The road was clear late at night, and the taxi driver quickly took me to “Seaview Café,” where I had agreed to meet Yeluo. This café was one of the businesses under Zhang Yixi’s company, and it had served as a backdrop to my life in recent years. It was here that I first saw Fangyuan and Milan walking together intimately, and where I had been framed by Weiran. I had also once casually asked Milan, whom I had just met, to treat me to an expensive pot of tea, continuing in my usual annoying fashion to bother her…
I didn’t go inside immediately. Instead, I stood at the entrance of the café, looking up at the WanSen Shopping Center before me. At this moment, with all the signs having been replaced, there was no trace left of the former Zhuo Mei. This made me feel very uneasy—I still preferred the original look of the mall.
Yeluo came to my side and softly asked, “President Zhao, it’s so cold outside. Why didn’t you go into the café when you arrived?”
“I just wanted to take a look.”
“Ah,” Yeluo also looked up. The dazzling lights of the mall cast a somewhat bleak reflection on our figures. Perhaps in front of this newly named Wansen Plaza, both Yeluo and I were unequivocal losers, while those inside were the real winners…
At some point, a fashionably dressed woman had appeared near us. She seemed to be on the phone with her boyfriend, and her tone was somewhat impatient, “Come and pick me up at Wansen Plaza quickly… Don’t blame me if you’re not here before 10 o’clock!”
We couldn’t hear how the person on the other end replied, but we heard the woman say again, “Wansen Plaza is the former Zhuo Mei… You must know Zhuo Mei, right?… I’m really speechless with you, a homebody. Can’t you come out and walk around the streets sometimes? Zhuo Mei has been renamed for over half a year!!”
As she spoke, the woman walked toward the roadside. Yeluo finally smiled and said to me, “President Zhao, it seems Zhuo Mei is more deeply rooted in people’s hearts.”
“Yes.” I looked up once more, then gently patted Yeluo’s shoulder, signaling her to go into the café. It was really not suitable to stay outdoors for too long on such a cold winter night.
…
Inside the café, Yeluo and I sat facing each other. I asked her, “Tell me quickly, what kind of confrontation has Mi Cai had with the investment group led by Chu Xirui in the European market?”
Yeluo nodded and replied, “Chu Xirui’s Aisa Investment Company owns a controlling stake in a company called Ouya, an electrical appliance manufacturer. Overnight, one-third of Ouya’s main distributors abandoned their previous cooperation and instead began distributing electrical products under the TP brand, which Mi Cai recently acquired. At the same time, several major electrical appliance stores in Europe have recently started carrying TP brand products for sale, putting significant competitive pressure on Ouya. This series of changes has also affected Ouya’s stock market performance. Starting yesterday, Ouya’s stock price has begun to decline… and Ouya is the most important company under Aisa Investment. If Ouya suffers a devastating blow, it will inevitably transfer the crisis to Aisa Investment. Even if Aisa has sufficient resources, it may still be difficult to withstand!”
I was filled with shock and finally asked, “How did she manage all this in the European market? Even just establishing distribution channels alone would not be something that can be accomplished in such a short time!”
Yeluo smiled and replied, “President Zhao, did you forget An Zong of Tianyang Group? Her group has been working to capture the European market for several years now. This time, the channel establishment must have been made possible by Mi Cai leveraging An Zong’s resources… Hehe, Chu Xirui was truly overestimating her capabilities back then. She forcibly invested in Zhuo Mei, infringing directly on the interests of both An Zong and Mi Cai. I think Mi Cai’s recent acquisition of the TP brand was preparation for delivering a heavy blow to Chu Xirui in the European market. Of course, a smart woman like Mi Cai would never make a business decision simply for retaliation. This time, by using the TP brand to test the European market, she must be laying the groundwork for New Green Energy’s other projects to enter Europe. Expanding the business space into Europe is something even Zhuo Mei, the chairman, could not achieve!”
I couldn’t help but admire Mi Cai and An Qi. Their actions were seamless, every step perfectly executed. The heavy blow suffered by Ouya Electrical Appliances was the best proof of this. It was as if they had quietly and skillfully completed an incredible plan without making a sound.
After piecing together the parts that had previously puzzled me, I finally said to Yeluo, “So, I need to do something accordingly now, right?”
Yeluo asked in surprise, “President Zhao, why do I feel like you’re a bit upset? Isn’t this a good thing? You and Mi Cai can use this method to reclaim Zhuo Mei and continue developing your own careers! This is truly a win-win situation and a demonstration of wisdom!”
I replied, “It’s not that I’m upset about this… Miss Ye, don’t you really think you know too much? In fact, I care more about Mi Cai, yet some information I received wasn’t as timely as yours… That makes me really sad!”
Yeluo smiled awkwardly and said, “President Zhao, why can’t you take a more relaxed view of this matter? Even if you knew some things, you couldn’t change anything anyway.”
“I… I just miss her!”
“No one says she doesn’t miss you either!”
I stared at Yeluo with wide eyes. She realized her slip of the tongue and softened her tone, offering a comforting smile, “President Zhao, I understand how you feel, but some things take time to accomplish. Everyone is working hard, and we can’t afford to fail at this critical moment… Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I guess I do.”
“Okay, come on, President Zhao! I hope you become a big winner in life!”
…
The festive atmosphere of the New Year was becoming more and more intense. Small vendors selling all kinds of New Year goods were everywhere on the streets and alleys. This winter was much warmer than previous years, so I often saw sunsets in recent evenings.
This was another evening after a busy day. As usual, I held a teacup and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in my office, gazing at the farthest reaches of the city to relieve visual fatigue.
Suddenly, the office door was roughly pushed open, and Wei Xiao, pulling the girl, appeared before me. Both children looked very upset, especially the girl. She suddenly burst into tears and said to me, “Brother Zhaoyang… just now the village chief called me. He said Dr. Zhou is in bad shape… Teacher Wei has already taken him to the First People’s Hospital in Shanghai. Please take me to see him quickly… Waaah… I’ll never see Dr. Zhou again!!”
This sudden bad news pierced my heart. Even though Mi Cai had left them enough money, in the end, they still couldn’t find a suitable kidney donor. Zhou Hang’s young life had unwillingly come to an end!
Choking back my tears, I told the girl to wait a moment, then dialed Roben’s number. He answered after a long time, apparently in the middle of rehearsals for the pre-Spring Festival tour, so when he picked up, he said to me, “Zhaoyang, I hope you’re not calling me to go drinking… We have rehearsals tonight, I really don’t have any time at all!”
“Roben… you need to prepare yourself mentally first.”
Roben was taken aback, then cautiously asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Dr. Zhou… Dr. Zhou is in critical condition. Wei Manwen has already taken him to the hospital in Shanghai… Let’s go together to see this poor man for the last time.”
Roben remained silent for a long time…
“I’m waiting for you at the company’s building… hurry up.” I said, then hung up the phone and took the girl and Wei Xiao down to the company’s lobby by elevator… Under the setting sun, the world suddenly became hurried. Time seemed to be the hardest thing to hold on to, so I was very afraid that I wouldn’t have enough time to see Zhou Hang one last time. Although we weren’t very close, I couldn’t bear for this man, who had suffered so much, to part from the world in this way… He was too young, only 31 years old this year!
…
When we arrived at the First People’s Hospital in Shanghai, it was already completely dark. I carried the girl and ran with Roben at full speed toward the ward. We pushed open the door…
I finally saw Wei Manwen again after more than a year. Although I knew it was her, I still couldn’t believe my eyes. I didn’t know what kind of life and emotions had reduced this woman to such a state!
Her face was pale yellow, her body was thin, her eyes were filled with tears, and she looked despairingly at Zhou Hang, who was barely alive on the hospital bed…
I suppressed my grief and approached her, softly asking, “Teacher Wei… how is Dr. Zhou?”
Wei Manwen bit her lip tightly, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally fell. She shook her head, indicating that he was almost gone.
Zhou Hang seemed to sense our arrival, but he no longer had the strength to open his eyes. He just rasped out in a breathy voice, “Manwen… don’t cry!… I’m just going… to another place…”
“Okay…” Tears poured from Wei Manwen’s eyes like a flood, but she tried desperately to hold them back, not allowing even a sound… At this moment, no one in the world could be more painful than her. Helplessly, she was about to bid farewell to her young husband… and I was almost suffocating! Such a parting was too heavy, too heavy!
“Roben…”
Roben, a man who disliked shedding tears, wiped away the tears in his eyes. He stood beside Zhou Hang’s bed and whispered, “I’m here…!”
“Take… Manwen’s hand.”
Roben looked at Wei Manwen. Finally, he trembled as he took hold of her fingertips and replied again, “Okay, you speak…”
“I can’t say much anymore… I just want you to remember… the woman you’re holding now… she is the greatest woman in the world… no one else, no one else!”
“I know.”
A murky tear slid from Zhou Hang’s hollow eye socket. He just struggled to breathe, saying nothing more… In his tears, I saw a secret emotion: how reluctant he was to part from this woman called Wei Manwen. He wanted to live with her for a lifetime, until old age… but he no longer had the strength to say it out loud, nor the time to do so! So asking Wei Manwen to pursue true love became his most anticipated wish before bidding farewell to this world… He knew that the man Wei Manwen loved most was probably not him!
Roben tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and tears flowed down his cheeks into his mouth. He couldn’t stop crying… At this moment, there was no longer any entanglement of love or hate among the three of them, only a longing and reluctance for life… Perhaps, in Roben’s heart, he had never truly hated this man who had made him lose Wei Manwen.
…
The next day, between night and dawn, Zhou Hang quietly completed his brief life. He said goodbye to this world and the people he loved deeply. Wei Manwen didn’t even have time to cry before Zhou Hang’s body was taken away by the medical staff. According to Zhou Hang’s final wish, the hospital would remove any usable organs from his body to help patients who longed for survival… This great man had devoted his entire life, even his body, to the world, yet when he was alive, he was so lonely and pitiful, without any family, just a poor orphan…
Morning sunlight gently fell on the last place where Zhou Hang had been, filling this place with brightness. I stood by the window, facing the sun and gazing into the distance, feeling as though everything under the sky was as light as a feather. A breeze blew by, lifting the entire world… I swore that in all the more than 20 years I had lived, I had never seen such a gentle winter… At least today, the breeze was warm and the sun was bright, not a trace of winter remained!
Roben stood beside me, speaking softly, “A shooting star has fallen, bringing back the brilliance of daylight… Dr. Zhou is still warming the world in his own way!”
“Yes, do you see the no-entry sign on the road below the hospital building?”
“Yeah.”
“But sunlight still found its way down that forbidden road… So this really is a morning bathed in sunlight! Listen, the birds are singing!”
Roben nodded, “With such beautiful sunshine, we really have no reason to be too sad…”
“Exactly… So take good care of Teacher Wei. Courageously tell her that from this moment on, the powerless past is over. From now on, her life will only be filled with sunshine, with no more storms!”
Although Roben said there was no reason to be too sad, he still silently shed some tears. He lowered his head to wipe them away, then walked toward the cabinet next to the bed, saying, “I’ll help Manwen pack her things. You go downstairs and take care of the necessary procedures.”
I responded with a nod and left the ward alone. When I arrived at the checkout counter, Wei Manwen was already there ahead of me. She was handling the procedures for preserving the body and settling the previous medical expenses with the hospital. But she still hadn’t recovered from her sorrowful mood. Throughout the process, she kept silently shedding tears, so I couldn’t bear to ask her about her future plans.
At that moment, Roben also arrived with the packed suitcase in hand. I didn’t know how he would settle Wei Manwen, nor did I know her attitude towards him…
But I hoped there would be no more complications between them. Just like this, hand in hand, they would walk through the rest of their lives bathed in sunlight. This was not only our hope but also Zhou Hang’s final wish…
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