-78- Video

Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan invited Tomato to stay for dinner, and he agreed. Once seated, he felt uneasy. Tomato knew he was no longer a member of Waikiki, but it was only when he sat among them, in this all-too-familiar rental apartment, that he truly realized he was an outsider. Tomato ultimately didn't join them for dinner. He made an excuse and, despite Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan's attempts to keep him, left the studio. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he couldn't help but glance back toward the sixth floor. Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan happened to be looking down from the window, a moment of awkwardness on both sides. Finally, Tomato waved. After exiting Haiya Alley, Tomato was unsure where to go. He told Lu Kai he'd just happened to be passing by, but that wasn't the case. After six months of procrastination, his "Dragon Palace Elementary School Student" finally had the chance to sign the factory contract, only to have a run-in with the company's boss. Well, not really a run-in; it was more like he got a beating from the boss. Tomato felt a little aggrieved, but not surprised. He wondered if he hadn't been possessed by evil and left Lu Kai. Or if he had quit decisively when his boss first mentioned this seven months ago. Or if he had had the courage to argue with his boss when he threatened him three months ago. Or... if he had just had the guts to talk back when his boss scolded him this morning. But none of these things happened. As he thought about this, Tomato's phone rang. His head buzzed, and his heart sank. He picked it up and saw it was his boss. In his fantasy, Tomato hung up the phone fiercely, then shook the phone, freeing the enraged boss from the phone and throwing him in front of him. He stepped on his boss's face, reducing him to a mere paper figure. Then, with a flick of his shoe, he sent the boss screaming and falling into the roadside ditch. In reality, he simply held the phone, waiting for the ringing to stop. But within two seconds, the boss called again, accompanied by a WeChat message. "Answer the phone, don't make yourself uncomfortable." Tomato's nose felt sore, and he almost wanted to cry. He waited until the call ended on its own before he steeled himself and called back. "Mr. Wu, I'm sorry, I just… I just missed your call." The boss took a deep breath and said in a pretentious, earnest tone, "Tomato, the factory is asking me to pay the deposit. Come back and record the video with me, and the Dragon Palace students will be able to...

Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan asked Tomato to stay for dinner, and he nodded in agreement. However, after sitting down, he felt uncomfortable all over. Tomato knew that he was no longer a Waikiki resident, but when he sat among them, in this extremely familiar rental house, he truly realized that he was already an outsider.

In the end, Tomato didn't have dinner with them. He found an excuse and left the studio despite Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan's attempts to keep him.

When he walked downstairs, he couldn't help but look back at the sixth floor. Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan happened to be leaning against the window looking down. Both sides were a little embarrassed. In the end, Tomato waved to them.

Coming out of Haiya Lane, Tomato didn't know where to go for a moment. He told Lu Kai that he just happened to pass by, but in fact it wasn't the case... After hesitating for half a year, his "Dragon Palace Primary School Student" finally got to the point of signing a contract with the factory, but he had a conflict with the company's boss.

Well, it couldn't really be considered a conflict. It was more like he got scolded by the company's boss...

Tomato felt a little aggrieved, but not surprised. He thought that if he hadn't been possessed by the devil at that time, he would have left Lu Kai.

Or, if I had just quit when my boss first mentioned this 7 months ago, it would have been better.

Or, if only he had the courage to argue with his boss when he threatened him three months ago.

Or…if only I had the guts to say a few words back when my boss scolded me this morning. But none of this happened.

Thinking of this, the cell phone in his pants rang. Tomato's head buzzed and his heart tightened. He picked up the phone and saw that it was indeed the boss calling.

In his fantasy, Tomato angrily hung up the phone, then shook the phone, shaking the angry boss out of the phone and throwing him in front of him. He stepped on the boss's face, crushing him into a paper figure. Then, with the tip of his shoe, the boss screamed and fell into the roadside drain. However, in reality, he dared only hold the phone, waiting for the ringing to stop. However, within two seconds of hanging up the phone, the boss called again, accompanied by a WeChat message.

"Answer the phone and don't make yourself uncomfortable."

Tomato's nose felt sore, and he almost felt like crying. He waited until the call ended on its own before he bit the bullet and called back.

"Mr. Wu, I'm sorry, I didn't hear your call just now."

The boss took a deep breath and said in a pretentious, earnest tone, "Tomato, the factory is asking me to pay the deposit. Come back and record the video with me, and the Dragon Palace students will be ready to go to the factory. As a designer, isn't this what you've been waiting for?"

Tomato, holding the phone, nodded subconsciously, not knowing who he was looking at: "Mr. Wu...I, can we talk about the video again?"

The other party was silent for a long moment before speaking again. "What else is there to talk about? Tomato, I'm being considerate, aren't I? When you were completely clueless, I gave you this job, so you could continue to be a designer and make trendy toys. You've delayed me for half a year on a crappy design, and what did I say? Now it's almost done. The video has been recorded, and I'll pay the deposit. You fulfill your wish, and I have a guarantee. Now you're giving me a cold shoulder, disappearing in broad daylight. You don't treat me as a human being, do you?"

"Mr. Wu, I...I don't mean anything else. I just am. I just am. Please give me some time to think about it."

"I miss you, you lazy bastard!" the boss cursed, then softened his tone. "Tomato, my words may be harsh, but I don't really mean to curse you. It's just that what you did is really unkind, isn't it? Didn't I tell you about the video recording on the first day?"

Tomato said: "Then when I started working, you also..."

"Don't worry about the time I started! I'm just asking you! Did I tell you about the video recording on the first day?"

Tomato said, "It wasn't the first day... You said it a few months ago... But at that time, I thought Lu Kai had quit... If he had quit, nothing I said would matter. But he came back, hired new people, and created new products... Now I'm posting a video saying that I was treated unfairly in Waikiki. Isn't that just pushing him into the fire pit? After all, we are good friends..."

"If he's really your friend, how could I possibly make trendy toys for you? Tomato, his reputation is already rotten. What impact will it have if I say a few more or a few less? I won't ride on this popularity. Besides, even if he starts making trendy toys now, once they're released, they'll be competitors to Dragon Palace Elementary School. The market is so small. If you don't beat your competitors to death, you'll be the one to suffer!"

Tomato said hesitantly, "No, no, the market is quite big. Mr. Wu, why don't we think of another way? I really can't bring myself to do this."

The boss sneered and said, "You are pretending to be a good person now."

"If you don't give a good scolding and stir up the issue, how are you going to sell trendy toys?"

Tomato apologized repeatedly, but it didn't help. The boss kept yelling, "Stop playing dumb. Don't you understand why I brought you in? Was it because of that lousy 'schoolboy' you are?" Tomato finally lost control and yelled into the phone, "Yeah, I'm a piece of shit. I don't keep my word. I quit. I don't want to be a designer. I don't want to make trendy toys anymore! Find someone who can do it better!"

He hung up the phone, his body still shaking. Tomato took several deep breaths, but still couldn't calm down. He saw a convenience store across the street and hurried in. He looked up and down the shelves, picked up candy, chocolate, and finally, inexplicably, a bottle of white wine.

Tomato can't drink much and rarely drinks, but at this moment he felt that even the omnipotent sugar couldn't calm him down.

The message alerts on his phone kept ringing, but he just let it ring and walked to a nearby park to find a place to sit. He unscrewed the bottle of wine and took a big gulp. He choked and covered his esophagus, twitching and tears streaming down his face.

Only when the burning sensation in his chest subsided a little did Tomato muster the courage to open his phone to take a look.

The boss sent him several edited photos, which were all the contracts he signed when he joined the company, with the key words marked in red.

Tomato wasn't foolish enough to sign a personal contract that would leave him with a multi-million dollar penalty. However, according to the contract, the Dragon Palace Elementary School student's IP was signed to the new company for eight years, and even if he resigned, he couldn't reclaim it. Furthermore, if Tomato was responsible for the Dragon Palace Elementary School student's inability to move to the factory, he would also be liable for compensation for the company's initial investment.

Also coming along was news about the boss.

"Tomato, you better think about it."

Tomato felt a pang in his heart. He picked up the bottle and gulped down several big gulps. The pain was so severe that he bit his arm and almost bit off a piece of flesh.

Tomato was sad and helpless, but he didn't know who to talk to. In the end, he opened WeChat and called Sister Zou.

Sister Zou answered the phone, obviously a little surprised: "Why are you calling me? Is there something wrong?"

Tomato was about to speak when a colleague of Zou's came over, seemingly asking about work. Zou said to Tomato, "Wait a minute." She then spoke to the person on the other end for a few words. When she picked up the phone again to ask Tomato what was going on, Tomato suddenly lost interest and said, "Nothing, nothing. What can I do?"

Sister Zou was stunned for a moment: "What? Are you being sentimental? There's no chance of us getting back together, so don't try so hard."

Tomato frowned and said "I know", then hung up the phone.

He was extremely sad, not because Sister Zou said there was no possibility of them getting back together, but because...

He thought about everything he had just seen in Waikiki. Whether it was Lu Kai, Zhao Jinghuan, or Sister Zou, they all seemed to have embarked on new paths. They were all living well, except for himself...

Tomato didn't understand why this happened. He hadn't done anything wrong, so why was God being so unkind to him?

He picked up the bottle again and took a big gulp of wine. This time the burning sensation was obviously much lighter.

Maybe he was drunk, he suddenly raised his head and burst into tears while sitting in the park.

…………

Near the end of the get off work day, Tomato returned to the company drunk. He pushed the door open with a bang and stared at his boss who looked stunned behind the door with his red eyes.

"What do you want to do?" The boss was stunned for a moment before asking him.

"Video." Tomato gritted his teeth, "I'll record the video for you."

Perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, Tomato can't remember much of what happened afterwards, but he does remember that he recorded the video and also remembers the opening line of the video:

"Lu Kai, the Lu Kai from Waikiki, the Lu Kai who does backflips, is a complete bastard..."