I took Yang Sisi back to the inn and carefully arranged the best sea-view room for her. After making sure she had calmed down, I carefully left her room. She didn't bother me anymore. When I went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles, her room was dark.
After finishing my noodles, I went back to my room to wash up and then lay down on the bed to rest. Perhaps because I had gotten used to the pace of life in Dali, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time, and my mind was filled with many thoughts.
I was particularly happy that the guesthouse was able to reopen; however, when I thought of Lao Mi's insistence that I return to Shanghai, my mood plummeted again. I still feel that this is a huge problem, and the problem is that I don't yet have any achievements to convince Lao Mi that staying in Dali is actually a good choice.
My phone vibrated again beside my pillow. I picked it up and saw it was a WeChat message from Ye Zhi: "I left the car keys with the cleaning lady at the inn. If you need the car tomorrow, come to Ma Jiuyi to pick it up."
"How many days into your flight tomorrow?"
"At 9:30 in the morning."
"How about I take you to the airport?"
"No need, it's already arranged."
"Thank you."
Ye Zhi, as always, ended the chat once she felt she had finished speaking. I was already used to her personality, although I still wanted to chat with her a bit more and tell her that our inn might be reopening soon.
...
The next day, I got up early and arrived in Majiuyi before eight o'clock, but I still couldn't run into Ye Zhi. The cleaning lady told me that she had been picked up by a car ten minutes earlier.
After I picked up Ye Zhi's car, I was about to take Lao Mi to my inn when I received a call from Tie Nan halfway there. He asked me to come to the airport to meet him.
I figured it wouldn't cause any trouble, so I turned the car around and headed towards the airport. Actually, I was quite worried about him and Taozi, so I really wanted to know how his trip to Shanghai went.
I realize that I can't avoid Shanghai at all. Even though I'm determined to stay in Dali, my friends are still going back and forth between Dali and Shanghai.
Around 9:30, I picked up Tie Nan at the airport. I thought to myself that since he came back alone, the outcome probably wouldn't be good. But he came up to me triumphantly and said, "Michael, congratulations buddy, I got Peach."
I looked left and right, then replied, "Where is she?"
"Are you stupid? She must stay there to handle the aftermath."
"You mean, she's going to quit her job and come to Dali?!"
“That’s right. She’ll come here to run the inn with us in a week at most. We’ve already agreed on it.”
I scratched my head and replied, "Are you sure she wasn't just saying that to appease you?"
"No way, I booked the tickets through her... If the inn hadn't been so busy lately, I would have stayed in Shanghai waiting for you." Tie Nan said, taking a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from his suitcase and handing it to me, adding, "I've been out running personal errands these past few days, thank you and Coach Ma for your trouble. Here, have some cigarettes."
"When you arrived in Shanghai, you were already penniless. Where did you get the money to buy cigarettes?"
"I got several thousand yuan from Taozi."
"You didn't even mention it was borrowed! Are you planning to live off Taozi?"
"You can't say that. What's hers is mine, and what's mine is hers. Since the two of you have decided to be together, why bother with such a distinction?"
What do you have?
Tie Nan laughed loudly: "The inn, from now on she will be the inn's proprietress, and she will manage my share of the money."
I forced a smile, then asked, "Can you tell me how you managed to get the peaches?"
She asked me one question: "If you find out in the future that my past is different from what you see now, will you mind?"
"How did you answer?"
"Of course I wouldn't mind... From the first moment I saw her, I could tell that she must have had a lot of men before; I myself have also been with a lot of women. You don't understand, people like us, because we're already tired of relationships between men and women, we crave a true love even more. This kind of love is not easy for us to find, and once we do, it's a hundred times more profound than what you guys talk about love all the time."
Tie Nan's words reminded me of Coach Ma's shocking opinion. I hope that when Tie Nan learns the truth one day, he won't hate Tao Zi. Because, as Coach Ma said, although Tao Zi has had many men, it was all for money; she didn't invest any feelings. Compared to a woman who invested feelings and was slept with by many exes, Tao Zi seems easier to accept.
But in an instant, I was confused again. I felt that this viewpoint made some sense at first glance, but upon closer examination, it still violated the basic ethics and morality of society. No matter what, it is wrong for women to sell their bodies. If society is too tolerant of this, then the system of civilized society will collapse.
So I pinched Peach's cheek again, because her past is not something that can be easily let go of. And I understand that best.
Seeing that I hadn't said anything, Tie Nan patted my shoulder and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing... I just wanted to remind you that a man has to be responsible for his promises, especially promises made to women."
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