Three years
Three years later, in Jincheng.
On this bustling street, near the university town, stand rows of shops with colorful and ornate facades. But this one simple, unpretentious shop is hidden on a street corner.
A man in a white shirt lay quietly in a wicker chair, flipping through Tagore's poetry collection. A gentle breeze blew in from outside the door, lightly lifting the stray hairs on his forehead.
"Boss, how much is this book?"
A clear, girlish voice rang out as she excitedly rushed to the counter and slammed a well-wrapped book onto the table.
The man behind the counter slowly raised his head, revealing a clean and aloof profile with beautiful, light-colored eyes. His thin lips were slightly pursed, carrying a faint smile, which made the girl gasp for breath.
"Hello." Wen Xubai smiled and nodded, placed the maple leaf bookmark into the book and clipped it in, then put the poetry collection aside and stood up.
I was so engrossed in watching that I didn't even notice the guests had arrived. That was incredibly rude of me.
Wen Xubai felt a little guilty. He lowered his eyes, glanced at the items under the counter, took out a ginkgo leaf bookmark, and handed it to the girl who was staring blankly at him.
"Sorry, this is a free gift."
The girl had fair skin, long, undyed, pure black hair, and wore a blue silk headband. Her eyes were round, and at that moment, the pupils were wide open, making them appear even larger.
They weren't wearing school uniforms, so they must be university students.
"Xiaolin, have you finished shopping?" As she spoke, another girl with her hair in a bun and wearing a plaid scarf walked over quickly, put her arm around the long-haired girl's neck, and asked with a smile.
"Ah... wait... wait a minute..." The long-haired girl suddenly came to her senses, and tried to cover up her embarrassment by brushing aside the stray hairs at her temples, her face immediately turning red.
Wen Xubai glanced at the book on the table; it was Anne Proulx's *Brokeback Mountain*.
"Huh? What's this about?" The girl with her hair in a bun asked curiously, and picked up the book.
"This is..." The long-haired girl was surprised that her friend had acted so quickly. Thinking of the contents of the book, she felt a little embarrassed.
"It's about a lesbian couple's love story in the American West during the 1960s," Wen Xubai replied for her.
"Ah... gay lovers?" The girl with the bun was surprised for a moment, then her eyes lit up instantly. "I've heard of this book!"
As she spoke, the girl put her arm around her friend's shoulder and said with a smile, "Xiaolin, can I borrow your book after you've finished reading it? I can split the cost with you."
The long-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief, tapped the girl with the bun on the nose, and said reproachfully, "If you want to see it, just take it. Why bring up the issue of splitting the cost? Don't be so formal."
"Hehe, I was just afraid you'd mind."
The two girls exchanged a glance and burst into laughter, instantly dispelling the awkward atmosphere from before.
"Oh no, I haven't paid yet!" The long-haired girl instinctively turned to leave, but as she reached the door, she realized she hadn't paid. She quickly pulled her friend back to the counter, handed the book back to Wen Xubai behind it, and apologized, "Sorry, I was in such a rush I forgot..."
"It's alright." Wen Xubai shook his head and took the book.
The man's voice was like a clear spring, gentle and soothing, falling into her heart like a soft touch of cotton, making the girl blush again.
The girl with the bun hairstyle finally noticed Wen Xubai, her eyes lighting up instantly. She exclaimed, "Wow, boss, are you a college student?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Xubai paused in his scanning motion, somewhat surprised, and replied with a slight smile, "I graduated a long time ago."
"Really?!" The girl with the bun was even more surprised. "But you look so young, you seem even younger than me..."
Then, with a smile, she said, "Boss, has anyone ever told you that you're very beautiful? Your skin is so good, like a celebrity!"
The girl seemed very envious, propping her head up with her hand and looking on with longing, her eyes unwilling to leave Wen Xubai's face for even a moment.
"You're not a celebrity, are you...?"
Upon hearing this, the girl herself seemed to waver. The more she looked at the person in front of her, the more familiar he seemed. After hesitating for a long time, she said hesitantly, "Boss, I think... I've seen you online before?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Xubai paused, a flicker of emotion vanishing from his eyes in an instant, before quickly and calmly replying, "Is that so? Everyone looks different, but with hundreds of millions of people in the world, it's normal for similar appearances to appear..."
"Besides, I would be honored to look like your idol."
The girl with the bun was stunned by his smile. After a while, she covered her mouth and laughed, her two dimples looking especially sweet. "Boss, I didn't expect you to be so humorous."
Wen Xubai did not answer, but handed the book, after verifying the code, back to the long-haired girl next to her, and said with a light smile, "Every book is unique, please take good care of it."
The blush on the long-haired girl's face hadn't completely faded, and when he looked at her like that, she seemed to have a fever again. She quickly thanked Wen Xubai, took the book, and ran away with her companion.
Watching the two girls laughing and joking as they walked away, Wen Xubai couldn't help but smile as he slowly sat back down in the rattan chair.
The place was remote, but its charm lay in its tranquility. There weren't many customers to begin with, and with the two girls gone, the shop felt even more deserted. Fortunately, Wen Xubai was already used to this atmosphere.
The computer that Wen Xubai had just turned on when he checked out was still on. He was about to click the X on the payment page with his long, slender fingers when a browser page suddenly popped up.
Wen Xubai sighed softly. This wasn't the first time this had happened. The computer wasn't old, but it would always pop up some random pages. Sometimes it was game ads, sometimes it was scam messages, and sometimes... it was pornographic websites.
Wen Xubai didn't know what he had accidentally ordered again, but he was already used to it. He was just glad that it appeared now, rather than when there were guests.
I tried to close the page by moving the mouse, but unfortunately, the loading icon on the page was still spinning wildly, and the whole computer froze.
Helpless, Wen Xubai could only silently withdraw his hand and patiently wait for the page to finish loading.
The autumn wind was a bit chilly, and it felt cold on Wen Xubai's body. Since he had to wait anyway, Wen Xubai simply pulled over a cotton blanket and covered himself with it.
The soft touch, with its slight weight, warmed his body quickly through the shirt.
Wen Xubai stared quietly at the computer screen, watching the gray circle spin round and round until it suddenly stopped after spinning to a certain point.
Then there was another ten seconds of silence before the content finally appeared on the pristine white page.
Wen Xubai had his mouse ready, waiting for the cross to turn red, but he froze the moment he pressed the button.
This time, it wasn't some junk page that popped up, but a news website.
Beneath the eye-catching title is a large photograph.
In the photo, a man in a black suit gets out of a car amidst a flurry of flashing lights.
The imposing Rolls-Royce perfectly complemented the man's charisma. With a long stride, the man stepped out of the car, his features rugged and sharp, his eyes cold and piercing. One glance was enough to drive thousands wild.
Countless men in black wearing sunglasses rushed over, blocking the excited and crowded media reporters, surrounding the man, and creating a clear space for him.
The moment Wen Xubai saw the man's face, he felt his breath catch in his throat, his fingers trembled involuntarily, and a voice inside him screamed: Turn him off, turn him off!
But whenever I try to steel myself and click the mouse, I hesitate and can't bring myself to do it.
Time seemed to stand still.
His fingers unconsciously slid down, and the enlarged photos slid past his eyes one by one, quickly skipping over any that were unrelated to that person.
After a while, the image froze on a front-facing photo of a man.
"Wen Xuchi, the third young master of the Wen family, attended a charity foundation event."
The mouse slowly traced the man's face, as if one could touch the person they longed for even through the screen...
Qi Zui has changed a lot over the years.
Her hair was cut short, and her usual clothes changed from a colorful mix of styles to dark-colored formal suits with leather collars. Her clothes were spotless, and she no longer had that casual style.
Wen Xubai lowered his eyes, realizing that the Wen family must have specifically cultivated his style of dress.
Over the years, whether it was Wen Tingyi's deliberate instruction or Qi Zui's own request, the name "Wen Xuchi" has frequently appeared in the media, mostly on the front page. As long as you open a browser, you can see Qi Zui's image. So gradually, Wen Xubai rarely goes online.
I only turn on my computer when I need to handle something, like today, and I would never open random web pages.
Fortunately, there weren't many customers in the bookstore, and very few actually paid to buy books, allowing Wen Xubai to successfully escape. He would spend his days hiding in the bookstore, passing the time by reading all sorts of books.
I couldn't escape it after all...
Wen Xubai couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
Fate loves to play tricks on people; the more you try to avoid something, the more it seems to appear in front of you in an unexpected way.
The boundaries of longing are like a flood; once a crack appears, it can no longer be controlled.
Wen Xubai silently opened the Baidu page and typed "Wen Xuchi" into the search box.
Soon, tens of thousands of search terms popped up instantly.
Wen Xubai clicked on each item to check, but he had no interest in the trivial details in the reports; he was only concerned with the actions of that person.
Wen Tingyi suffered a stroke at the beginning of this year and has been bedridden ever since, leaving the affairs of the Wen family to be handled by the younger generation.
Wen Xuyuan and Wen Xushi became increasingly active, frequently appearing at various public events.
Wen Xuyi faced a backlash from netizens for his accidental injury years ago. Although the Wen family found an accomplice to take the blame for him and spent a lot of money to buy articles to whitewash his image, accusing him of being wronged and taking the blame for someone else, netizens didn't buy it. As a result, Wen Xuyi appeared in the media less and less.
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