After finishing a cup of hot water, I continued lingering in the living room, my mind still uncontrollably recalling the earlier moments. My complicated emotions left me completely sleepless. I sat on the sofa for quite a while longer, until even the cigarette in my hand no longer seemed appealing. Then I went to the bathroom to rinse my mouth, changed into my pajamas, and headed to the bedroom.
Mi Cai hadn’t fallen asleep yet. In the dim light, she was holding a magazine and reading. I lifted the quilt and lay down beside her, asking, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”
Mi Cai flipped through several pages of her magazine before replying, “Since you don’t seem tired, I didn’t feel like sleeping either.”
I yawned and said, “I’m tired. I’ll fall asleep after just a few words.”
“Really?” Mi Cai questioned skeptically, not even lifting her gaze from the magazine, her expression remaining serious.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, I said, “Could you please stop talking to me like I’m a child?”
Mi Cai remained unmoved, her tone as indifferent as always, yet it struck me deeply. “Do you really always think you’re mature?”
I retorted, “What do you mean? I’m already in my late twenties, almost thirty. How can you say I’m not mature?”
Mi Cai finally closed the magazine and said, “Mature people know exactly what they should do and then go ahead and do it. Immature people, however, toss and turn at night, unable to fall asleep from overthinking.” She added, “Zhaoyang, do you think my words apply to you?”
I had long since stopped trying to argue with her, knowing I couldn’t win. So I turned over, lying face down on the bed, silent, hoping to fall asleep quickly and respond to her with more convincing action—proving that I wasn’t a man who wavered and overthought things.
Mi Cai mimicked my posture, lying face down beside me, and gently stroked my hair, asking, “Little guy, are you mad?”
“No, just tired!” I paused briefly before sincerely asking her, “But do you really think I’m immature? Or that my emotional intelligence hasn’t reached an adult level?”
“See? You asked so many questions again. So I was right—you always overthink things, didn’t I?”
“You…” I was at a loss for words.
“Then why don’t you prove that you’re a mature man?”
I remained silent for a long time before calmly replying, “Fine then. Take out the condoms from the drawer. If there’s no other way to prove it, let’s just do that.”
“No, I’m too tired today!”
“That’s okay too. Then tell me now—am I immature or mature?”
“Mature!!”
Her answer made us both smile at each other. We turned over together, lying flat on our backs, staring at the ceiling. But I really started to overthink again, because I knew she was reminding me of something. Yet she was unwilling to spell it out completely. She didn’t necessarily need to know everything I had hidden, but she could guess. She had always been a smart woman.
I hated seeing her feel this way. After a long silence, I cautiously asked, “Suppose one day I no longer work at Luku, what do you think I should do then?”
Mi Cai thought for a while before replying, “Take your guitar, travel around the world, and turn our love into a song. Sing it to everyone you meet!”
“What about you?”
“I’ll follow behind you. Every time you sing, I’ll be there to listen!”
A vivid image appeared in my mind. I was moved even before it happened, almost wanting to cry. Instinctively, I pulled her closer, kissing her forehead and hair. Once again, the nerve that drove my idealism was touched… I truly wished that in this material world, we could be a pair of fools—unconcerned with fame or fortune, only narrating our love, indifferent to worldly right or wrong, traveling the world together…
I whispered in her ear, “Did you say that just to indulge my idealism? In reality, you can’t really do it, can you?”
“Why can’t I? Maybe you always think that ZhuoMei is my burden, but sometimes, I also wish to cast off this heavy responsibility and just be crazy with you, helping you realize those dreams that others think are impractical… Zhaoyang, give me five years. Within this time, as long as ZhuoMei is fully stabilized, I will step back, hand it over to Mi Lan, and then I will have plenty of time to stay with you, building our family and pursuing our ideals!”
Mi Cai rarely made promises to me. When she did, I knew it wasn’t a joke. At least, she truly had such thoughts in her heart. I could trust her unconditionally and look forward to it. So I nodded and said, “That would be best!”
As we chatted, the night grew deeper. She held me close and drifted into sleep, while I remained wide awake, still risking being called immature by overthinking under the dark night sky. Eventually, I imagined a deeply moving future, filled with the image of me traveling the world, singing our story into a song, while she followed behind, listening over and over again.
Perhaps this image was only something we had described in words, difficult to realize in the future. But that couldn’t stop me from looking forward to it, because it had already unlocked my heart, setting my soul free… At this moment, I clearly knew exactly what kind of future I wanted to live!
…
After a busy weekend, Monday arrived. That day, I finished my work early because Mi Cai had entrusted me with a task—to reach Shanghai Pudong Airport before 2 p.m. to welcome the red-clad woman returning from overseas business.
After a quick lunch and informing Mi Cai, I drove alone to the airport. Despite smooth traffic, I didn’t drive fast. I couldn’t forget the horrifying car accident that had happened a few days ago.
Suddenly, an Audi A4 with a familiar license plate number roared past my car. In no time, the license plate had shrunk to the size of a matchbox. I was almost certain it was Fang Yuan’s car, but I wasn’t particularly surprised. After all, ZhuoMei’s headquarters were now in Shanghai, and sometimes he traveled between Suzhou and Shanghai several times a day. For safety reasons, I didn’t call to confirm. I continued driving at a normal speed toward the airport.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the airport. Unexpectedly, I spotted Fang Yuan’s car in the parking lot. So he hadn’t gone to ZhuoMei’s Shanghai headquarters either—he, like me, was here to pick someone up. I suddenly became curious. I wondered who he was picking up. But I was pretty sure it was someone I knew well, because only someone close to him would make him personally come to the airport on a workday. Naturally, I would know them too, since our circles overlapped!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage