I kept looking at Mi Cai, without saying a word or showing any expression. Mi Cai looked back at me, puzzled, and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you expressionless and silent?”
“Do you think buying clothes is a big or small matter?”
Mi Cai immediately replied, “Small.”
“Why do I feel it’s a big deal?”
“Then tell me why you think it’s a big deal?”
“Because I don’t have money.”
“I’ll give it to you!”
I smiled at Mi Cai and said, “Okay, okay, then give me a villa and a luxury car too!”
Mi Cai blinked as if thinking, and after a while asked, “Do you really want them?”
“Really.”
“Okay, then I’ll give them to you!”
“Then give me a yacht too. Imagine enjoying the sea breeze and drinking red wine on it; I feel so stylish and extravagant!”
Finally, Mi Cai understood my implication, and looked at me with a complicated expression.
I hugged her and said earnestly, “Actually, giving clothes is essentially the same as giving luxury houses and cars; such gifts will corrode love from the root, and I think you must understand this. And since my material conditions don’t allow me to wear luxury brands, I don’t want to force it. So… let me wear normal clothes to the wine party, okay? Or if you’re embarrassed by me, then I won’t go.”
“How could I ever look down on you! You can wear whatever you like.”
I nodded, then drank the milk in my cup, smiled at her, and said, “You sit and rest for a while; I’ll go make breakfast, and after that we’ll go to the convenience store downstairs to ride the merry-go-round.”
Mi Cai smiled back at me, then picked up a magazine and started reading while waiting for my breakfast.
…
After breakfast, we went to the convenience store as previously agreed, chatting while riding the merry-go-round.
Mi Cai asked me, “Zhaoyang, what shall we do later?”
“Let’s call Wei Xiao to go go-kart racing at the square, then pay a New Year visit to his grandfather at noon.”
“Good idea. We haven’t visited the grandfather for a long time.”
“Yeah, let’s go. Now we’ll go to the mall to buy some New Year goods first.”
Mi Cai was in a great mood, smiling as she got off the merry-go-round and affectionately linked her arm with mine. We leaned on each other and walked toward the residential complex.
At the parking lot, my little Alto was parked right next to her Audi. We looked at each other, and finally I asked, “Whose car do we take?”
“You can drive whichever you like; anyway, you’re the driver today.”
I pinched her nose and said with a smile, “See, this boyfriend is even more versatile than a Swiss army knife—he can be a nanny and a driver. You must have accumulated great blessings in eight lifetimes to get me, right?”
“Exactly, and I’ll cherish you especially.”
“Good attitude!” I praised, then looked at the two cars and started playing “choosing the general,” finally pointing at Mi Cai’s Q7 and exclaimed, “Looks like heaven wants me to experience driving a luxury car for a bit. Quick, give me the keys so I can enjoy it.”
Mi Cai took the car keys from her handbag and handed them to me. I then pulled her toward the car.
All the way, I felt the Q7’s powerful performance and comfortable ride, which made me a bit giddy. I pushed the speed up to 80 on city roads. With the help of the speed, we quickly finished shopping at the mall and soon arrived at the square where we often raced.
After parking the car, I took out two gas-powered racing cars from the trunk and walked with Mi Cai toward the square, feeling a comfort and joy I hadn’t experienced in recent years. I felt that my current life was a gift from heaven.
I started Mi Cai’s car first, then mine, and we began playing with great enthusiasm. The two extremely stylish racing cars soon attracted many children to gather around, and they took out their own cars to race against ours.
Every time our cars knocked over others’ cars, Mi Cai would laugh very happily, which gave me a strong sense of achievement. In my memory, she had never laughed so genuinely as much in half a morning as she had before. Time quietly passed in joy, bringing us a soft and gentle world where we could indulge freely.
A while later, Wei Xiao also arrived at the square. Seeing me and Mi Cai, he immediately smiled and ran toward us with his fat body shaking, gasping, “Brother, Referee Sister, Happy New Year.” Then he thought and corrected himself, “No, I shouldn’t say Happy New Year, I should say ‘Congratulations and红包 (hongbao) please!'”
Looking at the hand Wei Xiao extended toward us, Mi Cai and I exchanged glances and smiled. Finally, Mi Cai took out a red envelope she had prepared in advance from her handbag and handed it to him.
Wei Xiao happily accepted the red envelope and then asked me, “Brother, where’s yours?”
“Didn’t your Referee Sister already give it to you?”
“Yeah, but you didn’t give me one!”
I smiled and said, “The two of us giving you one is enough. Also, from now on, you can’t call her Referee Sister anymore, understand?”
Wei Xiao scratched his head, puzzled, and asked, “Then what should I call her?”
I hugged Mi Cai and raised my eyebrows at Wei Xiao, replying, “Call her Big Sister-in-law!”
Wei Xiao didn’t get it at first, stood there for a long time, then suddenly shook with excitement and jumped up high, exclaiming, “Wow, Brother and Referee Sister, you’re dating!”
Mi Cai and I both smiled and nodded at the same time.
“Yay, hooray! Long live Brother! Long live Referee Sister!”
I quickly took the red envelope back from Wei Xiao’s hand and deliberately put on a stern face saying, “Didn’t I just tell you to call her something else, have you forgotten already?”
Wei Xiao looked miserable, pitifully staring at the red envelope in my hand.
Mi Cai lightly hit me and scolded, “Zhaoyang, don’t tease him. Give the red envelope back to him quickly.”
I then stuffed the red envelope back into Wei Xiao’s hand and spoke in a serious tone, “Hurry up and thank Big Sister-in-law!”
Wei Xiao quickly imitated the manner from old TV dramas and bowed to Mi Cai, saying, “Thank you Big Sister-in-law for your understanding, thank you Big Sister-in-law for your kindness!”
Mi Cai was amused by Wei Xiao’s comical appearance, smiled gracefully, and said to me, “Look at how this little fatty has learned your smooth-talking ways. I’m really worried about his future!”
However, I patted Wei Xiao’s shoulder and said, “Don’t listen to your Big Sister-in-law exaggerating. We call it being articulate, not smooth-talking. In the future, you still need to keep learning from me and make progress through learning, understand?”
“Understood, Brother… So if I become as articulate as you in the future, will I also be able to have a girlfriend as beautiful as Big Sister-in-law?”
I looked at Wei Xiao for a while, then shook my head jokingly, “You’re a bit lacking in hardware, so it might be tough. Plus, women as beautiful as your Big Sister-in-law are rare in all of China. So, I suggest you appropriately lower your standards, okay?”
Wei Xiao looked a bit down, remained silent for a long time, and then asked with his last hope, “Then what if I learn to play the guitar?”
I “scolded,” “Superficial and childish! Do you think your Big Sister-in-law is with me just because I can play the guitar? Your big brother here has personal charm, you know?”
Mi Cai didn’t want to hear me boast anymore and pulled Wei Xiao, saying, “Little Fat, let’s go play with the cars. Leave him here to boast by himself…”
Wei Xiao made a face at me, happily took the racing car, and followed Mi Cai to the other side.
Looking at their playful figures, I smiled from the bottom of my heart, then, regardless of the aunties around the square, I risked lighting a cigarette for myself. I gently exhaled the smoke into the wind, letting it drift toward that city hidden among the white clouds.
…
Half a cigarette later, the message tone on my phone interrupted my joy. I took it out of my pocket and checked; it was from Fang Yuan, who had sent me the time and address of the barbecue restaurant for tonight’s gathering.
I couldn’t help but think, since I had already asked Wei Xiao to call Mi Cai Big Sister-in-law, shouldn’t I also ask Fang Yuan and Yanyan to call her “younger sister-in-law” tonight?
I think I will, and I hope they can forget about Jian Wei and naturally and easily call her “younger sister-in-law”!
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