Everything returned to calm, but I felt a little nervous. I hoped Ye Zhi wouldn't mind my family; they were indeed a bit mischievous.
Ye Zhi sat down on the rocks, her back to me, and asked, "You didn't really want to treat me to a meal, you just wanted me to stay and help you with this, right?"
I walked towards her against the sea breeze, then handed her my phone and said, "Look at the time record on your phone. When I sent you a WeChat message to invite you to dinner, it was 10:30. My dad called me ten minutes later... Please don't misunderstand, I sincerely wanted to invite you to dinner."
"Um."
Ye Zhi responded and then fell silent. A moment later, our takeout arrived... I thought we would say something about saying goodbye during the meal, but Ye Zhi remained silent until she left.
I was holding the lunchbox we had just finished eating in my hands. She was already standing next to her car, and I knew she was about to leave.
Only then did she finally speak and ask me, "What do you plan to do if something similar happens again in the future?"
I knew she was referring to what we had just gone through when she said something similar. I smiled and said to her, "Don't worry, we'll find a way... just like when I asked you to cooperate with me in this play."
Are you afraid they'll be disappointed when they know the truth?
I threw the lunchbox into the trash can next to me, lit a cigarette, and then replied, "I'm afraid... so I can only make myself better, and then let them believe that I will find a woman as good as you."
"Is this how you understand relationships between men and women? ...Does it have to be a battle of equals for it to be considered love?"
"Isn't love just a war? ... Only when both sides stand on the same level can it last."
"Have you ever thought that what you see might only be one side of love? Some people are together in a way that's not as complicated as you think, but they can still be happy and stay together forever."
I remained silent for a long time before looking up at her and replying, "I hope there is such a love."
"It will happen."
After Ye Zhi finished speaking, she opened the car door, got in, and drove away... I forgot to remind her to be careful on the road.
...
Sitting in the spot we had been sitting in before, I finished my cigarette and suddenly remembered that she was talking about me and Yang Sisi. She was encouraging me to accept everything between me and Yang Sisi with a calm perspective.
I knew Yang Sisi was the type who couldn't hide her feelings; she probably told Ye Zhi everything. However, this encouragement didn't work for me, because in my view, love is a war. I had been defeated by Lu Jia before, so having learned my lesson, I always tend to hold back a little for myself and the other person.
...
Ye Zhi had been gone for a long time, and I was still sitting on that rock. During this time, I smoked two more cigarettes, and my mind wandered to things related to love, but I couldn't come up with any ideas.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through my WeChat Moments. I saw that my cousin, who had encouraged me to hug Ye Zhi, had posted a photo five minutes earlier. She wrote: "My future sister-in-law and cousin... My sister-in-law is absolutely gorgeous, isn't she?... I wish them a long and happy life together!"
In the photo, Ye Zhi is holding my waist, leaning against me. Her hair falls between my eyebrows and eyes, and Erhai Lake is right behind us, a vast expanse of blue. It looks incredibly artistic.
I first liked the post, then copied the photo to my phone's album. I looked at it a few more times, and suddenly felt incredibly lonely... because the person who was just beside me was now gone; but the lie remained with me, lingering there forever.
I know better than anyone that she wasn't my girlfriend, and this drama has finally come to an end with her departure.
I pulled out the thorn in my heart, then, with a cigarette dangling from my lips, I looked up and saw the blinding sunlight; I looked down to avoid it, and saw my lonely shadow reflected on the sea…
Perhaps this is what it feels like to be separated from someone in life.
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