After a night and a whole day, the discomfort from being drunk finally disappeared, but now that I was completely sober, I felt that last night's experience was more like a dream. I felt that someone kissed me, but I couldn't rule out that it was a hallucination, because I hadn't had intimate contact with a woman for too long, so what I lacked in reality was more likely to be filled in my dreams; based on this, I went to ask Yang Sisi.
I remember she didn't seem to drink too much last night. If she remained conscious until the very end, she would definitely know the answer...
If a man had taken me back, it would have been a dream; if a woman had taken me back, it would depend on who she was. For example, with Nicole, we were just friends, so there was absolutely no way we would have done that.
Yang Sisi glanced at me and replied, "I don't know. I also drank too much last night. Cao Xiaobei came to pick me up. I left before you guys finished your party."
How come I didn't know you left before us?
"You were already drunk by then, lying on the table, half-dead, how could you possibly know?"
"oh."
Yang Sisi then turned to me and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
I couldn't possibly tell Yang Sisi about this dreamlike experience, so I just replied casually, "I'm so heavy, it would definitely take a lot of effort to get me back, so I wanted to find an opportunity to thank you."
"Oh, I didn't expect you to have such a selfless hero lurking around you... If it were me, I would definitely come to you to claim credit first thing, and then extort a hefty sum from you, so you wouldn't have money to squander everywhere..."
At this point, Yang Sisi sneered, then said to me, "You've really got a lot of money lately, haven't you? You bought a shop for 800,000 yuan just like that! ...But is that shop really only worth 800,000 yuan?"
"That's about the right price."
"Come on, villas near the ancient city are already selling for an average price of 20,000 yuan, and even commercial housing in Xiaguan has exceeded 10,000 yuan per square meter... Even if Jiulongju isn't the best, it's still in the ancient city, it's a shop, and it can also be used as a residence. You bought an 83-square-meter shop from Cao Xiaobei for 800,000 yuan, which averages out to only 9,600 yuan per square meter. Anyone with a brain knows that Cao Xiaobei got ripped off! ... How could you have the nerve to do something so deceitful?"
Looking at Yang Sisi, I felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Why aren't you saying anything? Are you feeling guilty?
I held back my temper and replied in a normal tone, "A shop is a shop, and a house is a house. They can't be compared... Yes, the shops in Jiulongju can be used as residences, but are there any supporting facilities around?... There are no bus stops, no hospitals, no supermarkets, no schools, and no farmers' market here. Who would really buy a shop here and live in it for the rest of their life?"
"Brother Ping has lived here for a long time."
"You're just arguing for the sake of arguing. He's just an isolated case... Investing in shops now is risky. If this commercial street has no foot traffic, the shops inside are no different from scrap metal."
Yang Sisi laughed disdainfully: "Since Jiulongju's shops are all scrap metal, why did you go and buy Cao Xiaobei's shops? ... You don't need to explain, you're just an unscrupulous businessman. I, Yang Sisi, have overestimated you."
Suddenly, I couldn't control my anger, and I spoke impulsively. I banged on the table and said to Yang Sisi, "No matter how unscrupulous I am, am I as unscrupulous as Cao Jinbo?... Think about how he schemed against our seaside inn back then. If it weren't for good luck, I would still be in prison now... But today, I actually transferred real money to Cao Xiaobei's card. I didn't 'force' him; he came to me himself."
I took a deep breath, then pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it to calm myself down.
"Cao Jinbo is Cao Jinbo, and Cao Xiaobei is Cao Xiaobei. Putting them together only proves that you are unreasonable and have a guilty conscience..."
I remained silent, but my anger grew stronger and stronger.
Yang Sisi continued, "If Cao Xiaobei were really like Cao Jinbo, would you have tricked him? ... You're just taking advantage of other people's kindness and naivety to satisfy your own interests... Your behavior is truly disgusting!"
Looking at her, my composure crumbled instantly. I slammed the cigarette in my hand to the ground and yelled at her, "Yes, I, Michael, am despicable and disgusting, while Cao Xiaobei is kind and naive; you can defend him and belittle me all you want... but you can't change anything, because my purchase of his shop was entirely within the bounds of the law... Let me tell you, the reason I can still explain things to you now is because I consider you a close friend... If one day I stop thinking this way, you won't even be able to step into this studio... You don't need to come in anymore, you'll just be Cao Xiaobei's lackey from now on, and you won't need to ask me anything... because I'm fucking afraid I'll disgust you!"
Yang Sisi looked at me coldly: "You've changed..."
I yelled at her again, "I haven't changed, you're the one who's changed... If you like Cao Xiaobei, then go be with him... Why the hell do you have the right to belittle me and elevate him?"
As I spoke, I opened the studio door, gesturing for her to leave.
Yang Sisi didn't move, so I kicked over the chair and even said "get out"... Finally, I picked up her wallet from the table and threw it outside the door, scattering the coins all over the floor...
Watching her cry while picking up coins, I began to regret it... I thought of her bankrupt family, the hardships she endured in Dali to support herself, and finally, her unwavering companionship in Thailand.
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