"It wasn't Ye Zhi who wanted to defeat me, it was my inner demons that defeated me..."

Nicole's words kept repeating in my mind... and then I really became obsessed. It was as if I had entered a very philosophical proposition and couldn't find a way out.

I quickly hung up the phone, sat down on the nearest bench, and forced myself not to think about those fundamentally incomprehensible questions...

Nicole didn't seem to be having enough, so she called me again, but I didn't dare answer... I pressed the hang-up button and then turned off the phone.

Honestly, Nicole is so seductive, like a cult member. Even someone as smart and opinionated as me was almost brainwashed by her. You can imagine how powerful she is!

...

After calming down, I quickly left the enclosed shopping mall and drove my Jimny to the Bund. I came back here not because I was unwilling to give up, but because, for me, this place is like Erhai Lake in Dali, a place for me to think alone and face the whole world that my eyes can see.

I chose the same spot where I waited for Ye Zhi that day. Today, the fog was finally thinner, but unfortunately, she was even less likely to come.

I lay on the riverside railing for half an hour, without any desire to turn on the phone. I even somewhat enjoyed this feeling of being completely cut off from the outside world. At least at this moment, I didn't think about the troubles I would face with Lao Mi when I got home alone, nor was I afraid that Lao Mi would call and ask me all sorts of questions.

I started humming a little tune, and all my worries disappeared...

Just then, I heard a commotion behind me. I turned around and saw that someone was proposing with balloons. I suddenly felt a strong urge to see how it would go, so I pushed through the crowd and went to see what was happening...

At this moment, the man who had confessed his love was kneeling on one knee at the feet of the beautiful woman. The woman was reserved, or perhaps hesitant... but the onlookers around them were not satisfied with this outcome, shouting loudly, "Marry him..." and the chants grew louder and louder, as if they would marry him in her place if the woman did not accept the man...

As I watched silently, I felt that the man must have some other trump card up his sleeve.

The next moment, the man indeed pulled a car key out of his pocket, handed it to the woman, and said affectionately, "You've always minded me traveling all over the world, and I don't really like this kind of life either, but as your man, I have a responsibility to help you realize all your dreams... I've never been a very talkative person, but I truly care about you and know what you need... I remember you told me you dreamed of having a car so you could take your child to see the farthest places and the best scenery... Today, I'll help you realize that dream, and I hope you can also realize my dream, give me a home, and a child who can travel far away with us... Ji Xia, will you marry me?"

The onlookers applauded and cheered; and the woman named Ji Xia finally found her motivation. With tears in her eyes, she took the car key with an LCD display, the kind only found on BMW 7 Series, from the man's hand...

I couldn't help but think to myself, "You've said all the most beautiful things in the world, and this is what you call being bad with words?!"

But the applause grew even louder, and a couple pledged their lives to each other in this most romantic spot on the Bund...

I suddenly felt out of place in this atmosphere, and wanted to leave amidst countless bright smiles... I still don't quite adapt to crowded places, because there's hypocrisy and a worship of material things.

I dislike it even more when a woman's love for cars outweighs her love for the man she's going to spend her life with.

...

There were too many onlookers! And the person blocking my way out happened to be a fat man. I couldn't help but use brute force to squeeze a gap next to him, which also caused the woman standing behind him to stumble and almost fall to the ground.

I grabbed her hand with the fastest speed I'd ever been... and then we looked at each other.

My head was buzzing. The person I was holding onto was none other than Ye Zhi, whom I had been thinking about a million times these past two days!

Fate is truly unpredictable. Yesterday, I waited for her until midnight on purpose, but she didn't come; today, unexpectedly, our hands were tightly clasped together...

I never dreamed she would come to the place we agreed to meet yesterday; I suppose she felt the same way, never believing I would come again!