It was already evening. Due to the poor business, the Tongzi and I were squatting under a willow tree across from the inn, holding our boxed meals in our hands while watching the passersby.
Tongzi sighed and said to me, “Brother Yang, I’m not even happy biting into a chicken leg because there’s no business at all!”
“Why don’t you shout a few greetings to the tourists on the road? Maybe they’ll end up staying at our inn.”
“Who would pay attention to me? You think I’m Leyao or something!”
I smiled, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, saying, “When the cart reaches the mountain, there must be a path. Starting a business must not be rushed; one must always remain calm.”
“Alright then, I’ll stay calm… If one day our inn is bustling with customers, I’ll definitely be overwhelmed with happiness.”
I joked with him, “Happier than losing your virginity?”
“These are two completely different types of happiness; it’s not fair to compare them.”
“You sure make a clear distinction!”
Tongzi chuckled and then conspiratorially lowered his voice to ask me, “Bro, tell me secretly, how many women have you slept with?”
“Who can remember!”
“Beast! Those girls must be blind to let themselves be ruined by you!”
“It’s mutual ruination.”
Tongzi made a vomiting gesture and refused to speak with me anymore. I could clearly see that a virgin’s heart had been deeply wounded.
…
Basking in the spring breeze of the evening, quietly watching the river carry fallen leaves eastward, when tired of watching, I would shout greetings to the boat-rowing girls. Time transformed into wind and clouds, drifting toward the horizon, carried away by the girls’ silvery laughter.
Suddenly, a woman’s fragrance and a whiff of tobacco came from behind. Then two hands simultaneously patted my shoulders. Instinctively, I turned around. The fragrance came from CC, and the tobacco scent came from the cigarette between Roben’s fingers.
I was delighted, “How come you two are here?”
CC smiled, “How could we not come to support you on the opening day of your inn?”
I hugged the two of them, feeling very happy. It seemed I hadn’t really been forgotten, so these past few days, there were always people coming to Xitang to visit me.
“You two haven’t eaten yet, let me treat you to the local specialties of Xitang.”
Roben laughed at CC, saying, “See that? Zhaoyang doesn’t have many virtues, but he is enthusiastic. So, let’s reluctantly give him the chance to treat us to dinner.”
“You’ve reached the pinnacle of being pretentious… I really want to sculpt a statue and worship you as the god of pretentiousness!”
Roben burst into laughter, as did CC. It was obvious they were in a good mood, probably because they had finally gotten together, and surely had made progress in their love life.
…
With Roben and CC, we chose a local restaurant nearby and began catching up while dining.
I asked Roben, “Have you finished your work in Beijing?”
“It’s done. The production company has decided to use my music and lyrics, and I delivered it a few days ago.”
“That’s really great.”
CC took over the conversation, “This time, it was thanks to Leyao that Roben got this opportunity.”
Roben nodded in agreement and continued, “Speaking of the big stars, she’s been through a lot too. I stayed in Beijing for a few months, and every time she got sick, I was the one who took care of her.”
I asked with some confusion, “Didn’t she have an agent?”
“She said she doesn’t like being around people who treat her as a tool for making money. But, to be honest, once you enter this industry, you’ve already become a tool for making money. I’ve seen through it all, but she still hasn’t!” Roben said, then threw a cigarette into his mouth and lit it.
I remained silent for a while, feeling a strange emotion I couldn’t describe. Yet I couldn’t do anything to change things for Leyao, because we were all living lives beyond our control.
CC seemed to sense the heaviness of the topic and patted my shoulder, asking, “Zhaoyang, what’s there to do in Xitang at night?”
“Bars.”
“Let’s go out after dinner.”
I nodded.
CC suddenly remembered something and asked, “I heard there’s a famous bar here called ‘I’m Waiting for You in Xitang’?”
“Yeah, there is such a bar. The owner, Feng, is also into music.”
CC smiled at Roben and said, “Then we must go there for a visit.”
“You two aren’t going there to cause trouble, are you?”
Roben replied in his usual pretentious tone, “No need for that, it’s just a bar after all.”
…
On the way to the bar, CC and I walked together. Finally, she complained, “Zhaoyang, I have to say, keeping your move to Xitang a secret was really too much!”
“At that time, I didn’t think she would be affected much by my leaving Suzhou.”
“But the fact is: she looked for you all over the world… Why can’t you cherish her? She’s a woman without a father, without any dating experience, and lacks a sense of security.”
“I’ve been struggling with this for a long time. You know love is full of uncertainties. I really don’t want to bring her one trouble after another. Strictly speaking, I’m not a man who brings peace.”
“Yes, love is full of uncertainties, but love also has no reason. Otherwise, Mi’er wouldn’t have fallen in love with you, and you wouldn’t have fallen in love with her either… Since fate has arranged for you two to love each other, you should cherish it more and work hard to maintain it.”
“I also hope for that, but I can do too little for her… Compared with Weiran, I’m really not a qualified boyfriend, not in any aspect.”
“If one day Weiran also leaves without a word, do you think Mi’er will search for him all over the world?”
“After all, they had been through hard times together in the US for several years. From what I know about Mi’er, she would be worried.”
“Then you see, that’s exactly the point. The relationship between Mi’er and Weiran is just a friendship forged through hardship. That day, she got into Weiran’s car, leaving you behind, but this only proves that she regarded Weiran as a friend or a brother. If she really had romantic feelings for Weiran, she wouldn’t have gotten into his car, because subconsciously she would feel guilty toward you, her official boyfriend. This sense of guilt would stop her from continuing to do anything that would hurt you… On the contrary, precisely because she was straightforward, she didn’t think too much about it. In fact, Mi’er, who has no dating experience, is very simple when it comes to emotions.”
“Your reverse thinking is really complicated!”
“Even if it’s complicated, you, who are smart, must understand. Back then, you were just limited by impulse, which led to that misunderstanding with Mi’er.”
I looked at CC without saying a word.
CC smiled, “Now you must be really admiring your big sister, right? Actually, there’s no need to admire me, because during college, my major was emotional psychology. Your little emotions all fall within my professional field. I can cure you in a minute!”
I exaggeratedly said, “Wow, CC, you really understand so much. On behalf of all the lovesick men and women, I’ll give you a hundred thumbs up!” I then proceeded to poke CC’s face with my finger.
CC dodged while angrily saying, “Zhaoyang, can’t you act a bit more properly? I really want to put you in a kindergarten to reform you thoroughly!”
I laughed out loud, but my mind was still thinking about CC’s words. Could she really accurately understand me and Mi’er, who were too involved to see clearly?
Actually, whether her analysis is correct isn’t important. What’s important is that there hasn’t yet formed a natural sense of trust between Mi’er and me. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been this series of events.
Love is like an exam, urging the lovers to learn and grow. In two months, Mi’er and I will face this exam again, only hoping that we can pass it with at least a passing grade.
I also hope that this time, her trip to the US will successfully complete all the preparatory work for the ZHUOMEI listing, because I know that ZHUOMEI is the most important thing in her life, irreplaceable!
…
As we talked, the three of us had already arrived at Feng’s bar. The bar was crowded and lively with many tourists today. I waved to Feng to greet him.
Feng pushed through the crowd to come to my side, his face showing delight as he said to me, “Zhaoyang, I was just about to go to the inn to find you?”
“What’s up?”
“Today we’re holding an impromptu ‘Bar Voice’ competition. An event like this definitely can’t do without you to help liven things up.”
I smiled, feeling a strong desire to participate. I looked at Roben and CC beside me and said to Feng, “I brought two friends today; maybe they can join your ‘Bar Voice’ activity later.”
Feng greeted CC and Roben, “Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you!”
Roben and CC nodded in response, and then the four of us walked into the bar.
Feng lowered his voice and asked me, “Zhaoyang, are these two friends of yours also into music?”
“You’ll see later.”
“You’re making it mysterious. I don’t think they look like they’re into music!”
I looked at Roben, only noticing then that he was wearing a business suit today, and CC was dressed formally as well, probably having participated in some event in Beijing at noon before flying directly to Xitang. No wonder Feng thought they didn’t look like they were into music.
I shrugged at Feng and said, “Then just consider them amateur KTV level.”
…
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