Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
In just a moment, Tongzi emerged from the bathroom completely refreshed, finally donning a set of casual clothes that actually looked spirited.
"Brother Yang, how's my outfit?"
I nodded in approval and said, "Not bad, much better than before!"
Tongzi's face lit up with joy, then he turned back to the bathroom to apply some hair wax. Only then, with confidence brimming, did he grab his backpack, ready to join me for our appointment.
***
On the way to the restaurant, Tongzi was still very curious about my friend whom he had never met. He asked me, "Brother Yang, do you have a photo of your friend? Let me have a look so I'll recognize her when we meet."
"What's with the photo? You'll see her soon enough. It's not like we're in a rush."
"Just let me have a quick look, what's the harm?"
"The thing is, I don't have one!"
"Ah… she must not be pretty then. Otherwise, you would've already shown off her picture, considering you're an old virgin who's never been with anyone!"
"Keep yapping and see if I don't kick you into the river," I said, making a kicking gesture.
Tongzi dodged quickly, touching his hair and said, "Getting kicked into the river is no big deal, but it would be terrible if the water messed up my carefully styled hair!"
I ruffled his hair until it looked like a bird's nest and took off running.
"Zhao Yang, I respect you so much, and this is how you treat me?… Stop right there, I'm going to kill you!"
"With your kidney-deficient, loser look, you think you can kill me?"
Tongzi: "…"
***
A short while later, Tongzi and I arrived at the restaurant where I was meeting Le Yao, walking arm in arm up to the second floor.
Tongzi asked with some confusion, "Brother Yang, why are we going to the second floor?"
"There are private rooms up there."
"There are only three of us, do we really need a private room?"
"Of course, we do!" I replied impatiently.
"Your friend must be really special, huh? Getting a private room for just three people. Didn't you see the notice downstairs? There's a minimum charge of 1000 yuan for the private rooms!"
As we talked, the waiter had already led us to the private room we'd booked and knocked on the door, saying, "Miss, your friends have arrived."
"Please come in!"
Tongzi's face beamed with delight, and he whispered to me, "Brother Yang, from her voice, your friend must be a beauty!"
I wasn't in the mood to pay attention to his excitement. I pushed the door open ahead of the waiter and walked in, with Tongzi following closely behind.
As we entered, Le Yao complained to me, "Zhao Yang, I've been waiting for you for almost 20 minutes. You really think you're a big shot!"
"I brought a friend who loves to dawdle. He spent half an hour just fussing with his hair in the bathroom." I promptly shifted the blame for our lateness onto Tongzi.
Le Yao leaned forward to get a look at Tongzi, who I was blocking, and I obligingly stepped aside so that Tongzi could formally meet Le Yao.
Le Yao smiled at Tongzi and said, "Hi, nice to meet you."
Tongzi's exaggerated expression looked as if he was about to burst the pimples on his face, and he was speechless for a long moment before he grabbed onto me and stammered, "Brother Yang… my legs are weak! "
I looked around the small private room and said to him, "No help for weak legs here, there's not ten meters of space for you to compose yourself!"
Le Yao looked puzzled and asked me, "What's wrong with your friend?"
"He's just met the goddess of his dreams and is probably overwhelmed with happiness."
Le Yao chuckled and turned to the bewildered Tongzi, asking, "Am I that scary?"
Tongzi shook his head frantically but couldn't find the words. His legs really were a bit shaky. After all, he was just a college student who had never had the chance to be in such close contact with a star from the silver screen.
I patted his shoulder and said, "Show some backbone, will you? Stars are human too. Take the one in front of you, for instance; she's just a woman who gets her period."
My bluntness earned me a fierce glare from Le Yao, but I didn't care and casually sat down next to her with the still-intimidated Tongzi.
Le Yao didn't hold it against me and, as always, played the part of the waitress, pouring tea for me and then for Tongzi, saying, "Young man, I don't even know your name yet!"
Tongzi tensed up again, looking completely unnatural: "Uh… my name is… Tong Haizhou!"
I tried to lighten the mood and joked, "Also known as Tongzi or Virgin!"
Le Yao suddenly remembered something and asked Tongzi, "You're the one who left a message on my Weibo, aren't you?"
Tongzi immediately pointed at me with newfound agility and said, "It was him, he used my account to reply!"
Le Yao gave a knowing look and sighed, "I thought so. Who else would dare to tease me so recklessly? It was you, the scoundrel!"
"Just for fun!"
Le Yao leaned in close and whispered to me, "Are you really a virgin?"
"Do you really not know whether I am?"
"That's why you're a scoundrel!"
Tongzi seemed to overhear our conversation and finally regained some composure, anxious that he might be the last virgin on earth. He quickly said to Le Yao, "Sister Le, Brother Yang really is a virgin!"
Le Yao and I were both embarrassed by his naivety, and we fell silent.
Finally, Le Yao said to him, "Kid, don't be fooled by Zhao Yang's deceitful appearance. Him, he's had several girlfriends, each prettier than the last. Oh, and there were a few years when he loved to frequent bars… You can figure out the rest on your own. I won't say more, little brother!"
Tongzi looked at me as if his worldview had just collapsed…
Le Yao then sighed and said, "While he was living it up in Xitang, somewhere, some woman might still be silently crying over him!"
Although it was a joke from Le Yao, the image of Mi Cai looking sad and dejected suddenly flashed through my mind… But would she really feel that way?
Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on my part, and I wasn't as important to her as I hoped…
***
Once the dishes were served, Le Yao and I finally got down to business. I said to her, "I need your help with something."
"Tell me."
"It's actually about borrowing money."
Le Yao looked at me, puzzled.
I explained to her, "The inn where I'm staying is up for transfer due to poor management, and I'm thinking of taking it over. I want to renovate it and start a proper business."
"That's great, I support you… How much do you need? Just tell me."
"I'm estimating about 150,000 yuan."
"Okay, no problem… I believe you'll manage it very well."
Looking at Le Yao, it seemed that out of all the women I knew, she had the most confidence in me. In reality, as someone at a low point in life, I didn't have much confidence in myself.
She continued, "Zhao Yang, do you know? The Fifth Season bar is now on the right track, and we're preparing to open a second branch in Suzhou… Think about it, if you could save the bar in such a tough marketing environment, then taking over a small inn in Xitang will definitely be no problem!"
Looking at Le Yao's sincere face, a surge of determination to fight ignited within me: "Yeah, if I could save The Fifth Season, why not a small inn?"
At that moment, I firmly believed: I would set sail in this little place called Xitang!… Perhaps only after achieving some success would I find a reason to return to Suzhou and Xuzhou.