Gu Lizhou didn’t have ordinary hopes about finding a new job, because he didn’t know when he would leave Yucheng. If he liked it, he’d stay, and if not, he’d just move somewhere else for a while.
That’s how he’s been living for the past few years.
Zhong Weishi, on the other hand, seemed to think he had become delusional from being a gigolo. He went to great lengths to search for new socialist pathways for him, even personally registering an account for him on a website and filling out a resume.
The net was cast.
Gu Lizhou was woken up early in the morning by one unfamiliar phone call after another.
“Hello, is this Mr. Gu? I saw the resume you submitted to our company on XX Website. Are you available for an interview this afternoon?”
“What?”
“The resume you submitted to us for the job of Fruit Assembler.”
“…You’ve got the wrong number.”
“Hello, I’m from the ‘Energetic Seniors Health Association ah.’”
“No need.”
Just as Gu Lizhou was about to hang up, the person on the other side hurriedly called out, “Wait, you applied for our Sales and Customer Service position, right? Are you free to come for an interview? This job is simple, really, but it does require some hard work. You can hand out flyers, right?”
“…Sorry, I already found a job.”
The most bewildering call came from a man: “Hey, is this Gu Lizhou? I just saw your resume. Can you drive a forklift?”
“A what?”
“Forklift ah. We’re hiring forklift operators, preferably skilled old drivers. If you’re good at operating an excavator, you should be able to handle a forklift too, right? Do you have a license?”
“…” At this, Gu Lizhou was fully awake.
He vaguely recalled the voice call he’d received just before falling asleep.
“Hey, rich guy, there’s a verification code on your phone. Send it to me. I’m registering an account for you on XX website.”
“I’m helping you find a job ah! What else would I be doing? By the way, what’s your education level ah? What’s your major?”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just fill in the blanks randomly ah…”
When Gu Lizhou opened his computer and logged in to check the back-end, he was so furious that he saw stars and felt blood rushing from his seven orifices. He fainted on the spot.
Name: Gu Lizhou
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Graduated from: Lanxiang Technical
Special skills: Good-looking, with especially long legs.
Expertise: Expert Excavator Operator
Introduction: I have a lively and cheerful personality, and I’m always willing to help others. Although my work experience is a bit lacking, I can especially endure hardships! I really can endure! Plus, I have great luck—I’ve won countless “win another bottle” prizes since childhood, so I believe my good fortune is contagious. I sincerely ask your esteemed company to give me a chance to contribute to society! I promise to work diligently!
In the Film and Television Studio dozens of kilometers away, Zhong Weishi suddenly sneezed several huge times, almost suffocating.
He thought someone must be thinking about him.
Gu Lizhou gritted his teeth and sent a message to the bear child1Brat, naughty child: When are you coming back?
[Lunatic]: Give me another half an hour. I still have a few new sets to shoot.
There was a photo attached below the message, showing several pairs of underwear in different colors, styles, and patterns laid out on the floor.
[Lunatic]: The boss said I could bring a few pairs. Do you want some? You can pick, and I’ll bring them back for you.
Gu Lizhou’s little morning grumpiness had mostly worn off by now.
Zhong Weishi was truly a fascinating person. He always managed to do something unexpected at the most random times.
Honestly, his first impression of Zhong Weishi wasn’t good.
Back at Qingfeng Garden, the boy’s impulsiveness and recklessness left him feeling confused and speechless, even a little disgusted. But after spending some time together, he realized that Zhong Weishi lived a very simple life.
If you’re his friend, he’ll go all out to help you in any way he can.
Like with this whole job search thing—Zhong Weishi perfectly illustrated the phrase, “The emperor isn’t anxious, but the eunuch is.” Though the process was a bit stupid, the intention was good.
He still vaguely recalled one afternoon when Zhong Weishi sent him several voice messages in a row.
“Hey, did you know? Da Fei is now doing crossdressing live broadcasting, just that kind of, it’s really popular now, dressing up in women’s clothes to sing and dance. I’ll send you the room number. We’re all brothers here, so make sure to drop by, brush some comments, and cheer him on.”
“Ah yes, don’t expose your identity when you go.”
“I’m telling you, Da Fei’s dancing is really energetic. You’ll definitely be blown away by his looks today.”
…
“Rich guy! Did you hear me ah? This is your chance to show off your rich and powerful charm ah! It’s Da Fei’s first time, we’ve got to give him some applause!”
[Lunatic]: So, what do you think? Any you like? This fabric is really good quality, and the best part is it doesn’t fade!
Wait, so all the underwear he bought before faded?!
Gu Lizhou lazily replied with a voice message: “I want solid colors.”
[Lunatic]: What lip2Lip and solid sounded the same. color? We’ve got black, red, white, gray—all kinds of colors here, but no lip color. Are you asking for dark red? That’s such a sultry color? Doesn’t really match your vibe…
[Useless Yet Awake]: …Solid colors, no patterns.
[Lunatic]: Oh.
The constant barrage of recruitment calls continued. Frustrated, Gu Lizhou simply pulled out his SIM card. As he was contemplating how to deal with that bear child tonight, there was a knock at the door.
He thought it was Cao Zhiheng forgetting his keys, but when he opened the door, it was actually a very pretty girl with chestnut-colored, wavy hair and a faint scent of perfume came to his nose.
The girl didn’t seem surprised to see him, “Gu Lizhou, right? Hello ah.”
Gu Lizhou nodded and took a couple of seconds to process: “Ah, you’re Old Cao’s girlfriend, right?”
“Yes ya! My surname is Meng, Meng Jingshi. I’m not sure if he’s mentioned me before.”
“Oh, I know.” Gu Lizhou quickly invited her in. “He’s mentioned you a few times. I’ve even seen your pictures together in his Moments. It’s just that your hairstyle looks a bit different from the photos and in person, so I didn’t recognize you right away.”
“I just had my hair done yesterday,” Meng Jingshi smiled. “My company is off today, so I came over to see him and cook dinner on the way. I bought some shrimp and steak. How about pasta and steak for dinner?”
Gu Lizhou didn’t want to be the light bulb,3Third wheel so he politely declined: “Nah, you two go ahead. No need to include me.”
“How can that be? Zhiheng specifically told me on the phone that we’d be having dinner together. I bought enough for three people, so you should join us.”
Understanding that Old Cao wanted to show off his girlfriend, Gu Lizhou didn’t refuse further.
Cao Zhiheng had gone out of town to buy materials and said he’d be home a bit late. With Meng Jingshi busy in the kitchen, Gu Lizhou felt somewhat uneasy.
He thought about going to the kitchen to help, but as soon as he stepped in, she kicked him out. Trying to settle into his usual spot on the couch to watch TV made him feel oddly guilty.
Living in someone else’s home and even having their girlfriend make dinner for you…
Gu Lizhou, are you even human!
With a quick flip, he leaped up and dashed into the kitchen. “Let me cook. Should I start by washing the rice?”
“Uh yeah. Have you never cooked before?” Meng Jingshi seemed a bit surprised.
“Ah,” Gu Lizhou stirred the rice a bit with his hand, “I hired a maid at home.”
“I heard from Old Cao that you used to be a big-time writer ah?” Meng Jingshi glanced back at him.
Most people around Gu Lizhou knew he wrote books, but to avoid disrupting his daily life, very few knew his pen name. It had been so long since he’d heard the term “big-time writer” in the real world that he felt a bit embarrassed.
“It was just okay, just scribbling.”
Meng Jingshi smiled and asked, “What’s your pen name? He wouldn’t even tell me, said I should ask you myself.”
Gu Lizhou licked his lips, “It’s not really anything special. Girls probably wouldn’t be too interested in that kind of material.”
“I heard from him that you stopped writing because your health wasn’t too good ah?”
“Yeah, partly because of health, but mostly it was more about my mindset. If you turn a hobby into a career, it feels different. Once something involves money and profits, it’s never pure anymore.” Gu Lizhou glanced at her. “Do you get what I mean?”
“Of course I do,” Meng Jingshi nodded with a smile. “People’s passion always gets worn down gradually, but losing passion doesn’t mean you stop liking it. No matter what industry you’re in, after a few years of doing it, reality will shape you into someone else. But as long as you stay true to yourself, an unpolished jade only becomes a beautiful jade—it never turns back into a stone.”
“You speak like a psychiatrist.” Gu Lizhou laughed.
“Huh? Really? Am I hard to communicate with?”
“Extraordinarily good at communicating.”
Meng Jingshi smiled, revealing two small dimples.
She had heard from Cao Zhiheng before that Gu Lizhou suffered from moderate depression. When she first walked in, she was worried that it might be difficult to communicate with him, but it seemed she had overthought it.
People with depression didn’t appear much different from others and were actually quite easy to talk to.
Meng Jingshi didn’t press further about his writing. Instead, it was Gu Lizhou who started chatting with her about Cao Zhiheng’s embarrassing childhood stories. She couldn’t stop giggling, covering her mouth as the awkwardness between strangers gradually faded.
When Cao Zhiheng arrived home, dinner was just on the table.
“You’re cutting it pretty close ah you?” Gu Lizhou brought out a fruit salad from the kitchen.
“Yo,” Cao Zhiheng’s first glance upon entering landed on the plate of fruit, “So ugly. Must’ve been cut by you, right?”
“I cut it.” A faint voice drifted out from the kitchen.
Cao Zhiheng immediately raised his voice, “I was just saying how artistic it is! These are little rabbit shapes? Very abstract—Mm, it tastes so sweet!”
Men in love are scary.
Gu Lizhou threw down, “Shameless.”
However, what he didn’t expect was that even more shamelessness was yet to come.
At first, dinner was normal. It was a square table, with Cao Zhiheng and Meng Jingshi sitting across from each other, while Gu Lizhou sat diagonally.
As he ate, he suddenly felt a gust of wind at his feet.
Without making a fuss, he tossed a bone onto the floor and bent down to pick it up, only to see four legs tangled together.
After being discovered by him, the two of them didn’t bother hiding it anymore. They exchanged drinks and fed each other like two sweethearts straight out of a pure love drama.
Cao Zhiheng’s mouth seemed like it had been soaked in honey. It was as if he wasn’t the same guy who normally talked about pee and shit.
No, it was as if it wasn’t a person!
“How can you eat so little—You’re not fat at all, really, not even a bit. If you were even the slightest bit chubbier, I could love you just a little bit more.”
“Leave it! If you do everything, then what am I here for?”
“When you’re around, even the watermelon tastes sweeter.”
Gu Lizhou had seen plenty of wild things in his life, but scenes like this were truly a first for him. Sitting at the dinner table, he was nauseated, rolling his eyes as goosebumps covered his arms.
If you were to ask him what he regretted more than that time he stayed to watch square dancing with Zhong Weishi and his group, it would be staying behind as a light bulb tonight.
He vaguely remembered back in their freshman year, when Cao Zhiheng once stood at the edge of a cliff at a tourist spot, shouting, “What’s so great about those stupid women? I’ll stay single forever!”
But now that he was in a relationship, his flirting was next level: “Jing, your lip color is so pretty today. Can I have a taste?”
Meng Jing Shi smiled bashfully.
Gu Lizhou dry-heaved and got up, heading for the door. “Forgive me, I need to step out and throw up for a while.”
Cao Zhiheng called out, “It’s late, where are you going ah? You’re not bothering us by staying.”
But you guys are affecting me ah!
Gu Lizhou hissed inwardly.
Instead of staying here and chewing on dog food,4Watch the couples be lovey-dovey it would be better to watch Zhong Weishi’s yo-yo performance.
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