I took the half-empty beer can outside and said to Ye Zhi, who was waiting for my reply on the other end of the phone, "Don't buy any gifts. My parents are just looking forward to your visit. To them, you are the best gift."
"That won't do. I'll get nervous if I go empty-handed."
"Nobody cares about these things with you, really."
Ye Zhi insisted, "Just tell me already. Buying some gifts isn't a big deal. If you're going to be so polite with me, then I'll just do it myself."
I couldn't persuade Ye Zhi otherwise, so I quickly said, "No, don't do it yourself... Just buy some wine for Lao Mi. He likes to have a few drinks by himself whenever he has nothing to do."
"What about Auntie?"
I thought about it and replied, "She spends all her time around the stove and doesn't really have any special hobbies... Let's just forget about it."
"You're showing favoritism towards your own parents!"
"Don't wrong me... They're all this age, they don't really care that much about material things. All they want is a harmonious family and a house full of children and grandchildren... Compared to gifts, that's actually harder to achieve."
Ye Zhi was speechless for a moment.
I smiled and asked, "Do you not quite understand this kind of pursuit in life?"
"I understand, but I can't truly appreciate it, probably because I haven't reached that stage yet."
“I don’t think it has anything to do with stage of life, it’s determined by perspective… They can’t go out and see the diverse world, so all their thinking is based on the most fundamental sense of human responsibility… Actually, that’s quite nice. Although they don’t live as passionately as others, they are more grounded and stable… right?”
"That's right, I don't dislike this kind of pursuit... but I haven't thought about it too much either."
“I know you put most of your energy into work… It’s okay, you’ll eventually have to return to family life. I’ll just nag you a bit more beforehand so you don’t feel uncomfortable later.”
Ye Zhi smiled but didn't say anything more.
I can sense that getting a woman like her to prioritize family is quite difficult; it requires me to influence her gradually. I don't need to be too pessimistic, because Ye Zhi is a woman who can be communicated with, and she generally listens to what I say. So I just need to be patient enough, or let her feel the warmth that a good family can bring through our daily interactions. That way, she will naturally like it, which will be more effective than my deliberate guidance.
After finishing these internal monologues, I asked Ye Zhi, "When are you coming to Dali?"
"It's still uncertain... I'll be going to Malaysia in the next couple of days, and I should be able to squeeze out some time after I get back."
"Okay, I'll wait for your notification."
Ye Zhi is really persistent about some things. Just when I thought our conversation was going to end there, she said to me again, "Are you going to tell me what gift to buy for Auntie?"
"I really don't know... Why don't you buy some calcium supplements for middle-aged and elderly people, the kind that are often advertised on TV?"
Ye Zhi sighed, "I can't count on you anymore. I'll figure it out myself."
I laughed awkwardly, then changed the subject again, asking her, "It's almost midnight, why aren't you resting yet?"
"I have too many things to deal with... I'm getting ready to go back now."
"Are you still in the office?"
"Um."
I felt a pang of sympathy and couldn't help but sigh, saying, "Can't you just relax a little?"
"You should be able to understand me."
“I…I understand, but just like you don’t like me smoking, I don’t like you putting so much energy into your work without any restraint…” After a slight pause, I said in a low voice, “I’m not by your side, so you must take good care of yourself.”
Yes, you will too.
"Hmm... I can't bother you anymore. You should go back and rest. You'll probably be busy all day tomorrow."
After I finished speaking, Ye Zhi chatted with me for a few more minutes. The topic was still about my fight at the bar during the day, and how she was worried about me just as much as I was worried about her.
How should I put it? This feeling is very disheartening. Because we're in a long-distance relationship, this is all we can do right now. We can't eat together, we can't chat together, and we don't even dare to hope for the chance to go to the movies together. It's quite a pity!
As the phone call ended, I seemed to see a scene: Ye Zhi driving alone on a deserted asphalt road. Outside the car window, thousands of lights shone, but she had no one to comfort her. Under the dim light, her tired face and lonely heart were reflected.
This is not a scene I imagined; it must be like this. Unfortunately, being three thousand kilometers away, I cannot immerse myself in this scene.
I gradually became controlled by a certain emotion, and then I sent her a message saying "I love you" on WeChat, hoping she would like it and find some comfort in it. But for me, it's not something I would easily say out loud.
...
Back at the table, Chen Jin and Ping Ge were still drinking and chatting idly... Ping Ge said he would take Chen Jin to a bar on Renmin Road the next night. Chen Jin pretended to be deep and said he had no interest in partying right now, but as soon as he heard that there were countless girls to pick up there, his previous deep and serious attitude vanished, and he took the initiative to ask if there were any girls with big breasts, because he liked big breasts.
Ping Ge seemed to have found common ground and enthusiastically started talking to him about the difference in bust size between Chinese and foreign women. He told Chen Jin that if you were lucky, you could date a foreign woman, and that's what real big breasts are!
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