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

I sped along in Ye Zhi's car. Back at the inn, I found some woodworking tools and started decorating the small bar with Instructor Ma. We put cigarettes and beer on the blueprints as a form of self-motivation. Before long, we were so hot we took off our shirts, completely working ourselves to the bone.

We need to hurry up and finish the renovation because the expert team will be coming to evaluate the guesthouse in a few days. If the renovation isn't done by then, the guesthouse will look dirty and messy, which will be very detrimental to the evaluation.

By the time we finished working, it was already noon. Although we were a bit tired, the little bar was gradually taking shape. We not only built a bookcase out of bricks, but also welded a motorcycle-shaped wine rack out of scrap steel we picked up from a nearby construction site.

Coach Ma said that once we change the ceiling to a steel structure, the industrial style will come through.

……

Today, Coach Ma bought the food. Just like yesterday, we sat under the shade of a tree opposite the inn, facing Erhai Lake, drinking and smoking, and chatting occasionally.

"Did Ye Zhizhen agree to help you get along with your parents?"

"It's absolutely true. She asked me to pick her up at the Land and Resources Bureau at 5 p.m., and then we'd go to the train station together... You know, this should be a good thing, right? But I'm actually a little nervous."

"Why are you panicking?"

"I'm afraid of being exposed. If I had found an ordinary woman to help me with this, I might have felt more at ease. But with her, it feels like we're from completely different worlds and don't really know each other. If I accidentally let something slip, I'd be in a really big mess."

"You still don't understand the significance of gold and diamond rings. If you just find an ordinary girl, it basically won't work. You need to give your parents enough psychological compensation first before there's any hope of it succeeding." He paused for a moment, then comforted her, "Ye Zhi is a smart woman. Talk to her more on your way to the train station, and she'll definitely understand."

"We can only try to communicate more."

Coach Ma nodded, then raised his beer can to me. We clinked glasses, and I tilted my head back and drank the rest of the beer. A ray of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, falling between my eyebrows. It was a little hot, and a little unsettling...

I threw away the beer can, then took off my shirt and plunged back into Erhai Lake. I held my breath and dived as deep as I could, expecting hallucinations like yesterday, but I didn't. I just felt a growing pain in my ears from the increasing water pressure. I pinched my nose to equalize the pressure and continued exploring deeper until I couldn't take it anymore and surfaced.

I felt utterly exhausted, but also experienced an unprecedented sense of exhilaration. Instructor Ma, squatting on the shore smoking, looked at me with utter disbelief and asked, "Jumping into Erhai Lake can be addictive?"

"I think this is a great way to relieve stress. Why don't you come down and give it a try?"

"Our inn has an infinity pool."

"If you want to experience true joy, you have to jump into Erhai Lake."

"Those who can swim will drown, and those who argue will be beaten to death... I'm not into that kind of thing."

I ignored Coach Ma, who was a terrible swimmer, took a deep breath, and dived into the water again... This was my luck, because the water of Erhai Lake could dispel my anxiety. If I was lucky enough, I would even have hallucinations, which seemed to be the only way I could communicate with Wang Lei.

Although I knew it was a hallucination, she felt more real than anyone else in my dream. Erhai Lake was like a conduit, connecting us who both yearned for it. Even though she no longer exists in this world, she has never left my spiritual realm…

……

In the afternoon, Coach Ma and I spent half the day working on the renovation of the small bar. It wasn't until 4:30 that I drove away from the inn and headed straight for the Land and Resources Bureau. Ye Zhi is a very punctual woman; she said it was 5:00, but actually came out at 4:58.

After she got in the car, as she fastened her seatbelt, she asked me, "Is it far from the train station?"

"It's about a half-hour drive. In Dali, apart from the city center, traffic jams are not very common."

Ye Zhi nodded, and then fell silent...

Feeling uncertain, I asked her again, "Don't you think we need to communicate? When we meet my family later, they're sure to ask a lot of questions."

"Too much talk leads to mistakes. I just need to acknowledge that I'm your girlfriend. I won't say anything more that I shouldn't."

"Some things need to be discussed in advance, such as how we met."

"You helped me fix my car on the highway, so just tell the truth."

"So if they ask you where you're from or what you do for a living, will you just tell them the truth?"

"Okay, I can handle it."

Are you feeling nervous right now?

Ye Zhi then looked at me, and I slowed down and glanced at her. At least, there wasn't a trace of nervousness on her face. I felt that her composure must be related to her experience with all sorts of big scenes, and that's generally how a person's mental fortitude is built.

Unexpectedly, the next moment Ye Zhi turned her palm towards me and said, "Your hands are sweating."

"Don't scare me, we've only just begun!"

"I'm not trying to scare you, but I'm genuinely a little nervous. I've never accompanied a man to meet his parents before... This is so sudden!"

Her words made me incredibly nervous. I pulled the car over to the side of the road and then asked her, "If my dad asks you later how you came to like me, what will you say?"

Ye Zhi hesitated for a moment, then stared at me for a long time before replying, "Michael, is it too late for me to back out now?"

I slapped myself hard on the head and asked, "Isn't there anything about me that you can appreciate... Look at me, with my thick eyebrows, big eyes, and upright appearance, aren't I pretty handsome?"

"So later, I'll say... I like how handsome you are?"

I snapped my fingers and replied, "That's how it is. The simpler and more direct it is, the more confident you seem."

Ye Zhi nodded, and just as I was about to start the car, she suddenly asked me, "If your family asked you what you liked about me, what would you say?"

I replied emphatically, "Beautiful!"

……

After a half-hour drive, I finally arrived at the train station. After parking the car, I went to the exit with Ye Zhi. Ye Zhi was much more thoughtful than me. While waiting, she went to the supermarket next door and bought some things, saying they were gifts for them.

Time ticked by, and I kept glancing at my watch as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. I noticed Ye Zhi unconsciously rubbing her hands several times; she seemed even more nervous than I was.

She asked me, "Didn't you say six o'clock? Why isn't it here yet?"

"The train might be delayed."

"Why don't you give them a call and ask?"

"Wait another ten minutes. If it hasn't arrived by then, I'll make a call."

As soon as I finished speaking, my phone vibrated in my hand. I felt like I had grabbed a hot potato, so I switched it from one hand to the other. Then I looked at the screen and found that it wasn't Lao Mi calling, but Yang Sisi.

I breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Ye Zhi, who was also watching closely, "It was Yang Sisi who called."

Ye Zhi nodded and turned to the other side, seemingly unwilling to listen to what Yang Sisi and I had to say. At that moment, I suddenly felt that I had wronged her. Even if I had changed a spare tire for her on the highway, I shouldn't have made her repay me in this way, especially since it wasn't something she was good at.

If, after this incident, there's any question of who owes whom, it's definitely me who owes her.