A moment later, Mi Cai escorted me to Robben’s place, where I would be settling down in this small ten-square-meter loft for the day.
I was still dizzy and headed straight for the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Through my half-open eyes, I saw Mi Cai bustling around. She found an electric kettle, boiled some water, and then went downstairs. A moment later, she returned with milk powder and honey, and made me a cup of honey milk.
“Don’t sleep yet, drink the milk first.”
I didn’t want to move at all, and mumbled, “Just leave it there, I’ll drink it later.”
“It’ll be cold later.”
I struggled to sit up from the bed, and Mi Cai handed me the milk, sitting across from me and watching me.
The freshly made milk was very hot, and I drank it slowly. Mi Cai urged me, “Hurry up and drink, I’ll clean up and leave when you’re done.”
“There’s nothing to clean up. If you’re in a hurry, just go.”
“I’ll wash the cup and pour you another cup of hot water in case you get thirsty,” Mi Cai said.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I said as I took a big gulp of milk, but it was so hot that I couldn’t swallow it.
Mi Cai asked in surprise, “Just because I made you a cup of milk, you think I’m being very nice to you?”
Yes! Mi Cai just made me a cup of milk with a simple gesture, so why did I feel she was being so nice to me?
After a long time, I realized that I had been lonely for too long, and there hadn’t been a woman by my side for a long time. No matter how much I drank, I would only vomit by myself, and then fall asleep when I couldn’t vomit anymore. There was never a woman who would make me a cup of milk.
Finally, I finished the cup of milk. Mi Cai washed the cup and poured me another cup of boiled water. This time, she didn’t urge me to drink it. She left the cup on the table by the bed and said, “Leave this cup here, drink it when you’re thirsty.”
“Okay.”
Mi Cai picked up her handbag, ready to leave, and then seemed to remember something and asked me, “Do you remember what you need to do tomorrow?”
“Get up on time for work,” I answered without thinking.
Mi Cai frowned, “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“You think about it yourself, I’m leaving now.” Mi Cai said as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She disappeared from my sight in an instant, leaving me with a question.
I lit a cigarette and sat on the bed, thinking for a long time about what I needed to do tomorrow besides going to work. I finally extinguished the cigarette, covered myself with the blanket, and fell asleep again. Since what Mi Cai was talking about was something for tomorrow, I would think about it tomorrow…
…
The next day, when I woke up, Robben was still asleep. His job required him to live a nocturnal life, and it seemed that he didn’t come back until the early hours of the morning yesterday.
After a simple wash, I found a bowl of instant noodles in a box in the corner, made it for breakfast, and then hurriedly went downstairs to wait for the bus to the company.
Robben’s place was quite remote, and the bus was swaying on the road. So, during this hour on the road, I kept thinking about what Mi Cai had reminded me of when she left yesterday.
I was more awake in the morning and remembered that Mi Cai had helped me put on a show last night. Of course, she wouldn’t help me for no reason. There must be some exchange condition between us. Following this line of thought, it suddenly dawned on me that I had to buy insecticide powder for her today and spread it in the bathroom.
I was afraid that I would forget, so I set a reminder on my phone. Only then did I feel safe.
When I arrived at the company, before I had time to make myself a cup of tea, I was summoned by our planning department manager, Chen Jingming.
I went to Chen Jingming’s office, and he seemed to be in a good mood, greeting me to sit down.
“Manager, you summoned me early in the morning, did I mess up something again?” I asked subconsciously. In the two years I’ve been working, Chen Jingming usually called me in to criticize me.
Chen Jingming smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous, this time I have an important task for you.”
“What task?”
“This time GUCCI is setting up a counter in our department store, which officially elevates us to the ranks of top-tier department stores. The company wants to take this opportunity to launch a comprehensive marketing campaign, aiming for a grand scale to attract more international first-line brands to cooperate with our department store.”
“Manager, do you mean that I’m responsible for planning this event?” I asked in shock.
Chen Jingming nodded and said seriously, “Yes, this is a rare opportunity for you. You know, the competition in the traditional retail industry is fierce, and it has been strongly impacted by online shopping in recent years. The survival environment is very harsh. Going high-end and brand-oriented is the fundamental way for our department store to survive in this industry. We must attract as many international first-line brands as possible to operate in our store and strengthen the brand advantage of our department store. So, this event is a manifestation of our company’s core values. The decision-making level above attaches great importance to it, and I hope you can take on this important task.”
“Manager, you know exactly how much I weigh. It’s better to leave such a big event to Circle.”
“Zhao Yang, opportunities don’t come often. It’s a foregone conclusion that Circle will be the deputy manager of the planning department because of his many contributions to the company and the department. No one has anything to say about that. But what about you, Zhao Yang? If I want to promote you to be the team leader of the planning and copywriting team, I’m afraid others will have something to say… Do you understand what I mean?”
Of course, I understood what Chen Jingming meant. He wanted to use this event as a legitimate reason to promote me to the team leader of the planning and copywriting team. This was indeed a rare opportunity for me.
After a long silence, I finally asked, “When will we start preparing for this event?””The preparations for GUCCI’s entry into our department store began as soon as the contract was signed. Oh, and GUCCI is planning to shoot the opening promotional poster on the 15th of this month. Please confirm with the model again to see if she is available. This is something that absolutely, absolutely cannot go wrong, understand?” Chen Jingming’s expression became increasingly serious as he spoke.
“Understood, I’ll call her right away to confirm.”
Chen Jingming nodded, saying, “Make good use of this opportunity, it’s not something everyone is fortunate enough to encounter.”
“Thank you for the opportunity, Manager.” I said sincerely.
After leaving Chen Jingming’s office, I immediately called Le Yao to inform her of the date for the promotional poster shoot. Once she confirmed that there were no issues, a weight was lifted off my heart. I really should do something for my own life, so I must seize this opportunity!
This was the first time in over two years that I had a desire to strive for progress, hoping for a significant change in my life.
……
After a busy day, I came to my senses and realized it was already past seven o’clock. The various lights on the street began to illuminate the city’s night, making it dazzlingly bright.
Sitting on the swaying bus, all I could think about was the upcoming event planning. Chen Jingming was right, this opportunity was a rare one for me, and I couldn’t afford to be careless.
After a while, the bus was still swaying on the road. I took out my phone from my pocket to check the time, only to find that it had automatically shut down due to a lack of power.
I looked up at the electronic clock on the bus, it was already half past eight in the evening.
Half past eight! I suddenly remembered that I had to buy insecticide powder for Mi Cai after work today, to help her deal with those cockroaches she hated!
I remember setting a reminder on my phone this morning, fearing that I would forget. But my phone just happened to run out of power. This coincidence was enough to ruin my reputation and make Mi Cai completely disgusted with me.