Smile Code (Lost Laughter) 失笑 - Zhu Le 祖乐

55

I approach you stiffly, having chosen you to save me.

It seemed that the brick had really made Liang Daiwen give up. Expecting a few more rounds of push and pull, Liang Daiwen suddenly went silent. Gu Yi, typing halfway, found her phone quiet and felt a bit unaccustomed. But she wouldn't take the initiative to contact Liang Daiwen, even though her longing had already changed into something unrecognizable.

Due to the popularity of the band program, brand events began inviting British bands to participate in exhibitions. "One Week" would release interviews to match the event, and candidates needed to be discussed. A group of people were picking members for the band, unaware that after the variety show, it would be hard to get any band invites. The official communication from the brand would be blocked by agents, and during meetings, Pony was still fretting. Jacqueline suggested that this invitation work should be handled by Lindsey. Gu Yi wanted to complain, thinking that if they wanted her to bother Xu Guanrui, they might as well say so directly.

Xu Guanrui replied quickly: "This year, the second season of the band program will feature a British band, very young, and I have a good relationship with them privately, but they're not famous enough yet. You probably won't want to invite them, but once they appear on the show, it'll be hard to get them for events."

"Letting luxury brands ignore traffic, like parents who don't care about their kids' grades, which lie is more ridiculous?" Gu Yi retorted, "You said the band's fans are like me, so I'll just do stand-up comedy at the event."

"There's also a band from the first season that was very popular. A brochure? I'll contact them for you. I can't guarantee success, but I'll try my best."

After Gu Yi sent the PDF, she specifically mentioned that this kind of show would definitely interest them, since it was prestigious enough, with magazines featuring cross-page interviews-celebrities were hard to book. Xu Guanrui said it wasn't necessarily the case, as these people were into rock, and who knew what they might do.

On the surface, he said this, but Xu Guanrui never failed to meet her expectations. In the end, he casually said it was taken care of, though it would take a lot of time, phone calls, favors, and coordinating performance venue schedules... Jacqueline must have been sure Xu Guanrui would help Gu Yi with this task, just like he had helped her in the past.

The band's schedule was finally confirmed, and the process with the organizers was set. The hotel, makeup, and styling team details were sent in the group chat, and enough time was reserved for interviews and photos. A row of thumbs-up appeared in the chat, and Gu Yi thought to herself that these people, including Jacqueline, were shamelessly taking advantage. At the critical moment when Liang Daiwen had taken advantage of Xu Guanrui's efforts, it still felt like a refusal, even though Xu Guanrui had helped her out. Xu Guanrui didn't accept her thanks, nor did he ask her to join for lunch, which left Gu Yi a bit puzzled. During the lunch break, she called Xu Guanrui, and he sounded like he had just woken up: "I hurt my back while checking the venue yesterday."

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine. I was working overtime and even playing mahjong with the band. I can't get up today."

"Then I'll come find you."

"...Do you really have to come over?" Xu Guanrui sounded a bit troubled. "My place is a mess."

"What's our relationship? And you're definitely losing to me in terms of mess," Gu Yi sent a photo of her bedroom, piled high with clothes. "Don't worry, I'm just bringing you some food."

Gu Yi knocked on the door with porridge in hand. Xu Guanrui smiled awkwardly, holding his waist as he sat down in the living room. Gu Yi was stunned by the sight in front of her. Xu Guanrui's living room and bedroom walls were completely covered with vinyl records and CDs, densely packed to form a unique wall design. If Liang Daiwen's home tried to create a lively atmosphere with various homely things, Xu Guanrui's place, with its walls stacked with records, had too deep a color, obsessively lacking warmth. It was completely different from his outward appearance-earlier, when she had called him a "scumbag," it felt more like a misjudgment of her own.