I poured Chen Jin a beer, which he downed in a toast, and then said to me with deep emotion, "In the blink of an eye, you've been away from Shanghai for more than half a year... How are things in Dali?"
I smiled and replied, "That place can't be judged simply as good or bad... How should I put it, I'm doing pretty well there, at least I don't have the same level of living pressure as in Shanghai..."
"Tell me more about it, I'm quite interested."
I lit a cigarette and continued, "The lifestyle there is much simpler than in Shanghai... It's also easier for people from other places to get along... Anyway, I think that place is much more humane than big cities. If you're really good friends, it doesn't feel awkward to call each other brothers... Unlike in the workplace, where you call someone brother but secretly curse them... So the relationships between people are quite genuine."
Chen Jin picked up his glass and took another sip of beer before saying to me, "I don't know if things in Dali are really like what you said... but in big cities, relationships between people are fucking hypocritical... Don't even mention friends, even between a married couple lying in bed together, going in and out of each other's bodies every day, it's all full of scheming... Michael, this time getting fired from the company really disgusted me!"
"What's wrong?"
Do you remember someone in our department named Ding Lin?
I thought for a moment and replied, "Is it that girl from Northeast China who has pretty good business skills?"
"Yeah... about a month after you left the company, I got together with her... to be honest, I really liked her, so I was completely open with her about everything... but in the end, she screwed me over."
I asked with concern, "What happened?"
Chen Jin looked distressed: "Our department head was promoted to vice president, so the director position is now vacant... There are only a few truly capable people in the department, so Ding Lin and I are the most likely to get the director position... Actually, from my heart, if two people are truly in love, it doesn't matter who becomes the director. Anyway, after we get married, we'll both be working hard for a family, so I never intended to have any cutthroat competition with her... But she doesn't think that way!"
I nodded and said, "I understand. How did she scheme against you?"
Chen Jin sighed heavily, then poured himself a full glass of draft beer and drank it down in one gulp... Although I couldn't truly understand his pain, I still gave him space to drown his sorrows in alcohol, so I didn't rush to ask him any questions.
I poured myself another beer and waited patiently...
...
To keep customers entertained, the barbecue stall owner hung a 20-inch TV on a sycamore tree, which played popular variety shows on a loop, and that caught my eye.
I don't know if it was a coincidence, but Ye Zhi was the interviewee on the financial program that was playing. I subconsciously started watching and focused my attention.
Ironically, I learned about Ye Zhi's detailed resume, including which university she graduated from and how she took over the huge family business after graduation, through such a method.
Ironically, I, huddled in an alleyway eating barbecue, actually dared to dream of seeing her at ten o'clock...
I felt inexplicably down and began to doubt myself even more, wondering if I had ever really spent time with this woman named Ye Zhi... Although the alley I was in was only a few stops away from the Bund, it was ultimately just an alley for barbecue, much like my relationship with Ye Zhi...
She shines like the Bund, while I am as insignificant as a skewer of meat in this alley.
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