Around 11:30 AM, Mi Cai and I arrived at my home. My mother opened the door. Mi Cai handed the gifts she had bought to my mother and said, “Auntie, I didn’t have time to bring you gifts yesterday. I’m sorry for the oversight. I hope you and Uncle will like these.”
My mother smiled happily but politely replied, “We like them, we like them. We’re already very happy that you’ve come to visit. There was no need to go through all this trouble.”
Mi Cai smiled, and my mother then enthusiastically invited her inside to sit down.
Once inside, Mi Cai politely greeted my father, who was cooking in the kitchen, before sitting down on the sofa in the living room.
I handed Mi Cai a magazine to help her pass the time before lunch, and I sat beside her with a magazine of my own.
Shortly afterward, my mother and father called us to eat. Mi Cai and I both put down our magazines, pulled out chairs, and sat down, deliberately keeping a large distance between us, showing none of the intimacy of a couple, because we both anticipated the interrogation my father and mother would soon subject us to during the meal.
Sure enough, just after Mi Cai and I took a sip of juice and began to eat, my mother looked at Mi Cai and asked, “Dear, how did you meet our Zhaoyang?”
Mi Cai looked at me, smiled, and replied, “Auntie, Zhaoyang used to rent the house in Suzhou that I later bought. That’s how we met.”
“Just that simple?” my mother asked, puzzled.
I quickly jumped in, “How complicated did you expect it to be? It’s really a very simple matter. Since Mi Cai is here today, let the person involved explain it clearly to you. That way you won’t keep worrying about it.”
My father and mother both turned their gaze to Mi Cai, waiting for her to speak.
Mi Cai put down her chopsticks and said seriously, “Uncle, Auntie, Zhaoyang and I are just friends… I know you’re wondering why I came all the way from afar to find Zhaoyang. Let me explain this to you… Actually, Zhaoyang had already started to make progress in his job in Suzhou… but he lost his job because he helped me. I feel very guilty and sorry about that, so I came to Xuzhou to find him, hoping to help him find a new job and make up for my guilt.”
I was very satisfied with Mi Cai’s appropriate explanation and quickly added, “Dad, Mom, that’s exactly how things happened. Now you both understand, right?”
My father remained expressionless, but my mother looked disappointed and then tried to comfort herself by saying, “It’s okay, feelings develop over time. Just keep getting along…”
Before my mother could finish, Mi Cai and I exchanged a glance, both reading helplessness in each other’s eyes. My mother simply didn’t understand that even if Mi Cai and I had ten thousand years, we could never develop a love like Zhu Bajie and Zi Xia Xian Zi.
…
Finally, after enduring my mother’s questioning, we finished this somewhat agonizing lunch, but we also felt relieved because we had finally convinced my mother and father to accept the fact that we were only friends.
It was already afternoon. My father went to work as usual, and my mother was invited by several mahjong friends to play. At that moment, only Mi Cai and I were left inside the house.
I lit a cigarette in front of Mi Cai as if my old habits had returned, saying, “I’m smoking now, don’t object. This is my house, and I have the freedom to do anything here!”
“Are you getting back at me?”
It’s not about getting back at you. It’s just that before, in that house, you kept me under such tight control that I felt really uncomfortable… You even told me to find my own room and said no one would stop me from climbing onto the roof to smoke. Do you know how stifled and frustrated I felt back then?
Mi Cai responded playfully, “Since you’re so free now, why don’t you climb onto the roof and smoke a cigarette? This is a rare opportunity. Go ahead and release all your pent-up frustrations.”
“It’s already so satisfying to smoke right in front of you. I’m such a low-key person; I won’t do anything as showy as smoking on the roof,” I said, blowing a long puff of smoke toward Mi Cai.
Mi Cai frowned and waved the smoke away.
I burst out laughing and said, “Now you know what they mean when they say ‘a mountain may change, but one’s nature remains,’ right?”
Mi Cai: “…”
…
The afternoon sunlight lazily poured through the window onto the sofa, and the wind blew the yellowing leaves, making them seem as if they were dancing a ballet in the air. I completely emptied my mind, lying on the sofa, wishing time could stop at this very moment.
Mi Cai seemed to enjoy the afternoon tranquility even more than I did. She had already fallen asleep on the sofa, looking peaceful and serene.
I got up, fetched a quilt from the bedroom, gently laid her body flat, took off her shoes, covered her with the quilt, and then left the sofa, leaving all the comfortable space to her as she slept.
Standing by the window, I lit another cigarette and absentmindedly started thinking. I knew that Mi Cai had come to Xuzhou especially hoping I would go back to Suzhou with her and restart my work and life there. But I had made the resolute decision to leave Suzhou after careful consideration. Now that I had returned, was there really any need for me to go back?
In fact, there was no need for me to return, but every time I thought of Suzhou, an indescribable emotion would surge in my heart. This feeling always made it hard for me to completely let go of the city. I felt some sadness and regret, yet I also resisted returning to that place. As this emotion continued to ferment, I became even more indecisive.
Mi Cai seemed very tired lately, and she slept soundly and for a long time. It was already evening when she woke up. Looking at the quilt covering her, she asked me, “How long have I been asleep?”
“The sky is almost dark.”
“Oh, have you been standing there like an idiot the whole time?”
“Just learning from you. Remember when I was sleeping by the river, you sat there like an idiot for the whole afternoon!”
Mi Cai looked at me helplessly and after a while said, “Don’t talk about that anymore.”
“If we don’t talk about that, what else can we do?”
“Take me to eat some of Xuzhou’s local delicacies. This is my first time in Xuzhou, so you should show me hospitality as a host.”
“Alright, I’ll take you to have some local food from Xuzhou, but I need to warn you, it’s really spicy!”
“I’m not afraid of spicy food. Don’t you remember when we went to CC’s restaurant I told you that?”
“The place I’m taking you to isn’t just normally spicy. You, a girl from the southern water town, shouldn’t speak too soon.”
“How spicy is it then?”
“You can’t even imagine how spicy it is!”
Mi Cai looked a bit uncertain and asked, “If it’s really too spicy, can I ask them to use less chili?”
“There’s no such option at that restaurant. The whole point is the spiciness. If you can’t handle it, we can just go to another place,” I said with a hint of disdain.
“Fine, take me there. I won’t be defeated by the spiciness of Xuzhou.”
“Don’t talk like you’re here to conquer Xuzhou. Don’t forget I’m here as a guardian deity to protect it.”
“Are you really that divine? Or are you just plain crazy?”
“Say that again!”
“Are you just plain crazy?”
“Do you want me to strangle you?” I glared at Mi Cai angrily. She was going too far—I was being nice by inviting her to eat local food.
Without saying more, Mi Cai dragged me directly to a mirror and calmly asked me, “Look at yourself in the mirror. Don’t you look like a madman?”
Me: “…”
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