TGSS - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Camera

That day Liang Zhouyi ultimately did not take Chu He's hand. She stepped forward and knocked Chu He's hand away, feigning ease as she said, "Okay, friends. We will be friends for a lifetime."

Chu He was still recalling this scene as she sat on the plane for her business trip, always feeling that when Liang Zhouyi said this there was a hint of pleading and coaxing in her voice. If she had to describe it, it was like the rhetoric she herself had used in her previous life when she rejected someone's confession and settled for the next best thing. The absurd thought gave her goosebumps.

She wondered whether Liang Zhouyi would still treat her as a friend after she left.

"System, after I go home, what will happen to the Chu He in this world?" Chu He suddenly grew curious.

System: "She will disappear. There was never a person called Chu He in this world to begin with."

Chu He's heart tightened. Disappear. She asked subconsciously, "Then will Liang Zhouyi still remember me?"

"What is the Host asking so much for? Your goal is just to go home, isn't it?" The System's tone was neither cold nor warm, sounding a bit sarcastic.

She did want to go home, that was true, but... she also did not want Liang Zhouyi to forget her. If that happened, she alone would be left remembering this memory, remembering everything they had been through.

"What's wrong with asking?" Chu He sneered. "Mind your own business what my purpose is. Then after I disappear, what will happen to Liang Zhouyi?"

System: "As long as you complete the mission and replenish her luck, Liang Zhouyi's life will return to its proper track. Naturally she will live the life she is supposed to live, with her own lover. You can rest assured about that."

Chu He fell silent. She thought of that hourglass which had unknowingly filled halfway. She should have been happy about it, but at this moment she stared fixedly at the slowly falling grains of sand. The hourglass suddenly turned with her thought. This was the first time Chu He discovered this thing could actually move. It spun for an instant in her consciousness and revealed a few small characters engraved on its side. Chu He looked closely, a thoughtful look crossing her eyes: Made by the Wish Power System, Wish Power.

This business trip had been delayed for a long time. Almost as soon as Chu He's injury healed, Chairman Qin urged her to go to S City. Driven on, Chu He packed without pause and flew there. She had originally planned to bring Tan Qing with her, but Tan Qing was buried in Xiaoying's project and could not get away. In the end the company sent Zheng Xinyan to go with her.

Chu He closed her eyes with a hint of disdain, unwilling to look more at the flamboyantly dressed Zheng Xinyan beside her. It was only when Zheng Xinyan tried to book a twin room after arriving at the hotel that she spoke up to stop her.

"According to the company's business trip standards, when the two of us travel together we can only book a twin room," Zheng Xinyan still tried to argue.

Chu He laughed. She did not believe Zheng Xinyan would be short of that little money. So she slapped her ID card onto the front desk and said apologetically, "President Zheng, I'm really sorry, I'm used to staying in my regular suite at this hotel. I'll pay for it myself."

What Chu He said was half true and half false. In her original world she would always book that room in advance when she came to S City on business. She asked right away and learned it had not yet been booked. After completing the formalities, she held the key card and gave Zheng Xinyan, whose expression had turned ugly, a sweet smile.

Once in the room, Chu He tossed her suitcase aside and collapsed onto the bed, picking up her phone to send messages to Liang Zhouyi to keep up their relationship and to grind Daily Missions along the way. Her current balance was enough to cover a month of business travel, but Chu He still believed in preparing for danger in times of safety. Besides, chatting with Liang Zhouyi was genuinely interesting. Once they got familiar, she found Liang Zhouyi could always hit the nail on the head and get her point, often making her hold her phone and laugh until she doubled over.

After reporting her itinerary, she covered her eyes with her arm to block the light and recalled what Liang Zhouyi had sold on Xianyu five years ago. She had tried calling the buyer again later, but still could not get through. She planned to go look for the person in that residential compound right after finishing with the client tomorrow. Although it sounded a bit like a perverted stalker, she remembered Tan Qing also owned a place in that compound, so she could treat it as a friendly exchange between property owners.

The business trip work went exceptionally smoothly. Zheng Xinyan was almost surprised as she tried to recall when she first met Chu He, but that memory had become very blurry. She only remembered that Chu He seemed to have entered Dark Color Culture through connections and resources, yet this was the first time she had seen her shine so brilliantly at work. At this moment Chu He radiated confidence, and the poise in her every gesture made Zheng Xinyan's heart beat uncontrollably.

"Then let's wish for a pleasant cooperation," Chu He said with a faint smile as she extended her hand to shake the other party's. She felt a weight lift in her heart. Finished ahead of schedule, now she could go handle Liang Zhouyi's matter.

By now, she no longer counted on finding a partner for Liang Zhouyi first. Whether it was that she did not want to or that she faintly resisted it, Chu He had not yet noticed. Her current plan was to first untie the knot in Liang Zhouyi's heart, at least not to let her remain half dead like now. As for the mission to find love, she would just let nature take its course.

Zheng Xinyan watched Chu He carry the whole meeting by herself. She had only needed to polish Chu He's words occasionally, and half the cooperation was already secured. In short, three days of business trip work was more or less completed in just one day. In the end Chu He tactfully declined the client's dinner invitation, cast a sidelong glance at Zheng Xinyan, and handed the task over to her.

Standing on the street watching everyone get in the car and leave, Chu He's shoulders relaxed and she went slack all over. She called Tan Qing. It took a long time for him to pick up, and there were very noisy sounds on the receiver. Tan Qing spoke quickly: "What's up?"

"Send me the unit number and passcode for your place in that compound in S City," Chu He said in an unhurried tone, recalling the address she had noted down.

"I have so many places, how would I know which one you mean... Okay, coming, coming, I won't talk to you now, send it to me on WeChat, I'm about to die from busyness, I must have owed you in my last life to come to this company!" Tan Qing sounded like he was going crazy with work, and he hung up before Chu He could say more.

Chu He looked at her phone, caught between laughter and tears. It was indeed because of her that he had been recruited, but Tan Qing must have had his own reasons for truly choosing to stay at Dark Color Culture. Between adults, there was no need to spell everything out.

Almost as soon as she sent the location to Tan Qing, Chu He immediately got his reply. She shook her head with a laugh, stuffed the cooperation materials into her bag, and headed straight for that compound.

Chu He usually acted decisively and efficiently, but standing at the door she still looked left and right and circled twice. After all, what she was doing was somewhat abnormal. Forget it, she would ring the doorbell first. If she could not reach the person, she would think of another way.

She was not given much time to prepare her words before the door quickly opened. A girl with granny gray dyed hair and a row of earrings along her ear appeared before Chu He with an impatient expression.

"Hello, is Ms. Zhou Mindan here?" Chu He asked politely.

The girl in her early twenties chewed gum, her eyes sliding blatantly over Chu He's face as she sneered, "You've got the wrong person. Don't know her."

Chu He narrowed her eyes. She had clearly seen the girl's pupils contract when she heard the name, not like someone who had never heard it. She opened her mouth to say something more, only to see the girl coldly move to close the door. In her haste she stuck her hand into the crack to block it. The girl failed to stop in time, and the door slammed hard against the base of Chu He's fingers. The pain twisted her face, and cold sweat beaded at her temples.

"Are you sick!" The girl looked at Chu He as if she were a lunatic, hastily letting go of the door. "You stuck your hand in yourself, you can't blame me!"

Chu He's lips paled a few shades. She gave a soft laugh, her face apologetic: "Of course I don't blame you, it's my fault. May I ask, do you really not know Zhou Mindan?"

The girl bit her lip and eyed her suspiciously, no longer arguing, just asking, "What do you want with her?"

Hearing this, Chu He knew there was a chance. Her expression looked somewhat pained, and that bright, striking face was now tinged with a pitiful air. She asked with a sharp intake of breath, "Can I come in and talk with you?"

The girl, hand on the doorknob, was bewildered by Chu He's appearance for an instant. After hesitating a few seconds she relented: "Fine, come in then."

A flicker of a smile crossed Chu He's eyes. You cannot catch the wolf without sacrificing the child. She could have actually dodged that slam just now, but this girl was clearly the sharp-tongued but soft-hearted type. Taking a gamble meant only a moment of pain, a much better trade-off.

The girl's home was somewhat messy, clothes scattered everywhere, looking like a place where she lived alone. No wonder she had been so wary at first. Chu He accepted the garishly colored can of drink she offered and, with a melancholy expression, told her Liang Zhouyi's story.

"So... you came all this way to find me just to ask me for a camera you bought five years ago?" The girl looked at Chu He as if she were insane.

"Oh, so you are Zhou Mindan," Chu He said, crossing her legs, her eyes teasing.

Zhou Mindan's expression turned a little unnatural. She said stubbornly, "So what if I am!"

Chu He smiled, looking completely like a caring older sister. She folded her hands and asked softly, "Then can you still remember where that camera is? I can buy it back at double the price."

Zhou Mindan snorted with disdain: "Sis, is this about money? First of all, you somehow tracked down my home using a shipping address, that's already seriously unhinged. The fact I didn't call the police just shows how kind I am. And it's been so many years, how could I possibly remember where that thing is..."

Despite saying that, in fact Zhou Mindan did remember. She had bought many things on Xianyu, lots of merch and electronics and so on, but that camera had left a deep impression. The impression mainly came from the seller. She remembered seeing the purchase record the seller provided, it had been bought less than half a month earlier and was being sold at a steep discount, which made her very uneasy so she insisted on meeting in person. The other party was very reluctant at first, and only compromised after she offered to pay extra.

How to put it, although she had only met that woman once, the gloomy, almost moribund aura of deathly stillness on her still gave her chills to this day.

"Is that so...?" Chu He looked utterly dejected. She forced a smile. "Sorry, I've disturbed you. I guess my friend and I are just not fated. I don't even know if I can still contact her in this lifetime... Forget it, why am I telling you all this? I'll take my leave."

Zhou Mindan widened her eyes, curious to hear Chu He continue, only to see her turn to leave dejectedly. In her urgency she called out, "Wait! I suddenly remembered that camera might not necessarily be lost..."

Chu He turned around in surprise and grasped her shoulders with both hands. Zhou Mindan's unruly face flushed red in an instant, and she bristled, "Let go of me first!"

She deliberately put on a stern face and began to negotiate with Chu He: "Although it's been a while, it should be at my parents' place. If I look, I can probably still find it. But why should I help you look for free? Unless..."

Chu He found the kid rather funny inwardly, but her face still showed anxious eagerness: "Just say what you want, as long as I can do it, I will do everything I can."

Zhou Mindan stared at Chu He's face for several seconds, then turned her head away, a little embarrassed, and spat out a sentence very quickly and mumbled: "Unless... you be my girlfriend."

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next