The woman’s scolding made me feel somewhat annoyed. I lit a cigarette afterward, but I no longer had the motivation to explain to her the real reason for transferring the ownership of Kongcheng. What haunted me was the frustration of not being able to tell CC the truth.
Finally losing her patience, the woman wrote her contact information on a note and said to me, “This is my phone number. Feel free to call me anytime if you change your mind.”
I didn’t even bother to look at the contact information she left on the note. I simply watched her retreating figure, a strange emotion rising in my heart, filled with disappointment. I vaguely felt that the person who had left the ten thousand yuan initially couldn’t be this woman who was now leaving, but it was indeed her!
Yiqing, the manager I had sent away midway, came back to my side after seeing the woman leave, and caring asked, “Zhaoyang, how did your conversation with her go? Are you going to transfer the restaurant to her?”
“I won’t be transferring the restaurant anymore.”
Yiqing looked at me silently for a while. I had already picked up my briefcase, preparing to leave. At least for now, I didn’t want to explain anything to Yiqing. My immediate priority was to figure out how to convey this outcome to CC, or perhaps keep it as a secret buried deep in my heart forever.
…
After a day of busyness at work, night arrived as scheduled. I lit a cigarette, stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, facing the endless night, and made a decision. I didn’t intend to reveal this truth to CC. I didn’t want to witness her pain in the foreseeable future. Thus, this could also be considered an unavoidable lie. But regardless, her final bit of anticipation for love had indeed shattered in the harsh reality. I didn’t know how a woman as stubborn and devoted as her would ever fall in love with another man again…
Lost in thought, my phone rang again. My nerves, already sensitive and fragile lately, immediately tensed up. After a moment of hesitation, I took out the phone from my pocket and was surprised to see it was Leyao calling. However, I no longer felt the painful entanglement that used to accompany her calls.
I answered the call. Leyao, panting on the other end, asked, “Zhaoyang, where are you?”
I remained silent for a moment, then asked suspiciously, “What are you doing… why do you sound so sexy, like you’re panting?”
It seemed as if I could feel Leyao’s sharp gaze through the phone. She replied with some anger, “I’m at the ‘Fifth Season’ bar. CC has drunk too much again. Hurry here and help me take her back… I’ve been keeping her company all afternoon, drinking like my life depended on it, and now I’m completely worn out!”
A sharp pain pierced my heart. I pressed my temple hard with my fingertip and finally said to her, “You give her some water first. I’m coming right away…”
…
After picking up my car from the underground parking lot of the company, I rushed to the ‘Fifth Season’ bar as quickly as possible. The bar had already started its evening business, and a soft, romantic tune was playing inside. However, what awaited me was going to be a scene of heartbreak. My steps involuntarily slowed down… Even though CC was drunk, I still lacked the courage to face her, because I had built her an imaginary city blooming in all four seasons, only to ultimately offer her nothing but ruins torn and broken… Perhaps Mi Cai’s intuition was right! Often frighteningly accurate, she had already foreseen CC’s fate in reality, but I had refused to listen!
Finally, I followed a group of customers into the bar. As expected, I saw Leyao busily attending to CC. CC had her face buried in her hands, lying on the sofa in pain, but without the usual drunken recklessness, her silence oddly unsettling.
I approached Leyao and blamed her, “How could you let her drink so much?”
Leyao replied with an expression of innocence, “We were chatting all afternoon. Then I went to the restroom, and when I came back, she had already finished a whole bottle of vodka… That’s not how you drink! It’s my fault for not watching her more carefully!!”
I sighed heavily looking at CC, my sense of guilt growing even heavier. Finally, I told Leyao, “Go to the bar and get her a warm glass of milk. We can give it to her on the way home.”
With a solemn expression, Leyao walked toward the bar counter. I then carried the unconscious CC out of the bar. After settling CC in the back seat, Leyao came out from the bar with a bottle of milk in hand.
Throughout the drive, various lights of the night blurred and refracted through the car window onto CC’s tightly closed eyes, further obscuring her features. Leyao gently stroked CC’s hair, her eyes already brimming with tears. I knew she was heartbroken for CC, as she was one of CC’s few close friends. Finally, with a choked voice, she said to me while I was driving, “Zhaoyang, should we call Luo Ben and let him talk to CC, hoping he can help her get over this… I really don’t want to see CC suffer like this anymore!”
“Even if we want to call Luo Ben, we should wait until CC is sober and respect her own wishes. But do you think there’s still a chance for her to have a heartfelt conversation with him?… I can already imagine how she will force a smile and pretend to be happy, giving him her blessings!”
After a moment of silence, Leyao replied, “She won’t open up to Luo Ben anymore, because there’s no possibility for them to be together. She will choose to bear all the pain alone!”
“Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of woman she is… Yet, the kindness she shows in love only brings her endless pain!”
As I was speaking, the car entered an underground tunnel. The sudden dimming of the lights made it impossible for me to see CC’s expression. Leyao didn’t say anything else. The only sounds around us were the howling wind and the dull roar of the engine. In that moment, the world became monotonous yet even more cruel!
…
Shortly afterward, Leyao and I finally arrived at CC’s place. As before, I carried her while Leyao held her coat and followed me into the elevator. During the elevator’s ascent, silence seemed to become a tacit understanding between Leyao and me. Neither of us spoke a word, and even after we entered CC’s apartment, we remained quiet. Leyao helped CC change clothes in the bedroom while I sat in the living room smoking, thinking over and over about love that had always been unfathomable, whether in the past, present, or future.
Ten minutes later, Leyao gently stepped out of the bedroom and stood in front of me, saying, “I’ll stay tonight to take care of CC. You should go home and rest early. You’ve been really busy lately!”
I nodded, then extinguished the cigarette, which I had barely smoked, in the ashtray. I picked up my briefcase from the coffee table and was about to leave…
“Wait, Zhaoyang, there’s something I want to ask you.”
I turned around and looked at her.
“I’ll walk you downstairs. We can talk as we go.”
…
Beside the parking lot of the single apartment complex, Leyao and I stood in the cold wind facing each other. Finally, she asked me, “I heard you’re planning to transfer Kongcheng recently, and it’s been making a lot of noise. Luo Ben almost came to blows with you?”
I didn’t deny it and nodded in response, “That’s true.”
“Why? I don’t believe that ridiculous reason about losses and being unable to continue operations!”
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