Mi Cai’s words made me instantly nervous. I lowered my voice and whispered to her, “Don’t speak so loudly. Have you forgotten that Ban Di and my mom might hear us?”
Mi Cai’s expression also turned uneasy, and she whispered back, “If they heard us, wouldn’t this become a burden for them too?”
“We don’t need to guess. They might already be troubled by this themselves. Anyway, considering Ban Di’s credibility at his workplace, borrowing around a hundred thousand yuan shouldn’t be a problem. He might already be thinking about borrowing money for our wedding!”
Mi Cai sighed, but I didn’t let her speak further. I gestured for her to turn off the light, whispering in bed to avoid being overheard by Ban Di and my mom.
After Mi Cai turned off the light, we snuggled under the covers, whispering softly. Mi Cai continued where I had interrupted her, “Zhaoyang, we should figure out the wedding expenses ourselves. After all, your uncle is about to retire. How can we make him bear this debt? Besides, I think he probably has never even asked anyone for a loan in his entire life. That would be too awkward for him.”
“Yeah, I think the same way. We’ll handle this ourselves. I don’t believe after all these years, we can’t even borrow a hundred thousand yuan.”
“That’s not hard… But don’t forget, my aunt gave me 200,000 yuan. I think it’s time to use it. We really don’t need to be so stubborn about not accepting this money.”
“Hey, is it you marrying me or me marrying you? How can I let you spend that money? Besides, do you really have so little confidence in me? It’s just a hundred thousand yuan! Are you afraid I can’t borrow it or that I can’t repay it?”
“Of course I have confidence in you. If you ask Leyao for it, I bet she would hand over a million without even blinking… I mean hand it over freely!”
I immediately deflated, whispering back, “See, you’re getting jealous again… Why would I borrow from her? We don’t even live in the same world anymore!”
“Then you mean she won’t come to our wedding?”
“That’s not the point. The point is you’re jealous again! Don’t you think about it yourself? She’s been married to Cao Jinfei for such a long time. Isn’t your jealousy a bit too much?”
Mi Cai pinched the skin on my waist hard and said unhappily, “I just get upset thinking about all those intimate moments you had with your ex… and I don’t want you to start getting restless after we get married!”
“Hey, that hurts! Please stop!”
Mi Cai pinched even harder.
“If you keep that up, I’ll scream… I really will!”
Mi Cai seemed confident I wouldn’t dare scream. She gripped even tighter and said, “If you don’t mind your uncle and aunt hearing, go ahead and scream… the louder the better. I can use this opportunity to tell your uncle and aunt that Mi Cai is fully capable of handling Zhaoyang!”
I gritted my teeth and stayed silent, but finally couldn’t hold it anymore and cried out, “Oh my God… it hurts like hell… oh… oh…!”
Instinctively, Mi Cai let go of me, frustrated and upset, “Zhaoyang, you jerk, did you switch to echo mode when you screamed? Was it really necessary to scream that loudly??”
“Wrong, it was theater mode. Didn’t you hear the surround sound?”
“Ah!!… I’m going to die from frustration. Even your cry of pain was exaggerated!! And then you still have the gall to make jokes afterward…”
“If you add a beat, it becomes Hip-hop!”
“You’re still making jokes!!”
I rubbed the spot where Mi Cai had pinched me, smirking in satisfaction. Unexpectedly, at that moment, my mom knocked on our bedroom door, sounding displeased, “Zhaoyang, what are you shouting about in the middle of the night?… Are you going to let the neighbors sleep or not? What an ill-mannered child!”
I couldn’t explain my predicament, nor could I blame Mi Cai. I made up a weak excuse, “I just bumped into something when I got out of bed…”
“You must have hit a knife?… Screaming like you’re being slaughtered!”
My mom’s humor finally made Mi Cai lose her composure, and she laughed while hiding in my arms. I could only innocently continue explaining to my mom, but still couldn’t avoid her sarcastic remarks. After a while, things finally calmed down.
Without caring whether Mi Cai could see my expression, I coldly said, “It seems you quite enjoyed my mother’s sarcasm?”
“I’m sorry, Zhaoyang… I shouldn’t have enjoyed it. And I shouldn’t have pinched you so hard that you screamed like you were hit by a knife. It was all my fault.”
“Have you ever seen someone apologize while secretly enjoying the situation?”
It seemed that seeing me in a tight spot was her pleasure, and she kept laughing, though she tried not to be too loud. For her, this became a kind of torment. Amid her torment, I felt both amused and helpless. Gradually, I forgot about her identity as Mi Cai, the CEO. At that moment, we were just an ordinary young couple, living a normal life filled with laughter and teasing.
…
The night deepened further. Mi Cai remained calm and soon fell asleep in front of me, but I was showing signs of insomnia. In the dark room, I was still troubled by the cost of our wedding.
Unable to sleep, I turned on my tablet again and found more people had sent their blessings to Mi Cai and me on social media. The latest message was from Zhou Zhaokun. He wrote, “Congratulations, my younger brother Zhaoyang… I hope I can receive the wedding invitation from you and Mi Cai on that day!”
Zhou Zhaokun is a great guy with excellent personal qualities. Although I failed to help him and Leyao become a couple, he still treats me as a brother, often reaching out to check in with me. It’s just that we’ve all been busy lately, and we haven’t had the chance to meet up for a drink. That’s truly a pity!
I replied, “Thank you, Brother Kun… When the time comes, Mi Cai and I will definitely send you the wedding invitation first!”
Zhou Zhaokun quickly replied, “Then I’ll be waiting for your invitation… By the way, I’ve heard about what happened to you and Mi Cai in Suzhou. I heard you were wronged and left with nothing… Do you have any intention of going back to Suzhou?”
His message once again reminded me of those painful events from that winter in Suzhou. I remained silent for a long time before replying, “Thank you for your concern, Brother Kun. But since I’ve chosen to leave everything behind, I don’t plan to return… Life is pretty good now, although there are some small troubles. I feel like I’m building a life here, while in Suzhou, all I felt was helplessness against the evil in people’s hearts!”
“People are different. If it were me dealing with those issues, I’d definitely choose to settle all the scores first before leaving.”
“Maybe… but I still don’t regret my decision. I believe people should live for happiness, not for grudges and burdens that are hard to let go!”
“Yeah, you have a point. I respect your choice… By the way, if you ever have any difficulties, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I can’t guarantee help with everything, but if you’re short on money, definitely let me know. That’s a small matter!”
I knew Zhou Zhaokun thought I might be planning to start a new business, so the loan he mentioned wouldn’t be just a few ten thousand yuan. I sincerely appreciated him. He was a rare benefactor in my life. After a moment’s hesitation, I decided not to be overly modest and replied, “Actually, there is a favor I need from you, Brother Kun. I need 100,000 yuan to tide me over for a while.”
Zhou Zhaokun quickly replied, “No problem. I happen to have time the day after tomorrow. I’ll bring the money over. We can have a few drinks together again.”
“Great… I was just thinking about having a drink with you. It’s really been a while since we last had a proper drink.”
After Zhou Zhaokun replied with “See you the day after tomorrow,” our conversation ended. My worries were instantly relieved because the funds needed for my marriage to Mi Cai had been easily resolved. Now everything was ready; all that was left was for the favorable winds to blow!
I truly hoped that I could smoothly go to Suzhou with Mi Cai, get her household registration book from Mi Zhongde’s house, and register our marriage!
…
The night grew even deeper. My friends, who were used to staying up late, kept sending their blessings on my social media. Suddenly, Leyao, who had been slow to respond, sent a message that stood out from the rest. She wrote, “So you’re finally getting married?… I hope this isn’t another false alarm. Watching you live like someone obsessed with marriage, my heart aches for you!”
I looked at this message with a mix of emotions, not knowing how to reply for a while. This was because the nature of our relationship was hard to define. We had indeed been close without becoming lovers, and we had both made mistakes. That unborn child had always been a painful memory I tried not to recall. I had deeply blamed myself for it. However, all of this should be left behind in the dust of history. We had already started our own families, so those past entanglements should remain in the past.
Finally, I replied, “Actually, I really wish you could sincerely send me a blessing, just like I gave you a proper one when you got married!”
“Not only did you give me your blessings, but you also helped plan my wedding with Jinfei… Are you implying that you want me to plan a wedding for you and Mi Cai too?… Let me tell you, sis is willing but unable, because I’m too busy. I can’t even guarantee whether I’ll be able to attend your wedding to give my blessings… So, don’t expect too much from me!”
“Then do whatever you want… I didn’t expect you to come anyway.”
“Good for you to realize that. After all, how could a future international superstar like me look down on a small-time guy like you hiding in Xuzhou and enjoying yourself!”
I didn’t reply to Leyao’s message anymore. Instead, I started chatting with another friend who had genuinely blessed Mi Cai and me. For me, whether Leyao truly looked down on me or was just teasing, it no longer mattered… Because the number of times we could possibly meet in our lifetimes could already be counted on one hand. And I genuinely wished her to become a shining international superstar, even though she still needed a bit more polish!
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