Chapter 31: A Fraud in the Jianghu (Rivers and Lakes)

I couldn’t wait for the bus to fully stop before I got off, anxiously looking around for a taxi. Unfortunately, every taxi that passed was already occupied.

I was becoming more convinced that my meeting with Mi Cai wasn’t a wonderful arrangement, but rather an unavoidable torment.

Finally, a taxi arrived, and I hurried straight to the agricultural market. I remembered that some street vendors there sold insecticidal powder, as the insecticides sold in supermarkets usually couldn’t kill cockroaches. I could only hope that these vendors hadn’t packed up yet.

Upon arriving at the agricultural market, it was pitch dark. Not only were there no street vendors, but even the shops inside had all closed for business. I felt a bit disheartened. Despite my best efforts, it seemed that I wouldn’t be able to buy any insecticidal powder tonight.

With no choice, I reluctantly went to a supermarket and bought a bottle of insecticide, hoping to get away with it.

…

It was already 10 p.m. when I arrived at that old house. This back-and-forth journey of over an hour had really worn me out. I could only hope that Mi Cai wouldn’t notice that I had brought insecticide instead of the agreed-upon insecticidal powder.

I knocked on the door, and soon after, Mi Cai opened it wearing her pajamas, seemingly eating something.

Curious, I asked, “What are you eating?”

“Cherries.”

“What kind of cherries?”

Mi Cai seemed satisfied with my adherence to our arrangement today and patiently explained, “Cherries are cherries. Go wash your hands first; there are still quite a few left!”

“Are you inviting me to eat them?”

Mi Cai nodded. I immediately headed to the bathroom, feeling a bit delighted. Her attitude towards me had improved a lot compared to before, so being a reliable person wasn’t so bad after all.

When I came out of the bathroom, Mi Cai had already placed the box of cherries on the sofa in the living room. She was sitting there, hugging a book, reading while eating, her posture elegant and her expression relaxed.

I sat down next to Mi Cai, looked at the box, and noticed how exquisite it was. I realized these were authentic cherries imported from Chile, not the kind falsely labeled as imported in supermarkets. This box must have cost at least a thousand yuan.

I picked up two cherries and popped them into my mouth as I said to Mi Cai, “You know, we both have one nose and two eyes. Why do you get to live so luxuriously?”

“What?” Mi Cai looked at me in confusion.

“I mean you live so luxuriously. From the moment my mom gave birth to me, I’ve never eaten such expensive fruit!” I said, picking up two more cherries and putting them in my mouth.

“A friend gave them to me.” Mi Cai replied briefly, turning her attention back to her book.

“Well then, why has no friend ever given me such expensive fruit? In the end, you people from this class are just corrupt and extravagant! You’re parasites of socialism.” I said, resentfully picking up several more cherries and stuffing them into my mouth.

Mi Cai seemed to be in a particularly good mood and didn’t argue with me. She simply said, “If you like them, you can take them home.”

“Of course I’ll take them home.” I said, standing up from the sofa, finding a plastic bag, and putting the box inside.

At this point, Mi Cai finally put down her book and asked me, “Did you buy the insecticidal powder?”

“Do you think I would come without buying it?”

Mi Cai nodded in agreement, saying, “If you hadn’t bought it and still came to find me, that would be harassment!”

“I bought it, I bought it. Don’t say harassment, you’re ruining my reputation.” I said impatiently, then took out the insecticide I had purchased from my briefcase, ready to pull off my deception.

Mi Cai looked at the insecticide with a frown and said, “You said insecticidal powder, right? This doesn’t look like it!”

My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly replied, “Of course it doesn’t look like it. This is a newly developed insecticide that’s particularly effective against cockroaches.”

Mi Cai looked at me with obvious doubt and said, “I’ve read in books that cockroaches have strong resistance to drugs. Ordinary insecticides are usually ineffective.”

“Don’t be so dogmatic. Is this an ordinary insecticide? Let me tell you without exaggerating, with just one can in my hand, I can wipe out all the cockroaches in this house, it’s absolutely ruthless!” I lied shamelessly.

Mi Cai still looked unconvinced and said, “I feel like you’re acting more like a con artist.”

I felt a bit uneasy but still retorted, “I’m doing this for your own good. Insecticidal powder is highly toxic. If you accidentally kill a mouse or something, wouldn’t that disgust you?”

Mi Cai was frightened and quickly said to me, “Then don’t just stand there. Do what you need to do.”

“Do you want to come and watch?”

Mi Cai shook her head repeatedly. I turned around nonchalantly, then proudly walked towards the bathroom, feeling a sense of triumph. I thought joyfully to myself, “Silly girl, come and expose me again if you can. Come on…”

…

I held the cherries Mi Cai had given me and said goodbye to her. It was already 11 o’clock. I wouldn’t get back to Luo Ben’s place until at least midnight. I couldn’t help but sigh at how exhausting this night had been.

Before leaving, I reminded Mi Cai, “Don’t use the bathroom tonight. There’s too much toxic substance after spraying the insecticide.”

“Okay.”

I asked boredly, “Can you hold it through the night? I feel like it’s going to be tough. Usually, I go to the bathroom several times a night.”

Mi Cai inevitably frowned and said, “Why do you have so much to say?”

“I’m just worried about you!”

“I won’t be staying here tonight anyway.”

Mi Cai’s words once again sparked my curiosity. From what she said, I could almost be certain that she had another house in this city. But why did she insist on buying this place and living here?

In the end, I didn’t ask her about my doubts because I knew Mi Cai wouldn’t tell me. I had asked her before, and besides satisfying my curiosity, knowing the answer wouldn’t mean anything to me. I had already gotten used to doing meaningful things, so I decided not to ask.

I took another cherry from my pocket and popped it into my mouth, then said to Mi Cai, “Well, I’m off then. If you have any problems you can’t handle in this house or the neighborhood in the future, give me a call.”

“Okay.”

I coughed, the hallway light turned on, and I turned to leave.

“Zhaoyang, wait.”

I turned back in surprise and asked Mi Cai, “You’re not planning to ask me to stay, are you? I can’t hold it with the bathroom unavailable!”

“Take your guitar.” Mi Cai said, turning back to the room where I used to stay and bringing out the guitar.

I didn’t want to take the guitar from Mi Cai. After a long silence, I said, “I told you to find someone who knows about guitars. This one can definitely fetch a good price. I don’t have the money to pay you back now!”

“That day when I asked you to repay me, I was just angry with you. Take the guitar with you. It doesn’t belong to anyone, only to you and Jian Wei. At least it’s a memory.”

I asked in surprise, “How do you know this guitar has something to do with Jian Wei?”

“Your names are engraved on the guitar.” Mi Cai said calmly.

After a long silence, I didn’t look at the guitar leaning in the corner and softly said, “I don’t want it anymore.”

Mi Cai smiled, “You can throw away a guitar, but you can’t throw away that memory in your heart. Why do you keep deceiving yourself?”

I didn’t say anything.

“Take it.” Mi Cai placed the guitar case outside the door and then closed it.

…

With this guitar, which I had gotten back after losing it, I returned to Luo Ben’s place with a heavy heart. As luck would have it, I ran into Luo Ben at the entrance of the apartment building, along with a flamboyantly dressed woman he had brought along.

The woman took off her helmet and got off Luo Ben’s modified racing motorcycle, then Luo Ben took off his helmet too.

I immediately understood that this was Luo Ben’s casual acquaintance.

Luo Ben, hugging the attractive woman, introduced me, “Zhaoyang, this is my friend Lily.”

I smiled and said, “I won’t bother the two of you, right? If so, I can go to a hotel.”

“No problem, we won’t stay overnight, just for a while.” Luo Ben said.

“Okay, I’ll wait downstairs… Could you bring the guitar up for me first?”

Luo Ben took the guitar from me, patted my shoulder to signal that he would be quick, and then walked upstairs hugging the woman. I sat at the entrance of the building, opened the cherries I had brought back from Mi Cai’s place, and started eating again.