The idea of ​​sharing a room flashed through my mind, but I shook my head and suddenly had an idea.

"Okay, I'll use my ID to book a room for you, and I'll find a bathhouse nearby to spend the night."

Yang Si thought about it and felt that although she was quite embarrassed, this was the only way.

After checking into the hotel, I carried her luggage into the room and reminded her, "Take another look, besides your ID, make sure your bank cards are also frozen."

Yang Sisi was taken aback at first, then quickly took out her phone to check her online banking. After a moment, her face darkened, and she said angrily, "As expected, they're trying to wipe us out completely?"

"It's not about pushing you to the brink; I just want you to back down. You haven't achieved financial independence at this stage."

"Don't they know I'm going through a rebellious phase? They want me to go back to Shanghai? No way! I'm calling them right now."

I smiled, then sat down on the sofa in the room, waiting for the outcome of her conversation with her parents...

Just as I expected, Yang Sisi got anxious after only a few words. She started crying and hurling threats at the person on the other end of the phone, but it had no effect. After about ten minutes, she finally hung up the phone in a huff, stood in front of me, and said, "I've decided to fight them to the death. I'm going to Dali. I want to live the life I want! Uncle, you have to help me."

I stood up and said, "The money Lao Huang gave me, the rest will be transferred to you. You can decide how to use it. I think it'll definitely be enough for your trip back to Shanghai."

"Uncle Huang is such a good person, but what do you mean? Are you trying to kick someone when they're down and abandon your teammates?"

Yang Sisi's voice was very loud, but I didn't feel any pressure from it. I calmly said to her, "Then tell me, you not only don't have any documents, but you also don't have any money. How are you going to go to Dali?"

I ignored Yang Sisi and hurriedly left the room to find a place to stay.

On the way, I thought about everything Lao Huang had said to me today. He probably already knew Yang Sisi wouldn't go far, so he figured it was better to give her some money to be a good person, gain her trust and favor, making it easier for his son abroad to get close to her later. Then, through me, he could track her movements, and once she'd suffered enough and become less stubborn, he could come back and persuade her to come back. That way, her parents would be grateful to him.

This is what the complicated adult world is like. Old Huang seems to have gone astray, but I can understand him to some extent. Parents always worry about their children, and I still remember how he took care of me in the past. So, little by little, I was manipulated by him and became his informant.

While having a late-night snack at the bathhouse, I replied to many of the WeChat messages Lao Huang sent me. Lao Huang also confided in me, so we had reached a certain level of understanding. Then I transferred the money Lao Huang gave me to Yang Sisi via WeChat, but she didn't respond. I guess she's still sulking.

I shook my head and closed the WeChat conversation. After a moment's thought, I decided it was best not to get involved in their world, nor to waste time on the road. Unlike Yang Sisi, who was going to Dali to enjoy life, I was going to start a new life. After checking flights from Wuhan to Dali for tomorrow, I finally chose the 7:05 AM flight with a layover in Kunming, which wasn't too expensive after the discount.

...

Lying on the sofa in the bathhouse, I forced myself to fall asleep. But the more I tried, the less I could sleep. I kept thinking about those I had lost. I wondered what their lives were like now, whether they were doing well or not.

After a moment of distraction, my phone beeped with a message notification. I picked it up and saw it was from Yang Sisi, and this time it was full of hostility.

“My friends all pamper and spoil me, so why did I have to run into a scumbag like you on my first long trip? Let me tell you, I hate this feeling of being abandoned. You made me feel hopeless! We were on the same bus, and you betrayed your teammates after just one day. That's heartless and unjust.”

What makes me seem so heartless and unjust? I thought for a moment and replied, "I was just hitchhiking."

“Shanghai is so big, why don’t you hitch a ride with someone else? Since you were able to get a ride with me to such a far place, it proves that we are destined to be together. So you are not only unkind and unjust, but you are also wasting our destiny. You have committed a terrible sin.”

I replied helplessly, "I'll apologize to you, is that alright?"

"That's more like it. Then I'll ask you one more time: are you going to take me to Dali or not? I don't have any documents right now. Let alone whether I can drive, finding a hotel is a huge problem."

"I can't bring it. I've already booked a flight to Dali for tomorrow morning."

Yang Sisi paused for a long while before cursing, "You beast! Did you have to go this far? Tell me, what can I do now? I just want to go to Dali. I originally thought my parents would give in to my tantrums. Honestly, I was so happy the whole way, but they used such a despicable trick. If I go back now, I probably won't be able to live my own life in front of them for the rest of my life!"

"So Dali isn't really where you want to go; it's just your way of rebelling against your parents. Right? Is it worth it?"

“It’s worth it. Everyone should have a different self. Dali is the place I want to go. I traveled there a few years ago, so I know what kind of place it is. I just love Cangshan Mountain, Erhai Lake, and chatting, singing, and drinking with a group of genuine people in a bar.”

Yang Sisi responded excitedly, but I calmly replied, "All you're thinking about is how to have fun, but you haven't considered that even in Dali, food, clothing, and accommodation all cost money. It's fine for someone your age to live a dreamy life, but you no longer have the means to do so. Your parents don't support you at all, so where will you get the financial resources to achieve the life you want?"

After a long time, Yang Sisi finally replied: "Okay, I'll go back to Shanghai, alright? Send me your address and flight time, and I'll take you to the airport tomorrow. It's fate that we've met."

I sent the address and flight information, thinking that no matter what, it would be a way of repaying the favor Lao Huang had done for me back then.