Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Tong Haizhou and I picked a noodle shop, each of us ordered a bowl and started eating. While slurping down the noodles, I said to him, "Your three-character name is quite a mouthful to say. Let me simplify it for you."
"Whatever you want, just don't change my surname."
After a brief thought, I said, "Alright, I won't change your surname. From now on, I'll call you Tongzi."
（Peter Pan's tip:"Tongzi" means little boy, which can refer to a virgin）
He nodded and replied, "Fine, Tongzi it is. After all, I'm still a virgin."
I chuckled. It's easy to be around someone like him; he doesn't take your jokes to heart.
Tongzi was shoveling noodles into his mouth furiously and quickly finished his bowl. He urged me, "Yang Bro, eat faster. She's probably there by now, usually only sits for half an hour before leaving."
"You seem to have done your homework!"
Tongzi nodded proudly.
I asked again, "Have you ever tried hitting on her?"
Tongzi shook his head repeatedly, "No, my legs start shaking when I'm within ten meters of her!"
"No wonder you're still a virgin!"
"Aren't you one too?… Acting like you dare to chat her up."
"My virginity is not the same kind as yours."
"That's hard to comprehend!"
I patted Tongzi's shoulder and laughed, "How about this—if I speak to her later, you owe me a meal, deal?"
"What if you chicken out?"
"I'll cover your food and lodging for a month."
"Deal."
***
After the meal, Tongzi and I walked along Xitang River. A few hundred meters in, he pulled me onto a bridge and excitedly said, "Yang Bro, see that? That's the woman."
Following the direction he pointed, I indeed saw a woman in a red coat. From this distance, her features weren't clear, but her posture and figure hinted at her beauty—a beauty I had only felt when I first saw Mi Cai. No wonder Tongzi, the virgin, couldn't muster the courage to approach her.
I continued toward her, passing a row of newly budded willows, and sat down on the steps next to her. I didn't rush to strike up a conversation; instead, I lit a cigarette, hoping she would speak to me first.
I deliberately blew smoke in her direction with the wind, waiting for her reaction…
Unexpectedly, she took out a pack of ladies' cigarettes from her bag, lit one for herself, and seemed to completely ignore my existence.
Her behavior surprised me; subconsciously, I hadn't expected her to smoke. Then again, a woman who comes alone to Xitang, sitting by the river every day, is probably nursing a broken heart—with cigarettes, alcohol, or a trip as her only remedies. But could such a woman really be heartbroken?
Finally, I snuffed out my cigarette, smiled at her, and asked, "Miss, are you heartbroken?"
She didn't look at me and replied impatiently, "What's it to you?"
I quickly denied, "Of course, it's none of my business. I'm not the one who broke your heart!"
She finally glanced at me, her voice even colder, "Stop with the smooth talk. I despise men like you!"
I smiled and ventured, "You've been hurt by a smooth-talker before, haven't you?"
A flash of hatred crossed her eyes, and she stubbed out her cigarette, unwilling to stay any longer, and stood up to leave.
I didn't pursue her further. A woman with a broken heart is too dangerous, and I sensed a violent streak in her, evident from the way she extinguished her cigarette.
Honestly, she wasn't my type, even though her beauty was on par with Mi Cai's.
After she left, Tongzi sneaked over, eager to know, "Yang Bro, what did you talk to her about?"
"Want to know?"
"Very much."
"Wait until she comes here tomorrow, and you can ask her yourself… And don't forget the meal you owe me, according to our bet."
"I definitely won't forget, but you have to tell me what you talked about!"
I ignored Tongzi and, mimicking the woman's disdainful look, glanced at him and walked away.
***
Back at the inn, Tongzi continued his TV series, while I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, seemingly zoning out but actually reflecting on myself.
At that moment, I missed Mi Cai, worried she might be too busy with work to have dinner, or that she might not remember to put on an extra layer of clothing on this chilly night.
But then, thinking about it made me laugh sadly, because she might be enjoying a different life with Wei Ran, having forgotten about her ex-boyfriend.
So, I forced myself not to think about her, not wanting to demean myself.
I then thought of Jian Wei, recalling the joyous days in Xitang when we wished we could be together forever. But now, even the inn that held those memories had been turned into a bar, which was truly saddening.
After Jian Wei, I pondered my future. Now that Mi Cai and I had broken up, who would be the woman to walk with me from here on?
I had no answer. In the emptiness of not having one, I hastily dreamed of my future career, still clueless.
Eventually, I realized that the city in the sky was not so easily mended, so I needed to relax in Xitang while waiting for an opportunity to save my life and that shattered city.
Lost in thought, I grew tired, but was suddenly jolted awake by Tongzi's explosive shout. Annoyed, I asked, "What are you yelling for?"
"Yang Bro, Le Yao updated her Weibo…"
"Doesn't she post every day? What's there to shout about?"
"No, no, it's different. She posted a travel guide to Xitang today. Could it be she's coming here?"
I was surprised. If Le Yao was coming to Xitang, it had to be for me; otherwise, it was too much of a coincidence. But she had been busy filming lately, making it unlikely she'd come. Then again, she always collected travel guides, and perhaps my being in Xitang piqued her interest, leading her to bookmark it, even if a visit was in the future.
After figuring it out, I said nothing more, but Tongzi kept analyzing Le Yao's Weibo, trying to prove the possibility of her coming to Xitang.