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

I arrived at the hotel parking lot with a sense of dejection and helplessness. Ye Zhi was waiting for me in the car. I opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat.

She didn't rush to start the car, but instead said to me with some concern, "You seem a little down, what's wrong?"

I sighed softly and replied, "My dad is quite stubborn. He still wants me to go back to Shanghai and work at my old company."

"Did he realize we were acting?"

I shook my head and replied, "He's a man of many kinds, sometimes truthful, sometimes false. I don't know if he's figured it out or not, but he hasn't said it outright."

"Oh, I thought I did something wrong and he saw through my act." After a slight pause, Ye Zhi continued, "So, the fact that he wants you to go back to Shanghai means he doesn't really approve of this relationship we've been acting out."

"It's not that they don't approve, it's just that they lack confidence in me..."

Ye Zhi didn't say anything more, but I believe she must have understood what I meant.

……

I didn't let Ye Zhi drive me to Longkan Wharf. I got off at the intersection of Dali Road, which leads to both Longkan Wharf and Majiuyi. I wanted to walk around by myself and think about what had happened recently.

After I got off the bus, Ye Zhi said to me again, "Michael, I have to go back to Shanghai tomorrow, so I won't be able to stay with you and your uncle... Please convey my apologies to my uncle and me."

"You should focus on your work. I'm the one who should feel apologetic; I've caused you trouble!"

Ye Zhi smiled and replied, "Don't say that. My work is usually quite boring, so having this kind of experience today is actually quite interesting when I think about it now."

I returned her a smile and said, "By the way, I'll transfer the money for today's hotel and meals to you via WeChat later."

"Why are you calculating so clearly... Even if we're just ordinary friends, it's not a problem for me to treat Uncle, who's come all the way to Dali, to do something nice for him."

"That's one thing..."

Ye Zhi interrupted me and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let Uncle stay here for a few more days. Maybe I can come back and entertain him again."

"I dare not keep him for more than a few days. The sooner he leaves, the sooner I can settle down and get some things done."

……

Walking alone on a path without streetlights, loneliness and melancholy followed me all the way. At that moment, I really wanted to find someone to talk to, to share my inner helplessness and struggles.

I walked to the shore of Erhai Lake again and sat down on a bench under a street lamp. My legs were a little sore, and I calculated that I had been walking alone for almost an hour.

I lit a cigarette, took my phone out of my pocket, and then scrolled to Lu Jia's number, which was already taken by someone else...

I don't know why, but I always feel that talking to that woman who is a bit irritable and not very classy is the most stress-free, because I can unreservedly present a part of myself that also has many dark sides to her.

I'm not afraid of her scolding me, nor am I afraid of her looking down on me; because I already think very little of her in my heart.

How have you been lately?

Half of the streetlights on Huanhai Road were off before she replied to my message: "Not so good."

"How about you yell at me a few times to vent your frustration?"

"Are you stupid? Who asks to be insulted?!"

"If you don't yell at me a few times, how can I possibly give you a good scolding later?"

After a long time, she replied with a message that shocked me: "I'm pregnant, with my ex-boyfriend's child."

"Damn it, we can argue all we want, but can you please stop joking around like this... How did you end up pregnant with your ex-boyfriend's child?"

"I'm not kidding. I haven't had my period for two months. I went to the hospital for a checkup today, and it's true that I'm pregnant."

I felt anxious for her and asked, "So what do you plan to do? Give birth, or have an abortion?"

"Do you even have a brain? Did I give birth to you and expect you to raise it?"

"I don't want to be a father unexpectedly!"

"Then stop talking nonsense... How have you been lately?"

"Aren't we both like this? We must be having a bad time to send each other a message, to curse or complain a bit."

"Aren't you in Dali? Such a beautiful place, how could you feel like you're not living well?"

"Don't tease me, okay?... Even in Dali, you still have to eat, drink, and relieve yourself, and you still have to deal with relationships between people."

"Idiot."

"You're the fucking idiot."

"You're the biggest idiot in the world... I haven't had a single good thing since you messaged me... Can you please stop messaging me?"

"Just put me on your blacklist, that'll solve everything."

"I want you to disappear."

"Are you afraid that when you want to message me later, you won't be able to find me?"

Her emotions seemed to calm down suddenly, and she replied, "Sometimes, it feels good to have someone to yell at! So, from now on, don't message me first; I'll have to do it myself."

"Why should I?"

"Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can be willful or unreasonable!"

"I'm truly impressed by what you're saying! ...Can you tell me what kind of woman you are in real life? I don't think you'd be so foul-mouthed, would you?"

Why should I tell you?

I felt like the conversation was going nowhere, but then she sent me another message: "Tell me, what's making you so upset?"

"This even looks like a conversation."

"Do I need your approval?... If you have to say it, say it now, or I won't play along."

I hesitated for a moment before finally replying, "I'm really conflicted. On one hand, I don't want to disappoint my family, but on the other hand, I don't want to leave Dali... Today, my dad took a day and a night train ride to Dali. He insists that I go back to Shanghai to do my old job. But I really can't go back to Shanghai. Just thinking about the people and the atmosphere there makes me feel depressed!"

"Were you hurt too deeply by your ex-girlfriend?"

"Not entirely. I think Dali suits me quite well. The new friends I've made aren't like those people in Shanghai, who make me feel overwhelmed. Everyone is quite happy starting a business together."

"Then talk to your dad. Tell him how you feel right now, and your dissatisfaction with Shanghai. If he still doesn't understand you, it only proves that he's selfish, and you don't need to take his demands too seriously."

"Is this how you always interact with your parents?"

At the crucial moment, the other party mysteriously disappeared again, but I felt that this chat was fruitful. I should try to let Lao Mi understand my innermost thoughts. What we really lack is probably heart-to-heart communication.

After sitting for a while, I raised my wrist and looked at my watch. It was already 11 p.m., and I felt that I should go back to the inn to rest.

……

As I approached the inn, I saw a figure sitting under the tree where Coach Ma and I often had lunch. As I got closer, I realized it was Yang Sisi. She recognized me at the same time and, in the darkness, asked, "Didn't you get together with Ye Zhi? Where is she?"

"What, you think we just have to live together since we're all set?"

"With your level of depravity, what wouldn't you do?"

I gave her a disdainful look, then asked, "Weren't you conducting training in Xiaguan? What are you doing here so late?"

"I had an appointment with Sister Bailu to discuss something, and she asked me to go back to the inn tonight."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"It's none of your business, so don't ask."

"I don't care to ask. You just stay here by yourself. I'm going back to sleep."

After I finished speaking, I turned and walked into the inn, but she called me back: "Wait a minute, I have something to tell you."

I turned around and looked at her...

"Come back! I'm not a monster, why are you staying so far away from me?"

I took a few steps back to her before she spoke to me, "Our inn is expected to open in November."

My veins felt like they'd been injected with chicken blood, and I immediately asked, "Where did you hear that? Is it reliable?"