Wedge

  At midnight, Gu Changjun was still typing away on his computer... He wasn't working overtime. As a professional writer, it's perfectly normal for him to work at this hour. These days, the noise during the day is just too much, especially since everyone started buying cars. And like many people these days, Gu Changjun always felt groggy and lethargic during the day - not exactly the best state of mind for creative work... Even if he was only writing crap online articles... So nighttime became his working hours. For a monthly income of one or two thousand yuan, he'd turned night into day, confusing black with white.

  "Gu Changjun picked up the long sword on the ground and lightly drew a sword flower..."

  Gu Zhangjun's fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out his wuxia novel at an incredible pace. The main character shared his name, making it a sort of "self-insert" work. Even so, he was writing stories that had been swirling in his head since childhood. However, despite his efforts, the click and subscription numbers were still dismal. This made him extremely unhappy. He couldn't understand why, with a name only one character different from famous director Gu Changwei and Republican-era diplomat Gu Weijun, he was doing so much worse than them. No matter how unhappy he was, he could only mutter to himself... no time for that. With insufficient subscription numbers, if he didn't make up for it with word count, his income would inevitably plummet. He barely had any money on hand, so starting a new book wasn't an option. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather he didn't dare... what if the new book flopped or was also poorly received by readers? Wouldn't he have wasted several months of time for nothing? By then, he might even be evicted by his landlord for failing to pay rent.

  ……

  "As soon as I see you, I'm in a good mood. No need to warm up, my heart is already open. Because our eyes and ears have an unspoken understanding. You know how well I understand you. With you, I'm always in a good mood..."

  ……

  "Gu Changjian's sword soars through the air..."

  Gu Changjun was writing about "himself" showing off his divine might, and was just about to make a sword shine brightly across the nineteen provinces. But then the phone suddenly rang. In the middle of the night, the sudden sound startled him.

  "What's wrong? Calling at midnight? Don't you know I'm busy?"

  He picked up the phone, looked at the caller ID, and Gu Changjun pressed the answer button, but his tone was very rude.

  "Old Gu? Are you Old Gu? You really are Old Gu? ——"

  On the other end of the phone, there was no response to his bad manners, but instead a shrill scream came through, as if extremely excited.

  "Nonsense. Of course it's me. What's up? Are you sick or something?" Gu Zhangjin furrowed his brow, knowing exactly who was on the other end of the phone. Like him, that guy was also a writer, similarly struggling to make ends meet, barely scraping by. The two were quite familiar with each other, having attended the same school, shared a dormitory, and even worked together at the same company for three years. Later, due to certain reasons, they both lost their jobs and, unable to find new employment, ended up joining the writing industry almost simultaneously.

  "Old Guo, Old Guo, wu wu..."

  Gu Zhangjun was furious because he was interrupted, but what he didn't expect was that the person on the other end of the phone suddenly burst into tears... The sound was heart-wrenching.

  "What's wrong?" Gu Changjun was startled, "Were you kicked out by your landlord?"

  "Uhh..." The head seemed to twitch its nose, "Old Gu - save me!"

  "I... " got it, the new book must be bad, no income, and was kicked out by the landlord. Gu Changjun sighed: "Then come over... anyway, I only have a bed here, you can come over and make a makeshift bed on the floor, barely enough space."

  "Not... " The head seemed to wipe away another tear, "Old Gu, I've worn..."

  "Nonsense, are you going to strip naked and go out?!" Gu Zhangyu rolled his eyes, "Brother, although we're down on our luck, we haven't stooped to the level of performance art, especially this kind of cheap performance art... You're not into that sort of thing either."

  "I said I wore——" The head suddenly shouted.

  "I know..."

  "Crossing——"

  "Oh? Which dynasty? Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, or Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, Northern and Southern Dynasties?" Gu Changjun thought he should comfort his old friend, "Now that the tide of time-traveling is surging, it's actually a good opportunity to get into the topic."

  "Republic!" He said calmly.

  "Republic of China? How is it again Republic of China? ... Early stage, mid-term, or late stage?" Gu Changjun asked casually.

  "Fight the war!" "Hiss..." Pretending to take a deep breath, Gu Zhangyu smacked his lips again, "Those years were indeed cruel. Not that I'm saying you, brother, but you don't seem to be very good at writing military literature either? This stuff is not easy to write." "I am now in the Republic of China's Chongqing Chaotianmen Dock, it's August 1938." The other person replied slowly, with a hint of grinding teeth.

  "Chongqing? So you're thinking of joining the National Government? Well, it's possible. People like us who can endure hardships and withstand the cruel class struggles in the future are not many, but those who join the National Government will definitely not have a good outcome... Old Qin, what do you plan to achieve in the end? You won't stay in the country, that's for sure. Are you going to Taiwan to cause trouble with old Chiang, or go somewhere else to become a rich man, or simply go to America to snatch the rice bowls of Rockefeller and Morgan?" Gu Changjun asked with a smile.

  "Old Gu, my phone is almost out of battery, I'm seriously warning you now, don't spout nonsense to me... I know I might not be able to come back, and you can't save me either. But right now, I really am at Chongqing Chaotianmen Dock, and the time really is August 1938... damn it, I really did travel through time!"

  "Did you really time-travel?"

  "Mmm! Mmmm!"

  "That is to say, you weren't actually driven out by the landlord, but rather came to find me in the middle of the night because you were bored? Old Gu was slightly irritated. I'm busy making a living, and I specially took your call to comfort you, but you're actually playing with me: 'Brother, isn't it obvious that I'm very busy? This is my work time!'"

  "I've traveled through time!" The old man still didn't believe it and shouted in a hurry.

  "My old man is also wearing one, and he just broke Ye Gu Cheng's 'Tian Wai Fei Xian' (Heavenly Flying Immortal), so what does that have to do with anything?" Old Gu retorted back.

  "You...". He choked for a moment, and after a while, he continued: "Old Gu, I'm really in trouble. If you're free tomorrow, come to my place and help me sort out the stuff. Take what you like, and do whatever you want with what you don't like... just don't tell my family. As for the rest..."

  "Beep beep beep..."

  "The other party has already hung up!"

  A mechanical voice sounded in his ear, and Old Gu was taken aback for a moment before he snorted.

  "It's all written, it's not April Fool's Day, playing such a nasty prank, who are you kidding..."

  He put down the phone and Mr. Gu's hands returned to the keyboard.