My 26-year-old female tenant

Chapter 18: Confession

The water in the fountain pool flowed down like a waterfall along the huge sculpture, and the strange trio of me, Mi Cai, and Jian Wei looked at each other in the sound of the flowing water, and no one broke the silence for a while.

Finally, Jian Wei smiled and said to me, "Long time no see, Zhao Yang."

"Hmm." I only responded with one word, for fear that too many words would let her hear my trembling voice, and even more afraid that she would know I was scared.

In response to my answer, Jian Wei just smiled and looked at Mi Cai and asked, "Your girlfriend?"

It was only then that I realized that I was still holding Mi Cai tightly. I didn't care to let go of her, thinking: If Mi Cai was really my girlfriend, it would be enough to prove that I had been doing well in the years after breaking up with Jian Wei, at least not dying in loneliness.

I instinctively didn't want Jian Wei to see me living in a down and out, and under this instinct, I actually nodded to Jian Wei and said, "Yes, she is my girlfriend."

After saying that, I nervously looked at Mi Cai beside me, fearing that she would expose me on the spot and turn me into a joke.

Mi Cai frowned and was silent, seemingly intending to show mercy to me, but also seemed reluctant to give up this excellent opportunity to retaliate against me.

I hurriedly said to Mi Cai, "Aren't you in a hurry to deal with something urgent at the company? Hurry up, I'll explain to my friends later, and they will understand."

Mi Cai struggled and shook off my hand, seemingly eager to leave here, without leaving any words, she turned and walked towards her car.

The red Q7 passed by my body with a gust of air, and it seemed that the air was filled with Mi Cai's angry breath. It seems that I really angered her.

The fountain is still surging, but only Jian Wei and I are left on the scene. I lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and pretended to be helpless and complained, "Alas! She is just busy, busy all day..."

"Is that so, but your girlfriend looks pretty good."

"What do you mean she looks pretty good, of course, she is great!" I straightened up and corrected Jian Wei's words discontentedly.

Jian Wei looked at me and said after a while, "Zhao Yang, you haven't changed."

"What do you mean?"

Before Jian Wei could answer, the best man, Xiang Chen, waved to Jian Wei from a distance, saying that the master of ceremonies was looking for her and there was a wedding segment that required her to cooperate.

Jian Wei responded to Xiang Chen, looked at me again, and asked, "The luncheon is about to start, aren't you going in?"

"I'll finish my cigarette."

Looking at Jian Wei's back as she left, my heart was filled with loss. I wanted to tell her: she was right, I really haven't changed, I still miss those days when we were together, I still remember: that day I couldn't meet her family and could only hide in the corner to see her off, and I also remember that she cried and wrote "wait" heavily on the car window with lipstick, I watched from afar until the word "wait" completely blurred in my line of sight, until there were two lines of tears on my face that she would never see...

I was immersed in the past images, and even wanted to rush over to hold her and tell her that I still love her, but just now, our conversation after a long separation was so pale and tasteless that it was not even a friend, and I knew that the love that rejoiced in silence was getting farther and farther away from us...

If my heart is a city, at this moment, the whole city is crying!

...

The wedding banquet began, and everyone took their seats in order, and my colleagues and I sat a bit back, while Jian Wei, Xiang Chen, the bride and groom sat at the front table.

I tried not to look at Jian Wei, but I couldn't control it. It's ridiculous to ask a woman who has been separated for three years and reminds me every night, how can I suppress the impulse to think of her when she is only a few inches away from me.

My colleague spoke to me, but I was absent-mindedly responding, always looking for a reason in my heart to glance towards Jian Wei. Yet, from beginning to end, Jian Wei didn't even give me a responding glance; she only chatted with Xiang Chen from time to time, sharing a knowing smile after almost every exchange, the two seemed to really hit it off, and Jian Wei seemed to be in quite a good mood.

The master of ceremonies was on stage encouraging Fan Yuan and Yan Yan to engage in intimate interactions, and the crowd below was cheering and making a racket. I remained silent, but drank glass after glass of wine.

In a daze, Xiang Chen approached me with his wine glass. I downed another glass of wine and by the time Xiang Chen reached me, I had already poured myself a full glass and shouted to him, "Xiang Chen, come over and bow down to your young master."

Xiang Chen smiled and said, "Who ends up bowing is still uncertain! How many do you plan to drink this time?"

What Xiang Chen and I referred to as 'bowing down' was a bad habit left over from our university days. Once young and reckless, we would drink until the other party was literally bowed down, unable to continue. Back then, the last man standing would arrogantly call the one who had bowed down his grandson. Over four years of university, I had been bowed down, Fan Yuan had been bowed down, and naturally, Xiang Chen had been bowed down too. Thus, the three of us took turns being the 'grandson' for four years, but never acknowledged the other two as 'masters'!

In fact, since entering society, I have not been drinking foolishly like I did in university. But today, no matter if it's Xiang Chen or anyone else, as long as they raise their glass to me, no matter what kind of alcohol or how many glasses, I will accompany them. I am happy for Fan Yuan and Yan Yan, and feel a sense of sorrow for myself. With so many emotions, perhaps alcohol is indeed the best remedy for me.

I switched to a larger highball glass and filled it almost to the brim with baijiu. Raising the glass to Xiang Chen, I said, "Just like before, one glass per person. If you can't drink it, quickly bow down and play dead. No pleading, no explanations."

Everyone was amused by my words, bursting into laughter, thinking we were just joking. But I didn't blink, I truly raised the glass and drank up a full glass of baijiu in two gulps, then turned the glass upside down to show that it was finished.

Amidst a chorus of amazement, everyone's attention shifted from Fan Yuan and Yan Yan to Xiang Chen and me, including Jian Wei who also looked over.

"Zhao Yang, even after several years since graduation, you're still so fierce. But I will definitely drink this wine because I'm particularly happy today," he finished his glass of wine in one go, then cast a glance towards Jian Wei.

I noticed this detail, and a string in my heart was suddenly plucked. I understood who Xiang Chen's happiness was for.

During university, he and I both pursued Jian Wei, but Jian Wei chose me. Then he and Jian Wei became like siblings, and he continued to take care of her with meticulous attention. Of course, at that time, it seemed like a kind of relief, but now that Jian Wei and I have broken up and she has returned to the country, if she is still single, he could completely legitimately pursue Jian Wei again.

I was silent, but Xiang Chen poured another full glass of baijiu and said to me, "Zhao Yang, could you do me a favor and have another glass with me?"

I nodded and poured another glass of baijiu, ready to drink it all at once, but Xiang Chen held my glass and said, "This time, I'll drink first."

After finishing his words, Xiang Chen tilted his head back and drank the entire glass of baijiu in one go, then placed the wine glass on the table and walked towards Jian Wei.

Jian Wei scolded Xiang Chen with a concerned tone, "Drink less, aren't you afraid of hurting your body by drinking so much?"

"With the help of this wine, I want to tell you something from the heart!" After saying this, Xiang Chen raised his head, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then borrowed the microphone from the master of ceremonies, and looked at Jian Wei with a deeply affectionate expression.

I suddenly had a premonition that the next scene would be enough to tear me apart!

...

The venue was completely silent. At this moment, Xiang Chen's expression was full of sincerity, gentle and touching. He held Jian Wei's hand tightly and gazed at her for a long time before saying, "Today is a day full of joy, and it's also a day I've been looking forward to for a long time... Jian Wei, I have loved you for 5 years and have never changed, even when you were with Zhao Yang, I never gave up loving you... I used to think Zhao Yang would make you happy, so I chose to bless you silently, but the fact is that your relationship was a failure. I won't judge your love, after all, love is free, and there's no point in anyone dwelling on the past... Now that you're single, I hope you can be my girlfriend. I'm really willing to give everything for you, even if you're planning to go back to the United States, I'm willing to go abroad with you, in short, no matter where you go, I will accompany you, just like when I went to the United States to accompany you two years ago! To make you happy, to give you happiness!"

My heart ached as if it was exploding. Xiang Chen's words reminded me of something: a month after I broke up with Jian Wei, Xiang Chen did go abroad for a while, but at that time he didn't tell us which country he went to. Now it can be confirmed that he went to the United States to accompany Jian Wei after her lovelorn period. It turns out that he has been in touch with Jian Wei all these years.

Everyone was waiting to see if Jian Wei would agree to Xiang Chen, but at this moment, I completely understood that the Jian Wei in college loved a kind of feeling, but after graduation, she loved a match in social status.

No matter how you look at it, Xiang Chen and Jian Wei are the most suitable... I think: Maybe I already know the answer Jian Wei is about to give to Xiang Chen.

In the tearing pain, I seem to see the day when I saw her off, she cried and wrote "wait..." heavily on the car window with lipstick.