That night, Mi Cai slept in my bed, while I slept on the sofa in the living room. In silence, we said goodbye to the night and welcomed the morning sun.
In the early morning, I woke up before Mi Cai, but I was reluctant to get up immediately due to the cold, so I stayed on the sofa procrastinating.
A while later, Mi Cai came out from her room fully dressed, indicating that she had woken up during the night and then returned to her own room.
She came to me and asked, “Aren’t you going to get up yet? It’s almost eight o’clock.”
“I don’t have to work, so why should I get up so early?”
“Oh, then you can sleep a bit longer… By the way, what do you want for breakfast? I’ll go downstairs to buy it later.”
I wasn’t concerned about breakfast and asked her, “Are you free this afternoon? We promised to go racing with Xiaopangdun, and we can have KFC if we win!”
“I think so. My schedule today isn’t too full.”
I glanced at the calendar and asked in confusion, “Isn’t today the weekend? Do you still need to go to the company?”
“Yes, I’ve been very busy lately. I also need to go to Shanghai tomorrow. The Zuo Mei store there has already started preparations for operation.”
“Oh.” I replied, knowing that Mi Cai had compromised on Zuo Mei’s “first-tier city” strategy. Otherwise, the Shanghai store wouldn’t have started preparations so quickly.
…
I got up during the time Mi Cai went downstairs to buy breakfast. After she returned, we had breakfast together, and then Mi Cai went to work.
I spent the entire morning fine-tuning the modified car to ensure that I could defeat Xiaopangdun effortlessly in the afternoon and regain my lost dignity in front of Mi Cai.
Finally, the afternoon arrived, but Mi Cai hadn’t called me yet to confirm whether she was free. Worried that she might have important work, I didn’t dare to call and disturb her, so I waited anxiously.
It was already four in the afternoon, and in winter, it usually started getting dark after five. My anxiety grew, and I even lay on the sofa smoking several cigarettes.
The telephone finally rang, and I instinctively picked it up immediately. It was indeed a call from Mi Cai, so my heart filled with joy.
I answered the phone and asked, “Have you finished all your work today?”
“Hmm… but I can’t go to the square racing with you. An old friend of mine from when I studied in the U.S. has returned and is already at the Shanghai airport. I need to pick him up.”
My heart sank immediately. I responded in disappointment after a while, “Oh, I’ll go by myself then.”
“Okay, I’ll hang up now.”
Mi Cai hurriedly ended the call, making me even more disappointed. For her, who was usually indifferent, to rush to the airport in Shanghai in such a hurry, this friend must hold a special place in her heart. Moreover, this friend probably hadn’t informed Mi Cai in advance, deliberately creating a surprise for her. This made me curious about the gender of her friend. If it was a woman, I could remain calm, but if it was a man…
I didn’t want to think further. I lit another cigarette, packed the remote-controlled car into a bag, and then left the house after locking the door.
…
When I arrived at the square, Xiaopangdun Wei Xiao was already there ahead of me. From a distance, he shouted at me, “Zhaoyang, hurry up! I’ve been waiting for you for a long time…”
I walked up to Wei Xiao and smiled, saying, “Xiaopangdun, you’re asking for it!”
“You already lost to me yesterday. You’ll lose again today!”
“Have you learned about the story of marking the boat to find a lost sword? If you insist on using yesterday as a reference, you’ll suffer badly today… I’m in a bad mood today, so I’ll give you a chance. It’s not too late to give up now.”
Wei Xiao shouted at me, “My dad bought me the best racing car! I won’t give up!”
“You won’t die without playing, come on.” I said, taking the racing car out of the bag.
But Wei Xiao turned around, looked left and right, and asked me, “Where is the referee sister from yesterday? Didn’t she come?”
“Do we need a referee just because it’s not F1? Hurry up and place your car so I can beat you.”
“Okay.”
Both Wei Xiao and I positioned our cars. After I counted down 3, 2, 1, we both started the cars at the same time. This time, the effect of my modifications immediately showed. The motor with 100,000 revolutions delivered powerful performance, leaving Wei Xiao’s car far behind and reaching the finish line instantly.
With his mouth wide open, Wei Xiao looked at his car and then at me. Finally, with a sobbing voice, he said, “How could my dad’s car lose?… My car is the fastest.”
“Little fool, do you know about modifying cars? Your car’s motor has only 50,000 revolutions. How can it compete with my 100,000?”
Even after my explanation, Wei Xiao still sniffled and muttered, “It’s impossible to lose. My dad said it’s the fastest car.”
“Stupid kid, there’s no fastest car in the world, only faster ones. Your dad lied to you!”
Wei Xiao immediately burst into tears, kicking me with his foot and saying, “You’re lying! My dad wouldn’t lie to me! He is my idol!”
“Hey! Are you deliberately trying to cheat and not admit defeat, you little brat?” I said, frowning.
Just as I finished speaking, Wei Xiao ran toward the fountain railing, grabbed his car, and, wobbling with his fat body, ran out of the square.
“Damn it, little slippery…”
I cursed and immediately chased after Wei Xiao. He was a fat kid himself, so how could he outrun me? I caught him in just a few steps.
While struggling, Wei Xiao cried, “You cheated! Your car can’t possibly outrun mine!”
“Nonsense! Have you ever seen someone racing without modifying their car?… Damn it, why am I even explaining this to a little kid like you? Hurry up and take your uncle to eat KFC. Don’t be a sore loser at such a young age and ruin your character!”
Under my pressure, Wei Xiao finally stopped struggling but still spoke with a sobbing voice, “I don’t have money to treat you to KFC.”
“You’re making fun of me! You dared to challenge me to a race without money yesterday?”
Wei Xiao was scared by me and stammered for a while before saying, “I thought I would win…”
“I thought I was Warren Buffett too… Give me a reasonable reason, or else I’ll take your car as collateral.”
When Wei Xiao heard that I wanted to take his car, he immediately panicked and started struggling again, crying to me, “Please don’t take my car. This was my dad’s birthday gift. He’s already dead and won’t give me another gift anymore…”
I was stunned for a moment, then let go of Wei Xiao and looked at him for a long time. He was still wearing the same worn-out clothes from yesterday, and his pants couldn’t even cover his shoes, clearly having been worn for a long time and no longer suitable for his current height.
I couldn’t be sure if I had heard his words clearly, so I asked in confusion, “Did you just say your dad died?”
Wei Xiao nodded and said, “He died of illness.”
A sense of remorse filled my heart. I knew that unknowingly, I had foolishly desecrated a child’s admiration for his deceased father.
After a while, I asked Wei Xiao, “What about your mom?”
Wei Xiao was silent for a long time before saying resentfully, “She ran off with a bad man.”
My heart suddenly felt heavy, like it had been filled with lead, and I couldn’t speak for a long time. This was another pitiful child who had been toyed with by fate. I finally remembered the scene from yesterday when he held the packed McDonald’s and said he would take it home for his grandfather. Perhaps he just wanted to share the joy of eating KFC with his grandfather once again through this method.
Finally, I patted Wei Xiao’s head and said softly, “Come on, I’ll take you to eat KFC.”
“I don’t have money. Let me go, big brother,” Wei Xiao said, instinctively stepping back.
“Who needs your money? I’ll treat you.” I smiled.
Wei Xiao was still wary of me, clearly quite frightened by me. To ease his caution, I took out a hundred yuan from my wallet and handed it to him, saying, “Keep this money. You can use it to pay later, okay?”
Wei Xiao thought for a moment before taking the money from me, finally showing a smile and saying, “Okay, I’ll give you back the change later!”
I nodded and walked side by side with Wei Xiao toward the KFC across the street. Suddenly, my phone rang. I immediately took it out from my pocket and saw a text message from Mi Cai. The content was as follows: “Tonight at 8 PM, come to CC’s restaurant for a gathering. I’ll introduce my friend to you all.”
My mood instantly became complicated, even more concerned about whether Mi Cai’s friend was a man or a woman!
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