After talking with Yang Sisi, I couldn't help but look through all the photos of Dali I had collected on my phone. Behind these photos lay my weariness of big cities. Carrying Wang Lei's dream in my heart, my anticipation for Dali grew even stronger.
I thought of Lu Jia again. I didn't know where she was, but I still wanted to talk to her, so I sent her a text message to her now-cancelled number: "After you left Shanghai, I kept thinking about what you took with you and what you left me with. Actually, I know that such thinking is meaningless; the answers are all with you. By the way, after you left, I also left Shanghai. I hope the new city will bring me a different life, and I wish you all the best."
After sending that message, I felt a bit better and started to feel sleepy. The sofa in the living room made my sleep very poorly; I had many dreams about the past, with images of Lu Jia completely naked in one moment and Wang Lei wearing a bodycon skirt in the next.
I really like the character Wang Lei, so I wrote some extra chapters about her background and experiences, which I posted on my WeChat official account: Tank's Bookstall. If you reply with "Wang Lei", I'll also include some photos.
...
The next day, I arrived at the bathhouse lobby at five o'clock. Yang Sisi was already sitting on the sofa in the lobby, with a stern face and no expression.
I asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I'll take you to the airport. You've been ungrateful, so I can't be ungrateful either. Once I get you to the airport, I'll go back to Shanghai."
I didn't say much, and followed her into the car. Yang Sisi drove her Land Cruiser, passing through several streets and alleys before getting onto the ring road. Having not slept well all night, I actually dozed off. It felt like only a short while later, I suddenly woke up, and after carefully checking the navigation, I realized that we were not in the same direction as the airport at all.
In a panic, I blurted out "Holy shit!" How could I have so easily trusted Yang Sisi, this audacious and willful rich second-generation? I wasted not only time, but also a plane ticket worth over a thousand yuan.
Yang Sisi drove incredibly fast, a triumphant smile on her face, and said to me, "Uncle, don't you feel like life is full of surprises? I'm a woman who's so persistent it's almost unbelievable. This Land Cruiser is the car you can't get out of; I'm definitely going to Dali. You can sleep a little longer, and I'll treat you to breakfast at the service area as an apology. Once you've rested, it'll be your turn to drive."
"Holy crap, what is it about me that attracts you? You must have had the worst luck in the world!"
"Don't flatter yourself. I just need a license and a driver. Once we get to Dali, we can go our separate ways and never see each other again."
I was speechless after her retort. She said smugly, "Hmph... As long as you don't give up, there's always a way. Your aloof attitude only strengthens my resolve to go to Dali. I won't give up halfway and make a fool of myself in front of you guys. Haha, no wonder people say travel is the best teacher in life. I checked online yesterday and found out that I can get a certificate from the police station so I can stay in a hotel even without an ID card."
...
By the time I got to the rest area, it was almost 6:30. Even if I rode on lightning, I wouldn't make my flight, so I had to pay extra to get a refund. It seems that not only was Lao Huang taking advantage of me, but I was also being schemed against by that little brat Yang Sisi. In that sense, they really are quite suited to be a family.
After a quick breakfast, I bought some more food and drinks and continued on my way. The sun was getting a bit dazzling, and Yang Sisi thoughtfully handed me my sunglasses, then opened the driver's side door and gestured for me to proceed.
Reluctantly, I took the sunglasses from her. She then said, "Uncle, I checked the navigation. We should arrive in Fenghuang around dusk. I'd like to stop there and look around, and also go to the police station to get a certificate that allows me to stay in a hotel." After thinking for a moment, she said to me with a mocking look, "It seems there are no trains or planes from Fenghuang to Kunming."
...
Yang Sisi probably didn't get enough sleep last night, as she slept most of the time. She was woken up by her phone once, but she glanced at it impatiently and hung up.
After driving around a few times, we arrived at a place called Luxi in Hunan Province in the evening. Having been in the city for so long, seeing such a beautiful place with its clear waters and lush mountains was truly refreshing. Yang Sisi was especially excited and insisted that I stop at the highway viewing platform so I could take pictures of her.
After taking a perfunctory photo, I leaned on the railing of the viewing platform, gazing at this county town surrounded by mountains and rivers, thinking: the housing prices here must be very cheap. If I could earn the same salary as in Shanghai, buying a house and living here wouldn't be difficult. But where can I find such a job here? And it's hard to find a woman who has been to the city and is willing to live with me in a small county town.
Lost in thought, Yang Sisi nudged me and said, "Uncle, look, there's a car with a Shanghai license plate parked next to ours."
I looked in the direction Yang Sisi pointed and sure enough, there was a Mercedes-Benz G-Class with a Shanghai license plate. A woman wearing sunglasses got out of the car. One glance was enough to make her unforgettable with her aloof and indifferent air. She must be very beautiful, but whether she was beautiful or not seemed insignificant in the face of her unique aura.
I glanced at her one more time, right there by the lake in the sunset. Such a chance encounter might only happen once in a lifetime. For a moment we stood here admiring the same scenery, but the next we'd be worlds apart, never to cross paths again.
The reason I took another look is that people have an instinctive yearning for beautiful things, but this yearning is different from fantasy. This subtle difference can probably only be understood by those who have experienced it firsthand.
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