In a daze, I glanced at An'an beside me again. Her face was already streaked with tears. I knew how cruel this choice was for her. A sense of guilt began to creep into my heart. Perhaps I really was too selfish. In order to achieve my own goal as quickly as possible, I didn't care about her feelings at all...

I lowered my head, let out a soft sigh, and smiled at An'an, saying, "I've said before that you are a very important friend to me, and that's not just empty talk... I've always believed that friends should respect each other... Based on these two points, now that you've clearly expressed your thoughts to me, I won't force you anymore."

An'an choked back tears as she replied, "I'm really in a dilemma. If I don't do this, I'll feel like I'm letting you down!"

"You don't need to feel guilty... I neglected your feelings... An'an, listen to me, find a chance as soon as possible to return everything Cao Jinbo gave you... Then go back to your hometown and bring your mother there... I have a house in Chengdu, you can stay there temporarily. The house is in my mother's name, so it's absolutely safe..."

As I spoke, I took out a bank card from my pocket and handed it to her, saying, "There's 100,000 yuan in this card. Take it; it should be enough for you to live on for a while."

"I can't take your money; I have my own."

“You have to take this… You may not know this, but if Cao Jinbo is classified as a member of organized crime, all of his personal property will be confiscated. So your assets are also very likely to be affected. This money may not be much, but it is the most reliable guarantee for you.”

An'an seemed hesitant. She asked, "Will something really happen to him?"

"He has made countless enemies, and the country's policies are what they are... From a broader perspective, I don't think he has any reason to escape... Therefore, you must act quickly!"

An'an was lost in thought, and at that moment, I put the bank card into her pocket and silently lit a cigarette... Of course, I had a lot on my mind. While I felt regret, I also felt that I had done my best... In order to help Ye Zhi, I had violated my principles and even turned myself into an extremely selfish person.

Therefore, I feel that I have done right by Ye Zhi, and I have done right by the relationship I had with her...

I really should go back to a normal life. I have my own career, family, and in the future, I will have my own family. I should manage these things well.

...

I got up before An'an, and then said to her, "I'll send the bank card PIN to your phone later, so you need to feel a sense of urgency."

"Thank you, I understand."

"Okay, I'll have my mom mail the keys to the Chengdu apartment tomorrow. Once you've made the arrangements, you can move in anytime."

An'an finally looked up at me. After hesitating for a moment, she said to me, "I still want to..."

I'm taking my mom to Phuket. I'll get her a retirement visa so she can stay in Thailand and not come back.

"Never go to Phuket. Have you forgotten his influence there?"

An An was stunned.

I then said to her, "If you really want to go abroad, you can consider going to a more distant place... I'll help you make the arrangements. I have quite a few friends in Europe."

"No need for that trouble... I'll go to Chengdu instead. Chengdu is great, life is convenient in every way, and I don't have to adapt to a foreign language environment."

"good……"

"Then I'll be going now."

...

After An'an left, I sat alone by Erhai Lake for a long time. My heart gradually calmed down because after being rejected by An'an, I clearly felt that this was something beyond my ability... If I insisted on doing it recklessly, I might end up doing more harm than good to Ye Zhi.

I could sense that I was already vaguely considering giving up.

Just then, I heard footsteps in the distance. I turned around and saw Coach Ma coming over. After he walked up to me, he asked, "What are you doing here all alone so late?"

"I wanted to experience the night in Dali... It's been more than three years, and the other side of the sea has become deserted. I remember when I first came here, it was brightly lit up every night."

Coach Ma smiled and replied, "Is there any need for us to show off?"

"I'm not exaggerating. Every time I come to Dali, it's one of the last I'll get to visit..."

After pausing for a moment, I continued, "Actually, I'm quite envious of you and Tie Nan... Your current situation is exactly what I wanted to pursue when I first came to Dali... I think it's not just me, everyone who comes to Dali pursues this kind of life... But after the dust settles, only a small group of people can truly stay in Dali in the end!"

“That’s right! Those who should have left, and those who shouldn’t have left, have all left… First it was Peach, and then it was you and Sisi.”

"It just goes to show that everyone has their own ambitions!"

Speaking of the phrase "everyone has their own ambitions," I have a deep feeling about it. To put it simply, just the conversation between An'an and me just now was a manifestation of everyone having their own ambitions. It is precisely because everyone has their own ambitions that there are so many disputes and parting ways in this world. Therefore, I should understand An'an, and I am glad that I really did so; otherwise, I would definitely have lost this very important friend.

After a brief silence, Instructor Ma patted me on the shoulder and said, "I have something to tell you... Do you remember the policewoman who handled the Tie Nan case back then?"

"Wang Xiaoling?"

"Um."

"We bumped into each other on the street today... What happened?"

"She just came to the farm... She said she needs you to go to the city police station tomorrow to cooperate with their investigation... Have you gotten into some trouble?"

I was stunned.

After a moment, she replied, "Impossible... If I really did something wrong, she would have definitely come after me when we bumped into each other on the street... Besides, if I really did do something wrong, she wouldn't have waited until tomorrow to make me go to the city police station myself."

"That's true, you've been away from Dali for so long... there's no need for you to do this even if you wanted to... So what exactly did she want to see you about?"

"I don't know either. Did she leave you her phone number?... Tomorrow morning is Cao Xiaobei's wedding. I'll ask if it's okay to go in the afternoon."

“They really did leave me a number… I’ll read it to you, and you can write it down.”

As he spoke, Coach Ma gave me Wang Xiaoling's number, but my doubts only deepened. I really didn't know why Wang Xiaoling was suddenly contacting me... and my intuition told me that this matter was definitely not simple.

With these doubts in mind, I immediately dialed Wang Xiaoling's number...

(End of Chapter)