What's Inconvenient About Not Being a Girlfriend

“Huh? You speak several languages too, buddy?” Su Yang asked in French.

“Haha, I suppose you could say I’m something of a language genius.”

“Really?”

“Hehe, I’ve loved studying languages from different countries ever since I was little. I’m pretty talented when it comes to languages, but even now I only barely speak three fluently.”

“That’s why I know firsthand how difficult it is to learn a foreign language. You say you can speak the languages of so many countries, so naturally I don’t believe you,” the driver said as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Su Yang, what’s he saying?”

“He says he doesn’t believe I can speak so many languages.”

“What would it take for him to believe you?” Su Yang asked, looking at the driver with interest.

“Your French is indeed quite good, and your English is decent too. But you said just now that you speak Spanish, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, as it happens, I speak it too.”

“Oh? Since you don’t believe me, why don’t you test me?” Su Yang said with a smile.

“Sure. *******, *******, ***, *****, what does that mean?” the driver asked, rattling off a long string of words.

Su Yang smiled. “That was a poem, wasn’t it?”

“You actually know it?”

“To be with me—that means forever. For a hundred years, a thousand years, I will...” Before Su Yang could finish, the driver turned around and laughed.

“All right, all right, I believe you!”

“There’s no reason for me to lie. If I can speak it, I can speak it; if I can’t, I can’t. That’s the kind of integrity a good young person should have nowadays.”

“Well said! You’re amazing.” The driver gave him a thumbs-up and waved it around.

The two of them had been talking for quite a while, while Li Yuanying had remained completely bewildered the entire time. Only after they finished did she ask, “What were you two talking about for so long?”

“Nothing much. He tested me in Spanish.”

“And you answered him?”

“Didn’t you see him give me a thumbs-up?” Su Yang said with a laugh.

“That’s incredible! How did you learn all those languages? I only speak three myself.”

“You speak three languages too?”

“Mhm. Korean, English, and a little German.”

“And what more do you want? That’s already extremely impressive,” Su Yang said, thinking to himself, If it weren’t for the system, I wouldn’t know anything besides Chinese.

He then thought, I have to hand it to her too. You can hail a random taxi and the driver turns out to speak several foreign languages.

“I’m not satisfied. I want to learn from you. Can you teach me?” Li Yuanying moved closer to Su Yang, grabbed his hand, and asked with an irresistible expression.

“Uh... What language do you want to learn?”

“I want to learn Japanese and your country’s language.”

“I suppose that’s possible, but Chinese is recognized as one of the most difficult languages in the world. Are you sure you want to learn it? And Japanese isn’t easy either.”

“I’m sure. I like them, for one thing, and I might be going to China often in the future. I just want to be able to communicate on a basic level.”

“All right, but... there’s one major problem.”

“What problem?”

“I don’t have the time.”

“How can you not have time?”

“I’m leaving for Switzerland tomorrow.”

“Switzerland?” Li Yuanying said, stunned.

“Yes. I have a friend there.”

At that, Li Yuanying rolled her eyes thoughtfully and said, “Then I’ll go with you!”

“You and me... what? You’re coming with me?”

“Of course! Didn’t I tell you that I’d be free once Fashion Week was over? Wherever you go, I can go with you. Is it... inconvenient?”

“Um...” Su Yang scratched his brow. “It’s not exactly inconvenient. It’s just that—”

“Just what? Is your friend a woman?”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what’s the problem? If she isn’t your girlfriend, what’s so inconvenient about it? Is she European?”

“She’s... Hey, what a coincidence—she’s Japanese.”

Upon hearing that, Li Yuanying slapped Su Yang on the leg. “That couldn’t be more perfect! Haha, I’ve decided. I’m going with you to Switzerland. You teach me Chinese, and your friend teaches me Japanese. Perfect!”

Su Yang pursed his lips and thought for a moment. “Are you serious, or are you joking?”

“Of course I’m serious. But if you don’t want me to come with you, I won’t trouble you.” Li Yuanying put on an aggrieved expression.

Seeing this, Su Yang covered his head. “...All right, all right. I’ll ask her first.”

“Great!” Li Yuanying beamed again.

Su Yang took out his phone, opened his chat with Yoshie, and sent her a message.

“Yoshie, what are you up to?”

“I’m chatting with some friends. What’s up, Su-san?”

“Nothing much. There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

Far away in Switzerland, Yoshie’s hands trembled slightly when she saw the message. She swallowed and typed back, “You’re... not coming anymore?”

“No. It’s just that a friend of mine wants to come along too. She’s a Korean woman.”

“Phew!” When Yoshie saw the message, she let out a sigh of relief. She had thought Su Yang was no longer planning to visit her, but it turned out that a friend simply wanted to come along and was asking for her opinion.

She smiled and replied, “Of course! As long as you can come, that’s all that matters! Besides, my friends will be here too. The more of us, the livelier it’ll be.”

Su Yang replied, “All right, then. I’ll bring her with me tomorrow.”

“Okay! I’ll be waiting for you!”

“OK.”

After ending the chat, Su Yang put away his phone and looked at Li Yuanying, who had been staring at him the entire time.

“What did your friend say?”

“She said it’s fine.”

“Haha, yes! So when are we leaving?” Li Yuanying asked excitedly.

“No rush. We’ll go tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ve never been to Switzerland before. I hear the scenery there is beautiful, so this will be a perfect chance to have a look around.”

“All right. We’ll take the high-speed train tomorrow.”

“Great!”

As they chatted, the taxi soon arrived at 119 Morgan Street.

After paying the fare, Su Yang got out first, and Li Yuanying quickly hopped out after him.

“Where’s the restaurant?”

“Let me see.” Li Yuanying looked around at their surroundings.

The street was crowded, with restaurants lining both sides. Bright, eye-catching signs hung from the walls everywhere.

“There it is!” Li Yuanying said with a smile, pointing to a restaurant fifty or sixty meters away, diagonally across from them.

Su Yang followed her gaze and nodded. “All right, let’s go.”

The two of them crossed at the crosswalk, then walked a few dozen meters before arriving at the French restaurant along the street.

From the entrance, they could see several tables of diners through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The restaurant wasn’t very large, and its interior had a retro style.

After taking a look, the two of them pushed open the door and went inside.

A young man in a coffee-colored uniform and a matching cap hurried over to greet them with a smile. “Welcome to Oster’s French Restaurant! Handsome and beautiful, please come on in.”

“Hello. Do you have a table by the window?” Su Yang asked.

“Yes, we do. Right this way.” The waiter led them to a four-person table by the window toward the back of the restaurant.

“Here are our menus. Take a look, and if you need anything, I’d be happy to make some recommendations.”

“All right, let’s take a look first.” Su Yang opened the menu. To his surprise, every dish was labeled in Chinese as well.

“How considerate,” Su Yang said with a smile, looking at Li Yuanying across from him. “Yuanying, can you read it?”

Li Yuanying shook her head. The menu was written only in French and Chinese.

“I can’t, but I can look at the pictures.”

“All right. I’ll order the dishes you said you wanted to try.”

“Okay.”

“Handsome, we’ll have a serving of beef bourguignon.” Su Yang tilted his head toward the waiter.

“Sure, no problem.” The young waiter quickly jotted it down.

Su Yang flipped the page and continued, “And one serving of Burgundy snails.”

“Okay.”

The two dishes Li Yuanying had mentioned earlier were now ordered. Su Yang looked at her and asked, “How’s it going? Would you like me to come over and translate for you?”

“I’ll come over.” Li Yuanying quickly stood up and moved around to sit beside Su Yang.

Su Yang pointed to the dishes on the menu. “This is foie gras, this is frog legs, and this is cream skate...”

“They all look delicious. We’ll have all three.”