I immediately shared my marketing ideas with Mi Cai, and she nodded, saying, “Using the Internet as a platform indeed saves a lot of promotional costs. Targeting promotions precisely to social media circles makes it more focused. I don’t doubt the feasibility of this marketing strategy at all, but the key is, how exactly will you implement emotional marketing to create a strong sense of belonging among consumers?”
“In our bar, there’s the most beautiful ‘Fifth Season,’ which is the original driving force for creating a sense of belonging. I want to create another independent world inside the bar—a world that is simple, free from the hustle and bustle of life. In this world, there are only friends who gather together to drink beer and listen to music. We share the same aspirations and pursuits… This kind of emotional marketing, returning to simplicity, has no gimmicks, no dazzling splendor, only sincerity and simplicity to purify weary souls!”
Mi Cai seemed to have entered the world I described. After a long pause, she said to me, “After listening to you, I really want to have a beer inside that bar, listen to the song ‘Past Glories,’ and lazily experience the passing of the four seasons. Then the four seasons would merge, transforming into the most beautiful Fifth Season, purifying the soul, and then I’d fall into a sweet sleep…”
Seeing the expression of longing on Mi Cai’s face, I smiled and said, “Suddenly awakening, one finds oneself old, with half a glass of beer still left on the table…”
“That sounds great. Although one spends a lifetime in a daze, the heart remains calm and composed. I really like that feeling!”
Imagining a half glass of beer and a song marking an entire lifetime, I felt unexpectedly peaceful and serene. After a while, I said to Mi Cai, “I really like it too!”
At that moment, I was filled with the urge to express myself. I overcame the dizziness from drinking and opened my laptop to put my ideas into a complete written proposal.
The desk lamp emitted a hazy glow. On my left was a cup of steaming lemon tea, and on my right, Mi Cai sat quietly, resting her chin in her hand. Even though the wind outside raged, this small room was peaceful and warm…
After a while, Mi Cai fell asleep leaning on the edge of the table. Her steady breathing made the night even quieter and more serene. I gazed into her eyes, and suddenly, the calm lake in my heart rippled. She was the gentle, colorful leaf falling onto that tranquil water…
I gently picked her up, carried her back to her room, covered her with the blanket, and turned off the light. Yet on my way out, I let myself sink into the endless night, wrapped in the lingering tenderness she left behind.
…
The next morning, when I woke up, Mi Cai had already left. I still hadn’t had the chance to make her breakfast, nor did I figure out why she had come back from Shanghai the night before. If only she had come just to see me after I was drunk, maybe she had already returned to Suzhou when she called me. Otherwise, how could she have found me so quickly?
So I spent the entire morning speculating, until near noon I finally grew tired of the guessing. I recalled the simple and plain life Mi Cai and I had discussed the previous day. So why did I need to make things so complicated and messy? I might as well hold onto that sense of peace and calmly wait, waiting for fate to bring us together.
Time quickly moved forward another week, and tomorrow would be the official opening day of “The Fifth Season,” the theme music bar. That day, I was busy in the bar with CC all day. By late afternoon, we finally had some free time. We sat down in a corner and each lit a cigarette, chatting naturally about Leyao and Luoben.
I took a deep drag on the cigarette, exhaled the smoke in swirls, and asked CC, “Are Luoben and Leyao not coming back for the bar’s grand opening?”
“I just got in touch with them this morning. They’re both really busy and won’t be coming back.”
I responded with a hum, still feeling a bit regretful. I had really hoped they could come back and see the bar after its renovation. After all, this bar was the result of everyone’s hard work.
CC added, “It’s almost the Lunar New Year, and I had hoped they could come back to Suzhou to celebrate with us. But it seems this wish won’t come true either.”
“Then, you aren’t going back to Chongqing for the New Year this year?”
“I won’t be going back this time. My parents are in Hong Kong with my older sister. It’s not really worth going back alone, so I’d rather stay in Suzhou.”
I smiled and said, “Your parents must be annoyed that you won’t get married. Compared to you, your sister is definitely less trouble.”
“Please, everyone has different aspirations. What do you think my sister sees in that Hong Kong old man? It’s just money! I could never stand it!”
“Your brother-in-law is only in his mid-40s. How come you call him an old man?” I laughed.
CC gave me a look and said, “He’s almost bald already—can’t he be called an old man? But that old guy treats my sister really well, and he’s good to my parents too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to stay outside so peacefully all these years.”
I nodded. On this point, CC indeed had reason to be grateful to the so-called Hong Kong old man. However, she might not be entirely right either. I believed that CC’s sister still had feelings for the old man. After all, what he offered was not just money, but also genuine affection.
While CC and I were chatting, the bar door suddenly opened, and a man and a woman wearing sunglasses stood abruptly in front of us. Immediately, we heard CC’s surprised exclamation, “Leyao! Luoben! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come back?!”
Leyao took off her sunglasses and opened her arms toward CC. The two embraced, and Leyao smiled and said, “Tomorrow is the bar’s opening day. No matter how busy we are, Luoben and I had to make time to come back… Pretty surprising, huh?”
Unlike women, men don’t express emotions as intensely. So I simply tossed Luoben a cigarette, and we exchanged smiles. But the joy in my heart was no less than what CC felt seeing Leyao.
After embracing CC, Leyao finally came to my side. I looked at her and noticed that her attire and demeanor had become much more mature than before. Her eyes now held more sharpness and less softness. I knew that life and hardships had changed the woman standing before me. The only thing that hadn’t changed was her tone of voice.
After a brief silence, she finally said to me, “Zhaoyang, it’s been a long time.”
“Yeah,” I replied. But this was no longer our old rhythm. In the past, we would have hugged without hesitation after meeting again.
Leyao stood a meter away from me, looking around the bar with a slightly delighted tone, “It looks great after the renovation. You’ve worked hard these past days!”
Still, I joked with her as I used to, “Leyao, don’t speak so formally. Don’t you see that I used your bar to satisfy my own artistic needs, so I could categorize myself as part of the literary youth crowd… In this day and age, if I can avoid being an idiot, I will.”
Leyao smiled and shook her head, “You’re still as sarcastic as ever!”
Instinctively, I wanted to reply, “But you’re not as lively as before!” But the words caught in my throat at the last moment, because such a remark would make the atmosphere heavy.
At least in this simple and plain bar, we shouldn’t talk about the burdens of life.
…
After everyone sat down again, we resumed chatting. But this night was destined not to be peaceful, because Fangyuan, Yan Yan, and Jianwei would also come later to visit the renovated bar.
Moreover, Mi Cai and Weiran would come to support us too… This had been arranged the day before.
And Leyao, Jianwei, and Mi Cai—three women connected to the bar—seemed to be appearing in this bar together for the first time.
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