Faced with Tie Nan's sudden question, I felt a little guilty, so after a moment, I flicked the cigarette in my hand and replied in a nonchalant tone, "How did you know she likes me?... That's not true at all!"
Tie Nan chuckled and said, "Does it really make you feel good to keep things so secret?"
I looked him in the eye and replied, "I'm not hiding anything. I'd love for her to be interested in me... If I could really marry such a rich girl like her, I wouldn't have to work hard for the rest of my life."
"Come on, you're not that kind of person."
"What if I were that kind of person?"
“If you’re really that kind of person…” Tie Nan paused for a moment, then said, “Go after her… Everyone in our inn can see that the girl has feelings for you.”
His sudden change of heart almost made me lose my balance. After a long pause, I replied, "You're all blind!"
"Hehe... I know what you're thinking, buddy, but I don't think it's a big deal, especially in a place like Dali... For example, at the place where we were drinking just now, you didn't see it, there are often girls whose clothes cost tens of thousands of yuan, following behind guys to eat at the night market... What do those guys have? They're all just poor losers, they just carry a guitar and have a bit of a gangster vibe... But there are some rich girls who like that!"
"Don't mislead teenagers into thinking that learning guitar will help them pick up nice girls!"
"The dog is lying to you. You'll see next time if you don't believe me."
I thought back and it seems that when I was drinking just now, I really did see a pretty girl, dressed in designer clothes, sitting at a roadside stall eating and drinking, chatting and laughing with a young man carrying a guitar; after they finished eating and drinking, the two of them kissed passionately, and finally the young man rode away on a particularly beat-up Qianjiang motorcycle. Anyone could tell that after they found a place to stay, they would have a passionate and intimate encounter.
I finally replied, "I believe you, but are you sure it wasn't a one-night stand after an impulse? ...Or did you see them go to the civil affairs bureau to get a marriage certificate later?"
"Look at you, how can you talk so casually? What do you mean by 'we'll get our marriage certificate at the Civil Affairs Bureau later'?! Can't you just say 'later'?"
I took a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and after a few puffs, said, "Dali is a place that easily stirs up emotions, and it's more like a江湖 (jianghu, a world of martial arts and chivalry) place. Some rich young ladies have a jianghu mentality deep down, so in certain environments and with certain people, they might choose to indulge themselves once in a while. Anyway, they'll leave eventually, and it's a strange place, so no one will know if they do something outrageous. Once they return to where they belong and calm down, it'll be a completely different story. Do you really believe they'll spend their lives with some loser who can only play guitar?"
Tie Nan also took out a cigarette, lit it, and replied, "Now that you mention it, it's true... There are a lot of people who just hang out here, but I've never heard of anyone actually making it to the end."
"So, let's maintain a sense of awe towards asymmetrical love... After all, we're all at this age, focusing on our careers is the right path."
...
After finishing our conversation with Tie Nan, we parted ways, and then, in the dead of night, I lay on that small wooden bed, unable to sleep. I had drunk too much beer, going back and forth between the toilet and the bed repeatedly, gradually becoming even more sober than during the day.
I lay half-reclined in bed, scrolling through my WeChat Moments on my phone out of sheer boredom. There was no particular motivation; it was just a habit I developed when I had insomnia. Sometimes, when I met a friend who also had insomnia, we would chat for a bit.
Actually, very few people post on WeChat Moments after midnight, since most people are working professionals and don't have the freedom to choose their time for the next day.
Just as I was about to leave the Moments page, I noticed that Yang Sisi had posted an update five minutes earlier, which included nine photos. The photos showed that her friends had accompanied her on a shopping spree, then treated her to dinner, followed by a karaoke session, and they had been partying until now before finally going home. She was very grateful to have such a group of close friends with her…
I knew it! This is the life she should be living. In Dali, the first thing to suppress is her spending desires…
"You bought so much stuff! Did you break the seal?"
I typed this line under this post, but when I was about to send it, I deleted it... I felt that I wasn't in a good position to talk to her at this time, because I was afraid she would give me a hard time, and more importantly, the woman in Dali and the woman in Shanghai were two different people!
I tossed my phone aside, then covered myself tightly with the blanket, forcing myself to fall asleep quickly. But suddenly I felt the urge to urinate, and I tossed and turned until 5 a.m. before finally drifting off to sleep.
...
The next day, I woke up to the sound of Tie Nan and Tao Zi arguing. They lived next door, so I could roughly hear what they were saying. Tie Nan had quite a temper and kept yelling at Tao Zi, but I didn't intend to interfere. Instead, I lit a cigarette and sat on the bed listening quietly.
Tie Nan kept cursing himself for being a beast, saying that he was sorry to Coach Ma for transferring the inn.
After cursing for a while, the voices quieted down, and I couldn't hear what she said after that... I then put on my clothes, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to wash up.
After ordering takeout, I knocked on their door. Tie Nan answered, and I said to him, "I ordered breakfast for you. Would you like some?"
"I have no appetite, I'll sleep a little longer."
Where are the peaches?
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