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

Sun Jiwei's hospitality was hard to refuse, so we agreed to have dinner with him. Afterwards, we invited him to sit at the inn for a while. He only chatted with us about trivial matters and didn't mention the extra spot he'd received. Therefore, I think Bailu was overthinking it…

Halfway through our conversation, Yang Sisi stood at the door and waved to me, indicating that she had something to tell me.

I asked Bai Lu to entertain Sun Jiwei first, and then I went outside. Just as I was about to speak, Yang Sisi dragged me into the courtyard and turned to me, asking, "Where's Ye Zhi? Didn't you two get together? Why haven't I seen her at the inn all day?"

"She went back to Shanghai for some business."

Yang Sisi looked at me with a strange gaze, and after a long while replied, "I always feel that something's not quite right about you two... Why would she be interested in you? It's not like I haven't lived with her before. The men who pursued her were all the elite of society. Just last time, a young master from a certain conglomerate even came all the way to Dali to see her... She's not stupid. Why would she turn down men like that and choose to drag herself down with someone like you?"

"Where did you hear that news?"

"I saw it with my own eyes... but she left them standing outside the door, she didn't see them."

"That solves it... What else do those rich young masters have besides money?"

Yang Sisi looked at me with disdain and replied, "Have you even dealt with these people before jumping to conclusions... Let me tell you, real rich kids aren't the nouveau riche types you imagine. There are hardworking and talented people among them."

"Is that so?"

"Of course, I have a cousin who graduated from Yale University. Not long after returning to China, he took over the family business and now he manages it even better than when my uncle was in charge! Do you dare say that he is not talented or hardworking? They just started much higher than normal people, which is why you see that kind of illusion."

"If you hadn't told me, I would have really thought that all rich kids drive luxury cars and spend their days picking up girls in nightclubs!"

"Tch, what a country bumpkin!"

I didn't speak. The reason I didn't speak was because I also felt that my vision was somewhat short-sighted, and since the world divides people into different classes, there must be a reason for it.

Yang Sisi suddenly said something that made me want to vomit blood: "Do you think if I introduced Ye Zhi to my cousin, wouldn't they be a perfect match, a match made in heaven?"

"How could you be such a beast? Daring to steal my partner!"

Yang Sisi gave me a disdainful look for a while, then replied, "Coach Ma already told me... how much longer are you planning to act with me?"

Feeling a little guilty, I asked, "What did Coach Ma tell you?"

"You and Ye Zhi were just putting on an act in front of your dad... because your ex-girlfriend dumped you, so you wanted to find someone better than her to comfort your parents, and this idea was given to you by Coach Ma."

I cursed Coach Ma a thousand times in my heart.

Yang Sisi then said, "Michael, what do you think Uncle would think if he knew you were an actor?"

"You'd better watch out, or I'll kill you to silence you!"

Yang Sisi retorted defiantly, "I'd rather tear you to pieces! Who hates whom more, you think?"

I decided to teach her a lesson, so I reached out and covered her mouth and nose, refusing to let her breathe... Yang Sisi hit and kicked me, but all her struggles were futile against absolute power. I said to her, "If you dare to mess this up, we'll both die in Dali."

Yang Sisi finally gave in, then mumbled incoherently, "I won't say, I won't say..."

I let go of her, but she ran towards the door without hesitation, looking like she was about to find Old Mi and kill me right then and there. I chased after her, scrambling out the door, and finally caught her under the tree where Coach Ma and I often ate lunch…

I snapped, "Are you ever going to stop...? Do you really want me to be forced back to Shanghai?"

"You can't bully me... I don't care if you live or die."

"You can bully me back the way I bullied you, and I promise I won't fight back... just shut up."

"I'm not as shameless as you, willing to do anything to achieve my goals!"

I was already upset about this whole thing, and now I was even more furious. I snapped, "Who's more shameless?... You dare to tell your parents you slept with me? Am I really worse than you if I find a woman to pretend to be my girlfriend?"

Yang Sisi, however, remained unperturbed. She coldly replied, "Oh, so you're saying I inspired you to do this?... How dare you say that? You did something stupid, and all you do is blame a woman. What a pathetic person you are!"

I was so angry I wanted to hit her, but looking at her delicate skin, I couldn't bring myself to do it. What terrified me even more was that this bastard always had an endless supply of insults to humiliate me. And this hadn't even started yet; if I actually beat her up, what would happen?!

I lit a cigarette, took several deep drags, and finally asked, "What exactly do you want?"

"I'll take you back to Shanghai, so I don't have to see you every day."

"You beast... I saw through your wicked intentions long ago. I shouldn't have taken you in at the inn. What's the difference between this and keeping a poisonous snake?"

"Stop patting yourself on the back. Did you take me in?... If it weren't for Sister Bailu and the others, I would have been homeless long ago because of you. This is karma!"

……

Just as Yang Sisi and I were arguing fiercely, Lao Mi, who was returning from a walk along Erhai Lake, happened to walk over to us. My expression immediately turned cold, and then I felt a surge of tension. If it were anyone else, I could try to figure things out, but with Yang Sisi's eccentric personality, I had no idea what she might do.

Sure enough, she said to me, "Michael, look, that uncle looks just like you, isn't he your dad?"

"Are you out of your mind? Can't you speak properly? It's because I look like him!"

Yang Sisi completely ignored me. When Lao Mi walked up to us, she asked, "Uncle, are you going for a walk?"

Old Mi responded, then asked me, "Is this girl your friend?"

"My enemy!"

"Uncle, don't listen to his nonsense. We came to Dali together from Shanghai; we know the whole place best!"

I pulled Yang Sisi aside and whispered in her ear, "If you really want to bring me back to Shanghai, then go ahead and cause trouble... Damn it, I shouldn't have messed with you, you plague! Otherwise, I wouldn't be in this mess now!"

"Put all your blame on me, I can take it."

"Do you know why my dad came this time?"

Yang Sisi looked at me, clearly unaware of what was happening.

I continued, "Stop pretending to be innocent with me. This is all your fault... Old Huang has always hoped that Xiao Bao would marry you. You talked nonsense in front of them last time. Do you think he's holding a grudge?... Ever since we got back to Shanghai, he's been suspicious, always suspecting that you and I are having an affair. Plus, you've been mentioning my rescue on social media lately, so he couldn't sit still. He thinks I'm very important to you, so he called my dad, trying to get me back to Shanghai so we can't have any contact... Now my dad is using threats and inducements on me. Can you believe how annoyed I am?"

"So you mean: you don't want to go back to Shanghai just so you can stay in Dali, spend more time with me, and then have an affair?"

"I'm doing this for the inn...who wants to have an affair with you!"

I was so angry with Yang Sisi that I was dumbfounded. She actually admitted to having an affair! I yelled back, "Are you out of your mind? What do you mean by 'affair'? You're talking so rudely!"

Yang Sisi rested her chin on her hands, then winked at me and said sarcastically, "I'm Little Leopard's woman... If you stay in Dali and try to seduce me, wouldn't that be adultery?"

I had nothing to say, I just kept smoking...

Yang Sisi pointed at me and said with a warning tone, "When I'm talking to your dad later, don't say anything out of line... You have to act like you respect me, otherwise I won't be able to control what I say."

"Please stop talking to my dad. Do you think he's the type to bother with you?"

"That's not necessarily true."

As Yang Sisi spoke, she pulled me back to Lao Mi's side, but my heart was pounding. If—and I mean if—I could choose again, I definitely wouldn't have answered Lao Huang's call and gotten myself into trouble with this devil.

I feel like if I keep letting her torment me like this, I'll really shorten my lifespan!

At this moment, I especially miss Ye Zhi, I miss her composure, her poise, and her sense of propriety...