Work Text:
‘Steak House?’
The high-pitched voice highlights the mood of the parked Xingqiu vintage car under the heavy rain thumping the vehicle. The heavy rain made Xingqiu regret using his light blue denim jacket combined with light brown khaki jeans. His thin dark blue T-Shirt didn’t help warm his body, making him unable to think clearly about what to eat tonight.
‘We already ate that last week, Hu Tao,’ said Xingqiu while scrolling through his phone.
Hu Tao continued scrolling with her phone in one hand while she fixed her black fedora hat with a white stripe on the other hand. She was wearing a red shirt with a brown vest that Xingqiu once commented: A Business Snob Dress. She then fixed the button on her vest before her eyes went wide, ‘How about that noodle near our campus?’
With a mumbling voice, he said, ‘Too basic.’
‘Tch…’ Hu Tao then put her phone down, crossed her hands and looked through the window. The relatively empty car park in front of several rows of brick buildings, with tree canopies on top of the road along with the rain, should help them think about which restaurant they would visit tonight. But it is hampering their thoughts as they only stare at those tree canopies most of the time.
‘There’s one. But we need to book that place first. Do you want it?’ asked Xingqiu, only to be replied with a pout on Hu Tao’s face.
Then, she remarked, ‘On Valentine’s Day? That place is guaranteed full now.’
‘I was trying to find something.’
‘Well, you did… Don’t throw some nonsense thing, will you? This is your classic symptom. Too many options that in the end, we’re going somewhere different that is not in the options!’
Xingqiu put his phone down on his blue jeans and leered at her, ‘So what do you want?’
With Hu Tao blinking several times and trying to find the right word, ’Street food will suffice. Or maybe hidden gems that you don’t want to come-’
‘We don’t know if that place is excellent or not…. ‘
‘We won’t know until we get there!’ She then giggled, ‘Isn’t it fun?’
Groaning, he threw his back on his seat. He then wiped his face and said, ‘I just want something proper for us to eat, Hu Tao. I don’t want some places that aren’t guaranteed to give us a good time.’
Hu Tao sneered and then cornered herself in her seat as she stared outside the car. And then, suddenly, the car comes to life as Xingqiu turns the wheel and says, ‘I got a place.’
Still staring outside, she asked, ‘Where?’
‘A rooftop diner. That blue skyscraper near the dock.’
With a pinched expression, Hu Tao looked to Xingqiu and said, ‘Isn’t that place full-booked now?
She observed Xingqiu’s brows drawing closer, and he tapped his steering wheel with his finger three times before he smiled and looked at Hu Tao reassuringly and said, ’Gotta risk something for our cute Valentine’s Dinner.’
Letting out a loud groan, she slapped her forehead before Xingqiu jerked his head back and said, ‘What now?’
‘We just want to eat, no matter where we are! Is it so hard?’ Hu Tao laughed and then asked, ‘It’s not about where I want to eat, it’s about understanding something.’
In an uncertain tone and with a groaning of his own, Xingqiu asked, ‘Understanding what?’
Hu Tao looked Xingqiu directly into his eyes and said, ‘The nature of a thing is more important than the form of a thing.’
Looking closer at his watch, closing with each second to 8.30 p.m; as Xingqiu watched the queue of cars in front of them with seemingly no end to the traffic jam. On the passenger seat, Hu Tao put her hands on her chin as her face brightened up and then said with a cheerful voice, ‘Okay, riddle me this: I am first on earth and second in heaven and appear twice per week. What am I?’
Xingqiu chuckled and said, ‘That’s an easy one. The letter “E”.’
‘Oh, you…’ she clenched her jaw and annoyed, ‘Where did you learn that?’
‘Aether asked me that question long ago. That’s what I was greeted to when I joined his club.’
‘Tch, that nerd.’ Hu Tao then thought of another riddle that came up to her, and of course, it came quickly, ‘How about this: What’s black, white and blue?’
‘A sad Zebra. That’s a kindergarten riddle!’
Again, Hu Tao loudly expressed her dissatisfaction, ‘Why did you answer that so quickly?!’
With a smirk, Xingqiu replied, ‘Tell me all you’ve got. I’ve got another half an hour to waste in this traffic.’
Lips pressing into a white slash, she put her face forward near the car's dashboard as she thinks of another riddle. She scoured through her memories, and then, like a lightbulb coming out from her head, she looked at Xingqiu while he was looking forward to the road, and then with a wide grin, she asked, ‘What did the Valentine Card say to the stamp?’
There’s a pause. And then an attempt as he gasped some air before he retracted it back. Then he frowned and said, ‘What is that riddle? I never heard of that.’
Hu Tao slapped his knees and laughed, ‘Got you! So what is it, then?’
‘I literally have no clue about this,’ he said as Xingqiu scratched his head.
‘Whoops!’ Hu Tao crossed her arms. ‘No clue until you at least try to answer it.’
‘Try? Wait, so you came up with this riddle?’
‘Can’t your girl made up her own riddle?’
He laughed a sharp raucous laugh, ‘Alright then. The answer is: I love you.’
Hu Tao shook her head, ‘Wrong! You got another chance before I gave you the clue.’
‘What?!’ he yelled. ‘This answer is obviously something corny.’
‘It’s not if you’re… sticking up to it.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’
‘Probably a clue.’
‘Probably?!’
‘Are you giving up now?’
Xingqiu exhaled. He won’t get beaten by a riddle when he has prevailed in the literary world up until this point. ‘I’m just trying to think.’ And just like that, Hu Tao waited as she put both hands on her chin.
They had passed four buildings when Xingqiu looked at his watch, showing 8.45 p.m. He tapped his steering wheels numerous times, looking for the correct answer to Hu Tao’s riddles. Xingqiu peeked through the corner of his eyes to see she still maintained her curiosity.
‘You are giving up now, Pudding ?’ she taunted.
He could feel his stomach empty, making his train of thoughts cut short. The only thing that he could think of is… ‘Fine. Give me a clue. I’m starved and can’t think much anyway,’ which just slipped from Xingqiu’s mouth.
Hu Tao was visibly stunned, yet she tried to keep her spirit by giggling and then said, ‘About time! Okay, the clue is… cue the drum roll!’ Hu Tao made a rumbling noise with her hands thumping her thighs, and then she waved her hands, ‘Ta-da!’ which flinched Xingqiu and quickly said, ‘It’s one line that Mufasa shouted to the Hyenas in Lion King!’
It took Xingqiu a minute before he stumbled upon his words and, seemingly annoyed, ‘That’s a lot of songs! Which one that-‘
‘ So prepare for a chance of a lifetime… ’ Hu Tao imitates and sings the rich, heavy voice of Jeremy Irons. ‘ Be prepared for sensational news! ’
‘How could I memorised each line in that movie?!’
She kept singing, ‘ A shining new era, is tiptoeing nearer. ’ She changed her stance a bit, ‘ And where do we feature? ’
Xingqiu snapped, he looked at Hu Tao with frown on his brow and said, ‘Hu Tao! This is not-‘
Hu Tao, however, could match his aura by shouting with a finger hovering on him and then calling, ‘ Just listen to teacher! ’
As annoying as ever, Xingqiu could tolerate some of her shenanigans. But this could cross the line, even for the Young Master. And so, he took a deep breath before letting it out and said, ‘Shut up for a moment, will you?’
A gasp can be heard from her breath. She tried to compose herself and him by holding his hands resting on the gear shift. However, Xingqiu lifted his hands before Hu Tao’s hand could even reach him. And with that, Hu Tao slowly moved away from Xingqiu, he stared blankly onto the traffic in front of them. She moved back to the corner of the door, waiting for Xingqiu to respond. A part of Xingqiu that she never saw.
Xingqiu realised his sudden change of behaviour as he quickly swallowed his tongue and said, ‘Forgive me. But I had enough of this traffic.’ He then peeked at his wristwatch again to see the clock showing 8.50 p.m.
A glass building stands tall that in the afternoon would blind most people by the sunlight reflected from it, and the night reminds the people that the city never sleeps with lights decorated throughout the tower. And for this particular night, one section of the entrance is littered with cars in queue, waiting for their turn to get into the restaurant entrance.
One of those queue was Xingqiu’s car, impatiently waiting for cars in front of them to move. Each of them was greeted by a valet.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’ Xingqiu broke the silence since their banter just moments ago, with Hu Tao looking closely at him but not daring to respond anything. Xingqiu continued, ‘That valet is approaching every car, but then those cars took off.’
‘No way the restaurant is still full, right?’ asked Hu Tao.
‘Let’s just hope that I am wrong.’
At last, that same valet finished talking to the car in front of them. Like every car that came before them, it departed and didn’t go to the parking space. That same valet approached Xingqiu’s car as he waved his hands down, and Xingqiu lowered his window with a sudden orotund voice from the valet, ‘Sorry, sir. The place is fully booked.’
The statement he had heard every week, planning the dinner, wouldn’t come to fruition until the day came. Xingqiu sighed and asked, ‘How many queues?’
‘Ten people, sir. Even then, we’re not sure how long they will be waiting.’
His eyes wilted down to his steer, with his hands fiddling in the air while Hu Tao wouldn’t dare to see him, just staring at the door to the restaurant, which flooded with people talking and laughing. Some of them exchanged kisses and held their hands together.
Before Hu Tao could think of anything, however, the car jolted to the front, and the ride began again. Xingqiu then said, ‘I’m sorry. I should’ve heard you.’
Hu Tao then frowned, and then she asked, ‘Where are we going now?’
He was smiling as she looked at him, but there was a sense of defeat on his relaxed shoulders. And then, he said with a low voice, ‘Something simple.’
The ride went smoothly. They didn’t get stuck in a traffic jam or see unnecessary red lights throughout. Hu Tao peeked at her watch to show 9.40 p.m on her end. Her clock was 20 minutes early.
They had been swerving through narrow streets, two or three blocks they go before finally Xingqiu hit the break on a small restaurant just on the corner of the intersection. A sign says, “The Best Pizza in Town!”
‘Pizza Place?’ asked Hu Tao.
‘It’s the only thing that went through my mind all day,’ said Xingqiu with a clear voice.
Hu Tao frowned, ‘You don’t want to eat in a fine dining place?’
As she asked, Xingqiu already placed his body towards Hu Tao, the first time he was doing it today, ‘It is the nature of a thing that matters… Not its form.’
When he remarked that words, Hu Tao’s iris went wide.
‘A lesson I learned the hard way today, I’m afraid,’ he said.
Silence, but the air was lighter this time as Hu Tao smiled. She then laughed with Xingqiu flinched in surprise as Hu Tao wiped her eyes and said, ‘When you made me silent the whole time, you know you freak me out.’
A gleeful laughter on his end, ‘Seems your pudding is a bit stubborn after all.’
Hu Tao then put her body forward and immediately kissed his lips, only a slight poke as she retracted back and chuckled. ‘Next time, I’ll book the place, you ass hat.’
Xingqiu was shocked as his muscle went rigid. His eyes blinked several times before he took his control back and said, ‘What would I ever do without you?’
‘Well, this!’ Hu Tao showed her watch, ‘A late dinner!’ She opened the door and said, ‘I’m gonna order something. You park the car.’
A peal of small laughter, followed by his finger pointing at her, ‘Pepperoni Pizza. Don’t put any stupid topping on it.’
‘We’ll see,’ she winked, closing the door and then marched to the restaurant, occasionally peeking back at him. Xingqiu shooed her with his hands as he prepared to drive the car.
But before he shifted the gear, he went silent. His body froze as he looked at the gear shift, and his mind went racing. Still, then he said it out loud, ‘Stick…’ A short pause again before he gasped a burst of laughter, ‘Stick with me…?’ Puzzling revelation he had for the riddles that maybe Hu Tao herself forgot, a riddle that was silently creeping him up through the traffic jam.
‘That’s what the card said?’ he asked himself as he saw Hu Tao entering the restaurant. Xingqiu refused to believe it, but knowing Hu Tao’s taste in literature made him rub his forehead, start the car, and go looking for a park without realising he had been smiling all the way through while looking through the mirror where Hu Tao was.
When he found a parking place, he took a deep breath before saying, ‘Yes, Hu Tao. It is my classic symptom.’