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

I took Yang Sisi back to the inn and carefully arranged the best sea-view room for her. After I made sure she had calmed down, I carefully left her room. She didn't bother me anymore. When I went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles and looked back, there were no lights on in her room.

After finishing my noodles, I went back to my room to wash up and then lay down on the bed to rest. Perhaps because I had gotten used to the pace of life in Dali, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time, and my mind was filled with many thoughts.

I was particularly happy that the guesthouse was able to reopen; however, when I thought of Lao Mi's insistence that I return to Shanghai, my mood plummeted again. I still feel that this is a huge problem, and the problem is that I don't yet have any achievements to convince Lao Mi that staying in Dali is actually a good choice.

My phone vibrated again beside my pillow. I picked it up and saw it was a WeChat message from Ye Zhi: "I left the car keys with the cleaning lady at the inn. If you need the car tomorrow, come to Ma Jiuyi to pick it up."

What time is your flight tomorrow?

"At 9:30 in the morning."

"How about I take you to the airport?"

"No need, it's already arranged."

"Thank you."

As always, Ye Zhi ended the chat once she felt she had said everything. I was used to her personality, although I still wanted to chat with her a bit more and tell her that our inn might be reopening soon.

……

The next day, I got up early and arrived in Majiuyi before eight o'clock, but I still couldn't run into Ye Zhi. The cleaning lady told me that she had been picked up by a car ten minutes earlier.

After I picked up Ye Zhi's car, I was about to take Lao Mi to my inn when I received a call from Tie Nan halfway there. He asked me to come to the airport to meet him.

I figured it wouldn't cause any trouble, so I turned the car around and headed towards the airport. Actually, I was quite worried about him and Taozi, so I really wanted to know how his trip to Shanghai went.

I realize that I can't avoid Shanghai at all. Even though I'm determined to stay in Dali, my friends are still going back and forth between Dali and Shanghai.

Around 9:30, I picked up Tie Nan at the airport. I thought to myself that since he was coming back alone, the outcome probably wouldn't be good. But he came up to me triumphantly and said, "Michael, congratulations buddy, I got Peach."

I looked left and right, then replied, "Where is she?"

"Are you stupid? She's definitely staying there to handle the aftermath."

"You mean, she's going to quit her job and come to Dali?!"

"That's right, she'll come here to run the inn with us in a week at most. We've already agreed on it."

I scratched my head and replied, "Are you sure she wasn't just saying that to appease you?"

"No way, I booked the tickets through her... If the inn hadn't been so busy lately, I would have stayed in Shanghai waiting for you." Tie Nan said, taking a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from his suitcase and handing it to me, adding, "I've been out running personal errands these past few days, thank you and Coach Ma for your trouble. Here, have some cigarettes."

"When you arrived in Shanghai, weren't you already penniless? Where did you get the money to buy cigarettes?"

"I got several thousand yuan from Taozi."

"You didn't even mention it was borrowed! Are you planning to live off Taozi?"

"You can't say that. What's hers is mine, and what's mine is hers. Since we've decided to be together, why be so clear about it?"

What do you have?

Tie Nan laughed loudly: "The inn, from now on she'll be the inn's owner, and she'll manage my share of the money."

I forced a smile, then asked, "Can you tell me how you managed to get the peaches?"

She asked me one question: "If you later find out that my past is different from what you see now, would you mind?"

"How did you answer?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind... From the first moment I saw her, I could tell that she must have had quite a few men before; I myself have also been with many women. You don't understand, people like us, because we're already tired of relationships between men and women, crave true love even more. This kind of love is not easy for us to find, and once we do, it's a hundred times more profound than what you guys talk about love all the time."

Tie Nan's words reminded me of Coach Ma's shocking opinion. I hope that when Tie Nan learns the truth one day, he won't hate Tao Zi. Because, as Coach Ma said, although Tao Zi has had many men, it was all for money; she didn't invest any feelings. Compared to a woman who invested feelings and was slept with by many exes, Tao Zi seems easier to accept.

But in an instant, I was confused again. I felt that this viewpoint made some sense at first glance, but upon closer examination, it still violated the basic ethics and morality of society. No matter what, it is wrong for women to sell their bodies. If society is too tolerant of this, then the system of civilized society will collapse.

So I pinched Peach's cheek again, because her past is not something that can be easily let go of. And I understand that best.

Seeing that I hadn't said anything, Tie Nan patted my shoulder and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing... I just wanted to remind you that a man has to be responsible for his promises, especially promises made to women."

"Do I look like a person who breaks his word?... Don't worry, I've really had my fill of playing around. I've finally met a woman I have feelings for, and I'll definitely cherish her."

I nodded and didn't say anything more...

Tie Nan looked at me expectantly and said, "Once Tao Zi arrives, our inn will be all set up... Instructor Ma and Tao Zi will run the small bar, we two will be in charge of the inn's daily operations, Si Si will be at the front desk, and Bai Lu will handle matters that require networking..."

After a brief pause, Tie Nan said to me again, full of emotion, "Michael, really, we all came together by fate. It's less like starting a business together and more like a family building a life together... I've been living a carefree life in Dali for so long, and this is the first time I've had so much confidence in something! This confidence comes from you guys, and also from Taozi!"

Looking at Tie Nan, and recalling the people he had mentioned, I couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

What kind of personnel structure is this?

Yang Sisi is a true heiress; Coach Ma is a former convict; I was once an ordinary office worker; Bai Lu is the daughter of a government official; Tao Zi is a young lady; and Tie Nan comes from a single-parent family with a history of grudges and entanglements…

It seems that we, a few people, encompass all aspects of society. If placed in a normal social system, we would be a group of people who would never cross paths, but there is this inn called "Waiting for You Amidst the Romantic Scenery" that has brought us together.

I believe this is a special kind of fate.

This made me think of Old Mi again. How could I tell him that in such a place, there was a group of people who, like me, chose to take a gamble and stake their entire lives on this inn that was about to set sail?

I also want to tell Lao Mi: I am not special, what is special is this place; it is this place that attracted me and gave me the motivation to choose a completely different life; I have the ability and confidence to build a home here, with this group of special people, that may be ideal, or perhaps more realistic than in Shanghai.