016
The parking lot at the back was dark, dark, quiet, and deep. Xu Yu rubbed his hands unconsciously, remembering that he didn't have a car and didn't often go downstairs, so he couldn't find the elevator.
The footsteps that were approaching and moving away stopped, and Zhu Wenxu's face could not be seen: "Aren't you leaving?"
"I can't see clearly."
Somehow, Xu Yu suddenly remembered last year's Spring Festival. He sent Xi Jiang home and drove back after midnight. The New Year's bell rang, and he was briefly trapped in the underground parking lot due to a power outage.
He couldn't get through to the property management's phone, and was a little scared to go up the stairs alone, so he just waited. At three o'clock, when the community was filled with cheers of the New Year, he wrapped himself in a cotton coat and got into the elevator to go home.
The wind that day was even colder than it is now. There was only a moon hanging in the upper sky, with no stars. Those college students might have felt regretful.
A beam of light shone over, and Xu Yu instinctively couldn't open his eyes. He turned his head and saw Zhu Wenxu had come to his side and took his hand again: "Let's go."
In less than two hours, they held hands for the second time, their hearts still beating fast from the touch. They entered the corridor, the sensor light came on, and they went in while waiting for the elevator.
"Mr. Zhu, I've always wanted to ask you..."
"I don't think you need to call me that in private." Zhu Wenxu said softly, "Aren't we half friends?"
Half a friend?
Xu Yu stared at the side of his face, his eyes hooked, a little confused: "Do you want to add WeChat?"
It's too late to say it.
The figure in front of him stiffened slightly, and then he uttered two words lightly: "Okay."
In the narrow elevator, Xu Yu bravely scanned the QR code. He didn't know why, but he felt like he'd just been bewitched, completely unable to think straight.
Zhu Wenxu’s profile picture was a vase of white roses soaked in water, exactly the same as the one Xu Yu saw in Xi Jiang’s phone.
There is no change in the circle of friends, it’s still the same pictures.
"Fake."
Xu Yu didn't understand: "Huh?"
"That ring is fake." Zhu Wenxu said, "It's not me."
Xu Yu didn’t understand. Didn’t he ask?
Not many people were out and about during this time, and the neighborhood was very quiet. They parted ways at the stairs. Zhu Wenxu stood at the fork in the stairs, not knowing what he was looking at, or perhaps he was in a daze. After a few seconds, he slowly turned sideways and looked at Xu Yu with a complicated look.
Xu Yu’s Chinese language test was not satisfactory, and sometimes he could not understand the meaning of the emotions expressed by Shi Jiang.
"You're not staying here tonight?"
"It's not fixed yet." Zhu Wenxu said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "Xu Yu, I have something to ask you."
Xu Yu: "You ask."
Is it about Xi Jiang again?
He and Xi Jiang had never held hands.
"Let's say you have a very good friend and you've been together for a long time, but one day one of you leaves without saying goodbye. When you meet again, will you still keep in touch with him?"
"Friends? Probably."
"What if he switches identities and becomes an online friend?"
Xu Yu was puzzled: "If it's been a long time, maybe they'll forget it. We can't become good friends no matter how long we chat. It's unnecessary."
trouble.
Without getting rid of Xi Jiang, not only being an online friend, even simply being friends is not allowed.
“…”
After a long silence, Xu Yu wanted to go back.
"Why do you ask that?"
"Nothing, just an interview test. I'm leaving now." Zhu Wenxu waved his hand casually.
"Okay, good night."
Xu Yu waved, turned and walked towards the corridor, not noticing that the person behind him slowly lowered his hand, his eyebrows drooped, and his face dimmed to the point of almost blending into the darkness.
Good night, Xu Yu.
Xu Yu didn't sleep well that night and woke up early again. After breakfast, he went downstairs for a walk and found that his body, which had been feeling unwell yesterday, was much better today.
When I came back, my cell phone rang.
"Why didn't you answer the phone?" Wang Li said, "I called you several times."
Xu Yu drank some water: "I didn't take it with me, so I went downstairs and took a walk."
"Stop turning around. I have something to ask you." Wang Li was serious for once. "What did you do using my identity?"
"What did you do?"
"Early this morning, two middle-aged men came to our newspaper office and presented our boss with a banner about me," Wang Li said. "I was originally on probation, as you know, but after this incident, hey, I'm reinstated!"
Xu Yu paused with the cup in his hand: "What do you mean? Did those two people go far away?"
"No, our editor-in-chief is treating people to dinner."
"You are the editor-in-chief?"
"Oh, our editor-in-chief is a student of one of them," Wang Li said. "It was such a lively meeting."
“…”
The taxi was stuck at the third intersection indicated by the navigation. Xu Yu raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead. The driver saw that he was sweating profusely, so he closed the window and turned on the air conditioner.
Xu Yu got out of the car and headed straight downstairs. Because the banner had been delivered promptly, Wang Li was back to work that morning. His clothes weren't as ragged anymore, and he was back in his old brown plaid style, with a hat on. He was completely cosplaying Sherlock Holmes.
Wang Li, holding a cigarette, sat down on the edge of the flower bed, crossed his legs, and said, "You must have other things to do by using your status to visit the elders? Tell me quickly. If they interrogate me and I can't answer, I'm doomed."
He didn't look angry, but instead lit a cigarette happily. Xu Yu sat down next to him and took a cigarette from his box.
Wang urged him: "My cigarettes are not good for smoking."
"I'm not that particular." Xu Yu borrowed a light and looked up at the sky. "Didn't I tell you before that I wanted to know Zhu Wenxu's whereabouts?"
"What's wrong?"
"I didn't actually want to change any financial backer relationships. I simply wanted Zhu Wenxu and Xi Jiang to meet and resolve their misunderstandings like in a TV drama." Xu Yu coughed, "But they never met in front of me. Instead, I always ran into Zhu Wenxu."
"Their relationship is indeed unusual. If it weren't for the dominance of capital, I would have exposed it long ago. The editor-in-chief doesn't mind me doing so, saying it would ruin my career." Wang Li worriedly, "Let's continue talking about your affairs. What happens after we meet?"
"I wanted to stay away from him, not just because of his relationship with Xi Jiang, but also because I was used to treating everyone equally and hated him as well." Xu Yu said, "It was during this process that I found out about their teacher. As it was urgent, I used your identity."
"Oh, so that's how it is... Hmm? Wait, are you saying that you found Zhu Wenxu and Xi Jiang, and also found Zhu Wenxu's teacher?"
Xu Yu shook his head: "To be precise, he is the teacher of both of them."
Wang Li admired him very much.
"Why don't you join me? Your skills in digging up news and historical information surpass most of your peers."
“Is the information difficult to find?”
"Of course. They're not 18th-tier celebrities, nor are they internet celebrities. They're two real leaders driving the city's economy. Their information has either been hidden or deleted, and the remaining news is at least as thick as my head. This means that if we want to find the connection, we have to collect the news and compare the authenticity of each one." Wang Li muttered, "I don't have the patience for that."
In reality, Xu Yu had been investigating Xi Jiang alone for the past two years. He desperately wanted to escape control, so he had to start from the past. He had read all the news about Xi Jiang in the market.
This time it happened that Zhu Wenxu appeared. When he was looking for some information, he happened to find the old report that had not been seen for a long time on the education network.
Xu Yu's face turned pale from smoking: "Have you seen them?"
"No, I just got here."
"Can I ask for a favor?" Xu Yu asked, "Can I use your identity to continue contacting them?"
Wang Li narrowed his eyes: "Are you... developing feelings for each other?"
He had to admit that he hadn't felt such a simple way of getting along with others in the city for a long time.
"I also want to understand that my status is inappropriate."
The cigarette butt was wiped on the trash can. Wang Li blew out the last puff of smoke and wiped the cigarette off Xu Yu's hand. He threw the paper in his pocket into his arms: "Stop smoking. You'll cry if you smoke again. It's just a small matter. I promise you."
Xu Yu: "Thank you."
"I'm afraid you'll be exposed. Why don't you go get a qualification certificate?"
"What qualifications?"
"It's just temporary paparazzi identification, marked as a reporter." Wang Li saw his expression and changed the subject, "You can also get free entry to some filming locations, such as small fashion weeks, art exhibitions, museums, etc. With a certificate, you get free tickets."
"No academic qualifications are required?" Xu Yu wondered.
"It was necessary in the past, but if you go through a referral, it's different." Wang Li said, "If you want, feel free to contact me and I'll recommend you."
"Let's talk about it later." He was not interested.
Wang Li was overwhelmed: "Why?"
“I might want to go to school someday.”
…
Xu Yu's life returned to normal. He ate, slept, and occasionally checked Wang Li's qualification exam on the Internet. Because paparazzi is a high-risk job, many college graduates with a degree in journalism are not willing to do it. After all, who would be willing to do such a thankless job, and they might be sued and lose everything.
Without normal strength, no one dares to touch you; without normal financial resources, you can't stand up at all.
This position has become scarce since the year before last. The threshold is not high, just pass three exams. The salary is calculated according to the normal salary of journalists, and the benefits are very eye-catching.
Xu Yu wasn't very interested. After watching the movie, he had dinner, replied to messages on WeChat, found a movie, and spent the weekend like that.
He had never met Zhu Wenxu. He browsed his Moments and found that Assistant Zhou and Assistant Zhao were similar in that they both liked to post work photos of their superiors on their Moments.
The photographer Zhu Wenxu hired was very professional. Although they were just discussing the contract, the style and filters were the same as those of a movie poster.
What’s most infuriating is that the two assistants have each other’s WeChat accounts, and they were arguing in the comments about whose CEO is truly handsome.
Assistant Zhao: A confident life is made up of Mr. Xi’s sweat.
Assistant Zhou: [General.]
Assistant Zhao replied to Assistant Zhou: [Are you qualified to comment?]
…
Assistant Zhou: Knowledge is the second life of wisdom. [Sun]
Assistant Zhao: [It's just average, not as good as my boss Xi.]
Assistant Zhou: [Do you believe I'll tear your mouth apart?]
…
Xu Yu smiled and clicked on Zhu Wenxu's WeChat, and found that he had actually updated his status. The amusement park under the lights at night was mysterious, romantic and grand.
Xu Yu's heart beat faster, his palms began to sweat, and he was suddenly brought back to that sticky night.
He couldn't help but think that he hadn't seen Zhu Wenxu for a long time.
Near the end of the month, Assistant Zhao came to the house with a box of fresh roast goose and a brand new contract. The content changed from companionship to temporary departure. The meaning was obvious: they didn't want to let him go, but wanted to send him to another place.
Xu Yu didn't sign immediately: "Where are you going to send me?"
"I heard it's Qingying City. The pace of life there is relatively fast, so it's suitable for Mr. Xu."
This contract disrupted Xu Yu's original thoughts. He frowned slightly and asked, "When will I be sent away?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
