No matter what Cao Xue said, I chose not to respond. Cao Xue was clearly getting impatient, and his voice rose a few decibels. He said again, "Can you say something? Anyone would be tempted by the conditions my uncle offered..."
I nodded and finally spoke, "I'm quite interested too. I've always wanted to buy a house here, especially Jiulongju... Even if we don't use it as a shop, it would be great to renovate it and live in it ourselves."
Cao Xue tentatively asked, "So, does this mean we've reached an agreement?"
I lit a cigarette, chuckled, and said, "This deal won't work... Why won't it work? Let me explain... I took your uncle's house and then went to talk to my girlfriend about this... Regardless of whether she agrees or not, let's talk about the nature of this... Isn't it way worse than betraying a friend for personal gain?... If she finds out I did something like this, what will she think of me?... By putting me in such a difficult position, you're essentially ruining our friendship... I understand how you feel, but that's not what I meant..."
Cao Xue paused for a moment, then said, "If you really consider me a brother, then I'll tell you the truth... I never thought you and this woman could make it work... Besides, the thing you're talking about, feelings, is too abstract. If we men don't have a career, everything else is pointless... Think about it, you might only encounter one such opportunity in your lifetime, but women... Besides her, you'll have many more in the future—innocent, beautiful, fair-skinned, tender, 'slutty,' sexy, all kinds, dazzling... But the prerequisite is that you have to be rich and powerful!"
I looked at Cao Xue, squinted, took another drag of my cigarette, and after exhaling the smoke, I smiled and replied, "You really understand me... It's pretty much what you said. When I was with her, sometimes I did feel really insecure, like the road was too difficult to walk, and maybe one day we'd just drift apart... But you don't completely understand me either... Because once I've decided on a woman, I'm completely sincere. Even if we don't end up together for various reasons, the whole process has to be clean... At the very least, after the breakup, I can't hold onto hatred, and I can't doubt her character... Do you understand what I mean?"
"You're a fucking blockhead!"
“I’m not a blockhead… Go back and tell your uncle that if he’s willing to let me use these shops in Jiulongju, I will do my utmost to increase their value… If he gives me a shop as a gift, I’ll be happy to accept it… But not now, because this isn’t something I should take. I can’t betray my principles and engage in these kinds of exchanges.”
"Michael, you're not going to give me that face, are you?"
After a brief silence, I replied, "I remember you used to have a serious girlfriend. I believe you were sincere with her, otherwise you wouldn't have run off with her... Put yourself in her shoes, would you have the heart to scheme against her in the same situation?"
"Don't bring up my past."
"No one's past is the point. I just want you to understand the nature of this matter... If I scheme against my girlfriend today for such a small benefit, then tomorrow, if someone else offers me a bigger reward, wouldn't I also betray you, my brother Cao Xue?... I feel that if I agree to your offer, our brotherhood will truly be over, because nobody wants to have such a mercenary friend by their side, right?"
"Don't fucking talk to me like that..."
I looked at Cao Xue, waiting for him to continue, but he stopped.
Cao Xue nodded, and finally said, "This is a one-time opportunity, so don't regret it."
"I don't regret it... If nothing else comes up, that's fine... I have to go, it's over a thousand kilometers away!"
Cao Xue kicked over the stool next to the sofa and left the house with a lot of resentment... After he left, I didn't leave immediately. I lit another cigarette and then felt troubled by all these complicated thoughts.
While I was smoking, I heard the sound of a hammer hitting the floor coming from upstairs again, as if they were trying to provoke me... To be honest, neither of these two brothers surnamed Cao are easy to mess with!
...
After checking my luggage one last time, I finally left my accommodation with my bag on my back and drove towards the south gate of the ancient city, where I had arranged to meet Ye Zhi.
Actually, my conversation with Cao Xue was not long, so when I arrived it was only 7:50.
While waiting for Ye Zhi, I used a towel to clean the mud off the windshield and then refilled the windshield washer fluid, hoping to keep the car in the best condition to cope with the next thousand kilometers of journey.
Ye Zhi is a very punctual woman. She arrived at exactly eight o'clock, just before eight o'clock. She didn't have much luggage, just a very small suitcase covered with baggage tags, which showed that she was a frequent flyer who often traveled all over the world.
I took the suitcase from her and she said to me, "I've been thinking, we can actually fly from Kunming to Chengdu. Your home should be quite close to Chengdu, right?"
I replied, "Actually, the time is about the same. It's about 400 kilometers from here to Kunming. Add the time spent waiting at the airport, and we've already covered 500 or 600 kilometers... And after we get to Chengdu, we still have to find a car to get to the small county town, which also takes time."
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