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

I held a cigarette in my mouth, looked at Yang Sisi, and after a long while, said, "Answer me a question first: why don't you want to study abroad? Is it because you oppose this relationship your parents have arranged for you, or because you really can't bear to leave Dali?"

Yang Sisi thought for a moment and replied, "It was when I didn't want to study abroad that Dali happened to come into my view... In terms of lifestyle and cultural atmosphere, Lijiang and Dali are quite similar, but I just want to stay in Dali... Originally, I was thinking of spending a year in Lijiang this year, but now I don't want to anymore."

To be honest, I'm not too keen on seeing a Yang Sisi portrayed so profoundly, because it makes me feel somewhat sad. In a way, she and Wang Lei are both women who are frighteningly persistent. Although they are not from the same social class, this commonality does exist between them.

I finally replied, "Dali truly feels like a man-made dream. I sincerely hope that everyone who comes here with a dream can gain something..." After a slight pause, I added, "You know what? People only start to dream after suffering particularly severe injuries!"

"I haven't been seriously injured, but I still love Dali."

"Your injury accumulated little by little, and it's actually quite serious."

This time, Yang Sisi remained silent for a long time before replying, "Maybe so. The thought of having only a nanny during my childhood makes me unhappy... Even though she was quite good to me, some emotions can only be given by one's own biological parents."

"Well, so have a good talk with them later. When you need their understanding, I hope you can also give them some understanding. After all, their hard work over the years has given you a lot of capital to be willful. At least when someone insults you with money, you can take out more money to insult them... For example, at the party you mentioned last time, you bought a limited edition Hermes handbag to humiliate her. I felt so relieved when I heard that. Those kinds of people need righteous people like you to let them know that there are always people more powerful than you."

Yang Sisi laughed along with me for a while, then her face darkened, and she said to me, "Are you trying to flatter me?"

"You probably don't have as much stuff in your pocket as I do, why would I flatter you..."

"Pshaw, at least I have a car. Do you?"

I glanced at her and felt sorry for her, because after having this meal with her family, she probably wouldn't even be able to keep her only car.

……

Because of this little accident, Yang Sisi and I arrived at "No. 1 Courtyard" in the ancient city at 8:30. However, her parents and Lao Huang did not seem too concerned about our lateness. After we sat down, they called over a waiter and asked her to notify the kitchen to serve us our food.

To avoid suspicion, I didn't sit next to Yang Sisi, but sat with Xiao Bao instead. I found that he wasn't a very manly man, because he was wearing perfume, and it was a particularly feminine kind.

This time, it was Old Huang who spoke first. He said to Yang Sisi, "Sisi, Michael has already explained things clearly between you two. It's just a misunderstanding..."

"This isn't a misunderstanding; I deliberately stirred it up... If I hadn't muddied things up, you would still have sent me abroad to study... I have a terrible aversion to studying abroad now; just hearing the words makes me want to vomit!"

Old Huang looked embarrassed, then changed the subject, saying to me, "Michael, what's your thought about sending you back to Shanghai?"

Yang Sisi immediately objected, retorting, "You're at least somewhat reasonable in letting me go back to Shanghai... but why should he go back too?"

This time, it was Xiao Bao who spoke up. After giving me a hostile look, he said, "Of course my dad has a right to speak... He was originally my dad's subordinate, and now my dad has secured him a product manager position with double the salary, not even counting bonuses and commissions... Heh, I've heard that his girlfriend broke up with him because she thought there was no future with him. Do you think he'd be tempted?"

"Little Leopard, I've also heard that only women like to gossip about other people... Can't you be a little more manly?"

Little Leopard looked extremely ugly, but he didn't dare to lash out at Yang Sisi. In the end, he just puffed out his chest and tried to look manly.

After Xiao Bao shut up, Yang Sisi said to me with a cold face, "So, this is another exchange of benefits between you and Uncle Huang? ... You had the nerve to say before that you didn't get any benefits from them. I think you're the kind of person who's easiest to buy off, because you've been poor for a long time."

I picked up where Yang Sisi left off, and turned to Lao Huang, saying, "She's right, I'm someone who's terrified of being poor... If I had a girlfriend before, and this opportunity had presented itself to me, I might have sold myself. But now, I just want to stay in Dali... Oh, right, there's something else I haven't had a chance to tell you. This morning, I took over a guesthouse here with some friends. Now we have a physical business, so I'm even less likely to consider going back to Shanghai. I've already invested all my savings from over the years, along with money from my friends, into it. It's a do-or-die situation."

"Michael, you're so foolish! You've ruined your own future."

I have a hundred reasons to refute Lao Huang, but this time I chose to remain silent because any choice related to Shanghai makes me instinctively feel annoyed, and it also reminds me of my own failures and the missed opportunities.

Yang Sisi, however, looked at me with newfound respect. She walked over to me, patted me heavily on the shoulder, and said, "I'd rather die standing in Dali than live kneeling in Shanghai... You made the right choice this time!"

A hush fell over the room, and then everyone except me turned their gaze to Yang Sisi, seemingly unable to understand why she harbored such resentment towards Shanghai. I suppose this was the reason she couldn't communicate with them.

In reality, there's nothing wrong with Shanghai itself. It's just that Yang Sisi didn't feel any family affection there, so she unreasonably made Shanghai take the blame for her parents. From another perspective, this also shows that she hasn't completely given up on her parents; she still has expectations of them. Therefore, she's unwilling to speak ill of them, but instead blames Shanghai.

And I'm the same; it's just that I gained too little and lost too much in Shanghai, which is why I slowly started to hate the city.

Yang Sisi's parents were also silent with me; they seemed to be reflecting on something as well...

……

After a long, long time, Yang Sisi's father finally spoke. He said to Yang Sisi, "Sisi, we know you strongly desire to stay here, but can you please give us parents some dignity? We really want what's best for you! We acknowledge that spiritual fulfillment is a good thing, but society today is not what it was decades ago. We value the pursuit of material civilization more, so a large part of spiritual enjoyment is inevitably built on a foundation of material wealth… The reason you don't feel it now is because we have already given you too much materially… But we will eventually grow old!"

For the first time at this dinner table, the usually quick-witted Yang Sisi chose to remain silent. But I didn't know if she was listening to me or trying to understand her parents.

Just as I was distracted, Yang Sisi suddenly patted my shoulder hard again and said to me, "Look, this is the consequence of what you brought upon me. I'm in a dilemma now. I don't want to see them disappointed in me, but I don't want to leave Dali either... So, you'd better think of a way that satisfies both sides, otherwise this will be your trap."

Perhaps because of the intense attention, Yang Sisi's teasing remark still drew everyone's attention to me. I became a little nervous, not because I was afraid of performing poorly, but because no matter what the final outcome of the communication was, it seemed like there would always be something slightly unsatisfactory.