I answered the phone call in the hot summer wind and eagerly asked Anqi, “How is it? Have you found out anything about Mi Cai?”
The silence from the other end of the line felt like a bucket of icy water poured over me. I realized things weren’t going as I had hoped. Finally, Anqi softly told me, “Zhaoyang, we went to see Weiran, and he clearly told us that Mi Cai isn’t in the U.S. right now, though he doesn’t know exactly where she is. Later, we managed to contact Yan Zhuomei, but she seemed reluctant to talk about Mi Cai leaving America. I think there must have been a serious conflict between them when Mi Cai left the U.S. She only said Mi Cai is on vacation in another country, and when she will return depends on her mood!”
I was stunned again. If Mi Cai was truly on vacation, it meant she was free again. Without the surveillance, why hadn’t she contacted me? Did she really treat ‘Mo Chou’ as an irreversible contract between us? Even if she felt lonely, even if I was constantly worried about her, she still treated the distance as a test for us!
Anqi sensed my emotions and tried to comfort me, “Zhaoyang, don’t worry too much. Mi Cai is the most sensible woman I’ve ever met. Maybe after going through so much, she just needs a solo trip… I can totally relate. She’s probably using this method to relieve her stress!”
“Haha… If that’s the case, I envy her freedom and lack of attachments!”
Anqi was silent for a moment. How could she not sense my inner hurt? She finally said, “Anyway, I think you should give Mi Cai some trust. Believe she has a reason for doing this, or maybe she is thinking about the right way to contact you again. What do you think?”
“I hope that’s the case. Anyway, I haven’t changed any of my contact methods. It would only take her a few seconds to reach me if she wanted to.”
“Mm, be patient with yourself and with Mi Cai… Many things are destined. Take my relationship with Zhang Yixi, for example. I left him with resentment nearly two years ago, but eventually still entrusted him with my life. So, relax and leave life’s problems to time. It will always give us an answer!”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“You shouldn’t come to the U.S. for now. We can be certain Mi Cai isn’t here. Focus on your career back home. You have more than just love to consider…”
Perhaps I wasn’t a very rational person, but I understood the responsibilities I carried at this moment, especially to the investors. Zhang Yixi had nearly bankrupted himself for the “Artistic Path” project. I couldn’t afford to be selfish. Therefore, I decided to give myself another month. If I still hadn’t heard from Mi Cai by then, I wouldn’t be so rational anymore. Even if I had to wander the world, I would find her… But I still believed she was looking for the right way to contact me again. Maybe in a few days, I would receive her message. I comforted myself with this thought.
Finally, I said to Anqi, “Since I know she’s on vacation, I won’t rush to the U.S. I’ll wait patiently for her to contact me… Also, thank you both again. I feel bad for disrupting your original plans.”
“These are trivial matters. As friends, we just hope you and Mi Cai can have more mutual understanding and trust, so there can be fewer ups and downs.”
…
After ending the conversation with Anqi, I felt a complex mix of emotions. The situation wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t as good as I had imagined. I had finally lost all traces of Mi Cai, not knowing what emotions she carried as she traveled through those vast foreign landscapes.
Finally, I carried the soup I had cooked for Jian Wei to her doorstep and knocked. After a short wait, she opened the door wearing her pajamas, looking at me with surprise and asking, “Why are you here so late?”
“I cooked some soup for you, made with wild walnuts and fish head. It’s good for brain health.”
Jian Wei stood in the doorway without inviting me in, saying, “You seem to be treating me too kindly… You’re only Dr. Mo’s friend, and we aren’t that close!”
I hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile and saying, “I am Dr. Mo’s friend… Before he left, he asked me to take care of you. Since I promised him, I should do it properly. I’ve been busy with work, otherwise I would have brought it to you earlier.”
Jian Wei finally stepped aside to let me in. I entered her suite and found an electric rice cooker, pouring the cooled soup into it to reheat. During this process, I didn’t communicate with Jian Wei at all. Instead, I stood by the window, looking at the beautifully lit classical corridor outside. In that moment, the entire world seemed to be immersed in a poetic and picturesque tranquility, making me forget all worldly troubles.
The soup in the rice cooker began to boil, but I felt as if I hadn’t even finished a dream, snapping me back to reality. Under the soft lights, I poured the fish soup into a bowl again and placed it on the coffee table, telling Jian Wei, “The soup is still hot. Wait about five minutes before drinking it… After you finish, don’t bother washing the bowl. The staff will clean it tomorrow!”
“Okay.”
I looked at her and, after a brief silence, added, “Drink it and then go to bed early… I should head back now.”
“Mm.”
I glanced at her once more before turning to leave. However, she opened the window, leaning on the carved wooden sill, and under the flickering lights, asked me, “Zhaoyang… Will Dr. Mo come back?”
I stopped in my tracks, turned around to look at her, smiled, and asked, “Do you miss him?”
“A little.”
“He left you his business card, didn’t he? You can try calling or texting him… If you’re brave enough, he’ll definitely give you an answer.”
…
Half a month later, Leyao’s movie entered its final stages of filming. On this day, I kept my promise to her and came with her to Weihai City to shoot the last scene of the entire movie.
This afternoon, I stayed with her film crew on a small island, waiting for dusk to fall. According to the script, I was supposed to carry a guitar and let my back reflect together with the setting sun on the calm sea surface. Therefore, this atmosphere could only be captured during a windless and calm twilight.
As dusk approached, the film crew was busily preparing all the shooting equipment. Leyao and I sat on the high rocks. I smoked while she held the script, telling me the feeling she wanted me to create. She hoped I could use my back to express a kind of hidden melancholy…
I didn’t think it was such a difficult task and nodded, assuring her I could do it. I then focused my gaze on another distant island. Unlike this island’s desolation, that island was inhabited by some fishermen. I vaguely saw the smoke rising from their chimneys, and the seabirds flapping their strong wings, following the faint smoke drifting westward with the wind…
Finally, I said to Leyao beside me, “The island you’re dreaming of must be something like this, right?”
Leyao put down her script and looked up in the direction of my gaze. She smiled and replied, “It seems to have everything, except for a man sailing on a boat! Haha, fantasies are just fantasies. They can’t be equated with reality. I’ve long accepted that!”
I smiled along with her but didn’t say much more. Then I threw away my cigarette butt and lay on the rocks, gazing at the sunset hanging over the horizon, feeling lazy. Yet, in this laziness, I couldn’t help thinking of Mi Cai again. It had already been more than half a month, and I still hadn’t heard from her. I still waited for her news every day…
The filming equipment was finally all prepared. After receiving instructions from the crew, I walked down from the rocks with Leyao and picked up the somewhat heavy guitar, facing the sea and gazing at the island opposite where the female lead’s tombstone was located…
Perhaps because I hadn’t participated in the filming of this movie before, I couldn’t generate the sorrowful emotion required. Soon, this indifference manifested in my body. Leyao stopped the filming and sat beside the camera, dissatisfied with me, saying, “Zhaoyang, where’s the hidden sorrow you promised? Where’s the lonely back view? The sky is about to turn dark. We only have at most half an hour left. So, please adjust your state quickly and shoot the scene I want, otherwise we’ll have to wait until tomorrow again!”
I turned around and gave an OK sign, then closed my eyes and faced the vast sea again. Instinctively, I took out the engagement ring I hadn’t yet personally placed on Mi Cai’s finger…
I opened my eyes and stared at it. The setting sun’s glow fell on the ring, as if telling a story of grief. My emotions finally stirred, and I thought of the female lead’s tombstone on the island across from me. My heart felt as if pierced by a sharp blade, full of holes… I knew clearly that this was just a movie plot, but I couldn’t help but immerse myself in it. In pain, I lowered my head, hunched my back, and took a step forward. The incoming tide instantly soaked my shoes…
Finally, Leyao’s voice shouting “Cut!” came from behind… This last scene in the movie, I passed it in just two takes. However, my emotions still couldn’t recover from this tragic ending. I remained for a long time without turning around to face the group of people who were now celebrating the completion of the shoot!
It wasn’t until I heard Leyao crying behind me that I turned back. I saw all the staff gathered around her, asking with concern what was wrong and why she was crying so hard…
She wiped her tears, smiled, and still choked up, telling her team that she was crying simply because the filming was all done. She would miss this crew and every person in it. Then, everyone’s emotions were infected by her sadness, and they began to cry too. Indeed, this crew had been together for more than half a year, and there were deep feelings among the members. They had worked day and night for this movie, traveling through several countries. The hardships and the friendships forged in those hardships were known only to them.
So, I became the only one on the entire set who didn’t shed a tear… Once again, I left everyone behind and turned to look at the sea. As usual, I comforted myself: Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. Maybe tonight, Mi Cai would bring me her latest news in an unexpected way!!
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