A quarter later, I arrived at CC’s place with some late-night snacks. She opened the door wearing loungewear, her uncombed hair messy and falling over her shoulders. She probably hadn’t left the house all day.
I walked in, placed the snacks on the coffee table, and sat on the sofa, glancing around. The room looked exactly the same as when I had left that morning, so I deduced that CC hadn’t moved far throughout the day—likely spending most of it in bed and only going to the bathroom to wash up just now.
Finally, CC emerged from the bathroom with her hair tied back, sat across from me, and without rushing to eat, lit a cigarette and inhaled slowly with her eyes closed. Halfway through the cigarette, she spoke, “Yiqing (manager of Kong Cheng) called me and said you posted the closure notice at Kong Cheng just now?”
“Yeah, I’ve always been efficient.”
“Are we being a bit selfish doing this? It feels like we’ve made everyone act like it’s a life-or-death separation… I heard Roben even got physical with you?”
“He’s always been hot-headed. We just exchanged a few heated words, nothing serious.”
CC looked somewhat dispirited, said nothing further, and stubbed out her cigarette. She opened the snacks I had brought and started eating, though she didn’t seem to have much appetite, her expression absentminded, as if lost in thought. I also couldn’t find a topic to continue the conversation, so we sat in silence.
She only ate half of the snacks before she stopped and lit another cigarette, leaning back on the sofa. Her despondency, fueled by cigarettes and alcohol, was no less intense than a man’s outpouring of grief. Actually, she should try a different approach—crying might be better for her.
Finally, I said to her, “Let me go out for a walk with you. Don’t stay cooped up at home all the time. The more you stay inside, the more you’ll dwell on things.” As I said this, I stood up, took the cigarette from her hand, and stubbed it out in the ashtray.
CC looked up at me, her eyes unfocused. After a while, she said, “Come with me to sing some karaoke…”
“That’s not a bad idea. It’s a good way to vent.”
CC nodded, but with an apologetic tone, she said, “I’m sorry to trouble you when you’re so busy with work.”
I smiled and said, “Aren’t friends meant to be used when you’re upset? I’ve taken advantage of you plenty of times before. If you start being polite, we’ll feel like strangers. Go change clothes now. I’ll have a cigarette while I wait for you.”
…
In the endless night, CC and I walked toward a karaoke bar. Before leaving, she had washed her hair, so now strands of hair blew across her shoulders in the cold wind, covering her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes. She didn’t bother to brush them aside, just kept walking forward with her hands in her pockets, looking distant. But this kind of nonchalant demeanor, tinged with hidden sorrow, caught the eyes of passersby who turned to watch her.
I watched her too, increasingly feeling that she didn’t quite belong in this world. There was always a subtle aura about her, as if she were trying to detach herself from everything. But what good was that? Once you truly understood her heart, you’d realize she was just a pitiful woman deeply wounded by love… Sometimes, I even thought that these past few years had been harder for her than for Weimanwen, who had secluded herself in a small mountain village! So, this woman always masked herself with alcohol and cigarettes, making everyone believe in her carefree attitude. But all this pretense was torn away just before Roben’s impending wedding, leaving her to suffer alone!
Feeling pity for her, I put my arm around her, letting my shoulder serve as her support in the cold night as we walked together. Yet the endless darkness still made us seem so fragile. Because we were close friends, not lovers, we couldn’t give each other the love we needed most. Even though we were close, we couldn’t fill the emptiness deep inside our hearts…
Inside the karaoke bar, I listened as CC sang song after song until her voice grew hoarse and fatigue clouded her mind. Eventually, she fell asleep in the private room. When she awoke, it was already morning the next day, and CC was sleeping on the other side of the room not far from me. This was probably the first time in our lives we had spent the night in a karaoke bar. But sleeping in that enclosed room left our heads heavy and groggy from lack of oxygen.
I woke CC up. Her first action upon sitting up was to press her hand against her head, clearly struggling more than I did with the stuffiness. It was understandable, after all—she had barely stopped singing all night, singing every song she could think of, consuming far more oxygen than I did.
Dazed and groggy, we walked out of the karaoke bar. As soon as we stepped outside, a cold but fresh breeze blew against our faces. Looking around, we saw that the huge city had been blanketed in snow. Suddenly, our view of the world was reduced to just one color, yet it brought a soft, open expanse. CC and I stood there, gazing into the distance, and the heaviness in our heads seemed to spin away with the swirling snowflakes.
I took the cigarette pack from CC’s pocket, lit one, and sighed, “Last night we were singing in the karaoke bar while snow was falling outside. I wonder who missed whom?”
CC finally smiled, “It was the snow that missed us.”
“Great minds think alike. We stayed up all night at the karaoke bar—probably the only time in our lives. But snow falls one or two times every year, so it was definitely the one that missed us… Haha, CC, do you feel better now?”
“I feel much more energetic!” CC said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, feeling the moisture in the snowy wind.
“People’s moods are still shaped by their environment, so don’t stay cooped up at home these days. Go out more often, and your mood will improve.”
CC nodded and finally walked into the snow-covered street among the bustling crowd. I followed closely behind. Looking at her back, I sensed a certain feeling—she needed someone to truly love her, maybe even that man who had left money behind at “Kong Cheng.” I hoped even more that things would end well for her, or else I wouldn’t be able to attend Roben and Weimanwen’s upcoming wedding with a good heart.
…
After having breakfast together, I headed to a bathhouse to shower. I didn’t want to start today’s work burdened with gloominess. According to the work schedule, I was supposed to go to Zhuomei with the company’s marketing department to survey the venue and determine the exact location for the ceremony marking the start of filming. Fangyuan preferred to set up an outdoor venue, while I preferred the inside of Zhuomei’s shopping mall. Therefore, I needed to confirm this with him after discussion.
When I arrived at the company, the marketing director and team members were already ready to go. I immediately called Fangyuan to prepare for our arrival and then left the company with the team, heading toward the parking lot. However, we encountered Jianwei and her assistant at the company’s entrance. This was certainly no coincidence, as Jianwei also planned to join us to inspect the undeveloped advertising resources at Zhuomei and finalize the cooperation plan with them.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage