The restaurant was dimly lit, but I was faced with a very pointed question, and whether I could answer it well depended on a moment of inspiration.
Under Ye Zhi's unwavering gaze, I finally replied, "The inn is quite nice. I've adopted all the decoration suggestions you gave me before, and the effect is really good. Although it's a bit simple, it has created the feeling of the Champs-Élysées... So, I absolutely have to treat you to this meal today."
"Yeah?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then after we finish eating, you can take me to see it."
I quickly replied, "Don't go there, it's dark over there."
Ye Zhi put down her chopsticks, then looked at me with a piercing gaze...
I shifted uncomfortably, then asked with a smile, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I've noticed that you're someone who really likes to share good news and not bad news... Are you afraid of having others share your burdens?"
"I……"
Ye Zhi added, "I really want you to say it yourself... at least to prove that you still consider me a friend you can share your burdens with."
Since things had come to this point, Ye Zhi must have found out about my troubles through some channel. I couldn't hide it any longer, so I said, "Where did you hear this news from? I'm very curious."
"I'm more curious about why you kept this from me? ...And why did you deliberately hide it?"
When Ye Zhi asked this question, I also seriously asked myself the same question: Is this just a male chauvinist mentality at play, or is it a kind of pathology, or is there a deeper reason?
Suddenly, Lu Jia's image appeared in my mind. I remembered Lu Jia and some details of our time together.
Back then, I would tell her about my work troubles. At first, she could share some of the burden with me, but as time went on, my difficulties became her complaints and disappointment in me... I felt that she didn't understand me enough. She felt that I had no future. We argued about this many times, and that's how our relationship faded with each argument... I still remember the worst time. Lu Jia smashed my phone. She looked at me with utter despair and said that she no longer had time to waste on me. She was in pain but had no way to vent her frustration.
Since then, I have never mentioned anything unpleasant to her again. I try to solve what I can on my own, and I swallow my emotions when I can't solve them... But like her, I am also desperate, in great pain, and feel lonely, because I can no longer confide in this woman with whom I have had physical intimacy!
...
I finally spoke to Ye Zhi and said, "This is related to a person's habits... If you say it out loud, besides proving that you are not capable, who would respect you more because you are not capable? This doesn't make sense logically."
"I think you lack a sense of cooperation."
"True cooperation is what we call cooperation... We don't have a cooperative relationship, so telling you this will only spread negativity and won't benefit either of us."
"You are a really stubborn person, and very difficult to communicate with!"
I smiled and then changed the subject, saying to her, "I've already answered you, but you haven't answered me where you heard that news from."
"Sisi told me."
I was both surprised and found it reasonable, because Taozi was the only person around me who knew about this. She had been in contact with Yang Sisi, so it wasn't surprising that she told Yang Sisi... What surprised me was that Yang Sisi actually told Ye Zhi after finding out... I don't know what she was thinking. More importantly, she was already abroad, far away from me.
I remained silent and just kept fiddling with the lighter.
Ye Zhi then said to me, "What do you plan to do about this?... Or, could you tell me your analysis of this matter?"
I then began, "Let me first explain why Cao Jinbo changed the locks on all these shops... That day, Sun Jiwei and I met with him to discuss renting out the shops. Accompanying Sun Jiwei was a newly appointed deputy director of the Environmental Protection Bureau named Luo Zhuming... Things went wrong because of this man. He first tried to befriend Cao Jinbo during dinner, making Cao Jinbo mistakenly believe they could be on the same side. Just as Cao Jinbo lowered his guard, Luo Zhuming led his men to shut down one of Cao Jinbo's heavily polluting paper mills..."
"One party is responsible for pollution, and the other should be investigated and punished. This is a matter of course. But why is Cao Jinbo targeting you?"
"Because of Sun Jiwei..."
After a moment's thought, Ye Zhi understood. She said, "He must think that this is a scheme orchestrated by Sun Jiwei and Luo Zhuming. He's targeting you, but it's actually for Sun Jiwei's benefit... He's 'forcing' Sun Jiwei to make a choice."
"Yes, that's what I mean... So, I'm facing a dead end... because what Cao Jinbo wants, I can't give him, and I don't have the right to give him."
What does Cao Jinbo want?
"He wants to win over Luo Zhuming, not wanting to become his enemy... Merchants don't fight with officials, that's an old saying... But Luo Zhuming doesn't think that way, and that's my dead end... Moreover, according to Sun Jiwei, Luo Zhuming doesn't consider him one of his own, and has been looking for an opportunity to get rid of him. Now he's just waiting for a deal between Luo Zhuming and Cao Jinbo before he makes his move... So, Sun Jiwei is definitely not reliable. For him, being able to protect himself at this point is already a victory!"
"From this perspective, the situation is indeed very complicated!"
I sighed instinctively and replied, "Yes... but I'm not resigned to it... I have no way out, and it's hard for me to bear it; I could say I failed in Shanghai because of bad luck, but in Dali... I really came here with a sum of money!"
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