I gave Mi Cai the cruelest interrogation she had ever received since we met. She was stunned, looking at me with a bewildered expression. Perhaps in her subconscious, she had expected me to come joyfully to sign this contract with her, but instead, I exploded. I couldn’t bear that the woman I once regarded as the guardian of my city was now working with someone like Weiran, a despicable person, to bully others. My city had already shattered, but I stubbornly hoped for a bit of longing for it still existed in her. But it was destroyed—completely shattered into nothingness—and so I became furious…
Mi Cai closed her eyes and leaned back in her office chair. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t utter a word…
The office door was knocked. Her assistant entered, holding a contract. She looked startled at the crying Mi Cai and hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, Madam Mi. I knocked the door. I thought you had allowed me to come in.”
Mi Cai turned her chair halfway around so we couldn’t see her face and said, “Leave the contract here and you may go.”
The assistant quickly placed the contract on the desk, glanced at me, and hurried out. The office fell into a deathly silence. After a long while, Mi Cai finally faced me and said, “Many things are just appearances…”
Still filled with anger, I interrupted, saying, “Is your marrying Weiran just an appearance? Is your suppressing Mi Lan also an appearance? I think there’s really no need for you to defend yourself. You want to control Zhuo Mei; that itself is not wrong. But you’ve taken the wrong path, Mi Cai. You’ve gone too far!”
Looking exhausted, Mi Cai no longer intended to explain anything. Her silence made me feel suffocated, and in this suffocation, I recalled the Mi Cai of the past. I felt heartache—why had she become like this? Where had she placed all those qualities she once possessed?
Finally, I said to her silence, “You’ve always been stubbornly tied to Zhuo Mei, this heavy warship, and handed the helm to Weiran while aiming the cannons at the people around you. One day, you will regret it… I no longer intend to sign this contract. Thank you for your kindness, although it will bring significant losses to our company. But integrity in life is more important, so goodbye…”
As I spoke, I walked toward the office door, but I didn’t feel the relief of liberation. On the contrary, I felt a deep discomfort in my heart. Yet I couldn’t change anything for her, nor could I imagine anymore that she was still the woman from that city. She had changed—truly changed, becoming increasingly unfamiliar and distant. She was like a bird that had broken free, flying away from the world I imagined, leaving all the desolation of that world to me, making the meaning of my life merely wandering through this desolation, reaching for an unreachable future!
…
After leaving Zhuo Mei, I returned to my company and immersed all my attention in work until night once again covered the city. Then I came back to my senses and wanted to find someone to drink and chat with.
I called Fang Yuan, wanting to meet him for some drinks. At this moment, in this city, besides him, I had practically no one else to talk to. Although we hadn’t kept in close contact as we used to, we were still brothers—I had never doubted this, even though we now had our own lives.
We met at a small restaurant. I arrived before him, ordered some dishes, and drank a bottle of beer alone before Fang Yuan finally showed up. He hung his coat on the back of the chair and looked around the small restaurant, saying, “You really know how to choose a place. drinking in a place like this reminds me of the days when we used to get together during university!”
I nodded, opened another beer bottle with my teeth, handed it to Fang Yuan, and clinked bottles with him, indicating we should finish the bottles first.
We used sheer willpower to maintain the boldness of our university days, forcing ourselves to finish the entire bottles of beer. But our older bodies now felt like vomiting, so we both lit cigarettes to ease the discomfort, unlike in the old days when we would immediately open another bottle.
Fang Yuan exhaled smoke and asked me, “Zhaoyang, did you say something to Madam Mi this afternoon? She was acting really out of character—during the meeting, she several times forgot what she had said halfway through!”
I opened another beer bottle and took a sip before replying, “Yes, I did say something.”
“Something harsh, right?”
I recalled my words—they indeed were harsh. I had even used words like ‘disgusting’ and ‘hypocritical.’ I felt a surge of annoyance and thought I had been too uncontrolled, speaking too harshly. I nodded at Fang Yuan, admitting it.
Fang Yuan looked troubled and said, “I told you about this afternoon not to encourage you to confront Madam Mi. I was just venting. Even if you really wanted to say something to her, you shouldn’t have chosen such harsh words. Isn’t it better to persuade her instead? You’re just too impulsive and straightforward!”
After a long silence, I finally said, “Yes, I was indeed a bit too impulsive. But words spoken are like spilled water—now there’s nothing I can do to make up for it.”
“It’s not entirely your fault. Actually, I shouldn’t have said anything either… But Zhaoyang, now it’s just us two brothers, no outsiders. Let’s speak from the heart. Don’t you think it would have been better if Madam Mi had married you, then raised Mi Lan and managed Zhuo Mei well? Her biggest problem now is that she puts too much faith in Weiran. And Weiran himself is too scheming. I don’t think he genuinely likes Madam Mi. These rich second-generation types only like the thrill of pursuing something they can’t have. Once married, who knows what their relationship would become? So Madam Mi is playing with fire!”
Fang Yuan’s words stirred a storm inside me. I didn’t want to see Mi Cai suffer such a fate. If Weiran truly only liked the thrill of the unattainable, then after marriage, Mi Cai would surely be very unhappy. Having lacked family warmth since childhood, she definitely couldn’t endure such suffering.
I took another sip of beer and said to Fang Yuan, “What’s the point of you telling me all this? At best, I’m just her ex-boyfriend.”
Fang Yuan patted my shoulder consolingly, saying, “Zhaoyang, stop being foolish. Madam Mi definitely still cares about you. Otherwise, why would she give you that contract? Why would she lose her composure in the meeting just because you got angry at her? At a time like this, you really shouldn’t add insult to her injury. After all, nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, and she’s no exception. Since she can’t forget you, as a man, you should fight for her. If she really marries Weiran, it’s like stepping into hell.”
I gave a self-mocking smile, “Her? I really don’t think she cares about me at all.”
Fang Yuan sighed, “Zhaoyang, your greatest tragedy in love stems from your inability to understand women. When they need comfort, you often give them pain. Perhaps that’s what led to the tragedy between you and Jian Wei. So don’t repeat the same mistake with Mi Cai. Any clear-eyed person can see that she still cares about you. Marrying Weiran is just a strategic move. If you’re a real man, you shouldn’t let Madam Mi walk down the wrong path, sinking deeper and deeper!”
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