Mi Cai was calmly making my bed, not giving away any signs of mischief, which surprised me even more. Considering her glamorous status as the CEO of Zhuomei, why would she make my bed? Moreover, she had never been this nice to me before. At least in this room, we were always at odds.
Under my watchful gaze, Mi Cai smoothed out the quilt and then, with a sigh of relief, said, “Done!”
I took a step forward, looked down at her, and asked, “Tell me… did you play any tricks on me?”
“What?” Mi Cai asked in confusion.
“Like spreading glue on the sheets, or any other pranks that would make me uncomfortable!” I said.
Mi Cai looked at me, her expression a mix of amusement and disbelief. “What are you talking about, spreading glue? Such a childish prank, I wouldn’t stoop to that level. Of course, you would, which is why you’re asking.”
I didn’t have the energy to argue with Mi Cai in the middle of the night, so I felt slightly relieved and said, “Good, there better not be.”
“I’m going to bed now.”
“Hold on, the porridge will be ready soon. Let’s eat together and catch up, it’s been a while.” I suggested.
“I made your bed, and you’re treating me to porridge. Sounds fair!” Mi Cai said with a smile.
“Of course, do you think I have nothing better to do than to compete with you?”
“I didn’t say you were competing with me. You’ve been quite decent today, a bit of a quid pro quo.”
I nodded in agreement, saying, “Quid pro quo, good phrase. Anyway, I’m not one to hold grudges.”
“Neither am I.”
My thoughts jumped, and I said, “So, let’s go have some porridge.”
…
It was almost midnight. Mi Cai and I sat across from each other at the dining table, each with a bowl of porridge made from red dates and lotus seeds.
I held up the sugar jar and asked Mi Cai, “Do you want to add some sugar?”
Mi Cai pushed her bowl towards me and said, “Just a little.”
I scooped a little sugar into her bowl, and a little into mine. We both continued to eat in silence, a rare moment of harmony and peace between us.
Halfway through the meal, I finally said to Mi Cai, who was focused on her porridge, “Do you know why I came back to Suzhou this time?”
Mi Cai seemed indifferent and said, “I know, CC told me.”
“Oh.” I responded nonchalantly.
Mi Cai put down her spoon, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and asked, “Don’t you have a fiancée? What will she do now that you’re here?”
When Mi Cai mentioned Li Xiaoyun, my mood instantly dropped. Our meeting, our time together, seemed like a brief, brilliant firework that eventually faded amidst the chaos of the world.
After a while, I finally said to Mi Cai, “We broke up, what else can we do?”
“Is the woman who made you come to Suzhou really that important? You gave up so much for her!”
“Of course I didn’t want to give up so much, but what would she do if I didn’t come?”
“Have you thought about your girlfriend? She must be devastated.”
I laughed bitterly in my despair, “Of course I’ve thought about it, and I know how upset she must be. But without me, she can still live with other men, get married… But if I don’t come back to Suzhou, Le Yao might not even be able to continue living, so…”
Mi Cai didn’t let me continue, she nodded and said, “I understand.”
“Mm.” I responded, lowering my head to continue eating the porridge in my bowl. Mi Cai did the same, and we both fell silent, finishing our porridge in silence.
…
After we finished eating, Mi Cai and I stood side by side at the sink, washing our dishes. I asked her again, “Why did you lock me out earlier? Do you think it’s unfair that I came back to Suzhou for another woman, even though you asked me to come back?”
Mi Cai paused before answering, “You’ve already explained it to me. I think this choice might be the real Zhao Yang. I can understand you.”
I looked at Mi Cai, feeling a strange mix of emotions. Although she could understand me, she was not Li Xiaoyun. If Li Xiaoyun could give me the same understanding and trust, maybe we wouldn’t have broken up.
But how could I expect everyone to see things from the same perspective? Mi Cai might understand me, but if she were in Li Xiaoyun’s shoes, she might not understand. Human nature is such an elusive thing.
We quickly finished washing our dishes. Mi Cai seemed really tired. As soon as she put the dishes away in the cupboard, she yawned and said to me, “I’m going to bed now, good night.”
“Hold on.” I stopped her as she was about to turn and leave.
“What now?”
I hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “Since I’m staying in Suzhou this time, I’ll be living in this room. Shouldn’t you give me a key?”
Mi Cai’s expression changed instantly. I instinctively thought she was going to refuse, so I quickly added, “Don’t go back on your word. You’re a person of principle, and I clearly remember you promising to let me stay.”
“You don’t need to keep reminding me of the promises I’ve made to you. You can stay, but we need to clarify one thing first.”
“Go ahead, I’ll definitely cooperate with you.”
Mi Cai nodded and said, “Who’s the tenant and who’s the landlord between us?”
“Uh…” I was at a loss for words. Of course, I knew I was the tenant, but I didn’t want to give up the landlord status I had fought for so easily.
Mi Cai asked impatiently, “What, is it hard to answer?”
Under Mi Cai’s oppressive tone, I once again felt the sorrow of having to bow under someone else’s roof. I gritted my teeth and said to Mi Cai, “I’m the tenant.”
“And me?”
“…Damn it, I’ve already said I’m the tenant, don’t you know what you are?”
Mi Cai calmly said, “Of course I know, but I want you to say it.”
“You’re starting to compete again. Weren’t we getting along just fine? Why do we have to fight over the title of landlord and tenant?””Why did you insist on labeling me as the tenant if it’s just a nominal title?”
I suddenly realized that Mi Cai’s logical reasoning was incredibly strong. No matter how eloquent I was, she could always find loopholes in my words to counterattack, and I often didn’t know how to respond to her rebuttals.
Mi Cai continued to look at me seriously. Finally, I said impatiently, “Fine, you win… You’re the landlord, okay?”
Mi Cai smiled, turned her head triumphantly, and stopped talking to me. She then walked towards her room and started singing the song “New Tenant” by Faye Wong, a song I once sang in front of her.
Although Mi Cai was mocking me by singing this song, it was the first time I heard her sing. Her voice was surprisingly melodious and pleasant. What surprised me even more was that she, who always seemed indifferent, also had such a humorous side…
However, she miscalculated. She probably sang this song to retaliate against my previous smug behavior. But instead of feeling retaliated against, I felt that she was showing me another side of her that others didn’t know about. It was a win-win situation for me.
So, my mood finally escaped from the long-lasting feelings of loss and depression.
————————-
On the computer station, there’s a special column for Mi Cai in the picture area. Everyone can upload photos that match the image of Mi Cai in their minds. The person who uploads the most popular character image will receive a physical copy of this book from me… It’s a rare opportunity and it’s free, so I hope everyone will actively participate. The nine readers on the fan leaderboard who receive the physical book are all top-tier fans, meaning they’ve spent at least a thousand yuan. So don’t miss out on this opportunity to get a free book. And the physical book is not publicly subscribed, it’s only given away through activities. If you like it, don’t miss out.
Note: This activity is only for the character image of Mi Cai. In the future, there will be activities for Jian Wei, Le Yao, CC, Li Xiaoyun, Zhao Yang, and others. The activity is just for fun, so don’t maliciously spam images, just find the one you truly like.
The deadline for the activity is April 27th of next month… You have a month, and the number of likes under the picture will be the basis.