Le Yao did not immediately reach out to take the check that Mi Cai handed to her. After a long pause, she asked Mi Cai, “This is a million dollars. Why are you giving it to me so casually? We’re not that close, are we?”

Mi Cai shook her head, denying Le Yao’s statement. She spoke with her usual indifference, “I’m not giving this to you casually… We may not be close, but CC is a good friend to both of us. Helping you is helping CC.”

I looked at Mi Cai, feeling that her reasoning was a bit far-fetched. I didn’t say anything, just quietly watching the situation unfold.

At this moment, CC took over the conversation, saying, “Le Yao, just take it. This favor is what I owe to Mi Cai. When the bar starts making a profit, we can pay her back.”

“This favor is too big…”

Le Yao’s words were cut off by Robben, “Le Yao, favors are not measured by size. The check is already here, and the words have been said. For the sake of the bar, just accept it.”

“But I don’t need a million. Zhao Yang has already given me a bank card with 500,000 on it.” Le Yao said after a moment of silence, but she was already wavering.

Mi Cai looked at me in surprise. I nodded to confirm Le Yao’s words, saying, “I borrowed it from a friend.”

Mi Cai nodded, took back the check, and filled out a new one. She handed it to Le Yao and said, “This one is for 500,000. You take it.”

Le Yao hesitated for a moment, but finally took the check from Mi Cai. She immediately asked a waiter to bring a piece of A4 paper from the bar, wrote an IOU on it, signed her name, and handed it to Mi Cai, saying, “This is an IOU. I will pay you back the 500,000 as soon as possible.”

Mi Cai nodded, took the IOU from Le Yao with her usual calmness, but didn’t even glance at it before putting it in her handbag.

At this time, CC also took out a bank card from her bag and handed it to Le Yao, saying, “This is the 200,000 I mentioned earlier. Is it enough to pay the interest?”

Le Yao nodded and said, “I haven’t borrowed it for long, it’s enough! … I’ll write you an IOU too.”

CC stopped Le Yao’s hand, smiled and said, “No need… We don’t need this between us. By the way, when you pay back the loan shark tomorrow, let Zhao Yang or Robben accompany you.”

Robben took over the conversation, saying, “I’ll go with Le Yao. I’m free during the day.”

CC clapped her hands with a smile, let out a sigh of relief, and said, “Our first crisis has been smoothly resolved, thanks to the great Zhao Yang… and the great… Mi Cai! … Let’s all have a drink.”

Everyone raised their glasses, and the gloom that had just hung over them was finally swept away with the clinking of glasses.

…

Mi Cai’s alcohol tolerance was really limited. After only two beers, her face was flushed and she seemed a bit dazed. It was only after leaving the bar that I realized she had come to drink, so she didn’t even drive.

I said to her, “I’ll take you home.”

Mi Cai didn’t respond to my suggestion, but said, “I feel a bit stuffy in my chest, I want to take a walk.”

“Then I’ll walk with you.”

Mi Cai agreed, and walked ahead of me to the leaf-covered street. I quickly followed her.

Because of the cold, my hands were in my pockets, while Mi Cai’s were in the pockets of her jacket. The two of us, with our different postures, were walking in step towards the end of the street.

After walking in silence for a while, I said to Mi Cai, “Thank you for helping Le Yao.”

“I did it for CC.”

I smiled and said, “I didn’t say you did it for me, why are you so eager to emphasize that?”

“Did I?” Mi Cai responded absentmindedly, but she didn’t stop walking, and even quickened her pace.

I had to speed up to keep up with her, but she suddenly stopped and asked, “Where did you get that 500,000?”

“A friend, didn’t I say that at the bar?”

Mi Cai unusually asked again, “What kind of friend? Is it reliable?”

“Are you afraid that I also borrowed from a loan shark?” I asked with a smile.

“I can’t rule out that possibility… Zhao Yang, I don’t want you to do anything stupid. If you have any difficulties, you can tell me.”

“Do you still feel like you owe me something? … There’s really no need, it’s all in the past.”

Mi Cai didn’t say anything, but her silence seemed like an agreement.

I didn’t want to dwell on who owed whom, so I changed the subject, “I didn’t expect you to be so good at playing the guitar! … You’re really hiding your light under a bushel. I think we could form a band in the future!”

“Who wants to form a band with you.”

“What, you look down on me? My guitar playing is not worse than yours!” I said with “anger”.

But Mi Cai just smiled and said, “I prefer Robben. If Robben proposed it to me, I think I would agree.”

I pretended to be enlightened and said, “You must have a crush on Robben, right? … I’m telling you seriously, Robben is a playboy. He and CC are a perfect match, but not with you!”

“You talk as if you’re not a playboy… You two are…” Mi Cai started to say, but suddenly stopped, as if she wanted me to finish her sentence.

“Two of a kind?”

Mi Cai smiled and said, “You’re quite self-aware!”

“Right? But this also reflects that I care about you. I’d rather be labeled a playboy than let you get on Robben’s ship!” I said with a righteous look.

“Yeah, as a friend, you’re really willing to take a bullet for me!” Mi Cai said with a half-smile.

I didn’t pay attention to the sarcasm in Mi Cai’s words, and continued along her line of thought, “Taking a bullet is nothing. I would even dare to go through fire and water!”

But Mi Cai seemed to have no interest in continuing the banter with me. She subconsciously pulled up her collar because of the cold, and I finally noticed that the sweater she was wearing today was one of the two sweaters that Mr. Ban brought not long after we first met. I had given it to her at the time.

On a whim, I opened my coat and said to Mi Cai, “Look, I’m also wearing this sweater. It’s a couple’s style!”

Mi Cai replied indifferently, “I don’t think so. If you think it’s a couple’s style, I won’t wear it in the future.””No, I’m just trying to… not target our relationship.”

“No way, you can’t wear the same clothes as me in the future.” Mi Cai insisted.

I was annoyed and said, “What’s wrong with you? According to your logic, do I have to call and ask for your permission every time I wear this sweater to avoid wearing the same outfit as you?”

“If you find it troublesome, just take it off and give it to me for safekeeping, so you don’t have to wear it in the future.”

“Why should I cooperate with you… Why don’t you say, you take it off and I’ll keep it for you? Besides, I don’t mind if we wear the same outfit.” I argued seriously.

Mi Cai shook her head and said, “Looking at you now, I really want to tie a red scarf around your neck… Childish!”

Before I could respond, Mi Cai hailed a passing taxi. She opened the door and before getting in, she said to me, “Zhao Yang, think carefully about how to run Le Yao’s bar… That’s your real purpose for returning to Suzhou.”

I didn’t understand what she meant for a moment and stood there dumbfounded, while the taxi disappeared into the cold winter night.

——————

I want to remind some readers not to casually say that a book misleads readers, because this is the most serious accusation against an author.

Having written for so long, I’ve become indifferent to readers’ comments and even insults, but today’s book review really annoys me…

Today’s web novels are filled with violence, gore, and sexual content. If you’re so great, why don’t you go and accuse those authors?

My book, which focuses on emotional life, is accused of misleading readers and being a negative example… First of all, although Zhao Yang has character flaws, he is not a person with distorted values. He is a person with idealistic tendencies. His decision to leave Xuzhou requires deep analysis, combining character, situation, interpersonal relationships, rather than being one-sided… If you put effort into reading, you will naturally understand… What the hell is it that I deliberately wrote such a plot for the sake of torturing?

It’s simply unreasonable. If the plot doesn’t go as expected, they start to complain with all sorts of strange reasons.

Leaving Xuzhou is a controversial plot, because some readers can understand Zhao Yang, while others can’t. There are many comments that understand, and many that don’t, which actually proves that everyone has their own aspirations. If you look at it from a broader perspective, it’s a very natural plot, a very natural choice.