Ji Fuyao

Guo Li didn't know why things had developed this way.

He was exhausted after a long day at work; the boy looked nothing like the person in his memory; and he never ate late-night snacks. Yet, he still accepted the boy's invitation and sat down at the barbecue restaurant.

While setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Si Mucheng said to Guo Li, "We're just playing games anyway, it's more fun with someone else. Big brother, are you tired? Shall we play a round?"

"How childish!" Guo Li chuckled. That person had never been so willful before. He knew he had no right to be willful; all he had was diligence, obedience, and following the rules.

He was so diligent that when he learned that his proposal had been approved, he was overjoyed and willingly worked overtime every day without complaint.

Guo Li once reminded him: "This project has plenty of time, don't push yourself too hard."

But the man just gave a simple smile: "Just thinking that I did all of this gives me a lot of energy. It's okay, team leader, I can do it."

Perhaps because he kept thinking about that person that day, Guo Li felt a mix of inexplicable and complex emotions welling up inside him. He seemed to easily soften in the face of the young man before him. Seeing him pull out his phone to download a game, Si Mucheng couldn't help but give him a thumbs up: "Big brother, you're really something!"

Guo Li glanced at him: "How long have you been waiting outside?"

"It hasn't been long. Anyway, I'm on summer vacation, and my friends aren't in Qicheng. I saw your amazing skills at noon today, and I'd like to duo queue with you."

Guo Li noticed that he had also set up a set of bowls and chopsticks on the empty seat next to him. A hint of doubt flashed across his face, but he didn't ask anything. He only said, "I don't play much. Our ranks are different, so we can't duo queue."

"It's okay, we can just play a match."

Guo Li didn't say anything more.

After the game downloaded, the two played a few matches. Si Mucheng discovered that Guo Li was actually a "parallel hexagon warrior," capable of playing any hero, and the two coordinated very well. Si Mucheng sincerely exclaimed in his heart, "Brother, you really are my brother! You're amazing!"

Guo Li pursed his lips and remained silent.

Si Mucheng said, "Brother, do you have some free time these next few days to play ranked matches? I want to duo queue with you and carry me to the Challenger rank, please!"

Guo Li seemed to be genuinely considering it. He said, "Let's wait until next week is over. A game is launching next week, and I can rest for a few days after that."

Upon hearing this news, Si Mucheng was stunned. He subconsciously exchanged a glance with the ghost beside him, and a moved expression appeared on Zhang Wei's usually calm face.

Guo Li watched curiously as Si Mucheng suddenly looked towards the empty seat next to him. Judging from the set of bowls and chopsticks, it was as if someone was sitting there. He found it odd and was about to speak when Si Mucheng suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "This is great news! Bro, it's worth celebrating! How about some beer?"

Guo Li paused, looked at Si Mucheng's youthful face, and frowned: "Are you an adult?"

While ordering a dozen beers from the waiter, Si Mucheng replied, "I'll be a sophomore after summer vacation! Of course, I have to have a drink with such good news. I'll keep you company, consider this a warm-up, and wish you a successful game launch!"

Guo Li didn't refuse again. He nodded and said, "It will go smoothly. It's been almost a year, and we can finally go online."

Si Mucheng paused for a moment as he poured the wine for him, his face showing no sign of distress. No one knew that his heart was pounding wildly, because what he thought was an unsolvable problem now seemed to be showing signs of resolution.

"Hey bro, tell me about your game! What's it like? Is it fun? Is next week the closed beta? Can I get a beta test spot?"

His barrage of questions caught Guo Li off guard. He downed a beer before speaking, and surprisingly, he answered every single one of the questions, appearing to be in a very good mood.

Si Mucheng hadn't expected Guo Li to bring up games. He wasn't sure if the game Guo Li was talking about was the same one Zhang Wei was playing. He just wanted to get more information out of Guo Li, so he kept pouring beer for him.

After a few drinks, Guo Li felt much more relaxed. With the alcohol taking effect and his face flushed, he suddenly said to Si Mucheng, "You look a lot like someone I know."

Si Mucheng was stunned, but Guo Li then shook his head: "No, it doesn't seem like it. You're more outgoing than that person. That person isn't like you. He's very quiet and doesn't say much."

This confused Si Mucheng. Did it look like it or not?

Guo Li exhaled a breath of stale air, tilted his head back and drank another glass of wine. This time, even his eyes were red: "He always said that he wanted to see his game go online. Now, it can finally go online, but... it's too late, too late."

Guo Li's eyes were misty, but Si Mucheng knew that now was the best opportunity. He calmly poured Guo Li another drink, feigning curiosity: "Why so late?"

Guo Li simply shook his head.

He refused to talk, so Si Mucheng had no choice but to coax him into drinking. After two more drinks, Guo Li spoke, his voice trembling with drunkenness: "I...I'm sorry to him..."

Si Mucheng hesitated. He was afraid that Guo Li wouldn't talk if he didn't drink enough, and he was also afraid that he would just get drunk and die. So he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to probe: "Who have you wronged?"

Guo Li took another sip of wine: "He's so young... What did he do wrong? He was clearly the most hardworking one." His eyes were unfocused, as if he were lost in memories.

Guo Li's company is a startup, run by a rich second-generation heir who's just dabbling in the business. Guo Li used to work at a large company, but was laid off after turning thirty. He's a struggling entrepreneur from a small town, and when he joined the big company, he was full of ambition. He worked tirelessly to establish himself in the big city, but even after thirty, he still hadn't settled down. Later, he was laid off and came to the rich second-generation heir's company, where he's barely managing to keep a job.

The eldest son doesn't manage things or restrict them. He just lets them do projects on their own. They can do whatever they can, but it doesn't matter if they can't. The eldest son has a large family and business, so he doesn't care about these few measly things.

At first, everyone in the company felt like they were just there to collect a salary, and the whole company was just playing a startup game with rich kids. Guo Li thought so too. He had been completely drained by his previous company, and he was quite lost at that time. His initial enthusiasm had long since cooled down.

But then, the company hired a new, somewhat dim-witted young man. A fresh graduate, he was full of stubbornness and determination. Even in a company where everyone was lazy and unproductive, he insisted on doing his own thing and taking every task seriously, even though there wasn't much work to do.

Later, Guo Li accidentally discovered that this hothead was writing code, and he asked him what he was doing.

The young man was a little embarrassed.

"He said it was his dream. A dream...yes, only a child this age can still have dreams. He said that even the most ordinary person has the courage to leave a mark on this world. He's very ordinary—ordinary family background, ordinary appearance, ordinary school, even his name is ordinary..."

"What's his name?"

"Zhang Wei".

His suspicions came true, and Si Mucheng breathed a sigh of relief. Finally.

"So... was he the one who made this game that's going to be released?"

"It is his life's work."

The surrounding barbecue restaurants were noisy, making their table seem unusually quiet. Guo Li even had a bitter look on his face, as if he was troubled by something. Now, he was letting it out with the help of alcohol, and his brows relaxed a lot.

"Later, the boss suddenly decided to produce something and asked each of us to submit a proposal. Nobody took it seriously and just wrote something down to get by. Only Zhang Wei, only he, seriously put together a proposal."

He realized that he was probably touched by a sincere heart, which was why he overcame his confusion and went to help him.

"To be honest, what he did wasn't mature enough. He had no talent or experience; he relied entirely on passion and perseverance. So I worked with him to rebuild the framework... I have a bad temper. Sometimes when he didn't do things well, I would get angry and say things without thinking, always scolding him... I'm sorry to him, I..."

Guo Li's eyes were glistening with tears, but he was very drunk. He collapsed onto the table, still clutching his wine glass.

Si Mucheng gazed at him quietly and asked one last question in a soft voice: "Then where is he now?"

Guo Li suddenly closed his eyes, a trace of pain appearing on his face.

"He's dead."

Si Mucheng turned his head, while Zhang Wei floated to the side, his expression blank, staring at Guo Li opposite him.

Si Mucheng thought for a moment and asked, "Did you remember something?"

Zhang Wei turned his head and hesitated before saying, "It seems so, a little."

As Si Mucheng emerged from the barbecue restaurant, he immediately spotted Wen Ya by the roadside. Wen Xiaofeng, who had been perched on her shoulder, was nowhere to be seen. He approached her, and Wen Ya frowned: "Have you been drinking?"

Si Mucheng waved his hand and said smugly, "If I don't drink a little, can I get people drunk? They say people speak the truth when they're drunk, so this drink was worth it!"

Wen Ya looked into the barbecue restaurant, where she could see Guo Li slumped over a table, completely drunk, through the glass door. She raised an eyebrow: "Just let him be like this?"

"Hey, it's okay, I'll pay the bill. It's just a dozen beers, I won't be drunk for long."

Wen Ya nodded and looked away: "How was it?"

Si Mucheng exclaimed excitedly, "What a great find!" He then told Wen Ya everything Guo Li had said while drunk.

"So, does that mean Guo Li didn't bully Zhang Wei?" Si Mucheng guessed.

Wen Ya didn't care, her tone indifferent: "People's memories sometimes embellish themselves."

Si Mucheng remained noncommittal, then suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Zhang Wei said he remembered something." He involuntarily looked in the direction where Guo Li had collapsed drunk.

No one could see that there was a soul there, quietly watching Guo Li.

Wen Ya lowered her eyelids: "There's no need to get involved in other people's karma."

Si Mucheng laughed: "But what we can confirm now is that the game will be released next week!"

That ordinary person's shining dream is finally about to come true.

*

Guo Li was woken up by a waiter at the restaurant. It was already four in the morning, and even the barbecue restaurant had only a few people left. After the noise came silence. Guo Li looked around and couldn't tell where he was for a moment.

"Your friend has already paid the bill. Now that you're sober, you should head home. We need to pack up and close up shop."

Guo Li rubbed his face, completely unprepared for how drunk he had become. He was really getting more and more like a dreg in his life.

He took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and wanted to check the time, but found an unread message from six hours ago. The sender was an administrative staff member from the same company whom he had never spoken to before.

He was puzzled as to why the other party would suddenly contact him, but when he opened the message and saw its contents, his expression froze.