Let Ye Zhi leave us some room for maneuver; it might be our last glimmer of hope. Tao Zi was particularly concerned about this, and she said to me, "Book a plane ticket to Shanghai now. There's only one flight a day from Dali to Shanghai, and I'm afraid I won't be able to book a ticket by tomorrow."
"She drove back and only arrived in Guiyang today."
"Can I catch up with her?"
"If you want to go, you can definitely catch up. She said she'll stop in a small county town for a few days along the way."
"Then you drive Bai Lu's car."
I was equally eager about this matter, so without much thought, I replied, "I'll have Bai Lu bring the car over now. I'll set off at five o'clock tomorrow morning and should be able to reach that small county town by tonight."
As I spoke, I dialed Bai Lu's number. During the conversation, I only said that I needed to use the car, but I didn't tell her the reason. I knew that she had children to take care of, so I wanted to make sure she could get a good night's sleep. Bai Lu didn't ask any questions and said that she would have her driver bring the car over later.
As for this bad news, let's wait until tomorrow, when they've all recovered, and then let Peach explain it to them.
...
Back at my place, the first thing I did was text Ye Zhi, telling her that I wanted to talk to her in person. But she didn't reply, which was normal, since it was already late at night and she was probably resting after her long journey.
I've made up my mind. Regardless of whether she responds or not, I'm going to follow in her footsteps, because for me, who's in a passive position, there's no better option.
The next day, I got up at 4:30 a.m., packed my things, and set off. I set my destination on the navigation to Luxi, a small county in Hunan. The whole journey was about 1,300 kilometers, definitely a road that could challenge human limits, because I was driving alone.
I didn't even have time for breakfast, and by 5:00 AM I was already on the highway from Xiaguan. I drove for over 400 kilometers until I passed Kunming, when I finally found a service area to fill up the gas tank and grab something to eat. But even then, Ye Zhi hadn't replied to my messages.
During dinner, I received a message from Bai Lu. She told me that Tao Zi had already informed them of the news; and that Sun Jiwei also had concrete information. The leaders of the Urban Construction Bureau had spoken with the leaders of their Environmental Protection Bureau, and they would soon submit the project proposal submitted by Ye Zhi's group to the Environmental Protection Bureau for evaluation and approval. She heard that the environmental protection aspects of the project were very scientific and reasonable, and given the higher-ups' requirement to expedite the project's implementation, the time spent processing it at the Environmental Protection Bureau wouldn't be too long. Once the project started, the demolition work would immediately follow…
Sun Jiwei predicted that our guesthouse would be demolished in two months at most, and we would have to close down half a month earlier. So, we would only have one and a half months left to operate, which would definitely not last until the peak tourist season during the Chinese New Year.
A sense of urgency welled up inside me. Life is so unpredictable. If Sun Jiwei's friend hadn't been delayed by two days because of a business trip to Shenzhen, our guesthouse might have already been sold...
My reason for thinking this way is not regret that I couldn't transfer the risks of the inn to Sun Jiwei and his friends. If I had known beforehand, I wouldn't have gone against my conscience to transfer the inn to them. The reason I have this feeling is simply because I haven't been able to adapt to the ups and downs of life yet, and at the same time, I despise the exploitation of the vulnerable by capital!
...
Around noon, I was almost in Guiyang, where Ye Zhi had stopped to stay overnight the night before. If she hadn't been deliberately avoiding me and not replying to my messages, but had been sleeping until now, we could have met up in Guiyang.
I stopped at a service area and ordered a Chinese fast food meal at a fast food restaurant, but I still hadn't received a reply from Ye Zhi.
After finishing my meal, I sent her another message: "I'm almost in Guiyang now. If you're still in Guiyang and see this message, I hope we can meet there... I'm sure I'm calm right now. I just want to talk to you in person and hope you can leave some room for our guesthouse!"
About five minutes later, Ye Zhi finally replied to the message: "I haven't replied to your message for so long, and you haven't gotten angry with me yet. I believe you are very calm now."
I replied instantly: "Where are you now? Can we meet?"
"I set off this morning just like you, and I've already arrived in Luxi... If you don't mind the long journey, I'll wait for you here."
"Let me suggest a place to meet... I'll definitely be there before 10 p.m.
"Guangjing Lanwan Hotel... You don't need to rush, safety comes first."
It was impossible for me not to be anxious, especially after I knew where I was going. I sped up the car even more. I had never been so eager to see someone. This eagerness had nothing to do with feelings. It was just because she held capital and controlled the future of our group.
...
As darkness fell, I had covered 1,100 kilometers of the 1,300-kilometer journey. This stretch of road was extremely long, and I was feeling utterly exhausted. I dared not take any more risks, so I pulled into a nearby service area to rest for a while before pushing myself to finish the rest of the journey.
It might be hard to believe, but this is only the third time I've entered a service area.
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