After ending the call with Jian Wei, I stood there in a daze for a long time until a vendor shouted at me impatiently, “Hey, are you buying or not? If not, don’t block others.”
Only then did I put my phone back into my pocket and said, “For this vegetable, just give me the discounted price.”
The vendor impatiently placed the already weighed vegetables into a plastic bag and complained, “The time I’ve wasted here is worth more than just a discount. Take it and go, don’t interfere with my business.”
I took out five yuan from my pocket and threw it onto his stall, then picked up the plastic bag and walked towards another fish vendor, immediately starting another round of bargaining.
Holding the vegetables I had bought for fifty yuan, I couldn’t help feeling pleased with myself, because the vegetables I had bargained for would last for many days for both Mi Cai and me. Thinking about it, this thousand plus yuan really could last for a long time.
A gust of wind blew, lifting the transparent plastic bags outside the market. Looking at their light and floating appearance, I suddenly felt the bag of vegetables in my hand was particularly heavy, and my life also seemed to have lost direction along with those drifting plastic bags.
Feeling the city lights accompanying the arrival of night, I couldn’t help but ask myself: Is this really the life I want?
…
This was another night when I had prepared dinner and was waiting for Mi Cai to return. Just like the previous nights, she came back very late again, and the braised pork I had prepared had turned into twice-cooked pork.
After washing our hands, we sat at the dining table and began to have dinner. Mi Cai said to me, “Zhaoyang, you don’t have to wait up for me so late anymore. You can eat first.”
“I only have an appetite when I see you eating.”
Mi Cai smiled happily and, just like the previous days, showed concern about my job search. She asked, “How is your job hunting going?”
I hesitated whether to tell her about helping Jian Wei secure the advertising deal, but ultimately chose to hide it. I shook my head and said, “Not yet, jobs are not easy to find these days.”
“Yeah, don’t rush. Take your time.”
I leaned closer to Mi Cai and asked, “Looking at your calm expression, are you secretly hoping I can’t find a job and become a househusband at home?”
“No, you’re thinking too much.”
Looking at her hurried denial, I furrowed my brow and asked again, “Are you sure?”
Mi Cai looked at me like she had done something wrong, paused for a while, and then nodded, “Okay, I admit it. I hope that every day when I come home, you will have dinner ready for me and keep the house clean and tidy. As for work… you can just do whatever you like!”
I couldn’t help but smile bitterly…
“Did I say something wrong?” Mi Cai asked me nervously.
“No, I was just thinking that even if I have a job in the future, I can still cook dinner and clean the house for you.”
Mi Cai shook her head, “I don’t believe you. There’s no job that easy, especially in your industry.”
So you selfishly hope I can never find a job?
“I’m sorry!”
“Eat this piece of fat meat as punishment.”
Mi Cai: “…”
…
The next day, at two in the afternoon, I arrived at Jian Wei’s company as agreed to go together to sign the advertising agency contract with Golden Summit Properties at three o’clock.
I sat in Jian Wei’s office smoking a cigarette, while she was making various preparations nervously for the signing.
After finishing a cigarette out of boredom, I put out the butt and said to Jian Wei, “I just feel like we got this contract too easily!”
Jian Wei didn’t look up and continued arranging the documents in her hand, “Easy? I don’t think so!”
“A five million yuan advertising project! We got it in less than a week! Isn’t that easy enough?”
“Because we made thorough preparations beforehand… Opportunities are for those who are prepared, right, Zhaoyang?”
“That’s barely acceptable, but…”
“Don’t ‘but’ me, just wait for your project commission.”
Jian Wei’s impatience left me somewhat helpless, and I chose not to say anything more, deciding instead to wait calmly for that huge commission that meant so much to me, just as she had said.
…
At exactly three o’clock, we arrived at Golden Summit Properties, and under my watchful eyes, Jian Wei signed the annual advertising agency contract with the general manager of Golden Summit Properties. When they officially exchanged the signed contracts, I finally felt certain that I was really going to receive that 500,000 yuan commission. My mood became complex in an instant, after having been poor for far too long… far too long.
After signing the contract, Jian Wei hosted a banquet to treat Mr. Wang, the director, and other senior executives of Golden Summit Properties, and I was also invited to the dinner.
Throughout the dinner, Director Wang praised me highly, and Jian Wei said something unforgettable amidst the praise.
She said: she had always believed in me.
In the following time, while I was dealing with the toasts offered by others, I kept pondering her words.
Had she really never lost faith in me? If the answer was yes, then why had she left me so decisively back then?
I smiled to myself in the dizziness of alcohol and told myself: Don’t be naive! It was just a polite remark she made in front of others. If she had truly never lost faith in me, she wouldn’t have given me up, wouldn’t have given up on the three years we had together!
…
That night, I couldn’t resist the continuous toasting and drank so much that I completely blacked out, not even knowing how I got home, until I woke up in the middle of the night with a dry and sore throat.
After drinking a glass of water, I instinctively picked up my phone and saw multiple missed calls from Mi Cai. Only then did I remember that I had turned my phone to silent mode while drinking. Although I had told her earlier that I was out with friends, she still couldn’t help but worry about me after such a long absence.
With a bit of unease, I went to the living room, turned on the floor lamp, and knocked on Mi Cai’s bedroom door.
After a while, Mi Cai came out wearing her pajamas and calmly said to me, “You’re awake.”
“Yeah.”
“Thirsty? I’ll get you some water.”
“No, I just had some.” I paused slightly before asking again, “Who brought me back tonight?”
“A man, I don’t know him. He must have been one of your drinking buddies.”
I immediately felt relieved, guessing that Jian Wei had asked one of her employees to bring me home to avoid suspicion.
But then, Mi Cai took out a bank card from a drawer under the coffee table and handed it to me.
“Why did you give me this bank card?”
Mi Cai shook her head and calmly said, “This card isn’t mine. The man left it here. He said it’s your commission from securing the advertising deal, 500,000 yuan!”
I was immediately stunned, staring blankly at Mi Cai.
“Zhaoyang, weren’t you looking for a job?”
“Yeah… I am.”
“Then tell me where this 500,000 yuan came from… tell me the truth.”
I felt it was hard to speak.
“If you won’t tell me, I have ways of finding out the truth about this money, but I still hope you’ll tell me yourself… Suddenly having 500,000 yuan, I’m really scared you’ve done something wrong, scared that this money might be dirty.”
“This money really is the commission from the advertising deal. If it were dirty money, why would he dare to have you pass it on to me?”
Mi Cai nodded and said, “That’s good then… So tell me about this advertising deal you’ve secured. I’m really curious!”
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