In the night, Mi Cai and I switched roles. I was eating her tiramisu while she played the guitar and sang me a song, “Red High Heels” by Tanya Chua.
After the song, Mi Cai placed the guitar on the grass beside her. I held her hand and asked, “Why don’t you have artificial nails anymore?”
“I can’t play the guitar with them on!” She paused briefly and then said to me, “Zhaoyang, I want to give you a guitar. Your life cannot be without it.”
“You’re wrong… I’m not Luoben. The guitar is not essential for me.”
“Really?”
“Really. Unless you think I will return to the days when I had to earn money by singing in bars.”
Mi Cai looked a bit hesitant but still said to me, “I know you don’t like me giving you things, but I have already ordered a custom guitar for you from a music store in Shanghai. You can get it in a few days.”
I took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep puff, and asked, “How much is it?”
“Does it matter?”
“I was just curious. At least I can roughly judge the guitar’s quality.”
“You’ll know when you get it.” She then asked somewhat anxiously, “Will you accept it?”
I nodded.
Mi Cai smiled, linked her arm with mine, leaned her head on my shoulder, and closed her eyes to enjoy the evening breeze blowing by.
…
The next day, CC returned to Suzhou from Beijing, accompanied by Luoben. Since Leyao was still in Suzhou, we arranged to meet at the “Empty City” restaurant for dinner that night.
I have two groups of friends in this city: one represented by Fangyuan and Yanyan, and the other by CC, Luoben, and Leyao. It’s strange that although I have been with Fangyuan longer, we have grown increasingly distant, while CC, Luoben, and I met only after graduation but have become closer over time… Perhaps this situation stems from Jianwei and Xiangchen’s marriage, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s the most accurate answer.
Around 7 p.m., we arrived at the “Empty City” restaurant. The meeting between Mi Cai and CC was very touching; they hugged tightly and expressed their missing each other. Perhaps only in front of CC could Mi Cai show such warmth usually seen between close female friends. I clearly remembered taking her to meet Fangyuan the other day, where she remained somewhat indifferent.
Inside the restaurant, Mi Cai and I sat on one side, while CC and Luoben sat opposite us. Compared to them, Leyao seemed somewhat lonely.
Soon, the waiters brought a table full of food and drinks. We ate and chatted happily. CC raised her glass to Leyao, saying, “Miss Leyao, I heard that your new TV series has achieved record-high ratings nationwide after its broadcast. Congratulations!”
“Thank you.” Leyao smiled and raised her glass in response.
To my surprise, Mi Cai rarely took the initiative to raise her glass to Leyao, saying, “Your drama is great. I’ve been watching it recently.”
Leyao was taken aback and then raised her glass to Mi Cai, saying, “Thank you for the compliment.”
“Can you give me a spoiler about who the eighth prince ends up with in the end?”
Seeing Mi Cai’s serious expression as she asked, Leyao looked embarrassed, a reaction stemming from the natural distance between her and Mi Cai.
CC couldn’t help but laugh. She patted Mi Cai’s shoulder and said, “Dear, do you have to be so cute! I originally thought you just said you were watching the drama for politeness, but I didn’t expect you to actually watch it!”
I joined the conversation, “I can confirm this. She really has been following Leyao’s drama. A few days ago, she even discussed the plot with me!”
Leyao looked incredulous, probably initially thinking Mi Cai was just being polite. Finally, she said to Mi Cai, “Are you sure you want to hear the spoiler?”
I said to Mi Cai, “Don’t listen. Otherwise, it will lose its appeal, and you won’t have anything to watch at night. Instead, ask Leyao for an autograph. After all, you’re already her fan now!”
Although I didn’t expect Mi Cai and Leyao to become as close as best friends, I hoped they could overcome their previous distance, so I made this joke.
Unexpectedly, Mi Cai actually took out a notebook from her bag and handed it to Leyao, saying, “Then please sign this for me, Miss Leyao.”
Leyao finally smiled kindly at Mi Cai, took the notebook from her hands, and quickly signed her name on it. At that moment, I felt moved because I knew that when Mi Cai addressed Leyao as “Miss Leyao” and asked for an autograph along with us, she was making an effort to integrate into my circle of friends. However, I wasn’t sure whether Mi Cai was aware at that moment that Leyao was the woman who had spoken to me on the phone about having an abortion when we first met in the old house.
…
During the meal, the atmosphere remained pleasant. Luoben and CC also brought us good news—they had truly started dating. Therefore, CC was now Luoben’s official girlfriend. Mi Cai and I were naturally very happy because Luoben was my best friend, and CC was Mi Cai’s only best friend in China. Even Mi Cai, who usually didn’t like drinking much, proactively changed to a glass of beer to toast CC and Luoben.
At this moment, it seemed that we all had a good start this year, including Leyao. Although she hadn’t found emotional fulfillment yet, her acting career had already set sail. Therefore, I had every reason to believe that our lives were heading toward happiness.
After the gathering ended, Leyao returned to her hotel, CC and Mi Cai went back to her small villa, while Luoben and I returned to the old house. Since our opportunities to get together were becoming fewer and fewer, we cherished the chance to chat.
Luoben and I lay on the bed, each lighting a cigarette as usual. I smiled and asked him, “Tell me, bro, what power finally convinced you to forget the past and accept CC?”
“I’m tired, and I really should find a reliable woman and think about getting married… What about you? What motivated you and Mi Cai to get together?”
“Love, I guess… Does that sound pretentious?”
“Not really. After all, a woman like her is hard not to admire, and you managed to turn admiration into love, and she also has feelings for you. So it’s mutual!”
I took another puff of my cigarette, put it out, and asked him seriously, “Don’t you have any love for CC at all?”
Luoben also put out his cigarette. He looked somewhat lost and finally said after a while, “Love is too much of a luxury for me. But since I’ve chosen this relationship, I won’t betray CC. We will get married.”
For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond, but Luoben’s answer was within my expectations. As a friend, I just hoped he could fulfill his promise to marry CC and more importantly, that the saying “love grows over time” wasn’t baseless but real and could eventually work for Luoben and CC.
After a moment of silence, Luoben lit another cigarette and asked me, “Do you have any plans to marry Mi Cai?”
Suddenly hearing the word “marriage,” I felt somewhat unaccustomed. Subconsciously, it always felt too far away from me. What about Mi Cai? I wondered how she viewed the issue of marriage at this moment. Did she also feel it was as distant as I did?
Suddenly, I had the urge to discuss this topic with her. Without bothering to answer Luoben, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and intended to send Mi Cai a WeChat message.
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