The woman in red and her fiancé were staying on the 15th floor of the hotel. Since Mi Cai had always had the habit of exercising in the evening, she decided to climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator to compensate for the reduced physical activity today. Of course, I accompanied her, and through these small details, I came to understand her persistence in maintaining her established routines. In her life, once she has made up her mind about something, no matter how trivial, she rarely changes her course due to external factors. This is the most precious quality about her.
Perhaps because Mi Cai’s lifestyle is much healthier than mine, I surprisingly ran out of stamina before she did. Instinctively, I grabbed her shoulder for support, but she stopped and looked at me in disbelief, saying, “Are you already tired?”
I ended up sitting down on the steps, looking up at her and replied, “We’ve already climbed almost ten floors. Isn’t it normal to get tired?”
Mi Cai continued to look at me, her expression changing. I felt as though I had turned into a fragile man under her worried gaze. Yet I had already lost all sense of heroism and simply said, “Super Woman, how about you support me for a bit?”
“How about I carry you instead?”
“Then I’ll trouble you!”
As I spoke, I stood up again, preparing to lean onto Mi Cai.
She sidestepped me and said seriously, “Zhaoyang, can you please act serious for once?… I really hope you can develop a healthy lifestyle. At the very least, quit smoking first.”
“I will definitely quit.”
“When? Give me a date…”
Feeling her genuine concern, I impulsively replied, “How about right now?” I said, taking out the newly opened pack of cigarettes from my pocket and handing it to her.
Mi Cai nodded, clearly satisfied with my response. She then pulled out a large portion of the cigarettes from the pack, handed the empty box back to me, and said, “You’ve smoked for too long to quit cold turkey. Try a gradual reduction method instead… I hope you can be self-disciplined. Don’t take advantage of the fact that I can’t supervise you every moment and sneak around behind my back. I’ll really look down on you!… When you promise someone something, you must do everything you can to fulfill it. Otherwise, don’t make the promise in the first place.”
Her words reminded me of the first time I met Mi Cai. Her personality of always following through on her words has always had a certain authority over me. I once again assured her that I would definitely quit my bad habit of smoking. Only then did she smile and said, “Your attitude is quite sincere. I’ll allow you to lean on my shoulder a bit. Let’s hurry and climb the remaining five floors!”
The brief rest had restored my energy, and suddenly my sense of masculinity surged. As Mi Cai screamed in surprise, I scooped her up in a princess carry and said, “According to tradition, I’ll have to carry you out of the car and walk a bit after our wedding. Let’s practice a bit early today and let me show you my strength!”
After understanding my intention, Mi Cai calmed down and smiled, saying, “I think you’re just being a male chauvinist!”
…
Actually, I only carried Mi Cai up two floors. She refused to let me carry her any further. We stopped between the 12th and 13th floors, leaning through a small window to look down. We saw the cleaners busily working for the hotel, and the flowers in the flowerbeds breaking through the soil, exuding the scent of spring… However, the rain falling from the densely clouded sky was unknown whether it was nourishing or an unnecessary gesture… Yes, it started to rain at this evening hour, an unwelcome rain, and it was said to last until the day after tomorrow when our wedding would be held! This meant that during our wedding ceremony, we would most likely not see the sunlight!
After a brief stop, Mi Cai and I finally arrived at the room where Angie (the woman in red) and Zhang Yixi were staying. Zhang Yixi opened the door for us. Actually, this was only the third time I had met this man. The first time, I had merely glanced at him as a stranger, knowing him then as a rising young entrepreneur in recent years. That day, the female anchor Chen Qingyi was still his legal wife. The second time was in Yangzhou, when I was sitting in the car and only saw his back entangled with Angie. This time, I finally had the chance to see his face clearly. His eyes were narrow and long, looking deep yet subtly smiling. His light beard revealed the years of hardship he had experienced, while his open jacket highlighted his ruggedness. Before Mi Cai and I could speak, he smiled at me and said, “You must be Zhaoyang. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you, Zhang Yixi!”
He nodded, gesturing for Mi Cai and me to enter the room. Walking through the living room, we came to the room where they were staying. At that moment, Angie was half-lying on the bed. Beside her slept a fair-skinned little boy whose cheeks formed dimples with every breath. Just seeing this child, his clean and adorable appearance was deeply imprinted in my mind. At that moment, he was sound asleep, hugging Angie’s waist, while Angie, afraid of waking him, had been carefully maintaining that posture without moving. She softly said to Mi Cai and me, “He just fell asleep… We have to wait until he wakes up before we can go for dinner.”
Mi Cai and I signaled that it was okay. The woman in red seemed to have the intention of talking privately with Mi Cai, so she told me and Zhang Yixi that there was a teahouse on this floor and suggested we go there for something to drink. She politely insisted on treating us. Then Zhang Yixi really took out a wallet from her handbag hanging on the coat rack, which made me feel the uniqueness of this couple-to-be! I was so stunned that I hesitated for a moment before following Zhang Yixi out of the room.
…
In the teahouse, we ordered a pot of Longjing tea and sat near the window drinking it. Not far away, at a nearby billiard table, two seemingly high-end businesswomen were competing in their pool skills. However, the intermittent sounds of the balls colliding did not disrupt the tranquility of the teahouse, as there were only four of us in the entire, not small, teahouse.
Raindrops hit the windows, and all the lights within the visible range were blurred. This blurriness, combined with the sound of raindrops, made it hard to focus, as if drifting in a storm thousands of miles away. Only after taking a sip of hot tea did I feel a bit grounded in the teahouse, but our conversation did not start because of that. Instead, we ignored the no-smoking sign and lit a cigarette for each other…
Zhang Yixi noticed something from the way I smoked and smiled, saying, “It’s just a cigarette. You don’t have to enjoy it that much, do you?”
“I have no choice. I promised Mi Cai to quit smoking. After finishing this one, I won’t have many left today.”
Before I even finished speaking, the waiter came over to remind us that this was a smoke-free teahouse. The two women playing pool also stopped and looked at us disapprovingly. Under the pressure of this moral and public opinion, both Zhang Yixi and I extinguished our cigarettes in the ashtray the waiter was holding.
I shook my head helplessly, picked up my teacup, and took a sip of hot tea, feeling sorry for wasting such a fine cigarette…
“It seems you’re someone who puts his wife in a very high position!”
I smiled and replied, “She has always been a woman who keeps her word and follows through on her actions. Therefore, out of respect and understanding, I must fulfill her requests without compromise. Besides, quitting smoking isn’t a small thing!”
“You’re absolutely right… Every relationship that’s carefully nurtured is precious, valuable because of the actions taken!”
“Valuable because of the actions taken!” I silently repeated in my heart, and in this seemingly simple principle, I grasped the essence of love… Indeed, the beginning of a love story might only take a second, but to persist in it requires actions from both parties involved. Because love isn’t about endless taking, but about generous giving. Any love dominated by selfishness is hard to end in fulfillment!… I finally nodded, acknowledging his point of view.
At this moment, the two women playing pool started another round, and Zhang Yixi and I both finished our cups of hot tea. After refilling our cups, he finally spoke to me again, “I’ve always been paying attention to your project called the Literary Path… However, it doesn’t seem to be going very well now!”
I thought of Jian Wei, who was suffering far away, and after a while, I replied, “The Literary Path was originally a project full of humanistic sentiment, but its ending turned out to be a lonely one, with everyone piling on once the wall fell. Now the project is practically in name only… because its investors were involved in a political incident, and basically no company dares to take over this project!”
Zhang Yixi rhythmically tapped his fingers on the table, but his gaze was fixed on the storm outside the window, as if casually saying, “I’m interested in taking over this project.”
I was quite surprised, so after a moment, I reminded him, “Taking over this project now carries too much risk, both internal and external!”
Zhang Yixi smiled confidently and said, “People who run businesses can be divided into two types: those driven by spiritual ideals and those driven by material ones. I lean more towards the former… As for the risks you mentioned, I’ve already assessed them and believe I have the ability to avoid them… I’ve tried to contact the person in charge of this project before, but her attitude was strange. She’d rather let the project fail than hand it over!”
This news surprised me because the person in charge mentioned by Zhang Yixi was undoubtedly Jian Wei, and I clearly knew that she desperately needed funds to fill the company’s debt gap at this moment. But why did she refuse this acquisition that could come to her aid in a time of need?…
I gestured for Zhang Yixi to wait a moment and, with this confusion, dialed Yan Yan’s phone number. It took a long time before she answered, saying to me, “Is there something? I’m quite busy right now!”
“I just want to check something… I heard that a company wants to acquire the Literary Path project, but Jian Wei refused?”
Yan Yan was silent for a while before replying, “Yes, that’s true…”
“Why did she refuse… Has she already solved all the debt issues?”
“No… Do you know why she left for the U.S. earlier than planned?”
Before I could answer, Yan Yan continued, “You obviously don’t know… She went to the U.S. specifically to seek funding, not only to repay the company’s debts but also to continue the project… However, she herself will no longer participate. Her original advertising company will also cease operations, and the Literary Path project will be handed over to me to establish a new company to continue working on it…”
I immediately raised questions, “Can she definitely get the funding by going to the U.S.?”
Yan Yan replied confidently, “Yes, when she was studying in the U.S., she had a Chinese classmate who has now built a very large enterprise. Jian Wei went to seek his help… As for his motivation for helping—whether it’s out of classmate friendship or romantic feelings towards Jian Wei—I’m not quite sure!”
I fell silent…
Yan Yan continued, “Actually, I really hope he has romantic feelings for Weiwei. That way, once Weiwei finishes dealing with the domestic trivialities, she can settle down and live with him in the U.S. together. Later, when her parents clear their names, they can move there and start anew. That wouldn’t be a bad ending… What do you think, Zhaoyang?”
I remained silent for an even longer time before finally replying, “That sounds good!”
“Yeah… If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.” Yan Yan said, and without waiting for my response, she hung up the phone. I, however, was still somewhat dazed. After a long while, I relayed what Yan Yan had told me to Zhang Yixi, who had been waiting for an answer. Upon hearing it, he looked disappointed…
…
After drinking a few more cups of hot tea, Angie finally appeared in the teahouse with the little boy and Mi Cai. Zhang Yixi looked displeased at the little boy and said, “Pipi, are you still three years old?… Don’t keep asking your auntie to carry you!”
Pipi rubbed his sleepy eyes and replied, “Dad… I’ve always told you I’m a tough guy. How could I possibly ask a tough auntie to carry me?… She just insisted on carrying me!”
Zhang Yixi pretended to be unimpressed and said, “Are you a tough guy?… Then try sleeping by yourself from now on.”
“Dad, you can’t abandon me just because you have your auntie to sleep with you… I love you so much!”
This answer made Mi Cai and me look at each other and smile because it was the first time we had seen such a funny little kid who could be so entertaining while acting so grown-up. However, Angie misunderstood the meaning behind Mi Cai’s and my laughter, thinking we were laughing at Zhang Yixi and her for being able to live a normal romantic life without Pipi. Her expression was full of embarrassment.
At this moment, Zhang Yixi took Pipi from Angie’s arms, placed him on the ground, and held one of his hands while Angie held the other. This happiness infected Mi Cai and me, and we became even more eager for the near future when we would also be holding our child’s hands, left and right, listening to him (or her) call us “mom” and “dad” with a childish voice.
…
It was already night. I made plans with Leyao, Luo Ben, and other friends to walk out of the hotel with Angie and Zhang Yixi, heading to a nearby specialty restaurant.
On the way, Mi Cai, Angie, Leyao, and Jing Sisi, the girlfriend of Xia Fanye, walked together. They kept chatting and laughing from time to time, showing no sense of distance. However, the group of men around them remained silent, unable to relate to their strong interest in fashion.
Passing an outdoor parking lot, we unexpectedly saw a very eye-catching Audi R8. Soon after, Fangyuan and Mi Lan got out of the car. We inevitably were about to meet face to face. I knew they had come to attend the wedding, but I still felt some hostility. I could never accept this sister and her scheming brother-in-law!
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