On the narrow single bed, Jiang Yao had pressed a human-shaped dent into the fluffy comforter. She lay on her stomach fiddling with her phone, a lazy look on her face, her slender calves crossed and occasionally kicking up and down.
Wan sat at the nearby computer desk. On the faintly glowing screen was an unfinished business proposal.
The rented apartment was tiny—just one bedroom and a living room. The bed, computer desk, and a display cabinet took up most of the floor, filling the space with a sense of cramped security. With the curtains drawn, it felt like a small, sealed cardboard box.
The two young women were content to lie in their "cardboard box," discussing deeply personal topics.
Lately, Jiang Yao had been coming over to Wan’s place more and more often. The day before yesterday, she’d even spent the night, not wanting to go home. The two of them had squeezed onto the single bed, cheek to cheek, where any move to turn over would make the other let out a little gasp.
In the quiet atmosphere, Jiang Yao suddenly sighed and said,
"I’m not joking. I really want to get away for a while to clear my head. Staying in Lanjing has been making me feel... I can’t quite describe it. It’s... exhausting, mentally and physically. Or maybe it’s that I’m just lost, with no sense of direction."
Jiang Yao put down her phone, rolled onto her back, and gazed at the dim ceiling, her eyes shimmering with unspoken thoughts.
Nearby, Wan sat with one leg casually propped on her chair. Her petite frame created a stark contrast with the large office chair, which seemed to envelop her completely, revealing just a sliver of her profile.
"When it comes down to it, this is all because of him, isn’t it?"
"That’s part of it, but I can’t say it’s all because of him... What I’m thinking is, since there’s a place I’ve always wanted to go, shouldn’t I take this chance while I have the time? If I keep putting it off, when will I ever make up my mind? Besides, I really need some time to myself. And it would give him some space to think, too," Jiang Yao said, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Jiang Yao and Wan had been talking about taking a trip for a long time, discussing it on many occasions.
This wasn’t a matter of simply driving to some remote but scenic spot.
Instead, it was a trip to a foreign country, to the Neon Capital—Edo Prefecture, a world-famous international metropolis.
Jiang Yao was a homebody, an otaku, and she’d met Wan through their shared love of ACG culture. In the suffocating reality of daily life, the virtual world was a spiritual sanctuary for many. Both of them were curious about the birthplace of that 2D culture and wanted to see the city they’d only ever dreamed of. They wondered how people lived there... if the streets were as clean as they were drawn in anime, how people fell in love, and how they lived and died.
Jiang Yao had never been to a single concert of the anisong legends she adored. She desperately wanted to go.
But in the end, it was just a plan. The two had discussed it with great excitement countless times but had never set a date. They always just said, "If we ever have the time."
But now, things were different. Jiang Yao could feel her desire to leave Lanjing growing more urgent. Back when she was enjoying her happy relationship, she never imagined a day like this would come. The situation with Chen Yuan was causing her more and more distress.
She even began to wonder if she was in the wrong, if there had been something problematic about the way she treated her boyfriend. It was just as she had worried in the Love Letter she wrote to Chen Yuan—as their love grew more comfortable, they gradually lost their initial shyness and restraint. They had gotten too close, and their images of each other began to distort.
’But how can a person control love...’
’Can something so easily controlled even be considered love?’
’Perhaps people are bound to become twisted and distorted in a relationship. Maybe that’s what makes a love that lasts a lifetime so precious.’
That’s why Jiang Yao had the idea to leave Lanjing for a while. It wouldn’t have to be for long. Just long enough to calm her heart, to put some distance between them. She hoped it would help her see her own true feelings, and at the same time, fulfill her long-standing wish to go to Edo Prefecture.
More than that, she hoped Chen Yuan would also take the time to calm down and think about their twisted, year-long relationship, and how exactly it should move forward.
With things having reached this point, neither of them was happy.
She had stayed by Chen Yuan’s side and loved him so sincerely for so long. Maybe it was time he understood the true purpose of her devotion... She wasn’t willing to be so meek that she compromised on everything and lost herself in the process.
"That’s true. We’ve been talking about taking a trip for so long; we have to make it happen eventually," Wan said after a moment’s thought, though she sounded hesitant. "But Yaoyao, you know my situation. There’s no way I can go with you this week. It’s not that I’m bailing on you, but things at work are insane right now. I can’t just drop everything and take a one or two-week long vacation. Besides, my shameless boss would never approve it."
"But isn’t your proposal almost done?" Jiang Yao asked, sitting up and pointing at her screen.
"Oh, please. It’s not over just because I write it and turn it in. I’ve already revised this proposal four or five times, and it got sent back again. I have to rewrite it."
"That’s awful. So if he’s never satisfied, you just have to keep rewriting it?"
"What else can I do..." Wan sighed. "I guess you really don’t get why they call us corporate slaves."
"So when do you think you’ll be done? I couldn’t book any flights for the near future. I had a ticket-sniping app running, and yesterday someone from the airport called. They said there’s a flight in three days—someone canceled—but there’s only one ticket."
"I don’t know..." Wan said with a wry smile. "How about we wait a bit? Give it a week? I’ll do my best to get this proposal handled, and then we can go together. It’s not like it’s easy to get tickets anyway."