After ending the call with Chen Jin, I had a vague sense of unease. I shouldn't have let Lu Jia pay for Lao Mi's medical treatment, no matter what. Even though I would definitely pay her back in the future, it was still a huge favor, especially since she was using the money her parents had saved up their whole lives.
After thinking it over, I decided to pay her back the money, including the principal and interest, once I had enough money. But how could I repay the money, given all the favors Lu Jia had done for me?
I can't pay it back... I can't delve into how this situation came about, but it seems like there's a pair of hands in the dark, using tools to mend the rift between us, and bringing us closer together.
...
After putting away these random thoughts, I went to the studio again. My tablet was still there; I planned to take it with me to Chengdu so I could work there.
As I passed by Cao Xiaobei's inn, Yang Sisi called out to me. I looked in the direction of her voice and saw her standing at the inn's bar, wearing the inn's custom-made uniform. I knew without a doubt that she had come to help Cao Xiaobei.
She ran out of the inn. I looked at her, and she looked at me. After a brief moment of staring at each other, she finally spoke to me, "Why didn't you reply to the WeChat message I sent you?"
"I haven't checked WeChat."
"Have you received the results of your follow-up examination in Chengdu?"
I replied in a low voice, "Not good... the same result as in Dali."
Yang Sisi's face showed sadness, a very natural expression of emotion, without a trace of affectation...
I didn't want her to be like this, so I changed the subject and asked her, "Did you come to help Cao Xiaobei?"
"Well... business has been pretty good lately, but he has a bad temper and easily offends customers. Some customers have already given the inn bad reviews on Ctrip... so I came to help him out, and now I'm managing the inn."
Did he pay you a salary?
"He wouldn't give me a salary, he insisted on giving me a commission..."
I didn't want to appear too downcast in front of Yang Sisi, so I joked, "Cao Xiaobei is pretty wicked!"
"How did it break?"
"He doesn't want to treat you like an employee... Only employees get paid."
Yang Sisi immediately understood and replied, "I don't want to be his boss's wife... I only came to help him because I felt sorry for him and he didn't know how to do business."
"You said that yourself, I didn't."
Yang Sisi smacked my arm and said angrily, "You're so full of tricks!"
I smiled, and Yang Sisi said again, "Are you thirsty? I'll go in and make you some tea."
I've been so busy with all sorts of things today that I haven't had much water. When Yang Sisi mentioned it, I realized I was actually thirsty, so I said to her, "Making tea takes too long. Could you go in and get me a bottle of mineral water?"
...
Yang Sisi insisted on making me some tea. After a short while, she brought out a pot of tea from the inn and sat down with me at the small stone table by the door. She poured me a cup and said, "This tea was sent from Wuliang Mountain by my friend. It's a very calming tea with a good taste. You should try it."
"Give it a try."
As I spoke, I picked up my teacup and took a sip. I held it in my mouth for a moment and then I could smell the aroma of the tender tea leaves. It was indeed a good tea. After drinking a cup, I felt refreshed.
"Excellent tea!"
Hearing my praise, Yang Sisi, who had been resting her chin on her hand and looking at me, smiled contentedly, and then said to me with some emotion, "I think you're in a much better state now than before. You're not as dejected as you were last time, nor have you shut everyone out of your own world like you did last time!"
"People grow through setbacks... The more you experience, the more you cherish everyone around you."
"Is it because there are too many unexpected events in life?"
I was lost in thought for a moment, then nodded.
Yang Sisi poured me another cup of tea. She seemed to want me to stay a little longer. I wasn't in a hurry to leave either. I liked the feeling of the evening breeze blowing in from outside. It would blow away the fatigue on my body and the dust in my heart, and I wouldn't want to keep those troublesome things bottled up inside and letting them fester.
I finally spoke to Yang Sisi and said, "Lu Jia has submitted her withdrawal application to her school in order to go to Chengdu to take care of my father, and she has also paid 200,000 yuan for my father's medical treatment... so that I can have money to continue developing the business here at Jiulongju."
Yang Sisi was incredulous and immediately asked, "Is this real or fake?"
“Really…you’re a woman, you probably understand her thinking better than I do.”
"Do you know, this is the first time you've ever voluntarily shared your innermost thoughts with me?... Should I be happy or unhappy?"
"What's the meaning?"
Yang Sisi smiled, then remained silent for a while before saying to me, "Happy... I'm quite happy... Let's not talk about me, let's talk about Lu Jia... I think she's a very smart woman, and also a very affectionate woman... But you're quite eccentric, actually thinking of asking me to help you solve your 'doubts,' are you really going to treat me like a brother?... It's such a waste of such a beautiful girl like me to be your brother... Hehe!"
I looked at Yang Sisi, not knowing what to say for a moment... And that's the difference between men and women. Sometimes, even though it's the same thing, the two genders look at it from completely different perspectives.
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