My heart trembled upon receiving the message from Chen Jingming. I had no idea what kind of generous gift Mi Cai might send me, nor did I understand her motives for doing so. After all, I had never considered us to still be friends after our breakup.
I put my phone into my pocket, intending to continue the conversation with Wei Manwen that had been interrupted moments ago. I said, “Teacher Wei, why don’t you at least give me an opinion? Do you know any suitable girl you could introduce to me? Actually, I’m quite a good catch. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been friends with Rob for so many years. People tend to group themselves according to their kinds, right?”
Wei Manwen smiled helplessly and replied, “You don’t need Rob as evidence to prove that you’re reliable—he’s not that reliable himself!”
“Yet you still entrusted your entire life to him!”
Wei Manwen smiled again and said, “Love, once begun, knows no bounds—it’s predestined by fate.”
Her words moved me deeply, and a sense of sorrow instantly swept through my entire body. Why had no woman like Wei Manwen ever appeared in my life?
At that moment, teachers who had finished their classes began to walk out of the teaching building one after another. Finally, Wei Manwen pointed at a woman wearing a white long dress and said to me, “This is Teacher Zhao, who teaches college English. She’s 28 years old. What do you think of her?”
I carefully examined her and replied, “Her demeanor is quite good, but… her figure seems a bit lacking.”
Then Wei Manwen pointed to another woman wearing a pink T-shirt and said, “This is Teacher Li, who teaches advanced mathematics. She’s 26. What’s your impression?”
“Uh… Her figure is okay, and her demeanor is passable, but her skin isn’t very fair.”
Wei Manwen was very patient and pointed out several other girls to me one after another, but I always felt they fell short of my expectations, so I rejected them for various reasons.
Finally, Wei Manwen shook her head at me and said, “Zhaoyang, there’s only one Mi Cai in this world. If you always use her as the standard, I really can’t help you. Moreover, I really dislike your constant rejections based on appearance.”
I immediately felt a burning sensation on my face, followed by a sense of shame. After a while, I asked, “Teacher Wei, do you think I’m quite superficial?”
“I can’t simply call you superficial, but your attitude is wrong… or perhaps, you don’t really want to find a girlfriend again subconsciously; you’re just giving in reluctantly due to the pressure from reality!”
I remained silent for a while before finally saying, “Teacher Wei, maybe you’re right. But I still need to find a girlfriend, so I’ll have to rely on you…”
“You’re being a bit of a nuisance, Comrade Zhaoyang!”
“Unfortunately, women feel the pressure to marry, and men feel the pressure to wed too—it’s all forced by reality. Besides, I think I’m quite a promising guy. The girl who ends up with me will have every reason to be happy!”
“You really know how to sell yourself!”
“Again, I’m forced into it!”
“You shouldn’t lie just because you’re forced!”
After Wei Manwen exposed my excuses like this, my confidence immediately waned. I then thought to myself: nowadays, who still believes in the concept of a promising partner? Without sufficient tangible wealth, talking about marriage is simply a luxury!
Before leaving, I said to Wei Manwen, “Alright, since I now know you teach here, in the future, if I see any girl I like, I can approach her myself and say I’m a friend of Teacher Wei’s. At the very least, she’ll give me some face, have a brief conversation, or even have a meal with me.”
“You’re really crossing the line now—it’s practically fraud!”
“Wrong! It’s called taking initiative and providing for oneself. After all, our relationship is genuinely close. I know exactly what kind of food you like and what type of plays you enjoy watching. How can this be considered fraud?”
Wei Manwen helplessly smiled again and said, “You… I really don’t know what else to say about you!!”
…
After saying goodbye to Wei Manwen, I called Chen Jingming, and the two of us agreed to meet at a teahouse near the city center. After we sat down, I respectfully poured him a cup of oolong tea as always.
Chen Jingming took a light sip and smiled, “Zhaoyang, no—I should call you Director Zhao now. As a former colleague who worked together with you for many years, I’m genuinely happy to see your achievements today!”
“Old leader, my company has only just been established. Isn’t it a bit too hasty for you to affirm my accomplishments already?”
Chen Jingming shook his head seriously and said, “We in the industry all know very well the potential of your company. I envy you. In the early stages of your entrepreneurship, you’ve already partnered with Yang Congrong and Jane from Simi Advertising. Forget about Yang’s standing in the industry—even Jane, who’s just starting out, shows great promise in setting a new benchmark for the advertising industry!”
He paused briefly before adding, “Of course, your project itself is also quite impressive. I can see its precise positioning and profitable prospects. More importantly, it carries a cultural depth that pure commercial projects can’t match. If you can truly establish such a cultural route on China’s tourism map, it will be an unprecedented innovation in the tourism industry… I sincerely hope you succeed!”
“Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for your guidance and tolerance over the years!”
“Zhaoyang, it’s I who should thank you. You gave me the opportunity to join Zhuomei. Mi Cai has done me a great favor—she fulfilled my long-held professional aspirations. When I think back to how I almost became an accomplice in scheming against her at Poly, I feel ashamed!”
“Why bring up those things now?”
“One must stay clear-headed and know what deserves gratitude and what deserves reflection… I only regret that I’m getting older and no longer have much energy to help Mi Cai stabilize Zhuomei.”
Although I could understand Chen Jingming’s feelings, I disliked discussing anything related to Zhuomei. My relationship with Mi Cai had been born at Zhuomei and ultimately died there as well. I couldn’t calmly face Zhuomei—the huge entity that had always made me feel suffocated. I finally changed the topic and asked Chen Jingming, “You said she has a generous gift for me. What exactly is it?”
Chen Jingming took out a file envelope from his briefcase and handed it to me. Before I could open it, he said, “Inside is a contract. Director Mi’s idea is that whenever you open any inn, bar, or scenic spot along your cultural route, Zhuomei will organize a company-wide tour to let all employees personally experience your cultural journey… Zhaoyang, you must understand that with the malls under construction in Wuxi and Hangzhou, Zhuomei has nearly a thousand employees with annual travel expenses reaching several million yuan. This is a huge order… It would be like giving wings to your company. That’s why I call it a generous gift!”
“This… this is too generous. I can’t accept it.”
My reaction seemed to be within Chen Jingming’s expectations. He smiled and said, “I’ve never seen a company refusing a client like this! Moreover, if Director Mi gives this order to other travel companies, she will do so regardless. Besides, if your partners know about this big order, wouldn’t they accept it for the sake of company development?”
“Her approach is inappropriate. I feel very uncomfortable about it! I don’t need her help, and I feel it’s more like pity. I can manage my company steadily through my own abilities!”
Chen Jingming shook his head and smiled, “Zhaoyang, you’re still too inexperienced and young… Can’t you see the subtleties here at all?”
“I don’t see them, and I don’t understand her intentions!”
“Some things, I shouldn’t speak too much on Director Mi’s behalf. But you can’t selfishly deprive Zhuomei’s employees of the company’s benefits and the joy of experiencing this cultural journey just because of your personal issues with Mi… Zhaoyang, you run a company and pursue a career, but I feel you still lack the mindset of an entrepreneur. You don’t understand acceptance, so you’re destined not to understand how to give back. Yet business is all about acceptance and reciprocity. Only by grasping this concept can you survive better in the business world.”
“Are you saying that by accepting Mi Cai’s gift now, I can give her something back in the future…?”
“Why can’t you see it that way?”
“I can have such a relationship of acceptance and reciprocity with anyone, but not with her. Just three words: I don’t care!”
Chen Jingming looked at me helplessly for a moment and sighed, “Still the same stubborn temper…”
“Director Chen, you’re completely mistaken. The reason I refuse is because I can’t forget her. I don’t want to keep experiencing endless pain because of this connection. Do you understand?”
Chen Jingming was quite surprised, perhaps never expecting this to be my reason for refusal. Indeed, I was just a man living in the realm of romantic entanglements, unable to accept such a gift purely from a business perspective.
After a long while, Chen Jingming finally said to me, “Zhaoyang, life is full of many hardships, especially for Director Mi, who has her own difficulties. I hope you won’t hold a grudge against her. What you need to do is work hard on your own career. When you truly stand at the peak of your success, you’ll find that romantic entanglements aren’t the hardest to let go of, because the satisfaction of success will replace all sense of loss!”
“That’s only how Mi Cai would think, not me, Zhaoyang. Please don’t pass on such a twisted set of values to me. I’m just an ordinary person!”
Chen Jingming signaled for me to calm down. After my emotions settled, he asked again, “Are you sure you won’t accept Director Mi’s goodwill?”
“Absolutely sure. I really don’t care!”
“Alright then. I’ve said all I needed to say. I’ll still ask Director Mi to handle this herself… I think the reason why she’s so insistent on giving you this order is just to repay the debt she owes you, so she can feel at peace…”.
I felt a surge of uncontrollable emotion but finally interrupted calmly, “Debt she owes me?… She still owes me a marriage certificate. Why don’t you ask her if she wants to repay that too?… Hehe, at this point, there’s no need to dwell too much on the past. Please convey to her: let her get married well. I, Zhaoyang, won’t live worse than her!”
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