Chapter 19#

He Has Someone He Likes#

The Institute of Science assigned Mo Xuzhi a small detached villa.

Most of the people in the vicinity were from the Institute and knew each other; he had spotted several familiar faces upon his arrival.

The older woman from before took Mo Xuzhi on a tour of the villa, giving him a general overview of its layout.

Once the people from the Institute and the Special Service Team had left, Mo Xuzhi slowly began arranging the books from the wooden box onto the shelves, separating the sheet music from the literature.

Sunlight streamed through the beige windowsill, illuminating the brown wooden desk. Outside the window was a small garden with a few trees, their green shadows dancing on the desk, filling the room with radiance.

It actually looked quite nice.

Mo Xuzhi took out his phone, snapped a photo, switched accounts, and uploaded it to Weibo.

[Wuzhi: Moved into a new home ^_^ [Image]]

The comment section was still filled with those active, regular readers.

[Madam’s study is so good-looking!]

[I see sheet music, does Madam know how to sing too??]

[The Ajiang Author Convention is coming up, will Wuzhizhi participate?]

[Am I the only one focusing on the bookshelf? I recognize these characters, but I can’t understand them when they’re combined.]

[I always said the science parts of Madam’s novels were very hardcore, turns out you really are researching!]

Mo Xuzhi slowly replied to them one by one.

[Haven’t really started yet, just writing for fun]

[Busy lately, probably won’t be able to go]

[These books are quite interesting; if you like them, you can try reading them]

Several readers acted cute and bantered with him, pestering him to sing. Mo Xuzhi smiled, replied with a sentence or two, and put away his phone. Then, as if remembering something, he pulled it out again and opened a certain green software.

There were two private messages in the background.

One was an invitation to the Author Convention, and the other was a short message urging him to update.

The system reminded him that he had not completed the required word count for the rankings, and the deadline was today at 00:00.

Mo Xuzhi was forced to abandon the idea of resting for a while.

He had been too busy these past few days and had forgotten about this.

Fortunately, he had a habit of keeping two laptops. One was currently at the hospital, and he still had one on hand.

Taking advantage of the startup time, Mo Xuzhi went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee.

The person who maintained this villa had clearly put in a lot of thought. Everything was provided, even more complete than the house Mo Xuzhi had lived in for over a year.

The light in the study stayed on until night.

After uploading the last chapter, Mo Xuzhi slumped in his chair and let out a long breath.

Before he could catch his breath, the phone rang.

With his breath stuck in the middle, Mo Xuzhi couldn’t help but cough a few times before picking up the phone.

It was a call from his dear manager.

Casually picking up a piece of literature, Mo Xuzhi leaned back in his seat and answered the call.

Great Agent Chen was as direct and confident as ever:

“Don’t forget tomorrow’s variety show. The production team is short-handed, so go to the Donggang Airport parking lot yourself. Arrive by eight at the latest. I have other people to handle, so I won’t accompany you. Also, be smart when you see Luo Wenyun tomorrow, and don’t cause trouble for me, do you hear me?”

“…”

Mo Xuzhi turned a page of the literature.

This piece of literature was quite something; at least it wasn’t rehashed material, and it contained the author’s own thoughts and viewpoints.

“Do you hear me!”

The noisy voice on the phone increased in volume. Mo Xuzhi moved the phone further away. Chen Min’s hysterical shouting was pushed to the back of his mind as he responded with a few extremely perfunctory sounds.

“Damn little…” The voice on the other end stopped, then Chen Min’s fierce voice came through again, “The production team will @ you on Weibo, don’t forget to respond.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a busy tone came from the phone.

Chen Min always liked to hang up after saying a long list of things to himself. Mo Xuzhi made no comment on this, put the phone on the desk, and settled back into his chair to read the literature.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he added another small cushion behind him.

Although the cushion was a bit ugly, it was still something he had spent several hundred bucks to win.

He read until his eyes were dry and itchy. Only then did Mo Xuzhi rub his eyes, remember the matter Chen Min had mentioned, and picked up his phone again to open Weibo.

Weibo was a bit lively today, making this author account, which didn’t have much information to process, a bit laggy.

When switching to the other account, Mo Xuzhi waited for several minutes.

As Great Agent Chen had said, the production team had already @’d him.

Although he had already turned off the private message function, the explosive number of comments still caused the background to freeze for a while.

[“First Taste of Love”: Spring is here, and the season of love has arrived! The “First Taste of Love” production team joins hands with @LuoWenyun @LiJing @DuMinsheng @… @MoXuzhi @ShenLeUs to experience the budding feelings of spring together! #Love #VarietyShow]

The production team @’d eight people in a row, and so far, only three had responded. The others were fine, but if he responded early as Great Agent Chen said, he would likely be mocked by those ubiquitous anti-fans again.

Mo Xuzhi browsed through, raising an eyebrow.

Du Minsheng was participating too?

He swiped his phone a few more times. Seeing that there were no other special matters, Mo Xuzhi didn’t even bother to write a caption and just forwarded the post.

[Mo Xuzhi V: Forwarding Weibo // “First Taste of Love”…]

People must have been waiting for him since the production team posted the relevant Weibo. As soon as he forwarded it, dozens of comments already popped up in the comment section.

Mo Xuzhi didn’t have much interest in this. He didn’t read even two comments like he usually would. He turned off his phone, organized his materials, and went to take a shower.

Staying up late only made one more energetic.

Mo Xuzhi had been busy for another day after pulling an all-nighter. He was a bit dazed in the morning, but now after a shower, he was exceptionally energetic.

So he happily decided to pull another all-nighter.

After packing his things the next morning, Mo Xuzhi hitched a ride with the academician next door and arrived at Donggang Airport right at eight.

No matter when one came here, the foot traffic at Donggang Airport was always terrifyingly large. There were also groups of people holding signs and looking around, likely fans of some celebrity waiting for their idol.

Mo Xuzhi was tall and fair, standing under the sun like a glowing body. His temperament was also very striking. Many people stared at him for a few extra glances, but seeing him alone without the standard celebrity equipment like an assistant or manager, they dismissed their thoughts and hurriedly left.

Mo Xuzhi was happy to be at leisure.

He had been here a few times before and remembered the location of the parking lot.

The only problem was that Donggang Airport had three parking lots, all in different locations.

With many people around, it wasn’t suitable to stand there. Mo Xuzhi was just about to find a quiet place to call his manager when his wrist was suddenly grabbed.

He looked up and saw a man, also tightly wrapped, looking down at him.

The man had narrow eyelids, giving off a fierce impression even when expressionless.

It was Du Minsheng.

Noticing Mo Xuzhi’s gaze, he shifted his eyes uncomfortably, and half of that fierceness instantly diminished.

He said, “Follow me.”

Mo Xuzhi looked down and measured it with his eyes a couple of times. Knowing he likely couldn’t break free, he gave up and let himself be pulled against the flow of the crowd by Du Minsheng.

His grip was all bark and no bite, not holding tightly at all; at least he didn’t feel any discomfort.

As the wind blew, Mo Xuzhi squinted his eyes, a stream of broken light flashing through them. “The production team sent you?”

This breeze was quite comfortable.

“Mm, yes…”

Du Minsheng nodded at first, then fell silent for a while before saying muffledly through his mask, “No. I wanted to come myself.”

Mo Xuzhi’s expression finally changed. His squinted eyes opened a bit wider as he took a truly serious look at Du Minsheng.

The corners of his mouth curved into a faint arc:

“You’ve become honest.”

Back when they were still at the bar, he had asked Du Minsheng if he wanted to sing, and he had stubbornly said no; asked him if he wanted to live a different life, and he had also stuck his neck out and said no.

Now he had actually learned to speak his true thoughts.

He really had grown up.

Du Minsheng didn’t look back. The hand holding the person’s wrist behind him tightened, then loosened again.

Entering this circle had taught him some things.

If you like something, fight for it; if you have a thought, express it.

If you keep everything bottled up inside, you’ll end up with nothing.

He wanted Mo Xuzhi to see that he was no longer that stupid, stunned youth who understood nothing.

He could also give him everything he wanted like a real man.

Mo Xuzhi asked again: “How did you think of coming to pick me up?”

Du Minsheng pressed his hat down, and his black hair followed, covering his reddened earlobes. He said: “The one Luo Wenyun went to pick up… called… a newcomer…”

Mo Xuzhi kindly helped him say the name: “Shen Le.”

Du Minsheng nodded: “Mm.”

There was also a minor star who hadn’t arrived by the time he planned to pick up Mo Xuzhi; as for the rest, he heard the floor manager arranging for people to pick them up.

He hadn’t heard Mo Xuzhi’s name and knew the production team’s attitude, so he came.

Du Minsheng didn’t say the rest, but Mo Xuzhi could guess most of it.

His expression remained unchanged, his eyes still squinted, looking exceptionally cozy as he chatted with Du Minsheng intermittently.

“How did you think of participating in this variety show?”

“Heard you would participate, so I came—the recording is considered to have started as soon as we entered the parking lot. Don’t believe them when they try to trick you.”

Mo Xuzhi smiled.

The kid had not only learned to tell the truth but also to talk nonsense.

Du Minsheng also guessed that Mo Xuzhi would react this way. He only closed his eyes briefly and said, “We’re here.”

The place where Mo Xuzhi got off the car wasn’t far from the parking lot, and it could be seen after a few steps.

There were fewer people around the parking lot, and groups of staff could be seen from a distance.

Mo Xuzhi patted Du Minsheng’s hand with very light force, just enough to bring him back to his senses.

As soon as Du Minsheng let go of his hand, the staff still tinkering with equipment in the parking lot saw the two of them.

The cameraman immediately shouldered his camera and came over.

He had felt something was up when he heard Du Minsheng take the initiative to pick up Mo Xuzhi. He had been waiting here and came over excitedly, but ended up capturing nothing.

Neither Mo Xuzhi nor Du Minsheng had any intention of taking off their masks, and their behavior wasn’t ambiguous. Mo Xuzhi’s suitcase was still in his own hand, so not even a small explosive point could be caught.

The staff led the two onto a luxury bus rented by the production team.

There were already a few people scattered on the bus. The ones in the front were staff, and the ones in the back row were the guests participating in the show.

As soon as Mo Xuzhi and Du Minsheng got on the bus, a person in the back row suddenly stood up and waved at them, “Hello!”

The smile was brilliant, without a trace of haze. A pair of cat eyes were slightly widened, in a just-right arc.

“My name is Shen Le. I hope we can all have a great time playing together!”

Du Minsheng took off his mask and glanced casually.

Mo Xuzhi noticed the person beside him paused for a moment.

Casually taking off his mask, Mo Xuzhi gave a slight nod, his attitude natural and lazy: “Hello.”

Du Minsheng followed suit and said “Hello.”

The attitude of the two was quite different from Shen Le’s enthusiasm.

It wasn’t until he seemingly inadvertently saw the person beside Shen Le that Mo Xuzhi truly opened his eyes. No longer cold as before, he suddenly broke into a wide smile: “Mr. Luo.”

The cameraman quickly focused, aiming the lens at the two of them.

The others kept looking back and forth between Mo Xuzhi and Shen Le.

For no other reason than that the two were too similar.

Setting everything else aside and just looking at the face, Mo Xuzhi’s appearance was pure and elegant, his features top-tier. Although Shen Le was good-looking, he was of the pure and innocent type, which was still a bit lacking. Originally, no one would associate the two, but now with Mo Xuzhi’s smile, the sense of deja vu came instantly.

The youth’s smile was dazzling and scorching, as exuberant and intense as the midsummer sun.

Luo Wenyun felt as if his eyes had been stung, and even his heart felt as if it had been squeezed by something.

He naturally put his hands in his jacket pockets and smiled: “We meet again.”

Du Minsheng stood to one side and saw Mo Xuzhi’s change of expression most directly.

…That kind of joy probably couldn’t be faked.

Du Minsheng, who was usually famous in the circle for being reckless, lowered his eyelashes.

Several cameramen shouldered their cameras, the corners of their mouths curving up frantically.

Mo Xuzhi was smiling on the surface, but his eyes were deep and heavy, and there was even a faint mist floating in them.

A bit boring.

He originally wanted to yawn, but then he thought that the cameraman’s lens was still pointing at him. Yawning at this time seemed a bit impolite, so he could only hold it back, forcing out a pair of eyes filled with physiological saline.

In the end, Du Minsheng led Mo Xuzhi to choose a pair of side-by-side seats.

The two ended up sitting in front of Shen Le and Luo Wenyun.

The bus seats were high. As soon as a person sat down, they would directly perform a “missing on the spot” act. The top of the head of a tall person could occasionally make an appearance.

Luo Wenyun took another look at the two hair tips in front that seemed to want to stick together, then withdrew his gaze.

Shen Le leaned toward Luo Wenyun and said, “Brother Yun, he seems to like you very much. Do you know him?”

Luo Wenyun shifted his gaze and said indifferently: “Not familiar.”

The camera faithfully recorded this conversation.

Luo Wenyun’s voice wasn’t loud, but Mo Xuzhi and Du Minsheng sitting in the front could hear it clearly.

Du Minsheng glanced at Mo Xuzhi. He asked: “Are you not sad?”

Mo Xuzhi said truthfully: “Not sad.”

Luo Wenyun was telling the truth; they were originally just in a simple interest-based relationship. They would separate as soon as the time came, so they really couldn’t be called familiar.

Du Minsheng looked at the faint mist floating in his eyes and hummed an “Mhm.”

He couldn’t say exactly what he felt in his heart.

The youth who was once flamboyant and intense enough to scorch the eyes in his memory seemed to have fallen in love with someone.

But that person didn’t like him.