CC told me that Mi Cai had just left, which gave me a strange feeling. Still, I wore an indifferent smile and said, “CC, let’s not talk about Mi Cai. I want to see you, to hear your songs, and to enjoy the Sichuan food here at Kongcheng.”
“Is that so?” CC laughed and stepped out of my embrace.
“Of course. Bring me a draft beer; I’ll listen to your singing and enjoy this evening.”
CC cheerfully replied, “No problem,” snapped her fingers, and soon a waiter brought me a large glass of draft beer and some appetizers. I enjoyed my first night back in Suzhou, drinking beer under the warm air from the air conditioner, listening to CC’s songs.
About half an hour later, I finished my dinner, and CC had also finished singing. She ordered a small glass of draft beer and sat across from me.
We clinked glasses, and she asked, “Zhaoyang, I knew Leyao would find you and that you’d come back.”
Looking at CC, I suddenly felt that the word “back” carried a heavy weight, as if she had dragged me forcibly from one world into another. I thought again of Li Xiaoyun’s tenderness and care, and my heart filled with the pain of loss.
My mood suddenly turned gloomy, and I didn’t know how to respond to CC.
She cautiously asked, “Zhaoyang, now that you’re back, what about your girlfriend in Xuzhou?”
I interrupted CC, saying, “CC, it’s stuffy in here. I want to go outside and sit for a while.”
As I stood up, CC stood up too and said, “Wait, I’ll go with you.”
…
The cold wind was still blowing outside, and my heavy feelings finally froze under the chill. After a while, I forced a smile and said, “Xiaoyun and I have ended things… She couldn’t accept me quitting my job to come back to Suzhou, and she couldn’t accept that it was for another woman.”
CC looked at me with sympathy in her eyes. I turned away from the wind and lit a cigarette. As the smoke filled the air, I saw Xiaoyun’s figure from last night walking away again. I remembered my mother saying she’d have no son if I left, and my heart suddenly felt pale with sorrow. My eyes grew warm, and I felt like crying, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After all, I was a strong man who had never liked crying since childhood.
CC gently hugged my shoulder, sighed, and then comforted me with a smile, saying, “Zhaoyang, as your long-time friend, I understand you. Your love life is too complicated. Perhaps someone like Li Xiaoyun, a simple woman representing ordinary life, isn’t suitable for you. Try to take things more lightly.”
I looked at CC for a long time before asking, “What about your love life? Do you expect something simple or complicated?”
CC smiled and said, “Mine is simple. I only want to marry Roben. If Roben doesn’t want me, I’ll marry the man who left ten thousand yuan at the restaurant.”
I looked at CC in surprise and asked, “Do you already know who left the money back then?”
CC shook her head and said, “No, I don’t.”
“Then how do you know for sure it was a man?” I asked with a slight smile.
“Intuition, a woman’s intuition.”
“What if it was an old man?”
CC smiled again and said, “Even if it’s an old man, I’ll marry him. What I love is definitely the soul of a person, not their body…” She thought for a moment and added, “Of course, this is only if Roben really doesn’t want to marry me.”
I smiled along with CC. It seemed her love life was indeed simple, skipping the process of choosing altogether. If Roben didn’t want her, she’d marry a man whose name and whereabouts were completely unknown.
My previously heavy heart finally eased a bit through my conversation with CC. Indeed, it was time to calm down. After all, I had already returned to Suzhou, and the two months I spent in Xuzhou had become the past. My priority now was to help Leyao resolve all the troubles caused by opening the bar.
…
After leaving CC’s restaurant “Kongchengli,” I dragged my suitcase and walked along the familiar streets of Suzhou. I wouldn’t stay at a hotel tonight; I wanted to walk to that old house because she had said: as long as I came back, she would give that old house to me. So I felt that finally, I wouldn’t have to worry about having no place to stay in this city. I just didn’t know whether Mi Cai had already gone to sleep. If she suddenly saw me standing at her doorstep, what expression and feelings would she have?
Perhaps she would feel happy, or maybe she would be as indifferent as when we first met, giving me only a few cold and unenthusiastic words.
After smoking two cigarettes and drinking a can of beer, I wandered under the streetlights and passed three streets before finally arriving at the neighborhood.
It was already winter, but those clustered, old buildings still looked lonely and in need of comfort. I realized that, in fact, nothing had changed; only the seasons and people’s hearts had.
I put another cigarette in my mouth and dragged my suitcase closer to the building. Then, out of boredom, I walked around to the empty lot across. Sure enough, I saw Mi Cai’s Q7 parked right in the middle of the lot. I smiled and dragged my suitcase toward the stairwell.
…
I took a deep breath before standing in front of the door and pressing the doorbell. After a while, no one answered, but I was certain Mi Cai was inside. She might have already gone to bed and didn’t hear it.
Without manners, I started pounding on the door, making even more noise. Finally, after a while, I heard her familiar voice, “Who is it outside?”
My boredom and mischief took over again; I didn’t respond to Mi Cai but knocked a few more times on the door.
“Speak up, who are you?”
I pinched my voice and said, “It’s me.”
Mi Cai seemed genuinely unable to recognize my voice and cautiously said, “Stand where I can see you through the peephole. I want to see who you are.”
Finally, I stopped joking with Mi Cai and spoke in my normal voice, “It’s me, Zhaoyang.”
“Zhaoyang? Come stand where I can see you.”
“Can’t you recognize my voice?” I impatiently said.
“Who told you to speak in that weird way just now? I won’t open the door unless I see you in person!”
“What a hassle!” I complained, then straightened my clothes and stood steadily where the peephole could see me.
Mi Cai had confirmed it was me and finally opened the door. Thus, we stood in the dim hallway light, gazing at each other.
She was still as beautiful as ever, wearing a woolen pajama set. I smiled and greeted her, “Hi, good evening!”
“Why did you suddenly come back to Suzhou?”
“It’s a long story! Can you let me in first, please?”
Mi Cai didn’t move aside at all and said to me, “No!”
“Why not? You said before that I could stay here when I came back. Now I’m back; are you planning to go back on your word?”
“Of course, I didn’t go back on my word. I did say that, but only for that one time. Unfortunately, you didn’t come back with me that time.”
My face immediately darkened as I said, “What’s the difference? Anyway, I’m back now. You have to let me stay here.”
“Of course there’s a difference because you didn’t come back for me.” After saying this, Mi Cai, taking advantage of my inattention, shut the door heavily as if out of emotion.
I stood outside, stunned and at a loss.
Finally, I cursed, “Are you out of your mind? On such a cold night, you won’t let me stay here. Where am I supposed to go… Listen, I’m telling you today, I’m not leaving this spot outside the door. If you can, just watch me freeze to death!”
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