Time moved forward another week. This afternoon, I sat alone at the “Kongcheng Music Restaurant,” holding a brand-new Chinese travel atlas. I analyzed the commercial structures around various tourist attractions and selected cities suitable for investment in the first phase. I planned to visit these cities for field research soon.
Thinking about it, it was truly insightful of Mi Cai to have me choose the Jeep Grand Cherokee. After all, I would be traveling across the country, and only an off-road vehicle like this could easily handle all kinds of road conditions.
Closing the travel atlas, I took a sip of beer, lit a cigarette, and gazed out the window at the dense ivy. I spaced out while also relieving the fatigue in my eyes.
Suddenly, a woman carrying a guitar, wearing a sun hat and sunglasses, sat down across from me. Without hesitation, she picked up my beer glass and took a sip, then pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it for herself.
“CC, why are you back?”
“I’ve been in Beijing for two weeks already. Isn’t it time for me to come back?”
I calculated that it had nearly been two weeks. To me, it felt like the time had passed like a dream. After a moment of silence, I asked CC, “How is she doing now?”
“Don’t worry. In this world, no one will necessarily be unable to go on living without someone else. The company has gradually resumed her work.”
“What happened later regarding her ex-boyfriend’s malicious publicity stunt?”
“He’s just a nobody. Leyao asked him to name which director he had been clinging to back then. How dare he pin such an unfounded accusation on famous directors? In the end, he didn’t dare to respond, so the matter fizzled out. But even so, he did manage to gain a lot of popularity.”
“It’s good that it’s resolved.”
“Yeah.” CC nodded, then looked around the restaurant she had been running for several years. After a long pause, she remarked, “You’ve kept the original style, haven’t you?”
I inhaled deeply on my cigarette and, along with CC, looked around before replying, “In this world full of desires, you should always keep a pure place as your spiritual refuge…”
CC smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. Obviously, she also didn’t want to change the original style of the restaurant. However, since the special promotion on “YiRan Travel Network” began, the restaurant’s popularity had increased significantly, leading to a noticeable rise in recent customer traffic. Many new tourists who came here for meals didn’t pay their bills, causing the restaurant to fall back into a loss-making state. But I didn’t mention this to CC because I could bear the disappointment in human nature myself. In the future, none of the stores I created would continue with this voluntary payment model. Therefore, this restaurant was unique.
…
After chatting with CC for a while, the restaurant door opened again. I turned my head and saw Mi Cai walking in with a briefcase, her face full of joy. She approached CC, and the two hugged affectionately. Calculating the days, these two close friends indeed hadn’t met in quite a while.
I couldn’t get a word in edgewise during their conversation, so I didn’t want to spoil their mood. Holding the travel atlas, I moved to another corner to continue analyzing the market prospects of various tourist cities using some online resources.
After a long while, CC called out to me from across several tables, “Zhaoyang, when exactly are you and Mi Cai getting married? Can you give me a definite answer? I need to prepare a generous gift for you in advance!”
In fact, I was even more concerned about this than CC was, so I looked at Mi Cai and asked, “When are you planning to marry me?”
“Well, that depends on when you propose!”
Looking at Mi Cai’s smiling face, my heart finally felt at ease. It seemed our wedding was really approaching, especially since even Mi Zhongde no longer opposed it. The only thing still missing was a diamond ring to seal our lifelong commitment.
I stuffed my tablet computer and travel atlas into my briefcase, then said goodbye to Mi Cai and CC. The two were quite puzzled about why I suddenly had to leave, but I made up an excuse and hurriedly walked toward the door. Mi Cai reminded me again to have dinner with her tonight, and I gave a final nod before pushing the door open and jogging away.
…
After leaving the restaurant, I immediately called Fang Yuan and asked him to accompany me to pick out a diamond ring. After all, he had experience with marriage, and having him as an advisor for choosing a ring would surely be a safe bet.
Half an hour later, we met at Zhuomei. Fang Yuan asked me, “Why did you rush to meet me so urgently? What’s going on?”
“I want to buy a diamond ring and need your advice!”
Fang Yuan’s face lit up with excitement as he patted my shoulder and said, “Are you going to propose to President Mi?”
“Why do you seem more excited than I am about proposing?”
“I’ve watched you struggle through all these years with my own eyes. Now you’re finally about to settle down, so of course your buddy is excited!”
“You’re right… Looking back at those years now, it’s just…”
Fang Yuan interrupted me, “Let’s not talk about those messy days in the past… Come on, let’s go to Shanghai now. Let’s try to help you get the wedding ring settled this afternoon!”
“To Shanghai?”
“There are more top jewelry brands in Shanghai. To propose to a woman like President Mi, you need to show one hundred percent sincerity, so naturally, the ring has to be the best.”
I thought it made sense and immediately agreed with Fang Yuan’s suggestion. We quickly got into the car and headed toward Shanghai.
…
This afternoon, Fang Yuan and I basically visited every top-tier mall in Shanghai. Finally, we selected a one-carat diamond ring worth 120,000 yuan. I knew Mi Cai well; she wasn’t a woman whose feelings would be swayed by the size of a diamond. So choosing this one-carat ring was a moderate choice—neither making myself seem like a nouveau riche nor lacking sincerity.
I carefully placed the box containing the diamond ring into my jacket pocket. At that moment, I unexpectedly thought of Li Xiaoyun, whose presence had almost faded from my memory. The first diamond ring I ever bought had been intended for her, but due to an unexpected turn of events, I never got to give it to her, and it remained in my possession to this day.
More than half a year later, I had bought my second diamond ring in my life. I believed fate wouldn’t play the same joke on me twice. This time, this diamond ring would surely reach Mi Cai’s hands successfully. Then, on a chosen auspicious date, we would walk together into the marriage hall we had longed for.
Fang Yuan beside me asked again, “Zhaoyang, have you decided on the day to propose to President Mi?”
“Better to propose tonight than wait for a chosen day.”
“Are you not planning to make the proposal a bit more special?”
I smiled and said, “No matter how special the way of proposing, don’t expect her to take the ring from my hands with tears in her eyes. You know she’s always so calm and composed, so let’s keep it simple.”
“You’re just afraid of delays causing problems. You probably can’t wait to get married and register right away!”
I didn’t deny it. Instinctively, I pressed hard on the accelerator, wanting nothing more than to propose successfully and not let any delays jeopardize this moment!
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