Mi Cai hung up the phone through her sobs. This wasn’t an appropriate moment for her to cry. At this moment, we were on opposite sides of the globe. She was overwhelmed by work, wearing a mask to maintain appearances, while I struggled in darkness, unable to find direction.
The weather forecast had mentioned rain after midnight, and indeed, at two o’clock in the morning, heavy raindrops began to beat against the window accompanied by strong winds. I threw off the covers and stood by the window, gazing at the landscape lake. The decorative lights on the lake had already been turned off, so the water seemed to darken the night even further. The moon that had floated on the lake just a few hours ago had vanished without a trace. Finally, under the rain, it showed its false fangs, but I lacked the insight to perceive the traces of its dissolving in the rain.
In the soil beneath the streetlights, unknown grasses were still growing, thriving against the wind and rain. This seemed like a kind of hope, but when winter truly arrived, who could tell whether they would eventually wither away… In my mental fatigue, I finally sensed the smell of desolation in the humid air. This scent contained the softness and emptiness that preceded the arrival of winter.
I stood by the window until I finished a cigarette, then returned to the bed, continuing to contemplate how I could help Zhuo Mei navigate through this crisis before its stock market listing.
…
The next morning, the rain was still drizzling. I met Jian Wei at the hotel restaurant, and of course, Xiao Jun and my frail female assistant were there too. We gathered around a table, having breakfast.
Jian Wei looked at me and asked, “Didn’t you rest well last night?”
“No, I didn’t sleep well. The wind blew all night, howling like ghosts wailing.”
The frail female assistant adjusted her glasses without lenses and asked with concern, “CEO Zhao, you look so exhausted. Are you fit to drive? We’re taking the highway all the way, and you absolutely cannot doze off.”
“Then you can ride with Ms. Jian’s car.”
Jian Wei directly threw her car keys to the female assistant, saying, “Can you drive? Take my car. I’ll ride with CEO Zhao. It’s raining heavily today, and I don’t feel safe with your current condition.”
The female assistant nodded and took the keys from Jian Wei’s hand. I exhaled heavily again, trying to relieve the fatigue racing through my mind.
…
On the road, Jian Wei drove the minivan at a relatively slow speed on the highway. I sat in the front passenger seat, yawning but unable to fall asleep, just watching the small villages veiled in rain outside the window.
Jian Wei asked me, “You couldn’t sleep last night because of what Luo Ben said at the concert, right?”
I turned to look at her and replied after a long pause, “Probably.”
“Or are you worried about Mi Cai?… I heard from the industry that Blueprint Group, this massive commercial battleship, is on the verge of sinking. As Zhuo Mei’s largest investor, it must affect Zhuo Mei’s current aggressive push for its IPO?”
I didn’t respond to Jian Wei, but my thoughts became even more chaotic.
Jian Wei sighed softly, “Looks like this is indeed an autumn full of troubles! The recent national regulation on the real estate industry has had a significant impact. Even our advertising industry is experiencing a ripple effect. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have decided to diversify my company. We private enterprises really survive based on national policies. So, to run a business in this country, you must first learn to study policies, adapt to them, and utilize them.”
I finally asked her, “Do you think there’s any way to save Zhuo Mei’s IPO?”
“If this IPO fails, we can aim for the next one. I think at this stage, we should focus on preserving Zhuo Mei’s foundation. As long as the foundation remains, there’s always hope for an IPO. What do you think?”
“You also think Zhuo Mei’s chances of a successful IPO are slim?”
Jian Wei didn’t answer directly but said, “We could only say that Zhuo Mei’s timing is bad. Its investors happened to run into problems at this moment. Anyway, my view is to preserve the foundation first and then plan for development. However, CEO Mi might not think this way. After all, for an entrepreneur, having a carefully designed plan fall through due to an unexpected event is a painful and frustrating experience.”
…
After two hours on the road, we finally returned to Suzhou. After attending a brief meeting at the company, I returned to my residence due to fatigue and fell into a deep sleep, waking up only in the evening. When I picked up my phone to check the time, I found two missed calls from Leyao. She probably wanted to discuss the micro-film shooting. I guessed she had already communicated with Cao Jinfei about this.
I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to wake myself up a bit, then dialed Leyao’s number. She answered after a short wait, asking, “Why did you take so long to call me back?”
“I was sleeping at home.”
“Sleeping? Don’t you work today?”
“Never mind that. Let’s talk about the real reason.”
Leyao was silent for a moment on the other end of the line. This silence seemed to remind me that indeed, we now only had serious matters to discuss with each other. We couldn’t be like before, when we could pick up the phone and chat for hours at any time about any random topic.
“There are two things. The first one is that Luo Ben is holding a post-concert banquet tonight. If you have time, come join us… If you come to the banquet, then we can discuss the second matter in person, which would be more sincere than talking on the phone.”
“Then let’s meet in person.”
Leyao said “Okay” and hung up. As expected, before I even had time to dress formally, Luo Ben himself called to invite me to attend his post-concert banquet that evening, asking me to pick up Wei Manwen from the university town on my way. At that moment, he was still on his way from Shanghai to Suzhou.
…
I drove the company’s minivan to the university town, where Wei Manwen was already waiting at the school gate. I opened the car door and invited her to get in. After she sat in the front passenger seat, she asked me, “The brother that Luo Ben mentioned at yesterday’s concert, the one he worked on an album with, is that you?”
I nodded and asked her in return, “Why didn’t you go to the concert with Luo Ben yesterday?”
“I’m not really into attending his commercial performances.”
I smiled and said, “So Professor Wei is more suited to being a quiet, beautiful woman.”
For my teasing, Wei Manwen didn’t respond. She simply adjusted her glasses and smiled slightly with me, fully displaying her scholarly demeanor. In reality, this woman was not only gentle but also quite strange. She could love Luo Ben so much that she developed depression, yet she disliked going to the site to acknowledge Luo Ben’s achievements in his career. The reason behind this was truly beyond my comprehension.
After a brief silence, Wei Manwen asked me, “Zhao Yang, that year when you and Luo Ben worked on the album together must have been really tough, right?”
“Yeah, during winter when we sang in the underground passageways, the wind blowing in felt like it could kill us. That period of time was really unforgettable. But Luo Ben was more persistent than me, so he succeeded eventually.”
Wei Manwen nodded, and then tears streamed down her cheeks. However, her expression remained calm. At this moment, I thought of Jian Wei from last night. When I told her about the time I spent with Luo Ben, she also cried, but she didn’t sob…
I was a bit distracted. What did this similar behavior of Jian Wei and Wei Manwen signify? And what kind of emotions were they carrying when they shed tears without crying?
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