She was getting closer and closer to Mi Cai and me. I finally got a good look at her. Her eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Mi Cai’s, but her style of dress was quite flamboyant. Even her walk had a proud and sharp edge to it. But I had to admit: she was a beauty, a very beautiful woman. Although her beauty lacked the depth and composure of Mi Cai’s, it had an extra touch of pride and sharpness.

Mi Cai rolled down the car window. The woman tucked her short hair behind her ears and smiled at Mi Cai, “Sis, why are you stuck at the entrance?”

Before Mi Cai could answer, her gaze swept over to me, and she asked Mi Cai, “Is this your boyfriend?”

Mi Cai looked at me and said to her, “Yes, let me introduce you. His name is Zhao Yang.”

“Zhao Yang, this is my sister, Mi Lan.”

“Colorful”, I immediately associated Mi Cai with her name. It seemed that Mi Zhongxin and Mi Zhongde must have had a deep brotherly affection, so they named their daughters with such meaningful names.

I smiled and greeted her, “Hello, Mi Lan.”

Mi Lan looked me up and down before saying, “To be my sister’s boyfriend, you must be quite outstanding!”

I was a bit embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond.

Mi Cai helped me out, “Little Lan, go back to your car first. I’m going in now.”

Mi Lan gave me another look before turning around and walking towards her car. Mi Cai drove into the courtyard. I knew I couldn’t avoid this awkward family banquet.

Mi Cai and I got out of the car from either side. I was immediately dazzled by the luxury cars in sight. Among the luxury cars, I even spotted a few government vehicles. It seemed that there were people in Mi Cai’s family who were in politics. It made sense, after all, it would be hard to maintain such a large family business without official backing.

I braced myself and followed Mi Cai into the villa, with Mi Lan accompanying us.

…

Once inside, I was dazzled by the luxurious decor. In my life, I had never seen such a luxurious villa.

I steadied my emotions and looked around the room. I saw Mi Zhongde sitting on the sofa, chatting with a group of people of different ages, but all with a strong presence.

Mi Cai took my hand and walked up to Mi Zhongde, “Uncle, happy birthday.”

I was a beat late, but I followed Mi Cai’s lead, “Happy birthday, Uncle Mi.”

Mi Zhongde put down his cigar, looked at Mi Cai and my intertwined hands, then looked at me, smiled, and said, “Young man, I think we’ve met before.”

I nodded, “Yes, at the Jumeirah in Suzhou. You were busy attending a meeting at the time.”

Mi Cai took over the conversation, “Uncle, this is my boyfriend Zhao Yang. He came specially today to wish you a happy birthday.”

As soon as Mi Cai finished speaking, all eyes in the room turned to me.

Mi Zhongde’s face lost its smile. He picked up his cigar, took a puff, and said, “Is that so? … Young man, since you are Little Cai’s boyfriend, why don’t you introduce yourself in detail today, while many of her elders are here, so we can get to know you better.”

Mi Zhongde’s words “in detail” and “get to know you better” meant I couldn’t just brush it off. But it was hard to speak up. I couldn’t possibly make up a lie in front of all these experienced people just for the sake of face.

Just as I decided to go all out, Mi Cai squeezed my hand tightly and said firmly, “Uncle, he’s just an ordinary man, but we are in love.”

I looked at Mi Cai. Her short sentence shocked me. My palms started to sweat uncontrollably, dampening Mi Cai’s hand, making the space between our hands moist.

Mi Zhongde frowned and said to Mi Cai in a stern tone, “Little Cai, whether your father is alive or not, I always treat you like my own daughter. I must give you advice about your feelings and future marriage.”

“You should give me advice, but I also have the right to choose my own feelings… Today is your birthday, I don’t want this matter to affect your mood. Can you be happier and not spoil the mood of our relatives and friends?” Mi Cai responded to Mi Zhongde with her usual composure.

Mi Zhongde looked at the people around him, finally held back his anger, but gave me another look. Mi Cai pulled me to another side and sat down in a corner where no one was.

At this moment, I didn’t know how to feel, and I felt even more sorry for Mi Cai. It was my humble birth and long-term inaction that made her suffer this humiliation.

The corner where only the two of us were, seemed to have become a world isolated by everyone. Even though Mi Cai looked calm, I could still see the helplessness and sadness in her eyes. But I didn’t know what to say. It seemed that all the words I could say were pale in such a situation.”Zhao Yang, I’m sorry… But we are boyfriend and girlfriend, and we will have to face this sooner or later. I hope you don’t mind my decision to bring you to the family banquet today.”

“I should be the one apologizing… If I had any capability, I wouldn’t have put you in such a difficult position!”

Tears shimmered in Mi Cai’s eyes, but she smiled and said to me, “I don’t care whether you’re capable or not, I only care if your feelings for me are genuine.”

A warm sensation welled up in the corner of my eyes, blurring my vision. The scenes I had experienced at Jian Wei’s house years ago seemed to overlap with this moment, gradually merging the faces of Mi Cai and Jian Wei. But this overlap tore me apart, making me feel like I was walking down a path of repeating past mistakes.

It wasn’t until Mi Lan came to our side that the overlapping images in my mind were shattered, and I snapped back to reality in a panic.

Mi Lan spoke to me coldly, “Zhao Yang, right… I want to talk to my sister. Could you give us some space?”

I looked at her, my emotions ignited by the contempt in her words, but I restrained myself from lashing out. I just smiled, stood up, and walked towards the outside of the house under Mi Cai’s gaze, already having a rough idea of what she would talk to Mi Cai about.

…

The sunlight outside was really nice, the wind in early spring brought a hint of warmth, as if blowing in vitality and hope. But I was still in low spirits.

I lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and exhaled forcefully. But even the smoke couldn’t break through the sight of the luxurious mansion and cars in front of me, making me feel more oppressed.

I had only smoked half of it when the maid who had opened the door for us came to my side, looked at me apologetically, and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zhao Yang, Miss Mi Lan asked me to ask you to leave this villa.”

I looked at Mi Lan who was chatting with Mi Cai inside the house, a strong sense of humiliation made me laugh. After a while, I gritted my teeth and nodded, “Understood… I’ll leave.”

Without any hesitation, I turned around and walked towards the outside of the villa. The maid, however, ran after me, took out a hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to me, saying, “Mr. Zhao Yang, this is the taxi fare Miss Mi Lan gave you.”

I stopped in my tracks, my eyes bloodshot as I stared at the glaring red on the banknote. After a long while, I took out 200 yuan from my wallet, placed it in the maid’s hand and said, “This 200 yuan is for your Miss Mi Lan. Thank her for opening my eyes. I didn’t know there were such stupid women in this world!”