“Kid, seven tonight, at Meet Bar. Don’t be late.”
“What for?”
“Your big sister just got her master’s degree! I’m celebrating with a few girlfriends, and you’re coming along as our escort.”
Before I could refuse, she added, “And don’t tell me you have to practice piano. You can practice that lousy piece of yours tomorrow. Besides, you don’t have a girlfriend, so what are you going to do, hole up at home all weekend?”
Then she hung up.
I looked at my phone and sighed. That’s just how my sister is: decisive and used to getting her way. After our parents divorced, Mom remarried and moved abroad, and Dad passed away the year before last, leaving her to look after me. To put it bluntly, she’s more like the head of the family than I am.
Meet Bar is on the street behind A University. It isn’t big, but it’s tastefully decorated. I arrived just after seven and pushed open the private-room door. Four people were already inside.
My sister was sitting in the middle. As soon as she saw me, she waved me over. “There he is! This is my younger brother, Chen Mo, a third-year composition major at A University.”
A round-faced girl sitting beside her looked me over with a grin. “Hey, Yiyi, your brother’s pretty handsome. How come you’ve never mentioned him?”
“What good is being handsome when he’s as quiet as a clam?” My sister didn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus. “This is Zhao Yuanyuan, a classmate of mine.”
