Entertainment from Divorce

On Friday evening in Beijing, the evening rush hour traffic flowed slowly along the Third Ring Road, resembling an elongated piece of amber.

Xu Nuo sat in the black sedan, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the leather texture on the steering wheel. On the passenger seat was a bunch of daisies wrapped in light gray cotton paper.

Pale purple petals wrapped around tender yellow stamens, without the flamboyance of roses or the solemnity of lilies, it was a flower he specially picked out from a florist near his company.

He always felt that blind dates should be like this bouquet of flowers, with a natural sentiment rather than deliberate flattery.

His phone navigation showed that it was still an eight-minute drive to "Wanxiangju", but he had already set off forty minutes early.

As the director of the TV drama department at Brilliant Entertainment, he was used to having everything under control.

The recording process for variety shows must be precise down to the minute, the actors' schedules must be checked three times, and even the release time of promotional materials must be timed to coincide with peak traffic periods.

But facing this blind date, he felt inexplicably flustered. He had been adjusting his tie in front of the rearview mirror in the parking lot, pulling it three times before he felt it looked right. In the end, he simply stuffed the tie into the inside pocket of his suit, leaving only a neatly pressed white shirt with the top two buttons undone, giving off a relaxed vibe.

Wanxiang is hidden in the hutongs of the old city. The black plaque with gold lettering on the wooden lintel has been worn smooth by the years. Warm yellow light leaks out from the carved window lattices and falls on the bluestone pavement, like a handful of broken gold.

Xu Nuo parked the car, picked up the daisies, and walked into the alley. In the distance, she saw a girl in a beige knitted dress standing at the shop entrance, holding the strap of a light brown canvas bag in her hand, looking down at her phone, her hair being gently blown by the evening breeze.

"Excuse me, are you Teacher Lin?" Xu Nuo quickened her pace, her voice slightly softer than usual, afraid of disturbing the quiet of the alley.

The girl raised her head, revealing a delicate face. Her eyes were like black grapes soaked in warm water, and when she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved into crescents: "It's me. You must be Xu Nuo? You're more easygoing than Aunt Zhang described."

Her gaze fell on the flowers in his hand, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Is this for me?"

"I just bought these on a whim when I passed by a flower shop. The colors look pretty, but I don't know if you'll like them." Xu Nuo handed the flowers over, her fingertips accidentally brushing against the back of her hand. They both paused for a moment, then quickly looked away.

What he didn't say was that he had hesitated for ten minutes at the flower shop, and when the clerk recommended roses, he shook his head and finally chose daisies.

Aunt Zhang said that Teacher Lin is a primary school teacher and would probably like this kind of quiet flower.

Lin Wei held the flowers and gently touched the petals with her fingertips: "I like them. I have two pots on my office windowsill, and looking at them every day makes me feel good."

She stepped aside to make way for the doorway: "Let's go in. This restaurant serves very authentic Huaiyang cuisine. My colleague recommended it."

The two walked into the restaurant side by side, the wooden stairs creaking softly underfoot.

The proprietress, a woman in her fifties, greeted us with a smile: "Teacher Lin, you're here? We've reserved a window seat for you, with a view of the pomegranate tree in the courtyard."

Clearly, this wasn't Lin Wei's first visit.

A square table with a light blue checkered tablecloth was placed by the window. Outside the window was the small courtyard, and the branches of an old pomegranate tree stretched out to the window, its leaves swaying gently in the evening breeze.

The waiter handed over the menu, and when Lin Wei opened it, her fingertip paused on the page about braised lion's head meatballs: "Their lion's head meatballs are made with hand-chopped minced meat and water chestnut pieces, so they're not greasy. You can try them."

"I'll listen to you. I'm not very familiar with Huaiyang cuisine, and I usually eat takeout when I'm busy," Xu Nuo admitted.

"Is doing variety shows particularly tiring?" Lin Wei asked softly while circling the vegetables, her tone not deliberately inquiring, but more like a casual chat between friends. "One of my students' parents works in media and said that he often has to stay up until the early hours of the morning."

"It was really exhausting." Xu Nuo recalled watching the finale of "Star Stage" last week, recording from 2 pm to 3 am. After it ended, she sat backstage eating a cold boxed lunch and didn't even have the strength to speak. "But sometimes when I see the finished product, such as when the contestants realize their dreams on stage, the audience comments 'I cried' in the barrage, and I feel it was all worth it."

Lin Wei nodded, her eyes filled with understanding: "Actually, we teachers are the same. We grade homework until ten o'clock every day and also have to deal with small conflicts between children. Sometimes it can be annoying."

She handed him the menu. "Take another look. Would you like to add a vegetarian dish?"

Xu Nuo took the menu, added a plate of stir-fried snow peas, and then asked, "What do you usually like to do when you're off work?"

"I like to browse bookstores. Sometimes I'll spend an afternoon at the National Library looking at educational books, and occasionally I'll read novels." Lin Wei picked up her teacup and took a sip of warm water. "Sometimes I also go to the movies. Recently, many parents have recommended a science fiction film to me, saying that watching it can make their children interested in the universe."

Xu Nuo's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is it Interstellar? I just watched it a while ago, and it's really good."

He deliberately spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about an ordinary movie, without mentioning anything about the behind-the-scenes aspects.

"Yes! This is it!" Lin Wei's eyes lit up, her tone filled with excitement. "My colleague said it has a lot of aerospace knowledge and a particularly touching family storyline. I was planning to take some friends to see it this weekend. Do you think... it's suitable to take students?"

“It’s quite suitable.” Xu Nuo recalled the father-daughter relationship between Cooper and Murphy in the movie, as well as the black hole special effects that conformed to scientific principles. Her tone became serious without her noticing. “There are no complicated terms in it. It’s all about explaining science through stories. For example, black holes are not ‘holes that suck everything in,’ but have a gravitational lensing effect. There’s also the idea that ‘love can travel through time and space.’ Although it’s a science fiction concept, it can help children understand the meaning of ‘persistence’ and ‘concern’.”

What he didn't say was that these scientific settings were finalized after Tan Yue and his team held seven meetings with scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Lin Wei listened attentively, her fingertips lightly tracing patterns on the tablecloth: "Then I'll invite a few colleagues to go this weekend, and we can share it with the kids afterwards. Last time I talked to them about the universe, many of the kids asked what color black holes are, and I couldn't answer them. This is a good opportunity to catch up."

"If there's anything you don't understand after reading it, maybe I can talk to you about it." Xu Nuo said this, then regretted it a little, afraid of seeming too deliberate, and quickly added, "I usually like to read some popular science things, I'm not an expert, it's just an interest."

Lin Wei smiled, not revealing his slight nervousness: "Okay, if I don't understand it later, I'll ask you."

The dish was served quickly; braised lion's head meatballs floated in the light brown broth, sprinkled with chopped green onions.

The squirrel-shaped mandarin fish is drizzled with an amber-colored sauce and is shaped like a blooming flower.

The stir-fried snow peas are bright green and look very fresh.

Xu Nuo picked up a piece of lion's head meatball for Lin Wei: "Try this, the horseshoe pieces you mentioned should be in here."

Lin Wei took a small bite, her eyes crinkling into a smile: "Yes, that's the texture. You should try some too."

She placed a piece of mandarin fish on Xu Nuo's plate: "Be careful of the bones. Their fish is very clean, but you still have to be careful."

While I was eating, my phone vibrated twice in my pocket; it was a message from the work group.

Xu Nuo glanced at the message, but didn't reply immediately; she simply put her phone on silent.

He had a blind date once before, and he was interrupted three times by work calls. In the end, the other person said, "You should focus on your work first." After that, he told himself that he should focus on the other person when going on a blind date. "You guys do variety shows, do you often see celebrities?" Lin Wei suddenly asked, her tone curious but not obsequious.

“Occasionally, but most of the time we talk about work, such as coordinating scripts with actors and confirming procedures with guests,” Xu Nuo said honestly. “Actually, celebrities are quite tired. Last time, a guest was rushing to meet a schedule and only slept for three hours a day, but still had to maintain his condition when recording the show.”

He didn't mention any names, afraid that the conversation would veer back to Tan Yue.

“Every industry has its difficulties.” Lin Wei sighed. “I once took my students to participate in a competition. One of the kids was still practicing in the hotel corridor at two in the morning to memorize his lines. In the end, he won an award and hugged me and cried for a long time.”

The two chatted casually, from work to their childhood.

Lin Wei said that she wanted to be a painter when she was a child, but later, while helping the neighbor's child with his homework, she discovered that she liked interacting with children and eventually went to a teacher's college.

The meal lasted nearly two hours. When they left the restaurant, the streetlights in the alley were already bright, casting long shadows of the two of them.

The evening breeze carried the fragrance of pomegranate trees as Lin Wei held a bunch of daisies, the petals still glistening with night dew.

"Thank you for dinner tonight. I had a very pleasant chat." Lin Wei stopped and looked at him, her tone sincere. "It was much more comfortable than I expected."

“Me too.” Xu Nuo scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “Then… if I have time later, can I ask you out again? Like to see that sci-fi movie you mentioned, or go to a bookstore.”

Seeing his slightly awkward expression, Lin Wei couldn't help but laugh: "Sure, we can chat for a while. After all, at our age, we both know what we want and don't want to waste time, but we also need to get to know each other slowly, right?"

These words, like a small pebble, gently rippled through Xu Nuo's heart.

He had prepared himself for rejection, and had even thought of what to say in his mind: "It's okay, I hope you find the right person." He never expected it to turn out like this.

"Okay, I'll contact you again later."

"Okay, be careful on the road, and text me when you get home." Lin Wei waved, turned and walked into the nearby residential area, then turned back after a few steps. "Oh, by the way, I'll take good care of the daisies."

Xu Nuo stood there, watching her figure disappear into the stairwell, before turning and walking towards the parking lot.

The evening breeze was a little cool on his face, but he felt warm inside.

He took out his phone and sent Lin Wei a message: "Just arrived at the parking lot, are you home yet?"

I quickly received a reply: "Arrived, good night, don't stay up late working."

When Xu Nuo got home, she opened the door to find the living room completely dark.

He didn't turn on the light, but walked along the wall to the balcony, looking at the neon lights of the CBD in the distance.

The city lights were like scattered diamonds on black velvet. He recalled his conversation with Lin Wei earlier, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, but he quickly suppressed it again.

I've been on too many blind dates over the years.

There were times when someone said "we're not a good match" as soon as we sat down, times when they stopped replying after we chatted three times, and times when we had already made plans to see a movie on the weekend, but the other person suddenly said, "I think you're too focused on your work."

He has learned not to have too high expectations, not out of pessimism, but out of fear that his joy will be in vain in the end.

His phone rang; it was his mother calling. He answered calmly, "Hello, Mom."

"Xiao Nuo, how did it go with the girl? Did you two have a fight?" The mother's voice was full of tension and a little cautious.

“We didn’t argue, we had a good chat. She’s a primary school teacher, a very gentle person, and she said we could talk for a while and see how it goes.” Xu Nuo didn’t go into details, afraid that her mother would start asking again, “When are you getting married?” and “Should we bring her home to meet us?”

"Just chat and see! Just chat and see!" The mother's voice brightened instantly. "You have to be more proactive, don't always wait for them to reach out to you. Invite them out for a walk or a movie on the weekend, don't always stay at the office."

"Okay, Mom, I know what I'm doing. You should go to bed early, you have to go for a walk in the park tomorrow." Xu Nuo hung up the phone perfunctorily and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water.

The water in the cup reflected his face. He suddenly remembered Lin Wei saying, "Take good care of the daisies," and a slight expectation arose in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it.

He told himself to take it slow, and that being friends first was a good idea.

The lights were still on in the living room of the villa in Ruishan Community.

Tan Yue and Chen Ziyu sat on the sofa, with behind-the-scenes footage of "Interstellar" playing on the TV. In the footage, Deng Gaofei was talking about his experience filming in the desert.

Wearing a spacesuit in 40-degree heat, your clothes are so sweaty you could wring water out of them.

Chen Ziyu leaned on Tan Yue's shoulder, holding a peeled orange in her hand. She broke off a segment and held it to his lips: "Do you think Xu Nuo's blind date today will work out?"

Tan Yue took a bite of the orange, and the sweetness spread in his mouth, but he didn't really taste it.

Her eyes were fixed on the TV screen, and all she could think about was the promise she had made to drink with him.

Once, Xu Nuo drank until his eyes were red and said, "Old Tan, do you think I'm particularly boring? Otherwise, why is it that no one ever wants to date me?"

He still remembers that forlorn tone.

"I don't know, let's see how fate brings us." He reached out and ruffled Chen Ziyu's hair, his voice as soft as the evening breeze.

"Why don't you send him a message and ask?" Chen Ziyu sat up straight and looked at him. "Aren't you two inseparable?"

Tan Yue picked up the remote and turned the TV volume down. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Forget it, don't ask. If he succeeds, he'll definitely brag to me right away; if he doesn't, and I ask him, he'll just pretend nothing's wrong and then hide away feeling miserable."

He recalled that Xu Nuo had failed his blind date last time, but went to work on time the next day as usual, and even joked with everyone during the meeting. It wasn't until they had dinner together that night that he said, fueled by alcohol, that he was actually quite sad.

Chen Ziyu looked at the worry in his eyes and suddenly understood. (End of Chapter)