I answered the call from Mi Cai, slightly puzzled, and asked, “Why did you suddenly call me?”
“I just thought of something: once your Perfect Travel Plan package is posted on Yirou Travel website, it will definitely bring a surge in customer traffic. Considering the limited capacity of the guesthouse, how do you plan to solve this tricky issue?”
I smiled and said, “We really are on the same wavelength! I’m thinking about this very issue right now.”
“Then have you found a solution yet?”
“Not yet on my end. Do you have any good suggestions?”
Mi Cai replied somewhat apologetically, “I don’t have any great ideas either… but I really wish I could help.”
“It makes me happy that you’re thinking about this. I’ll resolve it as soon as possible—it’ll be good training for my problem-solving skills.”
“Mm…” After a brief silence, Mi Cai continued, “Zhao Yang, what about considering integrating nearby guesthouses’ resources and inviting them to join this plan?”
“That would be the last resort. I’m not really willing to share these resources with competitors, and right now the guesthouse really needs to make some money through this plan. Diverting the customer flow would make it impossible to reach our goal.”
Mi Cai chuckled and said, “If you don’t want to share resources with competitors, then this time will really test your ability to handle the situation. But as always, I have full confidence in you.” After a moment’s thought, she added, “Just confidence in your career.”
“So what don’t you have confidence in?”
“Uh… Did you flirt with any other girls today?”
Of course I knew she was answering my previous question indirectly, so I joked, “Does it count if the girls approached me first?”
Her tone sounded slightly displeased, “Seriously? There were some?”
“The radiance of mine has always been dazzling!”
“I’m hanging up now…”
“You don’t need to be so harsh!”
“I do. I know you never restrain yourself, so you accept any girl who approaches you.”
Finally, I dropped the joking tone and spoke earnestly, “Actually, I’m really happy that you’re jealous. At least it shows that you care about me.”
“Then can you promise to be faithful to me?”
“I think being faithful to one person is a very clear and bright thing. It’s something worth devoting a lifetime to protect.”
Mi Cai fell silent. I thought maybe she was silent because my words were too subtle, so I encouraged myself inwardly and tried to express my determination more directly. But she suddenly asked me, “Zhao Yang, do you love me?”
I fell silent instantly. Even though I was already in love with Mi Cai, I had never actually used the word “love” to describe our relationship. But it wasn’t because we lacked confidence in each other—it was exactly because we lacked confidence.
I could almost sense Mi Cai’s increasingly rapid breathing as she waited for my answer. Finally, I stopped hesitating and said to her, “Love… I’ve loved you for a long time!”
“But why have you never said it to me before?”
I fell silent again, my heart churning with long-standing emotions. After a while, I said, “Before answering your question, I’d like to ask you something first.”
“Go ahead.”
“Throughout your life, from childhood until now, have many men pursued you?”
Mi Cai answered almost immediately without hesitation, “Very few. Very, very few.”
I wasn’t surprised by her answer at all. From Wei Ran’s confession to her last time, it was obvious. If she had been used to men confessing their feelings, she wouldn’t have run away in panic.
I smiled bitterly and said, “It takes tremendous courage to pursue you. Only someone like Wei Ran, a real rich and handsome guy, dared to confess. Even he only confessed after four years, when he felt threatened by me. So you should understand why I always find it so hard to express my inner passion when I’m with you, a man with nothing at all.”
“I don’t care about all that. As long as the person I love also loves me, that’s happiness enough for me!”
“…Do you love me too?”
“If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have searched the entire world for you after you left without saying goodbye!”
“But why do you love me?”
Mi Cai was silent for a long time before she finally answered, “I can’t really explain…”
I smiled and said, “That’s strange. If you could explain it clearly, that would be even stranger. Maybe… your feelings for me are just dependency.”
“Isn’t dependency also a kind of love?”
“I don’t know. At least I’ve never fallen in love with someone just because I depended on them.”
Mi Cai fell silent for the third time on the other end of the line, but my words were from the bottom of my heart. I clearly understood that for both Li Xiaoyun and Leyao before, I had depended on them, but I had never developed romantic feelings because of that. My heart still longed for Jian Wei from the past and Mi Cai in the present.
I didn’t want her silence to continue, so I changed the subject and said, “Do you remember you promised me that when you come back from America, you’ll wear a beautiful white dress?”
“Mm.”
“And remember to wear a bright key around your neck, to truly open your heart for me.”
…
It was already late at night when I ended the call with Mi Cai, but I had no desire to sleep. I leaned back in my office chair, smoked a cigarette to keep myself awake, and then plunged back into my busy work. But this time I couldn’t concentrate as intensely as before, because I kept thinking about the day Mi Cai would return from America, imagining her in a white dress, and even more, I longed for her to open her heart with that key and give me a reason to love her beyond mere dependency.
…
I stayed up until late at night, and the next day I didn’t wake up until noon. After a quick lunch, I took the list given to me by Feng Feng and went to screen the merchants interested in participating in the “Perfect Travel Plan.” This task took up my entire afternoon, and by evening, I had only completed half of the process.
Night quietly fell on Xitang. I dragged my tired body walking under the streetlights when I received a call from the marketing manager of Yirou Travel website. He confirmed with me about the time to publish the “Perfect Travel Plan” on the website.
I told him that I still needed some time, and he kindly reminded me not to miss the upcoming peak travel season. After ending the call, I was once again stuck in a dilemma with no solution.
Back at the guesthouse, Tongzi was still dozing off at the front desk. After I woke him up, he looked at me for a long time before complaining, “Brother Yang, the guesthouse’s business is still bad today. When exactly are you going to announce your Perfect Travel Plan?”
I patted his shoulder and explained, “This advertising resource is hard-earned, very scarce and precious. Therefore, we must develop a practical and feasible plan to maximize the effectiveness of this advertising resource.”
Tongzi nodded and asked me, “Brother Yang, are you facing any difficulties?”
“Yeah, a pretty big one.”
“You can ask that woman in the red dress for advice. I always feel she has insightful business ideas. Maybe she can help you solve this problem?”
This was a problem that even Mi Cai found difficult to handle, so I had no hope at all that the woman in red would offer me a practical and feasible suggestion. I replied to Tongzi dismissively, “Let’s talk about it when she comes to our guesthouse next time.”
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