Even though I had earnestly promised Mr. Ban that I would work hard, he still didn’t agree to arrange a job for me in their company.

I was at a loss with Mr. Ban, looking at him with a gloomy face. He was drinking his wine as if I hadn’t mentioned this matter to him. His composure was truly worthy of his title as Mr. Ban.

I looked at my mother for help, hoping she could persuade Mr. Ban. As expected, my mother was on my side. She nudged Mr. Ban and said, “Zhao, why don’t you arrange a job for our son in your company? You know well that our son is not very ambitious and is a bit wild. If he stays with you, I will feel relieved.”

I quickly chimed in, “Yes, Mr. Ban, if I could find a job immediately, that would be great. But if I can’t and just stay at home, everyone in the neighborhood will know that your son is a failure. You won’t be able to save face, unless you really don’t consider me as your son!”

Mr. Ban remained unmoved and said, “You should figure out the job thing on your own.”

I scratched my head, feeling a bit frustrated, and said, “Mr. Ban, just tell me what you’re thinking! If I work in your company, isn’t it just to stabilize my life… Besides, how many leaders in your company don’t arrange jobs for their sons, daughters, relatives, etc.? Why can’t you change your mind?”

Mr. Ban suddenly got angry, slammed the table and scolded me, “You ungrateful thing, I’m your father, is it your place to lecture me?… Whether life can be stable or not, it’s not something that can be solved by arranging a job for you. You should think about this clearly.”

I didn’t say anything, but I couldn’t understand what Mr. Ban meant. I just felt that arranging a stable job for me was the first step to stabilize my life.

My mother gave me a look, hinting me not to talk nonsense, and then softly said to Mr. Ban, “Zhao, don’t be angry with our son. Let’s talk about the job thing later. Our son just came back, let him rest for a few days.”

Mr. Ban didn’t respond to my mother, nor did he say anything else. He just drank the remaining wine in his glass, but he seemed to be in a bad mood.

……

After dinner, Mr. Ban went straight to wash and rest. I sat on the sofa chatting with my mother. As we chatted, we started talking about blind dates.

My mother asked me very seriously, “Zhao Yang, tell me, do you really want to get married?”

I nodded affirmatively and said, “Of course, I’m not young anymore.”

My mother nodded and said, “Alright, Aunt Zhang works in the neighborhood committee and knows many girls. I’ll ask her to help arrange some blind dates in the next few days.”

“You said it, but you have to let Aunt Zhang be careful. She should find a reliable girl. After all, your son’s conditions are not bad!”

My mother looked at me for a long time and said, “Son, are you joking with me? Tell me, what’s good about you?”

“Just because I’m your own son, you can’t think I’m bad, right?”

My mother didn’t respond to me, but just told me to “go to bed early” and then went back to her room.

I finally lit a cigarette in the empty living room. Of course, I knew I wasn’t outstanding. If people were divided into substandard and superior, I would undoubtedly be substandard. The reason why I said that was just to give myself some confidence.

……

Lying on the small steel bed that I had slept on since childhood, I felt very secure. Soon, I started to feel drowsy.

In my drowsiness, the message alert tone of my mobile phone rang. I picked up the phone and saw that it was a message from Mi Cai. The content of the message was simple, just asking if I had arrived home.

I immediately replied to Mi Cai, telling her that I had arrived home safely. After that, she didn’t reply to me anymore. But I wasn’t surprised. It was already rare for her to send a message to ask about me. Could I expect her to chat with me about life, dreams, and love?

I could foresee that after this message, we wouldn’t have any more interactions. After all, we were in two different cities and were just ordinary friends.

Before putting the phone back on the bedside table, I looked at the time. It was just half past nine. Suddenly, I wasn’t sleepy anymore, so I lit another cigarette and lay on the bed smoking.

Although I had moved from one city to another in a day, some things couldn’t be forgotten so quickly. When I couldn’t sleep, I still thought about the bits and pieces of my time in Suzhou.

My memories of Suzhou seem to be all about that woman who has long gone. Now when I think of it, it doesn’t hurt as much as before, because the city I’m in now doesn’t bear her mark, and I’ve finally let go of my obsession, willing to fall in love with another girl who I don’t know where she is yet.

Perhaps, the moment I broke up with Jian Wei, I should have given up my persistence and left Suzhou. In this way, I wouldn’t have indulged in memories and hurt myself for two years. But could she know that the reason I stayed in Suzhou was because I couldn’t bear to leave? I couldn’t bear to leave the word “wait” she wrote on the car window with lipstick.

The night deepened, and I finally felt sleepy again. Before turning off the light, I took one last look at the guitar standing in the corner, and my heart gradually settled down.

……

In a blink of an eye, I’ve been in Xuzhou for a week. During this week, what I’ve been doing repeatedly is sending resumes online and going for interviews. Regrettably, I haven’t found a satisfactory job yet. I dare not pin my hopes on Mr. Ban. From what I know about him, he would 99% not help me find a job.

What’s more regrettable than not finding a job is that I don’t have a penny on me. The last few tens of yuan were spent on taking the bus to look for jobs recently. But I can’t bring myself to ask Mr. Ban and my mother for money. Fortunately, I don’t need to rent a house or pay for meals now, so I can still get by.

One afternoon, as I was browsing job ads on the computer, my mother suddenly came up behind me, patted me on the shoulder, and said joyfully, “Zhao Yang, the favor I asked you to do for Aunt Zhang last time, she really took it to heart. She found a girl for you. Since you’re free now, why don’t you meet her tonight and see if you hit it off.”

“Okay.” I agreed immediately, then asked, “Mom, are you going with me tonight?”

My mother shook her head and said, “I won’t go. Young people nowadays don’t like their elders meddling in their affairs. I know that.”

“No, you should go. I like it when you meddle!” I hurriedly said, actually hoping that my mother would go and pay the bill. I’m penniless now, and the thought of not being able to pay the bill after having dinner with the girl is too embarrassing to even think about.

“No, both families have agreed to let you meet alone.”

I struggled desperately, saying, “Go, how will I recognize her if you don’t go!”

My mother immediately took out her phone, sent me a photo via WeChat, and said, “This is the girl’s photo. You can recognize her by this photo when you get to the coffee shop.”

I picked up the phone and looked at it. The girl looked okay, but that’s not the point. After a long silence, I gritted my teeth, wanting to ask my mother for some money, but in the end, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it!

——————————–

Anxin has set up a top event in the book review section, mainly guessing when Jian Wei will have emotional interactions with Zhao Yang again……

For specific content and rules, please check the top post in the book review section of the computer site.

For those who guess correctly, I will randomly select one reader and send a signed physical copy of “City in the Sky” (Note: City in the Sky, another name for this book).

Anxin also has extra prizes to give away. This is the first formal event of this book, hope everyone participates (Note: event on the computer site.)