My gaze briefly met with Mi Cai’s, but I quickly looked away and straightened my collar, making sure I appeared composed before smirking and saying, “You couldn’t even recognize your ex-boyfriend’s voice anymore?”
As always, Mi Cai showed no emotion and calmly replied, “I recognized it, but I wasn’t sure it was you!”
I immediately felt sensitive and retorted, “So you also think I shouldn’t have come, right? Yeah, I indeed shouldn’t have come, and I didn’t even want to come here!”
“I know. You don’t have to emphasize it.”
CC pinched my waist tightly from behind and said, “Zhaoyang, can’t you show a bit of manly grace?”
I pulled CC’s hand off and shrugged indifferently, “Grace? That’s reserved for successful people to show off. As a man who has achieved nothing, I don’t even have the capital to pretend, so why talk about grace?”
CC looked at me helplessly. I then picked up the fruit basket and walked to Mi Cai’s bedside, placed it down, and asked, “How are you feeling? Are you more comfortable now?”
“Thank you for your concern. I should be able to return to work after resting here for a few days.”
I pulled up a chair and sat down, still appearing indifferent. However, my heart ached seeing her pale face. If I were still her boyfriend, I would hold her in my arms and offer her the sense of security and comfort from my chest. But since we had parted ways, I could only mask my untimely heartache with this indifference.
Mi Cai pulled back the blanket, sat up on the bed, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to me, saying, “Have some water.”
“You’re too polite!”
Mi Cai just smiled and pushed the cup a bit closer. I finally took it from her hands but disliked her emotionless demeanor. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking and how she viewed my impromptu visit, which had been forced by CC.
Mi Cai sat back on the bed, hugging her legs with both arms. She looked quiet, but her frail body in the hospital gown seemed thin and desolate. Perhaps except for CC, no one else had come to talk to her for a long time.
I noticed the files on her bedside again, and my heart felt sore. It always seemed to me that career and work were a kind of unavoidable hardship and torment in her life.
With a soft sigh, I raised the temperature of the air conditioner and finally softened my tone to ask her, “Is there anything you’d like to eat? I can ask Ban Di to prepare it for you and bring it over later.”
“Don’t go through the trouble.”
I nodded and said, “I think it’s also troublesome. After all, the food here at the convalescent home shouldn’t be bad.”
Mi Cai understood my meaning and didn’t speak further, only gazing absentmindedly at the scattered petals on the windowsill. Soon, the entire room fell silent, while outside a few birds perched on the branches chirping noisily.
I turned around and saw that the ward door was slightly ajar, but CC had already disappeared quietly. Perhaps she had left to give Mi Cai and me some space, but I felt at a loss and awkward instead. Finally, I looked at my watch, ready to leave under the pretense that it was getting late.
Unexpectedly, the previously silent Mi Cai finally spoke, “Zhaoyang, would you mind accompanying me for a walk outside?”
I glanced out the window at the blazing sun and replied, “No way. If we’re going for a walk, we should wait until evening.”
“I feel stuffy.”
Even though we had already broken up, I still instinctively obeyed her. After getting an umbrella from the staff, I supported her weak body and walked downstairs.
…
The sunlight shone directly onto our umbrella from the most direct angle, and the air was filled with heat. After walking just a few steps, Mi Cai’s face was already covered with sweat, making me worry that she wouldn’t be able to endure it. I tried to persuade her again, “Let’s go back. This really isn’t weather for walking.”
She was still as stubborn as ever. Shaking her head, she said, “Can’t you see that fountain ahead? There’s shade under the tree next to it. It will be cool once we get there.”
After arriving under the shade, I first helped her sit down and then stood beside her. I felt the coolness coming from the fountain pool, indeed a great place to rest. I then took out some tissues from my pocket and handed them to Mi Cai, indicating she should wipe the sweat from her face.
She said, “Thank you,” as she took the tissues from my hand, but her gaze remained fixed on the car I had driven from a distance.
She asked me, “Is that Jian Wei’s car?”
“Yeah, I borrowed it.”
“What about that Grand Cherokee?”
“I sold it. Otherwise, how could I have so much money to repay you? Actually, I haven’t become rich yet in this stage of my life! I’m barely getting by.”
There was a hint of sadness in my voice because Mi Cai had never truly cared about my career, so she was completely unaware of my financial situation.
Mi Cai nodded and after a long while, asked me again, “How is your artistic path going?”
“It’s going well. Now I’m working with Jian Wei and Yang Congrong from Yirong Network. I think we will become a great business team and make this project better, stronger, and more culturally meaningful.”
Mi Cai smiled and said, “I can feel the weight of your dream, so keep going!”
Although it was an encouraging sentence, it made me feel somewhat down. So I left the bench and sat by the fountain pool, lighting a cigarette. Although I kept some distance from Mi Cai, I made sure the smoke didn’t reach her.
After smoking half a cigarette, I finally asked her, “In your heart, am I really so worthless?”
“In the past, I indeed thought so…”
I couldn’t help but recall the early days of our relationship. It seemed that I had only ever spoken to her harshly, sometimes playing my guitar and trying to get attention through pranks. But looking back now, even those days of worthlessness were so precious to me.
Mi Cai continued, “Do you remember? This is the third time you’ve asked me this question… Actually, you don’t need to prove anything to me, because you aren’t as worthless as you appear. Because inside you, there’s a soul that can control yourself, and one day you will achieve the life you desire!”
“You say it like you don’t have a soul!”
Mi Cai didn’t respond but instead wiped the sweat from her face again with the tissue in her hand, then gazed thoughtfully at the fountain behind me.
I said, “Take better care of yourself in the future. Maybe Mi Lan can share more of the work responsibilities. And now, Wei Ran won’t make things hard for you anymore, right?”
Mi Cai finally looked at me but still didn’t utter a word…
I inexplicably felt nervous and avoided her gaze, looking around until my eyes landed on Jian Wei’s car.
Finally, she said to me, “Perhaps after Zhuo Me goes public, we will get married!”
I remained silent for a full minute, just staring at her familiar yet unfamiliar face… Finally, I smiled and said, “In the end, the princess indeed marries the prince! So I wish you happiness. I hope you wear a pair of glass slippers at your wedding!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage