Du Yu received Yuan Ye’s text message, hurried back to the company, and recounted the conversation from the day. Du Yu put down the materials in his hand and leaned back into the sofa: “Don’t look at how rapidly that company is developing; it hasn’t established a firm footing after all. The company is full of loopholes and lacking money everywhere. One person in charge has already reached the point of being unable to support it due to debts and loans everywhere, and wants to sell it to us. Regarding my appearance, he seemed quite happy. The other one insisted on holding on no matter what, and the two of them looked like they wouldn’t be satisfied until they had a fight today. On my end, it’s pretty much a done deal.”
Yuan Ye lit a cigarette and said with a smile: “With income that substantial, yet no major financial expenditures and relatively low personnel expenses, don’t you think this matter…”
“Isn’t this matter too bizarre? That’s why I checked their legal representative. It’s indeed that kid who entertained me. The money his mother owes is enough for him to pay back until he’s old. No wonder the other guy said they must sell the company no matter what. Who knows how they negotiated in the first place? How is it on your end, did Li Sheng agree?”
Yuan Ye shook his head: “He’s just hesitating and hasn’t been moved yet. Give it a month. A month from now, he’ll be able to proactively talk business with me.”
Du Yu raised an eyebrow: “A month? No need. If you can make him report to work on time when his contract expires in three months, I’ll submit to you.”
Yuan Ye extinguished his cigarette and took a sip of water: “You have so little confidence in me.”
“It’s not in you, big brother, it’s in him. That guy is a year older than you, and he’s not older for nothing. Where are you going tomorrow, are you going to their company?”
“No, I’m going to attend a wedding tomorrow.”
“Attend a wedding? When did you get interested in this kind of occasion?”
“This person is different. This person is Li Fan, Li Sheng’s biological older brother.”
“When did you get to know his older brother?”
Yuan Ye stood up to tidy his things, looking ready to leave: “To be precise, it was through Li Fan that I came to know of Li Sheng’s existence.”
Du Yu stood frozen in place, patted his head, and then said: “Holy crap, exactly when did you decide to get into the advertising industry? I actually thought you were just acting on a whim.”
After parting ways with Yuan Ye, Li Sheng wandered aimlessly on the street, walking forward without purpose. Passing by a supermarket, he couldn’t help but stop. With alcohol lingering in his breath, he stayed in front of the shelves for a long time, yet only picked up a pack of White Rabbit creamy candies, peeled three at once, and stuffed them into his mouth. The rich milky flavor diffused in his oral cavity, and at this instant, his mind was completely filled with fragments regarding Wei Heng.
He opened his phone, pathetically searching from text messages to the photo album. Five years, and there wasn’t even a single photo together. He didn’t even have a photo he could reminisce over. Squatting by the roadside, clutching the candy bag in his hand, his eyes stared blankly at the road surface without focus. Where should he go?
On his way home, Yuan Ye never expected to run into a soul-lost Li Sheng. Such a tall figure squatting by the roadside still clutching a candy bag—that appearance was quite eye-catching, drawing sideways glances from passersby. He told the driver to pull the car over to the roadside for a long time, thinking he would be able to see his scandal rumor boyfriend after a short while, but the result left Yuan Ye very disappointed. Li Sheng’s appearance clearly looked like someone who had just suffered a breakup.
He told the driver to start the car, drove up beside Li Sheng, and honked the horn twice. When Li Sheng turned his head, Yuan Ye caught his momentary look of disappointment. For some reason, a trace of displeasure arose in his heart, but it was only for an instant before Li Sheng resumed his usual demeanor. Probably due to the alcohol, the eyes behind his lenses were slightly red, quite different from usual: “President Yuan hasn’t gone back to rest so late?”
“Get in the car. It happens that we’re going together tomorrow to attend your brother’s wedding.”
Li Sheng ought to have refused—he was just a client he had met a few times—but he miraculously and inexplicably agreed to the proposal to go to his place. He wanted to turn it down, but thinking of the empty house, he peeled another candy, stuffed it into his mouth, and leaned back against the seat.
Through the rearview mirror, Yuan Ye caught a glimpse of his slightly impatient expression, knowing he probably somewhat regretted it. He curved the corners of his lips and asked: “I never knew you had a habit of liking candy.”
Li Sheng snapped out of it. Lowering his head to see the candy bag in his hand, his face flushed red involuntarily. A thirty-year-old man wandering around carrying candy—no matter how you looked at it, the picture was rather peculiar: “No, I went to buy chewing gum. They didn’t have the flavor I liked, so I just bought a bag of candy.”
“You need to wake up a bit earlier tomorrow, right? You’re his younger brother; you need to arrive earlier at the venue.”
“Yeah, I’m troubling you tonight. I’ll leave a bit earlier tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll go with you. I haven’t seen your brother in a long time. If I go too late, he might not have time to pay attention to me.”
“Tomorrow will definitely be very busy, so let’s head over earlier then. Sorry to trouble you to wake up early as well.”
Yuan Ye was somewhat used to Li Sheng’s official tone, and went along with his words: “It’s fine. Having known him for many years, it’s not much trouble.”