Fangyuan took out his mobile phone and, after a brief moment of contemplation, dialed Mi Cai. He remained as cautious as ever, never acting rashly without thorough consideration.
Fangyuan didn’t hide anything from me. Once the call was connected, he immediately switched to speakerphone. I felt unexpectedly nervous, anticipating the sound of Mi Cai’s voice. In fact, since she had gone to the United States, we hadn’t spoken on the phone at all, only exchanging a few WeChat messages.
After a short wait, Mi Cai answered the call, her habitual professional tone evident as she said, “Hello, Director Fang.”
“Hello, Director Mi.”
“Did you call me to report on work matters?”
Fangyuan acknowledged but didn’t immediately get to the point. Instead, he asked with concern, “Director Mi, how is your work going in the U.S.?”
“Thank you for asking. It’s going fairly well… I have some work to attend to right now. If you have anything important to report, please go ahead.”
“Okay… The work I want to report is this: I have already made a commitment to the board of directors. During this Christmas event, the turnover of Zhuo Mei Shopping Center will reach twice that of our competitor, Baoli Department Store. If we fail to meet this target, I will resign. I’m not sure whether the board has informed you about this, but I felt it necessary to personally update you, hoping not to disturb your work schedule.”
Mi Cai paused briefly before replying, “I just learned about this recently… I’m a bit surprised, but from the company’s perspective, I’m glad you have such determination. I wish you success in achieving your goal.”
“Thank you for your support… If you’re busy, I won’t bother you any further.” As Fangyuan spoke, he glanced at me, silently asking if I wanted to say something to Mi Cai.
I shook my head, indicating that she was working and shouldn’t be disturbed. Fangyuan gestured that he understood and prepared to hang up, but Mi Cai suddenly asked him, “Director Fang, is Zhaoyang with you?”
Fangyuan replied somewhat surprisedly, “Yes, he had dinner at my place today, had some drinks, and is staying over.”
“Then hand him the phone. I want to talk to him for a moment.”
Fangyuan turned off the speakerphone and handed me the phone. I took it and, somewhat curiously, asked Mi Cai, “How did you know I was with Fangyuan?”
“I heard your cough. You must have smoked quite a bit tonight, didn’t you?”
I steered clear of the smoking topic, chuckling as I remarked, “Just from hearing my cough, you recognized me. I must be deeply imprinted in your mind!”
Mi Cai ignored my comment and replied somewhat unhappily, “Why don’t you take my advice to smoke less?… Your health is your own, and also…”
My mind suddenly became unusually active. Picking up on Mi Cai’s unfinished sentence, I continued, “And also our child’s, right? Don’t worry, I’ll quit smoking and drinking as soon as you come back from the U.S. Then… ah, ah, ah, you know what I mean!”
Mi Cai sounded somewhat embarrassed: “Who said I wanted to have a child with you?”
“You didn’t say it directly, but I got the hint. Don’t you think our chemistry is getting stronger?”
“Oh, stop it… I don’t have time to banter with you. I have a meeting soon. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay, you go ahead. Just call me when you have time. Also, take care of yourself over there. After all, your health is your own, and also… also our child’s!”
“You make it sound like you’re already pregnant!”
“Well, if you were pregnant now, I’d be in trouble… Let’s talk about having kids after you come back.”
My incessant chatter made Mi Cai laugh helplessly. Reluctantly, she gave me a few more reminders before hanging up. I sat there, somewhat dazed by the dial tone, feeling that this brief phone call had been the happiest moment since she left.
I turned off the light and settled into stillness. My mood had brightened because of the call with Mi Cai. Sometimes love is that simple—an ordinary phone call, a few casual greetings, enough to change your mood. As my mind relaxed, I soon drifted into sleep.
But Fangyuan seemed to be suffering from insomnia. Even in my sleep, I could sense the haze of cigarette smoke filling the room and the chill from the open window letting it out.
…
The next day, when I woke up, Fangyuan was already up. By the time I got up and washed up, he had already prepared breakfast. In fact, although he was no longer lacking materially, his life was quite hard. This hardship was entirely due to his deep affection for Yan Yan. For instance, although Yan Yan could still share some responsibilities, such as making breakfast, the pressure Fangyuan faced at work was considerable. Easing his life burdens could help him perform better at work. However, based on my understanding of Fangyuan, he would definitely not tell Yan Yan about the commitment he had made to the Zhuo Mei board of directors.
Therefore, I always believed that Fangyuan was a responsible and courageous man. That one mistake he had made truly wasn’t enough to overshadow his qualities!
As a friend, I sincerely hoped he could achieve the ambitious goal he had set for Zhuo Mei during Christmas, regain Mi Cai’s trust, and, together with Zhuo Mei, soar to greater heights after its successful IPO, ushering in a broader space for development.
That morning, after having breakfast at Fangyuan’s house, I went directly to Jian Wei’s company, because she had already efficiently commissioned a well-known screenwriter in the industry to write the script for the short film and wanted my opinion before sending it back for a second round of revisions.
Upon arriving at Jian Wei’s company, I went straight to her office. The moment I opened the door, our eyes met as she was eating breakfast. Her complexion looked much better than yesterday. From her serious, expressionless look, I could tell she had already entered work mode.
Sure enough, before I had even settled onto the sofa, she said to me, “Zhaoyang, the handover ceremony for the scenic area we acquired in that county will be held the day after tomorrow. I suggest you come with us.”
“I’ll pass. After all, this project has always been handled by your and Uncle Yang’s team. Besides, I’m really tied up the day after tomorrow. I already have plans—I need to go to Yangzhou to sign a long-term cooperation agreement with the Slender West Lake Yueyuan Resort. Yangzhou will become an important central city on the Road to Literature and Art!”
Jian Wei looked disappointed but didn’t insist. Then she picked up a folder from her desk and tossed it to me, saying, “This is the story concept we received last night. The script is still being written. Take a look first and see if it matches what you envisioned.”
I nodded, caught the folder, and said to her, “By the way, yesterday our planning director mentioned something to me that I think we need to consider. She believes that Le Yao’s post-marriage image might not be suitable for the spirit and values expressed by the Road to Literature and Art! What do you think about that?”
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