It only took a moment before the boy came out of the bathroom looking refreshed, finally wearing a casual outfit that looked somewhat lively.
“Brother Yang, does this outfit look okay on me?”
I nodded and praised, saying, “Not bad at all, much better than before!”
The boy’s face lit up with joy, then he went back to the bathroom to apply some hair wax. Finally, with renewed confidence, he picked up his backpack, ready to accompany me to the appointment.
…
On the way to the restaurant, the boy remained very curious about my friend whom he had never met. He asked me, “Brother Yang, do you have a photo of your friend? Let me have a look, so I can recognize him when we meet!”
“What photo? You’ll meet him soon enough, so it doesn’t matter right now.”
“Just let me have a quick look, what’s the big deal?”
“The problem is I don’t have any!”
“Aww!… She must be unattractive. Otherwise, you would have shown off her photo already. After all, you’re still an inexperienced virgin!”
“Don’t push me, or I’ll kick you into the river!”
I said while making a kicking motion.
Startled, the boy dodged aside and smoothed his hair, saying, “Being kicked into the river wouldn’t be such a big deal, but having my carefully styled hair messed up by the river water would be truly horrifying!”
I messed up his hair into a bird’s nest style and then ran off.
“Zhaoyang, I used to respect you so much. Is this the way you should behave?… Wait there, let me get you back for this!”
“Look at your puny, weak frame, you think you can take me down?”
The boy: “…”
…
After a short while, the boy and I arrived at the restaurant where we had agreed to meet Leyao, walking upstairs with our arms around each other’s shoulders.
The boy asked suspiciously, “Brother Yang, why are we going upstairs?”
“There’s a private room upstairs.”
“It’s just the three of us, why do we need a private room?”
I impatiently replied, “Of course we do!”
“Your friend must be really high-end, reserving a private room for just three people. Didn’t you see the notice downstairs? The minimum spending for a private room is 1,000 yuan!”
As we were talking, the waiter had already led us to the door of the reserved private room and knocked, saying, “Hello Miss, your friends have arrived.”
“Please come in!”
The boy’s face lit up, and he whispered to me, “Brother Yang, judging from the voice, your friend must be a beauty!”
I paid no attention to his excitement and pushed the door open before the waiter, then walked inside with the boy closely following behind me.
Upon entering, Leyao complained to me, “Zhaoyang, I’ve been waiting for you almost 20 minutes. You’re really acting like a big shot!”
“I was delayed by a friend who fusses around. He spent half an hour just styling his hair in the restroom,” I immediately shifted the blame to the boy.
Leyao leaned forward to take a look at the boy who was standing behind me. I cooperated by stepping aside slightly, and thus the boy and Leyao met face to face for the first time.
Leyao smiled at the boy and said, “Hi, nice to meet you.”
The boy’s exaggerated expression looked as if it would burst the pimples on his face. He stood there speechless for a while, then leaned on me and stammered, “Brother Yang… my legs are weak!”
I glanced around the small private room and said to him, “Too bad, there’s no ten-meter space here for you to calm down!”
Leyao looked puzzled and asked me, “What’s wrong with your friend?”
“He must have been overwhelmed with happiness after suddenly meeting the goddess he had imagined in his mind!”
Leyao smiled at the flustered boy and asked, “Am I scary?”
The boy quickly shook his head but couldn’t say a word. His legs were genuinely feeling weak, after all, he was just a university student who had never had the opportunity to be so close to a celebrity on the screen.
I patted his shoulder and said, “Can’t you act a bit more composed? Celebrities are still human beings. Take the one in front of you, for instance, she’s just a woman who also has her period!”
My blunt remark earned me a fierce glare from Leyao, but I paid no heed and dragged the still nervous boy to sit down beside her.
Leyao no longer held a grudge against me and, as usual, took on the role of a server, pouring tea for me and then for the boy as well, saying, “Young man, I don’t even know your name yet!”
The boy became nervous again and felt awkward, “Uh… My name is Tong Haizhou!”
Trying to lighten the atmosphere, I teased, “Also known as Tongzi or Virgin!”
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Leyao asked the boy, “So you’re the one who left comments on my microblog?”
The boy immediately pointed at me and said quickly, “It was him! He replied using my account!”
Leyao wore a knowing expression and exclaimed, “No wonder! I was wondering who dared to tease me so brazenly. It turned out to be you, you rascal!”
“Just for fun!”
But Leyao leaned closer to me and whispered, “Are you really a virgin?”
“Don’t you know whether I’m a virgin or not?”
“So you’re the rascal!”
The boy seemed to have overheard our conversation and finally regained some composure. Fearing that he might be the only virgin left in the world, he quickly turned to Leyao and said, “Leyao, Brother Yang really is a virgin!”
Her innocence left both Leyao and me in an awkward silence, as we looked at each other without a word.
Finally, Leyao said to him, “Young man, don’t let Zhaoyang’s hypocritical appearance deceive you. As for him, he’s had several girlfriends already, each prettier than the last. Oh, and a few years ago, he especially loved going to bars… the rest you can figure out for yourself. I won’t say more, little buddy!”
The boy looked at me as if his entire value system had collapsed…
Sighing, Leyao added, “When he was having a great time in Xitang, somewhere out there, a certain woman might still be shedding silent tears for him!”
Although it was just a joke from Leyao, my mind suddenly flashed with the image of Mi Cai looking sorrowful… But would she really do that?
Perhaps it was just my wishful thinking. Maybe I wasn’t that important in her heart after all!
…
Once all the dishes were served, Leyao and I finally got down to business. I said to her, “There’s something I need your help with.”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s actually about borrowing some money.”
Leyao looked at me in confusion.
I explained to her, “The inn where I’m currently staying is up for sale due to poor management. I’m thinking of taking it over, renovating it properly, and then doing something serious for a living.”
“Great, that’s a good idea. I support you… How much do you need? Just tell me.”
“I’m initially estimating around 150,000 yuan.”
“Okay, no problem… I believe you will manage it very well.”
Looking at Leyao, she seemed to have more confidence in me than any other woman I knew. In fact, I was going through a low point in my life and didn’t even have much confidence in myself.
She continued, “Zhaoyang, do you know that the Fifth Season Bar has now stabilized and is currently preparing to open its second branch in Suzhou… Think about it, you managed to save the bar even under such a harsh marketing environment. Now, the situation is just changing to a small inn in Xitang. There’s definitely no problem at all!”
Looking at Leyao’s sincere face, I felt a sudden surge of confidence in striving forward: “Yes, if I could even save the Fifth Season, how could a small inn in Xitang be a problem!”
At this moment, I firmly believed: I would surely set sail from this small town of Xitang!… Perhaps only after achieving some temporary success could I find the reason to return to Suzhou and Xuzhou again.
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