I held a cigarette in my mouth, looked at Yang Sisi, and after a long while, said, "Answer me a question first: why don't you want to study abroad? Is it because you oppose this relationship your parents have arranged for you, or because you really can't bear to leave Dali?"
Yang Sisi thought for a moment and replied, "It was when I didn't want to study abroad that Dali happened to come into my view... In terms of lifestyle and cultural atmosphere, Lijiang and Dali are very similar, but I just want to stay in Dali... Originally, I was thinking of spending a year in Lijiang this year, but now I don't want to."
To be honest, I'm not too keen on seeing a Yang Sisi who portrays herself in a very profound way, because it makes me feel a little sad. In a way, she and Wang Lei are both women who are frighteningly persistent. Although they are not from the same social class, this commonality does exist between them.
I finally replied, "Dali really is like a man-made dream. I truly hope that everyone who comes here with a dream can gain something..." After a slight pause, I added, "You know what? People only start to dream after they've suffered a particularly serious injury!"
"I haven't been seriously injured, but I still love Dali."
"Your injury accumulated little by little, and it's actually quite serious."
This time, Yang Sisi remained silent for a long time before replying, "Maybe so. The thought of having only a nanny during my childhood makes me unhappy... Even though she was quite good to me, some emotions can only be given by one's own biological parents."
"Well, so have a good talk with them later. When you need their understanding, I hope you can also give them some understanding. After all, their hard work over the years has given you a lot of capital to be willful. At least when someone insults you with money, you can spend even more money to insult them... For example, at the party you mentioned last time, you bought a limited edition Hermes handbag to humiliate her. I felt so relieved when I heard that. Those kinds of people need righteous people like you to show them what it means to be outdone by others."
Yang Sisi laughed along with me for a while, then her face darkened, and she said to me, "Are you trying to flatter me?"
"You probably don't have as much stuff in your pocket as I do, why would I flatter you..."
"Pshaw, at least I have a car. Do you?"
I glanced at her and felt sorry for her, because after having this meal with her family, she probably wouldn't even be able to keep her only car.
...
Because of this little accident, Yang Sisi and I arrived at "No. 1 Courtyard" in the ancient city at 8:30. However, her parents and Lao Huang did not seem too concerned about our lateness. After we sat down, they called over a waiter and asked her to notify the kitchen to serve us our food.
To avoid suspicion, I didn't sit next to Yang Sisi, but sat with Xiao Bao instead. I found that he wasn't a very manly man, because he was wearing perfume, and it was the kind that was particularly feminine.
This time, it was Old Huang who spoke first. He said to Yang Sisi, "Sisi, Michael has already explained things between you two clearly to us. It's just a misunderstanding..."
"This isn't a misunderstanding; I deliberately stirred it up... If I hadn't muddied things up, you would still have sent me abroad to study... I have a terrible aversion to studying abroad now; just hearing the words makes me want to vomit!"
Old Huang looked embarrassed, then changed the subject, saying to me, "Michael, what's your decision about me asking you to go back to Shanghai?"
Yang Sisi immediately became unhappy again. She retorted, "It's somewhat reasonable for you to let me go back to Shanghai... but why should he go back too?"
This time, it was Xiao Bao who spoke up. After giving me a hostile look, he said, "Of course my dad has a right to speak... He was originally my dad's subordinate, and now my dad has secured him a product manager position with double the salary, not even counting bonuses and commissions... Heh, I've heard that his girlfriend broke up with him because she thought there was no future with him. Do you think he'd be tempted?"
"Little Leopard, I've also heard that only women like to gossip about other people all the time... Can't you be a little more manly?"
Little Leopard's face was very ugly, but he didn't dare to lash out at Yang Sisi. In the end, he just puffed out his chest and put on a manly appearance.
After Xiao Bao shut up, Yang Sisi said to me with a cold face, "So, this is another exchange of benefits between you and Uncle Huang? ... You had the nerve to say before that you didn't get any benefits from them. I think you are the kind of person who is most easily bought off, because you are already afraid of being poor."
I picked up where Yang Sisi left off and turned to Lao Huang, saying, "She's right. I'm someone who's terrified of being poor... If I had a girlfriend before, and this opportunity presented itself, I might have sold myself out. But now, I just want to stay in Dali... Oh, and there's something else I haven't had a chance to tell you. This morning, I took over a guesthouse here with some friends. Now that we have a physical place, I'm even less likely to consider going back to Shanghai. I've already invested all my savings from over the years, along with money from my friends. It's a do-or-die situation."
"Michael, you're really foolish! You've ruined your own future."
I have a hundred reasons to refute Lao Huang, but this time I chose to remain silent because any choice related to Shanghai makes me instinctively feel annoyed, and it also reminds me of my own failures and the missed opportunities.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
