My 26-year-old Female Tenant

   Half an hour after Li Xiaoyun left, the entire Xitang Street became brightly lit again, so I blew out the candles in the candlesticks, and the smoky smell in the air became even stronger.

  I sat back on the recliner, took the phone out of my pocket again, and put my finger on Mi Cai's number for a long time, but still failed to press it.

  This hesitation made me feel extremely anxious, and finally angrily threw the phone on the stone table beside me.

  I stared blankly at the bustling Xitang Street in front of me, and couldn’t help asking myself: Why is my own business always full of thorns and troubles in this era when the streets are full of Mercedes-Benz and BMW?

   Is it because their success came too easily, or because I am too one-sided and only see their brilliance?

  At this moment, I was confused, but I didn’t dare to extinguish the heart of struggle, so I was pulled like this, and for the first time in my life, I realized the difficulty of starting a business.

  At noon of the next day, I sent Li Xiaoyun to the station in Xitang. She will transfer from the station to Shanghai, and then fly directly to Xiamen from Shanghai.

  When we parted, we didn’t give each other any words of appreciation. She just asked me to leave the extra 70 yuan after yesterday’s haircut. So, I still have 308 yuan to deposit with her temporarily.

  Finally, we embraced lightly, and each of us rushed to another world. Her world will soon have the sea breeze, waves and seafood of Gulangyu Island. My world is still full of helplessness after lack of money.

  So, instead of going back to the inn, I drove the dilapidated van directly to Suzhou, because only a few friends in Suzhou were left who could settle the funds for me.

  …

   When I came to the city of Suzhou again, it was already in the afternoon. The first person I contacted was Yan Yan, because she was in charge of their family's financial power, and it would be more efficient to ask her for a loan than Fangyuan.

  About four o'clock, Yan Yan came out from the company to meet me. We met in a coffee shop in the city center, but this time she didn't look as energetic as before, she was very haggard.

  I handed her the coffee I ordered and asked, "Are you busy with work recently?"

  Yan Yan took a sip of coffee and replied, "Fortunately, it's the same as before, but you, why did you suddenly return to Suzhou?"

   I couldn't talk about borrowing money for a while, so I smiled and said: "I miss you, come back to see you."

  Yan Yan just looked at me, and didn't call me "dead" like she used to.

  I moved closer to her and said, "I've come all the way to see you, can you give me a smile?"

   "Zhaoyang, don't make trouble, I'm not in the mood."

  I finally realized something, and asked nervously, "Is something wrong?"

  Yan Yan suddenly choked up, and my heart tightened even more. I hurriedly handed her a tissue and asked her to wipe away her tears first.

  Yan Yan wiped the corners of her eyes with a tissue, and said to me, still choking with sobs: "I quarreled with Fang Yuan... He hasn't come home for a week... We have never been apart for so long since we were together!"

  Because it was too unexpected, I asked in a gaffe, "Why did you quarrel?"

   "Recently, he always comes home very late. That day... I finally couldn't bear it and got angry at him, and he lost his temper. In the end, the quarrel got out of hand, and he... moved out!"

  I was silent for a long while, and finally comforted me: "He is the manager of Zhuomei's planning department now, and he must be very busy at work. You should be considerate of him."

"When he was working at Polaroid Department Store, it was not that he was not busy, but it was rare for him to come home after 12 o'clock at night for several weeks in a row, and he smelled of alcohol, Zhaoyang... you Tell me, how many women can endure this endlessly?" Yan Yan burst into tears after she finished speaking.

   "Then you guys have been arguing for so long, why didn't you tell me, did you treat me too much as an outsider?"

   "You have your business to be busy with... Besides, this time it's going to be like this, I really don't know how to talk to you!"

   "No matter what the troubles are like, life will always go on... Don't think too much, I will go to Fangyuan right away, if some things are not resolved as soon as possible, it will become a problem!"

  Yan Yan nodded, and asked me with a tone of self-reproach: "Zhaoyang, is it because I don't understand him too much?... Sometimes I feel distressed when I see him so tired at work, but..."

   "When two people live together, bumps and bumps are inevitable, so mutual understanding is very important. This quarrel should be regarded as a learning process. Maybe Fang Yuan will regret it after calming down."

  Yan Yan remained silent, still crying.

  I asked her again: "Did you contact Fang Yuan these days when he was away?"

  Yan Yan shook her head: "I don't think...it's my fault. I've been working hard to make money to maintain this family. I really hope that his attention can be divided on me..."

As she said that, Yan Yan's expression was a little dazed and painful. She pressed her forehead with both hands, crying uncontrollably: "Zhaoyang...I really want a child, but...but, I haven't even dared to mention this matter until now. Tell him! . . . Isn't that sad for a woman?"

  I lightly patted Yan Yan's back to make her breathe easier, but my heart became more and more blocked. Could it be that Yan Yan and Fang Yuan, who are model couples, cannot escape the test of time?

  How long is one person willing to accommodate another?

  …

  Yan Yan was persuaded by me to go home and rest at home, and drove to Zhuomei by herself, and called Fangyuan on the way, and he answered the call when the waiting time was about to end.

  I said to him straight to the point: "I'm in Suzhou, are you free now? Come out and chat."

   Fangyuan replied quickly: "Not today, I have to go to the headquarters in Shanghai soon, there is an urgent meeting to attend."

   "Fang Yuan, work is important, but it can't be compared with your wife and family, right?"

   "Do you know about my quarrel with Yan Yan?"

   "Can the paper still hold the fire? ... I don't care how important you are going to attend the meeting. After half an hour, I won't see you. Don't mention the word brother to me in the future."

   After I finished speaking, I hung up the phone annoyed... I lit another cigarette to calm myself down.

   It's not that I haven't worked in a department store before, so I naturally understand the importance of emergency meetings, but why do you use the word "brother" to blackmail Fangyuan so unreasonably?

After smoking half a cigarette, I finally figured it out, because the pair of Fangyuan and Yanyan carry the last hope of a college romance, and it is also the beauty I have always yearned for... If even they are shattered, then the true love in this world will be lost. There will never be that crystal clear city again.

  …

  I ordered a beer and waited for Fangyuan at the barbecue restaurant I frequented when I was in college. Half an hour passed quickly, but he didn't show up, which made me even more annoyed.

When I was about to take out my mobile phone and call him again, a black Land Rover stopped at the door of the barbecue restaurant, and then Xiang Chen got out of the car, and said to me from afar: "Zhaoyang, our brother Let's have a few drinks first, Fangyuan will be there soon."

  I immediately understood that it was too harsh for me to only give Fang Yuan half an hour, but he really cared about the word brother, so he first entrusted Xiang Chen to come to the rescue.

  Xiang Chen sat down across from me, poured me a glass of beer, poured another glass himself, and then raised the glass to me, signaling a toast.

  I put aside my emotions for a while and bumped into him, but I can’t remember the last time the two of us sat alone drinking together, it was a few years ago!

  However, the reunion of only these two makes me feel uncomfortable!