A Measure of Time

With nothing else to do, Tong Zhao decided to stay with Little Loofah a little longer. He had just settled into a chair when he heard footsteps in the foyer, accompanied by a gentle voice—

"Mama Feng, I got what I came for. I'll be going now."

"All right, young master," Mama Feng replied respectfully and warmly.

Tong Zhao jerked his head up.

Young master? Could it be...

A young man carrying a stack of books stepped out of the blind spot behind the window frame. The moment he raised his head, his eyes met Tong Zhao's.

It really was Shu Yaoxi!

Tong Zhao studied him in shock.

He's grown this much?

Judging by Mama Feng's attitude, Shu Yaoxi must have come and gone freely at the old residence often.

Apparently, over the past eight years, Shu Sizhuo and his younger half-brother had not only remained in contact, but had also grown closer.

The moment Shu Yaoxi saw Tong Zhao, he froze on the spot as though he had seen a ghost, his face visibly turning pale.

Mama Feng knew the boy was just like her when she had first met Mr. Tong: both had thought that person had come back. She hurriedly explained, "This is Mr. Tong. He's only a few years older than you, young master."

Shu Yaoxi's eyes flickered. It took him a long moment to react, and he murmured, "Only a few years older?"

Tong Zhao immediately got to his feet. "Hello, I'm Tong Zhao. I'm twenty-four."

Only then did Shu Yaoxi realize how young he really was. If that person were still around, he would be thirty.

Shu Yaoxi did not look any more at ease. He took two steps forward and gave a somewhat weak smile. "Twenty-four? You're two or three years older than me, but you look about my age."

Tong Zhao smiled and reached out to stroke the head of the dog that had come over.

Shu Yaoxi watched his affectionate interaction with Little Loofah with a complicated expression, then raised his eyes to his face. "You're my brother's..."

"Employee," Tong Zhao hurriedly said. "You could say I'm an employee. My car got a flat last time, so I stayed here for a night. Little Loofah and I really hit it off, so I came to see it today."

Hearing the word "employee," Mama Feng pursed her lips in confusion and went back to trimming flower stems nearby.

Of course, Shu Yaoxi didn't believe it either. Everyone on the inside knew his brother had been looking for this face over the past few years.

"I'm Shu Sizhuo's younger brother. I came to borrow a few finance books from him, but unfortunately he isn't here."

"He should be at the office," Tong Zhao said.

"Mm." Shu Yaoxi was still staring at his face. "I'm leaving. Do you need a ride?"

"No, thanks. I have my bicycle," Tong Zhao replied.

Shu Yaoxi nodded, his gaze lingering on Tong Zhao's face for a few seconds before he turned and left.

Tong Zhao watched his thin, frail figure recede, remembering how the boy had hidden behind his mother at five years old, timid and weak, too scared to say a word.

What served as a measure of time? It was these faces that had suddenly grown up, as far as he was concerned, and Shu Sizhuo's words: "an old acquaintance."

After driving some distance, Shu Yaoxi abruptly pulled over.

His knuckles whitened around the steering wheel, and all color drained from his lips. He thought of the smiling face he had just seen; it was exactly the same as the person in his nightmares.

That person had been gone for eight years, and everyone's memories of his appearance had grown hazy.

But Shu Yaoxi was different. He had had a good memory since childhood.

He remembered every word and action, every frown and smile of that person's, with perfect clarity!

Because of that person, he had become an orphan.

Because of that person, his brother had nearly died!

He couldn't be mistaken. He couldn't!

This Tong Zhao and that person.

They looked exactly alike.

At dusk, Tong Zhao pedaled his bicycle down the mountain road leading away from the old residence. In a white seven-seater parked not far away, Wei Ze finished sending Shu Sizhuo his report and locked his phone.

A sedan pulled out of the shadows across the road and followed closely behind Tong Zhao.

Following and watching Tong Zhao wasn't actually part of Wei Ze and Zeng Guang's job; they only filled in from time to time.

Wei Ze had followed Tong Zhao three times in all: once at the Chinese restaurant that night, when Tong Zhao had gotten into a fight; once when Tong Zhao had been delivering takeout; and once today.

Seeing that Wei Ze was still watching Tong Zhao's retreating figure, Zeng Guang nudged him with his elbow. "What are you looking at?"

Wei Ze still said, "Nothing."

Zeng Guang looked at him suspiciously. Remembering how he had repeatedly stared at Tong Zhao in a daze, Zeng Guang felt a particular suspicion arise and his heart skipped a beat. He grabbed Wei Ze's arm and warned him in a low voice, "Wei Ze, he belongs to the boss. Don't you go..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wei Ze pulled his arm free, the scar on his face giving him a fierce look. "Let's go. The boss told us to find that guy Qiu at the hall. We'd better not be late."

Zeng Guang looked at him for a few more seconds before gritting his teeth, starting the car and driving off to the right.

Since their last argument, Tong Zhao and Shu Sizhuo had lost contact again.

Whenever Tong Zhao had free time, he would pester the system with questions, hoping to wheedle some information about Wind House out of it. But the system was only an advanced AI; it had no way of knowing information that had been deliberately concealed and blocked even from the internet.

Shu Sizhuo owned countless properties. There was no telling which one was Wind House.

Annoyed by Tong Zhao's questions, the system even got angry.

[Tasker 07166, you have repeatedly asked me questions unrelated to your task. I am issuing you a serious warning. If you receive multiple serious warnings, I will report you to the General Institute]

"Hey, why are you telling on me? Who says my questions have nothing to do with the task?"

[How are they related?]

Tong Zhao opened his mouth and made something up. "They say if you go worship at Wind House, you can become a Best Actor. I was just curious and wanted to ask around. If it's true, I'll take Shi Ruohe there to worship."

[...]

"Oh, right. That Boss Huang who deals in building materials, um... Huang Zhiyong. When is he coming back? Can you get me his contact information?" Tong Zhao asked.

[...Please wait]

[Based on the length of his previous business trips, this one should be around two months]

[As for his contact information... the price is one thousand yuan]

"Money again!" Tong Zhao angrily threw the stress ball in his hand onto the sofa. "Can you stop being so realistic? Can't the General Institute be less harsh on employees who barely met the admission requirements?"

[Getting support items costs money, dear. It's not your first time doing a task...]

Tong Zhao recalled asking the system for the contact information of Shu Sizhuo's uncle during his first task involving Shu Sizhuo. The system had quoted him twenty thousand yuan on the spot; its heart was as black as charcoal.

Tong Zhao ground his teeth, retrieved the ball and squeezed it over and over.

In fact, a contact number alone wouldn't be much use. He still needed to meet Huang Zhiyong in person first.

Over the past few days, Tong Zhao's and Shi Ruohe's commercials had aired one after another. Sure enough, they were played repeatedly during prime-time dramas about the War of Resistance. They didn't make much of a splash, and Tong Zhao gained only one or two hundred Weibo followers.

But those hundred or so people were especially active, like they had discovered some new treasure, squealing in the comments.

[I caught a glimpse while my dad was watching a War of Resistance drama! A newcomer to the entertainment industry? He's this handsome and only has one commercial?]

[Hahaha, girl, I discovered Little Zhao while my dad was watching a War of Resistance drama too. Newcomers really are gorgeous! I've already dug through his old content, and there really is nothing to dig up. There's no old content to explore; he only has this one commercial]

[But he's really so good-looking. His hair and eyes are both black, a classic Eastern handsome guy]

[A Zilai Entertainment newcomer? Doesn't matter, I love watching newcomers grow the most. Little Zhao, from now on I'm your mommy fan]

[Little Zhao, has the company arranged any work for you lately? You need to be proactive. Go to every event you can and show your face more. You'll have more opportunities if people see you]

[That's right~ I've already bought Shuangting. I'm waiting for your next endorsement, Little Zhao!]

[Hahaha, me too. Shuangting, Shuangting, take it home!]

[Go, Little Zhao!]

Tong Zhao read the comments with bright eyes, finding them rather novel and feeling a little touched. He immediately ran over to Shi Ruohe's Weibo and saw that he had gained about as many followers and that his fans were enthusiastic too. Only then did Tong Zhao return to his own page, relieved, and diligently reply to the comments.

[Yes, I'm a newcomer. I only have one commercial so far]

[I'm on a production set lately, playing a small supporting role. Thank you for liking me. I'm flattered]

[I've been using Shuangting lately, and it really is pretty good hahaha. You can take it home~]