Perhaps due to everyone’s good mood, the afternoon seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. We discussed briefly and decided not to go home today and stay in Shanghai for a gathering. After all, for our group, it’s rare to get together without a significant event.
Actually, each of us has many good friends in Shanghai, but we didn’t make this gathering too grand. In the end, it was just Leyao and his wife, Luoben, Yang Youqi, and me—five people altogether—heading to a restaurant specializing in Zhejiang cuisine. Naturally, this choice was to accommodate Yang Youqi, the girl from Hangzhou.
“Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below”—it must be said that Yang Youqi, born in Hangzhou, is truly a model of beauty. Her every gesture exudes excellent upbringing, making her one of the few women in the entertainment industry who seem utterly unpretentious to me. Her rise to fame is certainly no coincidence. Perhaps due to inheriting her parents’ excellent genes, her singing ability is beyond what we amateur singers can match; she is genuinely professional. I remember she once effortlessly performed a classic song using four different singing styles on a variety show, with Luoben arranging the song for her. Unexpectedly, this led to a somewhat belated connection between them.
On the way to the restaurant, I walked alongside Luoben. I deliberately remarked, “Didn’t expect you to start a new relationship so soon. That’s great!”
“You’re misunderstanding… I’m just her producer.”
I lowered my voice, solemnly asking, “Don’t you have any feelings for her at all?”
“It’s hard to say… You know, I don’t really like people from the industry, especially someone so prominent; she doesn’t give me a sense of stability.”
This was the first time I heard him use the word “stability.” I found it a bit hard to get used to and couldn’t help but marvel at the power of change over time. Even Luoben, the rock youth, is now seeking stability, perhaps due to recent events having deeply affected him.
However, I do genuinely worry. Yang Youqi is only 26 this year, right at the golden age of her career. If she merely begins a secret relationship with Luoben, there’s no problem at all. But if marriage is involved, it would be difficult for her. Chances are, Yang Youqi’s company has a clause prohibiting marriage for several years, as marriage would significantly impact the marketable packaging of an artist like her.
Yang Youqi is quite approachable despite this being our first meeting. Around the dinner table, everyone got along well, especially her and Leyao, who kept exchanging views on the entertainment industry. As they grew more familiar, Leyao formally invited her, hoping that Luoben would compose the theme song for her next movie, with Yang Youqi singing it. Yang Youqi readily agreed.
Actually, at this point, I felt genuinely happy for Leyao. She has many superficial friends in the entertainment industry, but few true confidants. Because of Luoben, these two top female stars in the entertainment industry were actually able to avoid the industry’s backstabbing and become close friends who support each other.
When I raised my glass with Luoben again, Leyao suddenly turned to Yang Youqi and asked, “Youqi, can you tell us how you met Luoben?”
Yang Youqi looked at Luoben, her eyes revealing genuine admiration. She replied, “We met at a music festival in Hangzhou. That day, we both participated in the performance… He performed before me. I clearly remember him singing a song called ‘Loving Her.’ I was very surprised then, that a folk singer could write such an exquisite melody, and the arrangement was also great. Later, I asked my agent about him…”
Leyao looked at Luoben and sighed, “No wonder you’re such a talented man who easily makes women fall for you at first sight…”
Luoben didn’t respond. Yang Youqi looked somewhat embarrassed but didn’t defend herself, obviously acknowledging her feelings for Luoben. Thus, Leyao, who loves to stir things up, couldn’t stop herself and asked again, “Then what happened? How did the story develop?”
Yang Youqi patiently replied, “What happened later was quite coincidental… My home in Hangzhou is in an old alley. That night, I was practicing the guitar in my room when I happened to see him sitting in a restaurant downstairs across the alley, drinking beer with his guitar on his back…”
Leyao gave a knowing look, smiling at Luoben and saying, “With such a big city as Hangzhou, no one would believe such a coincidence. Didn’t you deliberately find out Youqi’s address and do this on purpose? …No wonder you play folk music; your love story is so poetic… Not only poetic but also pretentious. However, it fits your usual style. That scene was too pretentious to bear watching!!”
Luoben defended himself, “It really was a coincidence. I just like staying in old alleys and looking for hotels. Besides, I was working on the song ‘Pipi Street’ at that time and wanted to find some inspiration… Don’t exaggerate!”
Leyao still had that knowing look on her face. Luoben called her a “weirdo” and took a sip of his drink. This deliberate misunderstanding embarrassed him, but Leyao didn’t care at all and urged Yang Youqi to continue.
“Later, I went downstairs to find him. He seemed a bit drunk then, not asking who I was or greeting me… He just told me he wouldn’t come to Hangzhou again or visit this old alley again… Until later, when the song ‘Pipi Street’ was released, I understood why he said that at the time.”
I added sarcastically, “Teacher Luoben’s sentiment is truly something we ordinary people can’t comprehend. That scene must have been so poetic… Just imagine: an old street, a bowl of hot noodles, a man muttering to himself with a guitar on his back, and the beautiful Yang Youqi beside him! That night must have been so poetic that time itself was carved into it!!”
Everyone laughed and nodded, except Yang Youqi, who blushed!
…
Late at night after the gathering, I walked alone on the street, using this way to sober up. Accompanied by moonlight spilling into every corner, my thoughts became expansive, inevitably reminding me of many people and things…
I sat under an old locust tree by the roadside, lit a cigarette, and then retrieved all the photos of Mi Cai from my phone, watching them carefully. Sometimes, I really couldn’t remember her face clearly because she wasn’t by my side, yet I had thought about her so many times in my mind. It sounds illogical, but that’s the truth.
I placed my phone on my chest and lay on the ground, shouting and calling her name, talking about our past. It had been almost a whole year since I last saw her or heard her voice. I couldn’t suppress my longing for her after drinking, but unfortunately, there was still no sign of her coming back. I was overwhelmed with sadness and, on impulse, dialed Anqi’s phone number. I knew they must be in touch because they were working together to suppress the woman named Chuxinrui in the European market.
Anqi answered the call after a brief pause and said to me, “Director Zhao, you really are someone who doesn’t follow the rules. You didn’t call me to wish me a happy new year in the morning, but now you’re calling me in the dead of night! What’s this all about?”
“I know you’re in touch with Mi Cai… I just miss her so much. I just want to hear her voice, that’s enough. Can you help me?”
Anqi was silent for a moment, indicating her hesitation. After a brief pause, she finally said to me, “Helping you isn’t hard… But have you thought about it? Once you get in touch, can you control your feelings? At that point, you’ll probably say all sorts of sad things and try to persuade her to come back… You must know that the pain you’re enduring now, she is enduring no less, and she can’t withstand your temptation… That’s why when she left, she set the agreement with you not to contact each other. She knew her own weaknesses too well…”
I felt very disappointed, so much so that I didn’t want to say anything else, but I didn’t hang up the phone. She then softly said to me, “Zhaoyang, just focus on doing what’s in front of you first. Put aside the romantic feelings for now. Mi Cai won’t disappoint you, and I hope you won’t disappoint her either!”
“I know… I don’t ask for much, just please tell me when she will come back approximately.”
“She’ll come back when the time is right!”
“Haha… What a great answer. I should thank you, thank you for giving me this false hope, thank you for saying something useless that I take as gospel, yet still not knowing when she will come back!”
Anqi was silent for a while, probably realizing that my tone was inappropriate, and concernedly asked, “Have you been drinking?…”
“Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t miss her if I hadn’t been drinking! Let me tell you, whether I drink or not, I miss her! You people just stand on the sidelines and talk coldly, try being separated from someone you deeply love for a whole year and see how it feels…”
“Alright, Zhaoyang… Don’t speak drunken words. I’ve experienced something more painful than what you’re going through, so I want to tell you, this waiting will definitely have an end. Just grit your teeth and get through it…”
Perhaps due to the alcohol, I wasn’t listening to advice at all, just muttering on and on. On the other end of the line, Anqi quickly claimed her phone had no signal, faked a few “Hello?” sounds, and then hung up to get rid of me, the troublesome person I was tonight.
I muttered, “Damn it!” and dejectedly threw my phone aside… I heavily rubbed my hands over my face, then forced myself to get up and continued walking down this road heading north…
In an instant, my desire to reclaim Zhuomei became even stronger… I knew that the day I reclaimed Zhuomei might be the day Mi Cai returned. Just as she couldn’t see the sorrow in my longing, I couldn’t see the constraints she faced in America. She hadn’t yet gained enough freedom at this stage!
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