I sped along in Ye Zhi's car. Back at the inn, I found some woodworking tools and started decorating the small bar with Instructor Ma. We put cigarettes and beer on the blueprints as a form of self-motivation. Before long, we were so hot we took off our shirts, completely working ourselves to the bone.
We need to hurry up and finish the work because the expert team will be coming to evaluate the inn in a few days. If the renovation isn't done by then, the inn will look very dirty and messy, which will be detrimental to the evaluation.
By the time we finished working, it was already noon. Although we were a bit tired, the little bar was gradually taking shape. We not only built a bookcase out of bricks, but also welded a motorcycle-shaped wine rack out of scrap steel we picked up from a nearby construction site.
Coach Ma said that once we change the ceiling to a steel structure, the industrial style will come through.
...
Today, Coach Ma bought the food. Just like yesterday, we sat under the shade of a tree opposite the inn, facing Erhai Lake, drinking and smoking, and chatting occasionally.
"Ye Zhizhen agreed to help you win over your parents?"
“It’s absolutely true. She asked me to pick her up at the Land and Resources Bureau at 5 p.m. and then we would go to the train station together… You would think this is a good thing, but I’m actually a little nervous.”
Why are you panicking?
"I'm afraid of giving myself away. If I had asked an ordinary woman to help me with this, I might have felt more at ease. But with her, it feels like we're from completely different worlds and don't know each other very well. If I accidentally let something slip, I'd be in real trouble."
“You still don’t understand the significance of gold and diamond rings. If you find an ordinary girl, it will basically not work. You need to give your parents enough psychological compensation first before there is any hope of success.” He paused for a moment, then comforted her, “Ye Zhi is a smart woman. Talk to her more on your way to the train station, and she will definitely understand.”
"We can only try to communicate more."
Coach Ma nodded, then raised his beer can to me. We clinked glasses, and I tilted my head back and drank the rest of the beer. A ray of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, falling between my eyebrows. It was a little hot, and a little unsettling...
I threw away the beer can, then took off my shirt and plunged back into Erhai Lake. I held my breath and dived as deep as I could, expecting hallucinations like yesterday, but I didn't. I just felt a growing pain in my ears from the increasing water pressure. I pinched my nose to equalize the pressure and continued exploring deeper until I couldn't take it anymore and surfaced.
I felt exhausted, but also experienced an unprecedented sense of exhilaration. Coach Ma, who was squatting on the shore smoking, looked at me with utter disbelief and asked, "Jumping into Erhai Lake can be addictive?"
"I think this is a great way to relieve stress. Why don't you come down and give it a try?"
"Our inn has an infinity pool."
"If you want to experience true happiness, you have to jump into Erhai Lake."
"Those who can swim will drown, and those who are stubborn will be beaten to death... I don't like that kind of thing."
I ignored Coach Ma, who was a terrible swimmer, took a deep breath, and dived into the water again... This was my luck, because the water of Erhai Lake could dispel my anxiety. If I was lucky enough, I would even have hallucinations, which seemed to be the only way I could communicate with Wang Lei.
Although I knew it was a hallucination, she felt more real than anyone else in my dream. Erhai Lake was like a conduit, connecting us who both yearned for it. Even though she no longer exists in this world, she has never left my spiritual realm…
...
In the afternoon, Coach Ma and I spent half the day working on the renovation of the small bar. It wasn't until 4:30 that I drove away from the inn and headed straight for the Land and Resources Bureau. Ye Zhi is a very punctual woman; she said it was 5:00, but actually came out at 4:58.
After she got in the car, as she fastened her seatbelt, she asked me, "Is it far from the train station?"
"It's about a half-hour drive. In Dali, apart from the city center, it's not easy to get traffic jams in other places."
Ye Zhi nodded, and then fell silent...
Feeling uncertain, I asked her again, "Don't you think we need to communicate? When we meet my family later, they're sure to ask a lot of questions."
"Too much talk leads to mistakes. I just need to admit that I'm your girlfriend. I won't say anything more that I shouldn't."
"Some things need to be communicated in advance, such as how we met."
"You helped me fix my car on the highway, so just tell the truth."
"So if they ask you where you're from or what you do for a living, you'll have to tell them the truth?"
"Okay, I can handle it."
Are you feeling nervous right now?
Ye Zhi then looked at me, and I slowed down and glanced at her. At least, there wasn't a trace of nervousness on her face. I felt that her composure must be related to her experience with all sorts of big events, and that's generally how a person's mental fortitude is built.
Unexpectedly, the next moment Ye Zhi turned her palm towards me and said, "Your hands are already sweaty."
"Don't scare me, we've only just begun!"
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