The Master of Life

On the small stage, Robben was playing the guitar. Le Yao was singing to the rhythm of the music. I was drinking my beer absent-mindedly.

After a while, I said to CC, "Le Yao is really a potential A-list actress!"

"What do you mean?" CC asked.

"Have you ever seen Yang Mi and Fan Bingbing sing better than her? Obviously, with singing as the standard, Le Yao will soon become an A-list actress!"

CC laughed, "Zhao Yang, you're really wicked. You're taking such a roundabout way to tease Le Yao. She'll be furious if she knows!"

My curiosity was piqued. I nudged Mi Cai beside me and said, "You can go up and play later. I haven't heard your singing yet!"

"I only like to hear others sing." Mi Cai shook her head and refused.

I was a little bored. I took a sip of beer and then turned my attention to Le Yao, who was singing.

After a short while, CC asked the waiter to bring a camera. She left her seat and chose a good spot to record Le Yao and Robben's posture on the small stage.

I told CC, who had returned to his seat, "You're really biased. When I was singing just now, you didn't help me take a photo to record my imposing figure."

CC smiled and showed me the photo she just took. She said, "Not bad, right? Maybe this will become a photo with special meaning!"

I nodded and looked at Le Yao and Robben on stage. Perhaps one day, they would really become famous in the entertainment industry. Then, the photos of the two of them singing together before they became famous would naturally have a special meaning. However, even if that day really came, who would know that behind their fame, they had gone through countless difficult yesterdays and today?

It was a simple night, so simple that we took turns singing on the small stage. Mi Cai was even simpler. She didn't say anything from the beginning to the end. She just listened quietly with her chin in her hand. Perhaps everyone who came to the "Empty City" treated this place as a beach where they could rest. They simply listened to music and enjoyed the warmth of human nature.

This dinner was supposed to be my treat, but in the end, Mi Cai took out 1000 yuan before me and put it into a box that showed humanity. I was very proud of this and showed off in front of everyone that my "girlfriend" was rich.

Everyone jokingly called me the "pretty boy" that Mi Cai was keeping.

In fact, there was no such thing as a rich man or a pretty boy. It was just a joke between young people. We don't have much youth left. Only by laughing and joking can our last youth not be so lonely and heavy, because we don't want to be lonely in the most beautiful years!

...

After leaving CC's restaurant, Mi Cai bid farewell to everyone. She was the first to drive away, followed by Robben. I had to send Le Yao back to her hotel.

On the way, Le Yao, who didn't drink, drove. I rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and habitually looked at the city under the night sky.

A drizzle had started to fall from the sky, and the autumn wind was a little cool.

Le Yao suddenly changed lanes and turned the car in the opposite direction. She said to me, "It's still early and the hotel is too stuffy. Let's go sit by the moat."

"Hmm." I responded and continued to immerse myself in the boundless night.

A moment later, we came to the moat and sat next to each other on the lawn that had been slightly wet by the rain.

Sitting for a while, I lay flat on the lawn, letting the drizzle wet me, my emotions completely emptied in the cool autumn wind.

Le Yao also laid down beside me and placed her hand on my chest. She whispered in my ear, "Zhao Yang, Mi Cai isn't your girlfriend, is she?"

"How can you see that?" I asked in surprise.

Le Yao smiled and said, "Women's intuition. I can tell that she has no feelings for you."

Le Yao's insight made me believe that women were really sensory animals. I nodded and said, "Yes, she's indeed not my girlfriend. It's just that when I met Jian Wei that time, I didn't want Jian Wei to see that I was too down and out, so I said she was my girlfriend."

"Jian Wei is back?" Le Yao's tone was full of surprise.

"Yes!" I sighed. I lit another cigarette and took a deep puff. I placed my arm under my head and looked at the drizzling sky with some melancholy.

Le Yao seemed to be a little cold. She hugged me tightly but didn't say anything. Thus, the two of us, who had experienced ups and downs in our lives, huddled together on this drizzling night to find pitiful warmth.

After some time, she whispered into my ear, "Zhao Yang, do you have a place you want to go?"

"Yes, there is a city."

"A city? Just like CC's restaurant?"

"No, it's in the sky. It's a Castle in the Sky. It's crystal clear, and there's a beautiful woman with long hair that drags down her shoulders living inside."

Le Yao thought for a while and said, "Mi Cai is a beautiful woman with shoulder-length hair."

"It's not her. Her long hair is slightly curly." After I denied it, I asked Le Yao, "What about you? Where do you yearn for?"

"It was an island across the beach, but I didn't know where it was. Later, I met a man holding a sail in the middle of the sea. He brought me to the island and we lived together from then on. We watched the sunset on the island every day. Oh right, he would cook dinner for me every evening."

I smiled and said, "You're really good! Even the storyline has been thought out, but it's quite beautiful, even more beautiful than my city!"

Le Yao didn't say anything else. She pressed her face against mine. After a long time, she said to me, "Zhao Yang, don't think about Jian Wei anymore. Fight for your own life. We don't want to be defeated by reality."

The cigarette in my hand had already been soaked by the rain. I took a deep puff. Other than the smoke, there was also the stench of rain. This made me very uncomfortable. Can I really forget Jian Wei and work hard to become a master of life?

This time, I gave myself an answer. Regardless of whether I could forget Jian Wei or not, I should work hard. I knew this opportunity at work was obtained by Le Yao who had suffered a great grievance.

After a moment of silence, I said to Le Yao, "It's time for me to work hard. From today onwards, I'll settle my own life as soon as possible and become a master of life."

"Yes... Zhao Yang, hold me tight. It's a little cold!"

The rain was still falling, and there was finally some water in a low-lying area. The light from the street lamps cast on the small pool of water, as if it reflected the "Castle in the Sky" and the "island across the beach."

...