27

  That night, the moon was indeed very round. After Liu Xi left, I stood on the balcony and blew a cold wind. Beijing has a big temperature difference between day and night, and the autumn wind blowing on my body was still quite chilling.

  I feel a sense of loss, unable to express it clearly. This feeling is like having an older brother who has always been dependent on you, but now he's getting married and starting his own family. Even though he's still your brother, the closeness between you two will never be the same again.

  Liu Xi's words made me start thinking about my relationship with Fu An Dong. Before this, I had never realized how deeply dependent on him I was. All these years, I had grown accustomed to having Fu An Dong by my side - he would annoy me, tease me, take care of me, and be there for me when I needed companionship. This tacit understanding didn't need words to be acknowledged.

  In those years in Britain, it seemed that the only connection I had with home was Pai An Dong. I would unreservedly and unconditionally release my emotions in front of him.

  Fu An Dong this person, he has always been there. Even if the world collapses, this person will still be there.

  We never talked about that kiss on Christmas Eve of our first year again, it shouldn't be love.

  In my second year in London, I met a good-looking British-born Chinese named Davis at a friend's gathering. He grew up in Hong Kong and was quite humorous, working as a sales manager for a company.

  I mentioned Davis with Fu Andong and I told Fu Andong that I quite like him.

  Fu An Dong's laughter came through the phone after a long time: "Then let's go."

  When it was time to hang up the phone, Fu Andong said to me: "Hey, I've got a girlfriend, are you coming back this year? When you come back, I'll introduce her to you. She's especially pretty, with legs even longer than Miss World."

  I said: "So beautiful? Send a photo and let me take a look first."

  The phone had just hung up, and there was a "ding" sound in the mailbox, indicating that there was a new email.

  It's a photo, in which Fu An Dong is standing by the West Lake with a pretty girl, who is wearing very short hot pants and has a fiery figure. Standing together with Fu An Dong, she really gives off a wolf-like beauty vibe.

  We call this Female One.

  When I was 25 years old, I returned to China and met Liu Xi. She was the most innocent one among his girlfriends and also the one with the largest age difference from him.

  When I was deeply in love with Lu You, I often imagined what my life would be like without him and felt that I wouldn't be able to survive. After something happened to my dad, when I thought about the question of what my life would be like without Lu You again, I found that he had already disappeared from my life. But I never thought about what my life would be like without Pei An Dong because I had never assumed that he would disappear from my life.

  But you find that this assumption has a reason to exist, and I still have to think about it. That night, I stayed up all night, feeling empty inside. I curled up on the couch and watched movies all night, re-watching a film called "My Best Friend's Wedding".

  It's about a girl who is about to attend her best friend's wedding, but discovers that she has been in love with him all these years. She tries every means to stop him from marrying the one he loves, but eventually realizes that they missed each other at the most exciting moment, and her best friend already has someone deeply in love with her. She calmly congratulates them.

  While watching her, I thought the female lead was quite deserving of this. If she couldn't bear to part with him, why didn't she keep him by her side earlier? She only started getting anxious when someone else came to snatch him away.

  The next day at work, Fu Andong called me: "Did Liu Xi come to see you last night?"

  I said helplessly: "Don't use the company phone to discuss personal matters, the company phone is being monitored."

  Fu An Dong heard the nasal tone in my voice: "Sounds like you have a cold?"

  Yesterday I was blown by such a cold wind and got a bit of a headache. "Huh, Liu Xi found me last night, I explained it to him."

  "How should I put it?" He seemed eager to hear me recount the original story.

  "Explain our innocence." I said casually.

  "Oh, she made up with me last night. We're fine now, take care of that cold of yours, I have some medicine here, I'll send it over to you slowly."

  "No need, I've already eaten."

  "Liu Xi also invited you to have a barbecue together this weekend."

  I'm quite puzzled: "With you two?"

  "Right, in a villa in the suburbs, the scenery is particularly good, looking out is just the grassland. You, coming from rural England, must not have seen such a thing, come and take a look."

  "I flatly refused: 'Forget it, I have something on. You should focus on your own business too, I've had enough for today.'"

  Ten minutes later, Liu Xi called me and her tone suddenly became very friendly, as if I were her own sister: "Shen Shen, Ah Dong and I are going to the suburbs for a barbecue this weekend, want to come together?"

  I'm still a bit stunned, last night they told me to keep a distance from Andong, but this morning they happily invited me to join their couple's activity. These two are like a theatrical performance, one show today and another tomorrow.

  "I said: 'Forget it, just go.'"

  "Go on, go on! You haven't tried my BBQ sauce before, it's especially delicious. Give me some face."

  Finally, I couldn't resist her enthusiasm and agreed to go take a look.

  After lunch, the department leader called me over and reminded me: "Little Liu, after the campus recruitment is busy, Christmas is coming soon. Our company needs to hold a year-end party. Can you help organize it?"

  I said: "Director Sun, isn't the annual meeting organized by the Planning Department?"

  "It's not always the case, every year our departments will have someone to take the lead in doing this. This year we want you to be the host, so if you're willing, can you help organize it?"

  I hastily waved my hand in refusal: "I'm not suitable for being a host."

  Director Sun smiled: "How can't it be done? You look so beautiful. Are you asking this old man to host?"

  This matter has been settled, I have given each department a hard target, and each department must produce at least two programs, with no limit on the subject matter.

  Fu An Dong and his friends chose a villa in a resort on the outskirts of Beijing, which is a golf resort village with vast lawns. The villa adopts the style of Huizhou architecture, with layers of buildings and courtyards, giving off a somewhat Jiangnan town feel that doesn't quite fit with the rough and rugged Beijing style.

  It's not just about barbecue.

  Because at present there is another man in the villa besides us two.

  Liu Xi enthusiastically introduced us to each other. The man opposite, wearing a white polo shirt and striped trousers, with pointed-toe retro hollow-out sneakers, was Zeng He Xian, a university classmate of one of her friends.

  He extended his hand, a formal smile on his lips: "Hello, I'm Zeng He Xian, you can call me Brian."

  I turned around and took a look at Fu Andong, who was also slightly surprised, and was also an outsider to this "blind date" arrangement.

  I shook hands with this gentleman who exuded a "playboy" aura from head to toe: "Hello, I'm Xu Shenshen."

  Zeng He Xian seemed to savor my name, saying with deep meaning: "What a nice name, the courtyard is deep and secluded, and it matches the temperament of our house quite well."

  After finishing speaking, the three people left in the room all fell silent, exchanging awkward smiles with each other.

  "Liu Xi stepped in to salvage the situation: 'Brian, it's your first time meeting her and you're being too direct, you'll scare all the girls away.'"

  I awkwardly said: "Nothing..."

  Zeng He Xian slapped his forehead and suddenly said: "Ah, sorry, I haven't hit on a girl for too long."

  Fu An Dong coughed twice and asked him: "Don't you have any other friends coming?"

  "Uh, they have something urgent and can't make it. It's just me now." He turned to ask me: "You guys don't mind, do you?"

  "Of course I don't mind."

  Liu Xi said: "At noon, okay, male comrades go and light the fire, I'll help Shenshen arrange things."

  I and Liu Xi strung the marinated meat on the iron wire, then spread out the tablecloth. We went to the trunk to fetch ice and beer. Liu Xi smiled: "Don't look at Brian like that, he's actually a good person."

  I replied, "Yeah, you look pretty good."

  Liu Xi said with a smile: "He just returned from the US after completing his MBA, and he doesn't have a girlfriend. I think you two are quite suitable for each other. The only question is whether you like this type of guy?"

  I pretended to be interested and asked: "What kind of person is he?"

  "He's very generous and has a good temperament, his family is in real estate, they have several houses in Beijing. Now he's starting his own business doing e-commerce, hotel reservations and that sort of thing, he has his own ideas. He's different from the usual second-generation rich kids, he's got a lot of drive."

  I must thank Liu Xi, she probably introduced me to the best men in her circle. Also, her point of "different from the usual rich second generation, quite aggressive" is probably based on "Fu An Dong represents all rich second generations".

  I narrowed my eyes and smiled: "Hehe, okay."

  The skewers on the grill sizzled with oil, and Liu Xidi's barbecue sauce was indeed fragrant, enticing the greedy worms in people's stomachs.

  It wasn't long before the surface of the chicken wings turned golden brown. I couldn't wait to grab one, but Fan Dong slapped my hand away: "This is a hot wire, try touching it and you'll be crying." After that, he used tongs to put the meat on a plate and handed it to me: "Take it."

  "Why don't you guys eat first, I'll get a new one for myself."

  Fu An Dong said disdainfully: "I won't eat it, your saliva just fell on it earlier."

  I grabbed the plate and said, "If you're not going to eat it, forget it."

  Zeng He Xian was talking about his interesting experiences of traveling around the world for a year after quitting his job at the dinner table. I don't know if it's because of my preconceived notions, but no matter how I look at him, I feel like there are two big words written on his forehead: "showing off".

  After finishing dinner, everyone started playing Texas Hold'em.

  To say that Fan Dong has been working for so many years and has gradually become stable, but from playing cards, his card road is just three words: purely giving money.

  No matter how small the bet, he followed suit. A high card and my flush both made it to the final round of betting. After just a few rounds, Anton had already lost half an LV wallet on the table.

  If someone like Fang Andong becomes the investment director of our asset management department, I will never buy our company's products in this lifetime.

  I reminded him: "Director Fu, can you take a look at the card? Or are you here to do charity today?"

  Fan An Dong's eyes turned red, and he pushed all his chips in, staring at me: "This is called being bold. Playing like you do, when will you ever make a lot of money?"

  After flipping the cards, Zeng He Xian had a gourd, Fu An Dong had a straight flush, and he lost all his money.

  I rubbed my temples and sighed: "Brother, you dare to move forward."

  Two hours later, Fu Andong had lost all his pants.

  At this time, the sky was gradually darkening, and everyone was a bit tired. Liu Xi said: "Why don't we take a rest?"

  I said: "Alright, otherwise your husband will be going back naked tomorrow."

  Everyone burst out laughing, and Liu Xi coquettishly said to Fu Andong: "Adong, shall we drive around and enjoy the breeze? The golf course is really beautiful."

  Fu An Dong hastily picked up the conversation and said: "Alright alright, let's go take a look together."

  Liu Xi held his arm and asked Zeng He Xian: "Brian, didn't you also drive here? Otherwise, would you bring Shenshen or not?"

  Fu An Dong said: "Driving two cars is too much trouble, let's just go together."

  Zeng He Xian and I chimed in unison: "No need, otherwise I'll ride in Brian's car (with deep seats)."

  Zeng He Xian was driving a white Range Rover, as flashy as ever.

  He told me about the scene of watching the Great Migration in Africa: "Those antelopes were running on both sides of your car, and if you opened the window and stretched out your hand, you might even touch their horns, it was so thrilling."

  I asked him: "Then if you stop the car, won't the sheep in the back crash into us? The thought of it is quite gruesome."

  He burst out laughing: "That hasn't happened, but I did get kicked by a horse on the grasslands once. Take a look."

  He gestured to his abdomen.

  I was taken aback: "Huh?"

  Zeng He Xian held the steering wheel with one hand and lifted his clothes with the other, revealing a long scar on his lower abdomen that looked quite hideous.

  I originally thought what he said earlier was all nonsense, but it turned out to be all true, and I suddenly had a different impression of the person in front of me.

  "It looks quite deep. Is it in Inner Mongolia?"

  He smiled: "No, in Kenya, that zebra looked quite tame and easy to bully. My hands were itchy, I went up and plucked a handful of hair from his tail, good guy, immediately jumped up and yelled, kicked me hard with one foot. But I still have to thank him, if he had kicked a few more centimeters down, my lower half would have been ruined for the rest of my life. When people talk about it later, it's said that I was kicked by a horse into impotence. This is what's called embarrassing."

  He made me laugh out loud with that, "Well, this one's quite hurtful too."

  He nodded: "Yes, dozens of stitches. But on Lao Hei's turf, these dozens of stitches are nothing. I bled a lot at the time and really thought I was going to become the first person to be kicked to death by a zebra since the founding of New China. But Lao Hei gave me a glance, and I almost fainted. He patted me awake and told me their anesthesia is quite expensive, asking if I wanted it. I said no way, I'd rather die in pain than get anesthetized."

  I smiled: "I didn't expect you to have such a rich experience."

  Zeng He Xian turned his head to look at me: "Why? Do I look like someone who is inexperienced in the ways of the world?"

  I nodded: "Well, doesn't seem like a loser's temperament."

  He said: "Can I take this as a compliment? Thank you."

  This morning, I looked out of the window and saw that half of the sky was dark, with the sunset hanging on the horizon. In the distance, there were gentle lines of plains, and nearby, the grasslands were dyed with the remaining glow of the sun. The scene was very grand, and it made one's mood much more cheerful.

  "What a beautiful view!"

  Zeng He Xian said: "Yes, our motherland is really a good place."

  The weather is a bit cool and I was originally a bit sick with a cold, so I kept sneezing.

  Zeng He Xian said: "Get back in the car, it's cool outside."

  We sat back in the car and he turned on some music. It was pretty quiet around us, so I asked him: "I think your lifestyle is quite Westernized, not many people go out to play like this."

  He said: "Others don't go out and play because they have family, I'm free and easy. Now my classmates' kids all call me uncle."

  I agree with him: "Yes, our company's interns are all born in 1990. Looking at them makes me feel ashamed."

  "You don't have to be embarrassed, you're small in stature. It's our first meeting today, I thought you were Liu Xi's classmate."

  I laughed and said: "This sounds so fake!"

  "Sincerely speaking. I found that I'm quite disadvantaged, why do people think I'm bragging every time I tell the truth? Is my image really that reliable? By the way, leave a phone number and let's keep in touch later."

  I exchanged phone numbers with Zeng He Xian and then lingered for a while before driving back to the villa.

  Afterwards, Liu Xi privately told me that Zeng He Xian had a pretty good impression of me and I could give it a try. I smiled and agreed. In Liu Xi's eyes, I was probably already classified as a leftover woman.

  The annual meeting was set on the day after Christmas, and the company booked a bar called "Judy" in Beijing's Bar Street. I had been to this bar several times, it has a classic European decorative style, with intricate crystal chandeliers hanging from the pointed roof, colorful stained glass windows reflecting colorful lights, and rose reliefs can be seen everywhere, which is very suitable for holding annual meetings.

  I was disappointed because among the two male and two female hosts, one of them was Wu Sha.

  Her makeup was beautiful, wearing a black cheongsam dress, her long hair tied up with a golden hairband, and all the male colleagues in our company stared with their eyes wide open.

  I went to the bathroom to touch up my makeup, and I was wearing new shoes that were very uncomfortable. When I came out, I wasn't careful and almost slipped and fell, but luckily I bumped into someone instead. The person caught me and said "be careful".

  I looked up, it was Lu You. He wore a black striped shirt, which made his skin look even whiter, and there was a faint scent of aftershave on him.

  Time really does change a person. When did even Lu You start using perfume?

  "He pointed to his lips: 'Lipstick.'"

  I went "Huh?"

  "There is lipstick here."

  I came to myself and hastily wiped my lips with my hand.

  Lu You stretched out his hand and gently wiped my lips: "Alright." As soon as he finished this action, both of them were stunned.

  "Oh, thank you." She hastily thanked him and brushed past him to leave.

  The annual meeting starts at 6 o'clock and lasts until 12 o'clock. The arrangement is to have dinner first, followed by performances from each department, and finally everyone chats with each other.

  Many employees in the company are multi-talented. Zhang Qiu from our department even performed a hat dance, which was truly stunning.

  The program of the investment bank department naturally ended with Wu Sha. In fact, she didn't even need to perform, just standing in the middle of that stage was enough to be eye-catching.

  Wu Sha held the microphone and said softly: "The next song, I'd like to invite a gentleman from our department to come up and sing with me."

  No wonder he's the host, the atmosphere was immediately lifted. I took a glance at the audience below, and the gentlemen from the investment banking department were all sitting up straight, their backs stiffened, waiting for the reveal.

  Wu Sha smiled faintly in the corner of the back row: "Director Lu?"

  A burst of applause, the whole company started shouting "Director Lu, Director Lu!"

  Lu You didn't get up and pushed it off, saying: "I won't do it, Mac, you go."

  The cheers rose and fell in waves, as if everyone was very interested in this combination. The host led the crowd in shouting: "Director Lu, come on! Director Lu, sing one!"

  Not holding out for too long, Lu You was probably also embarrassed to leave the beautiful woman hanging there, and finally got up and walked onto the stage amidst everyone's cheers.

  I'm also quite curious about what it's like when Lu You sings a song, I've never actually heard him sing before.

  Wu Sha and Lu You deliberated for a while and chose "Love in Hiroshima".

  The music started, the lights shone on them, Wu Sha looked at Lu You, and her singing voice was sweet.

  Zhang Qiu next to me nudged me with his elbow and whispered: "I think the little girl has a crush on Director Lu."

  "Is there?"

  "Yes, when submitting the program list earlier, she said she wanted to perform with Director Lu together."

  A male voice sounded, and I looked up to see Lu You on the stage. It was like a dream come true. He now knew how to wear a crisp striped shirt, put on simple silver cufflinks, and effortlessly sang love songs with the girl on stage.

  What changed him?

  I know it's definitely not me. Although I once hoped he was a person who understood sentiment and romance, at least I didn't catch up with this person's change. There is a saying: The previous generation plants trees, the next generation enjoys the shade.

  The song ended, applause erupted, and the audience below started shouting: "Hug one, hug one!"

  The two people on stage today seem to have coordinated their clothes, and they match quite well.

  Lu Youchong smiled at everyone and prepared to leave the stage.

  Wu Sha spread her arms open and said, "Then let's respond to the people's call?"

  It seemed to have been a stalemate on the scene for a while, and Lu You had already stepped down from the stage with one foot. He turned his head to look at Wu Sha in surprise, then immediately went offstage and patted Mike's shoulder: "I've had the good fortune of singing a song with the beautiful hostess, next it should be passed on to our department's youngest comrade Mike."

  Mike's mouth corners were raised to his ears, "Thank you, boss, I'll work hard next year." After finishing speaking, he happily ran onto the stage to hug Wu Sha.

  Everyone started laughing again.