Chapter 13#
Photo#
Twelve o’clock sharp.
The sound of the clock tower in the amusement park reached Luo Wenyun’s eardrums.
A long wind swept across the sky, blowing the broken hair on Mo Xuzhi’s forehead back.
The smile that was more brilliant than midsummer disappeared, replaced by a light, indifferent, formulaic smile.
His phone made a sound. Luo Wenyun looked down and saw it was a payment notification.
Mo Xuzhi raised his phone toward him.
Pressing the power button, Luo Wenyun looked up at Mo Xuzhi, who had already stood up and was ready to get off work, and said:
“Have another meal?”
Mo Xuzhi paused for a moment, then nodded and said: “Overtime requires overtime pay. I won’t ask you for money this time, let’s take a photo.”
Truly unwilling to suffer even a little loss.
Luo Wenyun agreed.
The restaurant was booked by Luo Wenyun on the spot, in a business district not far from the amusement park.
Mo Xuzhi didn’t ask Luo Wenyun why he suddenly wanted to have lunch. He just walked quietly on his own, smiling at Luo Wenyun whenever he occasionally looked over.
Luo Wenyun always had good taste; the restaurant he booked looked quite elegant, and the prices were correspondingly “beautiful.”
The waiter led Mo Xuzhi and Luo Wenyun to their reserved seats, handed menus to both of them, and waited quietly to the side.
Luo Wenyun didn’t look at the menu; he just propped up his chin and looked at Mo Xuzhi. His light gray pupils reflected the silver light of the tableware, carrying a hint of scrutiny.
The menu in this restaurant was in French.
Mo Xuzhi was famous for his low education level.
But looking at Mo Xuzhi’s appearance, reading a pure French menu didn’t seem to be difficult at all.
After coming into contact with Mo Xuzhi, he only knew that he was a smart person who knew what he wanted, understood how to weigh pros and cons, and that was it.
He hadn’t delved into his background or education. Now it seemed that many things on the Internet were too far from the facts.
Luo Wenyun had things on his mind, and Mo Xuzhi also finished ordering. Seeing the waiter leave with the menu, he didn’t disturb him, but propped his chin and looked to one side, listening to the singing coming from not far away.
There were no private rooms in the restaurant. Many tables were small booths surrounded by wooden cabinets with flower beds on top to block the view. Sound could be heard clearly.
This restaurant wasn’t as quiet as other French restaurants; instead, it was quite lively, but not noisy. The sound of voices mixed with singing made people unconsciously relax.
The phone in his pocket vibrated. Mo Xuzhi lowered his eyes and said:
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Luo Wenyun looked at him and gave a slight nod.
The restroom was hard to find. Mo Xuzhi asked a waiter for directions before finding the restroom surrounded by flower beds.
Mo Xuzhi: “…”
No wonder he couldn’t find it.
The restroom was bright, and the air was filled with a faint scent of incense and cigarette smoke. There was only one person washing his hands while tilting his head to hold his phone for a call.
“Won… not playing today.”
“…I didn’t expect him to come back either. Let’s not talk for now, I’m busy.”
The light passed through his brow, casting a shadow and pulling out a cold arc for the youth.
The voice sounded a bit familiar.
Mo Xuzhi only glanced to the side and didn’t stop. He didn’t redial the missed call from just now until he reached the cubicle at the very end.
“Hello, just now…”
The light voice was shut tight by the cubicle.
“Swoosh—”
Shen Fang hung up the phone and looked to the side where the person who had just passed by disappeared.
The voice… was very familiar.
Mo Xuzhi returned to the small booth after finishing the call.
Luo Wenyun was still sitting in his original position. The top two buttons of his shirt were rarely unbuttoned, making him look a bit different.
He looked up: “Weren’t we going to take a photo?”
Mo Xuzhi nodded. Meeting Luo Wenyun’s gaze, he sat next to him and held up his phone.
At the moment he pressed the shutter, Mo Xuzhi pointed to a corner of the room where small blue flowers were growing and suddenly said:
“What’s that?”
Luo Wenyun turned his head to look.
In an instant, the photo was silently frozen.
By the time Luo Wenyun turned back, Mo Xuzhi had already finished taking the photo and started opening the Weibo page on his phone.
“What happened just now?”
“Nothing,” Mo Xuzhi said casually without looking up, “I just thought those flowers were quite pretty.”
Luo Wenyun squinted and looked at the ordinary-looking blue flowers for a while. When he turned back, Mo Xuzhi had already put away his phone.
Opening Weibo, Luo Wenyun found that Mo Xuzhi’s home page was still stuck on the last post about “visiting his junior,” with no change at all, so he asked:
“Not posting on Weibo?”
“I can post on Weibo when I go back,” Mo Xuzhi had a small dimple near his mouth when he smiled, looking exceptionally well-behaved and sincere, “The time spent with you is precious; not a single second can be wasted.”
Luo Wenyun praised: “Quite rhythmic.”
Mo Xuzhi’s smile grew even wider.
“Come on, drink up! Today is Brother Chen’s treat!”
“Congratulations to our teammates too. Ah, hard work!”
“We won the national competition. Let’s strive for the world competition next time. Maybe we’ll win the championship by accident!”
“Manager, put down the wine bottle first.”
“Good grief, Shen Fang, did you go out to smoke again!”
“Fine him! It just so happens that the team’s public funds are gone. Let the captain provide some subsidies!”
The others were laughing together, forming a sharp contrast with the intermittent conversation on Mo Xuzhi’s side.
Mo Xuzhi smiled, propped up his chin and said: “The next booth is quite lively.”
“They just won the national championship, it’s normal to be lively.”
“You know them?” Mo Xuzhi had nothing to do and chatted idly with Luo Wenyun about anything, “What national championship?”
“Esports,” Luo Wenyun said, “which is playing games. Next door is this year’s champion team. They should be representing China in competitions soon.”
Not long ago, a producer wanted to invite him to a game competition to boost morale and attached some information about the main teams. Although he refused, he still remembered some relevant information. Later, he heard the crew members saying that Team FOX had won the championship, which gave him a bit more of an impression, and Mo Xuzhi happened to ask about it.
He didn’t expect to run into them here today.
“Esports?”
Mo Xuzhi was stunned for a moment, then leaned on the table and tapped it lightly, his eyelashes curving slightly: “Being young is good.”
He had played games for a while during high school to pass the time, often roaming the canyon passionately with netizens.
After the plot was triggered, he never played again.
Seeing Mo Xuzhi leaning on the table with a face full of emotion, Luo Wenyun raised an eyebrow and asked: “Interested?”
Mo Xuzhi said truthfully:
“A little.”
When he had time later, he could try to see if his previous account could still log in. If it could, he was also curious what the game he played before had become like now.