The morning sunlight poured through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the pure white dining table. Sitting opposite each other at the table, Mi Cai and I were having breakfast and chatting.
Mi Cai placed her half-eaten red bean cake into my plate and said, “It’s too sweet!”
Even in the past, I never minded eating leftovers from her. I picked up the cake that had been bitten into a crescent shape and said to her with a slight smile, “How can you eat something and turn it into a piece of art? Open your mouth and let me see how your teeth are arranged.”
Mi Cai opened her mouth for me to see.
I sighed again and said, “They look pretty straight. How come the shape you bite out is always twisted?”
“You can bite a straight one?”
Immediately, I took a bite from both sides of the crescent-shaped cake, turning it into a rectangular shape, and said to her, “Look, isn’t this straight?”
“Maybe it’s because your teeth are twisted, so you bite straight!”
Mi Cai’s strong logic left me speechless for a moment. I swallowed the remaining red bean cake and truly fell silent.
…
As breakfast was nearly finished, I asked Mi Cai, “What do you want for lunch today? I can go buy something and cook it for you.”
Mi Cai shook her head and said, “I’m leaving for Shanghai soon. There’s an emergency board meeting this afternoon that I need to attend.”
I felt slightly disappointed and asked, “Will you come back tonight?”
“It’s hard to say right now. If there’s a banquet in the evening, I won’t be able to come back.”
“Oh, then drive safely on your way. We’ll talk again tonight.”
“Okay, will you be lonely today alone?”
“Lonely? There’s no such thing as loneliness in my life…”
“Can I understand this as what you call ‘pretentiousness’?”
Looking at Mi Cai’s serious expression, I couldn’t help but laugh and then said, “Indeed, it’s a display of pretentiousness. But from now on, you’d better not use that word… it doesn’t suit your temperament!”
Mi Cai shook her head and said, “Whatever you say, I will learn to say.”
“Then try to learn something good.”
“I’ll learn the good and the bad… unless you change those bad habits!”
I smiled and said, “You’re digging a hole and luring me to jump in!”
“So, are you going to jump or not?”
“I’ll jump selectively. I won’t jump into deep holes, afraid of breaking my legs!”
“If you break your legs, I’ll take care of you, so go ahead and jump fearlessly!”
Instinctively, I replied, “Who wants you to take care of me!”
Mi Cai looked at me for a while without saying anything, then picked up the dishes and walked into the kitchen. I followed her into the kitchen, stood behind her, and suddenly hugged her, pulling her onto my lap. I “threatened” her by saying, “Listen here, don’t you dare sulk with me!”
I had done a similar move to Mi Cai before, but last time she didn’t give me a good look. This time, however, she looked at me with a mix of laughter and tears and said, “If I sulk with you, you’re going to treat me like this?”
I helped her up again and grinned shamelessly, “If I don’t punish you a little, should I just kiss you?”
Before I could finish, Mi Cai quickly dodged away from me and then looked at the time on her wristwatch and said, “No more fooling around with you. I have to go to Shanghai now. You can wash the dishes for me.”
“It’s an afternoon meeting, right?”
“There’s a lot of traffic during the Spring Festival. I’ll arrive there at noon, have lunch, and then it’ll already be afternoon!”
“That’s true. Then go, and be careful on the road with all the traffic.”
Mi Cai nodded, but as she was about to leave, she suddenly kissed my cheek, leaving me somewhat stunned. By the time I recovered, she had already grabbed her handbag from the living room and gotten into her car.
Watching her car gradually disappear from sight, I repeatedly asked myself: Would it really be good to be a househusband taken care of by her? Really good?
After washing the dishes, I left Mi Cai’s place and wandered around alone, passing the morning hours. As I was wondering how to spend the afternoon, I unexpectedly received a call from Leyao. She had just returned from a vacation in Lijiang and invited me to go out for a chat.
I indeed needed to have a serious conversation with her, especially about the bar.
…
At 2 p.m., inside the “Seaside Café” near the Zhongbai Shopping Center, Leyao and I sat opposite each other. I was drinking tea while she was having coffee.
We first talked about her experiences and reflections during her time in Lijiang, and then gradually steered the conversation toward the bar.
Leyao took out a large envelope from her handbag and said to me, “Zhaoyang, this is the red envelope I promised to give you a few days ago.”
I picked up the envelope and looked inside. It contained about 100,000 yuan in cash. I took out 20,000 yuan from it and said, “This 20,000 yuan is my salary for the past two months. I’ll accept this part.”
Leyao insisted and handed the envelope back to me, saying, “Take it all. Otherwise, I’ll feel guilty.”
“You’re the boss. The salary I deserve has already been paid. There’s no need to feel guilty.”
Leyao remained silent for a long time before saying, “This bar has disrupted your life in Xuzhou… I’m really sorry about that!”
“If you want to calculate the life I had in Xuzhou, then we’ll never be able to settle the account! Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s get serious.”
Leyao looked at me and nodded.
“I posted a notice yesterday on Weibo announcing that the Fifth Season will be operating on a membership basis. Customers have expressed strong support and willingness to purchase VIP cards. It’s clear that the bar is inevitably heading towards stability. Therefore, I plan to find an experienced bar manager to take over its management soon, and I will no longer be involved…”
Before I could finish speaking, Leyao interrupted me, saying, “I know you have the intention to leave, but why so soon?”
I smiled and replied, “For a new life…”
“What kind of new life?”
After a brief pause, I told Leyao, “If I tell you that I’m dating Mi Cai… would you believe me?”
Leyao looked surprised but said, “Why wouldn’t I believe it? I know she has always liked you, and CC said the same thing too.”
However, I asked Leyao with a lack of confidence, “Then do you support us?”
“I only hope that you can be happy and content. As for which woman you’re with, I don’t really care, so there’s no question of support or not.”
I felt something was off about Leyao’s words, so I changed my sitting posture and said, “Why do I feel like you’re mocking me for being fickle?”
“Of course not!”
“Then talk to me seriously.”
Leyao shook her head with a smile and said, “Alright, then let’s talk seriously… You must be very insecure now, right?”
“You’re right.”
“Do you feel like you’re living too poorly, like you’re a burden and a burden to her?”
“Exactly, that’s exactly how I feel. I wish I were rich. Today she gives me an Armani suit, tomorrow I can give her a Chanel outfit. The day after tomorrow, if she dares to give me Versace, the day after that I’ll give her…”
Looking at me with a half-smile, Leyao asked, “What will you give her?”
“Just give her a Ferrari!”
Finally, Leyao couldn’t help but laugh and asked, “Are you dating her or competing with her?”
“It’s not competition at all. I’m just using this example to show that I hope we can maintain a balance in our relationship. Seriously, I really need this kind of balance!”
Leyao stopped smiling and said seriously, “Zhaoyang, I think Jian Wei has left a really deep shadow on you. Actually, it’s not necessary to feel this way. You should know: not all women will hold you to such high standards like Jian Wei did… At least I won’t.”
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