Nicole and I tidied up the room on the upper floor, and then it was time for lunch. Nicole made a simple fried rice, and the two of us ate and chatted in the yard with pickled vegetables.
Nicole jokingly asked me, "Was dinner good last night?"
“Look into my eyes.”
What happened to your eyes?
"If you see any murderous intent in my eyes, then don't ask me about last night..."
Nicole laughed: "You must have been lectured by someone!"
"Yes, I've spent my whole life being educated. First, there was nine years of compulsory education, and then after entering society, I had to be educated by a bunch of seasoned veterans... Could it be that I'm really someone who needs to be taught a lesson?"
"I don't know if you need to be taught a lesson, but I do know that wherever you and Ye Zhi are, there will always be trouble."
"It has nothing to do with Ye Zhi. Last night, it was Cao Jinbo who was stirring up trouble for me... Moreover, I really can't figure out what he's up to... He seems to want to recruit me to work for him, but he also subtly reveals his sarcasm in his words."
"He's always been a man of unpredictability, so don't overthink it."
"Yes, I've been away for almost a year and just got back a few days ago. What conflict could I possibly have with him? ... I'll just go along with whatever he says... By the way, we talked about buying a house last night. He got me a discounted apartment in Cangshan Yishu. Let's go take a look together after dinner."
"You want to buy it?"
I nodded and replied, "I think I'll stay in Dali from now on. Having my own house will make me feel more at ease."
"Well, I'm free this afternoon, let's go take a look together."
...
After dinner, Nicole washed the dishes in the kitchen, while I took some rope and re-secured the branches that had been broken by the wind last night. Anyway, I'm quite willing to put some effort into this little yard. I think these trivial matters can also express the fun of life. At least when I'm doing these things, I'm very focused and forget about all those messy troubles, including the myriad issues of romantic relationships.
I even want to grow some vegetables on the two empty plots of land near the kitchen, so that I can be self-sufficient in terms of food.
I admire myself quite a bit, because after experiencing so much, I still have this mindset to do these things. This is already much better than Coach Ma's approach... He is the real coward, because he escaped the mundane world, while I still bravely struggle in this world... Regardless of what I did, who I wronged, or who hurt me, at least I did not choose to escape in an extreme way.
I simply chose to trust time, rather than Jizu Mountain.
...
Just as I was about to re-secure the branches, I received another call from Yang Sisi. After hesitating for a moment, I answered the phone.
She said to me in a questioning tone, "What do you mean by this? Xiaotian has already told me..."
I interrupted her and replied, "Your house is really nice, but it's too late... I already agreed with Nicole last night to rent the upper floor in her yard. I've already paid the rent, so it wouldn't be appropriate to move out now, would it?"
Yang Sisi sighed, "You're getting more and more tricks up your sleeve for brushing people off these days!"
"It's not just a perfunctory response. If I hadn't talked to Nicole beforehand, with my opportunistic nature, would I have refused to take such a huge windfall, especially one that fell right out of the sky?"
"Is it my fault? I was thinking of giving you a surprise and didn't tell you beforehand."
"No, it's just that we always seem to lack a bit of understanding."
Yang Sisi remained silent. I could sense from her silence that she felt a little lost and unsure of how to cope.
After a long pause, she forced a smile and asked, "If we don't have any understanding, then who do I have an understanding with?"
"You don't need to be in sync with anyone, because you're a woman who will always be accommodated by others!"
"Heh, so you finally admit I'm a woman?... We've known each other for three years, and you've always called me 'little girl' or said I'm immature. You've never truly acknowledged my gender... But I'm clearly curvy!"
Her words made me want to laugh, but I realized that laughing at this moment would make the atmosphere awkward, so I held back. I coughed twice before saying, "Whether it's a man or a woman, everyone will mature one day..."
"Could you be any more serious about talking nonsense...? Let me tell you, my maturity isn't the kind you describe at all; I still want to go out and buy chocolate when it rains; I still stare at ants on the ground for ages when I'm bored... But none of that stops me from thinking about problems in depth... even more clearly than you do... That's why I'm so resolute... or rather, resolute. In some people's eyes, it might seem like I'm a bit slow... but I don't care. I just want to do what I want to do well, even if it takes a lifetime... because I'm someone who really dislikes leaving regrets. I'm afraid that after I die, there won't be a next life to make up for it!"
"A lifetime! Haha, only you would dare to talk about a lifetime so lightly... A lifetime is too long, and there are too many unexpected things!"
"If you focus on doing one thing, your life won't be very long. Only those who are not focused will have so many complaints, so much emptiness and loneliness."
I chose to remain silent, and then carefully considered her words in my mind. I felt that what she said made sense, and then I felt ashamed of myself... It was at this moment that I realized: a woman's level of achievement is not entirely reflected in the business world or society... Yes, her social status is certainly not as high as Ye Zhi's, but her perspective on life is much higher than Ye Zhi's. Ye Zhi has too many constraints. I still remember that she couldn't even take a proper rest... What's more tragic is that she doesn't even know what she is pursuing by being so busy.
If we're talking about changes, the only thing that remains unchanged is Ye Zhi.
I'm starting to like her personality less, and I feel tired for her... This change is subtle, but it could also be explosive.
...
After a long silence, I finally stopped my inner monologue and said to her, "Before, I was always the one telling you how to be a person; now it's all reversed, and you're the one lecturing me..."
"What goes around comes around. Maybe in thirty years, you'll be in a wheelchair, while I..."
Not wanting to lose an argument, I quickly interrupted her, saying, "And you, you'll become a square-dancing old lady... wherever there's a sound system, you'll go there!"
Yang Sisi burst out laughing and replied, "That works too... I'll just be an old lady doing square dancing and bounce around in front of your wheelchair... Haha!"
Could you be any more vicious?
After saying that, I laughed too, and then I imagined the scene in my mind. Then I asked myself, is this the only way of life that is closer to the true nature of life?
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