After talking with Chen Jin, I couldn't sleep for a while, so I carefully reviewed what I had just said. I felt that passion alone is not enough when it comes to life and career; you must truly understand them in order to propel yourself into a new realm.
For example, what I just said is very easy to say, but whether you can put it into practice requires a higher level of awareness so that you can supervise and restrain yourself and make continuous efforts. Therefore, for us young entrepreneurs, it is right to think more, and a person's level of understanding will ultimately determine his or her achievements.
...
I woke up around nine o'clock in the morning, but Chen Jin was no longer in the room. I looked around and found that he had packed his luggage and neatly arranged it on the small open space next to the bathroom.
I smiled and realized that my trip back to Shanghai wasn't entirely fruitless, because after returning to Dali, I really needed a public relations talent like Chen Jin to help me deal with some of the troubles that my agents might encounter.
After sitting for a while, I got up and found a breakfast shop nearby. After eating, I took a taxi to Nanjing Road. First, I went to a mobile phone shop to replace my phone, then I went to a hair salon to get a haircut that made me look more energetic, and finally I went to a shopping mall and bought the two most expensive outfits I've ever worn. That morning, I spent a total of 18,000 yuan...
I didn't feel bad about it; I just saw it as a necessary investment. I wanted to face the world and life with a new outlook...
...
At noon, I met Chen Jin at the vehicle management office. As soon as he saw me, he said to me with great surprise, "What have you been doing all morning... Is this really you?!"
I laughed and said, "Doesn't it seem like you've become a completely different person?"
"Completely refreshed, so full of energy... How to put it, it just has that air of someone who's achieved great success."
"As expected of someone in public relations... I really enjoy your flattery!"
"Then won't you give me something as a reward? After all, I'll be following you from now on."
"I'll treat you to dinner tonight..."
Chen Jin was no longer joking. He whispered to me, "Ding Lin asked me to meet her tonight... I don't know what she means, so I neither agreed nor refused."
"I can't give you advice on this. You have to weigh it yourself... If you're not going, just call me, and we'll go to the night market for a few drinks."
Chen Jin lowered his head, then frowned, and after a long while said to me, "Actually, I still want to go..."
"Why?"
"Because I was unwilling to accept it... I especially hoped she had some unavoidable hardship..."
"What if she really does have it?"
Chen Jin looked at me for a long time before replying, "I might feel a little better."
I exclaimed, "Someone like you could never be a bad man!"
"I promise this is the last time I'll give in."
"Go if you want... As for the car, we'll transfer the ownership later, in case you want to keep it in Shanghai and need it later."
“I will absolutely not stay in Shanghai, much less rekindle my old relationship with her… I can’t accept a woman who schemed against me, no matter what her reasons were… Let’s go, let’s go in and transfer the property, and we’ll set off for Dali tomorrow morning.”
"Are you sure?... Once the car is sold to me, there's no going back."
Chen Jin smiled and said, "I'm sure. The 'scumbag' slogan isn't just something to be shouted casually. From today onwards, I can only let women down, and I absolutely cannot let any woman let me down!"
Looking at Chen Jin, I could indeed sense a bit of a scumbag vibe, but for some reason, even though I was the one who encouraged him, listening to his words still felt a little awkward.
...
After two hours, Chen Jin and I finally completed the car transfer procedures at the vehicle management office. After handing me the car keys, Chen Jin left before me, and I didn't know where to go for a moment.
I drove this Jimny through the streets and alleys that were sometimes familiar and sometimes unfamiliar, and I really enjoyed driving. So it wasn't until evening that I stopped on a road that had just been widened, and there were signs of demolition everywhere on both sides of the road.
After getting off the bus, I sat on a small patch of grass by the roadside and habitually lit a cigarette, thinking I would be free of distractions. But the feeling of loneliness still emerged in the smoke I exhaled.
To make myself feel better, I lay down on the grass again and stared blankly at the setting sun hanging between the buildings...
Suddenly, I remembered what Nicole had told me before I came to Shanghai; she said that I would definitely be able to meet Ye Zhi because I am a man with a particularly thick skin.
She's such a liar! And I'm not the shameless person she claims I am. I don't want to bother Ye Zhi anymore. I'll stick to my plan and quietly return to Dali tomorrow morning.
...
As dusk settled, I once again faced another night in Shanghai. Just like last night, loneliness and emptiness spread rampantly through my body like a virus, yet I couldn't find anything to do that piqued my interest.
I lit another cigarette and stared blankly at my phone, which was flashing a faint light. I felt that I might receive a call or a message, because on an evening like this, there would surely be someone equally lonely who wanted to chat with me.
Ten minutes later, I did receive a call from Dai Qiang, but I couldn't equate his lively and active nature with loneliness, so this call was definitely about Ye Zhi and me returning to the small mountain town.
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