After finishing a bottle of baijiu with Zhou Zhaokun, we continued with a few bottles of beer. Mixing the two types of alcohol quickly took effect, and soon, Zhou Zhaokun, more intoxicated than I, dozed off leaning on the chair again. In reality, it wasn’t that I had a better tolerance for alcohol than him, but rather that he had drunk more than me.
I called Mi Cai, and together we sent Zhou Zhaokun to a nearby hotel and settled him in. Then Mi Cai brought me back to the cafe. Despite having drunk quite a bit, I couldn’t relax during the afternoon because Qin Yan had already called me. By then, three photography studios had booked appointments to shoot at our cafe that afternoon, and he and Xiao Nuo were worried they couldn’t handle everything.
After arriving at the cafe, Mi Cai brewed me a cup of hot tea before hurrying off again. At that point, she had only completed half of her mission to purchase home appliances, and Li Xiaoyun had already called her repeatedly urging her to hurry. Compared to me, Mi Cai was clearly the busiest person that day.
Throughout the afternoon, I struggled against the dizziness caused by the alcohol while communicating with the photographers who had come to the cafe for their shoots. Due to the weekend shooting boom, I had no choice but to inform them that from now on, weekend bookings would require prior appointments. However, this popularity didn’t fully relieve my sense of crisis, because the cafe’s main customer flow still relied on the customers brought by these photography studios. Once the novelty of this creative idea wore off, the cafe would still be in a precarious position. Therefore, I was eagerly waiting for the first customer who would come to the cafe simply to enjoy coffee and the atmosphere it provided.
By dusk, the three photography studios had finished their shoots one by one, giving us a brief moment of respite. Qin Yan brewed me a cup of floral tea to help me recover from the lingering effects of the alcohol since noon. Then, he turned his attention back to his phone, fully engrossed in a WeChat conversation. I didn’t need to guess—he must have been chatting with Yan Yan. Judging from the situation, Yan Yan really didn’t dislike him!
I took out my phone from my pocket and called Zhou Zhaokun to check if he had woken up yet, planning to invite him to my house for a good meal that evening. Before that, I had already instructed Ban Die to prepare some ingredients for home-style dishes to treat Zhou Zhaokun.
After ending the call with Zhou Zhaokun, I contacted Mi Cai to inquire about her progress with the appliance shopping. She had been very efficient in the afternoon, quickly finishing purchasing all the necessary appliances, some of which had already begun being installed in our new home. My mother was supervising the installation, while Mi Cai was on her way to the cafe, saying she would arrive in about half an hour, most likely using her usual combination of taking the bus and running. This showed me her persistent nature—even after a full day of shopping, she didn’t give up this method that added to her fatigue.
While waiting for Mi Cai, I continued chatting with Qin Yan. I asked him curiously, “How far along have you and Yan Yan gotten?”
Qin Yan finally put his phone down for a moment, looked up at me with a smile, and replied, “I know her father is a government employee at the Land and Resources Bureau, and her mother is a politics teacher at a certain middle school…”
I was surprised and asked, “Did she actually tell you all that?”
“I told her, Yang Ge, that you’re my best friend, so she naturally had no reservations about me, making our communication very smooth. Also, I think I’m quite a good conversationalist. I avoid topics that might bring her sadness or discomfort.”
“You really have a strategy!”
“This isn’t strategy; it’s because I care about her, so I only want to bring her happiness…Yang Ge, judging from your usual words and actions, I can tell you’ve never really put effort into pursuing a woman before. Sometimes, I really feel like you don’t understand women very well.”
“Nonsense! Didn’t I chase after your senior sister? Or did she just pop out of nowhere on the street?”
Qin Yan looked at me with a meaningful smile and said, “You really pursued her? From what I see, senior sister’s hints toward you were probably stronger than your passion for pursuing her. Sigh! I really feel sorry for senior sister. Such a beautiful woman, surrendering her heart and soul to a man who doesn’t understand love like you… I really think senior sister treats you very well, so you must cherish her dearly, or else you’ll provoke public outrage!”
I frowned and asked, “Where did you get the idea that I don’t cherish her?”
“Hehe… I know everything. You still have a first love in Suzhou… Yan Yan said that your destined relationship with her hasn’t ended yet. Of course, I believe what Yan Yan says, so I’m reminding you to cherish senior sister and be careful not to make the wrong choice and regret it later!”
“Is everything Yan Yan says gospel truth?”
“Well, it’s not like she made it up out of thin air! There must be some reason behind her belief… Yang Ge, you really should tell me about your legendary life sometime. How exactly did you make all these women fall for you? I heard that your first love was captivated by your rusty guitar and the life you imagined for her. What about senior sister then? What attracted her to you?”
Before I could answer, he answered himself, “Just hearsay, of course. You used to act like a real jerk with her, but when it came to major issues, you disregarded your own future to resolve the crisis she faced at Zhuo Mei Group, then quietly returned to Xuzhou and endured the consequences alone… Sigh, right! Also, fate placed you two in the same apartment, where you launched an intense emotional campaign toward her. It must have been hard for her to forget you… So, through a series of coincidences, you won her heart… Yang Ge, it turns out you’re the real master of love. At your level, you actually don’t need to understand women anymore because they will actively try to figure you out… and in that process, they will completely fall for your strange personal charm!”
I was speechless for a long time before finally cursing, “You’re really trying to act like a love expert and write my biography here?”
Qin Yan laughed, shrugged his shoulders, picked up his phone again, and continued chatting with Yan Yan. He kept prying into my private life through Yan Yan and turned the information into topics for their conversations. But this wasn’t malicious—he wasn’t fabricating stories. Everything he said about me was indeed true. I fell into self-reflection… Was my personality really that strange?
The setting sun cast its final rays across the tablecloth at a very flat angle through the window. The floral tea I had half-finished was still steaming. I picked up the cup, took a sip, and felt the warmth spreading through me. I decided not to dwell on the troubling thoughts anymore, only realizing then that Qin Yan had successfully diverted my attention. Originally, I had wanted to talk to him about Yan Yan, to tell him that they really weren’t suited for each other… But when I tried to bring it up again, I found myself unable to start the conversation.
Just then, Mi Cai finally appeared in my sight, wearing a beige tracksuit, as if her beauty itself could cover the regret of the setting sun!
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