A while later, I warmed up the food, took off my apron, and carried everything back to the dining table. Just as I was about to call Mi Cai for dinner, I found her already asleep on the sofa.
I sighed out of concern for her, walked over, and gently woke her up: “Time for dinner. Eat first, then sleep.”
Mi Cai rubbed her tired eyes and asked, “What did you cook?”
“All your favorites. You’ll gain weight easily if you eat too much.”
She perked up and said, “Great!”
I raised my eyebrows and teased, “Aren’t you going to show some appreciation?”
“How should I show it?”
I leaned closer to her and said, “Kiss me.”
Mi Cai smiled and kissed my cheek. I cherished this moment of warmth, as if all the frustration I had felt from waiting vanished instantly.
At the dinner table, we chatted while eating. Mi Cai asked, “Zhaoyang, how’s your job search going?”
Instinctively, I put down my chopsticks and paused slightly before replying, “Still looking.”
Mi Cai didn’t notice anything unusual and simply nodded, “Take your time. No rush.”
I nodded in agreement and continued eating.
After dinner, Mi Cai went to the bathroom to freshen up while I washed the dishes in the kitchen, as usual lighting a cigarette.
A while later, after finishing her grooming, Mi Cai came to the kitchen, took the cigarette from my mouth, and hugged me from behind.
I smiled and asked, “You’ve had a tiring day. Why aren’t you going to bed yet?”
“I want to stay with you… let me help wash the dishes.”
Before she could take the dishes from me, I stopped her and said, “You’ve already washed up. Don’t get your hands dirty again. Go to bed now.”
“Then I’ll wait for you to finish.”
I looked at the sink and saw only a few dishes left, so I let her stay.
…
After finishing the dishes, Mi Cai and I returned to the living room, but she still showed no sign of going to bed and just sat beside me on the sofa.
Puzzled, I asked, “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”
Mi Cai hesitated for a moment, then took out a bank card from her handbag and handed it to me.
I didn’t reach for it and asked, “What’s this for?”
“You don’t have a job right now, but you must have daily expenses.”
“I still have over a thousand yuan.”
Mi Cai blurted out, “What can a thousand yuan do?”
“A thousand yuan might not mean much to you, but for me, if I spend carefully, it can last a long time.”
“Why do we have to be so separate?”
“At least we’re not married yet. I think it’s better to keep things clear before marriage.”
Mi Cai didn’t speak but still held the bank card.
I smiled at her and said, “Then why don’t you marry me now? If you marry me, I’ll let you support me.”
“Rascal!”
“Say it again.”
“Rascal!”
“I just love hearing you call me that… Haha!”
Mi Cai didn’t laugh along with me. After a while, she softly said, “I wish you really were a rascal.”
Of course, I understood that Mi Cai was indirectly pointing out my strong sense of pride. But what could I do? If a man cannot maintain enough self-respect in front of his woman, it only suggests that he’s living off her money, greedy for her wealth. I was clearly not like that. If I had any ulterior motives, it would only be for her heart, a heart that could love me for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, I stood up from the sofa, walked over, and picked her up in my arms: “Come on, go to sleep now… tomorrow might be another busy day.”
“I don’t want to sleep yet. Why are you so domineering?”
“At Zhuo Mei you’re the CEO, but in this house, you’re just my girlfriend. So… I have to be domineering with you!”
Mi Cai glared at me but gently wrapped her arms around my neck. With a bit of satisfaction, I carried her into the bedroom, gently laid her on the bed, pulled the covers over her, and turned off the light.
…
After leaving Mi Cai’s room, night once again separated us. Knowing she wouldn’t come out again, I dared to light a cigarette to satisfy my craving.
My gaze inadvertently fell on the bank card Mi Cai had left on the coffee table. A complicated feeling stirred inside me, and my desire for money grew stronger. Although I wanted it, I still clearly understood that the money that truly belonged to me must be earned honestly and honorably.
So I couldn’t help asking myself: If I could get the 500,000 yuan commission from Jian Wei, would that be considered honestly and honorably mine?
It’s hard to say clearly. At least I didn’t think my spontaneous effort was worth that 500,000 yuan!
…
Time continued to move forward. In the past two days, I hadn’t pinned my hopes on Jian Wei’s advertising business. I still kept my original pace, visiting various companies in search of a job to make a living. But the results were still disappointing. Even when I encountered one or two companies that showed interest in me, the highest monthly salary they offered during the probationary period was no more than 5,000 yuan. This clearly couldn’t meet my current needs because I had been working for years. Even at Poly Department Store, I had once earned a monthly salary of 7,000 yuan. People are always like this: once they’ve reached a certain level, psychologically they can’t accept stepping back now… So once again, I was ruthlessly beaten by reality!
This was another tiring evening. I was wandering through the supermarket pushing a shopping cart like a housewife, searching among many products for discounted food.
After walking around for a while, my shopping cart was still empty because subconsciously I felt everything here was too expensive. I started thinking about going to the market instead, so I actually left the supermarket empty-handed and headed toward the market across the street.
While I was haggling fiercely with the vendors over prices, my phone suddenly rang. After cursing the vendor as a “merchant of greed,” I took out my phone from my pocket and answered the call.
Before I could even say a word of greeting, Jian Wei’s excited voice came through the phone: “Zhaoyang… good news! Our application for the annual advertising agency with Kingding Properties has been approved by their senior management… We did it!”
I felt a bit dazed and hesitated for a moment before asking uncertainly, “Approved?”
“Yes, really approved! We’ve landed this 5 million yuan annual advertising agency business!”
I fell silent, but two questions suddenly arose in my mind: Was I about to receive the 50,000 yuan commission?… What should I do with this money?
Jian Wei was still excited on the other end of the line: “Zhaoyang, tomorrow at 3 PM, come to Sima Advertising. We’ll go together to Kingding Properties to sign the advertising agency contract!”
Instinctively, I replied, “I don’t think I need to go.”
“No way! You’re the biggest hero here. No one can be missing, especially not you!”
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