Chapter 154: You’re Just a Parasite

Seeing my silence, Mi Cai asked again, “Is giving me a guitar really that difficult for you? Besides, you might not even lose!”

As soon as I heard the word “besides,” an ominous feeling welled up inside me. Through long-term interaction, I had already realized: whenever she used such a transitional word, she had usually already dug a pit for me and was guiding me willingly to jump in.

But then I thought again, the bet was my own idea, so she didn’t have the prerequisite to set a trap. Therefore, such worries were completely unnecessary.

“Giving you a guitar is a trivial matter, but… I just can’t afford it!”

Although my words took a sudden turn, they were indeed the truth. If I were to give her a guitar worth only a hundred dollars or so, it would not match her superb playing skills at all.

Mi Cai remained silent for a long time before saying to me, “You can owe it to me first.”

I smiled and immediately agreed, then added, “Like you said yourself, I might not lose either. Everything is just a matter of ‘if.'”

“Yeah, then I wish you success and don’t let that ‘if’ become reality.”

“No problem, tonight will tell the tale!”

…

After having dinner at CC’s restaurant, I went to the bank and transferred money to repay the 500,000 I owed both Jian Wei and Mi Cai. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, like a snail finally shedding its heavy shell. Now free of burdens, I could finally focus on running the bar without any worries.

Throughout the afternoon, CC and I prepared for the bar’s opening. To our surprise, some customers had already arrived around 5 p.m. They said they had come early because they had seen our performance at Zhuomei the day before and wanted to experience the charm of “The Fifth Season” ahead of time.

I felt both joy and concern. I was happy that the positioning of the bar had already begun to attract consumers’ attention, but I was worried that, at this rate, I would definitely lose the bet with Mi Cai.

However, this concern quickly passed, because deep down, I really wanted to give Mi Cai a guitar. After all, a guitar could accompany her for a long time, even a lifetime, just like the one Jian Wei had given me.

We gave every customer in the first batch who entered the bar a free beer, regardless of whether they brought the promotional coupons. As a result, customers drank their beers while commenting on the newly reopened bar.

I mingled among the customers, listening to their evaluations, asking for some opinions, and noting them in my heart to make improvements when the time was right. Overall, the customers gave very positive feedback and showed great anticipation for this bar with its unique, ideology-driven concept.

Winter nights always came quickly, and before I realized it, the sky had completely darkened. I continued to stand by the bar’s entrance, welcoming each guest as they arrived.

At nearly half past six, I finally saw the red Q7 in the distance that I had been eagerly anticipating. Then I saw Mi Cai sitting inside, dressed casually.

After parking, Mi Cai approached me. I looked at her and said with a smile, “That red down jacket you’re wearing looks good.”

“I wore it on purpose, hoping the bar will be prosperous and successful.”

I felt touched but couldn’t help blurting out, “If the bar does well, I’ll make money. And once I have money, I can help you buy a guitar… You really plan things out so carefully!”

“Exactly, exactly… I’m just waiting for you to make money and give it to me.” She then glanced around and happened to see a minivan pulling up, from which a group of customers disembarked heading toward the bar. Mi Cai smiled and said, “Looks like you’re going to lose tonight!”

“I’d be happy to lose. The more customers, the better. At least it proves that consumers recognize this bar!”

Mi Cai seemed genuinely happy and patted my shoulder, saying, “Work hard, let me see how much you can achieve!”

I didn’t say anything, but that word “expectation” was enough to make me think. I really hoped she wasn’t just saying it casually, but truly had expectations for me.

Mi Cai didn’t immediately go into the bar. She stood outside with me, welcoming the guests who arrived one after another, chatting with me casually.

I asked her again, “Why did you come alone today? Where’s your little ‘sea turtle’ friend?”

“He rarely comes back to China, so he has other friends to meet… But can you stop calling him ‘sea turtle’ every other sentence?”

“He is a sea turtle, after all… Besides, who knows what he might be calling me behind my back!”

Mi Cai suddenly laughed…

I immediately frowned and asked, “Come on, tell me honestly, what does he call me behind my back?”

Mi Cai shook her head repeatedly and said, “I can’t tell you that!”

“You wait, I’ll strangle you…”

“Why would you strangle me? It’s not like I called you that!”

Curious and annoyed, I said to Mi Cai, “You call him here right now, I want to talk to him face to face!”

“I won’t call him, and besides, I think what he calls you is quite appropriate!”

“So that’s how you play favorites? You don’t like me calling him ‘sea turtle,’ but when he calls you such terrible names behind your back, you just enjoy it as a joke!”

Mi Cai replied with a matter-of-fact expression, “It’s different depending on the person. You should also think about how you usually treat me!”

I took the opportunity to say, “Yeah, I could never be as romantic as to rent out an entire cinema just to confess my feelings to you. That would be so cheesy!”

“Don’t mention that again!”

“What’s said is done. I said it, so what?” I said, looking at Mi Cai challengingly.

“Parasite!”

I had never heard Mi Cai use such a new term to insult me before. I immediately reacted angrily, “Wow, you sound so convincing when you insult me. You must have learned that from ‘sea turtle,’ right?”

“You’re just a parasite!”

I suddenly grabbed Mi Cai, who wasn’t prepared, and gave her a wrestling move, not completely throwing her down but letting her lie on my knee. Then I said, “Say it again, just try. I swear I’ll really throw you on the ground and show you what it means to be on your back!”

Mi Cai’s expression immediately changed, but not out of panic or fear of my threat. She frowned at me and said, “Zhaoyang, don’t joke with me like this. I really don’t like it!”

Her icy tone left me at a loss. Instinctively, I wanted to help her up from my knee, but at that moment, coincidentally, Chen Jingming and Fang Yuan, who had come to support me, got out of their car and saw the scene right in front of them.

It seemed that every time we had overly physical contact, we would mysteriously get caught in the act by acquaintances. Last time it was Master Ban, this time it was Fang Yuan and Chen Jingming.

Since Mi Cai was lying on my knee, she couldn’t see visually that Chen Jingming and Fang Yuan were approaching. Likewise, Fang Yuan and Chen Jingming didn’t realize it was Mi Cai either, as they couldn’t see her face from their angle.

Coming up to me, Fang Yuan joked, “Zhaoyang, flirting with which girl here?”

I found myself at a loss for words and finally helped Mi Cai, who had been held down by me all along, back to her feet…

Fang Yuan and Chen Jingming were genuinely shocked, completely taken aback. They exchanged glances and, after a while, exclaimed in unison, “Director Mi…”