As I thought about it, I lost my sleepiness, but I didn't know what to do, so I sat on the bed staring blankly at my phone... until I habitually thought of Lu Jia again.

I opened the messages I'd sent her before that had gone unanswered, and couldn't resist sending her one more, telling her about recent changes and my feelings. The reason I dared to send it was because I knew she'd already canceled the number; I simply decided to use this place as my own little venting space.

So I sent her another message: "I still vividly remember the way you left that day... I thought I would just rot away in Shanghai, but life suddenly gave me a new choice. In such a short time since arriving in Dali, I've taken over a seaside guesthouse with friends I just met... I don't think I've ever taken such a risk in my life, but this time I'm going all in, I've bet everything... But after calming down, I'm still a little panicked, because deep down I'm someone who's always worried about losing things. If I fail this time too, will I ever have a chance to turn things around?... What's even scarier is that women these days are so materialistic! So, in the end, I'm afraid I won't even deserve a love based on material things... This is so damn distressing, how am I going to explain this to my parents...?"

After sending the message, I tossed my phone aside. I felt a bit more awake because, nominally, I had sent the message to Lu Jia, who is the kind of woman who can keep me alert at all times.

I lit a cigarette and slowly savored these feelings of clarity...

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I picked it up casually and glanced at it, only to be stunned. This number had actually replied to my message…

I checked several times, and the person who replied was indeed the number Lu Jia had used before!