Inside the bar “The Fifth Season,” Luo Ben and I sat facing each other in silence. The previous conversation had been too heavy, and neither of us spoke again. Compared to my steady posture, Luo Ben huddled in the corner, continuously fidgeting with his fingers, as if trying to calculate an outcome.
I glanced at the little girl doing her homework diligently nearby, and a bitter feeling stirred in my heart. Initially, I thought she would have a good future staying with Luo Ben and Wei Manwen, but now it seemed otherwise. Expecting Luo Ben to raise her was essentially turning her into a little bar queen. I had never, in my life, seen a primary school student calmly doing homework inside a bar.
At this moment, I truly believed how fortunate it was for a man to have a responsible woman by his side. However, Wei Manwen was drifting further and further away from Luo Ben.
My attention remained fixed on the little girl, which led me to think again about Leyao, a woman rarely dependable. At the very least, she had taken the girl out of the village but had not fulfilled her responsibilities, which was extremely irresponsible. If Wei Manwen truly stayed in that small village and never returned, I would worry endlessly—whether to send the girl back or keep her with me, drifting without roots. I also wondered how Cao Jinfei viewed Leyao’s decision to shelter the girl.
I thought: he probably wasn’t willing to cooperate, otherwise Leyao would have already brought the girl to Beijing. But I could understand Cao Jinfei too. Being from a prominent family, it must be difficult for him to explain to his family about Leyao bringing along a child, and there would be immense social pressure. Therefore, this child was destined to wander through life unless she willingly returned to that small village.
Time passed minute by minute, and finally, the girl finished her homework. She came before Luo Ben and me and asked, “What do you guys want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”
I slapped Luo Ben’s shoulder in dissatisfaction and said, “Do you even know what time it is? You didn’t even take her to dinner, yet you brought her here to do homework. How could you do such a thing!”
Luo Ben glanced at me, then handed the girl 100 yuan from his wallet and said, “Buy whatever you want to eat.”
The girl shook her head and said, “I have money. I’ll buy something for you guys to eat… If you don’t tell me what you want, I’ll just go and buy something myself!”
Watching her small figure disappear into the crowd heading out of the bar, my nose inexplicably felt sore. She was an unfortunate child, even more so than Wei Xiao. At least Wei Xiao had her grandfather to rely on. But this girl’s misfortune had made her grow up quickly, speaking words and doing things that other children her age wouldn’t.
…
After sitting in the bar “The Fifth Season” for a while longer, I left first. I planned to go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients to prepare a late-night snack for Mi Cai. I could neglect my own quality of life, but I had to take meticulous care of hers. This wasn’t just out of love, but also compassion. I hoped that with me by her side, she would be the happiest woman in the world, and that was the premise of my own happiness.
Stepping out of the bar, a chill hit my face. Snowflakes were falling gently from the sky. I remembered the last time it snowed, when I was in a KTV with CC, listening to her sing all night. Thinking of that, I couldn’t help feeling sad. It seemed that since winter arrived, my life had been filled with farewells, and CC had been the most painful one. I knew she would never come back. She had fallen into my heart like snow, leaving the most beautiful memories behind, only to be melted away by the scorching reality.
I really missed her, but the longing felt so powerless. I didn’t know whether it was snowing in her world right now, but I really wanted to tell her that it was snowing again in Suzhou, beautifully and elegantly.
At that moment, my phone rang. It was Mi Cai calling. She told me she had finished her day’s work. Worried she might be tired, I insisted she shouldn’t drive herself. After hanging up, I drove towards Zhuo Mei.
I arrived at Zhuo Mei in just fifteen minutes. Mi Cai was wearing a thick red down jacket, her handbag slung over her shoulder, and her hands tucked into her pockets, looking in my direction. When I rolled down the window, a smile lit up her face. She waved at me without minding the cold, as if meeting me was the most anticipated moment of her day.
Mi Cai sat in the front passenger seat, warming her hands near the car’s heater. Then she brushed off the snow from my shoulder. She seemed to be in a good mood, taking out her phone from her pocket and playing the duet “Snowman” we had recorded across distances. She stretched her hand out of the window, as if trying to catch the falling snowflakes.
I smiled and asked her, “Can you tell me what made you so happy today?”
She blew the snowflakes off her hand and replied with a grin, “Right before finishing work, I received a call from An, the CEO of Tianyang Group. She has convinced her father and the board. Tianyang Group will officially invest in Zhuo Mei, becoming its new investor!”
“Yay!”
Looking at me, Mi Cai asked, “You seem even happier than me?”
“Of course I am happy! This has been my biggest wish for a long time. Come on, let’s high-five to celebrate!”
I said, stretching out my right hand.
She gave me a high-five, and her face was full of relief. We could foresee that once Tianyang Group officially invested in Zhuo Mei, its crisis would gradually be resolved, and a new phase of development would begin. I especially looked forward to her and the Red-Clothed Woman’s business model achieving great success in the e-commerce field in the near future.
I then suggested, “Since today is such a happy occasion, let’s have a drink to celebrate.”
“Okay.”
“There’s a liquor store up ahead. I’ll go buy two bottles of red wine. Wait for me in the car.”
Mi Cai nodded. I parked by the roadside and walked into the liquor store. Coincidentally, this store was another branch in Suzhou owned by Xiang Chen, and it was well-stocked with expensive red wines.
…
I picked out two bottles of red wine. While the staff carefully packed them to prevent damage, my phone rang. It was Yan Yan calling.
I answered the call. She asked, “Zhaoyang, do you have some time now?”
“What’s going on?”
“Vivi says her stomach hurts and she sprained her ankle. She asked Fangyuan to take her to the hospital, but we are on our way back to our hometown right now. If you have time, could you please take her to the hospital? I’m really worried. You know how Vivi is—she’s always stubborn and enduring. She wouldn’t call us unless she was really unable to bear it.”
Instinctively, I asked, “What about Xiang Chen? Isn’t he in Suzhou?”
“He went to France a few days ago and hasn’t returned yet! Please hurry up and go see her. Don’t let her suffer too much. Besides, it’s just taking her to the hospital. Who would misunderstand anything?”
As I was talking with Yan Yan, the staff had already finished packing the wine and handed the bag to me. Looking at the two bottles of red wine I was about to use to celebrate with Mi Cai, I found myself in a difficult dilemma. Although having red wine with Mi Cai was a small matter, and taking Jian Wei to the hospital was not a big deal either, it was still a painful and difficult decision!
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