I arrived at the hotel parking lot with a sense of dejection and helplessness. Ye Zhi was waiting for me in the car. I opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat.

She didn't rush to start the car, but instead said to me with some concern, "You seem a little down, what's wrong?"

I sighed softly and replied, "My dad is quite stubborn. He still wants me to go back to Shanghai and work at my old company."

"Did he realize we were acting?"

I shook my head and replied, "He's a man of many kinds, sometimes true, sometimes false. I don't know if he's figured it out or not, but he hasn't said it outright."

"Oh, I thought I did something wrong and he saw through my act." After a slight pause, Ye Zhi continued, "So, the reason he wants you to go back to Shanghai is that he doesn't really approve of the relationship we've portrayed."

"It's not that they don't approve, it's just that they lack confidence in me..."

Ye Zhi didn't say anything more, but I believe she must have understood what I meant.

...

I didn't let Ye Zhi drive me to Longkan Wharf. I got off at the intersection of Dali Road, which leads to both Longkan Wharf and Majiuyi. I wanted to walk around by myself and think about what had happened recently.

After I got off the bus, Ye Zhi said to me again, "Michael, I have to go back to Shanghai tomorrow, so I won't be able to stay with you and your uncle... Please convey my apologies to my uncle and me."

"You should focus on your work. I'm the one who should feel apologetic; I've caused you trouble!"

Ye Zhi smiled and replied, "Don't say that. My work is usually quite boring, so having this kind of experience today is actually quite interesting when I think back on it."

I returned her a smile and said, "By the way, I'll transfer the money for today's hotel and meals to you via WeChat later."

"Why be so calculating... Even if we're just ordinary friends, it's not a problem for me to treat Uncle, who's come all the way to Dali, to do something nice for him."

That's what they say...

Ye Zhi interrupted me and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let Uncle stay here for a few more days. Maybe I can come back and entertain him again."

“I dare not keep him for more than a few days. The sooner he leaves, the sooner I can settle down and get some things done.”

...

Walking alone on a path without streetlights, loneliness and melancholy followed me all the way. At that moment, I really wanted to find someone to talk to, to share my inner helplessness and struggles.

I walked to the shore of Erhai Lake again and sat down on a bench under a street lamp. My legs were a little sore, and I calculated that I had been walking alone for almost an hour.

I lit a cigarette, took my phone out of my pocket, and then scrolled to Lu Jia's number, which was already taken by someone else...

I don't know why, but I always feel that talking to that woman who is a bit irritable and not very classy is the most stress-free, because I can unreservedly present a part of myself that also has many dark sides to her.

I'm not afraid of her scolding me, nor am I afraid of her looking down on me; because I already think very little of her in my heart.

How have you been lately?

Half of the streetlights on Huanhai Road were off before she replied to my message: "Not good."

"How about you yell at me a few times to vent your frustration?"

"Are you a jerk? Who asks to be insulted?!"

"If you don't scold me a few times, how can I have the nerve to give you a good scolding later?"

After a long time, she replied with a message that shocked me: "I'm pregnant, with my ex-boyfriend's child."

"Damn it, we can argue all we want, but can you please stop joking about yourself... how did you end up pregnant with your ex-boyfriend's child?"

"I'm not kidding. I haven't had my period for two months. I went to the hospital for a check-up today, and it's true that I'm pregnant."

I felt anxious for her and asked, "So what do you plan to do? Give birth, or have an abortion?"

"Do you even have a brain? Did I give birth to you and raise you?"

"I don't want to be a father by accident!"

"Then stop talking nonsense... How have you been lately?"

"Aren't we both like this? We must be having a bad time to send each other a message, to curse or complain a bit."

"Aren't you in Dali? Such a beautiful place, how could you feel like you're not living well?"

"Don't tease me, okay?... Even in Dali, you still have to eat, drink, and relieve yourself, and you still have to deal with relationships with other people."

"Idiot."

"You're the fucking idiot."

"You're the number one idiot in the world... I haven't had a single good thing since you messaged me... Can you please stop messaging me?"

"Just put me on your blacklist, that's all."

"I want you to disappear."

"Are you afraid that when you want to message me later, you won't be able to find me?"

Her emotions seemed to calm down suddenly, and she replied, "Sometimes, it feels good to have someone to yell at! So, from now on, don't message me first, I have to do it myself."

"Why should I?"

"Just because I'm a woman, I can be willful and unreasonable!"

"I'm truly impressed by what you've said! ... Can you tell me what kind of woman you are in real life? I don't think you'd be so foul-mouthed, would you?"

Why should I tell you?

I felt like I couldn't continue the conversation with her, but then she sent me another message: "Tell me, what's making you so depressed?"

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