I held the postcard between two fingers and looked at it again, front and back, as if I could see Yang Sisi secretly hiding it in my suitcase. I smiled, then paused for a moment before putting the postcard back.

The reason I was stunned was that I couldn't think of what to do with the postcard for a moment.

Last night, Yang Sisi desperately tried to persuade me to stay, and today she came over to help me pack. I don't know what caused this change in her... Perhaps the answer lies in the postcard.

But I'm not someone who likes to make others "wait," so I'm conflicted... But I have to go, just like some animals have to shed their shells.

Actually, I am the same person Coach Ma back then. The difference is that he chose to become a monk, while I chose to leave... but neither of us will ever truly forget this place.

...

This morning, I arranged to have breakfast with Coach Ma. He ordered a vegetarian noodle dish, and I ordered a beef noodle dish.

Coach Ma complained that I didn't respect him, and that he felt I should eat vegetarian noodles like him... He said that he couldn't control how I usually acted, but when I was with him, I had to keep Buddha in my heart!

I shut him up with money.

I placed 10,000 yuan in cash in front of him and said, "Your temple is going to renovate the toilets, right? I'm donating 10,000 yuan to charity."

"You're still thinking about this!"

"I remember... Is this 10,000 yuan enough for your memorial tablet?"

"The memorial tablet is full... and the restroom has been repaired."

I exclaimed, "Wow, thinking about it now, it's been four or five months already!"

Coach Ma ignored my exclamation and instead stuffed the money on the table into his cloth bag... I grabbed his wrist and asked, "Your bathroom is all fixed, why do you need this money?"

“Benefactor, nothing in this world is permanent. Maybe the kitchen won’t be usable next time… I’ll keep this money for you for now. Once it’s used, I’ll definitely write your name on the merit tablet.”

"You guys really need someone to take care of everything you do, from eating and drinking to relieving yourself!"

Coach Ma laughed: "We monks eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, all for the sake of saving all sentient beings... You haven't lost out."

I laughed too, then turned serious and said to Instructor Ma, "Seriously, if your temple ever puts up a merit plaque again, don't write my name... write hers instead..."

"Whose name?"

I don't know if Coach Ma asked that on purpose, but I still replied sincerely, "Ye Zhi... I hope good people will be rewarded."

"You've always believed she's still alive?"

“I don’t know… but just thinking that she’s still alive brings back so many images of us still together… whenever that happens, I feel so comfortable, even excited… do you understand that feeling?”

Coach Ma sighed.

I looked at him and fell silent as well. I always pretended in front of others that I had almost forgotten Ye Zhi, but I never expected that on the day I was leaving, I would accidentally reveal my feelings to Coach Ma.

At this moment, I feel sorry for Lu Jia.

During Lao Mi's treatment, she stayed by his side without complaint, but in the end, the one I could still think of was Ye Zhi.

Am I really such a shallow person? Is it just because Ye Zhi has superior beauty and a better family background? So, no matter how sincerely others treat me, I still can't forget her?

I was troubled by this problem, which is why I had to leave Dali and find a place where I hadn't formed any interpersonal relationships, so that I could really see myself clearly.

If this is considered a task, it will be extremely difficult... Unless Ye Zhi is still alive, it will be very difficult to verify the truth of this proposition!

But I won't give up. I'm different from Coach Ma. He's someone who'd rather be confused, while I like to get to the bottom of things. I need to know what I'm living for and what I love...

It might seem like I'm fighting against myself... but I really don't want to be an incomplete person.

Maybe, once I've completely figured things out, I'll marry Lu Jia... Anyway, we already have a house and a car!

However, I also have a few questions about Lu Jia.

I don't know if her change of heart is because she saw that I had turned my potential into real wealth... If I were still like before, accomplishing nothing, would she still do this?

I must leave Dali with these two unanswered questions... and time will eventually give me the answers.

...

Before leaving Dali, I met some people, and some I didn't go out of my way to say goodbye to... like the beautiful and sexy Nicole, but I went to see the childish and chubby Nie Dangdang, because I had a promise to him. I told him that I would teach him another of my special moves besides the crossover step, as a birthday present for him this year.

Nie Dangdang is a true basketball fanatic. I don't know how far he can go on this path, but as long as he still calls me coach, I will teach him all the skills I am good at and that are practical.

...

After sweating it out on the basketball court, Nie Dangdang and I sat cross-legged against the wire fence of the court.

I handed him a brand new multi-functional basketball bag and said, "You're still growing, so giving you basketball shoes isn't practical; you won't be able to wear them in a few months... So I'm giving you a basketball bag so you can play basketball well in the future."

"Wow, it's a limited edition Nike product for Kobe... Coach, why are you suddenly being so generous?"

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