In the seaside restaurant, Ping Ge and I sat facing each other. Apart from us, all the other seats were already filled with foreigners. Phuket, although a small place, is truly no less international than any other city.
As Ping poured me some water, he asked, "Michael, why did you let Sisi leave? She came all this way, she should at least have a meal!"
"I tried to stay, but I couldn't."
“I specifically ordered three steaks, so you can have hers.”
I responded and then stared blankly at the lighthouse outside the window, still thinking about what Yang Sisi had just said to me...
Ping Ge then said to me, "Michael, I've been wandering around all my life and have met countless people, but I've never met anyone as lucky as you... This is the second woman to travel all the way to Thailand just to see you... Women these days are so materialistic. When a man is down on his luck, they'll run away from him like the plague. If someone comes to see you at this time, I wouldn't believe they're not truly sincere towards you!"
"Some things can't be judged by appearances alone, especially feelings... I really want to lay my heart bare for you to see, and how many scars there are, that's how many regrets there are."
"Come on, that's just being pretentious and ungrateful."
"What constitutes contentment? ...Do you expect me to have one as my wife and the other as my mistress? ...Life always involves making choices."
At this point, I gave a bitter laugh, then said self-deprecatingly, "I don't know why, but after making so many choices, I ended up with no one by my side. This time, it's really over!"
“I think it’s because you’re not proactive enough… If you really want to keep her, I don’t believe you can’t keep a woman who would travel all the way to Thailand to see you.”
"Brother...who do you think I can keep?"
"Keep whoever you like. What's there to agonize over?"
"Love isn't a fairy tale. If you had a perfect love, who would want to be single? ... Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore... After dinner, call the person selling the house and tell him we want that house."
"Did Sisi come to bring you money?"
"Don't ask such an obvious question."
As I spoke, I picked up my cup and took a sip of water. Then, Brother Ping tentatively asked me, "What about my villa?"
"You don't need to provide collateral, the money is already in my possession... I'll find a chance to pay her back when I make some money in the future."
Brother Ping breathed a sigh of relief, then exclaimed, "What a wonderful girl! ...If I were you, I'd be torn too... If two women treated me like this at the same time, losing either one would feel like the end of my life... But you, you ended up losing both of them... Don't you feel guilty? Where will you find such a wonderful girl again in the rest of your life?!"
"If it were you, you'd want both, right?"
"Yes, absolutely... As long as they're willing, I'll risk everything to take them to a country where polygamy is allowed."
"At your age, isn't it shameful to say such things!"
"...Haha, I'm just talking without understanding the situation. In the end, you're the one who has to face it, not me."
"Don't laugh... I'm really sad inside!"
"If you're feeling down, go find her. She probably hasn't gone far."
I looked at Ping Ge, speechless for a long time. Like most people, he was a fence-sitter... He had no idea how much burden I was carrying.
In my silence, Ping Ge said again, "Michael, do you believe it or not, she is 100% still in Phuket and hasn't left."
"Why?"
“Phuket isn’t a metropolis like Bangkok. After 7 p.m., there are basically no more international flights to China… She’s definitely checked into a hotel somewhere. If you want to see her, I’ll take you around after dinner…”
I shook my head and didn't respond to him. I knew very well that I would never have any emotional entanglement with Yang Sisi or Ye Zhi again in this life... I let them go, and they let me go.
Although I haven't made any plans for relationships yet, I've already guessed the outcome to some extent. I think I'll find an ordinary woman to spend my life with... I believe that no matter how glamorous life is, there will come a day when we return to simplicity. I should live the kind of life that reflects who I am.
Actually, I'm not good enough for either Ye Zhi or Yang Sisi... Rationally speaking, a realistic woman like Lu Jia might be my final destination.
I'm not saying I want to be with Lu Jia, it's just that, given my own circumstances, the best I can hope for is a woman like Lu Jia... She's above average in looks, has a decent education and job, comes from an average family, so she's quite materialistic...
Being with a woman like this may be boring, but it's the closest thing to real life.
...
Back at my place, I lay on the bed, looking around blankly. There wasn't a trace of Yang Sisi's presence in the room. I wasn't too sad... At this point, I felt my state of mind had changed again. I wanted to forget the past and start anew... I no longer longed for perfect love and a perfect woman.
I feel that meeting Yang Sisi and Ye Zhi has made my life wonderful enough, and it has been worthwhile to have come to this world.
...
In a daze, my phone vibrated again. I picked it up and saw it was a message from Ye Zhi: "Michael, don't be surprised. I met Sisi once during my few days back in Shanghai. We bumped into each other on the Bund... She's been staying in that fishing village you used to live in... She came back to Shanghai so her dad could help you through this difficult time... She still has you in her heart. If she goes to Thailand to find you... you must keep her... I'll wish you both well... These past few days, I've thought about this very seriously. If you can be happy, what else can't I let go of?... I hope you recover soon, soon..."
Go back to a normal life.
At that moment, I didn't know what I was feeling. I threw my phone aside, and my mind suddenly went blank again... I don't quite understand what happiness really is.
...
Before I could even process that feeling, I received another message from Chen Jin: "Michael, big news... Ye Zhi is getting engaged. Her assistant told me, so it's probably true... It'll likely be announced within the company tomorrow... What are you planning to do? If this is really happening, there's no going back for you two!"
(End of chapter)
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