May 19, 2000, Friday. At seven in the evening, Guan Xuchen arrived near the east gate of Guangzhou Yixian University (GYU) with an extremely complicated mix of emotions. He glanced around, spotting a young man holding a bouquet waiting for someone, and a middle-aged man wearing a vest cooling off under a large banyan tree—neither of them seemed to be Vinco. Then he spotted an elderly gentleman in a suit, his hair entirely white, smiling and waving in his direction.
"No way, Vinco can't be that old." Guan Xuchen's heart skipped a beat, but he steeled himself and walked toward the old man.
But after a few steps, he noticed an elderly woman, who was stylishly dressed, approach the gentleman. She exchanged a few words with him, smiling, then slipped her arm through his and walked away.
Guan Xuchen breathed a sigh of relief, silently laughing at himself.
Just then, a deep voice called out from behind him, "Hello, are you Tommy?"
Guan Xuchen turned to see a tall, middle-aged man in a suit sporting a full beard.
He studied the man before him, finding him quite handsome, though his age seemed well beyond 32—at least in his early forties. Guan Xuchen felt a pang of disappointment but still smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's me. Are you Vinco?"
"That's right. Am I the same as you imagined?" Vinco asked with a smile.
Out of politeness, Guan Xuchen replied diplomatically, "You seem more mature than I expected."
"And you're cuter than I imagined." Vinco laughed heartily, then gazed at Guan Xuchen's face and asked gently, "Have you eaten yet?"
Guan Xuchen felt a bit flustered under Vinco's gaze, so he lowered his head and replied with a soft "Mhm." Then he gently asked, "What about you?"
"I've eaten too," Vinco answered, placing his hand on Guan Xuchen's shoulder. "My car is just ahead. Come on, I'll take you for coffee. We can chat over it."
Guan Xuchen gently brushed Vinco's hand away, pointing toward a nearby fast-food restaurant. He forced a casual tone and said, "McDonald's has coffee too..."
As he spoke, he pulled the two tickets Gao Xinglang had given him that afternoon from his pocket and handed them to Vinco. "Tonight there's a ballet performance at the arts center of our university. It's very close from here. We can grab coffee and head over—"
"McDonald's coffee isn't good. I'll take you for some real, authentic coffee." Vinco cut Guan Xuchen off.
He then took the tickets from Guan Xuchen's hand, glanced at them, returned them, and said with a hint of disdain, "What's so great about a school ballet club performance? If you like ballet, I can take you to see a show of the National Ballet of China in the future."
Before Guan Xuchen could react, Vinco had already placed his hand back on Guan Xuchen's shoulder, his tone half-commanding as he said, "Come on, my car is right up ahead."
Guan Xuchen found himself following Vinco forward. His heart pounded wildly—partly from fear, partly from being intimidated by Vinco's powerful presence, and even a touch of attraction.
Vinco led Guan Xuchen to a champagne-colored luxury car. He pulled the remote key fob from his pocket, pressed a button, and the car beeped.
"What do you think? Not bad, huh?" Vinco asked with pride.
"What a gorgeous car," Guan Xuchen exclaimed, his unease easing slightly.
Vinco smiled faintly, opened the passenger door, and gestured for Guan Xuchen to get in. He then walked around to the door of the driver's side.
YOU ARE READING
Love Me in Another Universe
General FictionIt was such a long time ago that you don't even remember why you fell for that person in the first place. You just remember stubbornly that you were once deeply in love with someone with that name... It's a story about the bond between two Chinese b...
