Third screenshot.

Husband: You wanted skincare products. Xiao Cong said he could help you buy them.

This sentence was followed by a screenshot of a conversation in which “Xiao Cong” asked if he needed help buying skincare products.

Lady without a trace: If he is really going abroad, don’t let him buy me fake stuff.

Fourth screenshot.

Husband: Honey, do you want to go to Haicheng? Xiao Cong said that he would cover food, accommodation, and fun, and he could also be our guide.

This sentence was followed by a screenshot of a conversation in which Xiao Cong indicated his intention.

Lady without a trace replied after a while: Really, then let go. Where will we live? I don’t want some shabby hotel.

Husband: He said that we could stay at his home or in a hotel with a view of the river.

Lady without a trace: Wow, he is so generous. Is he really a second generation?

Fifth screenshot.

Lady without a trace: Wu Heng! You have been deceived. I have compared this skincare product with the real one in my sister’s shop. The packaging, the number of pieces, and the instructions are all different. They are all fake!!

Husband: No way. The packaging looks very high-end.

Lady without a trace: The cost of fake goods is horribly low, so of course, they have money to pack them well! I don’t care. You go to Murmuring Water and get the money back! MD, who is he? I’m going to hang him on the forum!

Husband: . . . Maybe this is a foreign version?

Lady without a trace replied several words of shrew cursing and damned skin care product as a fake. She also asked Wu Heng to ask for the money back but also asked Wu Heng to turn over the express box and find the address of Murmuring Water.

Husband: What are you looking for the address for? He sent it at the express point. There is only a delivery address on it and his phone number. By the way, after he sent me skincare products, he asked me when I would go to Haicheng. Do you still want to go?

Lady without a trace immediately stopped the shrew cursing on the street, and it took her a long time to reply. “Forget it! You tell him that you are going to Haicheng to meet your classmates in a few days and ask him to book the hotel for us in advance. I would like to see if he will really pay for our hotel! Don’t discuss the plot with him these two days. It is too cheap for him. Shit!

Husband: Calm down. Xiao Cong has pushed several books for me these days. I think he is very useful. He should not be a liar.

Lady without a trace: Ha ha ha. He is swindler until I see the hotel!

The sixth screenshot.

Husband: [a screenshot of Xiao Cong saying that he is following the driver to practice driving] I asked Xiao Cong if he could drive, and he replied this to me.

Lady without a trace: Ha ha ha ha ha ha! What kind of family? They also hire a driver. He really is good at blowing. Ask him if the driver he is talking about is his father and is his father a taxi driver? Laughing to death. Nowadays, newcomers are becoming more and more interesting.

Husband: It is very interesting. He may be young, but he likes to brag.

The seventh screenshot.

Husband: Brother Wolf contacted me and said that a company wanted to buy the copyright of Chivalrous Bones.

Lady without a trace: !!! What copyright, book? Which publishing company, how many copies for the first printing?

Husband: It is film and television copyright.

Lady without a trace: !!!!! Ah ah ah, husband, you are so wonderful! How much did they offer?

Husband: I didn’t ask. I was hesitating. What if that Xiao Cong came out again

Lady without a trace: What is the problem! He is dead! Just think he died! Chivalrous Bones was written by you. What else you could want? Besides, you are not copying it word for word. Even if he comes out to sue you, he will not win. Come on. Go and ask the other party how much they are offering!

Qi Cong clenched his teeth and read the screenshots faster and faster.

The Ninth screenshot.

Husband: I like to change to screenwriter for Chivalrous Bones cannot be written for a lifetime. Now all the available feeder plot has been used up and the sequel can no longer be written. If I add a new plot, it will definitely collapse.

Lady without a trace: Mm-hmm. Turn around, my husband. I support you! The writer is still not as stable as the screenwriter, and the screenwriting profession is more pleasant to say hehe.

The tenth one.

Husband: I heard that jiangwang.com will open the new website and close the old one. I . . . I kind of want to write Chivalrous Bones.

Then eleventh, the twelfth, the thirteenth screenshots. Countless words flew before Qi Cong eyes. He knew every word, but when he put them together, they formed a chilly and malicious trend that made him feel completely strange.

Finally, the last two pictures.

Second to last.

Lady without a trace: Okay, I’ve contacted the editor of Meizu.com for you, and he’ll come out and speak for you. The condition is that when your side of the Jiangwang.com contract expires, you have to jump to Meizu.

Husband: Huh? Jumping ships? But Brother Wolf was very good to me . . .

Lady without a trace: Treating you well and advising you to apologize? He took you for a fool! Listen to me! Meizu net has been lukewarm all these years. If you go, you will be the boss, and everyone will try to keep you.

Qi Cong pursed his lips and remembered the blogger who analyzed “good” and “evil” and verified that he was an editor from Meizu. Once again, he tightened his hold on the mouse and clicked on the last picture.

Husband: Today picked up a newcomer. His pen name also has a water character.

Lady without a trace: What is he called. How new he is?

Husband: Murmuring water and a very new one. His novel is called Chivalrous Bones and have only three chapters that have been published a few hours ago. I went to see it. The writing was rough, but the plot was all right.

Lady without a trace: Do you think he can sign the contract?

Husband: I think so.

Lady without a trace: Then please give him more advice, and when he signs the contract, let him pay you a visit and bring the signed red envelope. Hee hee.

Husband: OK.

Qi Cong looked at Wu Heng’s last “OK” words and moved the mouse hard to turn it off. When he released the mouse and looked at the Weibo page, he sat in the chair, expressionless.

It was like a joke. He and Wu Heng both.

He didn’t need to wait for Wu Heng’s answer any longer. It was not necessary.

He slipped out of his chair and got up, went up to the living room to find the landline, and dialed Zhao Zhenxun. The phone was answered almost in seconds, and Zhao Zhenxun’s voice immediately came, “I didn’t do the topic of Well-intentioned whistleblower and Wu Heng.”

Qi Cong was shocked and then frowned. “Not you? I thought—”

“No, I couldn’t find someone that fast,” Zhao Zhenxun said, and after a pause, added, “Qi Cong, someone is protecting you, and that revelation is trying to weaken your deletion of Wu Heng for no reason. I think this is not over yet.”

Someone was protecting him? Who?

A name appeared in his heart. Qi Cong’s heart trembled as he clenched his cell phone and asked, “How can it not be over?”

“It’s hard to say. You can see follow-up for yourself.” Zhao Zhenxun pointed out: “You don’t need to struggle with Wu Heng anymore. As you said yesterday, don’t mention him in public. For all matters related to him, I suggest you find a lawyer to speak with him for you. Also, get a new number as soon as possible and cancel the old number.”

After finishing this call with Zhao Zhenxun, Qi Cong stood in the living room for a long time. Suddenly, he put down the landline phone and turned back to his room, picked up his cell phone and key, and walked quickly out the door.

Half an hour later, Qi Cong came out of the business hall with a new number on his mobile phone. He casually found a tree by the side of the road and stood in the shade as he bowed his head and turned on his mobile phone. Then I found Gu Xun’s number and dialed it.

The call was answered in seconds.

“Qi Cong?”

His frenzied and restless heart quickly settled down upon hearing Gu Xun’s gentle and deep voice, and Qi Cong unconsciously relaxed his taut shoulders as he asked, “How did you know it was me?”

The doubt in Gu Xun’s voice dissipated, as his tone became softer. “This is my private number. Not many people know it. Is this your new number?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Gu Xun’s voice suddenly brought him some reassurance and took away his sense of caution. “Qi Cong, your novel received many negative comments, but don’t worry, those are all done by Wu Heng’s extreme fans and the water army. Most netizens are very clear and will not take Lin Xiaozhi’s rhythm. You wrote very well and will gradually have your own readers. Don’t lose heart.”

Qi Cong felt like he was stuffed into a ball of cotton.

He hadn’t had time to understand these negative things, but Gu Xun already knew them. If he weren’t paying special attention . . .

He asked, “Is that you?”

“Who?”

“The one on Weibo. Did you do it?”

After a few seconds of silence, Gu Xun replied, “No.” His tone was normal, and he didn’t seem to be lying at all. “I think it’s because Wu Heng and Lin Xiaozhi killed themselves. If they do bad things, it will come back to them. By the way, I’ve figured out what I want. I want you to write me two things.

I denied it and changed the subject.

Countless words rolled through Qi Cong’s throat, but he didn’t say them finally and allowed the change of subject. “What do you want me to write?”

“‘Zǐ Jǐn’ (‘Blue-collared Lad’  http://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/chtxts/ShyJing.html#mau91 ) and ‘Feng Qiu Huang’ (‘A Male Phoenix Seeks His Mate’  http://www.silkqin.com/02qnpu/16xltq/xl155fqh.htm)”

Qi Cong’s heart missed a beat as he confirmed: “You . . . What do you want me to write!”

“‘Zǐ Jǐn’ and ‘Feng Qiu Huang’ It is ‘One day without seeing you is like three months to me’ of ‘Zǐ Jǐn,’ and ‘If you are unmoved by my feelings, it will cause me misery’ of ‘Feng Qiu Huang.’” Gu Xun read the most famous lines of these two love poems in a calm voice and finishes in the tone of “I’m making a serious request.” He then asked, “What’s the matter? Is it not easy to write? My mother likes these two poems very much, but if you don’t think it’s easy to write, then I—”

“Easy to write!” When Qi Cong interrupted Gu Xun, he was a little embarrassed.

It turned out that Gu Xun’s mother likes it. He . . . He seemed to think too much.

“When do you want it?” he asked, unconsciously speaking a little faster as if hiding something, “and what kind of font do you want? If it’s for my aunt, I suggest that you can use a hairpin flower in a small regular script, which is more elegant and suitable for this type of poetry.”

Gu Xun gave an “Um,” his tone still serious, but there was a faint smile in his voice. “You can use whatever you think is good. If you have time, can you give it to me in a week? It is rather urgent.”

“Of course. I’ll write it out as soon as possible.”

“Qi Cong.”

“Hmm?”

Gu Xun’s voice dipped and slowed, “I will be very busy in the next few days. I may not be able to call you every day.”

“. . .” Qi Cong’s throat knotted as he said, “You don’t have to call me every day,” then he turned and swallowed the saliva in his mouth before saying, “Work is important, but pay attention to rest.”

“But I will try to send you messages every day. If you see them, can you reply? Let me know I’m not ony talking to myself.”

Qi Cong sensed Gu Xun’s temptation to get along more and more, trying to go further so he looked at his feet.

Is that really all right? Can they really let it go?

He thought of getting along with Gu Xun after their reunion, and the familiarity that was revealed between supposed strangers from time to time. In the end, his emotion gained the upper hand when he replied in a low voice, “All right.”

“Thank you.” Gu Xun’s voice was a little higher than before. He was very happy with the ending but was also inexplicably provocative when he said, “I wait for your reply.”

“. . . Mm-hmm.”

There was a muffled shout from Gu Xun’s side.

Qi Cong returned to his senses and said hurriedly, “You are busy. I’ll hang up first.”

 

Edited by: Faro

 

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