sign
In July, the sun blazes high, and the distinctive smell of asphalt permeates the long street.
The courtyard gate was wide open, revealing lush flowers and leaves inside. Thick vines intertwined, forming a net filled with the fragrance of flowers and greenery.
Gu Nan kicked the recliner under the rattan, leaned back lazily, half-closed her eyes, and fanned herself with a folding fan, feeling drowsy.
The stone table beside the legs was bathed in direct sunlight, and a gold-embossed invitation on the corner of the table gleamed in the light.
The invitation cover was highlighted in bold black at 9:00 AM on July 13th.
Su Wanting played chess alone. After finishing the game, she got up, put away the pieces, glanced at the dazzling gold lettering, and checked the time: 10:30.
She hesitated, pursing her lips, and asked, "Master, aren't you going?"
Gu Nan raised her hand to swat away the flies, feeling sleepy and listless, her voice thick with a nasal tone: "I'm not going, the press conference is boring."
"But the Lu family, they seem to rarely send out invitations to others, even Lin Jianye isn't qualified to receive one."
Su Wanting's eyes sparkled as she gazed longingly at her master.
Everyone says Yan Yi is mysterious and a big shot.
Now that I see it, it's true. That invitation looks very expensive, not to mention it was sent by the Lu family.
Gu Nan lifted her eyelids slightly, using her folding fan to shield her eyes from the sun. Seeing the longing in her eyes, she chuckled and asked, "You want to go?"
Su Wanting shook her head: "The wealthiest and most powerful people I've ever met before are the Lin family. The five major families are all figures in the news. I never thought I would see their invitation in real life."
Gu Nan reached out and touched the invitation, the plastic bag making a rustling sound. She thought for a moment, then said without opening it, "I'll take you there sometime."
"Really!" Su Wanting rubbed her hands together excitedly, jumping for joy. "Thank you, Master!"
The long-quiet courtyard was hiding countless wild cats and birds, which scattered in all directions at her startled cry.
The two looked at each other, and Su Wanting stuck out her tongue shyly. "Master, I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow."
Gu Nan nodded: "No need to come tomorrow, come again next month."
"Huh?" Su Wanting hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Master, may I have your contact information?"
Gu Nan ignored him, closed her eyes, and waved her folding fan with one hand, neither agreeing nor refusing.
After the animals left, the yard became even quieter. When neither of them spoke, the only sound was the faint rustling of her folding fan.
Su Wanting waited for a while, unable to hide her disappointment, and said sullenly, "Master, you should rest. I'll be going now."
"return."
Su Wanting immediately turned around, and a bunch of keys flew through the air in an arc and landed precisely in her arms. "Master?"
Gu Nan: "Don't lose it."
Watching Su Wanting happily leave with the keys in her hand, Gu Nan felt a mix of emotions.
It must be because she's been spending so much time with Ji Yuanyu that she suddenly feels she has some potential to be a father.
She got up, tossed aside her folding fan, picked up the invitation, glanced at the cover, removed the plastic wrap, and, too lazy to open the folded pages, stuffed the whole thing into the shredder.
They watched helplessly as the invitation, which was regarded as an honor by outsiders, was shattered into pieces, and the words were illegible.
She let out a soft "heh" to herself, lamenting that she wasn't even curious about the contents of the invitation.
The courtyard was quiet for a long time before the kittens returned in groups, with three or five of them perched on the wall watching her.
She beckoned with her finger, and a bold cat ran over, jumped onto the stone table, and rubbed its head against her finger.
Half an hour later, he pushed open the door and left.
She found herself at a four-way intersection, staring blankly at the glass door of the taekwondo gym. After burning a cigarette to the end, she threw away the butt and took a taxi to Xingzilou.
A man in a suit stood waiting patiently in the scorching sun by the side door downstairs. When he saw her from afar, he wiped the sweat from his brow and jogged over.
Gu Nan frowned. "Why are you waiting outside?"
As she spoke, she pulled a USB drive from her pocket, which contained the fruits of her labor that she had spent the entire night working on.
He instructed, "Do as written above."
The man hesitated before taking the USB drive, then paused, as if to say something: "Sister Nan..."
"If anything goes wrong, I'll come looking for you." The tone left no room for argument.
"The Lu family..."
"Ignore him." Gu Nan popped a mint into her mouth to wake herself up, then put her hands in her pockets. "Go back."
She handed over the USB drive; Beicheng didn't have anything else to do for the time being, and it was time to go back.
She walked towards the roadside under the scorching sun, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Ye Xu's face, which looked even worse than if his own mother had died.
Before he could look away, Ye Xu turned his head, saw her, and asked in surprise, "Looking for me?"
Gu Nan: ...
"I'm not looking anymore."
Ye Xu rubbed his messy hair, thinking she was concerned about him, and said good-naturedly, "It's nothing, go ahead."
"You got kicked?"
"Damn it!" Ye Xu glared at her, his features contorted, and said bitterly, "Yan Yi has taken on a disciple, but I'm not the disciple."
Gu Nan crossed his arms and took a half step back, looking her up and down with a puzzled expression, not understanding: "Your chess skills are already among the best in the chess association, why are you so insistent on Yan Yi?"
Ye Xu solemnly declared: "Obsession."
"Then worship me, I am Yan Yi."
Gu Nan stood there sloppily, one hand in his pocket, chewing gum without a care for his image.
A gentle breeze ruffled her temples, and a few stray hairs fell across her cheeks, which she casually tucked behind her ears.
Ye Xu stared at her for a while, then uttered a single word: "Bullshit."
"Tsk." Gu Nan, "I gave you a chance, but you didn't do it."
"You still say you're Lu Yushi's fiancée."
Gu Nan chuckled, feigning seriousness: "How do you know it isn't?"
"Shut up. What do you mean? Does the owner of your worthless chrysanthemum mean nothing to you anymore?"
Gu Nan pondered: "The law doesn't stipulate that you can only like one man. The capable should do more."
"How can you do that?" Ye Xu asked irritably.
"Get lost," Gu Nan laughed and scolded, "I'm leaving."
Ye Xu waved her hand haphazardly, took the folder under her arm, and walked towards Xingzi Building with a displeased expression. She looked at her phone as she walked, then suddenly stopped, turned around abruptly, and asked suspiciously, "Have you seen Yan Yi?"
Gu Nan raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
"My friend saw that chessboard you asked me to find at Lin Jianye's house." Ye Xu opened his phone, zoomed in on the picture, and handed it to Gu Nan. "Isn't this the chessboard? The pieces are exactly the same. Wait a minute... could it really be that you gave it to Yan Yi, and Yan Yi then gave it to Lin Jianye?"
Gu Nan shrugged, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips, and said slowly, "That sounds familiar. You seem to have asked me that before."
Ye Xu gritted his teeth and remained silent, spitting out a few words through gritted teeth: "When has your mouth ever told the truth! Who knows if what you say is true!"
"Ahem." Gu Nan coughed lightly, covering her mouth. After thinking carefully, she realized she hadn't lied to Ye Xu. "Whose fault is it if you don't believe me?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Xu raised his eyes slowly, his resentment rising to the sky.
"You know perfectly well that I like her."
Gu Nan surrendered: "I'll give you an autograph."
"To sign." Ye Xu knew when to stop.
"Okay, I'm off."
Just before getting on the bus, Gu Nan looked up at the top floor of the Xingzi Building. She couldn't see anyone behind her through the one-way glass. She blinked and headed to the airport.
After getting off the car, I followed the staff into the lounge, borrowed paper and pen, wrote a few words, folded the paper in half and sealed it, and told the staff to deliver it to Xingzi Building in two hours.
He then messaged Ji Yuanyu, boarded the plane, pulled up his eye mask, and slept until the plane landed.
Turn on your phone.
The first message was from Ye Xu.
Zoom in on the image—the signature she wrote in the lounge.
【？】
Ye Xu: [Why does this handwriting look so much like yours?]
Gu Nan: [? ?]
Ye Xu: [You didn't secretly sign a fake one for me, did you?]
Gu Nan smiled slightly and typed: 【Get lost.】
In the past, when the two bickered, the word "get lost" meant the end, and they would tacitly stop the conversation. Ye Xu was unusual; he called her after confirming that she had gotten off the plane.
"Is it fake?"
Gu Nan pursed her lips: "Really."
"Don't lie to me. I can't read other people's characters, but I can't possibly not recognize yours. When you write my character '序' (preface), you never add a dot or a hook; you just draw it down with a single stroke."
"hiss."
Gu Nan pulled her coat tighter, thinking to herself, "I was careless."
Hearing her inhale, Ye Xu was furious: "You really lied to me?"
Gu Nan said silently, "I haven't applied for a patent, nor have I monopolized the hanging needle technique, so why can't others write it?"
Others don't have this habit.
The airport was bustling with people. Gu Nan pushed her suitcase and saw Ji Yuanyu in the distance. She raised her left hand and waved. When Ji Yuanyu strode over, she simply dropped her suitcase and stood still to wait.
After a few actions, I thought of what to say.
“You should be proud that your friend and your idol have the same handwriting habits.”
Do you think I believe that?
Ji Yuanyu took the box and called out softly, "Nannan?"
Gu Nan nodded, ending the conversation: "I guarantee it's authentic. We'll talk about it later."
After hanging up the phone, she slung her bag over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing at the door.
High heels, long skirt.
Just by looking at her, she seemed to already smell the rich fragrance.
Shifting his gaze, Ji Yuanyu explained, "I ran into Sudi when I went out. She heard you were back and offered to come and pick you up."
"Pick me up?" Gu Nan raised an eyebrow and quickened her pace.
When she got closer, Sudi opened her mouth but didn't make a sound, only fiddling with her hair. Both her movements and expression were full of unease, as if her pride was holding her back from bowing down.
Gu Nan found it amusing, pulled her bag down and tossed it into Ji Yuanyu's arms, then put one arm around Su Di's shoulder and neck, leaning closer like two buddies, and asked curiously, "What are you thanking me for?"
Sudi struggled to push her away, but whether it was due to the disparity in strength or simply his own embarrassment stemming from pride, he gave up after a few attempts and let her do as she pleased without saying a word.
Gu Nan nudged Su Di on the shoulder: "Tell me."
Sudi turned her head to look at her, her mouth moved slightly, then closed again, and she silently lowered her head.
"Why are you shy with me?" Gu Nan asked, puzzled.
"You're so annoying," Sudi scolded playfully.
Gu Nan pointed at herself, her face full of confusion: "What did I do?"
Sudi stared at the floor, biting her lower lip, and said in a muffled voice, "Thank you for helping me get the money back."
Gu Nan looked completely bewildered: "What money?"
Sudi glared at her, and she belatedly realized it was because of "J".
That would be even stranger.
If her memory serves her right, she was the one who let "J" go, so there was no question of chasing after money.
"Who told you I helped you get it back?"
"My senior brother." Su Di pouted, looking very unwilling, but said sincerely, "Thank you."
"Did your senior brother give you the money?"
"Um."
Gu Nan released Su Di, raised her hand to scratch her forehead, not understanding what Lu Yushi was up to.
"If I had known my senior knew J, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble, and I almost lost a lot of money."
Gu Nan looked at her speechlessly, thinking to herself, "You really lost out. You should thank your good senior brother for helping you cover the hole."
"By the way, my senior also asked for your contact information. Could you... accept my request?"
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