I tossed him a cigarette, and after he lit it, he looked at Yang Sisi beside me and asked with a smile, "Quite a pretty girl, is she your girlfriend?"

"Look at your eyes! What makes her good enough for me?"

Yang Sisi raised her hand and slapped the back of my neck several times. I protected myself while laughing. She scolded, "You old man, do you have any shame? Just grab anyone off the street and ask them if I'm not good enough for you, or if you, a disrespectful old man, are not good enough for me!"

"I was wrong. I'm not good enough for you. I'm the one who's not good enough for you."

Yang Sisi stopped, but kicked me again the next second, startling Tie Nan. He exclaimed to me, "Quite a fierce wild girl, where did you find her?"

"Don't even mention it. Ever since I met her, it's been a history of blood and tears. Have you ever seen a man nearing thirty being chased around like a chicken by a bunch of city management officers in an ancient city? Seriously, just thinking about what happened just now really crushes my heroic spirit!"

Tie Nan laughed loudly, but Yang Sisi replied dismissively, "Tch, I'm not that old, I'm almost thirty. If I were you, I'd be thanking me for giving you the opportunity to get some exercise. A person needs some energy. Look at how you ran just now, you looked like a fugitive! All the girls on Renmin Road were practically staring. A two-meter wall, you 'whoosh'd over it! Even a dog wouldn't be that agile!"

Just as I was about to retort, Tie Nan suddenly looked towards the city gate and said, "You two are going to have to 'whoosh' again. A truckload of city management officers is coming from over there."

Yang Sisi and I looked up and realized that Tie Nan really wasn't joking. We were so scared that we felt like our hearts were going to burst. I grabbed the bag of clothes and hoisted it onto my shoulder, then pulled Yang Sisi and ran across the street.

He heard Tie Nan shout from behind, "Let's go back tonight and have a few drinks together. Bring your girlfriend too."

Yang Sisi replied, "Drink your sister! I'm not his girlfriend. Let's save our lives first."

...

After selling like this in secret for half a day, business was actually pretty good; she sold about ten items. I told her it was because of the peak season and that it might not sell well in the future, but she insisted that it was because she was enthusiastic and good at marketing.

Whatever the truth may be, the day's business ended in fear and trepidation. I put the remaining clothes back in the trunk of the car, then sat in the shade next to the car and lit a cigarette.

Yang Sisi came over and finally decided to buy me a bottle of water. I opened it and drank more than half of it in one go. Then, she took out a box and handed it to me, saying, "Here, this is for you."

"What is that?"

"Why don't you open it and take a look?"

I opened the box, and inside was a beautifully crafted marionette. Just looking at it made me feel quite good.

Yang Sisi said, "I know you're bored by yourself, so I bought you a little something to cheer you up. So, smoke less." As she spoke, she took the half-smoked cigarette from my hand and threw it into the trash can next to her.

She didn't seem to need me to say thank you; the next moment she took out her phone and started chatting with someone. I felt a little dazed; it seemed like it had been a long time since anyone had reminded me to smoke less.

I suddenly thought of Lu Jia, who had gone far away, and I suddenly felt a pang of doubt about whether she had ever truly loved me. She seemed to have never cared about my smoking. All she cared about was whether I got a promotion or a raise, but all these years I had been disappointing her.

In a daze, Yang Sisi suddenly patted my shoulder, then smiled with narrowed eyes, "Someone is treating us to a big meal tonight, do you want to come?"

"Your friend?"

"I only have poor friends in Dali, and they wouldn't dare to offer you a lavish meal so easily. Besides, they specially invited you; I'm just basking in their hospitality."