I glanced at my watch instinctively and gasped – I was already more than half an hour past my work start time. Without even brushing the mud off my clothes, I sprinted towards the resort. As I rushed into the office, I inwardly groaned: the huge office was packed with people, holding their weekly meeting. Amidst the various stares of the crowd, I stammered "I'm sorry" a few times, then tried to find a discreet spot to disappear from everyone's attention. But Yu Lishui seemed determined not to let me off the hook: "Ms. Li, being late isn't unforgivable, but you should at least give me a reason why I can forgive you?" She spoke calmly and without anger.
I was speechless. I couldn't exactly announce, all flushed and overnourished, that I'd just had diarrhea, could I? Traffic jam? I didn't want to get mobbed and crippled. And honestly, did I go to work to look for the cat? I'm not that stupid, not that low. "Sorry, I can't find a reason," I admitted helplessly.
"What kind of attitude is this?!" Ren Xiaoqi's voice, sharp and metallic, pierced my eardrums. Although I knew she had been holding back her anger for days, this sudden outburst, so abrupt and dramatic, still caught me off guard. I stood there dumbfounded, stammering, "What attitude did I have?"
"Who do you think you are? You need to figure out who's in charge here, it's me!" In her anger, Ren Xiaoqi's face contorted, but she didn't lose her composure. Realizing her Cantonese wasn't enough to support her outburst, she immediately switched to Mandarin and delivered an impromptu speech that I'll never forget:
"Don't think that hiding here will keep your past misdeeds a secret. You're always putting on this act of chastity, but you're nothing but a worn-out shoe that's been used and thrown away! You think you can fool Assistant Gao? You can't fool me! You can't fool us! Why are you glaring at me?! Do you think I'd make baseless accusations against you? Do you know who my cousin is? She's the finance manager of Zhengdong Company! How about that? Speechless now? You were arrested and imprisoned for accepting bribes and selling company secrets at Zhengdong Company, didn't you? You even used your position to seduce the general manager of Zhengdong, clinging to him even though he already had a fiancée, only to be discarded and disgraced. You dare say you didn't do those things? Hiding on this island, you're still trying to seduce Assistant Gao, scaring her so much she's afraid to go back to the resort. You haven't changed your ways! Humph, let me tell you, if you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place! prastitute!" "I really don't understand how, with your looks, even if you stood there naked, no man would give you a second glance. How could you fool so many outstanding men?!" Ren Xiaoqi finally ended her speech, a culmination of five thousand years of Chinese history and the essence of traditional culture, with a string of cold laughs. I was amazed that she could so concisely and clearly outline such an important stage in my life in just a few minutes. Although I was a complete stranger in her words, it was enough to leave me in awe, and I had to say, "I'm completely impressed!"
The office was filled with people exchanging glances, followed by a flurry of chatter. It was only then that Yu Lishui spoke up to maintain order: "Xiaoqi, watch your words. This is an office, after all." But a slight smirk played on her lips, and her eyes gleamed with undisguised smugness.
"So what if it's an office? Some people are capable of such disgraceful things, why should I be afraid of having my mouth exposed? Ask her if there was a single wrong word I said just now?"
"Yes! If you meant to say 'bitch,' the correct English pronunciation is 'prostitute,' not 'prastitute,' you know? Remember not to do it next time, or people will laugh at you." Although I was being serious, some people still chuckled.
When A-Lian dragged me out of the art studio, it was already past closing time. I didn't want to take advantage of the company, so I voluntarily worked overtime to make up for the half hour I was late for lunch.
"Why are you late for work?" Ah Lian was really anxious, her little face flushed.
"Because I had stayed here long enough, and I had a new plan to make money, I resigned."
"You're lying! You didn't want to continue because of what Ren Xiaoqi said today."
"Do you believe those things?" I asked instead of answering.
"No!" Ah Lian said without hesitation.
“That’s it. The people I care about aren’t affected by those words, so they have no effect on me. Actually, I had already made up my mind to leave at the cabin this afternoon. She just happened to tell those jokes at that time.”
“But if you leave at this time and don’t defend yourself at all, then everyone will think you’re really that kind of… that kind of… person.” Poor A-Lian opened her mouth several times but couldn’t say those words, so she had to skip it.
"Oh, my dear, why don't you understand that those people are not important to me at all? Sometimes words are pale, and silence is the noblest."
"Would you be disappointed with the vacation, disappointed with the island?"
I took Ah Lian's arm: "For any place I stay, I only enjoy the part I like, so all that remains along the way are the singing birds and the embrace of 'No War.' Of course, for me, the island will always be the tranquility and beauty it was when I first arrived."
Ah Lian finally broke into a smile: "I had prepared a whole bunch of things to say to comfort you, but in the end, you're the one comforting me. That's really not right."
"That's outrageous, so tonight you're punished by having to buy me drinks."
Part Two, Chapter Fifteen
Although I claimed not to care, the fascinating stories about me spread rapidly through the air like a scarlet fever virus. Not only at the resort, but everyone on the entire island recounted them with vivid detail and fervor, as if they were firsthand witnesses. A-Lian's parents naturally heard about it too, and I'm sure it was Nn's version. But the two kind old people didn't care about the gossip of the neighbors. They calmly welcomed me for food and lodging as usual, and after dinner, A-Lian's father even stayed in the yard to have a couple of drinks with me and A-Lian, which was quite unusual. However, this peaceful atmosphere was shattered by four or five urgent phone calls from Yin Tian. He insisted I come out, or he would come knocking on our door. At such a sensitive time, I didn't want to cause any trouble for A-Lian's family, so I had no choice but to go out.
Yin Tianyu was waiting for me at the resort's bar. The lighting was dim, which reassured me somewhat. A girl sat next to Yin Tianyu; she had delicate and pretty features, and at first glance, she wasn't ostentatious or unpleasant.
"Hello, I'm DIDO." The girl greeted me with a nod and introduced herself, appearing very well-mannered.
"Hello, I'm Li Hao." I was quite impatient, and the situation felt a bit like a formal greeting between patrons in the martial arts world, so my smile was somewhat forced.
"What would you like to drink? DIDO is really good at mixing drinks. How about trying that 'Sangria'? It's a bit sour and easy to drink, but it's also easy to get drunk." Although Yin Tianyu spoke in a calm tone, I felt like he was deliberately challenging me in front of DIDO.
"It's okay, but if you try to get me drunk, you'll be the one who dies first."
DIDO obediently went to the bar to mix drinks.
"Where are you planning to hide this time?" Yin Tianyu took a sip of some kind of liquid from the large glass in front of him, then took a sip of ice water.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by hiding? This is called a strategic retreat."
"Actually, I happened to be at the door when you were having your meeting," Yin Tianyu said. The thought of that humiliation made my blood pressure spike.
"Manager Ren's speech was excellent!" I took a sip of water and chuckled, pretending to be nonchalant.
"No, your silence is more interesting. As for Manager Ren, she'll leave the resort before you do."
I was taken aback, then utterly enraged: "What are you doing? Getting revenge for me? How could you do this? If what Ren Xiaoqi did today was slapping me in public, then what you did is like drawing a turtle on my head! How could you be so childish? This is your business, and we are friends in private. How could you mix the two and use public office to settle a personal score? You've disappointed me so much. If it were Willson, he would never have done this!" I was furious and said whatever came to mind, but as soon as I finished the last word, I immediately realized I had said the wrong thing.
Sure enough, Yin Tian and Xiang were whipped, and their faces twitched. I wanted to say sorry, but my mouth moved and no sound came out.
"At least thank you for still considering me your friend. But I didn't do this for you." Yin Tianyu took a deep breath before continuing, "If I had only considered myself your friend back then, that woman named Ren would have been the first woman I ever disciplined. Actually, at the beginning of the year, Ahui, that is, Cheng Jinghui, came back to report that there were significant problems with the personnel at the resort, and the relationships involved were very complicated. They didn't dare to take any action, so I came down here myself and observed for more than half a month without telling anyone. I finalized the personnel change plan, and all parties involved in the joint venture were informed long ago. Before that Ren woman made those hurtful remarks to you, she was already on the shortlist. I wonder if this explanation will make that turtle on your head disappear?"
"Who was it that told me in the first place that I came to the resort to wait for my girlfriend?" I tried to find some reasons to avoid feeling too guilty. "Who told you to always act like a cunning old fox in front of me?"
"Yes, I always seem so pathetic in your eyes. It seems I really need to examine myself." Yin Tianyu smiled slightly, but I saw a desolation on his face that only middle-aged people have.
At that moment, I truly realized that I had no idea how much I had hurt him. I wanted to slap myself to death, so I grabbed Yin Tianyu's bottle and took a big gulp, saying, "Anyway, I already owe you a lot, so let me just say I owe you one more time. Anyway, saying anything is pointless, I'll just punish myself... Wow, what kind of wine is this? It tastes so awful!"
Yin Tianyu snatched the bottle back, "What do you know? This is Dutch gin. Don't waste my good wine and then pretend to be a loyal friend. You're taking advantage of everything."
"Is it expensive?" My catchphrase slipped out unconsciously. I smacked my lips, savoring the taste of this "good wine," but it didn't taste as good as the goji berry wine that Ah Lian's dad brewed himself.
Yin Tianyu gave me a price, and I couldn't help but purse my lips, "It's not too expensive. I thought I was wasting your money."
"Good wine is like a fine antique; it's not about how expensive it is, but whether you like it, you know?" Yin Tianyu rarely had the chance to lecture me, and his expression was very pleased: "So where are you going next?"
I felt I owed him a lot, so this time I honestly answered, "I'm going back to Guangzhou to implement my brand new money-making plan."
"What grand money-making plan?"
"I want to create a flower delivery website, where all my online members can order flowers as easily as they would milk or newspapers – fresh, cheap, and guaranteed to be updated daily."
"Ah, ordering flowers like ordering milk and newspapers? That sounds like a novel idea." DIDO walked over with a strangely colored drink, just in time to hear my last sentence, and couldn't help but chime in.