A few days ago, my older brother went to Henan for a university classmate’s wedding. Yesterday afternoon, he called me to share what he had learned, mainly about the cost-effectiveness of studying abroad, the difficulties of studying overseas, the challenges of growing older, and the situation after returning to China.
I was already aware of these things, but hearing him reiterate them made me even more anxious.
Last night, when I video-called Huanhuan, I sensed she seemed a bit down. I asked her what was wrong, but she said it was nothing.
This morning, I noticed the date was May 20th. I thought about the electric shaver Huanhuan had bought me a few days ago and remembered I had promised to get her a photo printer. So, I checked on JD.com and saw there was a national subsidy, which brought the price down a bit—though it was still a little expensive at 800 yuan.
I noticed that on Ku’an, there had been a 50% discount coupon during last year’s Double 11, which would have brought the price down to under 400 yuan. Huanhuan thought it wasn’t cost-effective now, so we decided to wait and see if a similar deal comes up later. She told me to cancel the order for now and reconsider later.
In the morning, Xiaoxue contacted me, suggesting I buy Huanhuan flowers, a cake, or milk tea. I felt flowers were a bit awkward—I don’t really see this as a holiday, just something hyped up by businesses and marketing. I wasn’t keen on buying them and didn’t think Huanhuan would like following the trend either. As for cake, Huanhuan does enjoy it, but her acne hasn’t cleared up yet, so I didn’t want her eating sweets.
At noon, while Huanhuan was having lunch with Zou Zou, I ordered milk tea for them. In the afternoon, Huanhuan shared with me about her colleague’s partner and the flowers someone had given her. That’s when I realized Xiaoxue was right—Huanhuan does like receiving gifts or surprises on such occasions.
So, I immediately told Huanhuan I’d buy her a bouquet. I quickly found a nice-looking one on Meituan and added the shop owner on WeChat to ask if they could make it. The owner said they were missing some materials and couldn’t replicate the exact bouquet but could make something similar. I asked what fresh flowers they had, and the owner said I could send a picture of what I liked for them to recreate. I sent one I personally liked, though I wasn’t very confident in the owner’s taste or skills.
Sure enough, when the flowers were done, they didn’t look much like the reference photo. To their credit, the owner was honest and admitted the result wasn’t great, offering a discount and extra flowers next time.
I didn’t reply because improving one’s aesthetic sense isn’t something that happens overnight.
In the evening, my mom asked me to go for a walk. When we reached the stadium, she asked if I had sent Huanhuan a red envelope. I said no, and we ended up discussing the topic of red envelopes. Though it was more of a one-sided conversation, as my mom rarely expresses her opinions openly.
All these things left me feeling down all day. During my evening interview, I couldn’t focus very well. Later, I debated whether to talk to Huanhuan about it. It was clear she had already noticed something was off. After hesitating for a long time, I decided to open up—otherwise, she might lose sleep over guessing what was wrong.
We talked late into the night, sharing our thoughts. I can’t really say which of us was being more mature or rational. Overall, maintaining an open and understanding attitude is the best approach.