A Clean Place

My expression started to become unnatural. Mi Cai, who was sitting opposite me, noticed that something was wrong with me. She looked at me and then turned back, so her gaze met Jian Wei's.

Mi Cai's personality was a little cold, and Jian Wei was born proud. After meeting each other, the two of them actually didn't greet each other. Instead, Xiang Chen waved at me and said, "Zhao Yang, so you're bringing your girlfriend to dinner!"

"Well, since you're here, let's share a table." Even though I didn't want to meet him, I still invited him politely. This kind of courtesy made me feel awkward, but I had no choice.

Jian Wei held Xiang Chen's arm and shook her head, "Let's not. We'll sit over there so that it won't be crowded."

Xiang Chen smiled at me, then held Jian Wei's arm and walked to the other table. Looking at their backs, I believe that after this unexpected encounter, Jian Wei and Xiang Chen should absolutely believe that Mi Cai and I are a couple because Mi Cai and I are going on a date alone today and enjoying a dinner that only belongs to the two of us.

...

This was probably the first time that Jian Wei had come to "Empty City" for a meal since she returned to China. Therefore, CC was very surprised to see Jian Wei. She also gave Jian Wei and Xiang Chen beer and coke, but she didn't mention the past because Jian Wei and I already had new lovers in her eyes. It would be too insensible to talk about the past and ruin the atmosphere.

During the meal, I chatted with Xiang Chen a few more times across several tables. I asked Xiang Chen why he and Jian Wei were still in Suzhou. Xiang Chen said that Suzhou was where we went to university, but he rarely came over these years. He took advantage of the time he and Jian Wei had to play here for a few more days, but in a few days, Jian Wei would follow him to Nanjing.

Xiang Chen's answer stimulated my fragile nerves. Of course, I knew that Jian Wei went to Nanjing to see Xiang Chen's family. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before I really received their wedding invitation which will tear me apart again.

...

During the meal, I was restless, but I didn't look at Jian Wei or drink much. I told myself over and over again. Our past has long been washed away by the flow of time. No matter how much we are reluctant to part, no matter how much we torture ourselves, it won't change anything.

I knew that from the moment Jian Wei put on the crystal diamond necklace that Xiang Chen gave her, I had already lived in a different world. I built the strongest wall and sealed myself up. I didn't look, I didn't think, and I didn't feel pain…

Xiang Chen and Jian Wei had already finished dinner before us. They just said a simple goodbye and left. I watched them walk into the small alley, but I couldn't see the scenery around the corner where I could buy roasted sweet potatoes on a winter night.

The night was a little cold.

Mi Cai waved her hand in front of my eyes and woke me up from my daze. Only then did I realize that this was originally a dinner that only belonged to Mi Cai and me. I smiled apologetically and raised my glass to Mi Cai. I drank the remaining beer in one gulp, but I was still very awake.

Dinner continued. It wasn't that Mi Cai and I ate slowly, but that Jian Wei and Xiang Chen left in a hurry. I asked for another glass of beer. I didn't want to get drunk. This kind of beer wouldn't get me drunk. I just wanted to use this cold beer to wake up.

Half an hour later, Mi Cai and I finished our dinner. After saying goodbye to CC, I left with Mi Cai.

"Zhao Yang, you haven't paid yet, right?" Mi Cai said as she pulled me back.

"We're already so close friends. Why should we pay?" As I spoke, I continued to walk forward, but I was only joking with Mi Cai. In fact, we were mostly silent throughout the entire meal and didn't communicate much. When we were about to leave, I teased her, making the night at least seem less heavy.

Mi Cai exerted more strength to pull me back. Her face, which had been calm for the entire night, was filled with anger, "You have no morals! How is your friend going to run her restaurant if she's like you?"

"Did you drank too much?! That's strange. Can Coke make people drunk?" I looked at Mi Cai with a smile that wasn't a smile. At this moment, her excitement was utterly different from usual.

Mi Cai realized that she had lost her composure and stopped pestering me. She took out her wallet and walked to the bar counter. At this moment, I understood how much Mi Cai hated my bad behavior. She even hated me to the point of ignoring her manners and dragging me in public.

I quickly caught up and grabbed Mi Cai. I said to her, "We agreed that I would treat you. How can I ask you to pay?"

"I don't want to be with scum like you. Don't talk to me."

"Hehe, I'm just joking with you. The place to pay the bill isn't at the bar counter. It's in that corner." I turned Mi Cai around to let her see the box in the corner.

Mi Cai looked at me with some doubt. She had her back to the box when she was eating and didn't understand the situation.

I smiled and explained, "Didn't you see that the menu we ordered didn't have a price tag on it? We eat here and paid on our own accord. When we leave, just put the money into that box."

"Paid it as much as we want?" Mi Cai looked at me in surprise.

"That's right. No one will be supervising you here."

"But this…"

I pulled Mi Cai to the corner of the box and took out 300 yuan from my wallet and put it into the box. Then, I said to Mi Cai, "People who come here have a pure and empty city in their hearts. No one will use secular materials to desecrate this empty city. Therefore, this shop has been operating for many years without incurring losses... If there was a clean place in this world, it would be here!"

...

On the way back, Mi Cai drove a light Alto through the real city, but she seemed to be still interested in the music-themed restaurant in the Empty City. She asked me, "Zhao Yang, could it be that all the customers in that restaurant have followed this rule?"

"Of course not. When this restaurant first opened, there were many people who came to freeload and 'eat and run'."

Mi Cai wasn't surprised by my answer because there was no shortage of people in this world who liked to take advantage of others and reap rewards without sowing. She asked again, "Then why did it become like this where everyone follows this rule?"

I recalled momentarily and replied," At that time, we all advised CC to give up on this idealistic way of doing business because it was too unrealistic. However, CC insisted on doing so. In the end, they couldn't make ends meet and couldn't continue to operate. Finally, one day, they posted a notice on the bulletin board of the restaurant that they were going to close down."

"And then?"

"On the last night before the restaurant closed down, there were still many people who brought their families to eat free dinner. Our hearts turned cold and we complained that CC was too stupid. This idealistic way of doing business only exposed the ugliness of human nature."

Mi Cai nodded thoughtfully.

I opened the window and lit a cigarette, "After the restaurant closed that night, we were really disappointed. A few of our close friends closed the door and drank a lot because, after that night, there would no longer be this restaurant, Empty City!"

He exhaled the smoke in his mouth and smiled, "Perhaps there really is such a thing as a way out of a desperate situation. When we opened the box with CC to calculate the business income for the day, we actually found a whole 100,000 yuan in cash… We were very surprised, but no one knew which customer put it in."

"So this restaurant is going to continue operating because of this 100,000 yuan?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, the 100,000 yuan gave CC the motivation to continue operating. To be precise, it was a kind of spiritual motivation. For the sake of that unknown customer, she wouldn't close Empty City. Later, we changed the box to transparent, so we could clearly see how much everyone paid after eating. For those people who only threw a few coins in, my friends and I blocked them in the alley and beat them up… As time passed, those people who liked to take advantage stopped coming. However, CC never knew about this. If she knew, she wouldn't have agreed to our doing… After a long time, CC changed the transparent box to an opaque one again, but she basically wouldn't lose money anymore. Of course, it couldn't rule out the possibility of someone fishing in troubled waters!"

After listening to my narration, the usually indifferent Mi Cai actually said with a common hatred, "Well done. Those wicked people deserve to be beaten…However, if you abuse your power like this, won't those who are beaten call the police?"

"Of course, they can call the police. Besides, we don't extort money, and we know what we're doing. We're mainly warning them. As long as those scumbags don't come, the restaurant can continue to operate normally."

Mi Cai looked at me and suddenly smiled…

I looked at her in surprise, not knowing what was going on.

"I find it funny when I hear you call others scums...!" Mi Cai explained with a smile.

"... Who said that scum couldn't call others scum?"

"I didn't say you were scum this time."

"That's what you mean. Do you think I'm stupid and can't tell?"

Mi Cai laughed out loud. In all the days we had spent together, this was the first time I had seen her smile so openly. At this moment, the cheerful her became even more beautiful. Therefore, the Little Alto shuttled through the light and shadow of the city even more briskly. There was less realism and more beautiful laughter.