After successfully attracting my attention, Yang Sisi became mysterious. She sat back down on the rock and said to me, "Can you teach me to smoke? Most of the women in Dali smoke."

"What smoke? We're talking about the inn. What's the deal with the inn opening in November?"

Give me a cigarette first.

"Your teeth turn yellow and your skin becomes rough after smoking. Do you really deserve your delicate, fair skin?"

"I hold it in my hand but don't smoke it."

I couldn't refuse her, so I took a cigarette from the pack and handed it to her. She took it and, imitating how we smoked, first squeezed it, then put it in her mouth…

"Can we talk about it now?"

Give me a lighter, and I'll take a puff.

"Don't push your luck... I can't stand seeing women smoking."

"Sister Bailu smokes too, why don't you go and do something about it?"

"She's been smoking for who knows how many years, what business is it of mine?... But I can definitely control you... You want to smoke, right?"

As I spoke, I took the lighter out of my pocket and threw it into Erhai Lake in front of Yang Sisi, saying to her, "If you want to smoke, go fish it out of the water."

Yang Sisi suddenly seemed to have a burst of energy, and she turned around as if she was about to rush into Erhai Lake. I grabbed her and scolded, "What's wrong with you? Can't we just talk things out and get back to what we're doing?"

Yang Sisi glared at me. While I was feeling annoyed, I actually craved a cigarette, but the lighter that had been thrown away could never be retrieved.

Yang Sisi's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she glared at me with hatred, saying, "Michael, do you think I'm stupid, so you don't take me seriously?... Why are you so careful around Ye Zhi, but you ignore me?... Is it just because she appears in front of you as a rich person? And because my father doesn't love me and my mother doesn't care for me, you bully me, despise me, and disrespect me?"

"Can't you be reasonable?"

"No, there's no point in reasoning with a bastard like you who categorizes people into different classes... I've never seen a man as good at flattering as you... You must be very happy right now, because you've actually managed to win her over... Ye Zhi is your woman now!"

Is it even interesting to talk about these things?

"You've got guts, even more guts than smoking... Look at yourself, what a mess you look like! Do you think Ye Zhi would actually like you? Men like you are a dime a dozen for her. Just wait to get dumped again!"

After hearing so many nasty things she said, I felt even more urge to smoke, and her gaze towards me became even more hostile...

"If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll throw you into Erhai Lake, believe it or not?"

"Throw it away, or you're not a man."

"I just don't understand, I've gotten together with Ye Zhi, why are you getting so angry?"

"You don't respect me."

"How am I disrespecting you... And where did you see that I was flattering you?"

Yang Sisi sobbed as she replied, "You're just taking advantage of the fact that my mother doesn't love me and my father doesn't care about me, that I'm living under someone else's roof... But don't forget, everyone has to have money. I just don't want to live that kind of life. If I'm willing to bow down to my parents now, I can live a better life than them."

"How do other people live? They earn it through their own hard work; what you get is something you beg for. How can the nature of it be the same?"

"Bullshit! A woman who's not even thirty years old, how could she have achieved what she has now without her family's support?"

"Your parents are quite supportive of you, so why don't you produce some results and show us all what you've accomplished!"

"You're such a heartless bastard! I've been so good to you, and this is how you treat me..."

"Besides causing me trouble, what good have you ever done for me?"

...

After a few words of argument, a Volvo V40 pulled up beside us, and Bai Lu got out. She came over to us, glanced at Yang Sisi, and asked me, "Oh, why are you crying now?"

Yang Sisi seemed to have found someone to lean on. She nestled against Bai Lu and sobbed, "Sister Bai Lu, have you ever met someone as heartless as Michael? I've done so much for him, and instead of thanking me, he mocks me for being useless..."

"Can you tell me properly what you've actually done for me?"

While comforting Yang Sisi, Bai Lu said to me, "Michael, you really have to thank Sisi properly this time. Not only you, but we all have to thank her… You don't know, Sisi has been posting on local forums in Dali these past two days, trying to let everyone know about your rescue. Everyone's talking about it now, the topic is really popular, and Sisi collected all the positive feedback. Then she asked me to take her to see the leader in charge of the tourism market, and she relayed the situation and everyone's positive comments to him… After the leader learned about this, he also felt it was a…" This is a good thing that has improved Dali's tourism image. Furthermore, locals in Dali have never had a very good impression of outsiders. Your actions have, to some extent, changed their perception of outsiders, which is conducive to uniting locals and outsiders to work together to improve Dali's tourism market… Therefore, the leader said that your act of bravery should be publicized as a model; he also said that heroes should not be forgotten, and he will hold a meeting with other members of the working group to discuss whether we can get an extra slot for reopening our guesthouse; he also encouraged others to do more good deeds and contribute to building a harmonious society.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!