Board Dad let out a sigh but didn’t immediately respond. He simply said, “Feelings should be treated seriously. If you and Xiaomi really can’t get along, I won’t say anything. But the way you are now, I can tell how you feel, even without you telling me…”
I interrupted, saying, “Board Dad, don’t try to persuade me. I was born to be dumped by women. I’ve come to terms with it now. Women with too many advantages naturally want more, and there’s no shortage of admirers around them. I should face reality. Whether it’s Jian Wei or Mi Cai, they were just passing through my emotional world. The fundamental problem is that I’m too ordinary, while they’re like castles in the air!”
Board Dad frowned and replied, “Clearly, there’s resentment in what you’re saying. Love should be a natural thing!”
“Board Dad, the more you try to advise me, the more I feel you understand love deeply. Tell me the truth, when you were young, were you also betrayed by several girls? That’s why you can now stand on the perspective of someone who’s experienced and give me such profound guidance!”
Board Dad’s expression darkened, “Stop trying to change the subject. What we’re talking about now is your issue…”
“Dad, let’s not argue. You just said love should be natural. Then let it end naturally. In this relationship with Mi Cai, I’ve truly done my best. But my efforts couldn’t win her wholehearted devotion. In her heart, Zhuo Mei will always be more important than love. And I’m a relatively impure man. So we couldn’t satisfy each other, and breaking up became an inevitable outcome… These are exactly what I wanted to express to you from the bottom of my heart!”
Board Dad fell silent for a long time before finally saying, “I still plan to go to Suzhou. It’s getting late. You should go to bed early.”
Board Dad left like that. Yet my heart didn’t calm down due to the quiet environment. I remained anxious, asking myself: Why can I see the essence of the breakup clearly, yet still fail to let go peacefully?
No wonder people say: Love is the most complicated yet simplest illusion in the world. If you can let go, naturally it’s simple. Love is just a matter of forgetting. If you can’t let go, you can only fall into endless pain…
I rubbed my face heavily with both hands. Gradually calming down, I finally took out my phone, found CC’s number, and dialed.
After a moment, CC answered, confidently saying, “Zhaoyang, you’re calling me, surely to ask whether Leyao has left the country, right… she hasn’t gone yet, although she has arrived at that small village in Guizhou.”
“Oh… uh, actually, it’s not about that!”
“Then is it about Mi’er… I think that’s impossible. You two have already broken up. Judging from your usual pretentiousness, you definitely wouldn’t ask me anything!”
“I won’t ask you anything, I just want to tell you… she fainted during the meeting this afternoon…”
“What? Such a big matter, why didn’t she tell me?”
“She’s lying in the hospital bed, maybe not even awake yet!”
After CC said that, my heart trembled again. After a silence, I said, “Maybe she just didn’t want to bother you…”
“Between us, what’s there to bother or not? You must tell me quickly which hospital she’s in. I’m going to see her right away. I hope nothing serious happens!”
“I’ll send you Fang Yuan’s phone number. You can call him to ask. He’s the one who told me about this. I didn’t ask specifically which hospital she’s in!”
CC sounded very displeased, “Zhaoyang, you really have a big heart. At a time like this, you can still speak so calmly! You didn’t even ask which hospital she’s in!”
“I don’t want to explain anything to you…”
“I don’t want to hear your explanations either. Just send me Fang Yuan’s number quickly… I’m hanging up now!”
“Wait…”
“What is it?”
“…Please give her my regards. I hope she recovers soon!”
“Why don’t you go tell her in person?”
“We’ve already broken up. Why meet again?”
“Stop pretending. Didn’t you also break up with Jian Wei? Yet I don’t see you keeping your distance from her!”
After CC finished speaking, she hung up. I was somewhat stunned, once again sinking into an indescribable confusion. I indeed didn’t understand why I insisted on keeping my distance from Mi Cai after the breakup. Perhaps… I was truly inferior in front of her. Once we broke up, this sense of inferiority rapidly expanded. Obviously, my male pride had been severely damaged by her.
About an hour later, CC sent me a message via WeChat: “She’s fine. It’s just overexertion and poor mood that caused the dizziness. She needs rest these days. If you’re worried, come and see her.”
“It’s good that nothing serious happened. I won’t go over. Please take care of her daily life more recently!”
“Aren’t you even curious why her mood is bad?”
I remained silent for a long time before replying: “Other than Zhuo Mei, what else in this world could possibly affect her mood!”
It seemed CC had grown tired of my many complaints. She didn’t reply to me again. Finally, I immersed myself in the night, unwilling to think about anything. At this moment, I felt a bit of dignity, because my mind was blank. As long as I didn’t think of Mi Cai, I still had dignity.
The next morning, I was still asleep when Board Dad entered my room and woke me up. Still groggy, I asked, “Board Dad, why did you wake me up so early?”
“Quickly get up. We’re going to Suzhou later!”
“Why today? Didn’t we agree to go tomorrow?”
“Go to see Xiaomi. She’s hospitalized.”
I immediately lost my sleepiness, asking, “How do you know she’s in the hospital?”
Board Dad took out his phone and opened WeChat. I saw that Mi Cai had posted a public message on her Moments, thanking everyone for their concern after being hospitalized.
Yet I was even more surprised, asking, “How did you add her on WeChat?”
“She added me last time in Xitang.”
I couldn’t believe it, “You’re really trendy, actually playing on WeChat! Even more surprisingly, you didn’t add your own son as a friend but added her instead… My sky turned dark! Truly dark!”
Board Dad didn’t respond to my surprise. He patted me again, urging me to get up quickly…
Actually, what I found most unbelievable wasn’t that Board Dad used WeChat, nor that Mi Cai had added him. It was that she had posted a Moments update. Except for today’s post expressing gratitude, the only other one was the previous post we made together: ‘We are in a very dirty place,’ which I posted for her… So she actually never had the habit of posting updates!
I couldn’t help but wonder, was she trying to express something? Or, was I just thinking too much again?
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