Chapter 125: Night in Guangzhou

Li Ying had been back in Guangzhou for five days. She had turned off her phone, quietly hiding at home without contacting a single soul. Her apartment was situated by the Pearl River, and sitting on the balcony offered a direct view of the river scenery. When she originally purchased the place, it was precisely for this pleasure—being able to enjoy the gentle caress of the river breeze on the balcony while lifting her gaze to the picturesque view.

She had already indulged in this comfort for five days, yet a growing restlessness stirred within her heart. Lying on her favorite lounge chair with a cup of coffee placed beside her and a book held in her hands, she remained entirely undisturbed by anyone. In the past, spending a whole month like this would have felt serene and cozy, but now, merely five days in, her mind was already unsettled.

Pulling out her phone, she thought about turning it on to give Luer a call, but after a moment of hesitation, she stopped, sighed, put the phone away, and continued lying down to read.

Much like a meditating monk whose mind has gathered dust, how could one possibly attain inner tranquility? Her eyes lingered on the book, but her thoughts had wandered off to who knows where. She stood up, went inside, and sat at the computer, only to realize she had no idea where to go on the internet. Instant messaging was not as popular back then as it was now, and though she had a few friends online, she simply lacked the mood to chat with them.

Turning off the computer, she strolled out, got into her car, and drove aimlessly without a destination in mind. She took out her phone, intending to dial the number of her best friend, but ultimately put it down again. Eventually, she arrived at her usual haunt, a bar named "Orange Dream," and chose her favorite seat by the window, ordering a glass of red wine.

Night was gradually falling, and a dreamy orange hue warmed the small bar, while the slightly melancholy strains of a saxophone drifted through the air. This was not a high-end establishment, and she did not bother to identify the song, merely sipping her red wine slowly amidst the warmth and gentle sorrow of the ambiance.

There were few patrons, and no one was loud; only a couple could be heard whispering softly, gently embracing and exchanging faint smiles. She drank very little, just a light taste, letting the melancholy mood drift slowly along with the saxophone music. Sitting there with an empty mind for a long time, she eventually left, leaving two-thirds of her glass untouched.

Several days passed in this manner. Finally, she picked up the phone and called her best friend, Yu Menglan.

"Li Ying, when did you get back?"

"I've been back for over ten days."

Yu Menglan arrived at her apartment with the utmost speed. Sitting barefoot on the sofa in the living room, she quietly gazed at her good friend.

"How have you been doing?"

"Very well," Li Ying said with a smile. "Only these past few days have been unpleasant. My heart just couldn't find peace."

She stood up to brew some tea. Her tea-brewing skills were consistently impressive—not the Gongfu tea favored by locals in Guangdong, but authentic Longjing tea. She loved the light, refreshing fragrance of Longjing.

The two women sipped tea while discussing all sorts of topics since they last parted. Yu Menglan was a thoroughly modern, urban-minded girl with permed hair that looked somewhat avant-garde for the time, and her attire was equally avant-garde.

A person like her should have pursued a career in the arts or fashion, yet she worked in finance.

"How are things with you now? How many boyfriends have you gone through lately?"

Seeing her old friend, Li Ying felt somewhat cheered up.

"Not many, just swapped one for another," Yu Menglan said lightly, taking a sip of tea, her slender fingers adorned with nail polish. "Do you still remember Wei Yanbai?"

Yu Menglan burst into a giggling laugh.

"How could I not remember? That's little Bai," Li Ying laughed as well. "Did you hook up with little Bai?"

"He's currently pursuing me quite passionately," Yu Menglan smiled charmingly. "He's been married for two years now, and his little wife has turned into a resentful woman. Just the other day, she even blocked my path to curse me out as a homewrecking vixen."

"Well, you are a vixen to begin with," Li Ying said cheerfully. "Who knows how many good families a siren like you has torn apart? Let's see when you finally end up a resentful woman yourself, then you'll know what it feels like."

"Me? Become a resentful woman?" Yu Menglan laughed heartily. "No one is ever going to capture my heart, nor will I ever truly love any man. Playing around with them is fine, but trying to trap me? No way!"

"You wretch! That is not how you practice independent personhood."

Yu Menglan was a woman who took independent personhood to the extreme, treating men like blades of grass and holding marriage in utter contempt. In her view, married women were absolute fools and mere puppets of men.

"Say, I heard you found a younger man—and a country boy at that?"

Her piercing gaze fixed intently on Li Ying.

"Yes."

"Good grief..." Yu Menglan's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you have a pedophilic streak? You can actually tolerate that kind of country boy? You've really fallen! How did you become someone like this?"

"You're the one with the pedophilic streak!" Li Ying's face flushed slightly. "Luer is a standard, full-blooded man. Don't look at your pretty boy who is twenty-five or twenty-six; in my eyes, he doesn't even possess a fraction of Luer's masculinity."

"Luer?" Yu Menglan stared intently at Li Ying. "Look at you getting all defensive. Your little man is named Luer? How old is he?"

"Seventeen."

Li Ying's expression darkened.

"Ha... I'm dying of laughter," Yu Menglan laughed so hard she bent over, laughing boisterously like a man. "You're sleeping with a seventeen-year-old boy? And you say you don't have a pedophilic streak? I'd say you're done for, completely finished."

"When I'm in bed with him, I feel entirely like a woman, and in his arms, I am nothing more than a little woman." Remembering the frantic, wifely passion she shared with Luer in bed, Li Ying blushed involuntarily. "It's just that you could never lie in his arms; otherwise, you'd truly understand what a real man is."

"My, my... I've never heard you praise a man like this before, let alone a country boy." Seeing Li Ying's serious expression, Yu Menglan stopped laughing. "It seems like you've fallen for him. Is he really that manly?"

"In his arms, I feel like a genuine woman—a joyful woman, a blessed woman."

Li Ying smiled with bliss.

"Right now, I don't even care to look at the pretty boy you think is so manly. Can you even call that a creature a man?"

Li Ying added with a look of utter disdain. Yu Menglan fell silent, studying Li Ying carefully, earnestly. She felt as though she no longer recognized this cold beauty. Knowing Li Ying's personality, how could someone so aloof and proud ever offer such sycophantic praise to a man, let alone a country boy?

Had the world turned upside down? She raised her head, only to see the ceiling.

Could he really be a top-tier young man? No matter how exceptional he was, he was only seventeen, something Yu Menglan would undoubtedly sneer at.

"Li Ying, have you no shame?"

Yu Menglan said with a depressed tone.

"What do you mean, no shame?" Li Ying retorted, striking back. "You're the shameless one, always trying to seduce handsome pretty boys the moment you see them. I am shameless now, and I like my country boy. What about it?"

Li Ying refused to back down. In truth, she was somewhat troubled herself—had she truly lost her shame? Words like these were things she would never have been able to utter before, yet now they rolled off her tongue as if they were only natural.

Perhaps she had contracted the country folk's habit of speaking her mind bluntly and directly about what she loved.

"Good heavens... How did you become as feisty as a country woman?"

"I originally said I was a country woman, did you just find out?" Li Ying laughed. "Country people are direct, bold, and generous. I really have become a country woman."

Yu Menglan looked at Li Ying as if she were a monster. Was this really the Li Ying she knew? The Li Ying who, just like her, insisted on maintaining her independent personhood and firmly refused to be controlled by men?

A monster—Li Ying had undoubtedly turned into a monster, one bewitched by a country boy.

Yet Li Ying wore such a sweet expression, which made it all the more incomprehensible to Yu Menglan. Li Ying herself found it somewhat baffling: why did she become so radiant and sweep away all her recent depression the moment she talked about the countryside, the moment she talked about Luer? Why was she full of endless praise for him? Was Luer really that wonderful? Wherein lay his goodness?

She recalled the way Luer called her "Elder Sister," his innocent smile, his attentive care for her, and the way he yielded to her every wish.

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Yu Menglan shook her head. "Is it his prowess in bed that has you so infatuated?"

"His prowess in bed is naturally good." Li Ying felt she was indeed acting somewhat shamelessly, but she felt no shame about it whatsoever. "If you were in bed with him, you'd definitely go crazy, utterly wild, because you're a wildcat to begin with anyway."

Li Ying burst into giggles.

"Is he really that fiercely capable?"

"I'm not telling you, lest you set your sights on him."

"So are you wild and crazy in his bed?" Yu Menglan smiled mischievously. "Are you thinking of marrying him?"

"Marrying him?" Li Ying shook her head. "I have thought about it. He is definitely a man worth marrying, but I won't marry him."

At this point, her expression dimmed somewhat.

"Since you like him so much, why won't you marry him?"

Yu Menglan spoke as she poured tea for both herself and Li Ying, then stared unblinkingly at her.

"I am six years older than him." Li Ying's eyes seemed somewhat hollow. "If I were around his age, I would truly want to marry him and spend the rest of my life together. But being this much older, I cannot marry him. Just think, when he is forty years old, I will be a forty-six-year-old crone. What kind of scene would that be?"

"Are you afraid he'll abandon you?"

"He wouldn't abandon me, but just think about what my psychological state would be." She shook her head again. "I won't marry him, but... honestly, I really don't know what to do for the best, otherwise I wouldn't have come back."

"Aren't you going back?"

She shook her head once more.

"I am going back."

She said softly, once again thinking of Luo Yinxiang. She basically knew about what had transpired between Luer and Luo Yinxiang. Luo Yinxiang was brave, unwilling to overthink things like she did; for love, she would brave fire and water without hesitation, daring to leap into pits of water and charge into blazing fires.

"I plan to leave tomorrow. It's time to go back."

"Go back?" Yu Menglan looked at Li Ying strangely. "This is your home. That place is merely somewhere you temporarily work."

"I don't know where my home is anymore, but I prefer the home over there."

Li Ying shook her head again, unsure whether she was shaking it at her own confusion or her own choice. But one thing was certain: she missed that home in Xiasha Village. That was where her career resided, and where her love resided.

Whereas in this home, she felt somewhat lonely.