By Your Name

Liu Xinyu looked at the finance magazine he passed to her and held it tightly in her hand. "Then I'll read it. I'll read it attentively. But Zeze, I still won't be backing out."

"I clearly told you that she is the most important woman in my life," reminded Qi Yuze.

"But you didn't say she is the woman you love the most in this world. Being important is different and love is different. I was taught that very clearly from a young age. I've witnessed love firsthand, which is why I can confidently say that your feelings for her aren't the kind a man harbors for a woman."

Qi Yuze was taken aback by her sincere words. When she wasn't smiling, a different kind of austerity seemed to emanate from her. Without any makeup, her fair skin seemed to glow, accentuated by her eyes, which appeared more solemn when they weren't softened by a smile.

"I forgot to mention, I'm not one to meddle in relationships or be a third wheel. If you were genuinely involved with her, I wouldn't push. But it's pretty evident there's nothing between you," Liu Xinyu added, her earlier seriousness giving way to a lighter tone. "Oh, and next time we meet, just call me by my name. Or if you forget my name, you can always call me by yours. Either way, the meaning remains the same."

Qi Yuze was a little startled by her teasing words. Actually, he couldn't tell if she was serious or she was just flirting but he knew that when she said he could call her by his name, he felt something inexplicable in his heart. To run from that unknown feeling lurking in his heart, he hurriedly entered his house and closed the French windows. He even drew the curtains and hurried to pour himself some water to drink.

He seemed to have expended all the patience that he had cultivated over his life on Liu Xinyu. Qi Yuze had no problem with a woman who was more open and vocal about her feelings. He lived abroad for so many years too, what had he not seen? Yet, there was something different about Liu Xinyu.

Something that made him feel threatened by her but also made him unable to stay away from her. He still remembered the day he first saw her in the hospital's garden. Her long hair covered most of her face, and she wore such bland and old-fashioned hospital clothes, even with such disheveled condition, he could see how lovely she looked. She was limping around but didn't wince. She looked so lost and disoriented as she stared at everything around her with a strange expression of disbelief, horror, and even surrealism. 

Qi Yuze couldn't tell why she had such immense emotional changes at that moment. Even when she fell down the lake, he couldn't stop himself from stepping up to save her. She seemed so quiet when he saved her as her body trembled because of cold or perhaps, fear of almost losing her life. He thought she was timid.

But she certainly proved him very wrong the very same night when she came to push him into a corner. She kept pushing the way that he couldn't seem to resist going along with her. She was confident, playful, adaptable, and quite mysterious too. She never let the chance of making eye contact with him go. And whenever they locked eyes, she could convey her confidence and mischief through her eyes. 

She seems to enjoy flirting. He wondered if she did it with every other person. Qi Yuze shook his head to shake off this thought. Why should he even care if she enjoyed flirting so casually with everyone else? 

But he did not like her saying everything so irresponsibly too.

A star exclusively for him? 

What a joke!

What if he really took it seriously? After all, wasn't what he always wanted someone who belonged solely to him? But that person could never be this woman who entered his world without any warning and was already causing so much chaos.

He picked up the landline and dialed a number without thinking, after a couple of rings, the phone was picked up and a soft but cello-like voice sounded, "Hello!"

"It's me," answered Qi Yuze.

"Yuze?" asked the other person in surprise. "Why are you calling me first thing in the morning? I'm busy at this time."

"Busy feeding your birds or chickens?" 

"That's a very important task for me. Tell me, what prompted you to look for me?"

"I have a question for you, Rui," said Qi Yuze.

The man named Rui stopped being casual and playful as he heard an urgent tone from Qi Yuze. 

"What is it?"

"I have a friend who..."

"Pfft!" before he could continue, Rui ended up laughing hard. "I'm sorry, friend. But you seem to only have one friend and that's me. If you want to lie, at least do a better job."

"Can't you pretend that I have a friend?" asked Qi Yuze. "Why do you have to always do this to me?"

"But I don't understand why you have to make this lie. Are you embarrassed? That's not like you though."

Qi Yuze sighed and dropped the lie, he decided to come clean, "It's me. It happened to me. I met a strange person."

"Strange?" 

"Yes, strange. What should I even say about her? She is a liar. She is a flirt. She is a very non-serious person. And she is pushing into my life with all her might."

"What's surprising about that? Your appearance is so deceiving. Tsk. Another girl is harmed by you. I can't even imagine how hurt she will be once she understands how vicious that mouth of yours is."

Qi Yuze's lips twitched, frustration evident in his voice as he reiterated, "Did you not hear me? I said she's a liar. It's as if she's wearing a mask, each layer more deceptive than the last. Everything about her seems counterfeit, yet she makes it appear genuine. She's a skilled actress, I'll give her that. And her eloquence? Unmatched. No matter the argument, she always has a rebuttal."

"Yuze, who is this person? She managed to make you say so much about herself. I think she is quite a talent!"