Chapter 10

Why do you always appear when i’m having a bad day?

The moth disrupted Gu Yi’s basic judgment. Although she had peeped into Liang Daiwen’s bedroom, she never dared to open the curtain in the living room. After all, having seen the dried flowers and the moths, she was afraid that if she pulled it open, she might see a corpse. Living under the same roof as Liang Daiwen, they had barely crossed paths more than five times. The upright gentleman hardly ever came home. Gu Yi truly felt embarrassed—she had only slept at home two nights in half a month. If it wasn’t for him deliberately lowering her guard, it could only be true—cold indifference.

At the company, she couldn’t help but send a message to Liang Daiwen: “Are you coming home tonight?”

After sending it, she felt the tension all over her scalp. The warmth of marriage and cohabitation tightly wrapped around her. Having never experienced an intimate relationship, it felt as if she was waiting for her new husband. Her colleague’s bangs fluttered across the projected PPT. All Gu Yi could see was Liang Daiwen’s illusory shadow on the PPT, the halo effect making him appear more handsome, distant yet sharp-tongued—a type she had never encountered in her twenty-six years.

Although she hadn’t seen many people, she wasn’t inexperienced either. Her curiosity about non-typical characters was driving her crazy. After the Cadillac event, she hadn’t gotten a spot for the open mic, and had been idly bored, her attention completely focused on Liang Daiwen. Jacqueline was still assigning tasks, searching for fashion in films, analyzing at least ten works in detail, and keeping the tone of the entire article refined and elegant. No one was willing to take it on—this kind of task, requiring film clips and screenshots, and maybe even asking film companies for poster permissions, was a complicated job for just one article, a perfect excuse to work overtime.

Suddenly, Liang Daiwen’s message came: “Coming back.”

Gu Yi shouted “Yes!” from her seat.

Jacqueline said, “Let Lindsey handle this project.”

A troublesome matter arose, but Gu Yi rode her bike as if gliding on clouds. With her hands tucked in her neck for warmth, she didn’t even feel the cold. Near the Van Gogh Museum, there were only high-end residences and small villas. Walking past Sinan Mansion and Hengshan Road, the plane trees shaded the sun, and even rushing felt leisurely. Holding her elevator card, she went up to the 14th floor, carrying two boxes of takeaway water-cooked egg salmon sandwiches. The feeling of becoming part of a home was amazing. In her life, she didn’t seem to have spent so much time with a man before.

She opened the door and saw Liang Daiwen’s white sneakers. Her heart raced as if she had lost control. The feeling of living with someone she liked was overwhelming!

But the surprise didn’t end there. When she opened the living room curtain, she realized Liang Daiwen’s home was truly a dream house. The beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the night view of Shaanxi South Road, and one wall by the window was filled with thick copper-plate paper albums, arranged by color, from light at the top to dark at the bottom. On the other side was a small bar. The alcohol was sparse, dust had settled on it, but it was the two black wooden leather trunks beside the bar that caught her attention. Pulling them out, she found both old and new ones—The Beatles, U2, Robert Johnson, and more modern ones like Bruno Mars and Charlie Puth. Next to the trunks was a hand-crank music box.

Gu Yi was so shocked that her jaw nearly dropped. “You were deliberately trying to make it look like a Cthulhu-inspired room the other day to see if I would be scared away, and now you’re suddenly making me obsessed with your home?”

“I’m not that bored. I pulled the curtain to keep bugs from crawling into the record player. Also, you can pull the curtain open anytime you like. I didn’t forbid it.”

“You probably looked like an actual wormhole the other day.”

Liang Daiwen glanced at the water-cooked egg sandwich. “You reminded me, I need to buy a pot for the house.”

Gu Yi turned around to watch Liang Daiwen pouring wine and thought to herself, this is what perfect love must feel like. If things keep going like this, the happiness would be overwhelming. Who needs a comedy career? She didn’t want it anymore! Reaching out to touch the records, she couldn’t resist asking, “What kind of music do you usually like? I like R&B, soft rock, and disco is pretty good too.”

To her, it’s all the same.

Turning around, she was met with the face of a person who seemed downright punchable. Wasn’t this just naked Versailles-style flaunting? But Gu Yi couldn’t help herself and wanted to probe further: “Then, on a larger scale, is there anything you like? Maybe we have common interests.”

“No. If I had to say what’s comfortable, it’s probably things that don’t require communication.”

It was completely like talking past each other.

“You’ve got all these things in the room, and you say you don’t feel anything? That’s such a waste. If someone gave these to me, I’d be really touched.”

“Giving these as gifts is a shallow gesture. After all, these are all things you can buy with money. People shouldn’t overemphasize the intention behind the gift. Women always get happy when they receive even a small gift from a man, but in reality, it’s usually just something they bought on a whim. Especially now, shopping bags are so exquisitely made that you might think it’s something the man thoughtfully picked out—but in fact, it’s just what the sales assistant prepared.”

Gu Yi stared with wide eyes before turning back: “How cold. Do you always like analyzing everything like this?”

“Look beyond the surface to see the essence.”

That completely killed the conversation. But Gu Yi vaguely understood now—Liang Daiwen wasn’t deliberately not smiling at her; he wasn’t interested in the world at all. All the things in the room suddenly seemed ironic—things that many people dream of, but to him, they were insignificant.

“So… do you like any girls?”

“No.”

So, the ones who helped him move were... Gu Yi slipped into the bathroom and secretly laughed at herself in the mirror, feeling mischievous. This was a world where he seemed uninterested in everything, but he was so attentive to her. Was she really experiencing some kind of old-fashioned romance story?

She opened the door and heard the sound of a TV drama. Liang Daiwen... was watching a Korean drama on an iPad. This move completely surprised Gu Yi. It didn’t seem like something someone who “looked beyond the surface to see the essence” would do...

She asked in confusion, “I thought you were joking when you said you’d send me home like in a Korean drama, but you’re actually doing it?”

“Mm.”

“Any reason to convince me?”

“I’m a straight shooter, and my clients and assistants tell me I can be hurtful, so they suggested I learn from Korean dramas.” He paused and pointed at the gentle expression of Jung Hae In on the screen. “How’s this?”

Then he tried to smile. For the first time, Gu Yi saw someone’s attempt at a smile that was more like a grimace—like when you try to twist a soup dumpling too hard, not only does it lose its shape, but it also squeezes out the filling. She didn’t want to blow up at him, but she said, “Try another one.”

On the screen was the second male lead from The Heirs, Choi Young Do. With his confident raised eyebrows and naturally sharp single eyelids, he was clearly playing a bad boy. Gu Yi glanced at Liang Daiwen’s raised eyebrows and squinted her eyes, muttering, “Looks like your eyebrow bone’s silicone shifted.”

Liang Daiwen switched to Falling for Innocence: “What about this one?”

It was from the first episode, where the CEO character was domineering. When Liang Daiwen wasn’t smiling, he did somewhat resemble the male lead. But Jung Kyung Ho’s arrogance and domineering presence were so natural, even in his acting. Liang Daiwen’s features were all right, but when he tried to mimic the expression, it had an amazing effect. It reminded Gu Yi of a saying: misplaced resources are just trash.

“I’ve got to ask you one thing: Are you… expressionless?”

“No. My features can move.”

“Then why does it seem so mechanical? Is that not your face? Did you get too many face-slimming injections?”

“What’s face-slimming injection?”

Talking to a brick wall. Gu Yi teased, “So, if you want to do stand-up, would you have to learn from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?”

Liang Daiwen immediately sat down and said, “Let me search it.” Gu Yi stopped him, saying there was no need. Those jokes wouldn’t even get a laugh at an open mic; it’s all scripted by the writers for the audience. Gu Yi narrowed her eyes. “So, you really can’t smile?”

“Guess so, I’m seeing a doctor.”

“What’s the specific illness…?”

“It’s nothing. Can’t explain it, but it doesn’t affect my life.”

“Depression…?”

“Not exactly.” His face grew calm.

“ED…?”

This time, Liang Daiwen’s expression was right: “I’m seeing a psychologist.”

The joke fell a bit flat. Liang Daiwen didn’t react, as though he were thinking. The nearby wall lamp had a cold, grayish tone, and the person in front of her seemed like an AI deep in thought. After a while, he concluded, “Next time, I’ll try some American or British dramas. Korean dramas are a bit over the top.”

“Forget it. These intangible role models are for girls with a soft spot for romance. I think the psychologist you’re seeing hasn’t hit the mark, or maybe they’re unprofessional.” Gu Yi thought for a moment, then added, “Have you ever been in love before? Felt that spark, the pain of heartbreak, the hurt of unrequited love?”

She nervously waited for Liang Daiwen to give her some clue about his past. If he said he hadn’t experienced any of that, then he was definitely GAY. Liang Daiwen was doing push-ups on the floor, forty in one go, then stood up, breathing heavily. “You want to hear my dating history? I’ve had two girlfriends, but I got dumped. The first one found me boring and stuck with it for a year, but we eventually broke up. The second one lasted a year and a half before giving up, saying she couldn’t feel that I liked her.”

“Well, at least you felt some attraction.”

“Actually, they pursued me. I never understood what’s so magical about love. But I did realize something: once a girl gets involved with me, she doesn’t seem as happy anymore.”

“Don’t be so insecure. When you were at Ounce, a lot of girls tried to find out about you and add you on WeChat. You just didn’t seize the opportunity.” Gu Yi was able to analyze it all: maybe he hadn’t met the right person, or wasn’t mature enough, or just didn’t invest enough... but after knowing him for less than a month, his emotionless face already gave her some insight. He probably just hadn’t figured it out yet.

So, taking her home was actually safe.

And before Liang Daiwen entered his bedroom, he said, “The only girl I have contact information for from Ounce is you.”

Gu Yi froze for a second, rubbed her head, and turned around. “So, you’re saying I’m special to you?”

“What’s so special? What you have, other women have too.”

“…So, the fact that they all helped me home means they must treat me a little better than others, right?”

“No.” The man’s emotions remained unchanged from the crack in the door; he couldn’t even be bothered to lie.

The atmosphere was too desolate. Taking her home had no flirtation, no teasing, no soft emotions between men and women. The conversation only carried cruel mockery. Gu Yi even felt like he was lying to himself just to bring her home and rehearse his jokes, so that one day he could perform at Ounce. With a bang, the bedroom door slammed shut, and Gu Yi shouted at the door, “Fine, next time when I get unlucky, stay away from me. I’m not your weak woman. If you help me again, it means you’re interested in me.”

Liang Daiwen really ignored her. While waiting for the traffic light on his bicycle, Liang Daiwen drove a taxi beside her, revved the engine, and drove away without even glancing at her; when she was dizzy from hunger, Liang Daiwen, having eaten, swaggered into his room to lift weights; while she was working on her topic in the living room, Liang Daiwen finished his shower and turned off the lights. There was no crisis needing help, yet he still intentionally added to her frustration.

Drawing a line was one thing, but this was blunt.

To complete her topic and guide the intern, Gu Yi deliberately selected eight recent domestic films, carefully organizing the brands of clothing and cosmetics in them, working overtime to finish the task. She knew that some high-budget movie posters required authorization, and with the printing deadline approaching, she deliberately chose hand-drawn posters, as the illustrators could be found on Weibo or Zhihu, and the intern just needed to contact them for the rights. However, on the second day after the launch, Jacqueline called Gu Yi into the office: “There are four movie comic posters that haven’t been authorized, but they were printed anyway. The illustrators are claiming rights on Weibo and have already sent me private messages; now we’re recalling them.”

She had suspected there might be copyright issues when handing over the task to the intern, but thinking that the intern needed hands-on experience to learn, Gu Yi had been very thorough in her instructions, almost searching for the illustrators’ Weibo profiles one by one and making a list for the intern. And indeed, the task was hers to take responsibility for, and the intern worked under her name. Jacqueline’s voice was light: “The circulation of ‘One Week’ is too large for us to compensate, but the losses are real, and there will definitely be a fine. The rest, HR will contact you.”

Leaving the office, the intern, who had piercings in her nose and lip, leaned over: “You should’ve given me all eight posters instead of splitting them into two batches.”

“Where is she?”

“She emailed her resignation, and she CC’d everyone. She just quit, no more coming in.”

Gu Yi sighed. If Liang Daiwen wanted a kind of pot—non-stick, frying, or snow-flat—they were all available in the workplace.

She had to apologize profusely in Weibo DMs, post an official apology on the company’s Weibo, and announce the recall of the posters—Gu Yi had to complete the entire process herself. Jacqueline only issued orders in the office, and Gu Yi had to handle everything else, each round of humiliation pushing her further. Thinking back to her intern days at the TV station, where she worked day and night to exhaustion without ever thinking about quitting, she now found herself dealing with just a few movie posters, and in the email, there was no apology—just a note saying she hadn’t finished her thesis and wouldn’t be coming back. Another email from HR asked whether the fine of 10,000 yuan should be deducted over two or four months. Gu Yi stayed in the office until 10:30 p.m., seeing the printed sample magazines, and even though the whole article was practically her blood, sweat, and tears, she didn’t want to look at it again.

Jacqueline’s office lights were still on. Perhaps this world only gave opportunities to the strong, and even their flaws were unassailable.

She didn’t go home, didn’t go to Ounce; she just sat by the roadside, sending jokes to her file transfer assistant. She’d bought two small bottles of whiskey and mixed them with Sprite on ice, drinking as she thought more. No wonder she was a decent stand-up comedian. Who said you couldn’t write jokes? As long as life was unlucky enough, you didn’t even need to create them. At that moment, she wanted to call someone, but didn’t know who to call. Calling her mother would make her cry, Yu Dole was busy at Ounce, and she didn’t have any friends she could share the hardship with at this moment.

As for Liang Daiwen, it was different. He had helped her so much before. Now, calling him would be like latching onto him, and wanting love wasn’t how it worked.

Her jokes, however, flowed more smoothly the more she thought about them.

“Since my friends heard that I’m a comedian, they think the rhythm of my love life is like playing the fast-paced rhythm of a wooden clapper.”

“If you want a pot, don’t go to Kitchenware City, don’t go to IKEA, don’t even go to JD, the workplace has them.”

“Looked at my bank card balance, and sent a message to all my male clients on WeChat, height, weight, or looks don’t matter, wealth comes with risk.”

The jokes were coming so easily that she didn’t want to go home. Thinking about Liang Daiwen’s soft sofa, then remembering him doing push-ups while listening to ‘Sing It Back’ by the sofa, a pang of sorrow hit her heart. Why was she thinking of Liang Daiwen at this moment?

December in Shanghai was really cold. She huddled in her down jacket, rubbing her sore legs and feet, forgetting to take off her high heels. Just when her phone was about to run out of battery, a bicycle stopped in front of her. It was her Giant bike, and the rider was wearing white sneakers…

Liang Daiwen.

Gu Yi stared at him in a daze: “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you to take you home.”

“I mean, how did you know I was here…”

“Checked your phone.”

She realized one of her jokes had been sent to Liang Daiwen. At 11:30 p.m., he had asked her, “Are you coming back tonight?” The chat box and file transfer assistant were next to each other, and the green avatar was sent by accident. She hadn’t noticed. Liang Daiwen reached out to pull her: “The Eight Bridge is within walking distance of the Van Gogh Gallery, but you might not be at the company, you might be at Ounce. The city’s small roads are convenient for biking, so I tried your bike key downstairs. I remembered the bike’s features from your joke, so I tried a few times and found it.”

Gu Yi stared at Liang Daiwen, unable to comprehend how someone could be so serious when rescuing a damsel in distress. Wasn’t his brain all hippocampus and no amygdala? Watching the shadow of the phoenix tree and the leaves blown off by the cold wind, she suddenly said, “I don’t really want to go back.”

“Don’t want to live with me anymore?”

“No, no.” Gu Yi shook her head. “I’m just in a bad mood today.”

Liang Daiwen reached out and pinched her nose: “Forget it, it’s too cold.”

The bar on the street, less than two kilometers away, was at its busiest, while the last 200 meters near home gradually quieted down. Gu Yi endured the pain and walked home, collapsing onto the couch without even taking a shower. Liang Daiwen looked at her for a few seconds, standing still like in a game of “Temple Run,” turning in several directions: “Should I get you a warm towel?”

“It’s fine. You go to sleep, I’ll shower myself once I’m sober.”

But Liang Daiwen sat down at the edge of the couch, only giving her the back of his head: “I’m afraid you’ll choke.”

The room was dark, with only a small nightlight in the kitchen. Gu Yi squinted her eyes, watching Liang Daiwen’s neatly arranged short hair and smooth neck in the light. When she lifted her head, it brushed against the fine hair on his neck. This was probably the most reckless thing she could do after getting drunk. She didn’t want to be kicked out again after losing a month’s salary.

The person in front of her seemed to shiver, and even without his glasses, she could tell he had goosebumps.

“Why do you always show up when I’m at my lowest?”

“It’s fine, I can’t feel your embarrassment.”

Gu Yi wanted to say, by saying that, you’re admitting I’m embarrassed.

Robot-like, Liang Daiwen didn’t mention it and kept talking to himself: “Too bad Shanghai doesn’t allow bicycles to carry people, otherwise I could take you for a ride. But I guess you might fall asleep in the car, since you’re not good with alcohol. So you might want to consider sitting on the back seat, one hand in my pocket, so you won’t fall off while sleeping. I could keep riding until you fall asleep.”

“You might as well tie me to your belt.”

As she was about to fall asleep, Gu Yi looked at Liang Daiwen, who was leaning on the couch. Her eyes were gradually getting too heavy to blink. But then a warm towel wiped her face, and no one had ever been this gentle with her, not even her mother. The last thought that flashed through her mind was that it seemed like thousands of sticky, affectionate love metaphors passed through her mind, just as she was about to grab one, Liang Daiwen put the towel on her face and answered the phone.

With the now-cooling towel on her face, Gu Yi muttered to herself, “I really am just one of your brothers sleeping on your couch.”