After a moment of hysteria, the riverside of the city wall, where only the two of us remained, suddenly became quiet. The only sounds were the occasional gusts of wind and our heavy breathing. I gazed at Jian Wei’s tear-streaked face, my heart once again churning with bitterness. Finally, I picked up the box of oden beside me and handed it toward her, saying, “Crying is hard work. Eat something to fill your stomach.”
Jian Wei didn’t take it. She looked at me coldly and said, “Can’t you even refrain from being sarcastic at a moment like this?”
I extended the box toward her again and said, “Give me a way out, okay? Then let’s try to communicate calmly one more time.”
Jian Wei didn’t make things harder for me. She finally took the box from my hands, but she no longer had the mood to eat. She looked gloomily at the city moat in front of her, and this reaction made me feel even heavier in my heart. Instinctively, I reached into my pocket for a cigarette, but I had already smoked them all.
A long time passed, and the oden that Jian Wei held had already gone cold. She put it down and asked me, “Zhaoyang, if you really plan to leave Luku Company, what will you do about the sponsorship of the West of the Old Town Café?”
“This is what I’ve been thinking. If I leave, I’ll definitely take those few shops I used to run and leave with them. I believe that these few profitable shops can still support the West of the Old Town Café.”
“Yes, those few shops you built yourself are indeed profitable. But have you considered that once you no longer have Uncle Yang’s investment in advertising resources, whether those shops can continue to be profitable? Or, even if they can remain profitable after leaving this huge system, how long can that profitability last?”
I couldn’t forget that my first fortune came from the golden advertising resources that Yang Congrong had given me back then. Once those continuous resources were gone, I couldn’t be certain how long the vitality of these shops could last. But one thing was certain: this would absolutely be a risky move!
Seeing me fall into a pensive silence, Jian Wei continued, “Why can’t you just accept this career? Even if this career makes you feel wronged and tortured, it has fulfilled another part of your needs—for example, sponsoring the West of the Old Town Café…”
I didn’t speak, but my desire to smoke became even stronger.
“Zhaoyang, I’ll be straightforward today. I’m not someone afraid of making choices. If you really feel that leaving Luku is something you absolutely must do, then fine, I’ll also leave the company. Let’s all stop playing. After all, everyone does one or two ridiculous things in their life. I’ll treat this as an extremely bad and absurd investment!”
Suddenly, I remembered the promise I had once made to Yang Congrong—that even if I left, Jian Wei wouldn’t. I immediately felt caught in an awkward dilemma. After a long pause, I finally said, “This is an investment of several million. You’re definitely not someone who would act on impulse.”
Jian Wei looked at me and laughed, saying, “We’ll see soon enough… You can try leaving first and see what happens.”
I looked at her in great surprise, feeling as if my entire worldview had been overturned. In this world, there actually existed such a threat, and the purpose of the threat might only be to help me live a better life. Thus, I suddenly felt as if I had become the most unappreciative person in the world, even to the point of being overly sentimental and affected.
But as soon as I thought about having to stay in Luku indefinitely in the future, I felt extremely uncomfortable, as if a thorn were stuck in my throat.
Perhaps, compared to the pursuit of material things, spiritual pursuit was what I truly longed for. I was a man with spiritual purity, and I couldn’t use such twisted gains to taint my love with Mi Cai.
Before I could even respond to Jian Wei, she had already picked up her handbag and left this place filled with arguments. Thus, along this seemingly endless city moat, only I remained.
Even though I had no more cigarettes to smoke, I didn’t leave. I didn’t think too much, but I recalled: the young couple who had just left. I didn’t know what they would be like five years from now. I hoped they wouldn’t repeat the tragedy between Jian Wei and me. I also hoped that five years later, the car he mentioned would still be in production, just with a different exterior design and some updated specifications, but still bearing the original name.
I didn’t know how long I had been sitting there when my phone suddenly rang from inside my pocket. After a brief daze, I finally took it out, expecting it to be Mi Cai. But it was Luoben calling. I was somewhat surprised because Luoben was the type who rarely initiated contact unless it was something serious—even with me, who he called brother.
I answered the call and asked, “What’s up?”
“In half an hour, there’s going to be a themed concert at the West of the Old Town Café. Bring your guitar and your ethereal girlfriend to support me.”
“Oh, what’s the theme?”
“Black Taboo…”
“Isn’t that theme a bit too heavy?”
“If taboos aren’t black, then would they be colorful? Don’t argue, just come quickly and help me move the equipment.”
One of the most meaningless things in the world is to argue with a pretentious young man, so I calmly agreed to Luoben and hung up. Immediately afterward, I dialed another call to Mi Cai and relayed Luoben’s invitation to her. She happily accepted but was still working overtime, so she asked me to go ahead and help Luoben first, saying she might need about an hour.
After ending the call with Mi Cai, I drove quickly, arriving at the destination in only ten minutes. However, what I saw in front of me was deeply unexpected. At that moment, the narrow alley was already packed with many audience members who had come for the event. It took me a while to realize that since Luoben had participated in a music program last time, he had already gained some popularity. Therefore, organizing a small event naturally had strong appeal.
Pushing through the crowd, I arrived beside Luoben. At the scene, besides Luoben himself, there was also his “Split Nerve” band and Ajie, the guitar store owner who had a deep connection with me. This made me realize how seriously Luoben was taking this event because Ajie was an excellent drummer, but since starting his guitar store, he rarely performed publicly. His presence here was a significant favor to Luoben.
After greeting Luoben, I began helping to move various music equipment. Suddenly, through the window, I saw Leyao drinking something inside the café. She noticed me at the same moment and deliberately made a hand gesture shaped like “poop.” Immediately, I had the urge to drop everything and go inside to beat her up. She really didn’t understand the meaning of “don’t point it out when someone is in a difficult situation!”
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