The ringing of my cell phone finally stopped, leaving me in a silence that seemed to envelop only me. Outside the café, the crowd still bustled beneath Zhuo Mei’s building, not yet dispersing even though the event had ended. The lingering warmth of the activity remained, and a group of determined customers continued to weave through the crowd, indulging their consumer desires.
I finally picked up my phone and saw that the missed call was from Fangyuan. As I was about to call him back, he dialed again.
I answered, and his voice, filled with fatigue and emotion, said, “Zhaoyang, the event is finally over, and we’ve exceeded our pre-set sales target.”
“Congratulations…”
“Where are you now? Let’s grab a late-night snack together to celebrate. Xiangchen is here too.”
“You guys go ahead. I’m really exhausted today and just want to go home and rest. I also have a pile of work to handle at the company tomorrow morning.”
Fangyuan didn’t push me and said, “Alright, then go home and rest early. Remember to attend Zhuo Mei’s celebration dinner tomorrow night at seven sharp. Thanks again for your strong support this time.”
“There’s no need for brothers to say ‘thank you.’”
Fangyuan chuckled, “It just makes me feel better saying it… Go home and rest early. See you tomorrow night.”
…
Driving through the city’s concrete jungle, the lights softly shifted angles as they hit my car window, only to be instantly replaced by another beam. The contrast between hardness and softness left me unable to adapt, so I fixed my gaze on the dimly lit road ahead, hoping that the old building where I first met Mi Cai would appear in my line of sight the next moment.
At 12:30 a.m., I finally returned to my old apartment. As soon as I saw the soft sofa, I felt a wave of exhaustion. Skipping washing up, I grabbed a blanket from the cabinet and collapsed onto the sofa like a pile of mud. I lay still, staring at the halo of light from the ceiling lamp, my heart drawing close to Mi Cai, who was overseas. Before she left, she used to sit on this very sofa reading various documents, sometimes munching on fruits. I also clearly remembered that the first time I met her, she was sitting on this sofa, so beautiful that her sight could make anyone forgive all the ugliness in the world… But that night, she didn’t forgive my ugliness and decisively kicked me out of the house. Thus, our entanglement began, eventually intertwining our fates. We promised to spend a lifetime together. Sometimes, I even couldn’t understand what had caused such a miraculous change between us, so I explained it all as fate… and I truly believed that there was fate between us.
I fell into this whirlpool of memories, thinking of her, and gradually drifted into sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I realized she had been in my dreams all along.
Yes, I had many dreams about us that night. In my dreams, we lived a simple and mundane life, even arguing over which brand of baby formula to use, or sitting on the sofa, puzzled about what to have for dinner. Yet life became rich because of these disputes and puzzles, and we always tried our best to nurture our life together.
However, while washing up in the bathroom, I suddenly felt that this dream was somewhat detached from our real-life circumstances, because neither Mi Cai nor I had the time to create such trivialities. Even if we had a child, it would most likely be taken care of by a nanny or my parents… Thinking about it this way, the idea that dreams are always the opposite of reality does seem to hold some truth. However, even without these mundane details of daily life, as long as we are together, I am still satisfied… because I can tolerate her and let her continue being the shining chairman of Zhuo Mei, and she will also tolerate me, allowing me to walk further and further down my own artistic path…
…
The entire day, I was at the company, wrapping up the event with various departments and conducting a thorough review. In fact, our Luku should have been the biggest beneficiary of Yueyao and Cao Jinfei’s participation in the event, but we ended up letting Zhuo Mei take the spotlight, gaining more attention than expected. This led to some dissatisfaction among the company’s senior management, as such an opportunity wouldn’t come around again. My decision had caused a strategic shortcoming for the company. However, I didn’t regret it, because I believed that Zhuo Mei needed this opportunity more than Luku did, and helping Fangyuan and Zhuo Mei to the best of my ability had always been my wish.
Soon, another evening arrived. I stood by the window, smoking habitually, somewhat absentmindedly watching the bustling street below, when the office door suddenly opened, revealing Jian Wei standing behind me, dressed in a sapphire-blue evening gown.
I looked at her and said, “Ms. Jian, could you at least make some noise the next time you come to my office? You keep sneaking in like you’re some kind of ghost!”
“I never knock when I come in, so I’ve developed this bad habit. I’ll try to be more mindful in the future…” She paused, then looked at me and said, “Aren’t you going to attend Zhuo Mei’s celebration dinner tonight? Why are you dressed so casually?”
I didn’t respond but instead asked, “Did you come here to go to the celebration dinner with me?”
“Weimei Advertising is an investor in Luku, so naturally, I should go to the event with you, the general manager of Luku.”
“That might not be appropriate! Xiangchen’s company also participated in Luku’s event this time and contributed a lot. According to protocol, he should also be invited to the celebration dinner. You should go with him.”
“He left for France early this morning.”
I was somewhat surprised and asked, “Why did he go to France?”
“Heard he wants to work on a project and went to France to find investors. I didn’t ask for details.”
“What kind of project requires seeking investment overseas… With your connections, helping him secure funding wouldn’t be difficult, right?”
“I don’t like interfering in his business, and besides, he didn’t ask me for help. If he’s capable of handling this on his own, why should I bother… Alright, go change into something decent. Take your company’s senior management and go with us to Zhuo Mei’s celebration dinner.”
I nodded without thinking much. After all, it was a dinner attended by senior management from both companies, so I shouldn’t be too concerned about Jian Wei being among the crowd. It wasn’t like it was just the two of us going to the dinner.
I remembered that there was a set of formal attire in my car, specially prepared for attending various high-end gatherings. I went downstairs to retrieve it, changed in the company restroom, and then, together with Jian Wei and the senior management from both our companies, I boarded a business van heading to the venue of Zhuo Mei’s celebration dinner.
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