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

It was completely dark by then, and I finally said to Coach Ma, who had been silent all along, "Let's go to the ancient city and have a few drinks, it's on me."

"I can't drink today, so I went to two more bars to sing. Now I have to sing three shows a night, so I don't have much time to have fun."

"Why are you working so hard? Are you short of money?"

Coach Ma smiled and replied, "Is there anyone in our inn who isn't short of money?... I want to earn more money so I can get a decent bar. Bai Lu is right, we're all building this together and have responsibilities. If I give up on myself and affect the team's atmosphere, that would be really outrageous."

I patted him on the shoulder in appreciation, and then, as if remembering something, he asked me, "Any news from Tie Nan?"

"No, I guess we've only just arrived in Shanghai and haven't found a place to stay yet."

"Then you should help him out. I've known him for a long time, and I've never seen him so serious about anyone as he is about Peach."

"He and Peach won't be together."

"If these two have feelings for each other, how can they not become a couple? Besides, Tie Nan isn't the kind of guy who's particularly worldly."

"Peach works in nightclubs..."

Coach Ma almost choked on the smoke he inhaled. He stared at me blankly for a long time before replying, "That can't be!"

"If it's true, would you dare tell Tetsuo?"

Coach Ma shook his head vigorously, saying, "I wouldn't dare. If Tie Nan found out, it would be the death of him. He hates women who frequent nightclubs more than anything... He can't get involved in this; he'll be ruined!"

"Right, so now you can understand my feelings for Peach, right... She really can't stay in Dali, and she can't have anything to do with Tie Nan!"

Coach Ma nodded gravely and replied, "Understood. I promise I won't mention having her work as a bartender again... Not to mention Tie Nan, our little place really can't afford her earnings from working in nightclubs."

I let out a heavy sigh, wanting to say something, but suddenly forgot. Coach Ma seemed to be in a hurry too; he didn't say anything more to me, and the next moment he left the inn with his guitar on his back. I stood at the door watching him go.

He's not a talkative person and he knows what's right and wrong, which is why I dared to tell him about Taozi working in a nightclub. Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult for me to keep this secret by myself.

……

After standing at the entrance for a while, I spotted Ye Zhi's distinctive G-Class in the night. It slowly pulled up in the parking lot not far from the inn, and then Ye Zhi came out. Without a doubt, she was looking for me, but why she was looking for me was something I needed to figure out, because she's never been one to take the initiative.

She came to my side, then took out a tube of ointment from her bag and handed it to me, saying, "This is ointment I bought for you to prevent infection of the wound. Remember to apply it to the wound twice a day, morning and night."

I subconsciously looked at my hand and remembered that I had been cut by broken glass from a car when I went into the water to save someone yesterday. I hadn't paid any attention to the wound, and now it was indeed a little red and swollen. Unexpectedly, Ye Zhi had taken it to heart.

I took it from Ye Zhi and then smiled and said "thank you" to her.

Ye Zhi took out a bottle of mineral water from her bag and said to me, "Hold out your hand, I'll clean the wound for you, and then you can apply the ointment yourself."

I obediently stretched out my hand, and Ye Zhi unscrewed the bottle cap, carefully poured the water onto my wound, then took out an alcohol swab to wipe it clean. After doing all that, she gestured for me to apply the ointment myself.

I joked and replied, "Since you're being a nice guy, why don't you help me apply it too?"

"Do what you can yourself."

I looked at her; her face was expressionless. But I wanted to peek into her inner world, to see if there was a hint of shyness behind that indifference. But I couldn't bring myself to do it, so she remained a mystery to me as always.

Seeing that I had applied the ointment, she said to me, "Remember to use the medicine. I'm leaving now."

"You've come all this way, let's have a meal together before you leave."

"Let's do it another day. I have a meeting at the city hall later."

With a puzzled look, I asked, "Why are we having a meeting so late?"

"Attracting investment."

"Alright then, you take care of your business first. If you come back to Longkan after the meeting, I'll treat you to a late-night snack... There's a small shop around here that makes Cantonese dim sum, and it's really good."

"I'm not coming, I'm too tired."

I was slightly disappointed, but she had already walked back to her car. Suddenly remembering something, I said loudly to her, "I saw your post on WeChat Moments. It was quite upsetting. While I was saving someone, you guys were still taking pictures!"

Ye Zhi turned to look at me, smiled—a rare occurrence—and replied, "Sisi found the photo on a local forum and sent it to me. Now many people in Dali are talking about your story..."

"Was that post also made by Yang Sisi?"

"Yes, she said she wanted more people to see your bravery, so all her friends have to share it on their WeChat Moments."

I felt a little embarrassed, and my previous smugness vanished instantly. It turned out that Ye Zhi's post on WeChat Moments was forced by Yang Sisi, but I mistakenly thought it was her own intention.

Ye Zhi had already driven away and disappeared from my sight, but I was still standing there. However, when I thought of Yang Sisi, I felt a little touched and amused. She was still as willful and domineering as ever. Since she forced her friends to share things about me on their WeChat Moments, she probably admired me.

I feel I deserve her admiration because I am indeed a man somewhere between awesome and mediocre.

……

The night was lonely and dull. With nothing to do, I called Tie Nan. As soon as he answered, he cursed, "Mi Gao, you son of a bitch, you actually know to call me... I'm just a country bumpkin, I've only just arrived in the city and I'm completely lost. Where am I supposed to find peaches?"

"You know how to post missing person notices, right? Find a company called GG and get 10,000 copies."

"You brat, you're just spouting sarcastic remarks."

"When you acted impulsively, did you ever think that Shanghai is a megacity with a population of over ten million? ... Your grandson was tricked and sold by people from the city, he deserved it."

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me Peach's address right now. I'm going to find her."

"I won't tell."

"You're arguing with me!"

"Who's arguing with you? I'm just urging you to come back quickly. There's a ton of work to do at the inn; I can't handle it all by myself!"

Tie Nan softened his tone: "I'm begging you, buddy, just give me her contact information... I'm really desperate right now, I don't even have money for a hotel. We're business partners, you can't let me die in Shanghai."

"Then you should quickly check if there's a police station nearby, tell them you're an unregistered resident, and have the police send you back to Dali."

I really angered Tie Nan. He started cursing and swearing, and he used really nasty language. I hung up the phone halfway through his rant. In that instant, I seemed to see a penniless man standing on a bustling street, sighing at the bright lights and bustling city, but his suitcase was completely empty, not even a dog poop in it.

After a moment of schadenfreude, I felt a pang of pity and a touch of admiration for him, because I hadn't shown him the same courage when it came to love. Back then, I had watched Lu Jia leave her rented apartment right before my eyes.

……

After some struggle, I finally called Taozi. She didn't seem to be at work yet; she answered after a moment and asked, "Has Tie Nan arrived in Shanghai yet?"

"He really went. I just called him and he said he's wandering the streets and doesn't even have money for a hotel."

"That's an exaggeration!"

"He's really that poor! ...Look, shouldn't we go see him? We were already desperate enough in Shanghai, don't let an outsider experience the same despair. Shanghai isn't actually that hateful a city."

Peach remained silent, and this silence was a sign that she had softened her heart. After all, there was a man who had gone to Shanghai to find her, even though he only had enough money for a plane ticket. As a woman who had feelings for that man, how could she not be moved and soften her heart?

After a moment of silence, Peach finally said to me, "Why don't you ask him for a seat? I'll have a friend send him some money."

"Actually, if he really doesn't have any money, I can transfer it to him via WeChat."

"Don't worry about it, I'll have my friend go over there."

I couldn't figure out what Taozi was thinking, but since it was between the two of them, I shouldn't interfere too much, so I chose to respect her wishes.

At this moment, not only was Peach conflicted, but I was also conflicted. On the one hand, I was impressed by Tie Nan's fearless spirit for love, and on the other hand, I felt the anxiety of hopelessness in Peach's miserable world.