008

These words came out of Zhu Wenxu's mouth with a strange tone, like a quarrel between elementary school students. Asking about private matters was somewhat impolite, so Xu Yu decided not to ask.

"I'm leaving."

Zhu Wenxu hummed, "Go ahead."

Xu Yu climbed the steps. The front section resembled an ancient bluestone alley, shaded by blue walls of varying degrees of damage. They crunched as he stepped on them. After a few steps inside, Xi Jiang spotted him.

"Where did you go?" Xi Jiang asked, "You can't find it, so why don't you go to the loudspeaker station?"

Xu Yu’s palms were sticky: “I couldn’t find it the first time I came.”

"I'll ask next time." Xi Jiang was helpless.

Xu Yu nodded.

"Alu, this is Xu Yu. This is my friend, a PhD who just returned from overseas, Alu."

"Hello, Xu Yu."

Xu Yu responded politely: "Hello."

"Sit down, aren't you tired of standing?"

A Lu, who had been communicating with Xi Jiang, tried to smooth things over: "Maybe the route wasn't considered when this place was designed. I almost got lost when I came here. Xiao Xu, right? Come on, come on, have a seat."

Xu Yu sat down next to Xi Jiang.

While drinking water, A Lu's eyes followed him intently. He brought the fruit plate in front of him to Xu Yu and said, "Come, eat something. How did Xi Jiang make you so thin?"

Xi Jiang wasn't straight, and everyone in the circle knew it, not to mention his close friends. Xu Yu had met two of them, a man and a woman, and A Lu was just like them; the first time they met, he practically had his eyes on him.

No one probably expected that he would be so similar to the former Zhu Wenxu.

"I didn't starve him." Xi Jiang was used to being lazy. "It's just that his three meals were irregular."

"Why don't you arrange for some nutritionists?" A Lu said, "Look at how thin his face is."

Xi Jiang slapped A Lu's hand away and said, "Just talk, don't touch me."

A Lu didn't expect Xi Jiang to change his expression: "It's just a joke, don't take it seriously."

"We've been chatting for a while. Ask the waiter to serve the food." Xi Jiang gave him face and didn't pursue the matter.

A Lu waved: "Waiter, take your order and serve all the specials."

"Don't feel pressured," Xi Jiang said. "I won't eat you."

Xu Yu nodded slowly.

If I had known I would get lost again, I would not have come here.

The waiters served mostly spicy dishes. I drank half a glass of wine after taking a bite of the spiciness. Two boxes of wine were served in two hours.

Xu Yu didn't touch the glass and drank half a glass of lemonade.

Xi Jiang and A Lu were discussing the market. Xu Yu couldn't understand what they were talking about, and he couldn't eat. Without his cell phone, he was daydreaming from time to time.

"I followed this fund before and stopped investing after making a profit. However, it plummeted the next month and I ended up closing it."

"What's there to be happy about with such a small amount of money?"

A Lu was dissatisfied: "I'm talking to you about luck."

"I have plenty of money, so I have plenty of luck."

“…”

Alu couldn't continue the conversation.

After two hours, Xu Yu couldn't sit still any longer: "I'm a little sleepy. I'll go back first."

Xi Jiang waved his hand: "Don't go the wrong way again."

"I understand, bro."

When he arrived, Xi Jiang had booked him a VIP suite called Peach Blossom Village, which resembled a paradise. The interior was Japanese-style, with a bed, a wooden table, and a television. Outside the courtyard was a large hot spring, with bamboo connecting to another. When the water filled up, it would pour down, bounce back, and fill up again, in an endless cycle.

Xu Yu didn't take a bath either. He was so sleepy that he went straight to bed. He was woken up by thirst in the middle of the night. He fumbled for the door card and mobile phone, and prepared to go to the vending machine to buy a bottle of water.

The corridor was deserted, and the drinks vending machine glowed blue. Xu Yu took a can of Coke, but when he opened it, he wasn't paying attention and it sprayed all over his hand.

“…”

Xu Yu felt inexplicably irritated.

He planned to ask the front desk for a clean handkerchief so that he could wash his face when he returned to his room.

"I never thought that Xi Jiang was so capable of finding someone who looked so similar to Zhu Wenxu at the age of eighteen."

Xu Yu paused and heard the voice was A Lu. Outside was an oval rooftop.

"...I don't know how many methods he used, but I never thought he was so crazy. I didn't believe it when you told me, but when I saw it today, I was shocked. It's so similar." A Lu took a puff of his cigarette, "I just want to know what Zhu Wenxu would think of when he saw this face."

“…”

“…You’ll know when you come over tomorrow, haha.”

He hung up the phone, and Xu Yu ran back backwards, not looking at the road and bumped into someone.

"What are you doing wandering around outside so late at night?" Xi Jiang pulled the clothes up from Xu Yu's shoulders and said, "Put on your clothes."

Xu Yu turned to Xi Jiang and said, "I'm going back."

"Wait a minute." Xi Jiang looked at A Lu who was not far away, "Why are you here?"

"Come out for some fresh air." Alu said, "You guys too?"

Xu Yu: "I'm going back."

Xi Jiang didn't keep him this time, and Xu Yu walked quickly forward.

"You promised me that you wouldn't have any extra thoughts when you see Xu Yu. What do you mean by asking him out so late at night?"

A Lu was confused: "What do you mean I asked him out? Why would I ask him out? I was on the rooftop making a phone call!"

"Really? Fight back." Xi Jiang's tone was already unhappy.

"Xi Jiang, are you going to turn against me because of him? We finally meet each other, do I really have to do this behind your back?"

Xi Jiang reminded: "What happens between me and Xu Yu is my business. If you come here to pick a fight like Zhou Shumei, Pu Xuebo and the others, you can try."

When Xi Jiang mentioned the two people's names, A Lu's anger subsided by a large margin. This meeting was just an opportunity because of the accident that happened to them.

Ah Lu felt really wronged: "Really not, I really didn't ask him out."

Xi Jiang looked down at her: "I'm warning you, don't let me let you suffer the same fate as them."

“…”

Alu wanted to cry.

Xu Yu deliberately slowed down his pace while the two were talking.

Zhou Shumei and Pu Xuebao were two of Xi Jiang's former friends. They kept in touch from high school to college, and they got married with Xi Jiang's help.

They had been pursuing a financial startup, and because of the funding crunch, they wanted to try their luck with Xi Jiang. Xi Jiang agreed over the phone, which led to their meeting.

But it created very painful memories for Xu Yu.

He met Xu Yu late at night, took a lot of photos despite his objections, and forced Xu Yu to wear their high school uniform. He put it in a box like a toy and gave it to Xi Jiang as a gift.

That day was Xi Jiang's birthday. He held a party but couldn't find Xu Yu after it ended. Later, when he returned to the room and saw the person in the box, he almost suffocated to death. He was so angry that his face turned pale.

It was only after Xu Yu was discharged from the hospital that he realized that Xi Jiang was very angry and almost ripped the hotel apart.

Later, after checking the surveillance footage, they saw a series of processes in which two people secretly put the unconscious Xu Yu into a box.

When they met, the two accused Xu Yu of beating Pu Xuebo. Xi Jiang was furious: "He's been with me for so long, don't I know what he's capable of? If you want to throw dirty water, you should consider who you're throwing it at."

Zhou Shumei cried and shouted, "How could I lie to you when we're old friends?"

After that, Xu Yu never saw those two people again. He said that they had angered Xi Jiang and had gone into hiding abroad.

"I didn't, Xi Jiang. I really didn't make an appointment with him. Let me check my phone for you. I just called my girlfriend. I'll call you back. I'm not gay. Xu Yu loves you so much, how could he care about me?"

“…”

Xu Yu turned into another corridor. He was in a very upset mood. He had never liked Xi Jiang, but he was always accused of having a special love for her.

Xu Yu's eyes widened as something cold touched his face. It was a bottle of mineral water. Zhu Wenxu pinched the bottle, his index finger to his lips.

She must have just finished a bath. Her bathrobe was loose, her chest was exposed, her hair was still wet, and water droplets fell on the back of her hand. Zhu Wenxu's hands were very white, and even in the dimly lit corridor, the blue veins were still visible, like scattered tree roots.

The air had a faint fragrance and an inexplicable sweetness, as if the marshmallows Zhu Wenxu bought for him during the day had exploded in the air.

Why is he here?

Just by looking at each other, Xu Yu actually understood Zhu Wenxu's eyes. He would not talk to her here.

The corridor was not hot but stuffy at night. Xu Yu's breathing slowed down little by little. He was hooked by Zhu Wenxu's eyes and had nowhere to escape.

Zhu Wenxu's fingers slowly wiped across the corners of Xu Yu's eyes, wiping away the beads of sweat that had appeared at some point.

Then he chuckled.

The water was handed to Xu Yu. The icy feeling stimulated Xu Yu's palm, and he subconsciously let go. The bottle fell out of his hand. At the critical moment, a hand appeared and grasped the mineral water in the air.

"Xu Yu." Xi Jiang called him.

"What?"

Xu Yu was startled and his breathing became disordered. He looked behind him and found that Zhu Wenxu had disappeared without a trace, as if he had never appeared.

In Xi Jiang's eyes, his reaction was simply because he was provoked by A Lu.

"Where does the water come from?" Xi Jiang glanced at the vending machine next to him and understood. "Oh, there is some here."

“…I just realized that.”

"Here." Xi Jiang said, "If you don't want to drink it, change it to something cold next time."

"good."

Xu Yu's hand, clenching the bottle tightly, turned pale. She felt like she'd been caught having an affair.

"Are you okay just now?"

"Just now?" Xu Yu realized it was A Lu who was reacting, "I'm fine."

"Is it okay for you to yell like that?"

Every time Xi Jiang moved closer, Xu Yu unconsciously moved closer. He took three steps and stopped, and Xu Yu also stopped.

"That's good." Xi Jiang waved his hand in compromise, thinking that Xu Yu was frightened. "I was afraid that A Lu would scare you. You are timid. Don't talk to strangers in the future."

"I understand, brother." His voice was a little trembling.

"Go back and rest." Xi Jiang said, "Don't come out so late at night next time. If you're thirsty, ask the waiter to bring you some."

"good."

Xi Jiang waited until Xu Yu swiped his card and entered the room before he took out a cigarette and lit it. He knew Xu Yu's character, that he wasn't interested in anything, and that's how he would behave if he was really scared. His face turned pale, and his voice was unusually slow.

The room was hot, so Xu Yu turned on the air conditioner and drank a whole bottle of mineral water, nearly throwing up. He hadn't checked his phone all day, and Wang Li had sent him numerous messages.

[Brothers, the Jianghu is in urgent need. The Jianghu is in urgent need.]

[This is the darkest moment in my life. I no longer believe in the chicken soup of the summit.]

[I'm going to die.]

The message was three hours ago.

Xu Yu: [? ]

Wang Li sent a long string of voice messages.

"It seems my filming of Zhu Wenxu has been discovered. He contacted our leader and is waiting for me to come to him. I may not be able to provide you with Zhu Wenxu's schedule for the time being."

"They're asking me to delete the photos and file a lawsuit. I've hired a lawyer to figure out a solution. I'll send you the photos. I trust you. Save them for when you're broke and face the consequences!"

Xu Yu: [Are you okay?]

Do you remember me telling you that Zhu Wenxu is more troublesome than Xi Jiang? If Xi Jiang is like a quick knife that cuts through the Gordian knot, Zhu Wenxu is like a frog in boiling water, peeling off several layers of his skin.

Xu Yu: [……]

Xu Yu: [Take care.]

[Don't feel sorry for me, I've made up my mind. One must always move forward, live in the sun and die in the sun.]

[No. 8063.zip]

[Keep it.]