The Opportunity Was Gone

After that day, Shu Sizhuo never contacted Tong Zhao again, nor did they happen to run into each other. Instead, Zhang Yi'an was moving.

"Why so suddenly?" Tong Zhao asked as he wrapped a cardboard box in plastic.

"I don't know." Zhang Yi'an looked miserable. "The landlord suddenly wants the place back. He even paid me compensation for breaking the lease and told me I had to move out within three days."

Tong Zhao found it baffling. "Have you found somewhere to live, then?"

Zhang Yi'an gave a hollow laugh. "Would you believe he's already found me a place? The rent's the same, and it's bigger than this one and closer to the city center."

"He's surprisingly nice," Tong Zhao said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Zhang Yi'an was still dejected. "I just hate to leave you."

"You can come see me, and I can come see you. We'll still be friends even if we live apart." Tong Zhao tore off a strip of tape and finished packing a box.

"Really?" Zhang Yi'an's eyes lit up. "Then when I invite you over to watch horror movies, don't turn me down!"

"Sure." Tong Zhao smiled. "How come you're such a scaredy-cat but still love watching them?"

In the days when Shu Sizhuo hadn't contacted him, Tong Zhao had missed him quite a bit.

Although Shu Sizhuo's bad habit of keeping little lovers made Tong Zhao angry—very angry—he had, after all, looked after Shu Sizhuo when he was eleven. He felt a certain responsibility for him, like an elder, if not more so, and couldn't help favoring him. He couldn't really hold it against Shu Sizhuo.

Besides, if he traced how Shu Sizhuo had ended up like this back to its source, he himself was also to blame for turning him gay.

He had been possessed, overcome by lust, harboring ill intentions and utterly selfish.

Tong Zhao hated himself, but he didn't regret it.

Even if it was selfish, he still wanted to keep that memory secretly tucked away.

The city hospital was packed on the weekend. In a four-bed ward, Tong Zhao got up and closed the drip line, then opened another with his thumb and flicked it. Only after he saw the saline dripping normally did he sit back down.

Grandpa Shi had fallen asleep, and Tong Zhao tucked the corners of his blanket in. The auntie in the next bed had no children visiting and was bored, so she caught Tong Zhao for a long chat, declaring that she would introduce him to a girlfriend.

Tong Zhao peeled an apple for the auntie and smiled as he humored her.

Before long, Shi Ruohe came into the room carrying two bags, out of breath. He glanced at his grandfather in the hospital bed and quietly asked Tong Zhao, "Is he asleep?"

"Mm, he hasn't been asleep long," Tong Zhao replied.

Grandpa Shi had suddenly felt unwell that morning, and Shi Ruohe had rushed him to the hospital. Between registering him, collecting his medicine and looking after him, Shi Ruohe couldn't manage it all, so he had reluctantly asked Tong Zhao for help.

Tong Zhao had rushed to the hospital without another word and helped get Grandpa Shi admitted. Once his grandfather was on a saline drip, Shi Ruohe hurried home to fetch some changes of clothes.

Shi Ruohe asked Tong Zhao, "Are you hungry? Why don't you go get something to eat first?"

Tong Zhao stretched and got up. "Sure. I'll go eat, get you something to take back, and pick up a bowl of congee for Grandpa while I'm at it."

Shi Ruohe was overcome with gratitude. "Thank you, Tong Zhao."

Grandpa Shi had to stay in the hospital for five days, and Shi Ruohe had to look after him personally. He couldn't go to the company for the next few days, so he asked Tong Zhao to request leave for him.

When Tong Zhao got to the company on Monday, he went to Sister Wan's office. As soon as he entered, he saw her on the phone, looking grave. She gave him a heavy glance, and Tong Zhao had a bad feeling.

After Sister Wan ended the call, she looked at Tong Zhao with a complicated expression. "The script for that urban drama—we were supposed to sign the contract in the next couple of days, but President Lu just called to say the deal was off. He said you two offended someone higher up. Tong Zhao, who did you offend?"

Almost instantly, Tong Zhao thought of Shu Sizhuo. But he was reluctant to believe it, reluctant to believe that Shu Sizhuo had cut off his opportunities simply because he hadn't agreed to his request.

Sister Wan was furious. Holding her forehead, she said, "We went to the dinners, drank the drinks and spent the money, and the opportunity slipped through our fingers when it was practically ours! Even if it was only the third or fourth male lead, it was still a major IP. I'm not worried about you after missing this chance, but what about Shi Ruohe? With that wooden head of his, I can't even sell him no matter how hard I try!"

She looked up and saw Tong Zhao's pale face. Puzzled, she asked, "Who on earth did you two offend in just a few days?"

Tong Zhao pulled up the number Shu Sizhuo had called him from that night and dialed it furiously.

After only a few rings, the other party picked up and calmly said, "Tong Zhao." The way he had clearly been lying in wait made Tong Zhao want to curse.

"Shu Sizhuo, I want to see you," Tong Zhao said through clenched teeth.

He wasn't even calling him President Shu anymore. On the other end of the line, Shu Sizhuo chuckled softly. "Eight o'clock. The old residence."

In autumn, it was already dark by seven or eight, and neither the bus nor the subway was convenient for reaching the old residence, so Tong Zhao planned to order a ride.

He had just opened the app when a white van pulled up in front of him. A bald man in a sharp suit got out. "Mr. Tong, the boss sent us to pick you up."

Tong Zhao glanced into the van and saw another man wearing sunglasses in the driver's seat.

"Who's your boss?" Tong Zhao asked.

"Our boss is President Shu of the Shu Group." The bald man was quite handsome, but he looked somewhat fierce, and his features seemed especially incongruous when he smiled.

Tong Zhao nodded, opened the rear door and got in.

As soon as Tong Zhao sat down by the window, the man in sunglasses glanced at him in the rearview mirror, then suddenly turned most of his body around.

Even with his sunglasses on, he couldn't hide his shock. The long scar on his face twitched along with his expression.

Tong Zhao looked back at him, somewhat puzzled.

Zeng Guang got into the front passenger seat and also noticed Wei Ze's exaggerated reaction.

"What's wrong?" Zeng Guang asked.

Wei Ze kept staring at Tong Zhao until Tong Zhao grew annoyed and frowned. Only then did he turn back around, start the vehicle somewhat mechanically, shift gears and drive off.

"Nothing," he said.

Wei Ze had never acted so strangely before, and Zeng Guang gave him a couple more looks.

The van drove all the way into the old residence's garage. Zeng Guang got out and opened the door for Tong Zhao, and Wei Ze got out as well.

Seeing that the two intended to escort him the whole way, Tong Zhao said nothing more and headed for the elevator, knowing the way well.

When the elevator reached the first-floor lobby, Tong Zhao had barely stepped out when the blur of a dog came charging in from the courtyard and leaped at him.

"Little Loofah!" Tong Zhao was pushed back against the wall. He hugged the old dog and rubbed its head. "Slow down! You're a bag of old bones now, but you still think you're really a little loofah!"

Little Loofah just kept licking him, its tail wagging furiously, spinning like an electric fan.

Wei Ze watched silently from behind them, his gaze behind his sunglasses hiding turbulent emotions, intensely complicated.

Tong Zhao played with Little Loofah for a while, then handed it over to the person responsible for its care and headed upstairs.

Only then did Zeng Guang turn to ask Wei Ze, "Why were you so surprised just now? Don't the young men the boss finds all look more or less like this?"

Wei Ze's gaze lingered in the direction where Tong Zhao had disappeared. After a long, long time, he murmured, "No, this one's different."