While I was about to urge Leyao to speak, she finally said to me, “Since you asked me to guess, you probably have a girlfriend already, right?”
“You’ve got it right, so the brain diamond I prepared for you is unnecessary.”
Leyao ignored my teasing and said after a while, “That was quick. You just returned to Xuzhou not long ago.”
I felt emotional and replied, “Yeah, I didn’t expect it either. Perhaps because it was a blind date arranged by my family, with a clear purpose, so things moved faster.”
“Haha, would Zhaoyang, who always hangs out in nightclubs, actually go on a blind date?”
Her words stirred up mixed feelings inside me. After a long pause, I said, “When a person is pushed hard enough, they will eventually change. Looking back at my old life now feels so horrifying and pitiful. Therefore, I really appreciate the person I’ve become after this transformation, and I genuinely enjoy my current life.”
“Then do you love her?”
I was stunned. Suddenly, I recalled that Mi Cai had asked me the same question during our phone call yesterday. I tried hard to remember how I had answered her, but I couldn’t recall at all.
So I simply replied, “I guess I do. She gives me a very comfortable feeling, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“I know exactly what kind of life you’ve always wanted. As your friend, I wish you happiness.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After Leyao finished speaking, she hung up the phone before I could respond. I was momentarily stunned, and only after a long pause did I finally hang up.
The night was pitch black and endless. I was truly exhausted. In my drowsy state, I sincerely wished that a gust of wind or a brief nap could carry me through an entire lifetime.
…
A week passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, I quickly adapted to the work environment at Osenn Advertising and started taking charge of planning some projects. I was surprised at how well I performed, as if this was the result of a transformation after being under pressure. Even though I was still called Zhaoyang, I was definitely no longer the same Zhaoyang who had lived in Suzhou.
On this particular evening before finishing work, the entire company was buzzing with excitement because Osenn Advertising had officially signed a contract to handle the entire year’s advertising business for Times Department Store. This deal would bring the company an additional revenue of a million.
In the evening, everyone in the company went out to celebrate. We all had a great time at the celebration dinner, including me. At the karaoke bar, I showcased my talent, singing song after song and drinking bottle after bottle of beer, until I had forgotten all my past pain, until I had forgotten even my own name, until all I could see was Li Xiaoyun listening to me sing not far away.
After leaving the karaoke bar, Xiaoyun and I walked hand in hand along the nearly deserted streets.
As we walked, Xiaoyun suddenly said to me, “Zhaoyang, do you know that when Times Department Store handed over the advertising business to our company, they didn’t even try to negotiate the price down. Everything went exactly as you predicted.”
This result was indeed something I had anticipated. I smiled without saying a word, then let go of Xiaoyun’s hand, pulled her into my arms, and continued walking forward under the streetlights.
After walking in silence for a while, we grew tired and sat down on a bench by the roadside. I lit a cigarette while Xiaoyun leaned on my shoulder. In that moment, we truly felt like a young couple ready to start a life together.
I exhaled the smoke slowly, then peeled off the transparent film from the cigarette pack and held it up to my eyes, wondering if I could see that city in the sky on this moonless night.
Xiaoyun beside me curiously asked, “Zhaoyang, what are you looking at?”
“A crystal-clear city!”
Xiaoyun looked up toward the sky following my gaze and asked in confusion, “Are you just talking nonsense from being drunk?”
I removed the transparent film from my eyes and looked at Xiaoyun. Her words made me realize that it seemed every time after drinking, I would longingly search for that city in the sky. But why was there such a strong connection between that city in the sky and drunkenness? I couldn’t figure it out.
Xiaoyun didn’t ask further. She snuggled closer to me and said, “Zhaoyang, you need to keep working hard. The company’s senior management is very satisfied with you, especially Director Zhou from the planning department. He has praised you several times in front of me, saying that your planning proposals are constructive and show great talent!”
I nodded slightly, took a deep puff from my nearly finished cigarette, and as the smoke continued to swirl, I seemed to catch a glimpse of the outline of my future.
…
Time moved forward another month, and my life had completely settled into a stable routine. In fact, I had gradually forgotten almost everything that had happened in Suzhou.
During this month, Fangyuan and Yan Yan contacted me only occasionally, and CC and Rob were the same. Leyao hadn’t reached out again since our previous phone conversation about opening a music bar.
As for that beautiful woman with whom I had countless disputes over an old house, we hadn’t even exchanged a single phone call.
Thus, memories of Suzhou gradually faded away, like fleeting moments passing swiftly by…
It was another pleasant evening. Xiaoyun and I took both of our families to a hotpot restaurant for dinner. During this month, our relationship had rapidly deepened.
Without hesitation, I can say that aside from those women I had met or become intimate with in messy and complicated situations, Xiaoyun was truly my second girlfriend. I genuinely had plans to marry her and start a family.
During the meal, our families naturally brought up the topic of our marriage.
Xiaoyun’s mother asked me, “Zhaoyang, do you and Xiaoyun have any plans regarding your marriage?”
I put down my chopsticks, looked at Xiaoyun, and replied, “We’ve been getting along very well lately, and we both feel that we can build a life together. Xiaoyun and I have discussed it, and we’re planning to get engaged after the New Year. Of course, that’s our idea, and we’d like to hear your opinions as elders.”
The families exchanged glances, and then my mother spoke on behalf of my side, “We have no objections to Zhaoyang and Xiaoyun getting engaged. Seeing that they get along well and are considering engagement makes us really happy!”
After my mother finished speaking, Xiaoyun’s father also expressed his opinion, saying, “We feel the same way. It would be one less worry for us if the two kids could get engaged first!”
My mother nodded in agreement and continued, “Then Zhaoyang, tomorrow is a day off. Why don’t you take Xiaoyun to the mall to pick out some engagement jewelry?”
I nodded in agreement, which meant that Xiaoyun would officially become my fiancée. For the first time in my life, I felt the nearness of marriage.
…
When I got home that night, I washed up and lay down on the bed, unable to stop thinking about that woman I used to call “the tenant.” If I hadn’t met her, what kind of life would I be living now?
Most likely, I would still be in Suzhou, working at Poly Department Store, as the team leader of the planning department’s copywriting group. Perhaps that would have been a decent life too.
I ultimately used only the word “perhaps” because I truly enjoyed my current life and didn’t want to imagine that alternative life as being too perfect.
I stubbed out my cigarette, picked up my phone from the table, and wanted to call Mi Cai. My intention was simple—I just wanted to check in on her life now. After all, it had been over a month since we last spoke. I hoped she had already successfully resolved the internal power crisis at Zhuo Mei.
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