"I took some cold medicine and slept on the plane. I feel much better now."

"That's good... I've been worried about this all day!"

Ye Zhi smiled and changed the subject, asking, "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet, Coach Ma and Bai Lu are arriving in Dali tonight... We've been waiting for them!"

Ye Zhi was a little surprised: "They're back?"

"Yes, Coach Ma and Tie Nan are the closest. With Tie Nan in such a situation, there's no way he wouldn't come back."

"Hmm, what did Attorney Lin say?"

"There won't be any results anytime soon, but all the evidence is currently against Tie Nan... The possibility of a not guilty plea is almost nonexistent."

Ye Zhi sighed softly: "After this incident, I hope Tie Nan can learn a lesson."

"I hope so... Let's not talk about this anymore, I just spoke to my parents on the phone."

"Um?"

“My mom said she’s made our beds… She seems to think we’ve reached the point where we can live together.”

What did you say to her?

"Of course I wholeheartedly agree with her thinking... Since you already have a girlfriend, who would want to sleep with a pillow in their arms?"

"Is it... not a good idea for you to think that way?"

Are you embarrassed?

"You weren't like this when I first met you!"

"That's right. If I had brought up sleeping together with you back then, you would have thought I was a pervert... See, it's much more legitimate to bring it up now."

After I finished speaking, I smiled.

"Uh... never mind, I'm going to get something to eat."

"Okay, while you're eating, don't just sit there and think it over: should we stay together, or should you find a hotel... Let me put it this way, if you stay in a hotel, things will get more distant between us, and nobody dates like that where we're from... My parents will definitely start to question our relationship!"

Ye Zhi complained, "Are you trying to get me to think this over carefully?"

I replied smoothly, "So, you didn't take this as a joke, and you're really planning to seriously consider it? ... Actually, there's no need to worry too much. I understand you're concerned about a woman's proper modesty, but do you have to be so with me? ... We're perfectly legitimate!"

Ye Zhi was speechless...

I laughed and said, "Take a picture of what we're eating later and let me see it."

Are you such a long-winded person?

"You can think of me in the worst possible light..."

"People say I've been hooked up with a pirate ship, they're talking about me, right?"

"Don't you regret not learning how to change a tire? ... If it weren't for that flat tire, or if you knew how to change it yourself, we'd be worlds apart right now, and nobody would know each other."

Ye Zhi seemed somewhat moved. After a moment of silence, she replied, "Besides that tire, I should also thank Sisi... If I hadn't gotten her phone number, even if you had helped me change the tire, we would still be strangers... I guess that's fate!"

When Ye Zhi brought up Yang Sisi, I felt as if I saw a lock of fate, and my heart was filled with mixed feelings... There seemed to be too many possibilities between the three of us. If any one of them hadn't done something, Ye Zhi and I wouldn't be together now. For example, if Yang Sisi and Ye Zhi hadn't exchanged phone numbers, the situation would have been completely different.

But whose hands do we hold the key to the lock of fate?

I don't have an answer, at least not now.

...

Just as I was about to reply to Ye Zhi, another call came in. I looked at it, and this time it really was Coach Ma calling...

I quickly said to Ye Zhi, "Coach Ma is calling. I'll answer it first, and we'll chat on WeChat later."

"Okay, you guys talk first."

"Eat more, get well, and let my parents see how beautiful their daughter-in-law is."

Ye Zhi smiled and then gave the space for conversation to me and Coach Ma; my heart also became excited... because after Coach Ma had been gone for so long, we finally had the opportunity to meet again.

I must congratulate him properly; he and Bai Lu are truly destined to be husband and wife.

If marriage is a road, they have already embarked on it, but for Ye Zhi and me, the road ahead is long and arduous.

Right now, we've only found the direction... just the direction!