After ending the call with Chen Jin, I placed my phone on the coffee table and then pressed my fingers against my temples, hoping to find some inspiration to solve the problem through this squeezing motion…
During this process, Yang Sisi packed her luggage and stood in front of me, dragging her suitcase. In contrast, I had placed a cigarette case and a lighter on the coffee table.
Yes, sometimes I feel like Yang Sisi is like my favorite cigarette. Every time it burns, it brings me a sense of fulfillment and comfort, but in the end, it will eventually have to be said goodbye.
I was thinking: if we run out of cigarettes, we can just buy more. But what if Yang Sisi leaves?
She might come back again, but it's uncertain... like an autumn leaf, you know it will eventually fall to the ground, but you never know whether the moment it falls will be in the morning or at night, or on a rainy evening...
At this moment, facing her, I felt pessimistic, so all I could think of were dusk, autumn, falling leaves, and rain—words symbolizing decay. Yet, the sky outside the window was so clear… like the morning when first love quietly arrives, with a gentle breeze, fresh air, and a white dress; the sunlight illuminates the fine hairs on my face, my smile is youthful, but full of anticipation…
I'm not exaggerating, nor am I fantasizing. These are all feelings that Yang Sisi once gave me, and in the moment before she left, I finally remembered them again after a long time.
My Adam's apple bobbed, and then I whispered to her, "Your Uncle Huang is waiting for you in the ancient city. I'll take you there."
"No need to see me off. I'll take a taxi to the old town myself. I don't have much luggage anyway."
As Yang Sisi spoke, she took a bunch of keys out of her pocket, handed them to me, and said, "These are the keys to this house. I've already called Cao Xiaobei. When he comes over later, please return them to him for me..."
"good."
"Then I'll be going now."
"Um."
After glancing at me, Yang Sisi dragged her suitcase out of the house. I listened quietly to her footsteps and then subconsciously lit a cigarette for myself... and this cigarette happened to be the last one in the whole pack.
Touching the empty cigarette pack, I suddenly felt a deep emptiness in my heart...
"etc……"
Yang Sisi turned to look at me, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"
I quickly took out the 10,000 yuan in cash that I had prepared beforehand from my bag, then went outside and handed the money to her. I said to her, "Take this money with you... It's not much, but it might come in handy if something urgent happens."
Yang Sisi smiled and said, "Is this a way of showing that you're worried about me?"
I paused for a moment, then replied, "I guess so."
"But my dad taught me from a young age that I should never accept anything given to me by others, because it will wear down my will; and I should never take other people's charity for granted, because such thinking will turn me into a lazy bum who doesn't know how to work hard, and I will be looked down upon by others."
"This isn't charity; it's just something you can keep on you in case of emergency."
Yang Sisi still refused.
I added, "Last time you accompanied me to Thailand, you spent a lot of money yourself, so consider this money as repayment to you."
"I haven't even argued with you, why are you arguing with me?"
As Yang Sisi spoke, she pulled out the handle of her suitcase, clearly indicating that she didn't want to argue with me too much about money.
I said to her from behind, "Just consider this money a scam. Don't you love scamming me the most?"
"I only take advantage of what you have in excess... I don't want to take advantage of what you lack... Don't worry, I will learn to adapt to this society on my own. I don't want you to ruin me with this 10,000 yuan... If you really want to encourage me, please try a different approach that I prefer."
As she said these words, Yang Sisi did not turn around, but she stopped walking. I stood on the high part of the corridor, looking at her somewhat thin back.
It's time to give her a hug, at this moment when we really have to part ways.
I walked up behind her, gave her a gentle hug, and whispered in her ear, "Keep going in everything you do... I hope that next time we meet, I'll see a different you."
Yang Sisi suddenly choked up...
She asked, "Where will we meet next?"
"Dali, I'll be waiting for you in Dali."
"good……"
I gently patted her shoulder to encourage her, and then let go of her.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway, and Cao Xiaobei appeared before us, panting. He seemed to have come to say goodbye to Yang Sisi as well, but his emotions were clearly heightened.
He didn't even bother to wipe the sweat from his face. Between breaths, he asked Yang Sisi, "Didn't you tell me before that you wouldn't be leaving Dali for a while...? Why did you just leave like that?"
Yang Sisi replied, "Something happened at home. Thank you for letting me live in this house for so long... I was originally going to have Michael return the keys to you, but since you're here, I'll give them to you in person."
Yang Sisi reached out her hand to me, and I returned the bunch of keys to her. She then handed them to Cao Xiaobei.
Cao Xiaobei, however, didn't seem to care about the house at all. He pressed on, "What happened to your family?"
Yang Sisi looked dejected. After a moment of silence, she replied, "I'm not the same Yang Sisi who could act willfully anymore... Thank you for always being so tolerant of me."
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