After ending the call with CC, I had almost forgotten about her so-called gift and proceeded with Afeng towards “Yuanlai Inn” as originally planned.
On the way, Afeng asked me, “You were talking about a birthday gift just now. Are you having a birthday?”
“Yeah, tomorrow.”
Afeng said with obvious displeasure, “You really don’t consider me your buddy. You didn’t say a word unless I asked.”
“I’ve been so busy these days. If Leyao hadn’t reminded me yesterday, I might have forgotten myself!”
My explanation prompted Afeng to make a face of understanding. After all, he had been by my side like a comrade-in-arms these days and knew how busy I had been.
After walking a bit further, he asked me again, “Where are you planning to hold the party?”
“With all the young people, maybe just at your bar.”
Afeng readily agreed, “Alright, then my bar will be closed tomorrow to make space for you.”
“No way! You should still open as usual. Just reserve a small area for us. There won’t be that many people anyway.”
Afeng nodded, thus finalizing the plan for the birthday party at my bar tomorrow. Then I took out my phone from my pocket, preparing to call my father and mother. After all, they weren’t Mi Cai, and I had no reason to expect them to bring me a birthday wish like a gentle breeze. So I decided to take the initiative and ask them for a birthday greeting.
After dialing the number, my father answered quickly. I straightforwardly asked, “Bardie, tomorrow is my birthday. Will you and my mom remember it?”
“Yeah, we remember.”
I waited for Bardie to say, “Son, happy birthday,” but he didn’t. So I awkwardly said, “You know, it’s your son’s birthday. Even if there’s no gift, you should at least say ‘Happy Birthday.’ After all, I’m your biological son, not adopted.”
Bardie didn’t respond to me but hurried my mother to get in the car, as if they were going somewhere. I felt even more awkward and didn’t dare to ask anything else.
After an awkward silence, Bardie finally said to me, “It’s the weekend today. Your mother and I discussed it and decided to come to Xitang to see you.”
He paused briefly before adding, “We’ve already bought the cake.”
I felt a surge of surprise and joy. Regardless of gifts, the fact that they were willing to travel all the way from Xuzhou to Xitang just to celebrate my birthday proved how much they missed me, their son who had been wandering far from home for years.
Moved, my mother took the phone from Bardie and said to me, “Son, your dad is driving. Let me chat with you for a bit.”
“Tell Bardie to drive slowly. There are a lot of people on the road on weekends.”
“Don’t worry. Your dad always drives steadily… By the way, for your birthday, is that girl from Suzhou coming to accompany you?”
“Mom, she’s my girlfriend. Isn’t it too formal for you to keep calling her ‘that girl from Suzhou’?”
“Stop trying to change the subject. Did she go to accompany you or not?”
I felt a wave of disappointment and didn’t want to hide it, so I said, “She’s been in the U.S. lately and has been quite busy. She definitely can’t come back.”
“You’re just asking for it yourself. If you had gotten together with Xiaoyun back then, I might have already been holding a grandchild by now. Now look at you, drifting alone in Xitang, unsettled and uncertain!”
I didn’t argue back because I had understood long ago that as long as I was dating Mi Cai, these were the burdens I had to bear. So I jokingly replied, “Mom, we’re meeting this afternoon anyway. Let’s save the chit-chat for then. After all, long-distance calls aren’t cheap.”
My mother complained in her usual obsessive way, “Don’t talk nonsense. Anyway, you have to figure out a way to get married this year. Once a man passes 27, it’s hard to find a partner!”
I habitually gave my mother a blank check, solemnly promising that I would definitely get married before turning 28. She, in turn, habitually stopped complaining, and the call ended with my helplessness and her satisfaction.
Hearing the dial tone from the phone, I suddenly stopped walking, took out a cigarette from my pocket, lit it, and imagined the scene that might happen this evening. Because after more than three years, Bardie and my mother would meet Jian Wei again.
Back then, I had brought Jian Wei to Xuzhou. Seeing how loving we were, they firmly believed that Jian Wei was the woman who would become their daughter-in-law.
Until one day later, when I told them that we had broken up, they never mentioned Jian Wei’s name in front of me again. This silence was precisely because of the pain in their hearts. But after such a long time, meeting Jian Wei again, what would their feelings be?
I hoped they could be more composed than I was at the moment because all those past ups and downs had already faded, old enough to fall off from my life at any moment.
I thought of Mi Cai again. She was really inconsiderate. When my friends and family were rushing to Xitang to celebrate my 27th birthday, she didn’t even send a single greeting message.
Although I felt somewhat unhappy, I still didn’t want to remind her actively because I was still expecting that she might unexpectedly turn into a breeze, blowing through my 27th birthday.
…
Finally, we arrived at “Yuanlai Inn.” Zhou Zhaokun had already prepared the contract. In just ten minutes, we efficiently completed all the procedures for signing the contract. At the moment my hand shook hands with Zhou Zhaokun, I had a strong premonition: my life had finally left the narrow path and was now walking on a broad road.
After signing the contract, Afeng told Zhou Zhaokun that tomorrow was my birthday and there would be a birthday party at his bar, inviting him to attend. Zhou Zhaokun readily agreed, so my birthday tomorrow gained another friend to celebrate with.
That’s right, I now regarded Zhou Zhaokun as a friend. Although he was sometimes nearly obsessive, he was more sincere. Being with someone like him, there was no fatigue of scheming and competing. For a coal boss to achieve this, it was indeed rare.
…
Around three o’clock in the afternoon, Fang Yuan’s Audi A4 and Jian Wei’s Cadillac CTS parked first in an empty space next to the inn. I stood outside the inn to welcome them.
The car doors were opened one after another, and Yan Yan and Jian Wei each carried a cake towards me. Fang Yuan followed behind them with a smile, and the gloom from the past few days was no longer visible on him.
Yan Yan was as enthusiastic as before, hugging me warmly, handing me the cake, and then offering her birthday wishes. Then it was Jian Wei’s turn, who just smiled at me.
I took the cake from her hands. She looked around and asked, “Didn’t Mi Cai come back to celebrate your birthday?”
I wasn’t surprised by Jian Wei’s question, after all, Mi Cai was my current girlfriend. She should have been the one most present in Xitang to celebrate this birthday with me. So I replied with a bit of disappointment again, “She’s in the U.S., you know that… But Robben and CC are coming. They should be on their way. Oh, and my parents are coming too.”
Jian Wei’s expression immediately became unnatural, her eyes full of avoidance, but soon returned to normal as she smiled and said, “It’s been a long time since I last saw your uncle and aunt, hasn’t it?”
I nodded and replied, “More than three years.”
Jian Wei didn’t say anything, shifting her gaze to the rippling river of Xitang nearby…
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