005
As expected, he woke up in his bedroom. He hadn't eaten anything before drinking, so he couldn't vomit and felt nauseous in his chest.
The door was pushed open, and Xi Jiang stood lazily outside, with no intention of coming in. The aunt behind her brought in a glass of honey water.
The aunt was an acquaintance and her impression of Xu Yu was that he was shy, but she didn't expect that he was also a playboy and a drinker.
The expression on his face was somewhat strange.
"woke up?"
Xu Yu covered his forehead and drank the honey water in one gulp: "Sorry, I drank a little too much."
The employer was present, and the aunt took the cup and left without saying a word. Xi Jiang was still standing at the door, his expression not very happy: "Where did you go to drink?"
"Today I wanted to go to the bookstore to read, and I saw a silhouette that looked a lot like my mother. I ran out and couldn't find her. In the blink of an eye, I was on the street. I was so fragile that I couldn't help but drink a little on the side of the road. I don't know how long I stayed there after that."
Speaking of his mother, Xi Jiang moved a little, his stiff expression relaxed a little, and he took out a candy from his pocket: "Eat it and go to sleep. I'm going to the United States this week. I'll take you out for a walk when I come back."
Xu Yu remembered Uncle Liang's words. Xi Jiang always made bets with Zhu Wenxu, and each time it was a candy.
Tang appears every time Xi Jiang is willing to pay attention to Xu Yu, like rewarding a child who has done good deeds.
Xu Yu took the candy and put it in his mouth: "When will brother leave?"
"tomorrow."
tomorrow?
Xu Yu also wanted to create an opportunity for Xi Jiang and Zhu Wenxu to meet, but it seems he has to plan for it later.
"Do you need help packing your luggage?"
"No, someone has prepared it for me. You've got good news. I'm going out soon, so you don't have to see me off tomorrow morning."
Xu Yu nodded: "Brother, be careful."
Xi Jiang rubbed his head, walked to the door and added: "I asked Auntie to cook for you, so stay at home for the time being, don't run around."
The door is closed.
Xu Yu bit the candy, the sweetness passed through the tip of his tongue, but it did not relieve the dizziness. Xi Jiang did not ask Xu Yu why he didn't answer the phone, nor did he run to ask him about it as usual. In fact, he was already angry, and it would be extremely difficult for him to take any action next.
Unable to go out, Wang Li posted his itinerary and had no time to look for Zhu Wenxu.
[Can you go to the gym tomorrow? I heard Zhu Wenxu is going to play golf this week and will be working out at the gym for the next two days.]
[Isn't Xi Jiang going on a business trip? Come see me, I'll show you something.]
Xu Yu replied: [I guess I can’t get out. Xi Jiang has locked me up.]
Wang Li replied immediately: [This lunatic, is it right for him to detain you while he's on a business trip? Did he tell me how many days he's been detained? Don't lock you up at home and wait for him to come back.]
Xu Yu: [Probably.]
Wang Li sent a long string of swear words.
[Why is he so controlling of you? He has so many romantic interests, yet he keeps asking you to keep your mouth shut. Why?!]
Xu Yu: [I’ll find a way to get out tomorrow.]
Wang Li: [Do you need help?]
Xu Yu: [No need.]
Aunt Lin had been summoned by Xi Jiang several times before. She was an excellent worker and equally skilled at monitoring Xu Yu. She was like an all-around scanner; even if Xu Yu had no appetite, she would record every detail of his condition and send it to Xi Jiang without missing a word.
If you skip two meals, no one will care, but if you skip three meals, Xi Jiang will send you a text message.
Xu Yu stood at the entrance drinking water: "Auntie Lin, I want to eat meat."
Aunt Lin was sitting on the sofa, browsing her phone. She looked up and asked, "What kind of meat do you want? Pork is cheap lately, but the place I usually buy it from is closed, so I guess it won't be available."
“Beef hot pot.”
Aunt Lin looked at the weather outside and asked, "Eating hot pot in such a hot weather? Do you want to eat something else?"
Xu Yu insisted: "I just want to eat beef hotpot."
Aunt Lin knows that she has to pay for things, and she will still comply with her employer's demands even if she is under surveillance.
She locked the door and left with the vegetable bag.
Xu Yu put the sports suit into his schoolbag, locked the door of the room, pushed open the window, and crawled to the toilet next door.
He hadn't known the depths of the earth before, and his environment didn't allow him to be a particularly gifted child. He remembered following others into jumping out of windows and onto mountains, training his muscles so they could withstand some damage in a fight.
Even though so much time had passed, his muscles still remembered the ability to climb. He jumped up, pushed himself upwards with his hands, and with considerable effort, he climbed onto the aisle.
He put on a mask, hailed an elevator and went straight down to the parking lot, then took a taxi outside to the gym.
Xu Yu finally breathed a breath of air.
He changed his clothes and pants, walked into the treadmill area without any concealment, and came directly to Zhu Wenxu's side.
Zhu Wenxu saw that he was sweating profusely, breathing rapidly, and felt unstable wherever he stood, so he stopped the treadmill after a while.
"You need me for something?"
Xu Yu's throat hurt and he shook his head gently.
Zhu Wenxu handed him the cup of water and said, "Drink it."
Xu Yu took the cup without thinking and drank it directly. He drank it quickly and violently. A lot of water was on his face and wet his collar.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Zhu Wenxu said coldly, "Rather than thanking you, you probably need to rest."
Xu Yu: "I don't have much time left."
"What's the meaning?"
Xu Yu steadied his breathing and stretched his arms: "Nothing."
Zhu Wenxu just looked at him without saying anything, and after a moment he stopped the treadmill.
Xu Yu began calculating the time as he turned to towel his hair. He knew the distance between the vegetable market and supermarket near his home. The supermarket wouldn't stock beef after 3 p.m., so if he wanted to buy fresh beef at that time, his aunt had to take the bus to the vegetable market on Songhua Road, where she would also buy other vegetables.
She should be home soon. Regardless of whether he is there or not, she will cook first. Cooking usually takes half an hour, and hot pot takes about an hour.
It took him fifteen minutes to get here by taxi, and now he has been running for more than ten minutes, and then he has to leave.
After Zhu Wenxu finished wiping and casually stretched his arms, Xu Yu bought another bottle of water for him. Zhu Wenxu didn't answer: "Are you busy?"
Xu Yu: "What?"
"You seem to be in a hurry to come to the gym, and now you're in a hurry to leave." Zhu Wenxu asked, "Is someone pursuing you?"
Xu Yu froze for two seconds: "I have a schedule and must finish things within the specified time."
Zhu Wenxu said calmly, "You sound very self-disciplined."
“It’s because I’m not self-disciplined that I want to be self-disciplined.”
"Are you leaving now?"
"Yes, I have to hurry back. I have other things to do."
"Washing and cooking? Do you always have to do that?"
Xu Yu was unable to respond and evaded the question, saying, "Sometimes I don't do it."
"Xi Jiang doesn't treat you well."
The last word was joking.
"It's...very good for me."
Zhu Wenxu smiled: "Really?"
Xu Yu was speechless again.
"If it really doesn't work, you still have a choice, and it doesn't have to be him."
His hand went to his waist, felt for a cigarette, and just as he bit into the cigarette he laughed helplessly: "I forgot, smoking is prohibited here."
His smile was not obvious, the corners of his eyes were slightly raised, and there was no visible change in the corners of his mouth, but Xu Yu could fully feel Zhu Wenxu's emotions.
Time was running out, so he had to return and handed the water to Zhu Wenxu: "Mr. Zhu, just treat it as my rudeness just now."
"I don't want to drink now." Zhu Wenxu touched his wristband, "Give it to me tomorrow."
Xu Yu held the water bottle: "Tomorrow?"
"Can't?"
"Can."
Xu Yu put the water bottle back in his pocket and took a taxi. When he got back to his doorstep, he hesitated again. It was easy to get out, but it would be difficult to get back in. If he wasn't careful, he might fall.
He exhaled, turned over and sat on the edge of the guardrail. Just as he jumped to the opposite wall, a neighbor who came out to throw away the garbage pounded on the door in fear: "Someone jumped from the building!"
Xu Yu was so scared that he almost let go.
Aunt Lin heard the noise and came out. Seeing the person lying next to her, she was so frightened that her legs went limp. Someone called the police, and Xu Yu was later pulled out of the water and taken to the police station for questioning. Aunt Lin reported the situation terrified.
It was already twelve o'clock in the evening when Xu Yu returned home.
Xi Jiang called and he suppressed his anger: "What on earth are you thinking? What makes you want to jump off the building!?"
Xu Yu stood in the dark living room, watching Aunt Lin cook a half-cooked beef hot pot. Aunt Lin was frightened and asked for leave to go home and rest.
"I didn't think of anything."
"I'm not good to you? I was afraid you'd get hurt, so I asked your aunt to take care of you. You don't have to do anything, you don't have to worry about anything. You have money and food in front of you. What else can you not be satisfied with? When I brought you out of that place, who among your friends and relatives didn't envy you!?"
Xi Jiang didn't know what skills he had. In his memory, Xu Yu was just a fish he fished out from a place that was rotten to the point of being rotten anymore.
"I didn't think too much about it. I just wanted to try the feeling of standing by the window."
"Do you think you can fly just because you're a bird? Xu Yu, it's been so long, can you stop having these whimsical dreams? Have you ever thought about where you jump from and what will happen next?"
Xu Yu: "Brother, are you concerned about me?"
"Of course. I admit that I've been very busy recently and haven't been back to accompany you. Please don't do such extreme things. If you don't like Aunt Lin, I will change it for you until you are satisfied."
"I don't dislike it."
"Then don't do anything stupid. Wait until I come back and I'll give you whatever you want."
What about freedom?
Is freedom possible?
The words were like a fishbone stuck in my throat, unable to come out. After a long silence, Xu Yu hummed, and the other party breathed a sigh of relief.
"obedient."
The phone was hung up.
Xu Yu sat on the sofa and closed his eyes. He just felt tired and wanted to sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep.
I had no choice but to sit at the dining table, start a fire, eat half of the food prepared by Aunt Lin, go upstairs to turn on the computer, export the photos taken by Uncle Liang in the yard, and save them in the private space of the network disk.
Apart from the photos in the album, I compressed a copy of the others and gave it to Shu Wei, deleted the ones in the camera and the USB drive, and finally the Recycle Bin.
Shu Wei: [Great photo!]
Xu Yu: [Thank you for your likes.]
He copied the photo of the two of them into the mind map, and also wrote in words like betting on candy and that Xu Yu looked very similar to Zhu Wenxu when he was young.
Suddenly I thought of the male protagonists in movies and TV dramas. They are often easily attracted to girls who look similar to the female protagonists. They believe that the similarity is not accidental, but must be fate.
Is this idea appropriate for Xu Yu and Zhu Wenxu?
What qualifications does he have to compare with Zhu Wenxu?
Xu Yu closed his eyes, took out his cell phone and called Wang Li.
"Hello? You're still awake at night, you need me for something?"
Xu Yu: "I want to ask you a question."
Wang Li took a mouthful of ramen and said, "You go."
“How many times have you been in love?”
Wang Li coughed furiously on the other end: "How presumptuous of you."
"I'm serious." Xu Yu said, "I'm thinking about a very important issue."
Wang Li wiped his nose vigorously: "Are you in love? You fell in love with Zhu Wenxu so quickly?"
"……That's not it."
"At my age now, I still remember how many people I've loved before. I may still remember my favorite, but I have no idea about the ones in between. If you want to ask, just ask directly. I can still answer you."
Xu Yu flipped through the mind map: "Your best friend has always liked you, but you are not together. She has always liked you and even found someone who looks very similar to you to be with her. What kind of mentality is this?"
Wang Li repeated it and slammed the table in anger: "Crazy, absolutely crazy, this is simply wanting what you can't have, and if you can't have it, find someone else to be your substitute."
Xu Yu asked: "What if the situation is reversed? You like your friend, but you're not together. You've found someone who looks similar to her. If she comes back, what will you do?"
"What else can I do? I usually only miss the one I love the most. Now that my love has returned, why should I care about the substitute? Besides, if my love knows it's her substitute, she will definitely love me even more. Is there any need to think about it? But what's the name of this novel? It's quite exciting."
If the one you love most knows that he or she is your substitute, you will definitely love him or her even more.
Xu Yu repeated it in his mind. If he was sure that he was Zhu Wenxu's substitute and Zhu Wenxu knew it, would his feelings for Xi Jiang deepen?
"Thank you."
"Tell me the name of the novel quickly..."
Xu Yu hung up.
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