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You sighed as you stared at the shelf you had stopped in front of. The shelf was stuffed full of individually packaged in a half-dozen flavours but you were only staring at them. You had narrowed it down to a choice between only two kinds but you couldn’t make up your mind between them. Both flavours had their own appeal. You usually went with the classic but a new variety had been revealed a few weeks ago and this was the first time you had seen them in the store. Their green packaging, as opposed to the typical red, stood out on the shelves.
Eventually, after a few minutes of standing there, you grabbed one of the buns decisively. You had made up your mind. You would go with your favourite. It had been that kind of day. You were too exhausted to be adventurous.
Decision made, you went and stood in line. There were two people ahead of you which wasn’t anything to complain about but it was strange for this time of night. It was almost midnight. Usually when you dropped by the convenience store there would be one or maybe two other customers but tonight the convenience store was oddly full. Other than the people in line there was a group of women flipping through the magazines and a few other people milling around the aisles. If not for how dark it was when you peered out the front window you would have thought it was the lunch rush.
Thinking back as you stood there in line, you found you couldn’t recall the last time you had dropped into a convenience store when it was packed like this. Maybe years ago, back in high school. Lately you only ever visited stores early in the morning or late at night, trying to avoid the crowds. It hadn’t helped tonight though.
“Excuse me,” you heard from behind you along with a tap on your shoulder. It was a young man, probably twenty or so. He was grinning at you. You smiled back but with your face covered with a medical mask it was only your eyes that showed it.
“You’re Xiaoli, right? From Girls’ Friendship?” the man asked. You inched backward as he leaned into the question. He had been too close to begin with. You could smell his cologne and there was too much of it.
“Ahh, no,” you said apologetically. “I get that a lot though,” you added with a laugh. You tugged at your mask, pulling it up a little higher as you turned back around. There were still two people ahead of you in line. The first person in line seemed to be having trouble with their credit card, apologizing over and over to the cashier as they swiped it again and again.
“Really? You look just like her.” With that the man came forward and stood next to you in line. He squinted as he studied your face. “Almost like you could be her twin or something.” You gave a dry laugh as you nodded. You heard it a lot. It was why you wore the mask, even when you weren’t sick.
The line moved forward as the man at the front hurried out of the store. Taking his cup noodles with him, you didn’t know whether his card had finally gone through or if the cashier had given up and just let him take it but either way you were next in line now. The woman ahead of you wasn’t buying much and so you were hopeful you would be out of here quickly.
You went to move up in line but the man stepped in front of you. “You wanna get drinks or something?” he asked.
“I work early tomorrow,” you told him with a feigned wince. You didn’t work until tomorrow afternoon but over the years you had found that was the one excuse most people took well. Everyone could sympathize with being forced to get up early.
With that you held up your bun, reminding him why you were in line and began to inch forward. You were only blocked again as he stepped in front of you. “Then give me your number at least,” he insisted.
You hesitated. You had almost gone for the instinctive lie of telling the man that you had a boyfriend but as insistent as he was you sensed that wouldn’t be enough. He would probably tell you that it didn’t matter or that he didn’t have to know. You were getting that sense from him.
“…Alright,” you agreed reluctantly. Even if he would have begrudgingly accepted the lie, it would be easier to give him a fake number than it would be to continue arguing with him. The man smiled as he dug around in his pockets searching for something to write it down with.
Suddenly the man froze though not because he had found anything. A hand had come to rest on his shoulder. With a firm hold on him, the man almost didn’t want to turn around but when he did he found the hand belonged to a woman. She was taller than you but an inch or two shorter than him and yet he couldn’t help but take a step back. With one eye covered with a patch, it seemed her one remaining eye carried the intensity of two.
“I think they’re closing,” she said, though while she spoke quietly it wasn’t gentle.
The man frowned. It was a 24-hour convenience store. And glancing towards the front of the store, the cashier was still helping a customer at the counter, not hurried in the slightest. He began to tell her that, correcting her, but he didn’t get even one word into it.
“Time to go,” the woman told him. The man said nothing back to her, but eventually began to back up slowly. He inched away from the two of you for a metre or so before he committed to it. With one last glance at the woman and you the man took off, whatever he had come into the convenience store for completely forgotten.
“Bleugh, what a creep,” someone from behind you groaned loudly. “Are you alright?” Turning around you found it was a short woman with long black hair. It was tied back in a messy attempt at a high ponytail.
“I’m fine, thank you,” you replied. It seemed like the two women knew each other. And maybe not just the two of them. Behind the second woman there were three other women standing in the aisle. Two of them waved at you when your eyes met but the third seemed lost in thought, studying a pack of instant noodles thoroughly.
One of the women crept down the aisle, coming closer and closer until she stopped right behind the woman who had spoken to you. She tried to hide behind her but as short as the other woman was it didn’t quite work. Peeking out from behind her, the red-haired woman looked at you suspiciously. She went to speak once but only succeeded in getting anything out on her second attempt. “You are Xiaoli, right?” she whispered.
“Long!” the shorter woman exclaimed as she spun around. “You can’t ask that!” Long grumbled an apology but you couldn’t tell whether it was directed at the other woman or you. There was no need for it though.
“No, it’s alright,” you assured the two of them quietly. You pulled your mask down and greeted her with a smile. “I am. It’s my stage name,” you explained. “You can call me (name) though.” You knew you shouldn’t reveal yourself so thoughtlessly but right now it was fine. You trusted these women.
“Woah, that’s so cool,” the shorter woman said breathlessly. “Isn’t that cool, Quanxi?” she asked excitedly, looking up at the woman behind you. Completely silent you had almost forgotten that she was there, even though she had been the one to save you. She stayed silent even now, only nodding in response to the question.
“Actually, we’re huge fans of yours,” the black-haired woman confessed, speaking for the group. “We saw you live in Beijing. It was amazing!” They had landed fantastic tickets and had watched from the very front of the crowd. It was something she would never forget.
“Can we get an autograph?” she asked. She pressed her hands together, pleading with you. But again there was no need for that.
“Of course!” It was the least you could do. With that there was some frantic discussion between most of the women but they found you a notebook and pen. “Who should I make it out to?”
“Oh, I’m Pingtsi,” the black-haired woman told you, pointing a finger at herself. “And this is Long.” She gestured to the woman clinging onto her. “Cosmo, and Tsugi.” She threw a finger at the two other women behind her. Cosmo waved enthusiastically at the mention of her name but Tsugi didn’t seem to hear. The instant noodles had her thoroughly captivated.
“And that’s Quanxi,” Pingtsi added last, pointing at the woman who had rescued you. You gave her a warm smile but she gave you nothing back. You could see why the man had fled. Even you couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by that cold stare.
One by one you wrote their names into the notebook. In the past few years you had developed smooth, nice handwriting from signing thousands of posters and CDs but you took extra care writing theirs. Below their names you wrote your group’s tagline, ‘stay sparkling!’ and then finally below that you signed your stage name. But before returning the notebook to Pingtsi you had one last addition to the page. ‘Thank you,’ you added with a small heart.
With the autograph acquired, the women began to head out. “It was nice meeting you,” Pingtsi called out, waving at you. You waved back until the last of the group had left and the automatic doors slid closed behind them. There was no one with the cashier now and so you drifted over, though slowly. The past five minutes or so felt like a blur.
But as you stumbled your way through your purchase, one thing was clear. You couldn’t help but feel that you shouldn’t have been the one giving the autograph. The woman who had saved you had been so effortlessly cool, almost like an actress in an action film. She had shut that man down with no more than a touch and a few quiet words.
You wished you knew more about her than just her name, but in a city of over ten million people you knew you had lost your chance to ask.
—
Tonight the subway station was busy but you would have never expected it not to be at this hour. It was rush hour, and in Shenzhen that meant millions of people all rushing home. An hour in either direction would have let you dodge some of the traffic but your rehearsal had finished at the exact wrong time. You had contemplated hanging around the studio until the traffic died down but you had decided against it in the end. It had been a long, exhausting rehearsal and you wanted to get back home.
But for as much as you had dreaded it, your commute wasn’t terrible. You hadn’t managed to get a seat on the train but no one had bothered you, and when you got off at your station you had found it was full but not packed. It wasn’t shoulder to shoulder like it could be sometimes. You had always hated that, being jostled around as you fought to reach your exit. You were almost at it now though. You could see the stairs you were headed for through the gaps in the crowd.
“(name)?!” you heard someone shout, loud enough to pierce through the commotion. More than a few people turned towards it, yourself included. But despite the crowd, you had no trouble finding who had called out your name. It was Pingtsi, one of the women you had met the other night. She was jumping up and down and waving her hands in the air, fighting to be seen.
As you wove through the crowd to meet her you realized it wasn’t just her. It was all five of the women you had met at the convenience store the other week. Most of them greeted you with a wave but Quanxi was as cool as ever, keeping it to only a nod. It didn’t bother you. For whatever reason you felt like a nod was more than most people got.
“We’re going to karaoke!” Pingtsi told you enthusiastically. “Wanna come?”
“Don’t be stupid, that’s her job,” Long muttered. It could barely be heard above the noise of the station but Pingtsi didn’t miss it and scowled. She spun around to argue with her instinctively but stopped herself. Long wasn’t wrong. Pingtsi gave you an apologetic look.
“No, I’d love to!” you told them. “If you’ll have me.” You looked up at Quanxi for an answer though you couldn’t say why. All the other women seemed to look to her and so did you. Quanxi nodded and for what it was worth it didn’t seem begrudging. There had been no hesitation. Even with five of them already, it seemed she had no problem with another tagging along.
But once Quanxi had given you her answer there was no hanging around. Quanxi started on and the rest of you fell in line behind her. The five of them had booked a booth for karaoke but they were running behind. They had left their hotel later than they had meant to. It had turned out to be for the best though. If not for leaving almost half an hour late they would have never run into you.
As you walked Long told you that karaoke was only about a block from the station. It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to get there. You wouldn’t have minded if it had taken longer though. Although you had only met them because you were an idol, none of them reminded you of it. You felt as if you were only another friend in their group. It was a warm, comfortable feeling, like you had already known them years ago and had only been reunited right now.
And yet whenever you looked ahead at Quanxi your chest went tight. More than a few times since that night at the convenience store you had found yourself thinking back on the encounter. It wasn’t the man or how Quanxi had rescued you, but rather Quanxi herself. As enigmatic as she was, you couldn’t help but be curious about her. You had thought it was only idle daydreaming though. It felt almost surreal to see her again now.
But although you had found her again, the dozens of questions you had for her went unasked. You wanted nothing more than to talk with her and get to know her, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything to her. You felt like you were already friends with Pingtsi and Long and the other women but Quanxi felt more distant, almost like she was out of reach. To make matters worse, although the two of you had already met, this evening felt like it would be your real first impression and you wanted it to be a good one.
It was the largest booth available, but with six people the karaoke booth was tight. Even with someone standing and singing there wasn’t much room left on the rounded couch. Nonetheless five of you squeezed together on the couch leaving the sixth, Pingtsi standing. She grabbed the microphone from the table in the middle of the room and held it above her head triumphantly. There was always a bit of an argument over who would go first but since she had been left standing the honour would be hers.
After some scrolling through the catalogue, the lights dimmed and Pingtsi began into the song she had chosen. It was a classic, a power ballad that had topped the charts a decade ago. The key of the song didn’t suit her but even still you could tell that she had a good voice. And perhaps more importantly, each and every word carried her passion. It felt like she meant what she was singing.
Pingtsi finished with a bow before offering the microphone to you. You shook your head, passing on it for now. She didn’t insist, only turning to Long who was sitting beside you. She hesitated but took it. She enjoyed karaoke once she was into it but getting into it could be tough. With some encouragement from the group she got up and chose her song.
After Long the microphone was passed around the room a dozen times but both Quanxi and you managed to avoid it. Quanxi didn’t seem the type to enjoy karaoke to begin with but while you had passed up every opportunity to sing you did like karaoke. It was how you had gotten into performing. But after settling in with the women so well you didn’t want to remind them that you were an idol. You could hold back and give a muted performance but as familiar as they were with your singing they would know. You had put yourself in a difficult situation. You wondered what Quanxi would prefer, whether she valued honesty or preferred humility.
“Sing this one!” Pingtsi insisted as she waved the microphone at you. You went to decline but you realized it was too late. Pingtsi had already chosen the song and the backing track had started. A countdown was playing on the screen behind her. If no one started singing the six of you would be stuck there listening to the instrumental.
Every second you hesitated was another second wasted and there were less than ten seconds left before the melody came in. You grabbed the microphone from Pingtsi and stood. You squeezed past the women and the table and managed to make it to the front of the room just as you were meant to start singing. It was a pop song that had been popular a few years ago. You didn’t even need the lyrics on the screen.
Singing, you didn’t worry yourself with everything you did during a performance. You weren’t worried about whether your voice was projecting or what expression might be on your face and simply gave yourself into the music. It was a compromise with yourself. You weren’t as focused as you would have been on stage but you weren’t calling it in either. You stumbled on the third verse, forgetting that the lyrics changed slightly, but no one noticed nor would they have cared if they had. They were either singing along or cheering you on or in the case of Quanxi, simply watching as you sang. You hoped she didn’t mind what you had settled on. Her expression didn’t tell you anything.
When the song trailed out you handed Cosmo the microphone. Baton passed, you went to return to your spot on the booth but found there was no room for you. Tsugi had fallen over, seemingly asleep. You didn’t want to bother her but with Cosmo trying to take your place at the front of the room you needed somewhere to go.
You felt a hand on your side. You turned towards it and found Quanxi looking up at you. She set her hand on her lap, her eye not breaking contact with yours. You smiled and laughed, shaking your head. There was no need for that. You could stand in the corner by the door for now, even though it was a bit uncomfortable. You had been in your heels all day. But while you had declined, Quanxi didn’t draw her hand aside. She kept her hand on her lap, the offer open.
Cosmo began to sing, replacing every single word in the song with ‘Halloween’ as you had discovered she liked to do. But while she paid no mind to the lyrics, she was perfectly in rhythm with the song. Her pitch was perfect too, hitting every note just right. And that was to say nothing of how she was jumping around, dancing along with the music. You felt exhausted just watching her.
You sat down, taking Quanxi’s lap. It had been a long day. You had gotten up early for some private practice before meeting up with your group and rehearsing together. Any other night you would have gone straight home and crashed but you had toughed it out for karaoke. And if Quanxi didn’t mind then there was really no problem with sitting for a bit. It might not even be for that long. If Tsugi woke and sat up then you could have your seat back.
Although you had sat at the very edge of her knees, Quanxi wrapped her arms around you and pulled you in towards her. Not expecting it, you flinched but didn’t otherwise object. It was more comfortable like that. If you sat there tense like that then you may as well have been standing, and as for Quanxi you didn’t think she would have done it if it was uncomfortable for her. Or so you hoped. You didn’t want to be bothering her.
It was time for the next song but with no one looking for the microphone it was Cosmo up again. Apparently a favourite of hers, she chose the same song that she had just finished. Pingtsi muttered something but that was as far as it went. It was impossible to be upset with Cosmo when she was enjoying herself as much as she was. It was contagious.
The hand that was resting on your leg ran across your thigh. Its palm was calloused but warm. Although Cosmo was bouncing across the room, you looked down at it. There wasn’t a single blemish on her skin, not a single mark or scar that might give you some hint as to who she was. You wondered what she did for a living. You wanted to ask her but as easily as you could make conversation with the other women when it came to Quanxi you couldn’t get anything out. It took a lot of confidence to get on stage and perform for a crowd of thousands of people but even a single word to her felt impossible.
You turned your attention to Cosmo as she began belting out the chorus but as soon as you had looked up you looked back down again. Her hand had inched higher up your leg. More than that, her fingers had caught the bottom of your skirt and drawn it up higher. You thought nothing of it. She had to be uncomfortable with you sitting on her like that. She was only getting settled. And yet despite telling yourself that, your chest had gone tight again.
It only got worse as her hand came up your chest. She stopped about halfway up your chest and pulled you closer, hugging you from behind. If she felt your short, shallow breathing then she said nothing of it and you were grateful for that. You didn’t want her to ask whether you weren’t feeling well and make it into something it wasn’t. You were getting worked up over nothing.
The hand on your leg slipped under your skirt. Quanxi didn’t say anything but she liked what you were wearing tonight. She thought it suited you better than what she usually saw you wearing in interviews but it also made everything so much easier. She could feel the soft skin on your thighs without having to work for it.
You were barely even arguing with her either. You had pressed your legs together at first but as her hand had drifted further onwards, she had found it was only for show. She had found no resistance in separating them again.
With the arm that was wrapped around you, Quanxi pulled you back against her. You could have fought it but you didn’t. You leaned back against her and let her hold you even more tightly than she had before. You had been watching the hands that were on you but with that you glanced over at the other women. You had almost forgotten they were there, not even registering the song that was playing.
And it seemed like maybe, caught up in their karaoke, Quanxi’s friends had forgotten about you too. Pingtsi and Long were both staring at the screen intently, Tsugi was still asleep, and Cosmo was still belting out her ‘Halloweens’. No one seemed to notice what Quanxi was doing except for you.
Underneath your skirt, her hand pressed against you. For as tight as you had held your legs together earlier they were welcoming her now, letting Quanxi touch you between them. But while she only held her hand there at first, after a moment she began to rub her fingers in a loose circle. She got nothing, no reaction from you, but that was more or less what she had been hoping for. Starting into it slowly, she had been hoping not to startle you.
You didn’t know what to do. You barely understood how the two of you had gotten to this. A few minutes ago Quanxi had offered you a seat and now she was holding you, rocking her hand against you. You knew you should grab her wrist and pull it aside but you couldn’t bring yourself to. You didn’t want her to stop, even though you should have. Even though her hand was hidden by your skirt, if anyone looked over it would be obvious what was happening. Your expression alone would give it away.
But unable to stop it, the two of you continued only a glance away from being caught. You tried your best to at least keep it subtle but the more that she touched you the more difficult it became to restrain yourself. You would let a quiet gasp slip or you would raise your hips, trying to meet her hand. You needed more of her, of that pressure, and so when Quanxi put more behind what she was doing you sighed. Even now you couldn’t speak, even to find the words to thank her.
Finally, Quanxi decided there was no need to draw things out any longer. She drew your underwear aside and carefully brought a finger into you. You took it with only a sigh, as she knew you would. She had felt it through the thin fabric. You had been more than ready for her.
Quanxi held back a breath as you brought your hips up to meet her hand. She didn't want to scare you off, not now. She had gotten you where she wanted you. She was moving her finger against you over and over, even as you strained against her.
You muttered her name and Quanxi paused. She almost said it back but hearing it again and feeling your hips move, she only drew her finger out of you. She ran her fingers against you and spread your wet as if proving how excited you were before eventually bringing two fingers into you. It felt like almost too much at first but once you had taken them you only wanted more.
With her hand resting against you, each time Quanxi rocked her hand against you it drew out a breath. There was a song playing and you could only barely make them out yourself over that but you still felt like you were being too loud. You brought a hand up and held it over your mouth. Covering your mouth wouldn’t stop every noise you were making from being heard but it would dampen it enough.
But a hand wrapped around your wrist. It wasn’t rough but was firm as it pulled your arm back down. You didn't argue with it. You didn't have the strength. Her hand was still moving, curling up into you over and over. Ever since you had given away where you wanted her with a whine, she hadn’t shied from that spot for a moment.
Even when your arm fell down to your side, Quanxi didn't let go of it though. “I want to hear you,” she told you. It was the first time you had heard her speak since the night you had met. Her voice was just how you remembered it to be, low and smooth. And while she wasn’t loud, she didn’t drop down to a whisper. Unlike you, she didn’t care who saw or heard what.
“I love your voice,” Quanxi told you. It wasn’t just the noises you were making now, the gasps you were trying to hide. She had always loved your voice. On stage, in interviews, she had always liked listening to it.
“Quanxi,” you muttered. She appreciated hearing her name said like that but you didn’t need to tell her. She felt it in how you were moving, and like that she kept going. Even as you strained and twisted again her she didn’t stop, bringing you through it. It wasn’t until she felt you melt into her, all the tension leaving your body with a sigh that she pulled her fingers out of you.
You rested there for a minute, merely breathing before you found the strength to move. When you did, you twisted around slowly. Even now as you were collecting yourself Quanxi found your expression was perfect. Next time she would make sure she could watch it.
You closed your eyes as you met Quanxi in a kiss. It should have been quick, just enough to fulfill that need but once you met her you forgot all about that. Her arms wrapped around you and pulled you in and kept you close until both of you were satisfied enough.
But as you rested against Quanxi and she ran her hand across your back, you remembered the room. No matter how much it felt like it, the two of you weren’t alone. And you couldn’t ignore it. You risked a peek behind you, into the room. Nothing had changed except for who was singing. Long was swaying as she sang, while the other women were either watching or were still asleep in the case of Tsugi. You would have thought they were only pretending not to notice but the embarrassment of knowing what was happening would be impossible to hide. They would have given you an awkward, pained smile when your eyes met or avoided meeting them altogether but when you looked at Pingtsi she only gestured at the karaoke screen, offering you the next song. You shook your head gently.
As Long finished the song and held the microphone out for someone else to take, Quanxi spoke up. “Let’s call it a night,” she said. There were no objections as all the other women nodded. Pingtsi roused Tsugi gently, who woke with a silent yawn before getting up.
You tugged your skirt down as you stood. Although it reached just above your knee, it didn’t feel long enough suddenly. It didn’t help that your underwear was soaked through, an uncomfortable reminder of what had happened.
Out in the entrance, Quanxi headed over to the counter and while Cosmo ran after her the rest of you waited. You had tried to pay for your own drinks but Quanxi had insisted on covering not only you, but everyone. She had dismissed your offer so casually it had only made you more curious as to what she did for a living that she could cover things so thoughtlessly.
Over at the counter, Quanxi was waiting patiently as the clerk struggled with the till. It had locked up on him and though he had called his supervisor to help him with it, she hadn't arrived yet. He apologized over and over for the delay but there was no need. Quanxi did want to get back to the hotel but she wasn’t in any rush.
As Quanxi and Cosmo waited at the counter, the rest of you were all waiting for her. The other women were peering out the front window, chatting amongst themselves as they watched the traffic go by but you didn’t join them. You hung off to the side, silent. You couldn’t bring yourself to look any of them in the eyes after what had happened in the booth. Even if they hadn’t noticed anything, just knowing what you had done was too much.
“She’s so good at it, isn’t she?” Pingtsi said with a laugh. She had leaned in close to say it but after speaking she had stepped back and shot you a grin. So deep in your thoughts, you hadn’t even noticed she had come over from the window to join you.
“Hmm?” Thinking back you couldn’t remember what song Quanxi had sung. She had been offered the microphone several times but she had never taken it. But when you gave Pingtsi an expectant look, she didn’t elaborate. All she did was smile back at you.
A few seconds passed before you felt your cheeks start to burn. “Ah,” was as much as you could get out before turning away. You heard Pingtsi let a giggle slip out. More than a little embarrassed, your expression now was the same as it had been in the booth. It was a shame that Quanxi hadn’t gotten to see it. Pingtsi knew that she would love it when she got the chance to.
But while at first you thought you had only been caught, as you thought about it more you were met with a realization. That wasn’t quite what she had said. Seeing your expression change as what she had meant gradually dawned on you, Pingtsi snickered before she returned over to where the other women were gathered. It wasn’t a laugh at your expense, it was only that your expression was too cute she couldn’t bear it.
You stood there alone for a minute or two, merely thinking. You didn’t quite understand the dynamic between all the women but you understood now that they weren’t friends. As fixated on Quanxi as you were, you had missed it but it was obvious from how the other women looked at her. It was love and adoration, not mere respect.
With the bill sorted, Quanxi and Cosmo came over and everyone gathered together. Cosmo was clinging onto Quanxi but the silver-haired woman didn’t even seem to notice, her attention only on you. She had thought you might disappear after everything that had happened and so she was glad to see you had stuck around.
“Thank you,” you told her nervously. It was hard to get the words out but after years of being an idol you could always get out pleasantries, no matter what state you were in. Right now you were tired and anxious and a little confused but the word still came out all the same.
“It was nice meeting all of you,” you added, looking at the other women. All of them smiled back at you, even Tsugi. They had all enjoyed the evening and were glad you had agreed to come along. And despite the misunderstanding on your end, you had enjoyed getting to know them all just as much.
With that you could have excused yourself and run off but you hesitated. Although you couldn’t shake your embarrassment and wouldn’t for some time, you couldn’t leave quite yet. You had made the mistake already once before and you wouldn’t make it again.
“Could I give you my phone number?” you asked Quanxi. Struggling to get the words out, you had said it louder than you had meant to but you didn’t care. Although you had misunderstood the circumstances, there was nothing to be misunderstood about how the two of you felt about each other. Even though some idols broke from their groups and went solo, you had never felt any desire for that. You felt more comfortable in a group. Perhaps this would be no different. For Quanxi you were willing to give it a shot.
Quanxi nodded. She had been about to ask for it anyway. The two of you had hit it off and you got along well with her girlfriends. You couldn’t have been a better fit.
After jotting down your phone number for her, there was nothing for you to do but go your separate ways. The next time Quanxi and you parted there would be a long kiss to mark it but tonight there was only a smile and a nod exchanged between the two of you. An idol couldn’t be seen doing anything like that in public. And while you would have liked it, you didn’t need the kiss anyway. You could still taste the kiss she had given you in the booth.
“See ya!” Pingtsi and Long cheered in unison as the group headed out, while Cosmo and Tsugi added their own farewells. Quanxi had offered to walk you to your apartment but you had declined. Your apartment was only a couple of blocks away and you thought you wanted the walk to clear your thoughts. You still hadn’t quite wrapped your head around everything that had happened.
There was nothing bittersweet about this parting though. All the women knew they would be seeing a lot more of you.