After a moment of silence, I finally spoke to Yang Sisi, "Your parents really have a plan for you... This time, you didn't argue with them, did you?"
"They want to buy me a house, why should I get upset? ...Do they really think I'm stupid?"
"That's right, it's like a windfall. If someone gave me a house in Dali, I would worship them, burn incense for them every day, and say thank you a thousand times."
"Look at you, so spineless!"
"Are you terrified of being poor?"
"Is being afraid of poverty your excuse for daydreaming?"
I laughed out loud and said, "Just kidding, I'll work hard myself... I'll work hard myself."
Yang Sisi rolled her eyes at me.
I asked again, "Did you come back alone?"
"No, there's also my dad..."
I looked around warily and said, "He's come to Dali too?"
"Look at your shifty eyes, I told you you're a rat, and you're arguing with me!" Yang Sisi said, slapping my shoulder. She added, "Stop looking, he's not here... The family company was sued, and he came back to deal with it. He's keeping me company."
I asked with concern, "You've been sued, are you alright?"
"What could possibly be wrong?"
"That's a really heartless answer!"
"You're the one who doesn't understand the situation... Tell me, which large company doesn't have some disputes with stakeholders every year?"
"That's true, running a company is quite tiring!"
Yang Sisi remained silent, and so did I. This silence was a rare occurrence between the two of us, and I felt a little uncomfortable with it. I wondered what Yang Sisi was feeling.
...
Yang Sisi finally spoke up. She looked at the empty bottles next to me and asked, "Why do you keep so many empty bottles next to you?"
"Found it."
Yang Sisi looked at me incredulously: "You've fallen to this state?"
"Yeah, you just tricked me out of a 200 yuan red envelope. If you have any conscience, hurry up and give me an even bigger one... I'm not kidding, I haven't received a red envelope from anyone yet!"
"How bad are your interpersonal relationships?!"
“It was really bad… Otherwise, he wouldn’t be picking up bottles on the street all by himself during the Lunar New Year.”
Yang Sisi was lost in thought. When she came to her senses, she sent me a red envelope on her phone. When I opened it, there was only 0.1 yuan in it, which was really just a symbolic red envelope.
I exclaimed, "Isn't this red envelope a bit too small?"
"I'm sending you a red envelope to prove that there are still people in this world who are willing to give you money... I'm not doing this for poverty alleviation, do you understand?"
"Thank you so much!"
"Don't just say thank you, show some real action."
"What operation?"
"Send me another 200 yuan red envelope."
"You're so inhumane!"
Yang Sisi snatched my phone, then made herself a 200 yuan red envelope, and forcibly used my fingerprint to pay... Who knows what she went through abroad? She's like a completely different person, so greedy and calculating!
...
"Michael, I haven't eaten yet."
"What would you like to eat? It's my treat."
"New Year's Eve dinner".
I looked at her speechlessly, and she said to me again, "I have something to ask you before we eat... Aren't you and Ye Zhi getting along well? Why didn't she come to Dali to keep you company?"
As if someone had touched a sore spot, I instinctively pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and replied, "She's too arrogant..."
"And then?...Tell me."
"There's nothing to say... Let's go, I'll take you to eat."
Yang Sisi persisted, asking, "Did you two have a fight?"
"Do we have the temperaments of people who like to argue?"
"That's emotional abuse... You've definitely been subjected to emotional abuse by her... By the way, what exactly is your relationship now?"
Don't you think you're asking a bit too many questions?
"You're someone who doesn't even get to send red envelopes, it's good enough that someone's willing to chat with you!"
Looking at Yang Sisi, I couldn't describe the feeling in my heart. It was as if the wound she had deliberately hidden had been dragged out again and salt had been rubbed into it.
I sighed softly, ignored Yang Sisi, picked up the empty bottles, and walked out of the "bed sheet factory".
Yang Sisi followed closely behind, and in order to have something to eat, she finally chose to shut up.
...
Back at Jiulongju, I reheated the food that had barely been touched for Yang Sisi. While she was eating, I deliberately kept my distance... not because I disliked her, but because I didn't want her to ask me any more questions.
After sitting there for a while without any desires, Nicole finally sent me a message. She told me that she and Ye Zhi had gotten in touch.
I quickly asked, "Where is she now?"
She said she went to Santorini for vacation.
"Just her alone?"
How many people would you like?
"She's best off alone... but I don't understand, is this foreign country some kind of refuge? Everyone runs abroad for the slightest thing!"
"Don't overthink it. I guess they just want to stay away from you."
Nicole's words nearly made me vomit blood. I stared at my phone for a long time before replying, "Did she say whether she wanted to come to Dali again?"
What illusions are you still clinging to?
"It's not wishful thinking, I just want to clarify some misunderstandings from before... if she's willing to give me a chance."
"Shall I ask for you?"
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