Never in Ye Zhi's and my lives have we had such a leisurely afternoon. We sat together by Erhai Lake until dusk, and then drove to Dali University. By then, the students had all finished school, so the stalls on both sides of the school were full of students waiting for food. Most of them were in pairs, with the male students carrying backpacks and the female students with their long hair flowing. The air seemed to be filled with youthful hormones.

In my memory, this is not the first time I have taken Ye Zhi out to eat at a roadside stall. The last time was in Xiaguan, where we ate rice noodles by the roadside. It feels like it was just recently, but if you think about it carefully, it was more than two years ago.

...

After parking the car, we walked north along the main gate of the school for a while before finding the barbecue restaurant called "Centennial Jianshui". Perhaps because it was the weekend, there were a lot of students coming to eat, so when we arrived, there were no empty seats even at the outdoor tables.

I said, “I see these students have ordered all the alcohol, and they definitely won’t finish eating anytime soon… How about we go somewhere else? There are quite a few barbecue restaurants on Yeyu Road in the ancient city.”

Ye Zhi showed no intention of leaving. She replied, "I think this place is better than the ancient city... Let's wait a while, we have plenty of time anyway."

I took another cigarette from the pack and put it in my mouth... then I looked at the students who were eating...

A gust of wind blew by, and leaves fell around a group of boys. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the face of the only girl, illuminating her fine body hair... And the best time of youth and life was hidden in their laughter and conversation... Although I hadn't drunk any alcohol, I was already drunk... This was the feeling I wanted.

The next moment, I turned around and walked towards Ye Zhi's car. I remembered seeing a folding table in her trunk. I had to eat here, even if it was just using my own table.

...

We ordered some delicious food and sat facing each other. This time, I spoke first and asked her, "Do you envy those students?"

"I'm so envious... This must be the most carefree time of my life."

"Yes, the students at Dali University are the happiest... Do you know their basketball court?... It occupies the best spot in the entire Haixi region for sea views. They can play basketball while enjoying the best scenery of Dali... If I had known there was such a university in Yunnan, I would have definitely chosen it when filling out my college application... If I had come to Dali earlier, maybe I wouldn't have gone to Shanghai..."

Ye Zhi smiled and replied, "If you hadn't gone to Shanghai, you would have lost many important people in your life... You wouldn't have met Sisi, nor would you have met Chen Jin and the others."

"It sounds right... But if I hadn't gone to Shanghai, Wang Lei probably wouldn't have died... Life is about going through gains and losses step by step... If I had to say, the person I've wronged the most in my life is Wang Lei... Because it wasn't until the day she died that I truly understood her... Seriously, would you look down on women who work as hostesses in karaoke bars?"

“I don’t know anyone like that, I don’t understand them, so I can’t make any rash judgments… However, in this society, it’s certainly not a noble profession.”

"So, ever since she entered this industry, I've always viewed her with prejudice... For a while, I even disliked her coming to our company to see me. I was always worried about one of my colleagues who had been her customers... I advised her, 'You're young and beautiful, why do you have to work in that place?... At the very least, you could sell mobile phones in a shopping mall. At least you'd be making money cleanly, right?'"

"Once a person is opened up, it is very difficult to control them... She will not turn back."

“You’re right. She always tells me that she’s not someone who’s willing to change easily because God has never given her a choice… She’s an unfortunate person. Her parents both died in the earthquake in 2008… Before that, she was actually a very happy woman… Fate was unfair to her.”

“Fate has never been fair. She should strive harder instead of using that as an excuse for her downfall.”

“At first, that’s what I thought too… But you know what?… Over the years, she never spent any of the money she earned in nightclubs on herself. She saved it all and built a Hope School in her hometown. The students there are all children who lost their parents in the earthquake, just like her… Over the years, she saved 190,000 yuan, and in the end, she gave all of that money to me so I could run a guesthouse in Dali. She didn’t keep anything for herself…”

I sighed deeply, while Ye Zhi waited quietly for me to continue.

I asked her again, "Did I tell you about these things?...I don't usually talk about Wang Lei easily."

"It's okay, just say whatever you want... I'll listen to whatever you say."

I felt even more strongly that I had talked to her about these things, but I couldn't remember when I had... The reason Ye Zhi was so patient was actually to help me share these depressed feelings, so even though I was a bit long-winded, she still listened.

I spoke to her again, saying, "I'll tell you a secret... I've never told anyone before."

Ye Zhi sat up straight and said with emotion, "You trust me that much!"

"It's not that I trust you... Anyway, compared to others, you're not as fond of talking nonsense... I don't want this secret to be leaked. In my heart, this secret is like the college entrance exam paper—top secret!"

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