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

On New Year's Eve, the ancient city was bustling with traffic and brightly lit. I sat alone at the end of Renmin Road, smoking. I couldn't make it back to spend the New Year with Lao Mi and my mother... My heart was filled with indescribable loneliness.

But I am not the most unfortunate one. After experiencing such a big storm, Cao Xiaobei suffered from severe depression. Yang Sisi took Cao Xiaobei to Germany for treatment this morning. She did not let me see her off, but said "I'm sorry" to me before leaving.

I understand what she means, but I'm the one who should be saying "I'm sorry".

Ye Zhi also returned to Shanghai quietly.

At this moment, if I weren't standing on the soil of Dali, I would really doubt that this is a dream... a particularly long dream!

I wanted to laugh, but I also felt like crying... because under these flickering lights, I was reminded of all the joys and sorrows I've experienced over the years...

Suddenly, I really wanted to sleep, the kind of sleep where I never woke up. This negativity stemmed from my sense of frustration.

If there are winners and losers in the world of emotions, I am undoubtedly the one who lost the most miserably... I have to accept the reality that there is no love in my world anymore, but even if I am completely defeated, I will accept my defeat wholeheartedly, because only the most sincere people deserve the most sincere love.

……

"Michael, the dumplings are all wrapped up, come and have your New Year's Eve dinner!"

It wasn't until Coach Ma sent me this voice message that I suddenly remembered I had a group of friends here, but I didn't want to eat, nor did I have any desire to integrate myself into the group...

I turned off my phone, curled up alone on a bench in the street, and cried my heart out while watching the flickering fireworks...

……

Three years later.

In a high-end residential community in Shanghai, I sat alone on the sofa in the living room, smoking. This was my second apartment in Shanghai, 196 square meters, with five bedrooms, five separate bathrooms, and good ventilation from north to south.

Yesterday, I also changed my car. I got a brand new BMW 760Li, the top-of-the-line model in the 7 Series, worth over two million yuan.

I gradually felt that Shanghai had become more open and expansive. I no longer had to squeeze onto buses and had my own dedicated parking space. I completely got rid of the hassle of crowding. I even set aside a room in my apartment to make a gym, which is filled with all kinds of fitness equipment. I love to work up a sweat on these machines because I forget a lot of things when I'm covered in sweat.

My friends all think I work out so much because I care about my health, but I haven't given up smoking and drinking.

……

I stubbed out my cigarette, took another bottle of wine from the liquor cabinet, then drew back the curtains and stood on the 39th floor, looking down at the city below... I saw the interlacing lights, half bright and half dim, and when they blended together, they looked just like life... But standing on this building, I could no longer see the stinking vegetable market, nor the night market stalls where beer only cost two yuan and fifty cents a bottle... Yet, I could not deny their existence, because that's where I came from.

I was so engrossed in the images of the past and present that I lost myself in them until someone knocked on the door.

……

I opened the door, and standing in front of me was Tong Yuwei, my new girlfriend… no, it's not exactly new anymore, because we've been together for almost a year now… I met her at a nightclub…

She frowned and asked me, "Have you been drinking again?"

"I had a little to drink... Is something wrong?"

Let's break up.

I smiled and asked, "Why do you want to break up? Did I do something wrong?"

"It's my fault... so you've never truly loved me."

I lit another cigarette and asked in a very calm tone, "I bought you a house, I bought you a car, isn't that love?"

"Are you trying to settle scores with me?... Who's going to compensate me for my youth?... Did you expect me to have slept with you for a year for nothing?"

"What I give you is truly my gift to you."

"Heh...that's true, you're already so rich, why would you bother with such a small thing!"

I looked at Tong Yuwei, and after a long silence, I finally asked her, "Yes, I'm already so rich, why did you still want to break up with me?"

This was a question I desperately wanted to know, but she had no intention of answering it. She started taking off her clothes and whispered in my ear, "Michael, remember my body..."

……

The night was so deep. I fled the empty house as if escaping, and then found Chen Jin, the only close friend I had in this city... It had been more than three years. Like me, he had never returned to Dali since leaving.

We sat on the top floor of the Chamber of Commerce building, facing the cold wind; he smoked, and I drank…

I laughed and said to him, "I think I've developed depression. Every time I stand in a high place, I have this urge to jump... Do you think this might actually be a kind of relief?"

"Come on, are you treating depression like some kind of fashionable disease?... Even if someone has depression, it should be me... You know, I'm quite successful now, right? But why is Nicole willing to wait for Cao Xue to get out of prison instead of giving me a chance?"

"You'll have to ask yourself that."

After replying, I couldn't help but laugh, like one patient mocking another.

"You stupid idiot!"

Chen Jin cursed at me and then started smoking a cigarette... Suddenly, he turned serious and said to me, "By the way, a friend in Dali told me something... Over a year ago, Cao Jinbo got pancreatic cancer and died while in custody!"

"Is that so?"

"It's definitely true, a friend from the Public Security Bureau told me... We were chatting yesterday, and somehow we started talking about Cao Jinbo... To be honest, it's been a long time since we've been to Dali... Actually, there's nothing to miss, it's a place that makes me sad... Shanghai is still the best!"

I didn't say anything, but just picked up the bottle and took another big gulp of wine... I don't know if it was a hallucination or if someone was really singing, but I heard "Goodbye, Twentieth Century" again, but my heart was numb. I didn't feel anything, nor did I try to recall anything.

……

After a long pause, I finally spoke to Chen Jin and asked, "How's work been lately?"

Chen Jin immediately retorted with a mocking laugh, "You want to ask me about Ye Zhi, don't you?"

"It's been three years. Have you ever heard me mention this person to you?"

"Yes, it's been three years, and you finally couldn't resist bringing this up with me!"

"If you can't talk to me properly, I'm going back to sleep."

"No, I've finally managed to get you to ask me out... Michael, there's something I really can't hold back, I just want to tell you."

"Let's talk about something more reliable."

Chen Jin leaned closer to me and whispered, "What I'm going to tell you about is President Ye's child... Last week, I saw her in the company's underground parking garage. She was holding that little thing... Damn, she really looks a bit like you... Especially her eyes, when she's half-closing her eyes and looking at people, it's so frivolous!... Really, exactly like you!"

I was stunned, then yelled, "Can't you speak like a human being?!"

"You two...really didn't have a relationship?"

"I swear, I didn't even take her shirt off."

Chen Jin slapped himself, then replied, "Just take it as me being foul-mouthed; you can't just say things like that!"

……

In the intermittent silence, we lay down together on the rooftop. It was around this time that I finished the whole bottle of wine. I was getting sleepy and wanted to sleep there...

"Michael, it's almost Chinese New Year again... Let's go to Thailand this year. I heard Ping bought a yacht, so we can drink red wine and enjoy the sea view on the yacht... and then celebrate our 33rd year in this world! ... I've fucking come to terms with it now. Since things aren't going well in my love life, I definitely can't skimp on myself in terms of lifestyle... Next year, I'll buy a house in Phuket too..."

I interrupted Chen Jin impatiently and said, "Go by yourself... I want to go home for the New Year..."

"Don't go home and upset your parents... You don't even have a girlfriend... Why don't you come to Thailand with me!"

I didn't say anything, but I just thought of this time three years ago... I suddenly really wanted to go back to Dali, to see my friends there, to see the beautiful scenery there! ... I don't know if not going to Dali all these years, or even not asking about anything related to Dali, counts as escapism... But I have never forgotten everything that happened there. I still keep the business license for the inn called "Waiting for You in the Beautiful Scenery"... It was given to me by Tie Nan, and it is almost one of the most important things in my life.

……

The next day, I took the earliest flight from Shanghai to Dali. Sitting in the taxi, looking at the familiar Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, I was filled with mixed emotions...

I just watched until the car entered National Highway 218, then I said to the driver, "Sir, could you recommend a guesthouse? I need to find a place to stay tonight."

"What kind of inn would you like to stay at?"

"Dali's guesthouse culture is leading the country, so of course the more sentimental the better."

The driver smiled and replied, "It's right ahead of you."

"What?"

The driver gestured for me to look ahead.

I looked up and saw that the slogans promoting the protection of Erhai Lake that were once on the GG sign were gone. In their place was a guesthouse sign.

My heart, which had long been numb, suddenly trembled violently...

I quickly dialed the reservation number on the GG sign.

Five seconds later, I heard that voice that had appeared countless times in my dreams. She spoke to me in a very gentle tone: "Hello, an inn, a city, waiting for only one person in a lifetime... Dali, I'm waiting for you in the midst of romance and beauty. Welcome to inquire..."

"An inn, a city, a lifetime waiting for only one person..."

My vision blurred instantly... At that moment, I seemed to see her nearly 30 years old through the "romantic beauty" of this city... which is precisely the best part of my life, and also the choice between two cities!

(The Finale)