It was completely dark by then, and I finally said to Coach Ma, who had been silent all along, "Let's go to the ancient city and have a few drinks, it's on me."

"I can't drink today, so I went to two more bars to sing. Now I have to sing three shows a night, so I don't have much time to have fun."

"Why are you working so hard? Are you short of money?"

Coach Ma smiled and replied, "Is there anyone in our inn who isn't short of money?... I want to earn more money so I can get a decent bar counter. Bai Lu is right, we're all working together and have responsibilities. If I keep giving up on myself and affect the atmosphere of the team, that would be really outrageous."

I patted him on the shoulder to show my appreciation, and then he seemed to remember something and asked me, "Have you heard anything from Tie Nan yet?"

"No, I guess we've only just arrived in Shanghai and haven't found a place to stay yet."

“Then you should help him out. I’ve known him for a long time, and I’ve never seen him treat anyone as seriously as he does with Peach.”

"He and Peach can't be together."

"If these two have feelings for each other, how can they not become a couple? Besides, Tie Nan isn't the kind of guy who's particularly worldly."

"Peach works in nightclubs..."

Coach Ma almost choked on the smoke he inhaled. He stared at me blankly for a long time before replying, "That can't be!"

"If it's true, would you dare tell Tie Nan?"

Coach Ma shook his head vigorously, replying, "I wouldn't dare. If Tie Nan found out, it would be the death of him. He hates women who frequent nightclubs more than anything... He can't get involved in this; he'll be ruined!"

"Right, so now you can understand my feelings for Peach, right... She really can't stay in Dali, and she can't have anything to do with Tie Nan!"

Coach Ma nodded with a heavy expression and replied, "Understood, buddy. I will definitely not mention having her come over to mix drinks again... Not to mention Tie Nan, our little place really can't afford the income she earned working in nightclubs."

I let out a heavy sigh, wanting to say something, but suddenly forgot. Coach Ma seemed to be in a hurry too; he didn't say anything more to me, and the next moment he slung his guitar over his shoulder and left the inn. I stood at the door watching him go…

He's not a talkative person and he knows what's right and wrong, which is why I dared to tell him about Taozi working in a nightclub. Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult for me to keep this secret by myself.

...

After standing at the entrance for a while, I spotted Ye Zhi's distinctive Mercedes-Benz G-Class in the night. It slowly pulled up in the parking lot not far from the inn, and then Ye Zhi got out. Without a doubt, she was there to see me, but why she was there was something I needed to figure out, because she's never been one to take the initiative.

She came to my side, then took out a tube of ointment from her bag and handed it to me, saying, "This is ointment I bought for you to prevent infection of the wound. Remember to apply it to the wound twice a day, morning and night."

I subconsciously looked at my hand and remembered that I had been cut by broken glass from a car when I went into the water to save someone yesterday. I hadn't paid any attention to the wound, and now it was indeed a little red and swollen. Unexpectedly, Ye Zhi had taken it to heart.

I took it from Ye Zhi and then smiled and said "thank you" to her.

Ye Zhi took out a bottle of mineral water from her bag and said to me, "Hold out your hand, I'll clean the wound for you, and then you can apply the ointment yourself."

I obediently stretched out my hand, and Ye Zhi unscrewed the bottle cap, carefully poured the water onto my wound, then took out an alcohol swab to wipe it clean. After doing all that, she gestured for me to apply the ointment myself.

I jokingly replied, "Be a good person and help me apply it too."

"Do what you can yourself."

I looked at her; her face was expressionless. But I longed to peek into her inner world, to see if, behind that coldness, there was a hint of shyness. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it, and so she remained a mystery to me, as always…

Seeing that I had applied the ointment, she said to me, "Remember to use the ointment. I'm leaving now."

"You've come all this way, let's have a meal together before you leave."

"Let's do it another day. I have a meeting at the city government later."

With a sense of doubt, I asked, "Why are we having a meeting so late?"

"Attracting investment."

"Alright then, you take care of your business first. If you come back to Longkan after the meeting, I'll treat you to a late-night snack... There's a small shop around here that makes Cantonese dim sum, and it's really good."

"I'm not coming, I'm too tired."

I was slightly disappointed, but she had already walked back to her car. Suddenly, I remembered something and said loudly to her, "I saw your post on WeChat Moments. It's really upsetting. You guys were taking pictures while I was saving people!"

Ye Zhi turned to look at me, smiled—a rare occurrence—and replied, "Sisi found the photo on a local forum and sent it to me. Now many people in Dali are talking about your story..."

"Was that post also made by Yang Sisi?"

"Yes, she said she wanted more people to see your bravery, so all her friends have to share it on their WeChat Moments."

I felt a little embarrassed, and my previous smugness vanished instantly. It turned out that Ye Zhi's post on WeChat Moments was "forced" by Yang Sisi, while I mistakenly thought it was her own intention.

Ye Zhi had already driven away and disappeared from my sight, but I was still standing there. However, when I thought of Yang Sisi, I felt a little touched and amused. She was still as willful and domineering as ever, and she even forced her friends to share things about me on their WeChat Moments. She probably admires me.

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