Chapter 2 The Bitter Taste Of Love

• Hundreds of terrible thoughts flashed in Zi Han’s mind as he kept staring at his cell phone.
• ‘Who was that man on the other end of the line?’
• ‘Where was Miranda?’
• ‘Had someone stolen her phone?’
• ‘Did she have a friend over?’
• Zi Han’s heart raced inside his chest as a cold feeling gnawed at his gut, making his legs tremble.
• The cold night air nipped at his skin, and all he could do was wrap his tattered jacket tighter around him. But the buttons had come undone many months ago, and he hadn’t had the time to sew them back on.
• “No, I’m just overthinking. It must have been a cross-connection,” Zi Han mumbled, trying to overcome his palpitations. “I should just trust her.”
• Taking a deep breath, Zi Han dialed his girlfriend’s number again, and this time to his great relief, she picked up.
• “Hey...Han. Aren’t you supposed to be working now?” she enquired in a tepid voice.
• “I...am just taking a break,” Zi Han lied before clearing his throat and getting to the issue that had been bothering him all this time. “I tried calling you earlier...but some guy picked up and said...you don’t know me.”
• “What the hell are you talking about?” Miranda snapped. “Have you been drinking again? You know I live alone, right?”
• Realizing he had upset her, he immediately changed his tone and started apologizing. “I...am so sorry, babe. It must have been a cross-connection. It’s just that I thought someone was playing a prank on me. I am really so damn sorry.”
• “It’s fine,” Miranda sighed, her voice gradually turning calm like a shallow lake. “I think I’m going to hit the bed now. It’s super late,” she added with a long-drawn yawn.
• “I...wanted to take you out for dinner,” Zi Han blurted out before she could disconnect. “You do remember tomorrow’s our two-year anniversary, right?”
• “Aww, of course, I remember, babe. How could I ever forget?” Miranda winced midway, and Zi Han heard her groan. “I...am so sorry babe, but I can’t go out with you tonight. I twisted my ankle on my way to the store, and it’s been hurting like hell. I can barely move.”
• “Should I call a doctor?” Zi Han asked with a note of concern in his voice.
• “Nah, I just need some rest. I think it will heal if I don’t put too much pressure on my leg,” she replied. “I promise we will go out tomorrow if I can move. Good night, now. You’re the best, cutie.”
• “Take care of yourself. I’ll ping you when you wake—”
• Before Zi Han could finish, the call disconnected. A message flashed on his screen:
• [You have run out of talk time.]
• [Please recharge soon to continue enjoying our telecom services.]
• “Of course, my pack just ran out,” Zi Han sighed. “Everything is getting so expensive these days,” he mused, feeling the notes in his pocket.
• Since his foster parents refused to spend a single penny on his education once he joined college, Zi Han had been toiling day and night to save enough money not just for his basic necessities but also for his girlfriend.
• Although Miranda wasn’t broke like him, she lived in a rented apartment in this city, and most of the money her parents sent was spent on her clothes, rent, and other household bills.
• To ease her burdens and make her happy once in a while, Zi Han did not hesitate to spend his hard-earned money to fulfill her needs as much as possible.
• “Well…I guess I need to find another job soon. But at least I have enough money for her dress.” Zi Han smiled to himself as he skipped across the road and made his way to the swimwear store.
• The little bells hanging from the door jingled as Zi Han entered the shop and walked straight to the shopkeeper. “I’d like to buy that swimsuit, please,” he said, pointing at the red one-piece swimsuit draped on a mannequin.
• The man looked at Zi Han with a scrutinizing gaze, scanning him from head to toe. Noticing Zi Han’s worn jeans and tattered jacket, he sneered. “That swimsuit is the latest in our autumn collection. Are you sure you can afford it, boy?”
• Zi Han’s face flushed with embarrassment as the man adjusted his spectacles while continuing to stare at him.
• “How much…is it?” Zi Han enquired, immediately reaching into his jacket’s side pocket.
• “One thousand Yuan only,” the man replied curtly.
• Zi Han already knew the price, but he wanted to confirm since he had never made such an expensive purchase before. “Could you…give me a discount…perhaps,” he added with some hesitation.
• The shopkeeper looked at Zi Han as if he were a homeless beggar and scoffed. “If you don’t have the money, just beat it, kid! We don’t do discounts!”
• Zi Han’s face reddened at the response. Embarrassed, he pulled out a roll of hundred Yuan notes and handed it to the shopkeeper.
• The man counted it thrice and then checked it under the light of a table lamp to confirm the notes were actually real. After verifying that they weren’t counterfeit, he asked one of his shop attendants to pack the swimsuit.
• Zi Han thanked the shopkeeper and grabbed the silky-smooth printed bag from him.
• “Don’t forget your bill,” the shopkeeper called after Zi Han as he was about to leave. “You have a week to return the item if you don’t like it, but we don’t accept returns without the bill.”
• Zi Han waved him off, saying he would never want to return it, and walked out of the shop.
• Walking down the pavement, Zi Han turned the first corner, took a left, and arrived at a small confectionary store selling various kinds of pastries and artisan chocolates.
• Forking out two hundred Yuan from his last stack of hundreds, he purchased a box of heart-shaped milk chocolates, just like the ones Miranda liked, and asked the shopkeeper to wrap a red bowstring around the box.
• Happy with the gifts he had bought with his hard-earned money, Zi Han boarded a public bus and purchased a ticket for Glendale Avenue.
• After a twenty-minute ride, Zi Han finally got down and breathed in the fresh night air rife with the pleasant smell of chrysanthemums.
• He looked up at the sky and smiled at the moon like a lovesick Romeo before popping a breath mint and heading for the Chrysler Apartments.
• Miranda lived on the fifth floor, and Zi Han was so impatient to meet her that he did not even wait for the elevator. Instead, he rushed up the stairs, keeping pace with his racing heart.
• When he finally reached the fifth floor, he paused to catch his breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Holding the box of chocolates in front of his face, he walked up to Miranda’s apartment and stopped in front of the door.
• He was about to ring the doorbell when his smile vanished after hearing the moans coming from inside.
• “Ohh....baby! You really know how to drive me wild!”
• “You are just the hottest girl I’ve ever dated, babe! I wanna enjoy you all night long!”
• “Ahh...make me scream your name, Danny! Oh yes!”
• Zi Han could no longer bear it and banged on the door with his bare fist. There was no answer at first, but the moaning stopped.
• “It’s probably my dumb neighbor asking for sugar. He’ll go away. Just ignore him.”
• Zi Han banged the door again, this time much harder.
• “Ahh, screw off!” the manly voice shouted from the other side.
• Zi Han was about to pound the door again when a tall, muscular guy with a chiseled jawline opened it for him. He was dressed in a light blue bathrobe, and there were lipstick marks all over his face and neck.
• “What the hell do you want?” the guy asked, staring at Zi Han. “You could have just rung the bell and left the packages at the door, you stupid moron. I’m gonna complain to your—”
• “I’m not a damn courier boy!” Zi Han looked past the man and yelled, “Miranda!”
• Alarmed by the familiar voice, Miranda hopped out of bed and walked up to the door, wrapped in a stained white bed sheet.
• Zi Han’s face fell, and his heart shattered into a million pieces as he saw his girlfriend’s tousled hair and the love bites on her neck. Even her lipstick was smeared all over her face, and she looked like she was panting for breath.
• “Who the hell is he? How could you even do this to me, Miranda?” Zi Han shouted, nearly on the verge of tears.
• “Do you know this guy, babe?” Danny asked.
• Miranda groaned with annoyance, tightening the bedsheet around her naked body. “Yeah, he is that loser boyfriend I was telling you about the other day. He’s been a real pain in the ass for me.”
• Hearing Miranda’s words, Zi Han clenched his fist so tightly that he ended up crushing the chocolates inside the box. His heart shattered to a thousand pieces as tears smarted his eyes.
• “I trusted you, Miranda. I thought you loved me,” Zi Han mumbled, trying to hold back his emotions.
• “So...you must be that pizza delivery guy...Zi Han.” Danny pushed Zi Han out the doorway and laughed. “I bet she never let you get lucky like me.”
• “I swear I’ll kill you!”
• Zi Han was about to rush at Danny when Miranda stepped forward and splashed a glass of cold water on his face. “It’s over between us, Zi Han. You are too broke to take care of my needs. Just forget me and delete my number.”
• Zi Han’s world came crashing down as he heard those cruel words. He had caught Miranda red-handed in the dirty act, yet she made it sound like it was his fault.
• “You are a damn slut, Miranda!” Zi Han shouted. "How could you do this to me after everything I did. You are such a—"
• But before he could hurl any more obscenities at her, Danny walked out and knocked him down with a sucker punch to the face.
• Zi Han blacked out in the passageway, and Miranda slammed the door on him to continue her sultry session with Danny.
• As Zi Han lay there bleeding from his nose, his phone rang in his pocket. But none of the residents came out of their rooms to assist him.
• Eventually, as the clock struck eleven, one of the guards came upstairs and dragged Zi Han out of the building. Thinking he was a drunken tramp, the guard threw him out on the streets.
• The cars and bikes vroomed past Zi Han, but not one bothered to stop. Even the pedestrians walked by, turning a blind eye to the bleeding young boy.
• In the apartment upstairs, Miranda and her new boyfriend continued giggling and screaming while Zi Han lay on the cold hard pavement like a discarded old toy.