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

Ye Zhi's words made Yang Sisi a little embarrassed. She said to Ye Zhi, "That was my initial plan, but now I don't want to go back with him... Sister Ye Zhi, please take me home. It's freezing cold tonight, and it's more comfortable to ride in a car."

"It's not on my way."

"Then you can all leave. I'll have another bowl of braised pork rice."

Knowing that Yang Sisi had said those words in a fit of pique, Ye Zhi didn't indulge her. The next moment, she picked up her handbag and left "Midnight Diner"; I also picked up my helmet and prepared to leave.

Yang Sisi is a very proud person, so she didn't ask me to stay, but I could tell that her dissatisfaction was starting to boil over, because the way she looked at me was very strange.

……

After I left, I didn't go anywhere. Instead, I sat on the motorcycle and lit a cigarette. I couldn't possibly leave her alone in the ancient city. After all, it was already late at night, and I couldn't bear to let her go back to Longkan alone.

Before I had even finished my cigarette, Yang Sisi came out of the small shop. She glanced at me in surprise, then pretended not to see me and walked past me.

I exhaled the smoke from my mouth and asked her, "You finished a bowl of braised pork rice so quickly?"

Yang Sisi stopped and turned to look at me, saying, "Didn't you go back to the Dragon Shrine? Is a ghost talking to me now?"

I didn't argue with her and handed her the other helmet.

I'm still angry.

"Can you still remember why you were angry?"

"I introduced Ye Zhi to my cousin, what are you meddling in? What business is it of yours? Just tell me I'm in the wrong."

I took another drag of my cigarette and replied, "Didn't you realize that Ye Zhi was in a difficult position? She didn't want to go to the airport to pick up your cousin at all."

"She later said she would try her best."

"They were just being polite to you; they don't understand basic social etiquette at all."

Yang Sisi glared at me angrily, looking like she wanted to strangle me, then suddenly asked, "Are you jealous of my cousin, and that's why you're making sarcastic remarks?"

"A man as handsome and dashing as me, only others are jealous of me."

"I'm about to throw up from hearing it!"

I smiled and replied, "If you really have a sense of responsibility towards our inn, then stop thinking about those messy things... Didn't you hear what Ye Zhi said? There are people who are jealous of our inn. Who knows what trouble might happen in the future?"

"Isn't Sister Bailu here? What are you afraid of?"

Do you know what society is?

"I don't understand, teach me."

"I can't teach you; only what you experience yourself is the most profound experience."

"I just don't believe he dares to mess with Sister Bailu."

"There are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Didn't you see how polite Bai Lu was when she called people? And Cao Jinbo always gave Bai Lu face. But that's all just on the surface; that's how it is in the underworld."

"Aren't you tired of acting like this all the time?"

"The strong don't act with the weak; only those of equal strength will put on an act, testing each other... If you don't want to be exhausted, you first need to stand at a height that others can't reach... So, can you understand your parents' predicament? They desperately need someone like you who understands society, because they have many things to leave you, but they're afraid you won't be able to hold onto them; actually, humans are just like other animals, they have to fight for food and defend their territory, only humans are more cunning and more calculating."

"Ye Zhi is quite accomplished, but do you think she's happy?"

I paused for a moment, then asked, "How do you know she's unhappy?"

"She's just unhappy. Have you ever seen her with a close friend?"

I didn't say anything, just tilted my head back slightly and took a drag of my cigarette... I felt a little lost, because I couldn't quite put my finger on what it meant to be happy: having money, friends, dreams, love? Or were all of these far from enough?

……

Leaving the ancient city, I rode my motorcycle through the seemingly endless night, Yang Sisi sitting behind me, her body pressed close to mine, perhaps because of the cold. When we reached a small, unlit alley, she finally spoke to me, perhaps out of fear, asking, "Will you stay in Dali forever?"

Why are you asking that?

"I'm suddenly a little envious of you guys."

"I envy you."

"What do I have to envy?"

"Not only are you good-looking, but you'll never have to worry about food or clothing your whole life; do you know what most girls your age are doing?"

Yang Sisi remained silent, so I continued, "A large portion of them live in cramped conditions in big cities like Shanghai, earning meager wages and constantly worrying about whether their remaining money will cover next month's rent. Occasionally, they might go out to eat, which is considered a 'big meal.' Those who are lucky might have boyfriends, but that's just the beginning of their suffering, because they'll face the very real issue of marriage. Do you know what marriage means?... A house and a car are the foundation. After desperately trying to buy a house, they have to start thinking about having children... Heh, raising a child is much harder than owning a car. So they get trapped in a vicious cycle, unable to escape, and before they know it, they've become haggard housewives. That's considered good; worse still, they might meet a worthless boyfriend, wasting years of their youth without ever getting a house, ultimately becoming older single women and suffering the pain of a breakup... But you're clearly different from them. When you were twenty, your loving father had already bought you a luxury car worth over a million."

"Therefore, I must marry a man I love... I don't want to marry that sissy, Little Leopard!"

I almost lost my balance and drove the motorcycle into the ditch. I quickly slammed on the brakes and replied, "What I mean is, I want you to cherish everything you have now. When you learn to see the world with an eye for appreciation, you might find that Xiao Bao is actually a pretty good man... at least he indulges you and spoils you."

Yang Sisi ignored me and said to me again, "Your ex-girlfriend must be the kind of woman you just described, right?... And you're the good-for-nothing man who turned her into an old maid."

Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask.

Yang Sisi started lecturing me again: "You should face your past self."

"What's the point of facing it? Everything is irreversible anyway."

"So you still love your ex-girlfriend?"

I subconsciously looked up, and the night sky, blending with the starlight, was so gentle, so tender that it wanted me to confess my feelings, but in the end, I chose to remain silent. I just didn't want to face the person I was in Shanghai; I would feel sorry for Lu Jia, and I hated being troubled by such emotions. I understood: the reason I felt sorry for her was mostly because I still loved her.

……

The next morning, I summoned Bai Lu to the inn and relayed the information I had gathered from Ye Zhi to her. Bai Lu initially didn't believe it. After further inquiries, she learned that Cao Jinbo had indeed invested over 1000 million yuan in Shuanglang to build a very high-end seaside inn, but it hadn't been able to reopen. This demonstrates Ye Zhi's intelligence-gathering ability; in this respect, even Bai Lu, a local working at the tourism bureau, was less efficient than her.

Just as we were discussing this matter, a Cayenne pulled up outside the inn, and then a man we had never seen before, accompanied by two other men who were clearly his entourage, entered our inn.

Bai Lu whispered to us, "It's Cao Jinbo."

I took another look. Cao Jinbo, whom Bai Lu mentioned, was about forty years old. He was very thin, had a buzz cut, and didn't look bad. He was dressed very formally, but his two henchmen looked like gangsters.

I asked Bailu, "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know. He didn't mention coming when we talked on the phone before. Let's see how things go."

I nodded, and then I noticed that Coach Ma and Tie Nan also had solemn expressions, and the atmosphere had become a bit somber without us realizing it.