There was silence on the other end for two seconds.
"What are you talking about, kid?"
Huang Xueli raised his voice, anger creeping into it.
Wang Xiaoliang smiled. He switched the phone to his other hand and slipped his free hand into his trouser pocket.
"Come on, bro, stop pretending. Your acting's fine. Oscar-worthy. Haiyan's isn't. Her performance today was full of holes."
"What holes?"
"She streams at night. During the day, she should be selling tofu at her shop to keep up her persona. Why come all the way here? Just to pack up a few dishes for us? Did she really need to come herself? Couldn't she find a delivery number?"
Huang Xueli said nothing.
Wang Xiaoliang looked up at the parking lot lights.
"And she's a new driver in a brand-new car, yet she was flooring it like that-have you ever seen someone who's just started driving a new car dare to jerk it around that hard? She was angry. She had a long face the whole way there and back and didn't want to say a single unnecessary word to me."
He paused.
"You said her driving was scary too, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about..."
"Bro, don't try to fool me," Wang Xiaoliang cut him off. "She only just gave Zijin and me phones a few days ago. What could she be angry with me about? Boss Xiao? He's the one making her rich. She couldn't suck up to him fast enough. Nuomi? She must have figured out ages ago that Nuomi wrote her streaming plan. She wouldn't dare offend her either."
"Then who is she angry with?"
"Only you."
"Why would she be angry with me?"
"Because you went on a blind date with Nuomi."
The other end went completely silent.
Wang Xiaoliang