This afternoon after Mi Cai came back, she stayed with me in the coffee shop, busily helping out. With her assistance, Xiao Nuo and I no longer had to scramble around, and we quickly completed the photo shoots for six photography studios. We were finally able to catch our breath just as dusk began to settle.
Xiao Nuo brought Mi Cai and me each a glass of milk and sat across from us to chat. The first topic was Leyao, and surprisingly, it was Mi Cai who asked first: “Xiao Nuo, isn’t Leyao’s company supposed to hold a press conference at five o’clock? It should be over by now, right?”
“Mi Cai jie, this isn’t a live online broadcast. We won’t get any coverage until at least six o’clock!”
Mi Cai smiled and replied, “Is that so? I’m just anxious for your Zhao Yang ge!”
“Actually, I guess, maybe since four o’clock, I’ve been feeling uneasy?”
I glanced at her and replied, “Your sentence has a grammatical problem, you know? ‘Actually’ and ‘maybe’ are redundant, just like if I praised you for being observant and then added that you’re also meticulous—it would be completely unnecessary.”
Mi Cai retorted without backing down: “You really know how to change the subject! You know exactly what I mean. Why pretend to be clueless?”
“You should also understand that after this incident, all I did was show concern as a friend. If you don’t believe me, ask Xiao Nuo. Yesterday, when we found out Leyao was in Xuzhou, it was Xiao Nuo and I who went together.”
Mi Cai replied calmly, “I know exactly what you did… I’ll reluctantly give you a passing grade for how you handled this.”
I was startled and immediately understood what was going on. No wonder Mi Cai had been so calm all along.
Suddenly, I widened my eyes at Xiao Nuo and said, “You traitor! How could you sink so low as to become someone else’s informant? Did I treat you badly, or did I cut your salary? Traitor!”
My “anger” didn’t seem to bother Xiao Nuo at all. She leaned against Mi Cai and replied, “Mi Cai jie bought me a scarf, and such a nice one too. Of course, I need to be someone who repays kindness.”
“What if I buy you a fur coat next time? Would that be enough for you to repay me too?”
“Zhao Yang ge, you’re wrong. That would clearly be a bribe with ulterior motives. It’s completely different. You sound like a nouveau riche! And fur coats? Don’t you know the saying ‘no buying, no killing’? Don’t you care about animals at all?”
Mi Cai hugged Xiao Nuo and gave her a thumbs-up, saying, “Well done, Xiao Nuo!”
I pretended to look around and asked, “Who’s Zhao Yang ge? And who’s trying to bribe someone? I was just looking for a chance to play the hero and fight injustice. Give me a chance to get rid of him!”
Mi Cai looked at me, half-annoyed and half-laughing, and we used this playful banter to defuse what would have once been a crisis.
It seemed that nowadays, there was nothing that could make us coldly turn our backs on each other or harshly throw pain at one another. Perhaps this had to do with the fact that we were about to spend the rest of our lives together. We hoped that our future married life would bring happiness, and we were striving for that, even though our efforts might seem insignificant in the tide of reality. But at that moment, we could truly feel the form in which happiness existed, and thus we avoided much of the pain and sorrow life could bring.
…
As night approached, the latest news about Cao Jinfey’s alleged infidelity finally appeared online. Xiao Nuo, Mi Cai, and I watched the news video on our phones.
To our surprise, the press conference was also attended by the female celebrity who had been rumored to have an affair with Cao Jinfey at a hotel. The three of them sat together calmly and explained the incident.
It turned out that Cao Jinfey had gone to the Maldives to discuss a hotel construction project. Coincidentally, he met a film crew that was shooting there and stayed at the same hotel. He had some prior acquaintance with the female celebrity, so they had dinner together. However, the reporters deliberately used camera angles to create the illusion that the two were intimate.
To further prove their innocence, both Cao Jinfey and the female celebrity presented their hotel check-in records. The dates showed that Cao Jinfey had checked in a week after the female celebrity, and their rooms were on different floors, clearly not a prearranged secret meeting. Finally, surveillance videos provided by the hotel showing them returning to their separate rooms were also released.
After Cao Jinfey and the female celebrity explained the situation, Leyao firmly stated that she would pursue legal action against the media for false reporting, as the inaccurate reports had damaged Cao Jinfey’s reputation and caused a crisis in their marriage.
At the end of the press conference, Leyao gently hugged the female celebrity and stated that they had always been good friends in the industry and that this incident would not affect their long-standing friendship. More surprisingly, Leyao later announced that the female celebrity would be joining her film company, turning their friendship into a professional partnership.
The video of the press conference ended, and I felt a strange emotion inside. In just five minutes, I had seen a change in Leyao. Because I knew some inside information, I could perceive more than the average viewer. I understood that the evidence presented by Cao Jinfey and the female celebrity was questionable. And finally, the female celebrity joining Leyao’s company seemed like a reconciliation and cooperation, but in reality, it was Leyao’s way of expressing her anger. I believed that it wouldn’t be long before this actress was sidelined. The actress herself must have understood this better than anyone else. As to why she still joined Leyao’s company, it was a result of Leyao’s tactics, although I didn’t know exactly what she had done behind the scenes. But one thing was certain: Leyao had changed. I believed that after this incident, any woman who had designs on Cao Jinfey would have to think twice about getting involved in this high-profile, business-connected marriage.
The video finally ended, and Xiao Nuo put down her phone, sighing, “Zhao Yang ge, you were right. It really was a misunderstanding between Cao Jinfey and Leyao jie. Although I can understand that a man like Cao Jinfey might find it hard to settle down with just one woman, Leyao jie is also not someone easily replaceable. They might just have been too busy and lacked communication… Actually, Cao Jinfey isn’t that bad. At least this time, he behaved quite well. His attitude toward Leyao jie was very sincere!”
I nodded and replied, “Yes!” Then I looked at Mi Cai beside me. She seemed to have no desire to comment on the incident. But I knew she might have seen even more of what was going on behind the scenes than I did. Xiao Nuo, on the other hand, was just a typical audience member, naively unaware of the deeper layers of the event. But none of that really mattered because Mi Cai and I were not participants in this incident. Choosing not to dwell on it was the best option. After all, we now had a different life, one that was free from disturbances.
…
It was already time for dinner. I wanted to close the shop early and take Mi Cai home to have a family dinner with my parents, but she stopped me. She took out her camera from her luggage and started assembling it while saying to me, “Zhao Yang, wait a bit. More customers are coming to the coffee shop for photo shoots soon.”
I asked in surprise, “What’s going on?”
“The customers from last time introduced some new friends to us for photo shoots. We’ve been too busy lately, so we kept postponing it. Now that they’re back today, I’ve told them to come tonight!”
I complained affectionately, “Why do you have to do this? It’s almost the New Year. Can’t you just take a break?”
“It’s really okay. Since I have more time during the holiday, it’s better to finish these things early, right? Besides, I need to earn some extra money to prepare New Year gifts for your uncle and aunt. So, I need to work hard, and work even harder!!” Mi Cai said as she finished setting up the camera and gave herself a motivational gesture.
“I can give you the money for the gifts. We don’t need to separate things like this…”
Mi Cai interrupted me seriously, “I think this way is more meaningful. Actually, for your uncle and aunt, the gift isn’t important; it’s the thought that counts. Especially since I disappointed them before, this sincere way of making amends feels more like redemption… Don’t say anything else. Just wait patiently for me to finish work!”
I wanted to say more, but the customers who had booked photo sessions arrived, and Mi Cai stood up to greet them like a close friend. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise and could only watch helplessly as she continued to work late into the night.
…
At some point, the sound of distant firecrackers came from outside the coffee shop, and the sky, illuminated by countless lights, was filled with the festive atmosphere of family reunions. However, I was left aside and felt somewhat bored, so I picked up my phone and started scrolling through my social media feed. As the New Year approached, everyone’s lives seemed to become more colorful, so there were a lot of updates…
Among these updates, some people were stuck on the highway, longing for home, while others were at home, struggling with how to properly cure a delicious salted duck. My friends who devoted themselves to the performing arts were as dramatically unfortunate as always, their social media updates still filled with complaints about performance fatigue, just like last year… This made me realize that the small amount of work Mi Cai and I were doing in the coffee shop was actually a kind of satisfying happiness. At least later, when we went home, we still had the opportunity to have a late-night snack with my parents.
I continued scrolling through my social media updates when a set of photos posted by Jian Wei caught my attention. Qin Yan, who was still in Suzhou, was with her and Yan Yan, and the three of them were sitting together making dumplings. The atmosphere looked really nice, and even they made some funny faces while holding the flour basin.
Similarly, Qin Yan also posted these photos, stating that he would stay in Suzhou this year to spend the New Year with the two newly acquainted older sisters…
My mood inexplicably lightened as I looked at the photo of Jian Wei hugging Yan Yan and pouting playfully. Seeing her like this reassured me. I believed that it wouldn’t be long before she could overcome this low point in life with her loyal friend Yan Yan. Her proud and strong personality would definitely allow her to face life’s hardships more resiliently than most people… Perhaps this New Year wouldn’t be worse for her than anyone else’s!
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them again, I calmly placed Jian Wei on the list of people I had decided to cut off contact with. From now on, we would no longer have any formal connection. Perhaps there was some truth to the saying: “Only when you’re at ease can you be happier!” So, when I lifted my head and looked at Mi Cai, who was busily serving customers, she had never looked so clearly defined to me before. It felt as if I had crossed a barrier that I once thought insurmountable and was now gazing at her from the heights of love…
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