This was one of the countless times Mi Cai and I had locked horns, but this time, I chose to back down and fell into silence. However, the customers’ enthusiasm remained high, requesting Mi Cai to sing another song for them.

CC nudged me, hinting that I should take advantage of the audience’s clamor to go up and sing a duet with Mi Cai. But I had lost all desire to sing. I pulled out a cigarette from the pack and headed outside the bar. I wanted to breathe the outdoor air again, even though it was damp and cold.

Ever since I returned to Suzhou, I seemed to be irritable every day. This irritability was both subjective and objective, but I couldn’t find a way to overcome it for the time being. Therefore, my mood fluctuated greatly over trivial matters.

Halfway through my cigarette, I suddenly noticed an additional presence beside me. Turning my head, I found Mi Cai standing next to me. Interestingly, my Alto and her Audi were parked side by side not far away.

I took another puff of my cigarette and after a long while, I asked Mi Cai, “Why did you come out?”

“To check on you, and to figure out if you’re angry because I refused to sing with you.”

“There’s nothing to be angry about, I’m used to being rejected by you.”

Mi Cai didn’t respond to my words. After a long while, she said something profound, “Actually, liking a song often doesn’t mean you really like it. It’s just a way to remember someone… So you and Jian Wei both sang that song about eloping…” She paused, then looked at me and asked, “Zhao Yang, am I right?”

Her words were worth pondering, but I was too tired to think about anything. So, I changed the subject and said to Mi Cai with a smile, “See that car over there? It’s mine now, cool, right?”

Mi Cai seemed to willingly go along with my change of topic, not asking anything further. She cooperated and said, “Is it that Alto?”

“Yes, I even drove this car to take you out for dinner in the empty city, remember?”

Mi Cai just nodded, not saying anything more, because our current topic was somewhat bland.

So we fell silent again, but I wasn’t afraid of this silence at all, because I had cigarettes to rescue me from all the awkwardness and discomfort in the silence.

With a cigarette in hand, it was indeed Mi Cai who finally broke the silence. She said to me, “I’m off tomorrow. If you’re free, can I try the food you cook?”

“No, you don’t even want to sing with me, why should I cook for you?”

“Do you have to be so petty?”

I said seriously, “No, this isn’t being petty, this is called an eye for an eye.”

Mi Cai frowned and said, “The phrase ‘an eye for an eye’ isn’t appropriate. I remember telling you before, I’ve never considered you an opponent.”

Seeing Mi Cai taking it seriously, I didn’t think it was appropriate to continue joking with her. I said to her, “Actually, I don’t have time tomorrow. The renovation plan for my place is ready, and I’ll be running around the decoration company all day.”

Mi Cai said to me with a hint of disappointment, “Then let’s do it next time when you have a chance.”

I nodded and remembered that I hadn’t paid her the rent yet. I immediately took out my wallet, counted out 1500 yuan, and handed it to her, saying, “This is one month’s rent, you keep it.”

Mi Cai didn’t reach out to take it. She said to me, “Keep the rent for some potted plants for your home. It will be beautiful when spring comes.”

I imagined how beautiful those potted plants would look in spring and subconsciously nodded, then put the money back into my wallet.

“Zhao Yang, when those potted plants bloom in spring, you will have managed the bar well, right?”

Mi Cai’s question surprised me. Even if I were exceptionally capable, it would be impossible to manage the bar well in just a few months. This would be a long process. But as a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, how could she ask such a substandard question?

I asked Mi Cai with confusion, “What do you mean by ‘manage well’? Do you mean getting the bar on track, or making it profitable?”

Mi Cai was silent for a long time before she said to me, “Neither. By ‘manage well’, I mean you can leave this bar and end your help for your friend.”

I laughed and said, “So that’s what you mean! But do you really want me to leave this bar? Besides, you’re now one of the shareholders of this bar. It’s illogical. You should hope that I can make this bar better and better!”

Mi Cai turned around to face me, her expression serious but her tone low, “I hope you can come to work at Zomei… I don’t have anyone I can truly trust by my side now. It’s tiring… and helpless!”

This time, I was even more shocked as I looked at Mi Cai, unable to speak for a long time.

“I hope you can work at Zomei not to repay you for anything, but because I see your ability and talent. I’ve studied the ‘Love is not Luxurious’ promotion theme you did for Baoli Department Store before you left Suzhou. It was really well done. And the artistic positioning of the Fifth Season bar is also very innovative and creative. Zomei needs talents like you, and I believe more that Zomei will be the best stage for you to display your talents!”

Mi Cai’s tone was still sincere, but she seemed like a stranger at this moment, filled with the aura of a CEO. I couldn’t connect her with the girl who often quarreled with me in a playful manner.But at this moment, she is helpless, so she would ask me to go to Zhuomei. I know in her heart, I am someone she can trust. But if I accept her trust, it also means that I have an additional responsibility, and this responsibility born out of trust is the heaviest. So, I won’t give her an answer, at least not now. At this moment, I am already burdened with a heavy responsibility due to Le Yao’s trust. I won’t see myself as a savior, and I can’t bear so much responsibility.

Finally, I said to Mi Cai, who had been waiting for my answer, “I just want to run the bar well now, and this will be a very long process, so what you said is too far away for me, so far that it is not suitable to make a decision now.”

In response to my tactful refusal, Mi Cai just nodded. She didn’t say anything, as calm as ever. But what about her feelings? She must be disappointed and helpless, but she is stronger and wiser than most women, so whether I am there or not will not affect her ability to fully control Zhuomei. Her dependence on me in life extending to the business field is just a habit, with no special meaning. I think it’s precisely because she understands this that she didn’t say anything after I refused.

A gust of cold wind blew up the snow on the ground, fluttering about, but it only magnified our silence. Finally, after a long silence, I said to Mi Cai, “Let’s go in, it’s the weekend today, let’s have some fun!”

Mi Cai nodded and followed me into the bar. The moment we entered the bar, I seemed to have forgotten everything Mi Cai had just said to me, because I prefer our little quarrels and bickering, not the seriousness just now.

Speaking of which, even if I run this bar well, I won’t go to Zhuomei, because I feel guilty for betraying Chen Jingming’s trust and his years of cultivation. To this day, I still can’t let go of the fact that I ruined Chen Jingming’s hard-earned promotion opportunity with my own hands. Although such an opportunity seems a bit despicable, the whole event was not planned by Chen Jingming. He was just a possible beneficiary in the event, so this guilt has been haunting me.