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“You’re worth me doing this. I’ve also tried to run away from you, stay a little further away, be a playboy, but I can’t do anything in this life that would wrong you. I don’t believe in feng shui, but Hung Hom might just be an evil place. Others are tied with a red thread, I’m shackled by you.”
Hearing Xiaoxi’s shouts, the two then heard the car alarm downstairs. Yu Zhimei looked down: “Amazing! The Jaguar’s rearview mirror is gone.”
Turning back, Xiaoxi rushed in wielding a bamboo sword, full of menacing aura: “Where’s Lei Zheng!”
Yu Zhimei’s first reaction: “Jian Zhaowen, your company is doomed.”
“It shouldn’t be that bad, right?”
“Xiaoxi has been recording a variety show in Kunshan recently, it’s probably a mix of all kinds of dance styles, hasn’t aired yet. He had a huge fight with Lei Zheng during the two weeks in the training camp, but Lei Zheng isn’t even replying to his messages. Him showing up in the middle of the night must be specifically to fight Lei Zheng.”
This made Jian Zhaowen feel a bit guilty: “Do I need to put away the computer and valuable equipment?”
“...Might as well.”
Xiaoxi wandered around the office, found Lei Zheng’s cabinet, and without a word, swung the bamboo sword to smash it. Jian Zhaowen hugged Xiaoxi: “No, we’ve spent half the investment money, we don’t have money to reimburse this!”
“Hand over Lei Zheng! Where is he?”
“...Did I hide him again? Isn’t he at home?”
“No!”
Lei Zheng appeared at the company door. Jian Zhaowen opened it, and Lei Zheng already had a look of resignation: “Jian Zhaowen, take Yu Zhimei and leave first. I’ll handle this here alone.”
“Damn, what’s going on that’s making such a big fuss?”
“Just leave it alone.”
Jian Zhaowen forcefully pulled Lei Zheng: “This was originally your own business anyway... but the company’s things are expensive, try not to smash too much... renovations cost money.”
Lei Zheng walked in with a look of grim determination. Although the scene of the two about to fight each other was commonplace, Jian Zhaowen’s first reaction was still the iMac on Lei Zheng’s desk—more than twenty thousand yuan, smashing it would be a big expense. This thought might be a bit unfair to Lei Zheng, but in this situation, protecting company assets was the founder’s instinct. Jian Zhaowen even had the urge to call the police and send both of them directly to the station. And the next second, Lei Zheng was fiercely struck on the head by the bamboo sword. The crisp sound made both Yu Zhimei and Jian Zhaowen feel like Lei Zheng’s bones were about to break. When they ran over, they indeed saw a stream of blood flowing down Lei Zheng’s black hair. Jian Zhaowen quickly turned on the lights, and Yu Zhimei grabbed the keys on the table and turned off the wailing of the Jaguar downstairs. Only the four of them were in the office, and the lights unexpectedly gave them the warmth of being in the same boat.
Jian Zhaowen, who had walked halfway, stopped Yu Zhimei, no longer approaching the two people embracing and crying. He remembered Yu Zhimei saying that although Xiaoxi had a very charismatic personality, his family background wasn’t good, and coupled with his sexual orientation, he had never been acknowledged by Lei Zheng’s prestigious family. Jian Zhaowen now understood that if Xiaoxi participated in a show that would be broadcast online, his dance style and champion-level skills would definitely attract a lot of attention, and Lei Zheng’s hidden sexual orientation for many years, their mysterious relationship status, and Day and Night, which was currently in a critical growth period, would all be affected—in this day and age, having attention was a double-edged sword. Showing your brilliance to others inevitably meant you could hurt yourself when drawing and sheathing the blade.
Lei Zheng must have come clean with his parents before recording the show. So many times he had hindered Xiaoxi from participating in competitions, and Xiaoxi had gone against his heart to do commercials, all to be a “normal person” behind Lei Zheng. After winning the championship, the production team repeatedly invited Xiaoxi, and the first episode’s editing gave him a lot of screen time. He had prepared too long for this day. And the new generation dancer about to be seen by the national audience was kneeling and crying in front of his lover.
“Take me to see your parents... I want to tell them I’m not shameful.”
“I’ve already broken off ties with my parents.”
Xiaoxi froze in place, taking a long time to speak, kneeling beside Lei Zheng, his voice choked with sobs: “You should have told me first. I could have broken up with you, but how could you fall out with your parents for my sake?”
“This is my own business.” Lei Zheng’s forehead was bleeding: “I’m also tired of you fighting with me. I might as well be killed by your sword.”
“How could you be so stupid?”
“You’re worth me doing this. I’ve also tried to run away from you, stay a little further away, be a playboy, but I can’t do anything in this life that would wrong you. I don’t believe in feng shui, but Hung Hom might just be an evil place. Others are tied with a red thread, I’m shackled by you.”
“Lei Zheng.” Xiaoxi paused: “Give me a few more months, I’ll become famous. Dancing underground is meaningless. I want to prove to your father that there’s more than just you who appreciates me, and I’m not the sissy from a small town he thinks I am, not a freak. My gender identity is female, and that doesn’t mean I’m wrong or disgusting.”
“Stop talking. It’s this world that’s wrong.”
Yu Zhimei and Jian Zhaowen stood outside that light. The circle of light was another world, unrelated to her and Jian Zhaowen. But just witnessing all this made Yu Zhimei tightly grip Jian Zhaowen’s hand.
“Do you remember me telling you that when I was young, my dad left me to study in different cities, attending expensive private schools and paying outrageous transfer fees? He thought it was a form of cultural absorption, which led to me never making friends. I once believed that no one would truly love me, but you only love me. And... I might not be a man who can only love one person, but you only have me. Maybe in this lifetime, I can only be tied to you.”
“So?”
“I always have to do something for you.” Lei Zheng’s voice trembled because of the pain in his head: “But you have to promise me, you can’t always be so violent anymore. It would be very embarrassing for Lei Zheng to go to a domestic violence center.”
“Then you can’t drink anymore either.”
“I promise you.”
“Why don’t you propose to me?”
“Because...”
There was the sound of security guards outside the door, and the flashlight of the night patrol shone on the glass door. Jian Zhaowen pulled Yu Zhimei away. Through the crack in the door, Jian Zhaowen saw Lei Zheng looking at him, their gazes cut off by the doorframe. Jian Zhaowen enthusiastically gave the security guard the Marlboro cigarettes from his pocket, explaining that the car downstairs was a misunderstanding, there was no fighting in the company, the meeting was just too intense, no danger.
After the security guard left, the two stood in the corridor. Jian Zhaowen heard Yu Zhimei say, “I never believed that people could love the same person for ten years.”
“Maybe there’s always someone who will be your exception, like me.” Jian Zhaowen said this, but there was no smile on his face. After a long while, Jian Zhaowen returned to normal: “There are a few new, very hidden restaurants that just opened downstairs. There are too many internet companies around here, I’ll take you to explore.”
The cafe that once captivated Yu Zhimei with its motorcycles and poetry collections had quietly closed, replaced by a dessert shop and a simply decorated diner, sleeping with its lights off at night. Fortunately, there was still the hidden seafood street and small bars in the back. The three-story building was tucked between two office buildings, each one unique enough, and the subway station was at the end of the passage. Change was like the city’s breathing, new things sprouting from sunrise to sunset, and old things disappearing. Still shaken, Yu Zhimei only drank a large cup of coffee: “It’s better to drink less alcohol, we might have to take Lei Zheng to the hospital later.”
“These two are always so bloody and violent when they’re in love, the surrounding friends also suffer—my heart attack is about to be triggered.”
“They didn’t have many friends before, that’s why no one knew about their relationship. Lei Zheng focused on work and made a lot of money every day. His only pleasure was spending it, and then having it all destroyed by Xiaoxi.”
“What a violent couple. Was what Lei Zheng said about his rootless adolescence also true?” Seeing Yu Zhimei nod, Jian Zhaowen licked his lips: “No wonder he has such strong empathy.”
“Are you saying that’s what it takes to be a product manager?”
“Yeah. But it’s not necessarily a good thing. The stronger the empathy, the more emotions you receive, and you have to rely on your own heart to compensate for processing them.” Jian Zhaowen looked at his phone: “I’ll never bully Lei Zheng again in the future.”
But the two waited a long time and didn’t hear Lei Zheng ask them to go to the hospital together. The inseparable couple completely forgot about Yu Zhimei and Jian Zhaowen downstairs. The next day, Lei Zheng had a gauze pad on his head, a corner peeking out from under his hat. Jian Zhaowen looked at the white shirt he was wearing, took out a baseball cap he had bought online from behind him, shaped it with his hands, walked into Lei Zheng’s office, and reached out to take off his hat: “Meeting in fifteen minutes.”
On the verge of Lei Zheng’s outburst, Jian Zhaowen gently placed the baseball cap on Lei Zheng’s head.
And that sentence, “I’ll never bully Lei Zheng again,” seemed to have been forgotten by Jian Zhaowen after just one night’s sleep. Fifteen minutes later, the two were arguing fiercely again in the conference room.
The two were discussing how to deal with reports from another dimension, unable to reach a consensus—the head of the content team had reported the matter to Lei Zheng, and Jian Zhaowen was pulled into the meetings whenever he was free. After a user reported a chat partner for private message harassment, according to Jian Zhaowen’s settings, the user would enter a blacklist and could appeal within 48 hours. However, most of these people thrown into the blacklist were verified to be harassers. After being reported three times, their devices were banned from using Day and Night. Originally, Jian Zhaowen only set it to ban accounts. These users would edit a message every night, copy and paste it to hundreds of opposite-sex users, sending from waking up until falling asleep again, seeking harassment pleasure if they couldn’t get a date, and being overjoyed if they did. Jian Zhaowen felt this wasn’t harsh enough, so he directly banned the devices—if they wanted to use Day and Night again, they would have to turn over a new leaf and get a new phone.
“How many devices are currently banned?”
“Thirty thousand.”
Considering that the number of registered users had already exceeded two million, Jian Zhaowen didn’t think this number was too high, and it might not even have caught everyone. He spun his pen, looking at the blacklist on the computer: “To deal with these kinds of people, we should directly post their real names and evidence online, even put up pictures of their genitals for public display.”
“Wouldn’t that be too humiliating for them?”
“Did they think about that when they sent it to others?” Jian Zhaowen retorted on the spot: “They even went to the Cyberspace Administration of China to report us. They can do such shameless things and then turn around and accuse us. They’re sick.”
Lei Zheng looked at the information compiled by his subordinates: “You’re direct enough to ban all the devices, but I’m the one who will have to go ‘drink tea’ (a euphemism for being summoned by the authorities).”
After everyone left the conference room, the two people with their own agendas pondered who would speak first. Lei Zheng sighed, took off his baseball cap, and the faint color of iodine and bloodstains could still be seen: “Keep it a secret for me. Don’t think a hat can buy me off.”
“After so much cooperation, you still don’t trust me?” Jian Zhaowen spun the pen in his palm rapidly: “Young people’s acceptance is much higher than before. Maybe after Xiaoxi competes, the two of you will become a famous fairy-tale couple in China.”
“I know. It’s just that once Day and Night becomes a high-traffic app and wants to go public, I will become its flaw. You can’t deny how important ‘correctness’ is now.”
“Doesn’t matter. Between going public and protecting you, I choose to protect you.”
“You love me that much?”
“Because I know it won’t go public.” Jian Zhaowen looked at the screen: “Series B funding hasn’t been secured yet, what’s the rush?”
“You can’t define what you’re doing as a niche app, otherwise it wouldn’t have had that user explosion last time.”
“The explosion was within my expectations, but it won’t become a platform with hundreds of millions of users. You know that better than I do.”
Lei Zheng stared at the small liquor cabinet in the corner of the conference room,忍了幾秒 (ren le ji miao - endured for a few seconds) without going over. Jian Zhaowen was visibly growing, and his prediction for Day and Night was also correct, even more rational than his own. And Jian Zhaowen seemed to understand him too well, walking over and skillfully opening a bottle and pouring wine. The two drank silently in the conference room. After a few minutes, Jian Zhaowen finally spoke: “Another investor has come knocking. Once Series B comes in, in what direction will Day and Night change? I’m a bit scared.”
“What’s there to be afraid of?”
“What if the investor’s requirements are different from ours? We won’t have 100% decision-making power anymore.”
Lei Zheng laughed: “We don’t have it now either.”
Jian Zhaowen also laughed, but his gaze was no longer simply fixed on him. He remembered saying “I trust you 100%” to Lei Zheng in the bar. That trust had become complicated with time. Perhaps the long arguments in the conference room and the prolonged time spent together had worn away their initial freshness. Knowing each other too well wasn’t a good thing; perhaps because they had meshed well enough, they cherished each other outside of work. Lei Zheng drank one glass after another, and Jian Zhaowen slowly began to speak: “If you keep drinking, you’re going to transform. We still have a meeting later.”
“Are you telling me what to do?” Lei Zheng glared: “This year, my harvest has been much better than I imagined. I’m very grateful to have such a team right now.”
“Don’t be so sentimental, I can’t stand you.”
Lei Zheng wasn’t angry with him: “I wanted to trouble you and Yu Zhimei to do me a favor.”
The Jaguar, bought just over half a year ago, had been sent for repairs. The three of them drove Jian Zhaowen’s A4 towards the Kunshan recording center. They had vaguely heard about the competition system before, and now it seemed that people of the same dance style were rehearsing together. The behind-the-scenes photos on Weibo had already blossomed. Lei Zheng really couldn’t suppress his desire to visit the set, wanting to surprise Xiaoxi but also afraid of not being able to blend in, so he directly brought the unconventional Yu Zhimei along. Jian Zhaowen’s integrity from a year and a half ago had been shattered. He started making calls to pull strings from the passenger seat. After failing to connect with anyone, Jian Zhaowen shamelessly haggled with the security guards, annoying them to the point where they wanted to call the entire team to drive them away. A director came out and directly handed them three work passes. Jian Zhaowen was so angry his nostrils flared: “Where on earth do you know so many people?”
“Although I’m a car media director, that doesn’t mean I only hang out in the car circle. We’re all directors—I’m the social butterfly of directors.”
The studio was a colorful cyberpunk-style street, everywhere were young people in bizarre outfits practicing their dance moves. Yu Zhimei had a reggae hairstyle, Jian Zhaowen was dressed in street style, and Lei Zheng’s British leather shoes and striped trousers made the three of them look perfectly in place. Jian Zhaowen saw Yu Zhimei staring at a dancer doing a one-handed flip, then looked at the dancer’s muscles, and casually blocked her eyes. Yu Zhimei reached out and slapped Jian Zhaowen’s wrist hard: “Can’t even look?”
“No.”
“You don’t even have muscles. I really like muscles.”
“So what if they can dance? They’re not as handsome as me.” Jian Zhaowen was so busy being jealous that he didn’t look at the road. Yu Zhimei was blindfolded, and the two of them tripped over a decorative water pipe on the ground and fell head over heels. Xiaoxi recognized them and screamed, running towards them.
Lei Zheng gritted his back teeth: “You two are really holding me back too much. If I had known it would be like this, I might as well have said hello and come over myself.”
Xiaoxi jumped into Lei Zheng’s arms and was spun around several times. Before Jian Zhaowen could even get up, he was hit on the shin by a stagehand carrying equipment and then had his toes stepped on, the pain bringing tears to his eyes. Yu Zhimei pulled Jian Zhaowen up, just in time to hear Xiaoxi shout, “Lei Zheng, when are you finally going to propose to me? You even came here behind my back, and only brought a trunk full of snacks! What do you take me for?! Once I’m really famous, the first thing I’ll do is dump you...”
“You can only say that if you win the championship!”
Having said that, Lei Zheng was chased far away by Xiaoxi, the two of them disappearing around a corner of the studio in seconds. Jian Zhaowen rubbed his leg: “Youth is really great, that old fox Lei Zheng can actually run so fast?”
Yu Zhimei suddenly became interested too: “Jian Zhaowen, when are you going to propose to me?”
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