Ignoring the two opening lines, the respective meanings of the four remaining ones were:

I’m thinking of you as you leave on the train after graduation; I’m thinking of you at my own wedding ceremony; I’m thinking of you every time I reminisce on old times; let our relationship be ever harmonious as we age, as I think of you till we grow old, till we die.

But she was a freaking artistic chick! Therefore, it was impossible for her to say this straight out.

At this point, Xu Tingsheng reminded Fu Cheng, “Here, just a friendly reminder. In this world, it’s those artistic chicks whom we definitely can’t afford to provoke. You’d best be very, very careful.”

Fu Cheng did not retort as he seemed to think this matter completely irrelevant.

After intoxicating himself some more, Fu Cheng suddenly started crying even as he confessed, “Actually, before the semester started, I made another trip to Ms Fang’s home village…they said that she didn’t return even during the summer holidays, and even they don’t know where she is.”

Huang Yaming asked, “Haven’t you already decided on searching slowly? You’re mentally prepared for that, so what does it matter that Ms Fang hasn’t returned? Why’re you crying?”

“But Auntie…Ms Fang’s mother returned once.”

Fu Cheng choked on a mouthful of wine, coughing and crying as he tried hard to calm himself before saying, “When Auntie returned that time, she gave their relatives in the village wedding candies…saying that because Ms Fang was marrying far away, they wouldn’t have a banquet back in the village.”

Even as the speaker, Fu Cheng, tried his best to narrate this calmly, the listeners, Xu Tingsheng and Huang Yaming, both instantly fell silent, overwhelmed by a sense of loss and helplessness.

“Ms Fang’s gotten married,” Fu Cheng said.

“Let’s all give Ms Fang our best wishes,” Fu Cheng raised his wineglass, Huang Yaming and Xu Tingsheng only able to comply.

They had no way of comforting him.

Fu Cheng collapsed of drunkenness very quickly. Xu Tingsheng and Huang Yaming carried him onto one of the beds.

Then, the two smoked a cigarette together.

“What do you think?” Huang Yaming asked Xu Tingsheng.

The pain that Xu Tingsheng was feeling over this matter was second only to Fu Cheng’s. Even after Fang Yunyao had left, no news of her being available, Xu Tingsheng had still harboured hope for this relationship of two lives, believing that things would not ultimately end like this…

Now, Fu Cheng had said that she had married, marrying far away from home.

“I don’t know,” Xu Tingsheng said rather despondently.

“Anyway, I freaking won’t believe it no matter what,” Huang Yaming declared loudly, “I really won’t believe it even if I die. But the way things are now, there’s no way for me to back it up. There’s also no way that I can comfort Fu Cheng like this.”

Xu Tingsheng asked, “Why?”

Huang Yaming said, “Back when Ms Fang woke up and you returned to Yanzhou, I stayed on for a few more days. When I visited the sick ward everyday, I was drawn by the way Ms Fang who was still very weak at the time was gazing at Fu Cheng, you know?”

“I really envied that type of gaze, because no woman has ever looked at me that way before. I definitely don’t believe that Ms Fang would marry someone else so quickly. That’s impossible.”

This reason seemed a little empty. It was no wonder that Huang Yaming had said that he would surely be unable to comfort Fu Cheng with it. Even Xu Tingsheng had not been convinced.

The two drank all the way till 3am in the morning.

The conversation finally returned to themselves.

Huang Yaming had still not completely given up on quitting university and going to Tianyi to work as he shamelessly pestered Xu Tingsheng, going all out with various insincere ‘tear-stained pleas’. He did not know that what he had said that had actually moved Xu Tingsheng the most that night was this: No woman has ever looked at me that way before.

Actually, it should be: Tan Qinglin never once looked at me that way before.

Therefore, Xu Tingsheng understood that he indeed needed reassurance right now, even if what supported him was a determination to get Tan Qinglin to regret her decision.

“You know that Tianyi was an accident, right?” Xu Tingsheng asked, “We never planned so high and far in our initial conception. So, you should set your sights back a little.”

“What’s left if I set my sights back? Toiling for three years, then getting a graduation certificate that’s completely useless to me?” Huang Yaming complained unresignedly.

“If you can guarantee that you will get that graduation certificate, I’m actually also considering first letting you do a little something you’ll surely like,” Xu Tingsheng threw out the bait, smiling.

Huang Yaming immediately bit the hook and nodded excitedly, “Guaranteed, a hundred percent guaranteed.”

Then, he impatiently pressed, “Hurry up and say it! Out with it, what is it that I can do first?”

Xu Tingsheng said, “One of them will make you freaking cool, while the other is something that you’ll definitely like doing. Which one will you choose?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ll choose both,” Huang Yaming said.

Now this was the Huang Yaming that Xu Tingsheng was familiar with.

Xu Tingsheng smiled, “The first thing is the investment of that movie we were discussing last time. Things are already agreed over with Boss Shi. I’ve told him that I will make the primary investment, with the producer being…you. As the producer, your name will be shown on the screen when the movie starts.”

“I know that,” Huang Yaming said, “The problem is, will this movie be popular? Tan…that woman, will she be able to see it?”

“It will definitely be popular. She should see it,” Xu Tingsheng replied.

“That’s good then,” Huang Yaming excitedly did a fist pump before continuing, “What’s the second thing then?”

“The second thing. I’ll give you some money, and you can open a bar near the academy city, or maybe a KTV or the like,” Xu Tingsheng told him.

“Still, you’ll have to work out the specifics yourself, like the design of the bar and whatnot. I think you could ask whether there’s anyone at Tianyi who’s familiar with the industry. You could work on trying to get all the ambience and whatever to surpass whatever Yanzhou already has now.”

“As for the little details, all those related things, you should know some relevant people after having hung out with Fang Yuqing’s bunch for so long. Look for them to help you here. Get those who are able to invest to invest if able. Money isn’t the main thing here, understand?”

“I understand. You can rest assured on this. Tan Yao and I know how to handle it.”

Huang Yaming excitedly raised his wineglass, the two downing another glass of wine.

After a while, his excitement having faded, Huang Yaming asked Xu Tingsheng in a rather hesitant manner, “But, do you still have money? I heard that you just completed the acquisition of a training institute in Shenghai. Won’t this make it very hard on your pockets?”

Xu Tingsheng nodded, “Right, that acquisition has temporarily wrung me dry of all my money.”

Hearing Xu Tingsheng say this, Huang Yaming hesitated for a moment before saying rather guiltily, “Then, how about…you don’t have to be concerned about me, actually. The things on your side are what’s really important.”

Xu Tingsheng shook his head, smiling, “Relax, it’s fine. The day after the acquisition, I began applying for a loan with the bank with the training institute as collateral. There’s people working on things there. You don’t have to understand the specifics, but anyway, what will eventually be loaned will definitely be greater than what I spent. Your side also won’t be taking up that much.”

Huang Yaming considered it for a moment before muttering, “So business is actually done this way?”

Xu Tingsheng said, “Right, business is actually done this way. Money is actually a very slutty thing. You ask it to roll, and it will roll for you. Also, it will only roll on to be bigger and bigger.
……

The next morning, Fu Cheng woke up.

After taking a bath, he changed his clothes and went outside.

Startled awake by the sound of the door opening, Xu Tingsheng asked rather worriedly, “Where’re you going?”

Fu Cheng said calmly, “I feel like going around on the round city bus.”

Xu Tingsheng was taken aback but said eventually, “Okay.”

Fu Cheng liked going around the entire Yanzhou city district on a round city bus, gazing at streets and alleys both wide and narrow. He had persisted with this habit throughout. It had initially been because of Xu Tingsheng’s consolation as he had hoped that Fang Yunyao had not left, that he would suddenly catch a glimpse of her on some street through the window one day.

Now, he could virtually be absolutely certain that Fang Yunyao was not in Yanzhou.

He had ever heard news of her marriage in a distant land.

Maybe because he was hurting the most now, he decided to do the same thing.

Only when he was doing this, in the cabin of the bus on the bumpy roads as passengers got on and off and people came and went on those busy streets outside, was he able to, in his calmest, most positive state of mind…think about her.

That artistic chick, He Yishan, had somehow managed to find him as she got on the bus and sat down beside him, saying mildly, “What a coincidence.”

Fu Cheng said, “Please get lost.”

He Yishan had found Huang Yaming that afternoon. With some parts omitted for privacy, Huang Yaming had told her the tale of Fu Cheng and Fang Yunyao.

Then, he had asked her, “You can give up on him now, right?”

Yet, He Yishan had said, “It’s fine. Who’s never had anyone hidden away in their heart before? I will help Fu Cheng to walk out of it.”

Huang Yaming had been overwhelmed into submission by her as he had texted Xu Tingsheng, saying, “You were right! Artistic chicks are scary indeed. The heck, they aren’t even Earthlings.”

Chapter end