The staff brought us some drinks and beers. The four of us were chatting and killing time while waiting for the others to arrive.
I asked Robben, “How have you been these past few days in Beijing?”
He exhaled a puff of smoke heavily, and said with a hint of fatigue, “Busy.”
Robben was a born and bred Beijinger, a local through and through. If he was so busy that he was sparing with his words, then he must be really swamped.
CC then asked Le Yao, “Le Yao, how about you? You must be incredibly busy too. I’ve seen you on TV several times, following your director to promote your upcoming drama on entertainment shows!”
Le Yao nodded and said, “Yes, I have a talk show to record the day after tomorrow. I can’t stay in Suzhou for long. Anyway, I won’t have any free time this year. After the New Year, I have to join the crew for my second drama!”
CC sighed and said, “Once your first drama is broadcast nationwide, your title of ‘Le Yao the Big Shot’ will truly be well-deserved!”
Le Yao just smiled, took a sip of her beer, and then fell silent. This silence amplified the changes in her even more.
After a while, Circle, Jian Wei, and Yan Yan arrived at the bar. They greeted us and joined us. Among the people present, only Jian Wei and Le Yao were meeting for the first time. The rest of us were all familiar with each other, so the two of them were sizing each other up.
CC introduced them to each other, of course, as her friends. She didn’t involve me in the introductions.
Le Yao smiled at Jian Wei and said, “So you’re Jian Wei. I’ve been hearing your name for almost two years now.”
Jian Wei glanced at me, then asked Le Yao, “What do you mean by that?”
“To be precise, Zhao Yang has been missing you for two years… You’re very beautiful!” Le Yao said.
I was really glad that Xiang Chen wasn’t here at the moment. Otherwise, Le Yao’s words might have caused a misunderstanding. CC was the one who saved the situation again. She called for Circle and the others to sit down and asked the waiter to bring some more drinks.
After Jian Wei sat down, Le Yao took out a bank card from her bag and handed it to her, saying, “This bar is mine, so the 500,000 yuan you lent to Zhao Yang was actually lent to me. There’s 510,000 yuan in this card. I’m returning it to you with interest… Thank you for your generous help back then.”
I was shocked as I looked at Le Yao. That day, I only mentioned that I was going to borrow from a friend, but I didn’t specify who. How did she know that the friend was Jian Wei? Or was it just a pure guess?
Circle and Yan Yan exchanged glances, because they didn’t know that Jian Wei had lent me 500,000 yuan. That day when we were having dinner together, Xiang Chen asked Jian Wei if she had any spare money to lend me, and Jian Wei firmly said she didn’t. At this moment, I was really glad again that Xiang Chen wasn’t here.
Jian Wei stared at Le Yao with a complex look for a while, but didn’t take the bank card. She said, “I lent this money to Zhao Yang, so it should be Zhao Yang who pays me back. Besides, I lent it to him as a friend, so there’s no need to talk about interest.”
The atmosphere became a bit awkward due to Jian Wei’s refusal. To break the awkwardness, I took the bank card from Le Yao and said to Jian Wei, “Give me your bank account number later, and I’ll transfer it to you tomorrow.”
Jian Wei nodded, and the awkwardness caused by the repayment was temporarily put aside. But I knew that when Mi Cai arrived later, this scene might be replayed.
I weighed my options and said to Le Yao, “Come out, I need to talk to you about something.”
…
In the small office of the bar, Le Yao and I sat on the sofa. Before I could speak, she said to me, “I know you must be suspicious about where this money came from. Don’t worry, it’s the remuneration I got from signing with the film and television company. It’s all legitimate.”
I nodded and said, “I believe you won’t make the same mistake again…” After a brief pause, I asked, “How did you know that the 500,000 yuan was lent to me by Jian Wei?”
Le Yao smiled and said, “I know all your friends very well. Those who have money may not be willing to lend it, and those who are willing to lend may not have money. But your unforgettable ex-girlfriend is an exception… At first, I wasn’t sure. I thought it was Mi Cai who lent the money. But when Mi Cai gave me that one million yuan check, I was sure that the previous 500,000 yuan must have come from your ex-girlfriend.”
Le Yao’s explanation made me realize: she’s not as carefree as she seems. For example, she saw through at a glance that Mi Cai was not my real girlfriend, and now she figured out the real source of the money. In fact, she’s even more thoughtful than most women.
After a moment of silence, Le Yao said to me in a low voice, “Zhao Yang, do you know? When I figured out that the 500,000 yuan came from your ex-girlfriend, I felt an indescribable oppression in my heart. From that day on, I told myself: I will never let you suffer such humiliation again. So after I arrived in Beijing, I worked hard and was lucky. I seized the opportunity for my own life…”
Le Yao choked up a bit at this point. My heart skipped a beat, fearing that behind her hard work and luck was a cruel self-sacrifice.
Le Yao quickly composed herself and said to me, “Anyway, thank you very much. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I will never forget it in this life.”I continued to comfort her in a joking manner, saying, “Le Yao, you’re so dramatic both on and off the stage, aren’t you tired?… Well, but thinking about being remembered by a future movie queen, I do feel quite accomplished!”
Le Yao finally smiled, then took out a bank card from her bag and handed it to me, saying, “This is Mi Cai’s. Please return it to her for me later. I know it’s not nice to repay money in front of everyone, but I just don’t want to owe your ex-girlfriend anything. Every second I owe her makes me uncomfortable… She has caused you too much pain and doesn’t know how to cherish you!… She will regret it one day!”
……
Le Yao and I returned to the bar’s main hall. As soon as we sat down, Mi Cai and Wei Ran arrived, with CC introducing them to everyone. The night that was about to begin became even more complicated with their arrival.
Mi Cai and Wei Ran sat together but kept the furthest distance from me. I tossed a cigarette to Robben and Circle, then handed one to Wei Ran, asking, “Want one?”
Wei Ran coldly said to me, “Don’t you think it’s presumptuous to smoke in front of so many women?”
I immediately threw the cigarette pack on the table, really wanting to punch him. After his comment, whether I smoked or not seemed inappropriate, as if his existence was just to embarrass me. But he was right, indeed, it was inappropriate to smoke in front of these women! But I was so used to being rough that I overlooked the environment I was in.
Just as I was in a dilemma, Robben picked up the lighter, lit the cigarette with a “snap”, and started smoking as if nothing had happened.
I couldn’t help but admire, these Beijing alleyway guys are really awesome, after all, not everyone can have this kind of do-as-I-please attitude. Of course, I knew he did this to support me.
The atmosphere became awkward again, but I didn’t smoke with Robben, nor did I want to make the night too complicated. So I asked the staff to bring the opening flyers and coupons, and said to everyone, “Today, since we’re all here, let’s go out and have a blast.”
Everyone looked at me in confusion, and I said to Mi Cai, “Mi Cai, can we use your venue at Zhuo Mei to hold a small concert?”
“Now?”
“Yes, right now!” After that, I said to Robben, “Robben, call Little Wu now, tell him to gather the rest of the band, bring the performance equipment to Zhuo Mei… After the performance, I’ll treat everyone to beer and hot pot!”
I took out the guitar that I had prepared from behind me. I thought: the only way to get this complicated group of people to spend a peaceful and wild night together was through music.
You should know that among those present, CC, Robben, Mi Cai, Jian Wei, including me, are all experts. I guess that Wei Ran is not bad either, after all, he taught Mi Cai how to play the guitar.
This upcoming small concert, with a gathering of experts and beauties, I believe it will definitely stir up a storm at Zhuo Mei!
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