Chapter 16

Yun Li probably didn’t expect Fu Shizhe to be so cooperative, and she was quite happy about it, smiling as she continued to watch the match.

Compared to the initial feeling of being next to an ice cave, Yun Li now felt much warmer beside her. Fu Shizhe leaned back in his chair, occasionally picking up the clapper and giving it a wave.

Just as Yun Li stole glances at Fu Shizhe, the atmosphere at the venue reignited. Yun Li hurriedly joined the white team’s fans in vigorously shaking their clappers, as the broadcaster’s tone got higher and higher: “The match is reaching a critical state. Just one more goal, just one more goal, and victory is almost guaranteed. We can see the white team’s forward breaking through the defense, this is…”

The broadcaster’s speech sped up, followed by bursts of cheers and screams from the stands. Yun Li didn’t understand football, but she could grasp the meaning of “2-0” on the field.

The camera zoomed in on the players, quickly switching between the celebrating players on the big screen at the stadium and the LCD screens in the stands, then moving to the nearly frantic white-clad fans, who excitedly waved at the camera.

The broadcaster continued his passionate commentary. Yun Li looked at Fu Shizhe, who was leaning boredly in his chair, slowly waving the clapper a couple of times.

Until the camera lingered on the two of them.

Exposed in front of thousands of spectators, Yun Li suddenly stopped her vigorous clapper shaking, instantly reining in her smile and awkwardly putting down the clapper. Fu Shizhe also moved, crossing his arms and staring defiantly and indifferently at the camera.

The camera seemed to malfunction, showing no sign of moving away.

Just then, the broadcaster happened to comment on the camera shot: “It’s unbelievable, the fans are so excited they’re stunned…”

“…”

Fortunately, this oppressive situation didn’t last long, and once the camera moved away, Yun Li felt revitalized.

Realizing her behavior in front of the camera, Yun Li understood that her awkwardness had leveled up.

For the next few minutes, Yun Li just sat there, daydreaming.

Noticing the sudden silence beside him, Fu Shizhe glanced at her. Yun Li stared at the clapper in her hands, looking deflated.

Fu Shizhe turned his gaze back to the field. He moved, elbows on his knees, body leaning forward, holding the clapper. After a while, as if overcoming great obstacles and making up his mind, he suddenly clapped vigorously a few times.

Hearing the noise beside her, Yun Li looked over in surprise.

Fu Shizhe glanced at her sideways: “Didn’t they score a goal?”

Yun Li was surprised, not noticing when another goal was scored, and joined Fu Shizhe in the vigorous clapping, saying, “This team is really impressive.” Then she glanced at the black team’s seating area and smiled as she sent a message to Fu Zhengchu.

Yun Li: [Fu Zhengchu, you should switch teams.]

Fu Zhengchu: [Damn, I’m so upset.]

Yun Li returned to her initial state, waving along with the white-clad fans like a carefree child.

Seeing this, Fu Shizhe rubbed his tired eyes and leaned back in his chair again.

…

Ten minutes after the game ended, the White team triumphed with a score of three to one. Nearly all the fans around Yun Li were hugging each other excitedly, celebrating their first championship win in years.

This atmosphere brought waves of emotion to Yun Li’s eyes. Perhaps this was the supreme pride one feels when the thing they dearly love achieves honor.

It wasn’t until her gaze met Fu Shizhe’s again.

He seemed a bit tired.

Yun Li snapped back to reality, coughing lightly to cover up her moment of ‘self-forgetfulness.’

Fu Shizhe, sitting on the outer side, stood up first, following the crowd as they shuffled out. From Yun Li’s perspective, his tall figure resembled a pen, his hands in his pockets, only his distinctively jointed wrists visible.

From her childhood, Yun Li had always been on the paler side among crowds.

But compared to her, he was so pale it was almost sickly and bewitching, his oversized white coat making him seem like he could topple over at any moment.

Wait.

Was she thinking about toppling him?

Shaking off her messy thoughts, Yun Li guiltily kept a two-step distance from Fu Shizhe.

The people behind her didn’t give her a chance, pushing forward as if rushing to be reborn the moment the event ended. Yun Li, caught off guard, stumbled and her forehead collided with Fu Shizhe’s shoulder blade.

His leanness made his bones as hard as the earth’s crust, hammering a piercing pain into Yun Li’s head.

Tears even fell from the pain.

Seeing Fu Shizhe turn around to look at her, thinking it was because she bumped into him, Yun Li apologized despite the pain.

With her hand on her head, feeling the people behind her pushing as if their lives depended on it, Fu Shizhe, emotionless, unceremoniously pushed the person in front back.

“Back off.”

“What’s your problem!” The man reflexively shouted after being pushed.

But his fire died instantly when he met Fu Shizhe’s gaze.

Despite the tall but not bulky figure in front of him, and the fact that he didn’t sound at all menacing, the man felt an inexplicable shiver and, with a flattened mouth, dared only to step back to show submission.

Fu Shizhe looked down, sidestepped, and gestured for Yun Li to walk in front of him.

When they were seated, Yun Li was so engrossed in the game that she didn’t forget to maintain some space to avoid contact with him.

The aisle was narrow, and as she walked past him, even deliberately leaning outwards, contact was still unavoidable.

It was like flint striking when their clothes brushed against each other.

Yun Li looked down, pretending not to notice anything.

Once Yun Li was in front, Fu Shizhe kept a step distance. Compared to the post-game noise around them, Fu Shizhe was so quiet he seemed almost non-existent.

Yun Li had disliked strangers touching her since she was a child.

Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, and even during her undergraduate days, many over-familiar boys would come very close, take the earphones she was wearing, pat her shoulder when excited, or tug at her clothes when calling her.

All these actions had scared her to some degree.

But since she had known Fu Shizhe, he had always been polite and consciously avoided physical contact with others.

From these small details, Yun Li could tell he was someone with good manners, never angry, never overstepping boundaries.

Except he wasn’t talkative.

Nor was he fond of smiling.

Outside the gym, Fu Zhengchu was already waiting at the entrance. He had taken off his black coat, leaving only a school short-sleeved shirt.

Fu Shizhe asked, “Where’s your coat?”

Fu Zhengchu grunted sullenly, “Threw it away.” He wailed, “I’ll never fall in love again.”

His displeasure lasted only a few minutes before it was swept away. Just as they were about to leave, a few medium-built boys greeted Fu Zhengchu at the entrance of the gym.

After chatting for a few moments, Fu Zhengchu returned, “Haven’t seen them in a long time. We’re going to play soccer before we head back.”

Yun Li looked at Fu Shizhe, “Are you going?”

Fu Shizhe admitted without minding, “I can’t play.”

“So you usually—” Yun Li blurted out but immediately felt it was inappropriate; perhaps Fu Shizhe didn’t play any ball games, so she quickly changed her question, “Don’t play soccer?”

Fu Zhengchu, who had just been handed a Snickers by Fu Shizhe, answered for him, “Uncle doesn’t play soccer; he plays badminton. I’m versatile. Let’s play badminton together next time, Li Li.”

“Ah, sure.” Yun Li glanced at Fu Shizhe. He didn’t speak, and Fu Zhengchu, dissatisfied, nudged him with his elbow, “Uncle, Li Li is talking to you.”

Yun Li: “?”

Fu Zhengchu: “Li Li is asking if you want to play together.”

Yun Li felt awkward, but fortunately, Fu Shizhe didn’t seem to mind and nodded.

The friends at the entrance were urging them on, and after greeting them, Fu Zhengchu went over.

Yun Li followed Fu Shizhe to the parking lot, both were silent on the way.

If everything hadn’t happened so naturally, Yun Li might even have suspected that Fu Zhengchu was a wingman sent from heaven.

Autumn had arrived, and the winds of Nanwu carried a chill, with a few low-powered lights hanging over the parking lot, casting shadows and whispers into the darkness.

Fu Shizhe opened the passenger door for Yun Li.

“Go ahead and get in.”

After she was seated, he closed the door. Instead of immediately returning to the driver’s seat, Fu Shizhe leaned against the front left side of the car. Yun Li noticed him tilting his shoulder, fumbling in his pocket.

He looked down, and for a moment, a faint glow illuminated the air, filling it with a grey-white mist.

The first cigarette did not bring an end.

The solitary figure seemed trapped in endless darkness, with the faint glow of fire acting as a remedy through the long night.

When Fu Shizhe returned, he rolled down the window, and the brisk evening wind carried the scent of tobacco to Yun Li’s nose. He started the car, driving towards Qilixiang Community relying on memory.

Along the way, Fu Zhengchu sent a voice message. Fu Shizhe glanced at it but continued steering.

The car reached a secluded stretch, and Fu Shizhe turned on the headlights, focusing on the road ahead. He softly said, “Take a look for me.”

This was the first sentence exchanged between them since getting into the car. Fu Shizhe’s voice, as if whispering in Yun Li’s ear, was gentle, making her feel inexplicably enchanted. She picked up Fu Shizhe’s phone, unlocked it, and opened WeChat.

She hadn’t expected him to let her use his phone.

The WeChat homepage showed several chat windows. Yun Li didn’t want to pry, but inevitably saw the first few chats. The second chat was labeled ‘Lin WanYin’, with over a hundred unread messages. The most recent message began, “Shizhe, my mom made some zongzi for you to bring over.”

What followed was out of Yun Li’s sight, but she could tell it was a girl’s name.

For some reason, she felt slightly uncomfortable.

She opened Fu Zhengchu’s chat and played the voice message, filling the quiet car with Fu Zhengchu’s panting voice, probably sent mid-game.

“It’s so late, Uncle, remember to drop Lili off downstairs. Remember,” Fu Zhengchu emphasized, “you can’t go upstairs.”

Yun Li blushed and put the phone down.

A car overtook them, and Fu Shizhe glanced at the rearview mirror, nonchalantly saying, “Don’t mind him, he’s quite noisy.”

“Uh-huh…” Yun Li responded softly, then suddenly asked, “Oh, are Xiaxia and Fu Zhengchu biological siblings? Their surnames seem different.”

“Fu Zhengchu takes after my sister’s surname.”

“Oh, okay.”

Not wanting to probe further, Yun Li responded and then fell silent.

The scenery outside the window rushed by like a waterfall, and just when she thought the rest of the journey would be silent, Fu Shizhe initiated conversation: “I originally planned for Xia Congsheng to take my sister’s surname as well.”

Yun Li slowly responded, asking, “So, was Fu Zhengchu originally going to have his father’s surname?”

“No, my brother-in-law is more afraid of my sister.”

Yun Li naturally asked, “Are you afraid too?”

The air suddenly grew quiet again.

Yun Li snapped back to reality, clarifying, “I mean, are you afraid of your sister, not… uh, wife…”

This time, the silence was so profound that not even breathing could be heard.

…

The journey was short, and ten minutes later, the car smoothly stopped at the entrance of the residential area. Yun Li, as usual, thanked Fu Shizhe and upon opening the car door, the warm air clashed with the cool breeze outside, prompting Yun Li to tighten her collar.

“I’ll head back first then, drive safely.”

“Wait a moment.”

Yun Li paused her action of closing the door and bent down, as Fu Shizhe nodded towards a bag of snacks on the back seat.

“Take them back to eat.”

Unlike that night, the car quickly shrank into a point in the darkness, drawing a straight line, leaving behind two fading red lights at the end.

Upon returning home, Yun Li placed a large bag of snacks on the coffee table. She took out some biscuits from her canvas bag, their buttery aroma filling the air.

She recalled the silhouette of Fu Shizhe queuing in the evening, now blurred with the beautiful sunset.

After pouring the biscuits into a glass jar, Yun Li sealed it and placed it at the corner of her computer desk.

She turned on her computer and typed “Fu Shizhe” into the search bar, quickly finding information related to him. As expected, pages were filled with notices of awards he received from primary school to his PhD, countless in number.

The drone video was news from several years ago. The most recent information, from March last year, was about his research group publishing in a top journal, making a significant breakthrough in their field.

“The research was completed by Professor Shi Xiangzhe’s team, with our school’s 12th-grade direct PhD student Fu Shizhe as the first author…”

Yun Li silently read this passage. It was October 10, 2016, and as a direct PhD student with a five-year program, Fu Shizhe was supposed to graduate in 8 months.

For a long time, Yun Li had thought he had already graduated. But now, it seemed not as she had thought. Today, at the convenience store, Fu Zhengchu also mentioned that Fu Shizhe had always stayed in Nanwu.

She scrolled through the web page, and photos of Fu Shizhe from different times popped up like bullet comments.

Yun Li’s thoughts drifted.

No matter which period it was, none of them was the Fu Shizhe of now—living under the sun yet shrouded in gloom.

She speculated that something unpleasant might have happened in the past two years, and with this thought, Yun Li suddenly felt a heaviness in her chest.

After Yun Li finished showering, it was half past midnight. Her phone showed a notification from ‘Bar and Chill Inn’, with two images attached.

Upon opening the first photo, she saw a snapshot of herself and Fu Shizhe on a large screen. They were sitting upright, and the camera had captured her awkwardly stacking her hands on her lap, staring blankly ahead. Fu Shizhe sat beside her, arrogantly crossing his arms, lips taut, eyes glancing in her direction.

Both were expressionless, looking like a couple that had just had a tiff.

The second photo was a screenshot of a chat between Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shizhe. Fu Zhengchu asked him, “Uncle, why are you sneaking peeks at Li Li?”

It took Fu Shizhe half an hour to reply, skipping even the punctuation, “Watching openly.”

Yun Li swallowed hard, finding no proper way to interpret this. She touched her cheeks, which were hotter than usual. Fu Zhengchu had also sent her a message, questioning, “Li Li, take a look at Uncle!! Doesn’t he look like a peeping Tom?!”

Yun Li’s mouth curved slightly, appreciating Fu Zhengchu’s good-natured teasing. After casually replying with an emoji, she zoomed in on the first image, filling the screen with just the two of them.

This was their first photo together.

She liked it very much.

Another message was from He Jiameng, informing her she had received an offer from EAW.

The wording was polite, explaining that the technical department had interviewed many candidates, so regrettably, she hadn’t made it to the second round. They offered her an internship in the HR department without a second interview, requiring her to attend three days a week and asking for a prompt response.

She hadn’t expected a decision so quickly.

Yun Li’s tense nerves finally relaxed a bit, and she lay on the bed, propping her chin on a cat-shaped pillow. She sent a WeChat message to Deng Chuqi: “EAW officially sent me an offer! They’ve arranged for me to work in HR.”

Deng Chuqi replied, “Aren’t you going to rush over?”

Yun Li: “I’m still a bit torn qaq. I originally applied for the technical department and got reassigned. This doesn’t quite align with my major.”

Deng Chuqi: “Are you looking for other options?”

Yun Li: “The others have rejected me…”

From a personal development perspective, the position at EAW wasn’t a great choice, but EAW was indeed a good platform, especially since it was backed by You Sheng Technology.

Deng Chuqi teased her, “But EAW has Xiaxia’s Uncle, isn’t that appealing?”

She added, “Tell me, did you rent a place so close because you had a plan from the start?”

Although she hadn’t done all this because of Fu Shizhe, Yun Li felt as if her secret had been poked, becoming annoyed as if out of thin air.

She put away her phone and prepared to sleep.

After tossing and turning in bed for a while, Yun Li sighed deeply and sat up to reply to Fang Yuning’s message.

“Alright, I can start working the day after tomorrow ^_^”

Upon arriving at the company, Yun Li bumped into He Jiameng, who was there to help, in the HR department.

He Jiameng, ever so outgoing, eagerly showed Yun Li around the company, detailing the functions of each department.

EAW Technology City, a subsidiary of You Sheng Technology, specialized in VR experience pavilions and the customization and retail of related hardware devices. The products were initially developed by You Sheng Technology, so the employees here often referred to the main company as “headquarters.”

The department manager of the HR and administrative department where Yun Li worked was Fang Yuning, the interviewer who had interviewed her. Since EAW had only been established for a few months, including Fang Yuning, there were only six full-time employees in the entire department.

“Miss Lazy Cloud, I didn’t expect you to join our company,” He Jiameng said, looking pleased, and then teasingly asked, “Is it because our boss is so charismatic that even Miss Lazy Cloud couldn’t resist?”

As usual, she couldn’t stop talking about handsome guys.

Yun Li laughed awkwardly. Being new, seeing He Jiameng again made her feel much less nervous on her first day.

After a brief introduction to EAW’s main operations, He Jiameng led Yun Li to her workstation, clearing away the leftover plastic seal on the desk.

As a new employee, Yun Li wanted to show initiative, so she asked, “Jiameng, what should I do now?”

He Jiameng pondered for a moment as if facing a difficult question, “Miss Lazy Cloud you’re the first intern we’ve hired. So, I’m not sure.”

“Should I go ask the interviewer from last time?”

“Uh… she’s not sure either. You’ll probably just be helping out wherever needed.”

Yun Li felt like she had stepped into another pitfall.

Noticing the change in her expression, He Jiameng tried to reassure her, “Don’t worry too much. Remember the boss’s relative? Fu Shizhe? He was supposed to go to the R&D department at headquarters, but somehow he ended up here as a worker…”

Realizing her choice of words, she quickly corrected, “No, a maintenance technician.”

“The boss arranged for him to work at the experience pavilion, but since most of the machines there are new, they rarely have issues. So, he also helps out wherever needed, which isn’t so bad.”

“But I heard he’s highly educated and quite capable,” Yun Li defended Fu Shizhe instinctively.

“That’s true, but he’s just too difficult to work with,” He Jiameng frowned delicately, “He’s cold to everyone he talks to, even I can’t stand it. Only our boss can tolerate his temper.”

Speaking of Xu QingSong, He Jiameng’s expression did a full 180, filled with admiration, “He does listen well to the boss.”

“Fang Yuning is still interviewing people right now, and there’s probably nothing else this morning. You might as well get familiar with the environment on your own,” He Jiameng checked the time.

“Okay, then I’ll look over the materials myself.”

“The company doesn’t have a cafeteria; we all order boxed lunches, but they can only be delivered to the entrance, so we have to pick them up. Don’t say I didn’t think of you for a good thing; I just happen to be arranging for people to go pick up the lunches. It’s always two people going together,” He Jiameng said with a mischievous smile, obviously up to something.

“What do you think? Got anyone in mind?”

Yun Li thought for a moment before saying, “No.”

He Jiameng was more direct, “How about Fu Shizhe?”