I'll wait for you amidst the romance of nature.

The next instant, everyone at the table turned their attention to me. I felt as if my speech nerves were being twisted by something, making even the most instinctive act of speaking extremely difficult.

I never dreamed that Yang Sisi would be so audacious as to pull such a stunt in front of her parents. I think she's trying to take me down with her.

I jumped up from my seat in a panic, and after trying to calm myself down, I quickly said, "Don't listen to her nonsense! How could I possibly do such a filthy thing with her!"

Yang Sisi walked over to me, took out her phone from her pocket, found a few photos, and displayed them in front of everyone, saying, "Michael, you're a man, so just admit what you did... If our relationship hadn't reached a certain level, why would you take such intimate photos with me?"

I looked at her phone screen, which displayed the wedding photos we took this morning. Since they were wedding photos, there were bound to be many ambiguous poses. My heart sank instantly; I felt like I had shot myself in the foot. I didn't even know when she had gotten these photos from Coach Ma.

Of everyone present, Little Leopard was the first to lose his temper. He rushed towards me, grabbed my collar, and cried out in a pitiful voice, "Are you blinded by lust? Sisi is my fiancée! How dare you do such a beastly thing to her! ...If murder weren't illegal, I'd kill you right now!"

"Little Leopard, let go of him. It was consensual between us... And I've already told you, I have no intention of spending my life with you because you're too effeminate. At most, I'll just consider you a good friend..."

Before Yang Sisi could finish speaking, her mother slapped her hard across the face and yelled, "How can you be so shameless? ...Your father and I have worked so hard all these years so that you can live with dignity, and this is how you squander all our efforts?"

Yang Sisi covered her cheeks and retorted angrily, "Am I the one ruining you, or are you ruining me? ...If you insist on me studying abroad, I'll die right here in front of you."

At that moment, I desperately wanted to explain to everyone present that what we were filming was just a commercial promotional video. But seeing her frantic state, I swallowed the words that were on the tip of my tongue. I was afraid that if I didn't go along with her, she might really risk her life and do something that would hurt her family and please her enemies. I felt that she was threatening not only her family, but also me.

Even Lao Huang, who was usually good at smoothing things over, chose to remain silent at this moment. He looked at me with a livid face, and then at Yang Sisi...

Yang Sisi seemed to sense that she had the upper hand. She took a fruit knife from the cutlery behind the dining table and handed it to her mother. On the verge of madness, she said, "Don't you think I'm a disappointment and owe you something? Then take this knife and cut off my flesh right now. Anyway, this is the only thing you've given me, and I don't care about it. If you still have any blood ties and can't do this, then please give me my freedom."

At that moment, Yang Sisi's mother's hand holding the fruit knife was trembling...

As a relatively calm observer, I saw wisdom and emotional intelligence in Yang Sisi's almost extreme madness.

At this moment, she had placed herself on a moral high ground, and her parents, of course, would not want her flesh and blood. The only thing they could do was to compromise once again with her impulsiveness and willfulness.

"You're so disappointing and disobedient!"

Yang Sisi's mother said in a trembling voice, then slammed the fruit knife in her hand heavily on the table.

Yang Sisi's father remained silent, but pain and disappointment were written all over his face.

Yang Sisi didn't care about any of that. She seized this rare opportunity and, in full view of everyone, grabbed my arm and dragged me outside the private room, then to the hotel entrance.

……

As the space expanded, it felt like I had entered a new world. But for some reason, when the sunlight shone brightly on me, I felt a sense of disorientation, as if everything that had just happened was a dream, filled with an unreal feeling, until Yang Sisi slapped me hard across the face…

She demanded angrily, "Why did you lie to me? If you hadn't taken it upon yourself to bring me here, none of this would have happened. I could have just hidden from them... and I wouldn't be acting like this now, turning my back on my family!"

I pinched my chin to ease the pain, but a sudden, inexplicable anger surged within me, and I slapped Yang Sisi hard across her fair face. Then, in a low voice, I said to her, "I didn't hit you for revenge… I just wanted to tell you: as a woman, you must respect yourself and learn to respect others. Not everyone in this world is obligated to indulge you and accommodate you… You've just offended all the people who would truly indulge you!"

If the hatred she showed earlier had an element of acting, then the hatred in Yang Sisi's eyes now was genuine. She didn't even cover the spot where I had slapped her; she just held back her tears and coldly said to me, "I never want to see you, you scum, again. Get out... get out now!"

"Don't worry, I have absolutely no interest in getting entangled with a woman like you. I'll leave... But before I leave, I must remind you, never use your willfulness as a weapon to conquer others, especially your own family. It's best to try to put yourself in their shoes... Dali is nice, but it can't compare to family. I hope you can have some spirit of sacrifice and dedication. It's not wrong for you to pursue freedom and independence, but as long as you're human, you can't live only for yourself... Otherwise, it's selfish!"

After saying all that, my gaze passed through Yang Sisi's stubborn body and looked into the hotel. For the first time in my life, I felt sorry for Lao Huang. I was afraid he would believe it, and even more afraid that he wouldn't give me a chance to explain.

I really don't care what he thinks of me; all I care about is Yang Sisi's reputation and honor. But, given her willful and capricious nature, can she understand my good intentions?

……

After leaving the hotel, I had no appetite at all, so I didn't go to "Legendary Crayfish" on Yeyu Road to find Tie Nan and Instructor Ma. I went back to the inn alone and went straight to sleep.

I'm so tired, both mentally and physically. I don't have the energy I had when I was in college. I don't think I've completely shaken off the fatigue from the journey from Shanghai to Dali, while Yang Sisi has already accomplished so many amazing things.

At the same time, I am also reflecting: who really made a mistake, me or Yang Sisi?

Reason tells me: I did nothing wrong.

My emotions, however, tell me: I was terribly wrong, because I had hurt a woman's passion for life and her pursuit of dreams.

Frustrated by this lack of unity, I once again returned to Erhai Lake with cigarettes and canned beer. I don't know when it started, but this place became the only place where I could truly let go of my worries.

Listening to the sound of the tide, I finished my cigarette. Then, feeling empty and lonely, I took my phone out of my pocket. Almost instinctively, I opened my inbox, even though I knew Lu Jia no longer used that number, but I still hoped for a miracle.

She's been abroad for a while now. If she's not in a rush to find a new boyfriend, I'd like to share some of her thoughts on her current life with her. I'd also like to know if she's doing well since she left for another country.

But I was disappointed again. I never received a single reply to the messages I sent her.

……

After finishing a cigarette, I drank a can of beer and then lay exhausted on the rocks, feeling like I was dead. But a moment later, a seabird appeared, hopping around me, searching for bread crumbs left by tourists.

This bird is exceptionally bold, just like Yang Sisi.

Suddenly thinking of her, I sat up from the rock again, then smiled helplessly. I don't know if, after this farce ended, she stayed in Dali, or if she figured things out and followed her parents to pursue the life she was meant to live.

This is a huge mystery, and of course I want to know the answer, but I no longer want to contact her. After experiencing such a major event as Wang Lei's passing, my energy suddenly became extremely limited. I don't want to socialize, I don't want to care too much about others, I just want to steadily open a profitable guesthouse in Dali, to fulfill Wang Lei's dream, and to start a new life for myself.

This new life will give me enough confidence to explain things to my family, instead of letting them down again!

……

As the sun gradually set behind Cangshan Mountain, the number of tourists around Erhai Lake increased rather than decreased. Vendors set up their stalls along the shore, and street musicians brought their sound equipment; together with the tourists, they created the vibrancy and dreamlike atmosphere of Dali. But it also evoked a deep loneliness within me. I was particularly afraid of seeing the newly lit lights and couples strolling hand-in-hand at dusk.

I finally stood up from the reef... But the next moment, I saw a familiar figure fifty meters to my right. She was more beautiful than the sunset, clearer than the water of Erhai Lake, and more mysterious than Cangshan Mountain... She deserved any beautiful words in the world.

She sat on another rock, appearing and disappearing in the gaps of the crowd, yet she looked just as lonely and desolate, because after I saw her, her posture facing Erhai Lake never changed.

I asked myself, is this fate?

Of course not. I've been sitting here for half a day, and the best place to visit around Erhai Lake is Majiuyi. If she has nothing to do and is also feeling lonely, and then wants to take a walk along Erhai Lake, then there's a good chance she'll run into me.

Therefore, our chance encounter was not due to fate, but because of loneliness.