Despite my utmost sincerity and all my capabilities during that conversation, I ultimately failed to persuade Xiao Yu. Only then did I realize how stubborn and terrifying a girl could be when she was trapped in a dead end of love. I didn't dare to tell Fatty the result of the conversation directly, fearing that he couldn't bear the blow. I just advised him to take it slow and not be too hasty.
However, Fatty had obviously guessed the outcome. He hung up the phone in a fit of rage. His loss of composure made me extremely worried.
In the following few days, when I called Fatty, he refused to answer. When I sent him text messages, he didn't reply either.
My heart was left hanging in mid-air. I wondered whether I should talk to Xiao Yu again or perhaps talk to Xiao Yu's cousin's wife. After hesitating for a long while, I finally went to the "Re-employment Snack Bar".
It was lunchtime when I arrived. The shop was already full, but still, customers kept pouring in. I thought to myself that I didn't know whether the booming business of the shop was due to the effect of media publicity or the special charm of the shop owner, Sister Liu.
The waiter came up to me and asked, "Just one person? I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while for a seat."
I said, "I'm not here to eat. I have something to talk to Sister Liu about."
The waiter looked me up and down and asked, "Are you a newspaper reporter?"
I shook my head and said, "I'm a friend of her relative's. I want to talk to her about something."
"Sorry, Sister Liu has been really busy recently. Would you like to leave your phone number and we'll contact you later?"
"I have something very important to talk to her about. If she's here, I'd like to see her right now."
"Alright then. Let me go in and ask for you." After a while, the waiter came out and asked me to go to the inner room, saying that Sister Liu was waiting for me in the office.
Walking through the noisy hall, turning left, and taking just a few steps, I arrived at the office door. The door was ajar. I knocked on it, and heard someone inside say, "Come in."
When I walked in, a middle-aged woman was sitting at the desk fiddling with a calculator.
"You're looking for me? Please have a seat." She stood up and poured me a glass of water.
The woman was a bit plump, with a round face and short hair, looking very amiable.
"Sister Liu, right? I've known about you for a long time. I really admire your courage to face life head-on." As soon as I said this, I felt it was a bit cheesy. I secretly despised myself in my heart. Yanyu, you don't need to be so syrupy when you're talking to her about Xiao Yu's matter.
"That's all just empty talk, exaggerated. There's only one thing that's completely true, and that is that I'll be grateful to the person who helped and supported me for the rest of my life."
I almost impulsively wanted to tell her that I knew who the person she was grateful to was. But on second thought, if I told her, would she think that Fatty didn't actually want to be an unsung hero?
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Sister Liu asked me when she saw that I wasn't speaking.
I said, "I'm Xiao Yu's friend. She used to work as a part-time cleaner for me. Later, when she found a better job, she left."
"Yes, she worked here for a while. Later, she went to work as a nanny at my friend's house. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a long time. I should find time to go and see her one of these days. You don't know, this girl has had a tough life. Born into a poor family, and on top of that, she had parents who favored boys over girls. She never received any love since she was a child, just like a weed in the wild, left to fend for itself. When she was just sixteen, her father even said that whoever paid two thousand yuan could take the girl home as a wife. My husband couldn't stand it and brought the girl to the city. We were having a tough time ourselves back then and couldn't really help her much. Thinking about it, she hasn't had much happiness but a lot of hardships over the years. Now she's finally met a good person and has a quiet environment. I heard that she's going to study at the TV University and wants to become an educated woman in the future. I really hope her tough days will end soon."
After hearing what Sister Liu said, I really didn't know how to start the conversation. Thinking about it, a girl who grew up in hardships would naturally have a stronger desire for happiness than ordinary people, and her way of pursuing happiness might unavoidably go to extremes. I suddenly understood Xiao Yu's choice and even hoped that her dream would come true.
"Look at me, just talking to myself. I'm so sorry. By the way, are you looking for Xiao Yu? Or is there something wrong with Xiao Yu?"
"No, nothing. I just wanted to ask about Xiao Yu's situation. Now that I know she's doing well, I can rest assured."
At this moment, someone came to look for Sister Liu, so I stood up to take my leave.
Walking out of the snack bar, I almost wanted to slap myself a few times. I didn't know what I actually wanted to do or what I could do. I didn't even know whether I was helping Fatty or Xiao Yu. When the neon lights on the street were flashing, I was even confused about what I actually hoped would happen to them.