Qiu Wuji was happy, but Chu Ge was anything but. Others went on dates with girls and even brought them home—what wonderful things could happen? He hadn't done anything, yet he'd gotten into a fight and gotten stabbed, and when he got home, the girl had run away, and run a long way.
Chu Ge sat there with his hands in his pockets, a durian on his head, staring blankly at the roses on the coffee table. He didn't even know if he could take a shower with this injury, especially in this sweltering heat…
Speaking of which, those hideous roses that had caused Qiu Wuji to leave early, after a while, they actually became quite beautiful…
On the wall was a calligraphy scroll depicting Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly, pasted up unframed.
The brushstrokes were fluid and elegant, the content sophisticated, exuding an air of cultured refinement.
The windows were bright and clean, the air filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants; the man's rented room had been completely transformed without him even realizing it.
Almost every corner of the room bore witness to her presence.
"With my meager words, I write down my thoughts, loving the madman who loves for me. I change my eyes to see illusion as reality, as if I control everything..." Suddenly, the phone rang.
The familiar ringtone, barely audible before being cut off, struck Chu Ge differently this time. He listened intently to the entire message before leisurely answering the phone: "Mom, aren't you asleep so late? Oh, by the way, how was your Qixi Festival?"
"At your age, what's the point of celebrating Qixi? Your Qixi is what matters."
"I had a very happy Qixi."
His mother didn't believe a word he said: "Having a lot of fun writing, huh?"
"..." "I saw Xiao Gu today. She said you're great, but it's a pity we're not a good match. Doesn't that sound like a friend rejection?"
"It is a friend rejection. I'd like to give her one too. If we're not a good match, we're not a good match. People in departments like yours rarely see each other, and your son doesn't even have time to care. I wouldn't choose a wife like that."
"Are you saying your dad made a mistake by choosing me?"
Chu Ge hurriedly smiled apologetically: "No, no... Dad may not be great at other things, but his taste is impeccable..." Mom wasn't buying it: "So, what about your taste? When are you going to bring a girlfriend to show me?"
"Soon, soon. Didn't Gu Ruoyan tell you? Do I have a woman I like?"
"No, Gu Ruoyan is tight-lipped; she wouldn't talk about other people's business." Mom said suspiciously, "You have a girlfriend? You wouldn't be having someone pretend to be her just to save face, would you? I remember there was a plot like that in your book… But if you really could pull that off, that would be fine too. Usually, the pretender ends up being taken by the protagonist."
"Read less online novels, especially those light novels by author Chu Ge." Chu Ge said, "I didn't say I had a girlfriend. That's just a woman I like, not a girlfriend. Do I need to have someone pretend to like someone?"
Qiu Wuji wasn't his girlfriend; she hadn't admitted it yet. There was no way he could just announce it like that… Besides, Chu Ge had another reason for saying this to his mother… he was afraid his mother wanted to meet her daughter-in-law but didn't know where she was.
She might never even know where she was. Ever since the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Chu Ge hadn't spoken about this worry, but it had taken root in his heart.
"I'll tell Mom when everything settles down."
Mom, however, was intrigued: "Really? What does she look like? Send me a picture. Are you sure your girl-chasing skills are up to par? Want Mom to give you some advice?"
"Uh, forget it. The methods of your generation are completely different now..."
"At least dress neatly, look presentable, and keep your house clean and tidy—these things are timeless! Dare to show Mom the video? Look at your shabby mess..."
This touched a nerve with Chu Ge, who immediately hung up and made a WeChat video call.
The room in the video was clean and tidy, with roses blooming beautifully.
Mom was stunned: "You hired a cleaning lady? How much does she charge a month?"
Chu Ge retorted irritably, "What cleaning lady would put roses in your hands?"
"..." Mom said, "Turn the video around and look at your face. How long has it been since you shaved?"
Chu Ge turned around smugly. He'd just shaved before leaving the house today. Hmph.
Mom glanced at it and immediately hung up the video call: "This kid's hopeless, he's not even married yet and he's already balancing a durian on his head."
Chu Ge: "..." Damn, how could I forget that...
A picture of an emoji appeared on WeChat: "I'll punch you right now.jpg"
Chu Ge covered his face: "Stop looking at these weird pictures online, that's not what you think..."
"You still care what the picture means? Do you still care about your status in the family?"
"...Actually, the durian doesn't mean that."
"Performance art, huh?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was practicing kung fu?"
The other end was silent for a while, then replied: "Xiao Gu said one of your friends is involved in something not so clean, although it has nothing to do with you... You're such an honest kid, all alone in Nanjiang, Mom's worried you'll get hurt." The world-renowned masterpiece, *The Honest Kid*.
A warm feeling welled up in Chu Ge's heart: "It's okay, Mom."
"You know our department is a bit special; we have some influence, to say the least. It's not appropriate for you to handle official matters right now. If you need anything, you can contact our unofficial contact person… I'll give you a business card; just give your name, he knows you. But… it's best not to get involved with these things." Chu Ge guessed that Gu Ruoyan might be from the National Security Bureau, and by extension, his mother might be too. But Gu Ruoyan had said "considered a colleague," which was ambiguous, and he didn't know how to interpret it. Logically, someone from the National Security Bureau wouldn't be unable to tell their son their workplace; there must be some other special arrangement…
Thinking about it this way, it seemed that it wasn't him, the "honest child," who should be worried about his safety, but his parents. Their so-called "secrecy" was largely to avoid implicating their family.
So they probably didn't want their child involved in these things either; their child living a peaceful life was the best thing.
But the world seemed to be changing; you can't really avoid it just by saying you don't contact them. Did his mother's business card represent that his parents had finally made some new decisions?
Chu Ge looked at the ID on the business card his mother had sent him: Zhong Buli.
Could he be a Genshin Impact player?
Chu Ge thought for a moment, then decided not to add her. He simply said goodnight to his mother: "It's late, Mom, get some rest. I should go to sleep too."
His mother was extremely shocked: "It's only one o'clock."
Chu Ge put his hands on his hips: "This is the latest I've been sleeping late recently."
His mother instantly became happy: "You've finally become a decent person! Okay, okay, go to sleep early."
Chu Ge didn't know how to reply. Had he never been a decent person before?
Chu Ge slept soundly that night.
But he found that he was dreaming more and more vividly. Following the tragic dream about poking the durian that day, today's dream was a repetition of various scenes from today.
The image of Qiu Wuji walking beside him, smiling as she ate an ice cream cone and cotton candy.
The perfect profile of her as fireworks bloomed.
The foot-stepping in the haunted house, the hand-holding in the movie theater, the long hair fluttering in the wind on the back of the bicycle.
And the roses, which had withstood countless trials and tribulations, remaining steadfastly protected.
She stood in front of her, twisting all the daggers into a pretzel: "You think you can hurt him?"
"I'm really in love, Mom," Chu Ge murmured unconsciously in his sleep. "He's the most perfect person I ever wrote about, pouring all my fantasies and expectations into him."