Lei Yao hesitated before reaching out to take the check that Mi Cai handed her. After a long pause, she finally asked Mi Cai, “This is one million yuan—why are you giving it to me so casually? We aren’t even that close, are we!”
Mi Cai shook her head in disagreement, maintaining her usual indifferent tone as she said, “I’m not giving it to you casually… We might not be close, but CC is a good friend we both care about. Helping you is helping CC.”
I looked at Mi Cai, thinking her reasoning seemed a bit forced, but I chose not to speak up and simply watched how things unfolded.
At this moment, CC picked up the conversation, saying, “Lei Yao, just take it. I’ll consider this a favor owed to Mi Cai. Once the bar starts making profits, we can repay her.”
“This favor is too big…”
Before Lei Yao could finish speaking, Rob interrupted, “Miss Lei, favors don’t come with size limits. She’s already handed you the check and made her point clear. For the sake of the bar’s operation, just accept it.”
“But I don’t need as much as a million. Zhaoyang already gave me a bank card with 500,000 yuan,” Lei Yao said after a moment of silence, though her resistance was clearly weakening.
Mi Cai looked at me in surprise, and I nodded to confirm Lei Yao’s words, saying, “I borrowed it from a friend.”
Mi Cai nodded, took back the check, filled out a new one, and handed it to Lei Yao, saying, “This one is for 500,000 yuan. Take this.”
Lei Yao hesitated briefly before finally accepting the check from Mi Cai. Immediately, she asked a waiter to bring an A4 sheet of paper from the counter and wrote out an IOU, signed her name, and handed it to Mi Cai, saying, “This is the IOU. I’ll repay you the 500,000 yuan as soon as I can.”
Mi Cai nodded, taking the IOU with her usual calmness, but without even glancing at it, she placed it directly into her handbag.
At this point, CC also pulled out a bank card from her bag and handed it to Lei Yao, saying, “This is the 200,000 yuan I mentioned earlier. Enough to cover the interest, right?”
Lei Yao nodded and said, “I just borrowed it not long ago, so yes, it’s enough… Let me write you an IOU as well.”
CC stopped Lei Yao’s hand and smiled, saying, “No need… We don’t need that between us. By the way, tomorrow when you repay the loan shark, have Zhaoyang or Rob go with you.”
Rob stepped in and said, “I’ll go with Lei Yao. I’m free during the day.”
CC clapped her hands with a smile, letting out a deep sigh of relief, “Our first crisis has been smoothly resolved. Thank you, dear Zhaoyang… Thank you, dear Mi Cai! Come on, everyone, let’s have a toast.”
Everyone raised their glasses, and with the clinking of glasses, the previously gloomy atmosphere finally lifted.
…
Mi Cai’s alcohol tolerance was truly limited. After only two beers, her face flushed and she seemed slightly dazed. When we left the bar, I realized she had genuinely come to drink and hadn’t even driven.
I said to her, “Let me drive you home.”
Mi Cai didn’t respond directly to my offer but said, “I feel a bit stuffy in my chest. I want to walk for a while.”
“Then I’ll walk with you.”
Mi Cai gave a slight nod and walked ahead of me onto the street covered with fallen leaves. I quickly followed.
Cold, I kept my hands in my pants pockets, while Mi Cai kept hers in her jacket pockets. Despite our different postures, we walked in unison toward the end of the street.
After walking in silence for a while, I said to Mi Cai, “Thank you for helping with Lei Yao.”
“I did it for CC.”
I smiled and said, “I didn’t say you did it for me. Why are you in such a hurry to clarify that?”
“Did I?” Mi Cai replied absentmindedly, not stopping her steps, even quickening them slightly.
I quickened my pace to catch up with her, but she suddenly stopped and asked, “Where did you get that 500,000 yuan from?”
“A friend, as I said in the bar.”
Mi Cai rarely pressed further, asking, “What kind of friend? Reliable?”
“Are you afraid I might take out a loan from a loan shark too?” I asked with a smile.
“It’s possible… Zhaoyang, I don’t want you to do anything foolish. If you have any difficulties, you can tell me.”
“Are you still feeling guilty about something between us?… Really, there’s no need. It’s been a long time.”
Mi Cai didn’t respond, and her silence seemed like an affirmation.
I didn’t want to dwell on the topic of who owed whom anymore, so I changed the subject, saying, “Didn’t know you were so good at playing the guitar! You’ve been hiding your talents. I think we could even form a band together someday!”
“Who would want to form a band with you.”
“What? You look down on me? My guitar skills are no worse than yours!” I said with mock indignation.
Mi Cai smiled slightly and said, “I’d rather team up with Rob. If he proposed it, I think I’d agree.”
I feigned realization and said, “So you’ve got a crush on Rob, right?… I’m serious, you know. Rob’s a playboy. He and CC are a perfect match, but not with you!”
“You say it like you’re not a playboy yourself… You two are…” Mi Cai started to say but suddenly stopped, as if inviting me to finish the sentence.
“Birds of a feather flock together?”
Mi Cai smiled and said, “You actually know yourself pretty well!”
“Right? But this also shows how much I care about you. I’m willing to take on the reputation of being a playboy just to stop you from getting on Rob’s sinking ship!” I said with a self-righteous air.
“Right, as a friend, you really went to great lengths!” Mi Cai remarked with a half-smile.
I ignored the sarcasm in her tone and continued, “What’s a little hardship? I’d brave fire and sword for you!”
But Mi Cai seemed to have lost interest in bantering with me. She instinctively pulled her collar tighter against the cold. I finally noticed that the sweater she was wearing today was one of the two sweaters Ba Die had brought after our first meeting. I had given it to her back then.
Driven by a sudden whim, I opened my coat and said to Mi Cai, “Look, I’m wearing this sweater too—it’s a couple’s style!”
Mi Cai replied indifferently, “I don’t think so. If you insist on calling it a couple’s style, I’ll stop wearing mine from now on.”
“Don’t do that. I’m just saying it like that… Not referring to our relationship.”
“No way. Anyway, from now on, you can’t wear the same style as me.” Mi Cai insisted.
I felt annoyed and said, “What’s wrong with you? According to your logic, do I have to call you every time I wear this sweater to make sure I don’t clash with you?”
“If you find it troublesome, just take it off and let me keep it. Then you won’t have to wear it anymore.”
“Why should I cooperate with you… Why don’t you take yours off and let me keep it? Besides, I don’t mind matching with you,” I argued stubbornly.
Mi Cai shook her head and said, “Looking at you like this, I really feel like giving you a red scarf… So childish!”
Before I could reply, Mi Cai raised her hand to hail a passing taxi. After opening the door, she turned to me and said, “Zhaoyang, think carefully about how to help Lei Yao run her bar properly… That’s the real reason you came back to Suzhou.”
I stood there, momentarily unable to grasp the meaning of her words, somewhat dazed, as the taxi disappeared into the cold winter night.
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