Smile Code (Lost Laughter) 失笑 - Zhu Le 祖乐

42

Tucking away-my pride, courage, and resolve.

Xu Guanrui didn't continue the conversation. Instead, he pulled a long-out-of-print CD out of his bag.

"The first one's for you. The album you like-I found it."

It was a 1996 R&B single. Gu Yi's eyes widened with amazement when she saw it.

"How did you manage this?"

"I found it second-hand on Amazon. Placed the order and waited for the seller to ship it to a nearby convenience store. But the shipping was too slow. I ended up canceling my flight and extending my stay at a guesthouse. Then, to get it to you sooner, I took a red-eye flight back on a budget airline."

Holding the CD, Gu Yi felt a twinge of sadness.

"Don't treat me this well."

"We're comrades, aren't we? Whatever you want, I'll agree to it. Besides, golden-era CDs are worth the wait. The waiting feels like someone is entrusting you with the cherished memories of their golden years because they know you'll treasure it. Every moment is filled with anticipation-like a meandering but overdue connection. Music and people work the same way."

Gu Yi looked at Xu Guanrui. He could find poetic romance in anything, as if innocence was etched into his very being. Compared to before, he now hid his anticipation. Maybe Jacqueline had taught him restraint. Thinking of this, Gu Yi said, "My big boss-my personal demon king-hasn't been feeling well lately. Took three days of sick leave and looks like they've lost a lot of weight."

The person in front of her remained indifferent, busy typing on his laptop.

"Oh, really? By the way, your comic idea is pretty interesting. Want to do illustrations for my music review column? Come up with a cool name for it."

"You'd better find a professional illustrator. My drawing is terrible."

"It's the imperfections that make it unique. Don't you realize how precious unique things are in this world? They have this uncanny ability to heal the moments when people grow weary of life."

Gu Yi managed to escape the emotional moment with ease.

"Alright, alright, enough with the roundabout way of calling me ugly."

Close to midnight, Gu Yi was on the phone with Guan Xingxin. Her voice grew louder and louder as she tried to defend herself.

"The thing with the chest stickers-it wasn't intentional! I mean, in that moment, I wanted to kiss too! How could I have known something like that would happen..."

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized something, opened the door to glance at the camera, and then went back to her bedroom, closing the door tightly. The old house had poor soundproofing; Liang Daiwen couldn't overhear-who knew if he might be eavesdropping through the camera.

The night-vision camera emitted a faint circle of light. It had indeed served as an effective deterrent; even the footsteps of delivery workers coming to the sixth floor had grown lighter. The small red glow in the darkness seemed like a patient presence from another world, endlessly watching.

Back in her room, Guan Xingxin's voice sounded a little downcast. She had just finished a live stream, probably got scolded again, and her tone felt distracted. Her voice was naturally low-pitched, perfectly matching her Showa-era features. But for her streams, she had to modulate her voice into a mix of seductive and innocent tones. Yu Dule, having heard too many of her streams during his visits, often felt uncomfortable. This time, he went out and didn't come back. With the speakerphone on, Gu Yi, who was drawing comics, asked Guan Xingxin,