Chapter 710: Where is she exactly?

The next morning, I woke up again in the morning sunlight, but Mi Cai was already not beside me. I heard the sound of frying from the kitchen, and then smelled the fragrant scent of fried eggs. It must have been Mi Cai preparing breakfast.

Heaven is fair; it does not allow a person to be perfect. Therefore, Mi Cai has never been talented in cooking, and frying eggs is a task that particularly requires mastering the right timing. I could thus imagine how flustered Mi Cai must have looked. However, she has always been fearless about cooking and dares to try!

I threw off the quilt, ran into the kitchen in my pajamas, ready to help her, but she had already neatly placed the fried eggs on a plate and asked me, “What’s the rush? Are you going to put out a fire?”

“No, I just knew you were frying eggs and was afraid you wouldn’t manage, so I got up to help!”

Mi Cai held the plate in front of me with a smile and said, “Belated sir, you’re too late. I’ve already fried them. They look pretty good, right?”

I examined them carefully and replied, “They look great. Even the yolks didn’t break. Is this an unusually good performance today?”

“Not unusually good! Look,” Mi Cai pointed to another plate on the cabinet, which was piled with broken eggs, and the garbage bin below was filled with cracked eggshells. I couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise and asked, “How many eggs did you use to finally produce one that looks somewhat decent?”

Mi Cai, as if having just survived an adventure, replied with relief, “All the eggs we bought last time and those given by Auntie are gone. Finally, in the end, I didn’t let myself down. When there were only two eggs left, I finally managed to fry one that looked exactly how I wanted!”

I felt a bit heartbroken and asked again, “What about those ruined eggs? You’re not going to throw them away, are you? That would be such a waste!”

“Why throw them away? Put them in the fridge. Later, they can be stir-fried with other vegetables, like green pepper scrambled eggs or lettuce scrambled eggs.”

Thinking about it, I realized it made sense and praised her, “No wonder you were so confident. You had already planned ahead. I originally thought you had made the mistake of being rash and extravagant!”

“Even if I did make a mistake, it was worth it. You worked so hard to take care of me yesterday, so today I naturally wanted to reward you with my capable side.”

I sighed deeply and said, “So this seemingly unremarkable plate of fried eggs was actually born from a cause-and-effect relationship!”

Mi Cai put her hand on my shoulder, teasingly swept the plate past my nose, and laughed, “This fried egg looks good enough. I wonder if the taste is also up to par. You should go and taste it quickly.”

“I estimate it will be difficult! To hope that the taste also meets the standard, I’m afraid we’ll have to eat green pepper scrambled eggs from this year until next. Who knows how many more eggs you’ll need to practice before you can fry the perfect egg!”

Faced with my teasing, Mi Cai remained calm and just smiled, replying, “Eat it first. If the taste is wrong, you can go buy eggs later. Anyway, I’m on annual leave now. I can slowly practice at home. As for the ones I ruin, if you really don’t want to eat them, we can hold an egg-themed dinner party and invite your family and friends. We can finish them all in one meal!”

“That’s a good idea. In the future, everyone in your circle of my family and friends will know that you can’t cook well but still insist on trying!”

Mi Cai finally couldn’t take the teasing anymore and pouted, saying, “Are you saying you think I have no self-awareness?”

Suddenly, I remembered how she had practiced frying eggs over and over again just for me. I realized I had teased her too much. So I made up my mind that no matter how bad it tasted, I would finish the whole plate of fried eggs later to not let her hard work go to waste.

Mi Cai seemed to care deeply about her image in my mind and kept looking at me for a response. Just as I had found the right words to answer her, her phone rang, finally diverting her attention from this issue. She handed me the plate and answered the call.

At the dining table, both Mi Cai and I were no longer focused on the small dispute caused by the fried eggs. In fact, her grasp of taste was still quite good. At least the fried eggs I was eating were just right in saltiness, very delicious. While eating, I asked her, “Who was on the phone just now?”

“It was Dai Wenshan from the photography studio. He invited me to go with them to the seaside in Weihai to take some photos.”

“You agreed?”

Mi Cai nodded and said, “Yes, because I can come back tomorrow afternoon, which won’t affect the time I have planned with Auntie and Xiaoyun to buy New Year’s goods.” She paused, as if realizing something, and then asked me, “You don’t want me to go, do you?”

I didn’t answer directly but instead asked, “Who else is going besides you and Dai Wenshan?”

Mi Cai replied, “His assistant and several couples who want to take wedding photos, about ten people in total. I originally didn’t want to go, but the clients this time are quite picky, requiring two different styles of photos. They need a female photographer to accompany them, so Dai Wenshan asked me to help. He helped us a lot with the coffee shop, so it’s really hard to refuse. Besides, it’s just a small favor!”

“Oh, then go ahead.”

Mi Cai nodded and then said to me, “Zhaoyang, I’m actually worried about you. Don’t take advantage of me going out to do something and go comfort someone in a certain city, okay?”

“No, I won’t go to Suzhou again!”

“Suzhou? That’s not what I meant!”

I was a bit surprised and asked, “Then what city and person were you referring to? Specific or general?”

Mi Cai’s expression became serious and earnest, “Of course, it’s specific. Zhaoyang, do you think I don’t read entertainment news? I guess that Le Yao, who is struggling in her marriage, has probably contacted you privately, right? And it must have been yesterday when I was drunk, right?”

“I know about this, but she really didn’t contact me, and of course, I didn’t contact her either!”

“It’s understandable if she, as your friend for many years, wants to confide in you. As long as you don’t go looking for her or she comes looking for you, I can understand. Why don’t you tell the truth?”

I frowned, “It’s really not true! Do you want me to show you evidence?”

Mi Cai was very surprised and asked, “Is there evidence for this?”

Without saying much, I immediately went to my room to get my phone, found the conversation between Le Yao and Xiao Wu on WeChat moments last night, and showed it to her, saying, “Xiao Wu was the one who accompanied her last night. We didn’t even contact each other!”

Originally, Le Yao and Xiao Wu had only exchanged a few simple sentences, but Mi Cai looked at it for a long time before finally asking me, “Do you think Le Yao is telling the truth? Did she really go to the city where Luoben used to be and miss Luoben, her close friend, instead of you?”

“Of course, she’s telling the truth. Her relationship with Luoben is just like mine with CC. If I ever suffered a major setback in life, I would also miss CC, my close friend!”

“But CC is really gone without a trace, while Luoben is just in the United States. She can contact Luoben. Why is there no reply from Luoben under this WeChat moment? In theory, if Luoben saw this message, he would definitely reply, right?”

“How should I know? Maybe Luoben is too proud, or perhaps they have already contacted each other privately. Why are you analyzing this like solving a case? Isn’t that making a mountain out of a molehill?”

Mi Cai replied with deep resentment, “It’s all because you always do things that make me feel insecure. You’ve made me so anxious and sensitive. Don’t you understand that?”

I immediately lost my confidence and spoke softly, “I admit I haven’t done well enough, but I’m really innocent in this matter!”

Mi Cai then turned to comfort me, “Okay, I also need to reflect on myself. If I keep being so sensitive, I’ll become a burden to you. Actually, we don’t have to be like this. We can’t let emotional anxiety and sensitivity stop us from all social interactions!”

I nodded, thinking that Mi Cai made sense. Our spirits began to align, and our feelings were elevated. We became more rational and gained some mutual trust. This proved that although there were constant ups and downs between us, we were also getting along well. At least we didn’t argue again because of such matters.

After breakfast, I sent Mi Cai to Dai Wenshan’s photography studio. Through Dai Wenshan’s explanation, I learned that among the newlyweds going to Weihai for wedding photos today, there were two couples who were the children of high-ranking local government officials. Dai Wenshan dared not be careless and repeatedly asked Mi Cai for help. The accompanying professional photographers were not only him and Mi Cai. For safety, he also invited another pair of male and female photographers to join him and Mi Cai to form a professional team to complete this photo shoot.

For some reason, this news immediately eased my mind. Before I didn’t understand thoroughly and thought that only he and Mi Cai were going to Weihai, I always felt like there was a lump in my heart. In fact, my reason for being concerned about Mi Cai being alone with the opposite sex was the same as Mi Cai’s. Because of loving too deeply, we became anxious and sensitive!

After Mi Cai, Dai Wenshan, and others went to Weihai, we basically maintained contact by sending a text message every half hour, continuing until the sunset disappeared behind the large chimney outside the coffee shop.

I thought this day had passed peacefully, but it was anything but peaceful. Unexpectedly, I received a call from Xiao Wu. Even before I answered, I sensed something. Although Xiao Wu is a good friend of mine, our relationship had become distant after I left that circle of friends, so he wouldn’t call me unless it was something particularly important.

I pressed the answer button, and inside came the complaining voice of Xiao Wu. He said, “Zhaoyang, do you think Le Yao is reliable?”

“What happened?”

Xiao Wu was very angry and said, “Last night, I was chatting with her on WeChat moments. She asked me to bring some beer and meet her at the place where Luoben used to be. I thought she was just kidding at first, but later when I sent her a private message, she didn’t reply, and her phone was unreachable. Do you think I wasn’t worried? I drove like my pants were on fire to the seaside in Nantong. Zhaoyang, do you think I’m an idiot? I searched all night long, almost calling the police! She was so calm, and in the morning, she finally replied with a message saying she was drunk last night, just talking nonsense, and didn’t see my private message later, so she just went to sleep. She wasn’t even in that small coastal county of Nantong!”

I was first surprised, then thought about it and calmed down because there was nothing that a drunk Le Yao wouldn’t do. Xiao Wu chatting with her on WeChat moments was just asking for trouble. Finally, I replied, “She’s just such an unreliable person, but you didn’t call me just to complain, right?”

Xiao Wu was silent for a while and then said, “I just want to tell you that she might have run to Xuzhou again. She doesn’t dare to contact you, so she just rambled on and on. Sigh! She’s really having a hard time. To put it bluntly, she was sold to Cao Jinfei’s family by her businessman father. Cao Jinfei, this playboy, can give her money, but giving her true feelings is probably not possible. It’s hard for her to talk about happiness in her life!”

“This…”

Xiao Wu didn’t understand the emotional fluctuations in my heart, and he continued, “Zhaoyang, ask her if she’s staying in Xuzhou. If she is, you should persuade her well. Constantly avoiding isn’t a solution. Her assistant is almost going crazy. She can’t be reached by phone, and even on WeChat, which is the only way to contact her, she sometimes replies and sometimes doesn’t. everyone understands her emotions, but the company’s daily operations can’t be separated from her either. After all, so many people are waiting for her to make a living. And the media also needs an explanation. After all, she is a public figure! How much freedom can she have!”

After a while, I replied, “I understand.”

After ending the call with Xiao Wu, I lit a cigarette and fell into a state of confusion again. I felt some sympathy for Le Yao but couldn’t do anything for her. I also understood her current mood because she might be in Xuzhou, but not to meet me. What she missed was the past me, the one who could play with her, go crazy with her, and stay silent with her when she was sad. This explanation might sound far-fetched, but it’s actually reasonable. It’s like a couple who have broken up; they still love each other but can never be together because they love the person they were in the past. But the past is gone forever, only to be remembered and mourned, not to meet the current him (or her) and get entangled!

I believe that’s how Le Yao feels. What she needs is not the current me, who is already engaged, or maybe Xiao Wu is mistaken, and she’s really not in this city of Xuzhou. But now, I do have the need to find out where she is and give her some comfort. Of course, this is just comfort between friends, as simple as communicating through WeChat. Even further, even if she is really in Xuzhou, we probably won’t meet! Because the passage of time has already let us understand the deepest side of each other. We don’t need to merge, just stand at the edge of the scattered, look at each other, and bless each other!