress had been hastily stitched twice with silver thread, and her violet eyes watched the warm yellow bulb swaying behind the glass door as her fingertips rubbed the edge of her communicator for the third time.

She had originally planned to say, "What happened in the alley today, the trouble with Xie Xie and his group was brought on by me. You blocked it for me, so I'm treating you to dinner."

She had rehearsed that line seven times against the curb on her way back to the dormitory, shifting her tone from indifferent to slightly softer, then back from slightly softer to indifferent. In the end, she settled on a version that was "plain and matter-of-fact, without emotion."

But when she actually called Tang Wulin's communicator, what came out was, "Tang Wulin, are you free tonight?... It's nothing else. I just want to treat you to dinner."

There was a two-second pause on the other end. Tang Wulin's voice was hoarse, as though he had just stepped out of the forging room. "Sure. Where?"

"Yijiu Grilled Fish, seven thirty."

"Okay."

After ending the call, Gu Yue stood beneath the sign in a daze for another five minutes. Only when a server pushed open the door to get some air, letting warmth wash over her calves, did she turn and enter the restaurant.

She chose a booth by the window. She ordered the house grilled fish, spicy diced chicken, cold wood ear mushrooms, and two bowls of rice. After hesitating for three seconds, she added an order of sweet and sour ribs—Tang Wulin liked sweet food, something she had taken a long time to find out.

At seven twenty-nine, the glass door rattled open. Tang Wulin glanced around, spotted her, and raised a hand. "Gu Yue."

There was a little silvery-gray dust from the forging room on Tang Wulin's cuffs, and his hair was slightly damp, as if he had splashed some water on his face before hurrying over. When he pulled out a chair and sat down, his movements were as brisk as if he were rushing into a cafeteria to grab a seat.

Holding her cup, Gu Yue suddenly felt her throat tighten.

"When do we start eating?" Tang Wulin took a pair of wooden chopsticks from the holder, snapped them apart, tapped them on the edge of the table, and looked up at her with bright eyes. "Has the food arrived?"

Gu Yue froze.

The carefully rehearsed lines in her violet eyes, all about "thanks" and "keeping proper boundaries," scattered as if blown away by an alley wind. She opened her mouth, her tongue pressed against her palate, and after a long moment managed a smile. "Now. We can start now."

Tang Wulin gave an "Oh" and turned to call the server. "Please bring out the grilled fish. It'll get fishy if it goes cold."

The fish was Black-Pepper Giantmouth Fish. The sauce bubbled away, its skin grilled crisp and charred, buried beneath a thick layer of chopped chilies and onions. Tang Wulin picked up a piece of belly meat first, soaked it in sauce, and stuffed both fish and rice into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out as he chewed twice, swallowed, and let out a long breath.

Gu Yue held her chopsticks and picked up a slice of wood ear mushroom, chewing slowly.

She had planned to wait until they were halfway through the fish, set down her chopsticks, and say, "Thank you for today." But Tang Wulin's pace gave her no opening at all—

When the spicy diced chicken arrived, he scooped half the plate into his bowl first. He did not care when droplets of oil splashed onto his training uniform sleeve. He bit into a piece of chicken, and peppercorns bounced onto the tabletop. He brushed them aside and casually said, "The peppercorns in this restaurant's spicy chicken are fresh enough. They're not bitter."

Gu Yue reached for a piece of chicken. Just as the tips of her chopsticks touched a bone-in piece, Tang Wulin's chopsticks shot across, picked up both the chicken and the peppercorns, and dropped them into his bowl. "This one has more meat. You can just eat the wood ear mushrooms. It's spicy."

Gu Yue said, "...I'm not afraid of spicy food."

"You drank half a cup of iced water after the arena match at noon. Your stomach should hurt." Without even raising his head, Tang Wulin took another two pieces. "Cold wood ear mushrooms cut the grease. Eat those."

Gu Yue lowered her eyes to her bowl: half a bowl of rice, three slices of wood ear mushroom, and two pieces of scallion.

When the sweet and sour ribs arrived, she finally got there first and picked up the smallest piece on top. Tang Wulin glanced at her, then dragged the entire plate closer to himself. "I'll eat this plate. Add some fish to your bowl."

"Tang Wulin." Gu Yue called his name, her voice as flat as an alley wall.

"Hm?" His cheeks were puffed out, and his chopsticks were still shoveling rice.

"Slow down. No one's competing with you."

Tang Wulin smiled, his eyes curving. "Xie Xie used to say I was a starving ghost reincarnated."

Gu Yue said nothing.

She picked up her chopsticks again and aimed for the tenderest piece of meat on the grilled fish's back. Her chopsticks had just reached out when Tang Wulin's came in diagonally from the side, expertly removed the meat, and dragged it into his bowl along with the garlic and sauce. He then pushed the fish head toward her. "The fish head is yours. Good for your brain."

Gu Yue stared at the fish head's two dull gray eyes, utterly speechless.

The cold dishes were finished, and the hot dishes were nearly gone. Tang Wulin ordered a second bowl of rice, poured the remaining grilled-fish sauce over it, mixed it up, and ate half the bowl in three bites. Seven-tenths of the rice remained in Gu Yue's bowl, while the wood ear mushrooms had gone cold and curled at the edges.

She suddenly remembered the warmth of his palm when he had supported her arm in the alley that day. It did not quite seem like it belonged to the same person as this hand that so skillfully snatched food.

"Tang Wulin," she called again.

"Hm? Want to order more? Then let's get some fried mantou slices with condensed milk. You should eat a couple of pieces." He raised his hand to call the server.

"No." Gu Yue set down her chopsticks, her fingertips pressed against the wall of her cup. "I invited you today because..."

Before she could finish, his fried mantou slices had already arrived. He picked one up, stretching the condensed milk into thin threads, bit off half of it, and looked up at her. "What did you just say?"

Gu Yue looked at the white streak of condensed milk at the corner of his mouth. The words "a thank-you meal" circled around the tip of her tongue three times before finally becoming, "...Nothing. Eat."

Tang Wulin made a muffled sound, stuffed the remaining half of the mantou into his mouth, and casually pulled Gu Yue's bowl toward himself. "You haven't touched the rice in your bowl. I'll eat it for you. Don't waste food."

Gu Yue said, "...That's my bowl."

"If you won't eat it, I will. The rice is good. It goes well with the fish sauce." He poured it over without hesitation, dumping the rice, wood ear mushrooms, and scallions into his own bowl. After taking two bites and swallowing, he pulled out a tissue and wiped his mouth. "I'm full. Shall we pay?"

Gu Yue stared at the now-empty rim of the bowl on her side and blinked her violet eyes.

All that remained on the table were the fish skeleton, a pile of peppercorns from the spicy chicken, and a layer of caramelized crumbs at the bottom of the sweet and sour ribs plate. The only solid food that had entered her mouth was half a chicken leg she had managed to hook with the tips of her chopsticks before Tang Wulin took the entire plate of chicken away.

She had snatched it during the moment he was drinking water, taken a quick bite, and before she could take a second, Tang Wulin put down his cup and glanced over. "Hey, why do you have a chicken leg in your bowl? I gave you the fish head."

Gu Yue pressed the chicken leg into her rice without expression. "I picked it up myself."

"Oh." Tang Wulin did not pursue the matter and turned to gnaw on the fish spine. "Then I'll take this piece of backbone meat."

Gu Yue lowered her head to look at the half chicken leg. Sauce dripped through the gaps in the bone onto the tablecloth, leaving a small round oil stain.

She suddenly spoke, her voice very soft. "Tang Wulin... what kind of creature are you..."

Tang Wulin looked up. Light from the chandelier reflected in his golden eyes. Chewing fish bones, he answered vaguely, "Me? I'm a humanoid organism. Gu Yue, why aren't you eating anymore? No appetite?"

With that, he reached out and took the bowl in front of Gu Yue, which was more than half empty, then overturned it into his own bowl. He did not even spare the bone from that half chicken leg, sweeping everything over. He picked up the last grain of rice and put it into his mouth, swallowed, and pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands.

Gu Yue said, "..."

Gu Yue looked at what was in front of her: an empty bowl, empty plates, and a half-finished cup of water.

All that remained in her throat was the saltiness of grilled-fish sauce and the melancholy of half a chicken leg.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, said nothing more.

Gu Yue said, "..."