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

I borrowed a motorcycle from Tie Nan and headed towards Erhai Gate in the ancient city before evening, where I had arranged to meet Yang Sisi. She said there was a stall there that made particularly delicious pancakes, and she wanted to eat something first to fill her stomach so she would have the energy to play hide-and-seek with the city management officers later.

She went to great lengths to sell clothes, but behind it all lay the tears and bitterness of a down-on-her-luck young woman. I certainly wouldn't sympathize with her, because no one forced her to choose this life; she plunged into it with her own passion and determination.

After I parked my car, she happened to walk over from another intersection. She doesn't seem to hold grudges; she waved at me from afar and called my name, as if afraid I wouldn't see her.

I stopped in my tracks. She dragged the woven bag, panting, and walked up to me. She then held out her hand and said, "Lend me some money so I can buy a pancake."

Didn't I just give you 200 yesterday?

"I met a guy on a bike ride who said he couldn't get home, so I gave him all the money I had left... I admire people with dreams!"

I was furious and yelled, "Are you out of your mind? ...No wonder you said you didn't even have money for a hostel! ...You actually believed those idiots who scam people, that's an old trick from back then!"

Yang Sisi replied unhappily, "He really is a guy who cycled all the way from Beijing for his dream."

"Fine...fine, even if he's cycling because of his dream, why should you pay for his dream?"

"Look at what you're saying. I don't have the ability to pay for other people's dreams. This is just helping someone in need."

I was so angry I was speechless, and she started lecturing me again: "Look at you, why do you always interpret the world with malice? You should learn to enjoy the pleasure of helping others. You have no idea how grateful that guy was to me. He said I gave him the courage to keep going. He won't give up cycling; he's going to cycle all the way to Lhasa to see the Potala Palace!"

"If a few more people as stupid as you came along, they'd have the guts to ride to Mars, let alone Lhasa..." I laughed angrily, "Fine, fine... It's a miracle you weren't tricked away."

"So what if I lied? Marrying someone with dreams is better than marrying that sissy Xiao Bao!"

"If I were Little Leopard, I'd go drink pesticide in front of your house! You're being so insulting!"

Yang Sisi laughed carefree, but I felt like crying...

Thinking about it carefully, I'm the biggest idiot, because she always ends up scamming me after being scammed by others.

Just then, another cyclist stopped next to Yang Sisi and me. He took out a sign from his bag and showed it to us, which clearly stated: "Need money to buy food and Red Bull..."

I was furious. Pointing at myself, I yelled at him, "Do you think my face is so easy to fool? ...You're a perfectly healthy person, why do you have to do such despicable things? Do you really think everyone in the world is an idiot, that you've lost your mind?"

"Are you stupid? If you don't want to give it to me, then don't! Why are you yelling at me like that!"

"I fucking think you're mute..."

As I spoke, I subtly pulled out my belt from my waist. My fighting skills have always been better than my earning skills, so in my ego, I really wanted to beat up this lazy bum. What they really cheated out of Yang Sisi wasn't my hard-earned money.

Unexpectedly, Dali, which is currently striving to become a civilized city, is swarming with auxiliary police officers patrolling everywhere. Before I could even raise my belt, they pulled up in their patrol car beside us and asked, "What are you all doing crowding around here? You've taken up half the road!"

My attempt to assault someone failed, so I changed tactics and started filing a complaint: "Officer, please check this bastard's ID card as soon as possible. He cheated us out-of-towners out of our money."

One of the auxiliary police officers seemed to know them and said, "What are you checking? They're from the next town. We've already arrested them and educated them several times. They still won't learn their lesson!"

I gave a cold laugh, then said to Yang Sisi, "Ha... that guy from the next town... he rode all that way! And he still has the nerve to ask for Red Bull. Red Bull is for people with dreams, he's nothing."

Yang Sisi looked completely bewildered.

At this moment, a police auxiliary officer got out of the car and said to the man, "Come on, let's go to the station and talk some more."

Watching them walk away, Yang Sisi finally spoke, sighing, "This dream shattered so easily... Ugh, what a coward!"

I wanted to give her a good scolding for her careless behavior, but after she yelled at me like that, I couldn't bring myself to scold her anymore. I just looked at her for a long time, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, until she asked me for money to buy pancakes again.

I don't think anyone's dream was shattered; the one that was truly shattered was mine!

……

For the next half day, I accompanied Yang Sisi to secretly sell clothes in the ancient city, but we didn't make any money at all. Feeling hopeless, Yang Sisi sat listlessly on a bench by the street, and then kicked the woven bag hard in a fit of rage.

I couldn't be bothered with her, so I just lit a cigarette and smoked silently...

She pinched my waist hard and said, "Are you secretly laughing at me?"

Why would I laugh at you?

Yang Sisi pinched me hard again, angrily saying, "You still say you're not smiling? Your mouth is practically stretched to your ears!"

"I like to smoke with my mouth wide open."

"Dogs also like to bar their teeth and act aggressively towards people."

I turned to look at her, then slapped her on the back and said, "You've been nagging on and on since just now... Can't you just shut up for a bit?"

"You bastard, you hit a woman again!"

"You think I can't tell you're mocking me as a dog?... You've been sitting next to me for ages, so with us sitting together like this, aren't we a pair of adulterers?"

Yang Sisi, while rubbing the back of her head where I had slapped her, replied, "I only wanted to insult you, not myself."

"So if I fucking beat you to death, isn't that what you deserve?"

Yang Sisi smacked her lips and looked at me for a while before saying, "A good woman doesn't argue with a dog."

I slapped her on the back again, then made a gesture as if I was about to slap the back of her head. She flinched in fright and repeatedly said, "I give up, I give up, I won't talk nonsense anymore!"

……

Yang Sisi finally had a moment of peace, but not long after, she patted my arm again, looking pained, and said to me, "I'm so desperate. Does Dali really not have a place for a passionate young woman like me with ideals and aspirations?"

"There are so many bars and cafes in the whole old town, why don't you find a job as a waiter or waitress and start working?"

"Then I won't be free anymore; it'll be like going to work!"

"You're already a dying man struggling for your life, and you still have the nerve to ask for freedom?"

Yang Sisi rested her chin on her hand, and after a long pause, replied, "That's true..." A moment later, her expression suddenly brightened, and she grabbed my arm, saying, "Didn't you two open an inn together? I heard you're planning to open a small bar inside, and you'll need waiters and such... I can go!"

"Our place isn't a refugee camp, so please don't try anything with us."

"I'll work hard and promise not to hold you back... Please give me a chance, bro."

Afraid that she would become attached to me, I lied and said, "We don't even know when our inn will be able to reopen, so what do we need staff for right now?"

Yang Sisi sighed, then thought for a moment and replied, "It's pretty pointless to pin my hopes on a bunch of rabble like you... Hmph, a beautiful girl like me, do you think I'm afraid of not finding a waitress job in Dali... Believe it or not, as long as I stand there, even bars that aren't planning to hire waitresses will make an exception for me. After all, someone as pretty as me is already a living advertisement."

"Is Ye Zhi not prettier than you? Since when have you ever used the word 'pretty' so often?"

"She's so attractive to you, why don't you go get together with her... Pshaw, I'm afraid she won't even look at you, you're so poor!"

I looked at Yang Sisi, speechless again. She then tossed the woven bag containing the clothes in front of me and said, "I'm not doing this job anymore."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'll buy a bicycle, get a license plate, and ask for tolls and Red Bull along the way."

"Come on, the food at the police station isn't good."

"Mind your own business! Just leave me to fend for myself. Your conscience won't bother you anyway!"

As Yang Sisi spoke, she really did leave without looking back, but I still wanted to remind her: buying a bicycle also costs money.