faint star

The party was at an established hotel.Xu Zhiwei originally thought that the "many people" that Mr. Su said would come were just a few dozen people, but he didn't expect that this party would occupy the entire hall, and there were at least twenty tables full of people.

He almost thought he went to the wrong place, but luckily he had an invitation letter from Mr. Su.Go in and quickly find Teacher Su.Teacher Su was chatting with others, when he saw him from a distance, he immediately raised his hand as a signal, and walked quickly to welcome him.

"I'm not prepared for such a big battle," Xu Zhiwei said.

Teacher Su smiled and said, "What do you want to prepare? Just come to eat and drink."

Teacher Su brought Xu Zhiwei to his table and introduced him to friends: "Old Qin is an old friend of mine. I know everything about him, and he has always been reliable in his work."

Xu Zhiwei did half a day of psychological training for himself when he went out today, so he had a premonition that things would not go well.I didn't expect to see this old Qin, but there was no resistance in my heart.

Lao Qin was born tall and big, with a long face and a smile.Hearing Mr. Su praise him, he joked, "Finally, I heard you say good things about me. We've known each other for so many years."

He was joking, but looked at Xu Zhiwei with gentle and curious eyes.

Xu Zhiwei thought, maybe there is nothing wrong with coming to the party today.Lao Qin seems to be a good and reliable person.

The gathering was jointly held by a publishing house, new media, and a video website, and the theme was the shared development of a series of IPs.In addition to speeches and dazzling videos on the stage, performances were interspersed from time to time, and with lighting, the atmosphere was in place.

Xu Zhiwei and Lao Qin didn't care about the hustle and bustle on stage, they just talked about their experiences.After a while, Xu Zhiwei knew that Lao Qin was an outgoing person with a wide range of hobbies, especially outdoor interactions.

Xu Zhiwei doesn't like exercising that much, he laughed at himself and said that besides walking, he also rides a bicycle.

Lao Qin said happily: "Then you can try cycling! The cycling team I joined happens to have an event next week. Do you have time to try?"

Xu Zhiwei didn't refuse, nor did he agree outright, he just said, "I don't have a mountain bike."

He suddenly remembered that he had a bicycle in middle school, but it was just an ordinary student bike, and he rode it for several years until it creaked.

His thoughts diverged for only a second, and he quickly regained his composure.

Lao Qin enthusiastically introduced the brand and performance of mountain bikes.The two naturally became friends, and he recommended several models to Xu Zhiwei.

At this time, there was a burst of applause from around, as if some important person came to speak on stage.Xu Zhiwei was infected by the surrounding atmosphere, and felt that the matter of going cycling next weekend seemed to have been decided.

Then the people on stage spoke.

"About nine years ago, I published my first book with your publishing house. Although it can't be regarded as an excellent photography collection, or even a pure photography collection, I like it very much..."

Xu Zhiwei's smile froze on his face.Lao Qin also turned his head to look at the stage, and he recognized it immediately: "Oh, it's Gu Heng, it's really rare."

Xu Zhiwei hummed unconsciously.This moment became so unbearable.

The ex-boyfriend looks the crowd, looking personable in the lights, surrounded by many people holding up their phones to take pictures or videos.

There's nothing wrong with that.What made him unbearable was himself. Just a moment ago, he thought it would be a very interesting arrangement to go cycling next weekend, and he was excited and looking forward to it.

The moment Gu Heng appeared, all mountain bikes became boring and expensive toys.He thought calmly, he didn't have any passion for cycling, why did he suddenly become interested?

Gu Heng talked eloquently on the stage: "I really like that collection. In the week when it was published, I went to the bookstore eight times, just to see the reactions of others when they picked it up and tried it..."

There was laughter and applause from the audience, and it would be a pleasure for a handsome man to laugh at himself appropriately.After the applause passed, the audience was much quieter than before, and more people were attracted to listen.

Gu Heng didn't have a manuscript, only a small note in front of him, with a few hints written, under the light, he looked radiant.

Xu Zhiwei turned his gaze away and stopped looking.His cell phone rang, and it was a WeChat message from Mr. Su—"I'm sorry, I didn't know he would come today."

Xu Zhiwei lowered his eyes and replied: "It's okay. He didn't see me, and I have to leave soon."

After Gu Heng spoke for two to three minutes, he got off the stage, and a group of people immediately surrounded him.The noise in the hall resumed, Xu Zhiwei finished the drink in front of him, and told Lao Qin that he wanted to leave first.

Lao Qin immediately said, "I'll go with you."

They greeted Su Pei and left early.Su Pei wanted to say something to Xu Zhiwei, but because Lao Qin was by his side, he couldn't say it in the end, and just watched Xu Zhiwei leave with a little apology.

When they came out of the hall, a staff member asked them to lead a gift. There was a dessert and a liqueur in the gift bag.

When receiving the gift, Xu Zhiwei felt a gaze fall on him, he raised his head to meet him, and saw a strange man in his twenties among the staff, obviously looking at him.

Their eyes met, and the young man smiled at him.

Xu Zhiwei was suspicious, he searched hard in his mind, but still found nothing.

"What's wrong?" Lao Qin came over and asked.

Xu Zhiwei no longer struggled, but just gave that person a polite smile.Maybe it's just a one-sided relationship.Maybe others know him, but he forgets others.Maybe it was the wrong person.

"Nothing, let's go."

The party in the hall continued.

After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Heng went to a private party with some old friends and played two rounds of cards. It was past twelve o'clock when it ended.

Coming out of his friend's house, Gu Heng got into his car.He sat in the back seat only to realize that the driver was wrong. It was actually his assistant Ruan Ziang who was driving.

"Why are you driving the car, where is Master Chen?" Gu Heng drank some wine tonight, and spoke slower than usual.

Ruan Ziang responded fluently: "Master Chen is a little unwell, I asked him to go to the hospital first. I think it's midnight and it's far away, so we won't call our driver to change shifts, and I don't feel relieved to call an outside driver. So so I……"

Gu Heng interrupted him: "Okay. I'll just ask a question, and you just crackled, and I didn't say anything to you."

Ruan Ziang smiled, and said while driving: "Don't worry, Mr. Gu, I didn't drink."

Gu Heng said: "I'm not worried. It's just that you are asked to work overtime again."

Ruan Ziang said with a smile: "Isn't that because of how rich you are in giving out red envelopes? Are you in pain?"

Gu Heng was amused by him, but the smile was fleeting.He stopped talking, closed his eyes slightly, and didn't know what he was thinking.Knowing that he was not asleep, Ruan Ziang turned on the radio, and soothing music suitable for midnight slowly streamed out.

Halfway through the drive, Ruan Ziang finally spoke.

"Mr. Gu."

It took Gu Heng a while before he said "hmm".

"I have something, I don't know if I should say it..."

Gu Heng's voice was tired: "Go ahead."

Ruan Ziang said slowly: "At the hotel tonight, I saw a person at the reception desk. If I'm not mistaken, it should be Dr. Xu."

Gu Heng suddenly opened his eyes: "He's here too?"

Ruan Ziang said: "If he doesn't have a twin brother. I think it is him, exactly the same as the picture you took of him. But..."

Gu Heng waited silently for his next words.Ruan Ziang glanced at Gu Heng's expression in the rearview mirror: "However, he seems to have come with someone else, and that person is quite handsome. When he left, the two of them received the gift bag together."

Gu Heng turned his head and looked out the car window, holding his hands tightly.It was too quiet in the car, and he lowered the window to let the warm night wind and noise of early summer pour in together.

The wind cleared his mind a little.Maybe Xu Zhiwei just came with friends, maybe they were just good friends.

"When did he leave?" Gu Heng asked.

Ruan Ziang's voice was louder so that he could hear clearly: "Probably not long after your speech, I just came out and saw them leave."

There was another sharp pain in Gu Heng's chest.Xu Zhiwei found out that he was there, so he left early.He was still avoiding him, not even wanting to see him again.

The car drove to the door of his new house and stopped.Ruan Ziang helped him get out of the car, but Gu Heng pushed him away: "I'm not that drunk." As soon as he finished speaking, he lost his balance and staggered.

Ruan Ziang hastened to support him: "Your legs can't withstand another fall. Let me help you in."

As soon as Gu Heng entered the living room, he collapsed on the sofa. He closed his eyes and said, "Xiao Ruan, you've worked hard... Take a taxi back... I'll reimburse you..."

Ruan Ziang half kneeling by the sofa

, said softly: "It's almost two o'clock. Can I stay overnight?"

There was a precedent of Gu Heng letting his subordinates stay in the guest room of his house when he came back late at night before, but that time someone else was there.Ruan Ziang was alone today, and he wanted to try his luck - he had an intuition, he had been by Gu Heng's side for so long, today might be an opportunity, and he should seize it.