Zhou Zhaokun opened the car door and stepped out. I gestured to him to wait a moment, then walked down from the balcony and approached him, apologizing, “A few days ago, Leyao did return to Suzhou. I completely forgot because I’ve been so busy. Sorry about that!”
Zhou Zhaokun smiled and said, “It’s fine, I understand.”
His good-naturedness eased my guilt slightly over breaking my promise. I continued, “So, what brings you to Xitang today?”
“Well, I did live here for quite a few years. I thought I’d stop by and see the place when I had some time.”
“You really have a strong emotional connection to Xitang!”
“When people stay in one place for a long time, they inevitably develop some feelings for it… Are you free tonight? Let’s grab a few drinks.”
“Sure, no problem! Let’s find a place and really drink it up!”
Zhou Zhaokun patted my shoulder, and then we walked arm-in-arm toward a barbecue restaurant not far across the street. We ordered some skewers and a bucket of draft beer and began drinking.
I raised my glass, clinked it with his, and promised, “Next time Leyao comes back to Suzhou, I’ll definitely invite you both for a meal.”
“Actually, I saw her the last time she was in Nanjing for a business event.”
Surprised, I asked, “You two met up?”
“Yeah, I even had the chance to have a meal with her. But the entire meal, every topic revolved around you. That was pretty helpless for me.”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so I finished an entire glass of beer before asking, “She must’ve been telling you how unreliable and irresponsible I am, right?”
Zhou Zhaokun answered honestly, “You’re spot on. She said: She went through a lot of effort to organize an event in Suzhou and finally had the chance to have a meal with you, but then someone called you away. She ended up alone, riding around Suzhou in a taxi for a full circle.”
As soon as I heard this, I recognized Leyao’s tone immediately. I recalled how I had abandoned her on that rainy night. She must’ve been really upset to complain so much to Zhou Zhaokun, someone she wasn’t even that close with.
Then, I told Zhou Zhaokun about some of Leyao’s unreliable behaviors. He listened with great interest and then exclaimed, “You two really are sarcastic friends!”
I smiled, clinked glasses with him again, and inwardly agreed with his description of my relationship with Leyao. Many times, we would mock each other with a seemingly indifferent attitude, yet another indescribable and complicated emotion had gradually developed through these years of mutual teasing. Sometimes I think, if Leyao were really gone from my life, it would be a lot less interesting.
As we drank and chatted, it began raining heavily outside. Suddenly, I lost the desire to continue drinking, because bad weather always reminded me of that delicate woman. Even though I knew this rain wouldn’t really affect her, my thoughts still drifted aimlessly like floating duckweed. Taking the opportunity to go to the restroom, I called Mi Cai, but no one answered for a long time.
I immediately felt uneasy. After returning to the barbecue restaurant, I said to Zhou Zhaokun, “Sorry, I need to go to Suzhou right away. Let’s end the drinking for today.”
Zhou Zhaokun asked somewhat confusedly, “Earlier you didn’t mention going to Suzhou. Why are you suddenly going now that it’s raining?”
“Just tried calling my girlfriend. No one answered. I’m a bit worried and want to go check on her.”
“Then you should definitely go. We can drink another time.”
I nodded, but felt too embarrassed to promise Zhou Zhaokun that we’d drink heartily next time. I simply gestured an apology and prepared to leave.
Just then, Zhou Zhaokun called me back…
“Brother Zhou, anything else?”
“Your monthly charity event at the inn should be coming up, right?”
Reminded by him, I felt even more embarrassed. Recently, I had been so busy with various things that I even forgot about the monthly charity event I had promised him when I took over the inn. Before leaving, I assured him with my honor, “As soon as I return from Suzhou tomorrow, I’ll start preparing immediately. At the latest, I’ll make up for this month’s charity event the day after tomorrow.”
Zhou Zhaokun smiled patiently again and said, “I’m just reminding you not to forget. Leyao already told me you’ve been really busy lately. If you really can’t find time, it’s okay to postpone it for a few days.”
“No more postponing. We’ll hold it the day after tomorrow as scheduled!”
Zhou Zhaokun nodded and said, “Alright then. I’ll wait to participate in this charity event before heading back to Shanxi. You go to Suzhou now.”
I acknowledged and immediately turned to walk out of the barbecue restaurant. Facing the falling rain, I walked toward the end of the street where many taxis were parked, got into one, and headed straight for Suzhou, because this stormy night had infinitely increased my subconscious anxiety.
…
The car drove for an hour and a half before finally arriving at our residential complex. As the car entered the gate, a Ferrari 458 whizzed past the taxi I was in. Instinctively, I turned my head to look and realized it was really Wei Ran’s car. I frowned. He must have been in that old house just now.
After paying the fare, I got out of the car. The night greeted me with a mixture of rain. My steps were somewhat heavy as I walked up the stairwell. As I approached the top floor, I finally took out my keys from my pocket. Standing in front of the door for a long time, I finally inserted the key into the lock and opened the door.
The living room light was still on, but Mi Cai wasn’t there. I walked almost silently to the door of Mi Cai’s room, wanting to knock, but then I heard faint sobbing from inside. My heart tightened. What had happened between Mi Cai and Wei Ran just now?
This question tortured me, making me somewhat restless. Without even knocking, I pushed the door open and walked in. I was shocked to find the room in a complete mess. Books and some decorative items were scattered chaotically on the floor. A bowl filled with liquid had shattered by the bedside table, and water had flowed along the patterns of the floor all the way into the living room.
My scalp tingled as I stood there, staring at Mi Cai lying on the bed with her back to me… Finally, she choked out, “Why are you here?… I don’t want to see you anymore!”
“It’s me… Zhaoyang.”
Mi Cai suddenly stopped crying. After a long pause, she sat up on the bed, tidying her tear-dampened hair, and asked me, “How come you’re back?”
“I couldn’t reach you on the phone, so I came back to check.” As I spoke, I looked around at the mess, frowning as I asked, “What happened here? It looks like it’s been ransacked!”
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