For the next while, Coach Ma and Tie Nan also helped out. The four of us chatted while washing the car... and as we chatted, we started talking about future plans. Tie Nan asked Yang Sisi and me, "Aren't you planning to come to Dali again?... Sisi, you have a house in Dali, such a beautiful villa. You're not going to turn it into a vacation home, are you?!"

"I bought it for vacation purposes."

"What a pity!" Tie Nan sighed, then turned to me and asked, "Michael, do you still plan to go back to Dali in the future?"

I smiled and replied, "We're all destined to wander, so it depends on fate. Maybe one day we'll want to come back... But to be honest, I might not be as adaptable to Dali as you and Lao Ma. I still have the blood of a big city flowing in my veins. I always feel that if I don't make something of myself there, my life will be incomplete!"

"You're just being stubborn... Dali is such a great place! We could set up a farm here and live a pollution-free life. Shanghai doesn't have that kind of space to design your own lifestyle... I really don't believe that Shanghai's sky is as blue as here, or its water is as clear!"

“I have never denied that Dali is a good place, but after these years of experience, I still prefer the feeling of surviving in the cracks. I think people cannot lose their desire to survive, so after having this understanding, I am not as averse to Shanghai as before... The life of a paradise is mostly for others to see; the struggle with joys and sorrows is what truly belongs to oneself.”

As I spoke, I wiped the car body with a dry towel. I wasn't really denying the lifestyle that Coach Ma and Tie Nan chose; these were just some of my personal insights and a conviction in my heart. I didn't want to run away anymore. I felt that only Shanghai could completely cleanse my life.

Yes, in Dali, no matter how well things go, you can't shake off the label of escapism; in Shanghai, no matter how bad things are, you're still facing challenges head-on!

Tie Nan, still unwilling to give up, said to Yang Sisi, who was cleaning the interior, "I can understand why Michael, a man who likes to fight, went to Shanghai... But you're a woman, in the whole country, can you find a place more dreamy and romantic than Dali?... I've heard that you haven't lived in Dali for the past few years; who was it before who cried and begged to stay in Dali and didn't want to leave?"

Yang Sisi put down the rag in her hand, looked at Tie Nan seriously, and then replied, "Have you ever seen a dream you can't wake up from?... Dali doesn't have Hermes or Chanel, but Shanghai does... Shanghai not only has these, but also Tomson Riviera apartments that cost hundreds of thousands per square meter... Living in Dali, you'll quickly lose your material pursuits; living in Shanghai, even if you have an astronomical sum in your bank account, you still know there's a long road ahead... No one will drive themselves to their death or exhaustion by the time they're 30... Except for the two of you!"

Tie Nan stared at Yang Sisi in surprise, unable to believe these words had come from her mouth; Coach Ma, however, was well-versed in Yang Sisi's tactics. He smiled and said to Tie Nan, "Sisi's words are actually a simplified version of what Michael said... She's exposing Michael... But what exactly made Michael so vicious is something we need to think about!"

Amidst our laughter and conversation, we finished washing Yang Sisi's car, which meant we were about to face Cao Xiaobei's wedding. I subconsciously took out my cigarette case from my pocket, pulled one out, and put it in my mouth.

I lit this cigarette... This is extremely rare for me at this stage, as I have almost quit smoking. This pack of cigarettes was brought back from Thailand, and I have only smoked two or three in all these days.

I felt a little nervous. I had a feeling that this was not a peaceful day, even though it was ostensibly for a wedding!

...

The car was finally clean. Yang Sisi and I sat down in the driver's seat and passenger seat, respectively. Even now, I still didn't know where Cao Xiaobei's wedding was being held, and I didn't ask Yang Sisi either. This made me a little confused about myself, wondering why I had chosen to go with the flow in this matter.

Before leaving the farm, I packed my luggage. Given my eagerness, I figured I might go straight back to the small county town after visiting the municipal bureau. Yang Sisi certainly wouldn't object, because she wanted to leave even more than I did.

For us, Dali seems to have become a place of trouble; perhaps this is also an important reason why we want to leave here, because in our eyes, it is no longer a peaceful place, and once we lose our former faith, it can crush our spirits even more than Shanghai. So, I don't want to be the last person in this group to leave Dali.

Before starting the car, Tie Nan knocked on the window again and said to me, "I remember your dad's cured meat was really delicious. Send us some later."

"become."

"Are you really not going back to Dali?"

"I will definitely go back when I want to."

"Remember what you said... I have something to give you. I've never been a serious person in my life, except for this one."

When Tie Nan said that, even Yang Sisi turned her head and looked at him curiously. In our minds, he was not very serious.

Meeting our gaze, Tie Nan took a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me...

As I took it, I chuckled and said, "This isn't some contract of servitude you're giving me, is it?"

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