Tie Nan's words left me feeling uneasy. What made me feel even worse was that we had truly grown apart, unable to even maintain the most basic level of trust. And I didn't know where I had gone wrong.

At this moment, I miss the days when we ran a guesthouse together. At least we had something to talk about because we shared a common goal. But now, we've lost even the most basic communication.

I patiently said to him, "I don't think too highly of myself. If you still consider me a brother, listen to me this time... After you finish today's business, don't take any more orders."

"You make it sound so easy... If I don't take orders, who will pay off my debts?"

"We can work together to figure something out. As long as we use our brains, we can always make money. Why take such a big risk?!"

"Get the hell out of here... I decide my own life, it's none of your business to tell me what to do... I'll say it again, even if the sky falls, I'm going to keep this inn open."

Tie Nan's words were extremely harsh, but for Tao Zi's sake, I forced myself to swallow my temper and said to him, "Can you think about this from a different perspective? Because of my relationship with Tao Zi, I wouldn't hurt you... I genuinely care about you..."

He was interrupted halfway through his sentence. Tie Nan sneered, "Didn't you say this was an investigation? Well, let me ask you, what happened to you at that temporary inn in Jiulongju? ... Anyone with eyes can see that you were just running a hotel in disguise. You're no better than me."

“My place is a commercial street, and I’m renting shops, not residential properties. It’s perfectly reasonable to use it for commercial purposes… Besides, I’m planning to register with the industry and commerce department, and I won’t miss a single penny of the taxes I’m owed… But your place is a seaside inn. With such strict policies these days, if something goes wrong, it’s really something you can’t handle.”

"Why? I'm asking why! ... Back in Longkan, it was a legal business, right? But the inn still got shut down... So tell me, how exactly do you expect to survive in Dali?"

I paused for a moment before replying, "This isn't something you can argue about. Just listen to my advice."

“I won’t listen. Mind your own business. I’ll take care of myself if anything goes wrong.”

I looked at Tie Nan for a long time before asking him with a heavy heart, "Only a few of us are left in Dali... Do we really have to hurt our brotherhood like this?"

“I never considered you a brother…” He paused for a moment, then continued, “I don’t have time to waste with you. I have guests to pick up… I’ll emphasize this one last time… Mind your own business. My affairs are none of your concern.”

...

Tie Nan picked up his leather jacket, walked outside, and then drove off in what was probably a rented car... leaving only Taozi and me in the room.

Peach's eyes were wet, and I could sense her helplessness and guilt towards me... But I felt even more guilty towards her; I was confused because I didn't know whether indirectly bringing her to Dali was the right thing to do or a terrible mistake.

My heart ached again!

Peach finally spoke: "I'm sorry, Michael... I know you're doing this for our own good, but... but that's just how Tie Nan is. He's probably more stubborn than we realize!... But this time, he really tried his best, and I really couldn't bear to!"

“I understand you… but I don’t understand why things between me and Tie Nan have turned out this way… it seems like things haven’t been right since the inn was demolished!”

Peach hesitated for a moment before finally replying, "He's just a child... The inn was demolished because Ye Zhi's project came in... You and Ye Zhi have an ambiguous relationship, and he always feels that you have Ye Zhi behind you, and even took benefits from her... So, he's always been resentful; in addition, you rejected him from taking over the seaside inn, which made him even more suspicious... He doesn't have bad intentions, he's probably just like a child who's being stubborn, he should figure it out soon."

I tried my best not to argue with Tie Nan, and then said, "He doesn't believe me, but do you?"

Peach looked at me and replied, "We've been friends for so many years, of course I trust you."

"Try to persuade him."

Peach nodded: "I will definitely try to persuade him... but if I really can't persuade him, I will share the consequences with him."

"Don't think you can't be persuaded... This time, I really feel it's very dangerous!"

Peach sighed, "If you really can't persuade him, let him try... Maybe it's just fake news... I don't doubt you, I just don't quite trust Sun Jiwei."

...

Returning to Jiulongju alone, I was filled with the disappointment of having returned empty-handed... It seemed as if I had suddenly lost interest in doing anything. I just sat on the balcony, smoking and staring blankly at the two marguerite plants that Ye Zhi and I had planted together.

Half an hour passed, and I suddenly wanted to chat with someone, but after scrolling through my phone for a long time, I still didn't know who to talk to.

Ye Zhi was originally a good person to chat with, but because of the time difference, she was probably still sleeping, so I didn't want to disturb her too much.

I went back inside and grabbed a bottle of "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon," and drank it out of sheer boredom... At that moment, I wasn't worried about myself, but about Tie Nan, who was also feeling lost because of their current relationship.

Taozi is too deeply involved with Tienan, so even a rational woman has become less rational. Judging from our conversation just now, I saw Tienan's "gambler" mentality in her. In fact, she knows better than I do what the consequences will be if she is investigated.

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