Chapter 333: Let’s Date

As Luo Ben and I sat in brief silence, Wei Manwen brought us a fruit platter. She had been working as a server at our inn these days and even helped solve our dining issues. Her cooking skills were excellent, and she truly deserved the description of being “well-read, polite, gentle, and virtuous.” Therefore, it was understandable why Luo Ben couldn’t forget her, while CC, who was too much like him, was someone he could never truly love. After all, how could someone who constantly despised himself fall for another version of himself?

Luo Ben picked up a slice of apple from the fruit platter that Wei Manwen had brought and handed it to me. I wasn’t really in the mood to eat, but I took it anyway and asked him, “Are you going to sing yourself at the original song competition, or are you going to find a duet partner?”

“One of the competition songs must be sung by a woman; I can’t sing it.”

“Then who are you planning to ask to be your duet partner?”

Luo Ben remained silent for a while without answering. I knew he was thinking of CC, but he couldn’t bring himself to invite her, given the wounds she already carried.

Finally, I spoke again, saying, “CC mentioned to me that she wants to be your duet partner. Do you think that would be appropriate?”

After another long silence, Luo Ben replied, “I’ll find someone else. After all, I’ve been in this industry for quite some time and know quite a few well-known female singers.”

I nodded, unable to help but imagine CC, who was now in Nepal. I wondered what scenery she was experiencing, whether she was happy or sad. I really hoped this trip would bring her joy, but I had no idea when she would return. Without her, even simple communication between Mi Cai and me seemed impossible.

…

That evening, after a long period without contact, Leyao finally reached out to me. She said her company had arranged two commercial events and small fan meetings in Suzhou and Nanjing, and today’s event was in Suzhou. She invited me to meet up with Luo Ben.

Luo Ben was in the middle of intense creation and didn’t want to leave, so he suggested Leyao come to Xitang. However, she firmly refused, saying she was exhausted from the event. Thus, the two stars ended up clashing, neither willing to meet the other. In the end, I had to go to Suzhou alone. I also withdrew some money from the bank and put it on another bank card, planning to repay Leyao the money I had borrowed when the inn first opened. Although she didn’t need it, I had delayed it for far too long.

I borrowed Ah Feng’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and headed to Suzhou as night approached. On the way, I thought about whether Mi Cai might come to Xitang to find me. I soon realized I was probably overthinking it; she wouldn’t come to Xitang so soon, especially in the current unclear situation.

Around 8 PM, I returned to Suzhou and went directly to the restaurant where I had made plans with Leyao. However, when I arrived, Leyao hadn’t come yet. She sent me a message asking me to wait patiently for another hour, as her event had been extended.

For the first time, I found that waiting alone for an hour was unbearably long. Suddenly, I had an idea: I wanted to use this waiting time to visit that old house. If there was a light on in the room, I wouldn’t go up. If Mi Cai hadn’t returned yet, I would go up to check if she had eaten the breakfast I had prepared for her in the morning. If she hadn’t, I needed to throw it away quickly, as food spoils too fast in early summer and can easily attract flies.

Once this thought took root, it became uncontrollable. I told myself: If it weren’t for those unexpected incidents, the two of us had already decided to spend our lives together, so what was there that couldn’t be compromised and accepted? Sometimes, it wasn’t a big deal to be a little self-deprecating for love. So, I picked up the car key from the table and, for the first time in my life, went to care about a woman’s life in a self-deprecating manner.

…

It took me ten minutes to reach the foot of the old house. I walked around to Mi Cai’s side of the room and, after confirming there was no light, took out the key from my pocket and headed upstairs. I opened the door, and the room was pitch black. Even in the darkness, I instinctively found the light switch and pressed it, instantly lighting up the room…

I instinctively looked toward the dining table, but the breakfast I had placed there was gone. I went to the kitchen and saw that the bowls and chopsticks had already been washed. It seemed she had eaten the breakfast I had prepared for her, which brought me some comfort.

I checked my watch; there was still half an hour until my meeting with Leyao, so I wasn’t in a hurry to leave. I made myself a strong cup of tea but didn’t take a sip. Instead, I sat on the sofa, aimlessly looking around…

Out of sheer boredom, I went into Mi Cai’s room and took the guitar I had given her, playing with it until twenty minutes had passed. Then I finally left the old house and returned to the restaurant. It was already 9 PM, meaning Mi Cai might not have finished work yet. Sometimes I thought she had it pretty tough. But was ZM really necessary for her to carry as a lifelong burden? And her father, Mi Zhongxin, in the afterlife, would he really want her to live such a hard life?

I had no answers to these questions, but from my perspective, I really hoped she could give up on ZM and live a life of freedom and fragrance!

…

When I returned to the restaurant again, Leyao had finally arrived. She was sitting alone in the private room drinking tea. When she saw me, she asked in a displeased tone, “When I came, I didn’t even see a shadow of you. Where did you go?”

“You shouldn’t have waited too long. It’s only five minutes past nine. Besides, you were the one who was late first. I was so impatient waiting for you that I just went out for a walk.”

Leyao seemed to realize she was in the wrong and gave me an irresistible smile, trying to gloss over the issue. I didn’t feel like arguing and simply sat down opposite her, then called the waiter to serve the dishes.

During the meal, Leyao kept staring at me. Finally, she asked, “Zhaoyang, I feel like something’s off with you. Where’s that talkative spirit you used to have?”

“I’ve got some troubles on my mind, who has time to be talkative!”

“Have you and Mi Cai had another argument?”

I instinctively sighed, “It would be better if we had!”

Leyao shook her head and said, “Your love life is too exhausting!”

I didn’t reply. Sometimes I myself didn’t feel like it was exhausting, but what could I do? Since I really cared about this relationship, I couldn’t just give up because of what others said or because it was hard. Anyway, right now, I was determined to one belief: as long as Mi Cai didn’t give up, I definitely wouldn’t give up, even if there were mountains of knives or seas of fire ahead.

At this moment, Leyao, whether joking or serious, said to me, who was silent, “Zhaoyang, do you remember me telling you before that when I become a female star, I’ll only love you?… How about we start dating?”

“You’re joking, right?”

“No, after all, I’ve even been pregnant for you!”

I frowned, “Is it meaningful to bring this up again?… If you had really been pregnant with my child, I would definitely take responsibility. This is just nonsense, and it really bothers me!”

“Do you think I’m the kind of woman who sleeps around with men randomly?”

I didn’t know how to answer for a moment. In fact, I really knew nothing about Leyao’s private life, after all, I couldn’t possibly check on her every restless night. After a long time, I replied, “How should I know?”

Leyao suddenly laughed, “Okay, I’m just kidding you. Do you have to look so conflicted?”

“I think you’re just asking for it… asking for education! Why do you always tease me for no reason?”

“You wanted to say I’m asking for a good spanking, didn’t you? Why pretend to be a gentleman and change your words?”

I felt she was deliberately teasing me, so I finally stopped smiling, took out the prepared bank card from my pocket, and changed the subject, saying, “This is the money I borrowed from you when I opened the inn before. Recently, I’ve got some extra cash, so I’ll return it to you.”

Leyao didn’t take the bank card from me immediately, waving her hand and saying, “No talking about money at the dinner table. After we finish eating, let’s go see the train, and then you can give it back to me.”

I complained, “Isn’t this redundant?”

Leyao glared at me, impatiently saying, “Eat!”

“What a big star, and the temper has grown too…”

Leyao directly picked up a piece of fatty meat and stuffed it into my mouth, making me feel nauseous for a long time. I finally realized that her playful and teasing nature was just her usual behavior, unrelated to how big a star she had become.

…

After finishing the meal, the two of us, with nothing better to do, once again came to a section of railway tracks near the train station. I remembered that the last time we came here, it had rained, and Leyao was still just an unknown little actress. At that time, I often faced the crisis of being kicked out by Mi Cai, my “tenant.” Thinking back, the passing time really could change so much.

I lit a cigarette and asked Leyao, “Why do you always like coming here to watch the trains?”

Without hesitation, Leyao answered, “Every time I watch the train rushing past in front of me, I always feel as if it will take me, a lonely person, to the other side of the sea, to find that island free from worldly constraints!”

“This is a train, not a ship.”

“If a witch’s broom can fly in the sky, why can’t a train take me to find that island in the world of imagination?”

“You’re pretty good at arguing, aren’t you!”

Leyao didn’t respond to me. She just stared intently at the train that had turned into a blur in front of us. I looked up at the sky, which was overcast, and it seemed like it was going to rain again…

I patted Leyao’s shoulder and pointed to the sky, saying, “It’s going to rain soon.”

Leyao looked up and asked, “Why does it always rain whenever we come here?”

I joked, “It rains to sober you up a bit, reminding you that there’s no train in this world that can cross the sea to the island on the other side.”

“You mean to tell me that love is the same? A woman who only has a train will never enter the heart of the man who is across the sea. And the woman who holds the sail, with just a gentle breeze, reaches the island and makes the man fall in love madly!”

I couldn’t be sure who Leyao was implying with these words, so I didn’t dare to answer rashly. In the long silence that followed, the sky finally began to drizzle, and my phone rang shortly after. This time it was Luo Ben calling. He told me that Mi Cai had arrived in Xitang and asked if I wanted to rush back that night to see her.