After arriving at KFC, I found a seat and sat down while Wei Xiao went to order. Shortly afterward, he came back with a tray of food and handed me the remaining 30-some yuan.
It wasn’t yet dinner time, and with my complex emotions, I had no appetite to eat. So I started chatting with Wei Xiao.
During our conversation, I learned that Wei Xiao now lives with his grandfather, and their daily life is supported by his uncles. Their life is tight and difficult.
After hearing his story, my mood became heavier, and I felt even more sympathy for Wei Xiao’s painful fate. However, he lacked the ability to fight against his destiny. The only fortunate thing is that he is still an open and cheerful child who hasn’t closed himself off due to life’s injustices.
I gave my portion of food to Wei Xiao and bought him another family meal. I told him, “I’m leaving first. You eat slowly, and go home after you finish eating. Don’t play around, okay?”
“Oh, okay… Zhaoyang, you’re really a good person. I lost to you, and you still treat me to a meal.”
I smiled and said, “Call me Uncle from now on. Don’t call me by my name—it’s impolite!”
“I’m already in the fourth grade, not a little kid anymore. I’ll call you Gege (big brother) from now on.”
I had to rush to the bar to supervise the work and didn’t have time to continue talking with him, so I nodded and said, “Calling me Gege is fine too.”
“Then can I race with you again next time?”
“Forget about racing. But if you ever want to eat KFC or McDonald’s in the future, just give me a call, and I’ll treat you.” Saying this, I took out a piece of paper and a pen from my bag and wrote down my phone number for Wei Xiao.
Wei Xiao took the note from me and said earnestly, “When I have money, I’ll treat you and that referee sister to KFC too.”
I smiled at Wei Xiao’s promise without taking it too seriously and reminded him again not to play around before leaving KFC.
…
Thanks to my daily supervision, the bar’s renovation progressed quickly. At this rate, it would be able to reopen in less than a week. Therefore, efficiently conveying the bar’s reopening information to the target consumers had become an urgent matter.
Amidst the noise of the renovation, I continued thinking, developing one plan after another in my mind, only to abandon them due to execution difficulties. Time passed like this, going back and forth repeatedly. Soon it was already 7:30 PM. According to the gathering time given by Mi Cai, it was time for me to head to CC’s “Empty City” restaurant.
I took a taxi to CC’s restaurant. On the way, my thoughts drifted again to speculating about the gender of Mi Cai’s friend. The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. Intuitively, I sensed that her friend would likely be a man. There’s a rule: women who are beautiful to a certain extent usually have very few female friends but many male friends, because women tend to be jealous while men can’t help being attracted.
Take Luoben as an example. He’s such a proud man, such a deep-thinking folk singer, yet he still compromised his dignity and sang a disgustingly sweet love song with Mi Cai after her invitation.
Lost in thoughts, the taxi had already taken me to the destination. I checked the time—it was just 7:50 PM. Mi Cai probably hadn’t arrived yet. I walked alone through that dim alley and arrived at “Empty City” music restaurant.
Pushing open the door, there was CC still singing on the stage for the customers, with Luoben accompanying her from behind. Seeing this scene, I actually felt happy for CC. Since Yue Yao’s bar needed help, CC and Luoben had been spending much more time together. This made me believe that tiny, gradual changes would eventually lead to a significant transformation. If one day they really could become a couple, it would make many people believe again in the purity of love, because they are unique individuals who would never measure love and marriage by material standards.
I found an empty seat and sat down, watching Luoben and CC on stage. My thoughts drifted to other friends in Suzhou. Fang Yuan and Xiang Chen symbolized the reality of society, while CC and Luoben represented idealism and aspiration. Finally, I thought about Yue Yao, who was already far away in Beijing. In her, I could see both societal reality and emotional aspirations, as if she were a synthesis of both. These three types of friends allowed me to see the multifaceted nature of survival. They influenced me in various ways, making me understand myself even less. I really couldn’t figure out what kind of person I was. But one thing I could be sure of was that I hadn’t been living happily these years!
After CC and Luoben finished performing a song together, they came over and sat down beside me. CC smiled at me and said, “Zhaoyang, you came early. Couldn’t wait to meet Mi Cai’s friend, huh?”
“Not really.” I paused before asking, “Do you know who this friend of hers is?”
CC gave me a meaningful smile and said, “Mi Cai and I are such close friends—we talk about everything. She tells me everything, even some things you don’t know.”
“Really?”
CC smiled playfully and asked me, “So, do you want to know whether her friend is a guy or a girl?”
“Well, if they’re just friends, does it really matter whether it’s a guy or a girl?”
CC ignored my response and turned to Luoben, asking, “Did you catch anything from Zhaoyang’s words?”
Luoben looked at me, tapped the ash off his cigarette, and simply said two words: “Nervous.”
“What are you two up to? Husband and wife singing in harmony?… You two lunatics, who’s nervous?”
I said, trying to flick the ash from my cigarette, but I ended up flicking it outside the ashtray.
This action made Luoben and CC exchange glances and smile. In their eyes, my nervousness was already beyond verification.
I didn’t bother to engage with the two of them anymore, just silently smoking a cigarette. However, as time passed, I became increasingly anxious about the question of “whether it’s a guy or a girl,” but I was too embarrassed to confirm with CC, so I kept it bottled up, feeling like every second was an eternity.
CC deliberately avoided mentioning Mi Cai and her friend and instead changed the topic to talk about Yue Yao. She asked me, “Zhaoyang, has Yue Yao contacted you recently?”
“Not much in particular, just a few text messages.”
“What did she say?”
I thought for a moment before replying, “Something about her last drama being broadcast on major TV stations after the Lunar New Year.”
“On satellite TV?”
I shook my head. “She didn’t specify, but since it’s a historical drama with several big-name stars, the broadcasting platform probably won’t be too bad.”
CC sighed, “I really hope she can prove herself through this drama. She’s really had it tough! There was a night scene where she had to jump into a lake. To ensure the effect, she refused to use a stunt double and ended up with a high fever for several days afterward. She was literally risking her life!”
“When did that happen? How come I didn’t know about it?”
Luoben took over the conversation, “I know about this. It was when she first joined the production team.”
“When she first joined the production team!” I exclaimed, suddenly recalling that she had just had an abortion less than a month prior. She was really playing with her own health! I suddenly understood why she was so determined to open a bar—she just wanted to find another way to secure her livelihood because she had struggled so hard in the entertainment industry.
I fell silent, thinking about Yue Yao’s hardships. At that moment, the restaurant door opened. CC nudged me and said, “Zhaoyang, Mi Cai and her friend are here!”
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