When An'an spoke sincerely to me, I realized that I had acted too hastily. I leaned heavily against the wall and pounded my forehead. I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't help but think of Cao Jinbo. He ruined my life and dragged me into a bottomless trap that has been painful for two years.
I spread my hands out to An'an to express my feelings, but suddenly I couldn't say anything, so I just looked at her helplessly... while she looked at me with a terrified expression.
I don't know how long this went on, but I finally spoke to her again: "I'm sorry, I lost my temper... You might not be able to accept what I'm saying right now, but I'm not joking... I know you need time to accept this, so I won't press you any further... But you must remember, when you can't make up your mind to leave, you must remember that I, Michael, truly consider you a friend, and I would never harm you!"
"Hmm... I know you consider me a friend."
After a brief pause, An'an whispered to me again, "Ever since I found out about your relationship with him, I really don't know how I feel... I thought that if I could stand in the middle and ease the tension between you two, even if you couldn't be friends, at least you wouldn't be enemies..."
I felt inexplicably agitated, and then I yelled at An'an, "That's enough! I'll never be friends with this old man!"
"...I don't know what touched a nerve with you?!"
I was breathing heavily, then I stared intently at An'an until she avoided my gaze...
I felt a little regretful because I hadn't controlled my emotions... I was afraid that An'an would tell Cao Jinbo about my outburst, and given Cao Jinbo's caution and cunning, he would definitely figure something out, which would be absolutely detrimental to the situation...
So, I finally softened my tone and said to An'an, "Don't ask any more questions. I'm just really angry about what happened in the past... If it weren't for Cao Jinbo, I wouldn't be in this situation today... If you really can't let go of your feelings for him... then let's try to have less contact... because when I see you, I also see the thorn in my heart."
"He made you lose the woman you loved most... so you want him to lose the woman he loves too... so you can get revenge on him, right?"
"Why are you women all so unreasonable?... Am I such a narrow-minded person?!... Forget it, An'an, there's no point in saying more. Anyway, I've done my duty as a friend. The rest is up to you..."
With that, I slammed the door and left... I was genuinely angry... because I had truly witnessed her unreasonable side... I decided to reduce contact with her, because judging from her attitude just now, she clearly favored Cao Jinbo. The closer we got, the more dangerous it would be for me!
...
Another dusk fell, and I sat alone on the beach, then habitually put a cigarette in my mouth.
But this time, unlike before, I lit this cigarette... and just like that, amidst the smell of tobacco, I gazed at the vast, boundless sea, lost in thought.
It wasn't until the sun was almost below the horizon that I took my phone out of my pocket and found Ye Zhi's number in my contacts...
After another moment of distraction, I finally pressed the dial button and held my breath to wait... I hadn't heard her voice in a long time; it was both gentle and inexplicably serious.
After a moment, she answered the phone but did not speak first.
I swallowed hard and said softly, "I know I shouldn't have called you... but I have some good news that I want to tell you in person."
"Okay, go ahead."
"I have regained feeling in my legs. Although I can't walk like a normal person yet, I don't need to rely on crutches as much anymore."
“I’m not surprised at all… because in my mind, you will definitely become the Michael you used to be.”
"So when you said, 'If I'm going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, come with me,' you were just trying to comfort me, because you knew I would recover and you didn't have to make the worst choice at all."
Ye Zhi on the other end of the phone was stumped by my question.
I smiled and said, "I don't mean to complain. I just feel that you seem to have too much confidence in yourself and in me... Do you have the ability to foresee the future?... Why don't you help me calculate... which woman I, Michael, will spend the rest of my life with?... And how old will I be?... Will I have enough time left to accomplish something truly remarkable?"
Are you drunk?
"I wouldn't call you if I were drunk... because you're not a woman I can have a proper heart-to-heart talk with..."
"If you don't have anything else, I'm hanging up."
"Don't hang up yet... Do you remember our promise?"
Ye Zhi fell silent again on the other end of the phone. After a long while, she finally spoke to me and said, "You once told me that we would be together for 60 years."
This time, I was the one who was stunned... I remembered that time in Sanya when we sat on the rocks and made this promise... It was a feeling of elation, but I never dared to savor it in my heart because the relationship between her and me always seemed too fragile... I felt that she wouldn't take it too seriously either.
But to my surprise, that's exactly what she remembered... And what I want to say is that I want to repay her with a Vacheron Constantin watch, because that's what I care about most right now.
I finally replied, "No, that's not it... I said I wanted to give you a watch... I'm about to go back to China and wanted to give it to you in person... I wonder if you could give me that chance... Or, you could come to Thailand yourself... It would be perfect if you came to Thailand, because the watch I'm wearing is the one you gave me here."
"I'm sorry... I can't see you right now."
Why be someone who doesn't keep their promises?
"None of us are people who keep our promises..."
After a brief pause, Ye Zhi whispered again, "Michael, I appreciate your persistence, but there's really no need for us to meet again... because there's no turning back for me!"
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