That night, after saying goodbye to Mi Cai, I returned to my place slightly drunk, took a hot shower, and lay on the bed calling Leyao. She answered after a brief pause and asked me with concern, “Zhaoyang, have you already sorted out the matter of the girl’s schooling?”
“I’m calling you precisely about this.”
“Then go ahead and say it already… don’t drag it out!”
Her temper seemed quite irritable lately, but I had already gotten used to it and was too lazy to argue. I replied, “I’ve asked Mi Cai to handle it.”
Leyao sounded very surprised, “You asked her to handle it? Aren’t you two broken up?”
I gave a dry laugh and replied, “Our fate hasn’t run out yet, and we got back together.”
Leyao was silent for quite a while on the other end before finally saying, “I see. Then I’ll trouble her with the matter of the girl’s schooling.”
“It’s not really a trouble. Anyway, bring the girl tomorrow at noon—we should meet. Finding a school isn’t a big deal, but it’s troublesome, especially since there are many procedures to go through. So you need to discuss the details with her.”
“Alright.”
After another silence, I finally asked her, “Have you been at the hotel all day today?”
“Why do you care?”
“I just feel this kind of lifestyle can’t last long. Eventually, you need to find something to do, right?”
Her tone turned cold, “Zhaoyang, do you think I’ve become a burden to you now, so much so that you can’t wait for me to become independent and stop worrying about the money in your wallet?”
My tone turned serious and somewhat somber, “Don’t you feel yourself has changed since coming back this time? We promised we’d be masters of life, but what exactly are you doing now? A woman’s best years are limited. Either go back to the entertainment industry and develop your career, or find a reliable man and marry him, becoming a full-time housewife. I think neither of these would be difficult for you, but instead, you’ve chosen to drift along. As a friend, can I not feel anxious and worried for you?”
“Hmph, speaking so self-righteously, aren’t you just pretending to be virtuous? Was it really unbearable for you to give me only 5,000 yuan?”
“You’re just being unreasonable. When have I ever been stingy with you about money?”
“Then weren’t you saying you’d deposit more money into my account? I haven’t seen any money yet, but you’ve already lectured me with all sorts of high-sounding principles I can’t understand!”
Her words made me angry, but I didn’t want to argue further. After hanging up, I immediately took my bank card and went to the ATM downstairs, transferring nearly 50,000 yuan from my account to hers. Then, in the quiet night with no one passing by, I sat alone in front of the bank, smoking several cigarettes, feeling a strange sense of annoyance. I couldn’t change her, but I didn’t want her to continue living like this either!
…
The next morning, I got up early. Even though it was a day off, I didn’t want to stay at home. I went to the company alone and locked myself in my office dealing with the accumulated work. Around noon, I finally left the office and wandered on the street, planning to find a nearby restaurant and meet with Mi Cai and Leyao to settle the matter of the girl’s schooling.
Walking and looking around, I suddenly saw Jian Wei’s car driving toward me. She seemed to have noticed me too and pulled over to the roadside, rolling down the window to ask, “Why are you wandering around alone here?”
“I just came out from the company.”
“Working overtime?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work piling up. What about you? Are you working overtime too?”
“I don’t really have such a thing as a day off. I spend most of my time at the company.”
Looking at her tired face, I couldn’t help but think of Leyao’s idle lifestyle again. I sighed inwardly. It seemed that the women I encountered in my life liked to go to extremes. The difference was that one was willing to exhaust herself climbing upward, while the other, even when whipped, still chose to sink downward. Obviously, Jian Wei belonged to the former, and Leyao to the latter.
Perhaps this had something to do with their upbringing. After all, Jian Wei came from a privileged family background, while Leyao’s family situation, although I wasn’t very clear about the details, probably wasn’t much better. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have lived such a wretched life over the years—homeless and penniless in this city, just like me.
Jian Wei didn’t continue our conversation and drove off after telling me she had to meet a client. I absentmindedly spaced out for a while before finally taking out my phone from the briefcase and calling both Mi Cai and Leyao to arrange a meeting. We decided to meet at a Suzhou-style restaurant in the neighborhood where I was at that moment.
…
Shortly afterward, Mi Cai arrived at the meeting place first. She called Leyao and found out she had just taken the girl and gotten into a taxi. Most likely, she hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet when I called her, which explained her lateness. This made me worry deeply again—if she continued with such an irregular lifestyle, her figure might change, which could potentially become an obstacle for her return to the entertainment industry.
With this deep concern, I said to Mi Cai beside me, “When Leyao comes later, you must help persuade her seriously. If she keeps this up, she might completely ruin her life!”
“Why should I be the one to persuade her?”
“Because you’re a woman—you can give her sincere advice from a woman’s perspective. Besides, you’re definitely better at reasoning with her than I am!”
Mi Cai looked at me and replied in a calm tone, “You don’t need to worry about her. Even if your life falls apart, hers won’t.”
“What do you mean?”
Mi Cai looked somewhat displeased, as if my excessive concern for Leyao had touched her sensitive side. I immediately realized I had overstepped. For Mi Cai to agree to help with the girl’s schooling was already a sign of her tolerance, so I should know when to stop.
I smiled at Mi Cai and chose to remain silent for a moment before asking her, “Are you free recently?”
“What’s up?”
“Don’t you think we should make some time to go on a vacation?”
When I mentioned the word vacation, Mi Cai’s face showed a hint of anticipation. After a brief silence, she smiled slightly and said, “Right now is a crucial moment for Zhuo Mei’s IPO. I might have to go to the U.S. again soon. Let’s think about vacation after the IPO is done.”
I felt a bit disappointed but understood her work situation and responded with a smile, asking, “Are you looking forward to going on vacation with me?”
“Of course. After finishing the IPO, I’ll definitely take a one-month break, and we’ll travel around the world together.” She added while linking her arm with mine, “Maybe this journey will inspire you a lot on your artistic path!”
I nodded, feeling even more anticipation. Just imagine: traveling to see the most beautiful scenery in the world with the person I love the most while gaining inspiration for my career—what could be more exciting than that?
So, in my heart, I prayed that life wouldn’t create more turbulence for us, that we could simply do the things we most wanted to do, with the purest emotions.
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