In the next few days, Zhao Jizhe was very well-behaved. He no longer called to talk nonsense or sent text messages to ask about her well-being regardless of the time and place.
The company's affairs are complicated, and it is actually difficult for Li Xuan to spare much energy. In the few free times he has, he has bigger concerns and will not share them with Zhao Jizhe.
The next time I heard from him was when Zhu Zhou called me and said that Zhao Jize had become more enthusiastic about the Internet cafe's affairs recently, and those who didn't know how to do something began to seek advice from him.
"I feel that Brother Zhao still wants to manage the store well. He might have been unable to adapt to the new environment recently because he just took over." Zhu Zhou said optimistically.
"I hope so." Li Xuan listened to him and said in a non-enthusiastic tone, "You don't need to tell me about these things in the future. If he is willing to take care of it, you should do your job well. If he doesn't care, you should also do your own thing well."
"Oh... OK."
Li Xuan hummed: "How is the matter I asked you last time?"
"Yes, that's what I was going to say." Zhu Zhou said quickly, "I almost forgot about it just now. Brother Xuan, you asked me to find that store, and I found it."
The notebook I picked up from the bookshelf was made of thin paper, and the ink spread across the white paper. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the faint dark clouds on the horizon when a midsummer rainstorm came.
Li Xuan stared at the address and number he had written down for a while, then retracted his gaze, placed his finger on the touch screen for a few seconds, and clicked on the video of Sheng Min's birthday party the day before.
There was no live broadcast of the birthday party, only videos taken by fans in the audience. The picture quality was clear, but the camera was shaking, which made people dizzy.
Even so, Li Xuan watched all the videos he could find last night. Before he knew it, it was past midnight, and the number of comments and blessings on the birthday microblog automatically pushed by the system quickly exceeded one million, and Sheng Min's name has been on the hot search list until now.
"You haven't left yet?" Qi Boyuan pushed the door open and was stunned for a moment.
Li Xuan quickly turned off the computer screen: "Looking for me?"
"I'm not looking for you. I'm here to get the contract with the property management. I left it here with you yesterday." Qi Boyuan rummaged around on his desk for a while and quickly pulled out a folder. "What were you looking at? Why are you still in the company?"
Li Xuan calmed himself down, reopened the screen and quickly shrunk the window: "Where am I going if I'm not in the company?"
"Isn't your play ticket for tonight?" Qi Boyuan glanced at the watch in surprise. "It's less than two hours away. Isn't it quite far from here?"
Li Xuan scratched his chin: "Oh."
"What are you talking about?" Qi Boyuan looked at him for a few seconds, then smiled and sat on the table with his hands. "If you don't want to go, why not give me the ticket?"
"Go away." Li Xuan frowned. "You said last time that you don't have artistic talent. Don't bear this punishment."
Qi Boyuan smiled and raised his hand in a surrender gesture: "I can withdraw it. I heard from Jiajia that your two tickets are valuable. Together, they can buy half a square meter in the city center. It doesn't matter if I endure this kind of suffering."
Li Xuan turned the pen in his hand without saying anything.
"No more joking, just go ahead." Qi Boyuan raised his chin and said again.
Li Xuan lowered his eyes and whispered, "I don't know anything, you persuade me to go."
"How can I not know anything? Isn't it that you won't say anything? ... ... Hey, please don't tell me. I'm not interested."
Li Xuan glanced at him, and Qi Boyuan smiled and jumped off the table: "Alright, go ahead. It's only a few hours anyway, I'll keep an eye on it, are you still afraid that the company will be in chaos?"
"What good will it do you to persuade me to go?" Li Xuan frowned.
"Obviously not." Qi Boyuan said seriously, "But I feel like you should want to go."
This is true and also not true.
Li Xuan couldn't really say anything against his will. His expression was hard to tell, as if he was competing with someone. In fact, who else could it be? It could only be himself. Qi Boyuan looked at his expression and didn't know what to say for a while.
Just as they were quiet, Li Xuan's phone rang again. Qi Boyuan saw on his screen that there seemed to be a push notification from Weibo that he paid special attention to. This was really inconsistent with his usual style, and Qi Boyuan couldn't help but twitch his eyelids. But Li Xuan took a look, put down the phone, stood up as if he had made up his mind, grabbed the car keys and went out the door.
Qi Boyuan watched him leave the door before he could react: "You left again?"
"Send a message if there is anything." Li Xuan left like a gust of wind.
After getting in the car, he opened his phone again. Sheng Min had posted a Weibo five minutes ago. It was a simple line of words: A new year, thank you everyone. The accompanying picture was a selfie of him holding a palm-sized cake, tilting his head and smiling sweetly, and very official.
The background was deliberately blurred, but Li Xuan still recognized the bedroom curtains at a glance.
Sheng Min was alone at home on his birthday? Li Xuan couldn't help but frown at this discovery. He had completely forgotten that he had been writing programs all day from morning to night like usual. Even Qi Boyuan only knew that his birthday was in July but didn't know the exact day.
Companionship and the so-called sense of ritual were the most insignificant things in Li Xuan's eyes, but when the object was changed to Sheng Min, he found it unbearable.
Li Xuan realized his impulsiveness when he reached Sheng Min's building at the highest speed. It was unclear whether the photo was taken now. Even if Sheng Min was at home, he would not necessarily be alone. There were so many staff members around him. If he needed someone, there would always be someone by his side.
But Li Xuan recalled the dream again, where Sheng Min was lying lifeless in a bathtub soaked in blood.
He always had access to the excitement and splendor, but he never had anyone to go with him.
Can I be that person? During the time they were apart, Li Xuan had asked himself this question countless times, but up to this moment, he still had nothing to show for it.
Li Xuan leaned back in the seat and exhaled gently. The ceiling lights in the underground garage shone brightly on the dust in the air, and the gold-plated font on the envelope in the armrest box reflected a faint light.
He grabbed a handful of hair. The elevator door opposite opened and closed. Cars passed by him one after another. Some people went out and some came back. Time passed slowly. When the elevator beeped, two familiar figures suddenly appeared in front of him.
Li Xuan frowned and sat up straight. He looked at the person opposite him and frowned unconsciously. His Adam's apple moved, but he controlled his emotions and did not get out of the car. He just quietly lowered the window.
"Don't worry. Sooner or later, I'll make him give in. It's just a house, no big deal. Last time I wanted to buy a car, I bought it for you." Wang Shuying's voice was loud, and it echoed in the empty garage.
"What kind of car is that? What does he drive himself? What did he buy for me? Is he sending away beggars?" Sheng Hui said, turning around and spitting fiercely in the direction of the elevator, "He makes so much money, what's wrong with spending some on me?"
"It's nothing. It's just natural. Don't worry, I'll find a way for you."
"Who asked you to find a solution?" Sheng Hui shook off her hand. "You always say this. I won't go with you to see his face next time. What a joke."
The mother and son quickly got into the car and drove away. Li Xuan felt sick in his heart. Yang Xu's voice echoed in his ears again, "His mother is also sick. She always makes a fuss on his birthday every year."
It turns out they are all true.
When the door rang, Sheng Min was still sitting on the wooden floor in a daze, with the sofa leg against his back. He felt a little tired and didn't want to move. His shoulders trembled, and like some frightened animal, he turned his head alertly: "Who?"
It was quiet.
Sheng Min frowned and stood up, walked around the broken birthday cake on the ground, and stopped at the entrance. He had been followed by stalkers before, so he moved several times and was always extra cautious. He asked again, "Who is it?"
"I." The person outside the door paused for a moment, "Li Xuan."