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

After sitting by Erhai Lake for a while, I received a call from Tie Nan. He said he wanted to talk to me. I told him my location, and not long after, he arrived with a pitcher of beer and some braised dishes that looked like pig's head.

I thought he was definitely going to talk to me about peaches, but instead he said to me, "Bai Lu has already taken care of the sewage treatment equipment. In the end, it only cost a little over 8 yuan. There's still a little left over from what you gave me."

"Um."

She said she'll transfer the remaining money to your WeChat account tomorrow.

"it is good."

Tie Nan lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said to me, "Bai Lu said that Tao Zi gave you this money... It's not a huge amount, but it's not small either. Where would she get so much money, working as a receptionist at a hotel?"

I replied vaguely, "You'll have to ask her. I can't be so stupid as to ask her where she got the money when she lends it to me, can I?"

"Then you fucking give me her contact information!"

Looking at the enraged Iron Man, I didn't know what to say. I tore open a can of beer, took a sip, and simply replied, "No."

Iron Man pointed at me, clearly annoyed, and said, "Michael, I've noticed you can be quite a jerk sometimes!"

"I won't give it to you no matter what."

Tie Nan downed a can of beer in one gulp, and after a long while, he said, "She doesn't want to be with me simply because she doesn't think I'm the kind of person who can settle down. So she'd rather play around with me than have a proper relationship."

"You don't understand her; she has her reasons."

"Then who the hell understands me?... " After a slight pause, Tie Nan said in a low voice, "I like mature and independent women who also have a maternal instinct... Taozi's temperament is quite similar to my mother's. My mother is a strong woman, but she can't tolerate the slightest imperfection..."

Tie Nan choked up a little as he continued, "My dad was quite rich... But when men have money, they easily go astray. Not long after, he hooked up with a prostitute who worked in nightclubs... That prostitute, greedy for my dad's money, told my mom all about our dirty secrets and wanted her to divorce him... My mom loved my dad very much and had been there for him in his business all these years, working tirelessly without complaint... But my dad treated her so badly, and she couldn't swallow it. Later... later she took poison... She died on the way to the hospital!"

I looked at Tie Nan, tears streaming down his face, and at that moment I finally understood why he didn't want to use his real name—because he hated his father; and I also understood why he had a knack for business—because he was born into a family of businessmen.

I offered him another cigarette and lit it for him. I wanted to advise him to let it go, but I felt it was unfair to do so! After all, something like this had happened; how could I expect him to be able to let it go? Those were his parents, who had raised him, and one of them had indirectly caused the other's death!

No wonder many people say that Dali is a place with a story. Outsiders who come here seem arrogant and indifferent to fame and fortune, but they often harbor unhealed wounds in their hearts, so they can only pretend and live on...

At that moment, I really wanted to tell Tie Nan that Tao Zi was also a woman who worked in nightclubs, and that she wasn't the same type of woman as her mother. But the words stuck in my throat, and I couldn't bring myself to say them. It would be too cruel for Tie Nan. If I said it, I would not only destroy one of his dreams, but also his hope for life.

I know he's serious about peaches!

……

After a long while, Tie Nan patted my arm again and said, "I've had relationships with quite a few women in Dali over the past few years, but none of them have made me serious. But Taozi is an exception. She gives me a very special feeling... So, I want to give myself a chance, and give her a chance too."

"Are you sure your attraction to her isn't just because of her face?"

"I've been with women prettier than her, but I don't want to be with her."

I was speechless at Tie Nan's words, and then I thought about Tao Zi carefully in my mind. I realized that she really did have something that attracted Tie Nan to her. She was a very family-oriented and responsible woman. That's why she was able to give so much to her family, which she didn't deserve all that effort, all these years. And what Tie Nan lacked most was precisely a woman who could give him a family.

My analysis is correct; it must be Peach's maternal qualities that attracted him. But this is contradictory, because Peach is also the kind of nightclub girl he despises most!

Seeing that I didn't speak, Tie Nan continued, "If your grandson still refuses to give me Taozi's contact information, I'll go to Shanghai to find her and then post missing person notices all over the streets... Don't think I'm bragging, I really can do something like that."

"I just think you're bragging."

Tie Nan didn't waste any words with me. Right in front of me, he booked a flight to Shanghai for the next day on Ctrip and said, "Keep an eye on the inn these next few days... I'm leaving tomorrow."

I was stunned, but he turned and left.

……

I quickly called Taozi, but she didn't answer, probably because she was at work. So I sent her a message: "Tienan is going to Shanghai to see you. He's already booked the plane tickets, so take it easy."

After sending the message, I returned to the inn and saw Tie Nan packing his things in his room. He was serious. So, I waited even more eagerly for Tao Zi to call or reply to my message.

Half an hour later, Peach finally replied to my message: "I'm at work right now, are you serious or not?"

"You can't joke about something like this, can you? This guy booked the plane ticket right in front of me, and he's packing his things in his room right now... What do you suggest we do?"

It took a very long time before Peach replied: "Let him go... I won't see him."

"Well, it's probably for the best... He'll probably come back once he's had his fill of trouble."

……

The next morning, Tie Nan left. This had a big impact on me because after he left, the burden of running the inn fell entirely on my shoulders, so I spent the whole morning busy with the installation of the sewage treatment equipment... At noon, I treated the installers to lunch on behalf of the inn.

The wastewater treatment equipment has a very good purification effect, which makes me feel much more at ease and more motivated to move forward step by step according to my original plan.

In the afternoon, I called Director Ma back to the inn and talked to him about my plans. I didn't place all my hopes for promotion on those photography studios. I planned to ask Ye Zhi and Yang Sisi to take a set of promotional photos for the inn first.

Compared to clients of photography studios, they absolutely excel in every aspect, but that doesn't negate the value of those studios. They also have their own promotional channels; after taking photos for their clients, they share them on their own platforms, indirectly promoting our guesthouse. That's my primary reason for collaborating with them.

As we chatted, Coach Ma brought up the bar he valued most. He complained about me, saying that I hadn't been able to keep Peach for him, and that he couldn't find a better bartender than Peach.

I felt particularly wronged by this, because I wanted to keep Taozi even more than they did, but I also knew better what kind of woman Taozi was!

……

Dusk fell quickly, and Coach Ma and I sat in the courtyard, staring blankly at the inn, which now had sewage treatment equipment... I didn't know what Coach Ma was thinking, but I was already imagining what the inn would be like after it reopened, and also imagining when I could, as a successful person, bring my parents to Dali for a visit...

If one day I truly achieve success in Dali, the first person I will thank is Wang Lei, because she gave me a chance to choose my life again with her own life.

While we were in a daze, someone pushed open the door of the inn. Instructor Ma and I both turned our gazes toward the person who came in, but neither of us recognized them.

The bespectacled man, around thirty years old, came up to me. He grasped my hand firmly and said with deep gratitude, "Hello, hello, I'm the father of the child you saved today... I'm so, so very grateful to you. You saved my family... Your kindness is immeasurable! Your kindness is immeasurable!"

After saying that, he gestured to the person behind him to place the things he had bought on the stone table next to me.

I told him he was being too polite.

He continued, "My name is Sun Jiwei. I was just transferred to the Environmental Protection Bureau here this year. My wife and child came all the way from out of town to see me, but I never expected this accident to happen... I still feel scared when I think about it. I should have sent someone to drive them. If it weren't for someone as brave as you, my life would probably be ruined... So you must accept this small token of my appreciation, otherwise I'll feel really bad about it!"

I invited him and his companion to sit down, and then made them each a cup of tea. I didn't pay much attention to him saying he was from the Environmental Protection Bureau, but he himself focused his attention on our inn, which had been closed for a long time.