After sending the message to Cao Xiaobei, I had already smoked two cigarettes, but there was still no response. That's when I realized what it meant to be truly anxious and frustrated... But in the end, I could only force myself to think about it from a different perspective.

Now that Yang Sisi has returned to China and found Cao Xiaobei, she should have been mentally prepared for many things. Since she is willingly offering her body, why should I be in such a hurry?

Cao Xiaobei is right. At their age, love between men and women is a natural thing... Just like me, I also hope to have an opportunity to have a romantic relationship with Ye Zhi. It's all human instinct. There's no need to use a noble standard to judge Cao Xiaobei, who is already quite eccentric.

I sighed softly and placed the phone I had been holding onto the rocks. I tried to distract myself, but I couldn't help but think of Cao Xiaobei and Yang Sisi being intimate.

...

Coach Ma, who hadn't spoken until now, finally took the initiative to say to me, "I think there's something wrong with you."

I reached into the cigarette pack, but it was empty. I didn't answer immediately, and instead asked Coach Ma, "Do you have any cigarettes?"

"I've quit."

I crumpled the empty cigarette pack into a ball before saying, "There are some things that have happened recently that I haven't told you about."

"If it's not too late to say it now, then you go ahead."

"Too late...too late!"

"Then you shouldn't say anything."

I looked at Coach Ma and said, "I'm with Ye Zhi now... Sisi was really upset and did some things that hurt herself, then she flew back to China from abroad... She's with Cao Xiaobei now... I was just texting Cao Xiaobei..."

As I spoke, I picked up my phone from the rocks and handed it to Coach Ma, showing him my chat history with Cao Xiaobei.

Coach Ma frowned, seemingly affected by Cao Xiaobei's words.

I asked him again, "Do you think Cao Xiaobei's actions... are suspicious of taking advantage of someone in distress?"

Coach Ma looked at me, then shook his head and replied, "I don't think it was taking advantage of her... it was Sisi's own choice..."

"How can you tell that she did it voluntarily?"

“If she doesn’t want to, Cao Xiaobei can’t force her to share a room… If they’re sharing a room, Sisi, a girl her age, can’t be unaware that something is going to happen.”

What if she regrets it later?

"That's the price we pay for youth and impulsiveness."

I was speechless...

Coach Ma added, "Since you're the one who doesn't want her... then you have no right to interfere with any of her choices in matters of the heart... You should understand this principle."

I sighed and replied, "Yes... I understand... Let her be. Whether it's good or bad, it's her own choice. She's an adult and capable of bearing the consequences of her choices."

After a long silence, I spoke again and asked Coach Ma, "Honestly, have you ever been particularly troubled by anything?"

"I struggled with it, but after seeing through it all, I realized it's just like that... Even if you make all the right and smartest decisions in your life, you still have to die in the end, right?... After you die, everyone is the same... No one is wiser than anyone else, and no one lives a better life than anyone else."

"I understand... There is nothing inherently wrong in the world; it is only the foolish who create trouble for themselves."

Coach Ma patted my shoulder, then looked up at the surging Erhai Lake... At that moment, I saw emptiness in his eyes... Perhaps, he had truly seen through it all!

I suddenly became curious about his current state of mind... Will he really never be happy or sad again from now on?

Can he really forget Bai Lu? ...Even if he can forget, what if Bai Lu refuses to forget him no matter what?

...

That's all the conversation I had with Coach Ma that night. I can't really say whether I gained anything or not... I think that no matter what, it's just a matter of lifestyle choices. There's no right or wrong, only who lives better than whom.

...

On the way back, Chen Jin called me again. After I answered, he said to me, "Michael, come to Shanshuijian right now, I've found a place for you."

"Really? Is that true? So fast!"

"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?... Tina bought the apartment here. It's a two-bedroom, one-living room place, just enough for the two of us... And Tina gave us a friendly price, 4500 yuan a month. You don't mind going over your budget by 500 yuan, do you?... I heard that the environment and property management of Shanshuijian are impeccable. It's the most upscale community in this part of the ancient city!"

Actually, Chen Jin didn't need to explain much. The "Shanshuijian" he mentioned was the neighborhood where Yang Sisi had rented a room a long time ago and planned to share with us.

After a moment of silence, I replied to Chen Jin, "I know this neighborhood... spending an extra 500 yuan is nothing..."

Chen Jin interrupted me impatiently: "That's right... You need to be comfortable to work well... You know best, back in Shanghai, living in those tenement buildings was simply hopeless, and the prices were ridiculously high... For 4,500 yuan, you could only rent two single rooms in a tenement building in Shanghai, which is nothing compared to here!"

I ignored Chen Jin's sigh and simply replied, "Give me the room number, and I'll go check it out right away."

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