Chapter 65: Playing Tricks on People

  Zhang Xiaoting was preoccupied with thoughts, seeing Pang Guang still able to hold the wine bottle steadily, not as drunk as she had imagined, so she didn't stop him. She and Pang Guang hadn't sat together alone like this for two years, and her mind was also tangled up in why Zhao Hankui still hadn't replied to her message, with a mix of love and hate, she too wanted to vent the distress in her chest.

  "With a lovely wife at home, you've come alone to drown your sorrows. Tell me, why are you feeling down?" Zhang Xiaoting asked after drinking half a cup of beer. Two years ago when she was dating Pang Guang, he was overbearing, but after going through many things, times had changed and Zhang Xiaoting had matured, while Pang Guang was still stuck in his immature ways. The roles between them had reversed, and now Zhang Xiaoting made Pang Guang feel stifled.

  There are experts who have studied that when a person is in a state of half-drunkenness, their thinking is the most active. After drinking a mouthful of wine, Pang Guang clearly and logically told Zhang Xiaoting about all the frustrating things he had encountered over the past few days. Earlier, he was indeed drunk, but after vomiting, he felt his mind clear up a bit, yet there was still a lingering heartache that couldn't be calmed. With a pile of worries, he didn't know who to talk to, and after flipping through his phonebook for half a day, he couldn't find anyone to have a conversation with. In the end, he stopped at his ex-girlfriend Zhang Xiaoting's name and dialed her number.

  Zhang Xiaoting was preoccupied, taking advantage of Pang Guang's speaking time to glance at her phone, still without receiving any new text message notifications, feeling greatly disappointed. As soon as Pang Guang finished speaking, she had already downed a whole cup of ice-cold beer.

  "Xiao Ting, I'm so depressed. Ever since Lin Junyun moved into my house, Dad has been acting like he's under her spell, always siding with her." Pang Guang poured himself another full cup of wine and downed it.

  "It's not my fault, you're eighteen years old and still have the personality of a child." Zhang Xiaoting said quietly: "I think she's pretty good, beautiful, sensible, and has a sweet mouth, no wonder Uncle likes her."

  "Never mind her, it's annoying to mention her, Xiaoting, how have you been doing these two years?" Pang Guang asked.

  "It's not good, no one cares for me, no one loves me, everything has to rely on my own efforts." Zhang Xiaoting said faintly. For over a decade, her family of three had been living in a cramped house of less than 20 square meters, leading a poor and disdained life. She was too eager for success. Thinking of this, a complex emotion arose: "And you, have you ever thought of me?"

  "Yes, I've been thinking about you every moment since we broke up, but I just couldn't get in touch with you." Pang Guang replied firmly.

  " Fate is playing tricks on us, I didn't expect to see you again. This is the first time we've had a close and private conversation since our breakup. I don't know if there will be another chance in the future. In the blink of an eye, two years have passed, and I'm still alone, but you're already someone else's husband."

  "That...". Pang Guang almost blurted out the truth, but then thought for a moment: "That, aren't we still good friends? We can meet up anytime we want!"

  Zhang Xiaoting smiled and didn't say a word, elegantly raised the wine glass in her hand: "Good, for these three words 'good friends', let's have a drink."

  "Good." Pang Guang clinked his cup and downed it in one gulp.

  Just then, Zhang Xiaoting's mobile phone on the bar table lit up because she was afraid of missing a message due to the noisy environment around her. Zhang Xiaoting took a look and was overjoyed in her heart, picked up the phone and saw that it was indeed a text from Zhao Hankui, which read: "Come to my place at 8 o'clock tonight, I want to get to know you better and see if you're suitable for the leading role."

  "Uh, I'll definitely be on time." Zhang Xiaoting's hands were shaking as she sent the text message, deleting and re-typing it many times before finally sending it out.

  Pang Guang looked at Zhang Xiaoting's changing expression and felt a little sour in his heart: "You're so excited after reading the text message, is it your boyfriend?"

  "No!" Zhang Xiaoting smiled with her eyes open, and didn't plan to hide it: "It's a message from Shuguang Manager, the administrative director of the company. He promised to recommend me for the audition of the new film."

  Pang Guang's jaw dropped: "Zhao Hankui?"

  "Really, you know him too?" Zhang Xiaoting was a little surprised, only to remember that Pang Guang was the son of the Public Security Bureau chief, and there must be some figures in his social circle. If she had known earlier that Pang Guang knew him, she wouldn't have had to make so much effort.

  "Not very familiar, met once or twice." Pang Guang thought with his chin in hand, Zhao Hanquan's social circle was really wide, both girls he knew had a connection with him, there must be a problem, tomorrow he would ask his dad to investigate his background, just in case they were being deceived.

  "Oh!" Zhang Xiaoting replied, then lowered her head to think about tonight's matters. Coincidentally, Pang Guang was also thinking about things, and they fell into a long silence.