Smile Code (Lost Laughter) 失笑 - Zhu Le 祖乐

15

Public opinion has cleared up, and nothing spreads faster than the xx video.

Gu Yi looked at Guan Xingxin, who had a calm expression, even somewhat hesitant, and suddenly thought she seemed a bit eerie. Perhaps it was because she was always around Liang Daiwen, a person whose pupils were pitch black and empty, and this kind of gaze felt like raindrops hitting the face-it's not painful, but it instinctively makes you alert.

However, Guan Xingxin didn't feel it. She furrowed her brows slightly and said, "I don't know what to do. I only have some chat records where he insists he's single. After his wife caused a scene, he deleted me from WeChat, but still kept a chat app called 'Lovedate.' The app only has him on it because it's hidden under the work-related app category, so his wife hasn't found it. He insists that he has no feelings for his wife, but because of the public attention, divorcing would be bad for me, so he wants me to wait for a while, and once the storm passes, he'll come to find me. And... well, once the public opinion settles, he can make more money from fans and give me a better life..." Guan Xingxin took a breath. "But I don't care about whether he has money. I can support myself."

There were too many things wrong, and Gu Yi almost didn't know where to begin. She was silent for a few seconds and then said, "Do you know? If you still love him after hearing that, and putting aside his character, that... it's really insulting to your appearance."

"I look like this. The only thing I seem to attract are some weird men. It doesn't seem to be useful for anything else."

This did impress Gu Yi. At least she had a clear understanding of herself-not foolishly obsessed with a man, nor arrogantly relying on her looks to win affection. There was a kind of beauty in her, where even when heartbroken, she was still above her friends.

She looked at the screen Guan Xingxin handed her, scrolled through a few pages, and began to get a headache. The texts-"Baby, I really didn't mean to lie to you. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do." "There's only familial love left between me and her. I can't get aroused in front of her anymore." "I think about you all the time. Can you give me a little time to solve this? Can't you give me that little bit of time?"-were interspersed with emotional manipulation. Sweet words and promises were not "solid evidence"; if Guan Xingxin tried to turn the situation around using these, she was only pushing herself further into a deep abyss.

"So... is there any way to get revenge?"

Gu Yi scratched her head. "What kind of result do you want..."

"He's still making money off fans. I want him to get hurt by it. His wife thinks I ruined her family, and I'm unwilling... but as a woman, I don't want to make her suffer."

A family member of a patient passed by in the hallway, and the two girls fell silent. The night was still long. Liang Daiwen sent a message, a photo of him working overtime. Gu Yi couldn't help but laugh. What did this mean? A gesture showing his soul is with me?

Guan Xingxin just leaned against the bench in the corridor, lost in thought. She was so tired that Gu Yi leaned against the wall and said, "Aren't you afraid of brain damage from inhaling charcoal? I feel uncomfortable just from smelling it."

"To be honest? I don't feel much, I actually feel relieved."

Gu Yi looked up at the white lights. There were dead flies in the lampshade, and the mottled pattern didn't affect the brightness. It felt like hearing pebbles fall into a river, breaking the silence-thunk, thunk. Was this the feeling of a soul being disturbed?

She remembered Liang Daiwen often looked up at the lights too.

Back in the office, Gu Yi stared at the saved screenshots, lost in thought. After reading sweet talk for so long, she was sick of it. The man was unoriginal; what seemed like beautiful words were just song lyrics. A music blogger quoting a mix of Magic Rock's Three Giants, Chen Qizhen, My Little Airport-huge spans, showing no culture. As evidence, "proof" was like scratching an itch. Gu Yi thought, an experienced scumbag like him, if he collects other ambiguous relationships, maybe they could form a victim's alliance. And the little fan girls on Weibo, looking at their accounts, all seemed unimpressive. Could he really only like Guan Xingxin?