At about eight o'clock in the evening, I drove the borrowed Cruze in the direction of the "Huayang Hotel", and I told Xiao Ai that if the road conditions were good, I would be there in twenty minutes at most. In the middle of the day, I received a call from a specialist from the insurance company, who identified himself as Xiao Zhou.

He said to me, "Hello, Mr. Ehashi...... I'm a little embarrassed to bother you so late! Because we have just completed the claim for your Maserati Levante, and the amount involved is relatively large, so I called you to confirm it as soon as possible...... To tell the truth, our insurance company's branch in Nanjing, there have been a few cases of brand new car claims before, but those are some relatively low-end cars, so we applied for the head office to intervene, studied some similar cases, and finally we made a decision to compensate 90% of the purchase price of the car, I don't know if you can accept it, if you are willing to accept it, we will start the claim process tomorrow. ”

This result is similar to what I thought before, so there is not much psychological gap, I said to him: "I can accept this result, you should transfer the money to my account as soon as possible, I urgently need money." ”

Xiao Zhou was a little overjoyed by my good words, and he repeatedly responded to my needs and promised to transfer the compensation to my personal account within a week.

This is a windfall for me, because when I bought this car, it was to save face, and now I don't open a company, so I don't care about face, so after paying off the bank loan, I can still leave some behind, and I can use this money to do some things I want to do.

……

A moment later, I arrived at the "Huayang Hotel", and Xiao Ai was sitting on a bench by the fountain waiting for me, and there was no one else in sight, as if the people who had attended the banquet had dispersed. I knew Xiao Ai didn't want me to face the crowd, so he called me when it was over.

I walked over to her, who put her phone back in her pocket, smiled at me, and motioned for me to sit next to her. We were very close, she leaned on my shoulder, looked up, and said to me, "Jiangqiao, look at the moon tonight, it's really round." It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen such a round moon in Nanjing. ”

"There must have been such a round moon before, but there was no such leisure at that time, do you feel like you haven't been so relaxed for a long time?"

Xiao Ai nodded, closed his eyes and leaned against me, and the hotel was also very suitable for the occasion, at this time a song "Moonlight in the City" adapted into a piano song was played, and the fountain and the landscape lights in the pool also danced softly with this rhythm...... In this situation, I feel that my heart has stopped, and time has stopped, and the whole city has gradually become a static painting, and everything seems to exist to please us. What could be a higher level of enjoyment for a person?

It wasn't until the end of the piece that we came out of this mood. I picked up Xiao Ai's handbag, smiled and said to her, "Let's go, go home, I'll make you fruit tea to drink, it's good for hangover." ”

After that, I led Xiao Ai to the hotel's open-air parking lot, and just as we were about to get in the car and leave, another Audi A7 with a Nanjing license plate stopped next to our car. At first, I didn't care, because it was normal for this kind of high-end car to haunt such a high-end hotel, and none of my acquaintances drove an A7, but Xiao Ai took a second look. Then, I saw Zhao Mu walk out of the car, he looked at Xiao Ai and me with an elusive smile on his face, and then took the initiative to say to us: "My wallet may have been lost in the private room where I just ate, come back and take a look...... Brother Qiao, who are you? ”

"I'll pick her up."

Zhao Mu nodded, and said: "After going around and around for several years, you are still together, but as an outsider, I really don't know whether to be happy or worried about you." ”

"What do you say if you're worried?"

Zhao Mu didn't answer me directly, but he gave me a gesture that he experienced, and then said to Xiao Ai: "I really didn't expect that we could work together in a group!" It took me almost three years to finally gain a foothold in this group, and I have had all kinds of experiences during this time, so I would like to give you some advice...... Before Mr. Xiao is released from prison, you'd better not have a head-on collision with Li Zishan. It's not that you question your ability, it's because Li Zishan is now another symbol of Jinding Real Estate, and she has brought Jinding Real Estate to a height that Mr. Xiao has not been able to reach. I think that in addition to her personal management ability, luck has also helped her a lot. Because it was the last wave of madness in real estate that made her. You know, in the past two years, Nanjing's housing prices have soared, bringing quite a lot of returns to the group, and many shareholders who regard money as their faith are the only ones who look ahead, so how deep the water inside Jinding Real Estate is now is not what you can imagine...... If you want to change the current pattern, unless Mr. Xiao comes back, no one else can! ”

Xiao Ai looked at Zhao Mu and said coldly: "Is she also worthy of becoming a symbol of Jinding Real Estate?" ”

Zhao Mu didn't have much change in emotion, he just smiled, and then said: "I'm just a kind reminder, I hope you don't take it lightly, and don't act too aggressively." Otherwise, even if Mr. Xiao is released from prison at that time, he will not be able to change the situation that you have made a mess. ”

After saying this, Zhao Mu turned to face me again, and then patted me on the shoulder and said: "Brother Qiao, I have moved, and I have time to be a guest in my new home, very close to Tulip Road, it is a villa group developed by Jinding Real Estate last year. ”

I answered, Zhao Mu didn't say anything more, he turned around, and then walked towards the lobby of the hotel with confident and powerful steps. And I looked at his back but felt more and more strange, I couldn't connect him with the young boy who saw Xiao Ai and spoke very crampedly, now he is more like a controller.

Looking at his back, which had merged with the light, Xiao Ai asked me in a low voice, "Jiang Qiao, do you believe what your good brother said?" ”

I was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Some of them can be regarded as advice, now you are really not suitable to be hard with Li Zishan." ”

"But I don't want to believe a word."

Xiao Ai opened the co-pilot's door as he spoke, and then sat in the car, and I had an instinctive rejection in my heart, so I was even more reluctant to continue this topic, so after Xiao Ai got into the car, I got into the driver's position and didn't speak again.

On the way home, I was constantly haunted by some thoughts. At the beginning, in order to be able to provide for Zhao Mu to go to college, I worked in society early. During this period, I was ridiculed and ridiculed by others, and I was constantly tormented by the pain of not being able to persevere because of the heavy workload...... All this I have endured is just so that one day he can make a living, and he can make Zhao Chu and my efforts meaningful. Now, he can be said to be successful, but why can't I be happy?

……

After 20 minutes of driving, Xiao Ai and I arrived at Tulip Road, and after passing by the "Wutong Hotel", "Tulip Hotel", convenience stores, and the former piano store, we finally arrived at the main building of "Huayang International", which made me think about it and felt very surprised, and our home is on the top of it, which is a place where you can see thousands of scenery.

After I parked my car in the parking lot, I took Xiao Ai and stood downstairs. Xiao Ai asked me a little embarrassed: "The house you rented is here?" ”

"Well, it's a very special place!"

Xiao Ai pursed his lips and replied, "Except that the building is very high, I don't feel anything special." ”

I smiled, "Let me sell it first, and you will be pleasantly surprised when you see our home." ”

As I spoke, I led Xiao Ai to the building, and then waited for the elevator to go up. In the process, Xiao Ai looked at everything he could see around him, and then his eyes were full of suspicion of me. It's no wonder, who would have thought that there was such a person as An Lin, who would make a hanging garden on such a high floor. Come to think of it, this is also where An Lin failed, because it challenged people's normal cognition too much.

Finally, the elevator doors opened in front of us, and I walked in before Xiao Ai, and then gave her another encouraging look, convincing her that I was not playing tricks, but that there was really a different scenery waiting for her.

Xiao Ai walked in with me, and I found the elevator button to the 40th floor, and pressed it. Although Xiao Ai didn't speak, I once again saw an incomprehensible look in her eyes. She must have felt that the place where she lived was too high, and if she broke the elevator or something, she could directly exhaust people to death. And this potential risk made her question my choice even more.

The moment the elevator door opened, Xiao Ai was completely desperate, because what appeared in front of us was the kind of urban lattice room, which looked small and impersonal.

Xiao Ai comforted himself and said: "It's good here, at least it's quiet, and mosquitoes can't come up." ”

I pointed to the corridor illuminated by two wall lamps and said to her with a smile, "Go up and have a look, maybe there will be a surprise." ”

Xiao Ai glanced at me, and out of trust in me, she walked up the stairs before me, and then pushed open the glass door that led to the rooftop. The moment the wind blew, she stopped, and then covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from screaming.

I smiled smugly behind her back, but I hoped that she would forget the troubles caused by intrigue during the day because of this place.

I took her shoulder and walked with her to the place in front of me that meant another world. Here, apart from the fact that the wind is a little stronger than below, I really can't find anything that is not perfect, but it is precisely because of the strong wind that we can enjoy the coolness that others can't enjoy on every hot night that no one else can enjoy.

I took Xiao Ai to the chair that could be shaken, and then said to her, "I had dinner at An Lin's this afternoon, and I just heard that there is such a place...... In this noisy city, there are these wooden houses and grassy pavilions in the sky, which can be regarded as a pure land. Probably, it is quieter than the old alley before, and it will give a very open feeling...... An Lin said that if the weather is clear, you can see a place fifty kilometers away......" Speaking of this, I smiled and said: "Then you say, isn't the scenery of the entire Nanjing City in our eyes?" As long as we are willing to take the time to observe, we will no longer be afraid of the changes here...... Anyway, I love the feeling of being in control, it's the closest thing to the light on the whole Tulip Road, and we can enjoy more sunshine than anyone else. ”

Xiao Ai's eyes were full of emotion, she took my hand and said, "I like it here too, but I don't care how much sunshine there is here, and I don't care how far I can see." What really touched me was your dedication to me...... Jiangqiao, is there any wine? Let's have a drink. ”

"You haven't had enough of it just now?"

"I wasn't me just now, and now it's the real me in front of you, I just want to drink with you."

"Then you wait a while, I'll go to the refrigerator to get it, I went to the supermarket to buy a lot of filled beer before picking you up, and some cooked food that can be drunk."

……

In a moment's time, I brought beer and bags of charcuterie from the hut, but instead of sitting in the most comfortable rocking chair, Xiao Ai leaned on the wooden railing and looked down at the place where the lights were most concentrated...... I know she has a lot on her mind.

I tore open a can of beer and handed it to her, and when she took it, I looked in the direction she cared about, and then asked her, "What are you looking at?" ”

She smiled and replied, "Looking at the lights flickering under my feet, I wondered, are we already living higher than the sky?" ......" Speaking of this, she smiled comfortably and said, "This place is really too far from the ground full of right and wrong, good and evil, and I think this is a place where people can put their hearts down...... It's like a house above the sky, and no matter how many bustling lights and hypocritical faces there are under the city, it has nothing to do with it. All it cares about is whether there is a house like itself, and then it forms a street, and then the street becomes a city, and finally it is called the city in the sky, in this city in the sky, everyone can be their truest self. ”

I didn't answer her immediately, I just lit a cigarette and looked through the smoke at the half-real world in front of me. The melody of Hisaishi's "Castle in the Sky" gradually came to mind......

I can't help but ask myself, why do so many people yearn for such an ethereal place? And in this real world, why can't we be our true selves? On the contrary, in that ethereal place, can it be real? Who is this that has touched our spiritual food?

……

A gust of wind blew my thoughts away, and I returned to reality in the various flashing lights. Then he gently hugged Xiao Ai beside him, and didn't speak again, but he already decided in his heart that this was a place where he could pursue the truth. And beneath our feet is another world, a world that requires us to wear a variety of masks in order to survive and balance.