However, as she was taking her luggage into the elevator, she received a call from Xie Li. The first time he called, the signal in the elevator was poor, and the call was disconnected. When the familiar ringtone sounded again, Tang Man hesitated for a moment before answering.

She didn’t speak.

During the silence, she had exited the elevator, pushing her suitcase out of the building. A taxi she had called earlier was waiting downstairs.

Xie Li must have heard the sound of dragging and friction. At first, he thought it was a misperception, but when he heard an unfamiliar male voice on the other end of the call, Xie Li understood. “Tang Man, where are you going?”

Tang Man placed her suitcase in the trunk and got into the car. Glancing at the receding building behind her, she smiled in the evening light, surrounded by scantily clad men and women. “Going on a trip for a while.”

Hearing Tang Man’s casual, nonchalant tone, Xie Li fell silent for a moment before his voice grew strained. “Where to?”

“Not sure,” Tang Man said. “This is an unplanned trip.”

It seemed Xie Li let out a laugh. “Tang Man, what do you take me for? A used toy to be discarded, or a tool that has now lost all utility value?”

Tang Man replied, “You don’t need to degrade yourself like that, Xie Li. Our relationship started impurely, so perhaps the ending was doomed from the beginning.”

“I genuinely liked you, but you know, that fondness was no different from what I’ve given others before. It’s not the response you were hoping for, and I couldn’t give you what you craved in this relationship.”

Once the giving and receiving between people becomes unbalanced, the party lacking in benefits easily grows resentful. That’s why Xie Li later began doubting her loyalty.

Xie Li fell silent, realizing their relationship was never meant to be equal because he loved too much while Tang Man loved too little, or perhaps it couldn’t even be called love on her part – at most, a fondness.

After a prolonged silence, he spoke up, “Tang Man, I’m downstairs at your building right now. I thought our relationship didn’t end this easily, but now in your words, you’ve already started disregarding our entire past.”

The passing street scenes flashed by. As the airport was in a remote part of the city, Tang Man rolled down the window while crossing the bridge, gazing at the night scenery along the river. The distant high-rise lights twinkled, reflecting off the glass with an artificial neon glow.

She heard Xie Li’s slightly strained voice. “About when will you be back?”

Tang Man extended her hand, feeling the humid yet cool wind. “The return date is undecided.”

Almost as soon as the words left her lips, Xie Li let out a self-mocking laugh. “Tang Man, sometimes I feel you’re truly a heartless person.”

It seemed so effortless for her to cast everything aside.

Before Tang Man could respond, Xie Li had already hung up, clearly quite upset. He probably wouldn’t speak to her for a while. To some extent, Xie Li was a proud man, and her actions today were akin to dragging his dignity through the mud. All she could say was “I’m sorry,” though those were the most useless words.

Before boarding her flight, Tang Man turned off her phone. Upon arriving in Linzhi, she immediately bought a local SIM card and a new phone, linked her bank card, and the next day, arranged transportation to Motuo.

She stayed there for a long time, living in a guesthouse in Motuo frequented by many travelers, meeting different people every day. Sometimes, Tang Man would hitch rides with tourists to Renqingbeng Monastery, climb thousands of meters up snowy mountain peaks to overlook the subtropical green vegetation below, or make plans with fellow guests to visit hot springs and drink Tibetan spirits at a small bar.

After around two to three months, Tang Man decided to leave and travel abroad.

She had a friend who had studied gemology at a renowned university in China and was now a gem trader in Sri Lanka. Somehow, this friend learned Tang Man was traveling and invited her to Sri Lanka for a day tour, promising to let her experience the coastal train from Beruwala to Colombo. Tang Man felt an inexplicable thrill and immediately made arrangements to fly to Colombo with a transfer.

The transit took quite some time, nearly two full days before she arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport. During this period, her friend happened to be in Colombo to procure gems from a local supplier, so the curious Tang Man tagged along for the experience.

Throughout this time, she kept her phone switched off, only turning it on briefly during transit. After contacting her friend, she turned it off again, leaving the accumulated messages unread before closing it completely.

Her friend, sitting beside her, glanced at Tang Man as she leaned back in the car seat.

Dressed in a floral shirt and Sri Lankan sarong, with an air of abandon from living abroad for so long, he exuded what was crudely called a “playboy aura.” “Aren’t you going to check your messages?”

Just as Tang Man was about to turn off her phone, it had been vibrating nonstop, seemingly with a few more incoming messages.

“No need,” she replied.

The elder Tang and Yang Qing contacting her wouldn’t be urgent. Hu Haiying knew where she was traveling and had her new number, so she wouldn’t be calling this phone. That only left Si Jiahe and the others, whom she had no need to contact, which was why Tang Man turned off her phone.

This friend was named Bai Huijing. Along with a few companions, he had been operating in Sri Lanka, mainly shuttling between Colombo, Beruwala, and other areas. They had also visited places like Tanzania to procure gems, getting acquainted with various mine owners. Previously, some of Tang Man’s gemstones had come directly from Bai Huijing’s stock.

“How long will you all be staying here this time?”

After arriving at the destination and getting out of the car, Tang Man followed behind at a leisurely pace, watching curiously as Bai Huijing carried her luggage.

“About three days. This trip is because a supplier in Colombo messaged me about a good batch of goods and asked me to come take a look.”

Bai Huijing glanced at Tang Man. “How long are you planning to be out this time?”

Tang Man kicked at the ground. This time, they were staying at a beachside hotel, with the supplier’s home nearby. The wind was quite strong, blowing Tang Man’s hair into her mouth until she brushed it back behind her ear. “Not sure. I’ll probably stay in this area for a while since you mentioned there’s a coastal train I want to see.”

“That would be in Beruwala,” Bai Huijing smiled, his charming peach-blossom eyes tinged with roguishness when he grinned.

Tang Man didn’t mind. “Well, when you all head back, I’ll tag along. I’m just wandering aimlessly for now anyway.”

Bai Huijing couldn’t help turning to look at Tang Man, his tone surprised. “Did you break up with someone?”

In his impression, Tang Man had never been one to let others arrange her itinerary so aimlessly before.

Tang Man smiled. “Does it seem that way?”