In the middle of the night, my boyfriend’s phone kept ringing. My heart gave a sudden lurch. The moment I opened it, I breathed a sigh of relief: our old classmates were congratulating us on our wedding in the group chat. After ten years of dating, we’d finally made it to the altar. After graduation, I’d supported him through four years of civil service exams, and he’d finally passed. The wedding was next week, and I was too excited to sleep, so I opened his photo album to pass the time. I came across all the pictures he’d taken of me trying on wedding dresses that afternoon, and laughed as I looked through them. Suddenly, a message from his Douyin chat lit up. My smile vanished. I opened it and saw a profile picture I’d never seen before. [You’re online, so why aren’t you messaging me? Hmph.]
