The phone rang a few times before being answered. I pretended to be concerned and asked Mi Cai, “Did you take the fever-reducing and cough medicine I bought for you?”

“I took them,” Mi Cai replied calmly, lacking the previous disgust in her voice.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“I’m feeling better,” Mi Cai said, followed by a cough.

“Wear more clothes, and you’ll feel better soon,” I said with concern.

“Why should I wear so many clothes if I’m not going out?” Mi Cai questioned.

Seeing that Mi Cai had fallen into my trap, I said, “I actually need you to come out. I got into a fight and don’t have enough money to pay the fine. Can you come and help me pay it?”

Mi Cai hesitated before asking, “You got into a fight?”

“Yeah, that guy deserved it. I fought him to teach him not to live so recklessly!”

“You’re the one who lives recklessly!” Mi Cai retorted, neither agreeing nor refusing to come.

Getting anxious, I asked, “So, are you coming or not? Can you give me a definite answer?”

Mi Cai remained silent, and her silence seemed intentional.

Getting more anxious, I pressed, “Are you coming or not? They’re about to use private punishment on me!”

Before Mi Cai could respond, the police officer got angry and shouted at me, “We are the people’s police. Do you think we’re the mafia? What private punishment?”

I quickly covered the phone and whispered, “Calm down, calm down… I was just using exaggerated language to describe the situation, so she would come and help me pay the fine. That way, I’ll be free, and it’ll save you trouble, right, Officer?”

The police officer made a gesture for me to hurry up and settle it, and then remained silent. I nervously waited for Mi Cai’s response. If she didn’t want to come, I would have to trouble Circle and his wife.

Mi Cai seemed to make a difficult decision before asking me, “Which police station?”

I quickly replied, “Guanqian Police Station.”

Mi Cai made a sound of agreement and hung up the phone. Her ambiguous attitude made me feel uneasy. Considering her previous act of leaving me in a deserted area 30 kilometers away from the city, it was not impossible for her to trick me again.

The police officer left, and I remained in the interrogation room. For me at this moment, the cold walls and the words “Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict” representing the dignity of the law felt oppressive. I couldn’t wait to leave this place, but as time passed, I began to doubt if I had been tricked again!

…

Half an hour passed, and the closed door finally opened. This time, a female police officer came in and said to me, “Are you Zhao Yang? Someone has paid the fine for you. Go register with your ID!”

Those words relieved the tension in me. When I stood up from the chair, I felt a bit weak, but my heart was free from heaviness and oppression. She had really come to rescue me from this predicament!

…

Mi Cai and I left the police station side by side, and I felt as if I had entered a different world. Even the air outside, filled with car exhaust, seemed fresh.

Mi Cai tucked her messy hair behind her ear and covered her mouth with the back of her hand, coughing again. She had come to help me despite being sick.

Feeling guilty, I said to Mi Cai, “I caused you trouble today, with the fine and the money I owe you…” I scratched my head and said somewhat embarrassedly, “It seems like even with my next week’s salary, I still won’t have enough to pay you back!”

Mi Cai didn’t mind about the money. She stopped and said to me, “You know you caused me trouble. Don’t get into this kind of trouble again in the future.”

I laughed self-deprecatingly and said, “You called me scum, right? To be a qualified scum, I have to fight, play with women, and do everything!”

Mi Cai looked at me without saying a word, her eyes filled with renewed disgust. Perhaps she thought it was stubborn nonsense, not understanding that it was my self-deprecating expression tinged with a hint of sadness.

Mi Cai continued walking, and I followed her. I softened my tone and said, “Actually, with my next week’s salary, I can pay you back the money my dad left me. But then I won’t have enough money to rent a place… What do you think? I can pay you back first, and you let me stay for another month until I recover financially, and then I’ll move out.”

Mi Cai looked at me with an emotion I couldn’t decipher…

In the silent exchange between Mi Cai and me, a taxi, as if injected with chicken blood, stopped not far from us. The door opened hastily, and Le Yao hurriedly got out of the car with her handbag.

…Le Yao came to me and stood face to face with Mi Cai. The two of them had similar heights and different styles of dressing, but they both had a unique temperament. They were also rare beauties in the true sense. Even the two male police officers passing by couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

“Why are you here?” I asked in confusion.

Le Yao said to me with a concerned and nervous tone, “Robben called me and said that you were taken to the police station after a fight at the bar!”

“I’m fine now,” I replied in a relaxed tone.

Le Yao didn’t respond to me, but said to Mi Cai beside me, “Miss, can you please step aside? Zhao Yang and I have something private to discuss.”

Mi Cai wasn’t interested in staying by my side in the first place. She just nodded and walked towards her car, then drove away.

…

It seemed to be a troublesome night. I was a bit annoyed and habitually lit a cigarette for myself.

Le Yao looked in the direction where Mi Cai disappeared and asked, “Did she help you pay the fine?”

“It’s obvious, so don’t ask, okay?” I said impatiently.

“What’s your relationship with her?”

“Whatever relationship you think I have with her is the relationship we have,” I replied dismissively.

My dismissive and impatient attitude made Le Yao look a bit down, and she fell into silence.

After smoking half a cigarette, I finally said to Le Yao, “You should go back. It’s windy now, and you just had surgery. Your body can’t handle it.”

Le Yao shook her head, indicating that she didn’t want to leave, and asked me again, “Why did you fight? Is there something uncomfortable in your heart?”

I was stunned. After Le Yao asked me this question, I couldn’t help but question myself why I fought. I had been in the bar for two years, encountering all kinds of drunk and unruly people. In the past, I would just ignore them. Why didn’t I want to tolerate it today?

Although I didn’t want to admit it, it was indeed related to the news that Jian Wei was coming back. When she was far away, those pains had always been lurking in my heart. When she was about to return to the country, those pains suddenly erupted and stimulated my fragile nerves.

I looked at Le Yao, wiped my face with my hands, and said, “Consider it a favor, don’t ask anymore, okay?”

“Zhao Yang, am I just annoying to you?” Le Yao said with tears in her eyes.

I remained silent and continued smoking, standing with Le Yao in the cold wind, performing a classic scene of a man’s silence and a woman’s tears.

After a long time, Le Yao finally said to me, “I’m going to Hengdian next week. The crew will start filming in advance.”

“Really? I wish you great success in advance!”

Le Yao looked at me with a complicated look and said lightly, “The reason I told you is not to ask for your blessings, but to hope that you can live well and be happy at least while I’m away.”

I continued to be silent, with various emotions intertwining in my heart, but I couldn’t figure out where these emotions came from.

Le Yao took out a pen from her bag and said to me, “Give me your hand.”

Although I didn’t know what she was going to do, I mechanically stretched out my hand in front of her.

Le Yao wrote down a series of phone numbers on my hand and said, “I will be in Hengdian for a long time this time. If you’re in a bad mood or have something on your mind, you can call me with this number. We can at least chat like friends.” She paused and added, “This number is available 24/7.”

I didn’t know what to say for a moment, I just looked at her in silence.

Le Yao put the pen back in her bag, smiled at me, and said, “We haven’t seen each other for a long time… Goodbye, Zhao Yang!”

…

Watching Le Yao’s figure disappear, I suddenly felt a sense of sadness from parting. Perhaps even if it was just a **, over time, there would be some feelings. Although most of the time, I was annoyed by the troubles she brought me one after another.

…

It was late at night, and I should go back, but where should I go? Although I still lived in that old but warm house, I had stayed there with a thick-skinned face. If Mi Cai insisted on asking me to leave, where should I place the troubles, the sadness, the loneliness that troubled me? Should I really leave them to this boundless night?

No, I don’t want to leave. I should have a good talk with Mi Cai, even if it means begging her to let me stay, just to properly place those troubles, sadness, and loneliness!

—————————————–

PS: Today’s update is finished, a total of 11 chapters… I hope everyone can leave more comments in the comment section. The new book needs to climb the new book rankings, flower collections are important data for the new book rankings. It would be a great help if everyone can spare a moment to do so.

There were many people who voted today, so I won’t thank each one individually. I will create a separate chapter in the future to express my gratitude.This book is intended for film and television adaptation, and that’s how the website positions it. Therefore, updates won’t be too frequent, but there won’t be any discontinuation either. I hope to work with everyone to bring this book to the television screen, making up for the shortcomings of the previous book.

Let me explain the rules for additional updates. For every 5000 VIPs, an extra chapter will be added. For every 500 stamps, an extra chapter will be added. For every 10,000 flowers, an extra chapter will be added. An extra chapter will be added if any of these conditions are met.

The conditions for additional updates are set high, not because I’m being arrogant, but because I must devote 120% of my energy to writing this book. Quality is the top priority.

Let me remind you again, don’t forget to give flowers, add to your collection, and sign in. These are simple tasks. The success of a book is accumulated bit by bit by everyone. I hope this book can make a breakthrough. Readers who have finished the book, please leave a comment in the book review section and share your thoughts on this book. Let me see that you are always there.

My book belongs to the night. I suggest you read it at night, with a cigarette in hand, and a music player on. Listen to the songs mentioned in the book. It’s quite nice.

Good night, everyone!