Chapter 347: We Are in a Very Dirty Place

Mi Cao coughed for a while, looked around the messy room following my gaze, and said, “Weiran came here just now…”

“I know. You don’t have that much destructive power. Look how messed up this room has become…”

Mi Cao coughed again without saying anything. I glanced at her wrapped-up figure under the blanket and asked, “What did he do to you?”

“Today I wasn’t feeling well. After I left the company, he sent me home.”

I looked at the broken bowl on the floor and asked, “What was in the bowl?”

“He made me ginger soup.”

“You threw the bowl?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and said, “You do have the strength to break a bowl. But why did you throw it?”

“We just didn’t see eye to eye.”

“Then he smashed the entire room?”

Mi Cao nodded, sobbing, “He looked exactly like you did when you once threw my blanket and duvet out of the window… It was so scary!”

I felt a bit guilty, but I was more worried. I asked again, “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

Mi Cao asked in return, “What do you mean?”

“I mean that kind of thing?”

“What kind of thing?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say it, so I just stared at her silently…

“No,” Mi Cao said, then loosened the blanket wrapped around her body. I saw that she was still fully dressed in her business suit, not even having taken off her stockings.

My tightly knotted nerves finally relaxed at that moment, and I said, “Can you stop wrapping yourself in a blanket every time you catch a cold? You should go to the hospital.”

“I don’t like the smell of formalin… Zhaoyang, why do you think Weiran would violate me?”

“With the room in this condition, anyone would think something bad happened… Also, I really dislike him coming here! When you caught a cold, you should have called me, instead of not answering my calls.”

“You have your own career. It’s tiring for you to run back and forth between Xitang and Suzhou. I was worried about you… Besides, I left my phone at the office. I didn’t intentionally ignore your calls.”

I remained silent, but my emotions were complex—I felt touched, resentful, and deeply concerned for her…

Mi Cao continued, “Zhaoyang, you don’t really know Weiran well. Although he might have done something wrong, he has his own principles. He wouldn’t do that to me!”

“I don’t know him, but I hope he doesn’t do anything worse. Otherwise, there won’t be room in this world for both of us.”

“You may not trust him, but you should trust me. I will be absolutely loyal to my partner. If one day I betray you physically, I’m willing to accept any punishment. Can you do the same?”

“I can too…”

Mi Cao stared at me for a long time, then sat up from the bed and started picking up the scattered items on the floor. I stopped her, saying, “Wait.”

“What’s wrong? This messy room makes me uncomfortable!”

“Take a photo to commemorate this… to remind you not to let someone into this room again. Look how dirty it has become!”

Mi Cao put down the items in her hand and made space for me, saying, “Then go ahead and take the picture.”

I pulled Mi Cao to appear in the frame and said, “Quick, make a facial expression for the photo.”

“Sad or happy?”

“With the room in such a mess, how can you be happy?… Sad one!”

Mi Cao immediately made a face that looked like she wanted to cry but couldn’t. I captured both our appearances and the state of the room in the photo. Then, under the title “We Are in a Very Messy Place,” I posted this photo as a status update on my WeChat Moments.

Soon, Leyao liked this update and sent me a private message asking, “Did you two fight?… Is this a crime scene?”

“Look at how excited you are! Like my ass! Just cancel it.”

Leyao replied with “Delighted to hear it,” and then stopped responding. That like remained stubbornly on my post. Indeed, she was exactly the kind of friend described by Zhou Zhaokun—there’s no one else like her.

Then, Luoben liked the post next, sending a private message asking, “Did you fight?… Who won?”

I was impatient, and my reply was brief: “Go to hell!”

Luoben stopped responding too. Then, Wei Manwen used her WeChat account to like our post as well.

Mi Cao came over and asked, “How many likes have you received?”

I threw my phone aside and said, “Who cares? Let’s clean the room first.”

Mi Cao hooked her arm in mine and said, “Zhaoyang, whenever I feel down, you always manage to make me happy right away. You really help me forget a lot of my worries. I really like this feeling!”

“You’re wrong. I’m just reminding you not to let someone mess up our room again…”

Mi Cao smiled, then bent down to pick up the scattered books and put them back on the bookshelf. I didn’t stay idle either. I found a broom and swept up the broken bowl pieces into a dustpan, then mopped the floor clean.

After Mi Cao took a warm shower, I made another bowl of ginger soup for her and watched her drink it. Then I played the guitar and sang a song for her until she fell asleep. I pulled the blanket over her, left her room, and by then, my WeChat Moments post had already received dozens of likes from people who seemed to enjoy seeing others in misfortune.

Perhaps no one would believe that Mi Cao and I had an argument. They probably thought it was just a prank. In fact, we really didn’t argue. But it wasn’t a prank either. I couldn’t even predict how the conflict between Mi Cao and Weiran would further escalate their tensions. I really felt that her hopes placed on Weiran were becoming increasingly slim. Perhaps aligning with Mi Zhongde at this moment was the wisest choice.

…

I lit a cigarette, repeatedly inhaling, and repeatedly checking the messages and private chats from various friends who seemed to enjoy my misfortune, replying to each one. Finally, my gaze lingered on the WeChat account of the woman in red. I recalled the upcoming charity event the day after tomorrow. According to our agreement a few days ago, I should now send her an invitation. So I messaged her: “There’s a charity event at the usual place the day after tomorrow. If you have time, please come and join us.”

It might have been late, and this time, the woman in red didn’t reply immediately.

I also recalled my previous promise to Zhou Zhaokun to treat him and Leyao to a meal. I didn’t want to break my word to such a sincere person, so I invited Leyao again: “There’s a charity event at the usual place the day after tomorrow. If you have time, please come and join us. I’ll treat you and Zhou Zhaokun to a meal.”

Leyao seemed to have already gone to bed and didn’t reply immediately. However, I believed both she and the woman in red would be interested in such an event because they both were compassionate women. I just hoped this time they wouldn’t quarrel like before and keep raising the auction price again and again!