I parked my car by the roadside and walked into the alley where “West of the Old Town” was located. If Suzhou was a dazzling historical and cultural city, then “West of the Old Town” represented the underground culture of this city. It did not enjoy the glamour of towering skyscrapers, only sadness whispered amidst the dust…
“West of the Old Town” had moved from its original location, but its essential character had not changed. The two oil lamps hanging at the entrance had weathered and aged, yet they remained in their original style. On the pitch-black lampshades were engraved pure white words: “inner wounds.” I thought of Xia Fanye’s ordinary yet purely kind girlfriend, whose greatness lay in her simplicity. Her short life had shown us, the living, the most primitive hope. Human nature should inherently be pure white, but we have swayed too much amidst fame and fortune, causing us to lose ourselves to varying degrees. We truly needed “West of the Old Town” to rebuild a guiding beacon… This is why I love this coffee shop so much!
Pushing open the door and stepping inside, there wasn’t a single customer. Therefore, Jing Xiaosi, who had always been idle, was reading a travel magazine. Xia Fanye wasn’t in the shop. According to Jing Xiaosi, he had gone abroad for an art exhibition and wouldn’t return for half a month.
After learning that Mi Cai had already left for the United States today, Jing Xiaosi looked somewhat sad. She put down her magazine and remained silent for a long time. In her silence, I felt deeply ashamed. I had never set a good example for my friends, always inadvertently losing my love, then seeking redemption through waiting… Suddenly, I really hated the word “redemption”!
After finishing a cup of coffee, the door opened again, and Chen Jingming had already appeared before me. He seemed much older, even with some gray hair at his temples. After leaving Zhuo Mei, he had endured no less pressure than Mi Cai had. Rumor had it that Fang Yuan had completely ruined his reputation in the industry, and he hadn’t found a satisfactory job ever since.
Jing Xiaosi brewed a cup of hot tea for Chen Jingming, and we sat down near the window. I opened the window halfway, letting the wind disperse the smell of paint used for drawing.
I slightly raised my head, sighed lightly, and then looked at the listless Chen Jingming. Finally, I stood up and bowed, saying, “You were my mentor when I entered this industry, generously sharing with me your experience and insights into marketing and planning. In my heart, you are my respected teacher. In the past, because of my immaturity and excessive trust in brotherhood, I misunderstood you. I hope you can forgive this unaccomplished apprentice and give me a chance to make amends!”
Chen Jingming looked at me in surprise. He stood up, supported my arm, and signaled me not to be so formal. After asking me to sit back down, he said to me, “Zhaoyang, you summarized the past events with the word ‘mistake,’ but neither Mi Cai nor I think you made a mistake. Mi Cai is a smart person, and more importantly, she understands things deeply. If she thought you made a mistake, why would she lower her status to accompany you back to Xuzhou? In my opinion, you were merely a young person with extreme emotional tendencies. At that time, you went to great lengths to help Zhuo Mei organize the Christmas event, indeed partly to assist Fang Yuan, but more for Mi Cai. Mi Cai understands this very well… I have followed Mi Cai for some time now, and although she is very young, I have gained a lot from her… People should be more tolerant. Mi Cai has shown this tolerance to both you and me. After leaving Zhuo Mei, what I have been most upset about is not losing a job, nor being driven out of the industry by Fang Yuan, but my guilt over having once schemed against her at Baoli… Yet she has bestowed so much kindness on me! If we are to talk about mistakes, it was I who truly made the mistake in the past!”
Chen Jingming’s words made me feel a bit sad. It seems we are all like this: always realizing someone’s virtues only after they have left, then endlessly reminiscing and feeling guilty. This is probably the common ailment that people suffer after losing someone, especially since Mi Cai was truly a woman with almost no flaws!
After a moment of silence, I finally gathered my emotions and replied, “Let’s leave the past behind. We must all look forward.”
Chen Jingming nodded. He asked me, “You specially arranged to meet me today, not just to talk about these things, right?”
I didn’t beat around the bush. I said earnestly, “I am preparing to restart the ‘Artistic Path’ project. I hope you will come out of retirement to help me manage this project and the Lucku company!”
Chen Jingming was full of surprise. His surprise was not at my invitation for him to come out of retirement, but at my plan to rebuild the Lucku company. In his eyes, I had been complacent and unambitious for many years. He asked me again, “Are you really determined?”
I nodded, “Not only am I determined, but I also have greater business ambitions. I plan to…”
I systematically shared my ideas with Chen Jingming. He nodded from time to time and pondered at other times. We even forgot to have lunch, talking from noon until afternoon, until Jing Xiaosi prepared lunch for us, and then we stopped this conversation. During this process, Chen Jingming had already accepted my business ideas. He accepted my invitation and expressed his willingness to share both the hardships and joys with the Lucku company. He could even work without a salary in this difficult situation…
The smooth progress made me think of Mi Cai again. I clearly understood that Chen Jingming’s unconditional trust in me was a treasure she left for me. What made Chen Jingming devoted to me was not my business creativity, but the kindness and tolerance Mi Cai had given him. Now that Mi Cai has left, he can only repay her kindness through me. Perhaps in his heart, he sees no distinction between me and Mi Cai. In fact, we indeed have a promise to wait for and support each other.
At this moment, I became even more determined to wait and to build a successful career… I hope that one day, in some distant town, she will unexpectedly appear in the sound of my guitar. I can escape worldly troubles and calmly sing her a song called “Elope” in front of a small inn at sunset!
…
Tomorrow was the day Jian Wei would leave Suzhou and transfer to a hospital in Shanghai. In the afternoon, I went to the hospital to visit her again. She was still so quiet, so quiet that her world had no place for this troubled world. The only thing that could communicate with her was the intravenous drip slowly flowing into her body. I looked at her absentmindedly; if it weren’t for the formalin smell in the hospital stimulating me, I might have lost all awareness due to my daydreaming. I really liked this state, free of worries, peaceful and serene…
Yan Yan came to my side, carrying a handbag, and handed it to me, saying, “This is the handbag Weiwei was carrying before the accident. It contains some client files from the company, which might be useful to you. Qin Yan and I are leaving for Shanghai soon, so we’ll leave this handbag with you for now.”
I took the white Chanel limited edition handbag from Yan Yan’s hands. It had a great texture, matching surely to a high-quality woman. Unfortunately, this woman had already lost all her senses to the world.
Holding Jian Wei’s handbag, I stood in front of the glass window for quite a while before leaving the hospital. Then, I hurriedly went to Jian Wei’s advertising company. At this time, the once high-level advertising company presented an unimaginable state of decay. There were almost no staff inside, only a receptionist guarding the place. I went directly to the office of the financial director to learn about the current difficulties facing the company.
She told me: currently, the company had not only lost its previous profits but also owed various suppliers and had breach-of-contract fees totaling 18.32 million yuan. The company’s account had no more liquid funds. If they wanted the company to continue operating, they must cover this huge debt. Because all business operations had stopped, the company’s employees had already gone home to wait for news or had found other jobs. The company was essentially defunct!
I felt the situation was tricky. Over the past year, Jian Wei had relied heavily on her resources in the industry and expanded the business scope too much. It was not very practical to comprehensively resolve the company’s crisis. At this point, there needed to be the determination of a warrior cutting off his own wrist. I already had a rough idea of how to save the company. I planned to have a communication meeting with the company’s senior management tomorrow night to get their support for my decision. At the same time, I must prepare a compensation plan for the laid-off employees tonight, making every effort to minimize their losses!
By evening, I returned to the old house and started drafting the compensation plan on the desk in Mi Cai’s room. This kept me busy for several hours. When I came to my senses, the sky was already completely dark. I was facing the first night after Mi Cai’s departure… I looked absentmindedly at everything in the room. There were memories of Mi Cai everywhere. Even on the coat rack, her favorite white coat was still hanging!
My longing began to spread. I touched everything Mi Cai had left behind in the room. The more I touched, the more my heart ached. I couldn’t adapt to the nights without her at all!
After walking around the room again and again, my gaze stopped on Jian Wei’s handbag. I remembered Yan Yan saying there were some company client files inside. I finally shifted my attention and decided to take a look.
I sat back down at the desk, unzipped the bag, and found a stack of documents inside, along with some of Jian Wei’s cosmetics. I picked up these client files and saw that the list of clients who had financial disputes with the advertising company had been marked in red by Jian Wei. Actually, this wasn’t very useful to me because the finance department probably had several copies of these documents.
I opened another compartment and found a tablet computer inside. I took it out, and memories surged back. I was very familiar with this tablet. Jian Wei had been using it when we were together, and I was surprised she hadn’t changed it even after all these years.
A strange force compelled me to turn on the tablet, but it was password protected. I vaguely remembered the password was composed of the initial letters of Jian Wei’s name and her birthday numbers. I tried once and immediately entered the operating interface. Not only had she not changed the computer, but she hadn’t even changed the password.
I always felt I would discover something. I softly exhaled and opened the documents on the tablet. I found a folder named “After Parting,” and my heart tightened. I realized this folder might contain records of Jian Wei’s life after she went to the United States, even detailed written records.
I wanted to open it, but I discovered it was an encrypted folder. I entered the tablet’s startup password, but to my surprise, the password didn’t match. Jian Wei had set two different passwords on one computer, and obviously, the folder’s password was more complex. I fell into thought, trying to figure out what password Jian Wei might have used… I had a strong feeling that inside here were secrets I had once wanted to uncover desperately!
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