I didn’t respond to Leyao anymore because the previous topic had only been brought up to ease the tension. As Zhou Zhaokun approached, there was no point in continuing the conversation.
Zhou Zhaokun finally stepped into the shaded tent. He closed his umbrella and calmly said to me, “You’ve worked hard today.”
“It’s not really hard work; I’ve gained a lot today as well.”
Zhou Zhaokun nodded and then took out a check from his pocket and handed it to me, saying, “I just purchased the fifth suite. Take this check.”
With an apologetic smile, I said, “It feels like I’m running an event at your inn and then you end up paying for the charity. It’s like the saying, ‘The wool comes from the sheep’—I guess that’s exactly what this means.”
“We’re both doing this for charity, so don’t worry about it. I hope you can properly manage this 200,000 yuan and help those in need as much as possible.”
I took the check from Zhou Zhaokun’s hands and solemnly said to him, “It’s my responsibility. Please rest assured!”
Zhou Zhaokun nodded and then fell into a brief silence. Yet, I felt anxious in this silence because I was waiting for him to express his stance.
At this moment, Leyao, who had been quiet all along, finally spoke to Zhou Zhaokun, “Mr. Zhou, were you satisfied with tonight’s event?”
Zhou Zhaokun looked at me and replied, “Overall, I was satisfied, but the final part of the auction was somewhat unsatisfactory.”
Leyao responded sensitively, “So you’re saying I ended up helping Zhaoyang in the wrong way by repeatedly raising the bid with that woman in the red dress?”
Zhou Zhaokun nodded and honestly expressed his thoughts, “I think that was showy. Charity should be simple and stem from genuine willingness to give, rather than public competition and comparison.”
“That’s funny. According to your logic, wasn’t your final bid of 200,000 yuan also showy?”
I stopped Leyao from continuing because people with artistic inclinations are usually stubborn. But this kind of stubbornness can also be understood as faith, which explained why Zhou Zhaokun had the word “faith” tattooed on his neck.
I fell silent briefly, bracing myself for the worst-case scenario, and then asked Zhou Zhaokun, “So, Mr. Zhou, you don’t approve of this event?”
“I’m a perfectionist. I hope the people and things I care about and expect are perfect.”
My heart dropped instantly, sinking for a long while before I said, “Have you already given me your answer?”
Zhou Zhaokun didn’t answer me directly. Instead, he asked, “Tonight, I remember you promised the tourists that you would continue this event.”
I didn’t understand his intention, but I still nodded because I had indeed said those words.
“Today, I’ve handed over the management rights of Yuanlai Inn to you, so your promise tonight was made as the inn’s owner to the tourists. I hope you can represent the inn and be a person of integrity…”
I was somewhat stunned, and after a long pause, I uncertainly asked, “What exactly do you mean?”
Zhou Zhaokun smiled and replied, “There are exceptions to everything. And I don’t think anyone who takes over after you could do a better job than you did tonight. So… I’m entrusting the management of the inn to you for a year based on the plan you previously proposed. If, during this year, you show me the management results I expect, we can renew the long-term contract. Does that work for you?”
The rapid shift from disappointment to excitement was so fast that I felt like I was dreaming. It wasn’t until Leyao nudged me that I snapped out of it and said to Zhou Zhaokun, “Yes, of course!”
Zhou Zhaokun patted my shoulder encouragingly and said, “Come sign the contract tomorrow… Good luck!”
I nodded and said, “I will lead this inn in the direction you expect.”
Zhou Zhaokun nodded at me without saying anything else. He simply said goodbye to Leyao and me, then opened his umbrella, left the tent, and walked toward his Lamborghini.
…
The car disappeared from our sight with the roar of its engine, like a spirit of the night. Suddenly, my heart surged with excitement. I felt as if my hands had already touched the edge of success—so clear, so tangible…
The love I had lost under life’s hardships and the humiliations I had endured seemed to burn wildly within me. Unable to bear it, I ran into the heavy rain pouring down, lifting my head, closing my eyes, letting the rain strike my face and my soul soak in this piercing coldness. Finally, the fire inside me was extinguished, as if it had turned into a fragrance, lingering along the path I was about to walk…
Seeing a bright future ahead, a sense of unimpeded freedom filled my body. I clenched my fists and screamed loudly into the storm, “Ah…!”
Leyao, who had stayed in the tent, suddenly ran out as well. She tightly hugged me and, imitating my actions, began to release her emotions…
But I calmed down from her screams and then stuffed the check, nearly soaked by the rain, into the waterproof jacket she was wearing. Leaning close to her ear, I shouted loudly, “What’s your name again?”
Her voice was even louder than mine, “From last year to this year, I’ve transformed in life. I feel great! Why can’t I shout like you… Ah… Ah!”
The storm still beat down on us, but I wasn’t afraid. I felt as if Leyao and I at this moment were two swallows breaking through constraints side by side, giving each other the strength of shared experience, soaring in this boundless sky, no longer willing to look back at the days we once struggled at the bottom of society.
…
That night, Leyao didn’t stay in the suite she had purchased at “Yuanlai Inn.” Instead, she returned to my inn because she had caught a cold from getting soaked in the rain again!
I brought a bowl of prepared ginger soup and cold medicine to her room, supervised her drinking it, and was about to leave when she called me back.
Puzzled, I asked, “What’s wrong now?”
“Do you remember what day the day after tomorrow is?”
I tried to recall but couldn’t quite remember, so I asked, “Is it our anniversary of knowing each other for so many years?”
“You’re silly! The day after tomorrow is your birthday. Do you think I would come to Xitang to find you otherwise?”
I calculated the dates and suddenly realized, “It really is my birthday! I actually forgot!”
“Forgetfulness is probably a good thing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It proves that you, who used to be a good-for-nothing loser, now know how to fully commit to your career. That’s why you’re too busy to remember your birthday.”
I touched my chin and smiled, “I like your explanation. I feel like I’ve become a career-focused man!”
Leyao didn’t show any dislike toward my self-praise. After sneezing, she rubbed her stuffy nose and smiled, “In previous years, I’ve always been the one celebrating your birthday with you. Let me do it again this year. Although you already have a girlfriend, I hope you won’t prioritize romance over friendship, right?”
I thought of Mi Cao and felt a complex emotion inside because she, who was even busier than me, probably wouldn’t remember my birthday. Even if she did, she probably wouldn’t come back, right?
But it’s just a birthday. If she doesn’t come back, that’s fine. Still, I hoped she would personally say “Happy Birthday” to me.
Leyao waved her hand in front of me and said, “What are you spacing out thinking about?”
“I’m wondering what gift you’ll give me… Oh, this time, get me a bigger cake, no smaller than 14 inches. After all, you’ve now moved out of poverty and into the wealthy class, so the standard of the gift can’t be low, got it?”
“You have the nerve to say that! Last year, when it was my birthday, how big a cake did you give me? A 6-inch one! You really had the nerve to bring it up at the birthday party; it made all my friends laugh until their mouths were crooked!”
“But you still ate it, didn’t you?”
“I was being silly. I thought everything you gave me was delicious, okay?”
For some unknown reason, although this was clearly a complaint, it touched a part of my heart that I often neglected. I even had an urge to immediately give her a 14-inch cake. Because in the details of life, I had always been inattentive toward her. Yet, she, who seemed so carefree, always reserved her rare moments of thoughtfulness for me!
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