This New Year passed in a calm and warm atmosphere. Some relatives and friends who had come back to Xuzhou gradually left again to get busy with their lives for the year. Meanwhile, Mi Cai and I, both 28 years old, continued our two-person life in a steady and orderly manner, waiting for the day of our wedding, which was just five days away.
Because Mi Cai and I were both busy with our respective jobs, the preparations for the wedding were entrusted to my mother and Ban Die. They worked efficiently, completing complicated tasks such as booking the hotel and purchasing wedding supplies well ahead of schedule. As for choosing the wedding dress and selecting the suits—things that required our personal involvement—we planned to finish them after work today. We wanted to start preparations early so that our wedding wouldn’t feel rushed. We wanted to approach this significant life event with the best possible mindset.
Before long, the morning had passed in our busy routines. After lunch, I sat by the window as usual, contemplating my future entrepreneurial plans. I already had a clear direction: I wanted to use the internet as the platform for my second entrepreneurial venture, focusing specifically on handheld gaming. The initial costs for this project were minimal, and my good friend Tongzi, who had recently been enjoying great success, had many classmates and friends both domestically and abroad involved in this industry. I could leverage his network to easily gather a group of high-level talents. Additionally, marketing and planning had been the work I had consistently engaged in over the years. I was confident in my ability to utilize resources efficiently and control promotional costs. Promotion was the most expensive aspect of this project, and as long as the development level met industry standards, the effectiveness of the promotion would determine the project’s success. At this stage, I really liked this kind of challenge that forced me to confront my own abilities.
As for the initial investment, I planned to approach Zhou Zhaokun. He was in a transitional phase of his career and had shown strong interest in China’s internet industry, so he had the desire to invest. If this investment succeeded, we could confidently expand into the internet industry comprehensively, even exploring new areas. In short, I was optimistic about this entrepreneurial prospect. However, there was one regret: my motivation for this venture was purely profit-driven in the capital market, no longer connected to dreams. Yet, this was something I had to do as I approached my 30s, because the pressure I felt after Yan Zhuo Mei’s return from abroad was immense.
…
As the sky gradually darkened, customers and staff from the photography shop came and went, but there were still some of our own customers in the coffee shop enjoying their coffee during the twilight hours. After Qin Yan refilled one customer’s coffee, he brought me a cup of his special goji berry tea. He placed the cup in front of me and sat down across from me, seemingly wanting to chat during this quiet time.
He asked me, “Brother Yang, what have you been busy with all day? I haven’t even seen you lift your head!”
“I’ve been planning my future life… Tell me, should I spend my most golden years just running this coffee shop?”
Qin Yan thought for a moment before replying, “Hmm… If you only have the ability to run a coffee shop well, then that’s what you should do. But if your abilities go far beyond that, then you should definitely pursue a broader space. Otherwise, you’re just a pleasure-seeking parasite in society!”
“That makes sense. So are you telling me that your ability is limited to being a barista? Or maybe you’re just a pleasure-seeking parasite?”
Qin Yan looked embarrassed, then shook his head and replied, “Everyone has different aspirations. For me, being a barista is the broader space I should pursue…” He paused, his thoughts suddenly leaping forward, and then his face flushed with excitement as he said, “Brother Yang! If that’s the case, how well suited Yan Yan and I are! I have no interest in managing my family’s business, while she is a strong woman. With her help, I can quietly become a barista with dreams, pursuing the highest point of my aspirations, while she pursues the peak of material success. One day, we will surely become big winners in life together! Haha!”
“Don’t daydream. Has Yan Yan agreed to be your girlfriend yet?”
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time… You probably don’t know this yet, but she’s already willing to let me accompany her shopping, and she drinks every cup of coffee I make with great care, almost always able to understand the meaning I try to express through the coffee. This is a spiritual connection, so I think: this significance already far outweighs whether or not she agrees to be my girlfriend!”
I looked at him, silent for a while. His ability to imagine life so seamlessly was truly astonishing. But there was one thing I couldn’t deny: at this pace, Yan Yan would eventually start a relationship with him sooner or later. And when that news was finally confirmed, I was afraid I would inevitably think back to yesterday and feel infinitely moved, because the once seemingly unbreakable Fang Yuan and Yan Yan had finally started new lives of their own in the river of time… And Yan Yan, who had been deeply hurt by him, would one day become pregnant and give birth for another man. I wondered what he would think at that time, if he would feel anything at all for his relentless pursuit of wealth and honor!
Perhaps, he wouldn’t think about anything at all, because he was a man who could forget the past in his cruelty. For him, having a career and a wealthy wife was enough!
The sun set during my intermittent silence. Finally, I reached the most anticipated moment of the day. Mi Cai once again greeted me and Qin Yan from outside the glass window of the coffee shop in her unique way. Since time was tight, I didn’t even let her come in to rest. I directly grabbed my briefcase and walked out of the coffee shop, ready to accompany her to the bridal shop to pick out a wedding dress.
When I reached her side, she, as usual, took my hand, but instead of hurrying to go dress shopping, she asked about something that had been on her mind recently: “Zhaoyang, have you contacted CC’s family yet? There are only five days left until our wedding. I’m really worried they won’t be able to notify CC in time!”
I sighed softly and replied, “These past few days I’ve asked many friends, but those who used to be able to contact her family all say that even her family’s contact information has changed. They speculate that CC might have moved to another city with her family, or even possibly emigrated!”
My answer immediately brought Mi Cai’s mood down. She simply nodded, instinctively looking toward the distant north, as if her intuition told her that CC had gone in that direction. But I felt she had gone south, because spring always comes earlier to the south than the north, which could satisfy some emotional need of CC’s. But in the end, these were just meaningless speculations. Neither of us had the ability to track her down again in this vast sea of people.
In the cool evening breeze, I pulled her into my arms and softly comforted her, “I’ll think of other ways again. Maybe there’s still time… or maybe…”
“Or maybe what?”
I replied whimsically, “Or maybe CC is already with Roben, secretly plotting to give us a huge surprise on our wedding day!”
“If only that were true!”
“Everything is possible! After all, sometimes Heaven also gives up being stingy and becomes generous, right?”
Mi Cai nodded, her mood finally improving a little. But I dared not bring up the idea of preparing alternative bridesmaid candidates for her besides CC, because that would shatter her last bit of hope.
…
On the way to the bridal shop, I remembered something my mother had reminded me about for days, and I said to Mi Cai beside me, “By the way, there’s something I need your opinion on. Ban Die and my mom hope to invite your uncle’s family to come to Xuzhou on our wedding day. After all…”
I didn’t finish my sentence, and this sensitive topic plunged Mi Cai into silence. A bitter feeling rose in my heart again. According to tradition, I should have gone to Suzhou to fetch Mi Cai on our wedding day. But now, Mi Cai could no longer regard Mi Zhongde’s house as her home. In the end, we had to negotiate with a friend of Ban Die’s, making Mi Cai their adopted daughter to serve as her “maternal home.” Thus, the wedding process became simpler, but the underlying helplessness was hard to shake off.
If it weren’t for considering Ban Die and my mother’s feelings, we had even considered abandoning all those elaborate formalities and instead starting and ending our wedding with a purposeless trip. Compared to the bustling crowd at the wedding ceremony, we truly preferred to record every detail of our marriage with photos amidst the scenery of different places.
After a while, Mi Cai finally spoke in my anxious anticipation. She said, “Even if we don’t invite them, they might come uninvited anyway, so let’s just go along with what Uncle and Auntie want.”
I let out a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement, “Yes, after all, Mi Lan invited us to her wedding…”
Mi Cai just looked at me and said nothing more, and this silence continued all the way to the bridal shop…
This top-tier bridal shop in the city was another supporting business of Dai Wenshan besides the photography shop. As soon as Mi Cai and I walked in, the staff warmly welcomed us as if they had been prepared. She handed Mi Cai an elaborately made bridal catalog and smiled brightly, saying, “Mr. Zhaoyang, Ms. Mi Cai, our boss Dai has instructed us to let you freely choose a wedding dress here for free. He has always wanted to find an opportunity to thank Ms. Mi Cai for helping his important client with their wedding photo shoot in Weihai recently!”
I immediately furrowed my brow and asked, “What do you mean? He wants to give my fiancée a wedding dress? Is it you who doesn’t understand the meaning of a wedding dress, or is it him?”
The staff sensed my mood change and quickly explained, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zhaoyang… It’s just that our boss meant no harm. You know… you know he’s a very casual photographer who might have overlooked the things you care about. He definitely didn’t mean anything by it!”
I didn’t want to make things difficult for the staff who was only following orders, so I didn’t press further. Mi Cai returned the bridal catalog to the staff with a hint of apology and said, “Please thank Mr. Dai for his kindness on my behalf, but I still hope that my fiancé will be the one to give me my wedding dress… We’ll go check out other shops first. Goodbye…” Saying this, Mi Cai took my hand and pulled me toward the exit, but my heart felt as if a thorn had been lodged inside, causing me a deep discomfort!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage