Outside the window under the night sky, things gradually quieted down. The tea restaurant was nearly empty, and the staff announced through the speakers that the store would be closing in fifteen minutes, accompanied by Eason Chan’s song “Premonition.” After repeating the announcement twice, the lights in the hall were partially turned off, leaving only the lights above my seat and Mi Cai’s still on.
We hadn’t reached an agreement tonight, but we had to leave anyway. I stood up and said to Mi Cai, “We should go now.”
Mi Cai nodded and stood up as well. She appeared somewhat downcast, though I couldn’t tell whether her sadness stemmed from worries about her future at Zhuo Mei or from my unwillingness to return to Suzhou and join Zhuo Mei.
I helped Mi Cai book a nearby hotel. After she got her room key, the moment of parting arrived.
I said to Mi Cai, “If you don’t leave tomorrow, you’re welcome to visit my home.”
“I won’t leave. I’m staying for the next couple of days.”
“Is it really necessary to stay that long?”
“Xuzhou isn’t your house. I can stay as long as I want.”
I felt speechless and somewhat surprised since Mi Cai rarely spoke emotionally. This time, however, she clearly showed some emotion.
After a while, I said, “Alright then, see you tomorrow.”
Mi Cai nodded, then picked up her luggage and walked toward the elevator, guided by a staff member.
…
On my way home, I immediately called Fang Yuan. I really needed to talk to him.
Soon the call was connected. Before I could speak, Fang Yuan chuckled, “I just took out my phone to call you. You beat me to it… Did Mi Cai come looking for you?”
“Why did you have to tell her? Isn’t that just adding to her stress?”
“Wow, doing good deeds without leaving a name and caring about her feelings—can even Comrade Lei Feng do as well as you, Zhao Yang?”
“Don’t be ridiculous…”
Before Fang Yuan could respond, the phone was snatched by Yan Yan, who immediately asked, “Zhao Yang, did you find a job?”
“Not yet,” I replied grumpily. I knew that it was probably Yan Yan’s meddling that had prompted Fang Yuan to tell Mi Cai.
“Did Mi Cai invite you to return to Suzhou and work at her Zhuo Mei Shopping Center?”
“She did mention it.”
“What did you say?”
“Do you think it’s necessary for me to return to Suzhou again?”
Yan Yan laughed and said, “Zhao Yang, you’re making a long-distance call with roaming, right? Be careful with your call duration. From what I know about you, it’s hard to say whether you can afford the next round of phone bills!”
I couldn’t help but admire Yan Yan’s leap in logic. After a while, I said, “Oh come on, what are you even talking about?”
“What I mean is, you’re in such a difficult situation, and Mi Cai personally came to offer you a job. Why don’t you just accept it and return to Suzhou to continue your life?”
“You’re a girl who doesn’t understand anything. Don’t talk to me. Hand the phone to Fang Yuan.”
Fang Yuan took the phone and said to me, “What Yan Yan means is exactly what I think.”
“Yan Yan doesn’t understand the situation, but do you also not understand? If I return to Suzhou and work at Zhuo Mei, wouldn’t I feel even worse toward Chen Jingming? How can I live with myself?”
“You don’t necessarily have to work at Zhuo Mei if you return to Suzhou. Of course, if you’ve already found a decent job in Xuzhou, then forget what I said.”
I was at a loss for words…
Fang Yuan continued, “Think about it carefully yourself. If you come to Suzhou, we brothers can support each other as we move forward. But in Xuzhou, from what I know about Ban Die, he definitely won’t help you with your job. How can you manage without that help?”
I was speechless again because Fang Yuan had hit the nail on the head. Indeed, Ban Die was unwilling to help with my job matters. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been stuck for over a week looking for work!
“Zhao Yang, it’s getting late. Let’s stop here. Think more about this yourself… Oh, by the way, I’ll recharge 100 yuan into your phone account later. You can’t disconnect your phone. We need to stay in touch.”
“Can’t you two be less mean?!”
Fang Yuan didn’t respond but hung up the phone directly. My embarrassment was magnified several times by their teasing. If it weren’t for borrowing 1000 yuan from Li Xiaoyun today, I wouldn’t even have had the money to recharge my phone.
After passing another traffic light, I would soon be home. At that moment, my phone beeped with a text message. I checked it and saw that it was a notification of a successful 100 yuan recharge. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Fang Yuan and Yan Yan were truly something else!
…
When I got home and opened the door, Ban Die and my mom were both sitting on the sofa in the living room. I closed the door and threw the car keys to Ban Die, asking, “You’re still awake?”
My mom looked at me and asked with a smile, “Zhao Yang, was the girl who came to our house today your girlfriend?”
I wasn’t surprised by my mom’s question at all and immediately replied, “She’s not my girlfriend!”
Ban Die, with a serious expression, continued, “If she’s not your girlfriend, would she come all the way from Suzhou to Xuzhou just to find you? Did you do something wrong to that girl?”
I felt a sense of helplessness and didn’t know how to explain it to them. I instinctively touched my nose.
My mom immediately said to Ban Die, “Old Zhao, look, that gesture. Every time he’s not telling the truth, he does that gesture.”
Ban Die nodded in agreement with my mom. I was really at a loss and had to say, “I really can’t explain this to you. Tomorrow she’s probably coming to our house for lunch. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her yourself about our relationship.” With that, I hurriedly walked toward my own room, afraid they would continue asking me endlessly.
However, just after making myself a cup of tea and sitting on the bed, my mom pushed open the door to my room. It looked like she wasn’t going to let me off the hook and intended to continue digging for answers.
My mom pulled up a chair and sat opposite me, speaking earnestly, “Zhao Yang, I heard from your dad. She’s the girl you lived with in Suzhou, right? I even knitted a scarf for her.”
I didn’t deny it and nodded.
“Now, be honest with me. What’s your relationship with her? You lived together, and you say there’s no relationship? Do you think your mom is stupid?”
“Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to admit it. It’s just that there really isn’t anything. You don’t know that sharing an apartment is popular in the city now? We did live together for a while, but we didn’t sleep in the same room. If I have to insist there’s something, we’re just ordinary friends.”
“If you’re just ordinary friends, why would she come all the way to Xuzhou to find you?” My mom looked at me with an expression that said, “Go ahead and keep pretending.”
I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly and, in frustration, lay down on the bed, covering myself with the quilt, staring blankly into space…
Mom was clearly talking to herself, but it felt more like she was speaking to me, saying, “That girl is so pretty and delicate. No wonder you don’t want to date Xiaoyun. But how did such a beautiful girl end up liking you? She even came specially to Xuzhou to find you. This is really strange!”
Her words made me laugh bitterly again. I wanted to ask her, “Am I even your adopted son? Am I really that bad?” But I didn’t dare to talk to her, fearing she’d continue asking endless questions. So, I simply pulled the quilt over my face, blocking out everything—no listening, no looking, no speaking…
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