I patiently waited for Mi Cai to make her choice. After a long pause, she finally said to me, “I’ve already agreed to go… Well then, I should at least show up at the cocktail party. I’ll come to Fang Yuan’s place to find you before 8:30.”
I didn’t object and accepted Mi Cai’s compromise, yet I couldn’t help but wonder—was she willingly attending the cocktail party, or was she forcing herself to go for business reasons?
Putting my feelings aside temporarily, I drove to the residence of Fang Yuan and Yan Yan. I arrived just past 7:50 PM. Yan Yan had already prepared a table full of dishes and, seeing me arrive alone, asked with some confusion, “Why are you alone? Didn’t you say you’d come with Mi Cai?”
“She has a cocktail party to attend; she’ll come here before 8:30.”
Yan Yan took off her apron and smiled, saying, “Then let’s wait for her a bit. Anyway, the summer dishes don’t cool down easily.”
Looking around, I asked, “Where’s Fang Yuan? Hasn’t he come back yet?”
“He just got back and is now in his study reading some documents. Recently, he’s been really busy!”
I smiled and said, “Well, he is now an executive vice president of a department store. The more occupied he is, the more it fits his status in the business world!”
“I actually wish he would slow down a bit. This so-called status weighs heavily on a person and costs too much of his personal time outside work.”
After Yan Yan’s complaint, I instinctively glanced toward Fang Yuan’s study, wondering whether pushing him and Chen Jingming into the huge whirlpool of Zhuo Mei had been the right or wrong decision.
…
I pushed open the door to Fang Yuan’s study. He was leaning back in his office chair, eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. A gust of wind blew in through the slightly open window, scattering papers on the desk and tousling his hair.
Standing in front of him, he finally opened his tired eyes and suddenly asked me, “Zhaoyang, what exactly is life?”
“Life? Life is anger, resentment, sometimes a bit of quiet joy.”
Fang Yuan smiled and said, “For me, life is a game… In this game, I gain honor and disgrace, and when the curtain finally falls, maybe there will be someone waiting for me with a floral wreath.”
I looked at him for a long time, not quite understanding what he meant. His words seemed somewhat pessimistic and casual, which didn’t sound like something a man who had already started a family should say.
“You’re planning life too far ahead. Before even carrying on the family line, you’re already thinking about someone waiting to give you a wreath after your death…”
“People will eventually die… We fall into this world, and life is just a game. In this game, all sorts of unexpected incidents can cause the game to end prematurely…” He lit a cigarette and continued in a low voice, “Do you remember Xiao Yang from the operations department at Baoli Department Store?”
“I vaguely remember him. Didn’t he leave Baoli and go to Shanghai for work later?”
“Yeah… He died in a car accident last week. His game ended prematurely too… We joined Baoli on the same day. Though we worked in different departments, we encouraged each other for years. We once vowed to make a name for ourselves in the retail industry… And he’s just gone like that! For him, this damn game was truly terrible. In the end, he couldn’t fulfill his promise to stand high and look down on those who looked down on him, even stepping on him.”
I faintly recalled Xiao Yang’s face, always smiling behind thick glasses, but now reduced to dust, buried deep in the soil. In five or ten years, perhaps no one will remember him anymore.
I lit a cigarette myself and, as I nearly finished it, said to Fang Yuan, “Isn’t life just unpredictable? As long as we’re alive, we inevitably sell ourselves to life, and then wait for it to arrange our fates.”
Fang Yuan shrugged, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and picked up the documents on the table again. I stood by the window, silently watching the city below. A hundred years later, perhaps these towering buildings would still remain, but the people who once lived here would have already exited the game. What was the significance of these buildings’ existence? Was it merely to prove that those people once played their part in life’s game?
…
After a while, the study door was finally knocked on again. Mi Cai’s voice came from outside, and soon she pushed the door open and walked in, apologizing to Fang Yuan, the host, saying, “Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long?”
Fang Yuan hurriedly stood up to greet her, “Not at all, not at all. Mi Cai, we’re already very happy that you came to our home as our guest!”
I patted Fang Yuan’s shoulder and said, “At home, don’t call her ‘Mi Cai’ formally like that… She’s my girlfriend. You should quickly recognize the situation and call her ‘sister-in-law’ for me.”
Fang Yuan looked a bit awkwardly at both me and Mi Cai. Mi Cai smiled and said to him, “I think Zhao Yang makes sense. Outside of work hours, you can just call me casually.”
“Alright then, I’ll follow Zhao Yang’s suggestion and call you sister-in-law.”
Mi Cai smiled at me and then linked her arm with mine, signaling to go outside for dinner.
…
The meal was soon finished. Mi Cai and I did not leave immediately, chatting with Yan Yan and Fang Yuan. Perhaps one day, after Mi Cai and I marry in Suzhou, we will often visit Fang Yuan’s home like today, maintaining our close friendship as before.
By the balcony window, I stood side by side with Fang Yuan, each holding a can of beer. After clinking our cans together, he asked, “Have you thought about what I mentioned last time?”
“You mean going to talk with Mi Zhongde?”
Fang Yuan took a sip of his beer and nodded, “Yes. Wei Ran and his ZH Investment Company are like a time bomb lurking near Mi Cai. Are you at ease with that?”
“I’m not at ease, but I can’t change her decision. Fang Yuan, you should understand that in this matter, I’ve always been an outsider. Mi Cai has already shut me out!”
“So she went to Wei Ran’s private cocktail party today, still hoping that Wei Ran would change his mind?”
“Perhaps.”
After a moment of silence, Fang Yuan said, “Mi Cai’s current actions will only worsen her relationship with Mi Zhongde. If Mi Zhongde gets provoked and decides to go all-in, it could be very detrimental to Mi Cai!”
I looked at Fang Yuan for a long time before asking him, “What exactly is your stance in discussing this with me? I’m a bit confused.”
“Of course, it’s from Zhuo Mei’s perspective—I’m part of Zhuo Mei too… I just hope this internal conflict caused by upper management’s struggle over interests can be resolved quickly. Zhuo Mei really can’t afford any more delays in its development. Reliable sources say that our competitor, Baoli Department Store, has already received new capital injections. They might launch a series of major initiatives in Suzhou this year, and Zhuo Mei will face even greater challenges… Zhao Yang, even if you’re an outsider, can you really bear to see Zhuo Mei facing such internal and external pressures?”
I fell silent, feeling resentment toward this situation in my heart. If Zhuo Mei could smoothly come under Mi Cai’s control and develop further, perhaps I would already be planning my marriage with her by now.
Fang Yuan continued, “Try to persuade Mi Cai when you get the chance. If she could personally talk with Mi Zhongde, there might really be a turning point. There’s already talk within the company that Mi Zhongde’s current situation isn’t good either. After all, they’re family. If they could turn conflict into cooperation and resolve their differences, wouldn’t that be a happy outcome for everyone?”
These words struck a chord with me. Although I had always looked down upon Mi Zhongde, if he could truly reform, abandon his malicious business intentions, and offer Mi Cai the warmth of a family member as her uncle, I would be the first to welcome and feel joyous about it. Because I truly hope Mi Cai can live a happy life. As long as she is happy, there’s nothing that cannot be forgiven.
Finally, I said to Fang Yuan, “I’ll talk to her again.”
Fang Yuan nodded, and our conversation ended there. The night grew deeper… Yet in this darkness, I seemed to see life as Fang Yuan had defined it—a game. If it’s just a game, why take it so seriously and so bloodily? The most important thing in this game should be to live comfortably for oneself.
Looking at Fang Yuan again, his gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness, yearning to see the final outcome of the game. I somewhat realized: our understanding of this game might differ, but exactly where the difference lies, I couldn’t quite articulate, because we’ve never been the same kind of people.
…
On the way back, Mi Cai drove while I sat in the front passenger seat. Although I was watching the neon-lit, somewhat illusory world outside the window, my mind was on how to bring up Zhuo Mei with her again.
During a red light, Mi Cai glanced at me and asked, “What are you thinking about? You haven’t said a word the whole way!”
“I’m thinking about how to talk to you.”
Mi Cai smiled and said, “Do we really need to think about talking? We can chat about anything—like this weekend, for example. Aren’t you going to invite me to watch a movie?”
“No, that’s not what I want to talk about now…”
Mi Cai rarely interrupted me and said, “Then let’s talk about someone else. By the way, how is the malicious media hype surrounding Yue Yao being handled now?”
“She just returned to Beijing and hasn’t made a public statement yet.”
“Oh…” Mi Cai responded, then drove through the intersection as the light turned green, shifting her attention back to driving.
Finally, I cautiously asked, “Mi Cai… What exactly do you think of your uncle? Can we talk about it?”
Mi Cai slowed down, looked at me, and after a while replied, “What’s wrong with you? Why suddenly bring him up?”
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