Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Su Xingyao searched for Xu Huan in the direction he had gone for quite some time.

But the place was too crowded, and there were several large exhibition halls where Xu Huan had disappeared.

Su Xingyao couldn't figure out which way to go and waited for a while, but still couldn't find Xu Huan, so he reluctantly left.

On his way back, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

After giving it some thought, Su Xingyao still felt that he really wanted to understand the story Xu Huan was about to shoot, so he texted Hermann, asking him to help get Xu Huan's contact info.

But after Su Xingyao sent the message, Hermann, who usually replied right away, didn't respond for over ten minutes this time.

Figuring Hermann was probably still busy, Su Xingyao exited the chat window.

That's when he realized he'd missed a message.

The message was buried among news alerts and subscription updates, and he'd missed it earlier because he was so caught up with Xu Huan.

Now, checking his WeChat carefully, he saw a message from Lu Jiuxu.

Mr. Lu: Are you coming back for dinner tonight?

As soon as he saw the message, Su Xingyao replied.

Su Maomao: Yep

Su Maomao: I'm on my way now

Right after Su Xingyao sent the message, he saw "Lu Jiuxu is typing..."

Seeing Lu Jiuxu online and replying right away, Su Xingyao couldn't help but recall.

It seemed like every time he messaged Lu Jiuxu, he got an instant reply.

No matter when or what Lu Jiuxu was doing, he always responded.

Su Xingyao was thinking about this when he noticed "Lu Jiuxu is typing..." suddenly vanish.

?

Lu Jiuxu had been typing for a while, but no message came through.

Su Xingyao was about to ask, but then he saw a few words reappear.

Just as he waited, the words disappeared again.

Appearing, disappearing, then reappearing.

After a few rounds of this, Lu Jiuxu finally sent one word.

Mr. Lu: Okay

Su Xingyao had originally thought that Lu Jiuxu had something important to say, hence the long editing time.

But it was just this?

It shouldn't take that long to type one word, right?

But after deleting and editing the message so many times, there must be something else he wanted to say.

Su Xingyao suddenly had a hunch and immediately checked the time of Lu Jiuxu's last message.

Wow, it had been over eight hours since then...

And eight hours ago, he had been chatting enthusiastically with Hermann.

After that, he spent the afternoon at the film festival.

During that time, he had actually taken out his phone, but he hadn't noticed that Lu Jiuxu had contacted him!

The other person always replied to his messages instantly.

Yet, he had taken so long to reply to Lu Jiuxu's message.

Although there were some objective reasons for this outcome.

But putting himself in the other's shoes, Su Xingyao felt that he had indeed been quite inconsiderate as a friend.

A sudden wave of guilt washed over him, and Su Xingyao immediately explained to the other party.

Su Maomao: I missed your message earlier because of all the notifications.

Su Maomao: Sorry QAQ

Su Maomao: Cat holding face.jpg

Su Maomao: Cat kneeling.jpg

To show he was truly sorry, Su Xingyao made a promise.

Su Maomao: I've pinned your chat to the top.

Su Maomao: I'll make sure to see it right away from now on.

As he said this, Su Xingyao also did it.

After pinning Lu Jiuxu's chat, he sent a screenshot of it to him.

After sending the screenshot, there was no quick reply from the other end.

A few seconds later, a slow '?' appeared.

???

Su Xingyao was a little puzzled by the question mark.

But soon, the other party gave him an answer.

Mr. Lu: So this is how you have me saved in your contacts.

Right after that, Lu Jiuxu sent back the screenshot Su Xingyao had just sent.

But the image he sent back had a little twist.

Lu Jiuxu had circled the three words 'Mr. Lu' in bold red to highlight how Su Xingyao had saved his name.

...

This unexpected turn of events and the oddly specific focus...

Since Mr. Lu wasn’t satisfied, Su Xingyao made adjustments with a positive attitude.

Su Maomao: Alright, I’ll change it then.

Mr. Lu: Sure.

Lu Jiuxu replied with the same single word again.

But this time, Su Xingyao sensed a noticeable shift in the other’s tone.

This "okay" seemed to indicate mild satisfaction?

Su Xingyao opened the WeChat profile and began editing the note field, deleting and rewriting.

But after several attempts, he still couldn’t come up with a fitting note.

Realizing he was stuck, he went back to their chat.

Mr. Lu had already started asking.

Mr. Lu: So, what did you change it to?

Too embarrassed to admit he hadn’t changed it, Su Xingyao deflected by asking in return.

Su Maomao: What’s your note for me, by the way?

Su Maomao: Mind showing me?

Su Xingyao had planned to base his note on Lu Jiuxu’s style, tailoring it to his preferences.

But the moment he asked, Lu Jiuxu swiftly sent a new screenshot.

As if it had been ready all along.

Lu Jiuxu sent a screenshot of his WeChat profile.

Next to his WeChat nickname "sssssu," the note read "Su Maomao."

Seeing the familiar name, Su Xingyao thought, "Of course."

Inspired by the style, Su Xingyao considered changing Lu Jiuxu’s note to "Lu Gougou," but then he noticed something unusual in the screenshot.

In the screenshot, a bright yellow star stood out in the upper right corner, next to the nickname.

Su Xingyao rarely used advanced WeChat features, sticking to simple notes like "First Name + Last Name."

He hadn’t even bothered with features like pinning before.

Today, Lu Jiuxu became his first pinned contact.

Curious about the star, Su Xingyao looked it up on Baidu.

A quick search taught him about the "starred friends" feature.

After noticing the star Lu Jiuxu had given him, Su Xingyao quietly opened Lu Jiuxu’s profile, tapped the three dots in the corner, and...

Two seconds later, a bright yellow star appeared on Su Xingyao's WeChat interface, indicating a message from Lu Jiuxu.

...

Half an hour later, Su Xingyao returned home.

A table laden with sumptuous dishes was already set, and Lu Jiuxu was waiting for him.

Auntie Zhang couldn't eat too late, so she had already eaten.

After washing up, Su Xingyao joined Lu Jiuxu for dinner.

"Did you meet someone special today?"

After dinner, Lu Jiuxu's voice was lazy, but his tone was much quieter than usual.

Su Xingyao, confused, asked, "What?"

Lu Jiuxu lowered his gaze, his eyes settling on Su Xingyao's phone screen.

"You've checked your phone twelve times since you got back."

Hearing such a precise count, Su Xingyao looked at him.

Lu Jiuxu's face was expressionless, but Su Xingyao sensed he wasn't very happy, as if he was playing a game but lacked interest.

Though unsure why Lu Jiuxu seemed off, Su Xingyao explained the situation.

"I'm waiting for a friend to text me back. I asked him for a favor earlier."

Then Su Xingyao told Lu Jiuxu about running into Xu Huan earlier and how he'd asked Hermann to reach out to him.

"His short film is pretty interesting. If the new script is solid, I might consider investing."

After saying this, Su Xingyao frowned, a hint of regret in his expression. "But he bolted too quickly. I searched for him forever but couldn't catch up..."

"So I ended up asking Hermann to try and get in touch with him."

With that, Su Xingyao smiled and glanced at Lu Jiuxu.

At first, he expected Lu Jiuxu to say something.

But to his surprise, Lu Jiuxu, who usually looked at him warmly, stayed silent, instead gazing out the window, which was rare.

He'd even closed the game at some point.

Su Xingyao didn't know what was on Lu Jiuxu's mind, but he wisely stopped pushing.

He turned to Lu Jiuxu.

Sensing his gaze, Lu Jiuxu soon met his eyes.

Their eyes locked, and Lu Jiuxu spoke with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"Su Maomao," he said softly.

His handsome brow furrowed slightly, and he sighed, almost helplessly.

"Why didn't you try to think of me first?"

The usually proud man's tone carried a hint of barely noticeable helplessness and grievance this time.

Su Xingyao was left speechless by the question, staring blankly at him.

"Ask you... for what?"

Su Xingyao was puzzled, but after saying these four words, he seemed to suddenly understand.

Was Lu Jiuxu suggesting that Su Xingyao should turn to him first when facing difficulties?

Thinking at this level, Su Xingyao's heart seemed to be lightly stung by something, tightening slightly.

Growing up, he had almost always lived independently, always thinking of solving problems on his own first.

He would only ask for help when he truly couldn’t handle it himself.

But after his sister passed away, over the years, the only ones he could rely on without hesitation were his roommates.

Because they were the closest to him.

However, Lu Jiuxu's words just now had struck a chord with Su Xingyao.

He lowered his head and quietly asked himself.

Was Lu Jiuxu someone close to him?

Su Xingyao lightly pinched his palm.

Of course, he was, he thought.

He knew this answer better than anyone.

Lu Jiuxu was already one of the few people in this world who cared for him most deeply.

But Su Xingyao also clearly understood that this situation had nothing to do with how close he was to Lu Jiuxu.

Realizing Lu Jiuxu seemed to have misunderstood him, Su Xingyao, for the first time, eagerly explained the reason.

"I just figured, since Hermann was at the film festival as a director, he might have an easier time finding someone."

After hearing this explanation, the expression on Lu Jiuxu's face did not brighten.

Su Xingyao paused for a moment, then smiled gently.

He leaned in slightly, closing the gap between them.

His beautiful eyes shone.

Su Xingyao's light-colored pupils now reflected only Lu Jiuxu.

He gently asked him, "So, Mr. Lu, could you trouble yourself to help me find his contact information?"

His fox-like eyes curved as he softly added, "Okay?"

The soft, gentle words drifted to him.

Lu Jiuxu's mood, which had been gloomy all day, was eased just like that.

The person in front of him is really good at being coquettish!

The fingers gripping the phone were tighter than usual.

After holding back the dark thoughts in his mind, Lu Jiuxu, who was easily placated, finally returned to his usual self.

"What's his name?"

Noticing that Lu Jiuxu didn't seem to be angry anymore, Su Xingyao immediately told him the other person's name.

"Xu Huan."

Lu Jiuxu nodded, as if committing it to memory.

But then he lifted his gaze and asked, "Which characters?"

Considering there might be homophones, Su Xingyao prepared to describe it more clearly.

But before he could speak, he suddenly saw Lu Jiuxu hold out his palm to him.

The man sitting across from him didn't say anything, just tilted his chin slightly, gesturing for Su Xingyao to go on.

After reacting for two seconds, Su Xingyao finally understood.

Lu Jiuxu wanted him to write the name on his palm.

His mind was sluggish at this moment, and Su Xingyao easily went along with the other's suggestion, obediently extended his right index finger.

He lowered his eyes and carefully traced Xu Huan's name on the other's palm, stroke by stroke.

The sensation of fingertips brushing against the palm was peculiar.

Though it was Lu Jiuxu's hand he was writing on, Su Xingyao felt a tingling sensation in his own heart.

He looked up at Lu Jiuxu.

The other was also looking at him.

For some reason, Lance's words from earlier suddenly popped into Su Xingyao's mind.

The phrase "dog man" felt a bit too harsh for the person in front of him.

Su Xingyao quickly looked away and pulled back his finger.

"Mr. Lu, these are the two characters."

It was only after writing that Su Xingyao suddenly realized.

These two characters are quite common, so there shouldn't be any confusion with homophones.

Lu Jiuxu, having made this request, acted as though nothing had happened, murmuring an acknowledgment before picking up his phone to type.

Su Xingyao wasn't sure what exactly he was typing, but he figured he must be asking someone to help track down Xu Huan's contact details.

As he was thinking, Lu Zhiyun's voice suddenly piped up.

Su Xingyao glanced at Lu Jiuxu, realizing that Lu Zhiyun had called him on voice chat.

"Bro, there's a level in that game your company put out that I just can't beat. Xiao Liu said you can breeze through it, can you give me a hand?"

After explaining his request, Lu Zhiyun began to employ a tactic of playful begging and relentless pleading.

However, no matter how much he kowtowed and begged over the phone, Lu Jiuxu on the other end didn't bat an eye.

Finally, he coldly said two words.

"Not bringing you."

After hanging up the phone, Su Xingyao asked him curiously, "What game is it?"

Although Lu Zhiyun's desperate plea was ruthlessly rejected by Lu Jiuxu, it successfully piqued Su Xingyao's curiosity.

"Dreamland Kingdom."

After casually mentioning the game's name, Lu Jiuxu handed a software to Su Xingyao.

Seeing the pop-up notification at the top of the screen, Su Xingyao immediately clicked to download and install it.

A soft chuckle filled the room.

"Installing it right away, aren't you worried it might be a virus?"

"You wouldn't do that." Su Xingyao also smiled, glancing at the software, already 15% installed.

"But even if it were a virus, I'd still install it because you sent it."

There was a brief silence.

Su Xingyao looked up in confusion, only to see the slight curve of Lu Jiuxu's lips.

Then the other spoke, "It launched the day before yesterday. Would you mind reviewing it for our company, Mr. Su?"

The gaming company was just a small subsidiary of the Lu Group.

Su Xingyao wasn't sure why Lu Jiuxu was so focused on this game.

But since the game belonged to Lu Jiuxu's family and he had asked for help with the review, Su Xingyao took the review very seriously.

After installing the internal version of the company, Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu played a few rounds to get familiar with the game.

While playing, Su Xingyao shared his thoughts on the game with Lu Jiuxu. In the last round, Lu Jiuxu spoke up.

"Today, a new level has been added. It hasn't been released in the official version yet. Su Maomao, want to try it out?"

"Sure!"

Su Xingyao had found this casual game quite interesting during the trial play. Now, hearing that he could play a new level ahead of time, he was more than willing.

In the duo's game room, Lu Jiuxu selected a map from the bottom of the screen.

Soon, the screen switched, and Su Xingyao's cute character and Lu Jiuxu arrived at a beautiful island.

The task for this level was to cross the island and dig out the treasure.

The map was beautifully and warmly designed, but Su Xingyao found it genuinely challenging once he started.

By the third level, when jumping over the shark zone, Su Xingyao stood on the opposite side of the sea, watching Lu Jiuxu effortlessly land on the shore in one go and begin to climb up, feeling a mix of envy and jealousy.

After more than ten unsuccessful attempts, Su Xingyao sighed in frustration.

No wonder Lu Zhiyun had come to seek help from Lu Jiuxu.

He was truly skilled.

After the fifteenth attempt also failed, the man beside him, who had been patiently teaching, asked with a smile, "Su Maomao, need a hand?"

Su Xingyao was puzzled, "But weren't you just teaching me?"

The man's eyes crinkled slightly, and after a soft "hmm," he gently moved his fingers.

"There's another way."

Hearing this, Su Xingyao looked down to see his character being princess-carried by Lu Jiuxu's.

Then the two characters started jumping nimbly across the sea.

"You can actually do it like this!"

Seeing his character carried to the opposite shore with ease, Su Xingyao's eyes lit up with surprise and joy.

With Lu Jiuxu's help, Su Xingyao stopped struggling with the tough parts and just let Lu Jiuxu carry him.

Soon, they climbed a long ladder together and reached the Sky City on the island.

Su Xingyao moved his character around the highest point of Sky City.

"Where's the treasure hidden?"

As soon as Su Xingyao spoke, his character hit a button.

Instantly, fireworks shot up.

The fireworks in the game shifted colors and shapes in the sky.

Finally, they started forming letters.

m……e……i……

Su Xingyao waited quietly for the final reveal.

After a few seconds, the letters spelled out two words.

"My Genius."

Su Xingyao read the words and raised an eyebrow.

These words looked familiar.

After finishing the level, Su Xingyao stopped playing.

It was late, so he went to his room to shower and sleep.

After showering, he saw that Lu Jiuxu had sent Xu Huan's contact info to his WeChat ten minutes earlier.

Originally, he thought it would take a lot of time to find Xu Huan.

But he didn’t expect Lu Jiuxu to be so efficient.

After getting the number, Su Xingyao was eager to call Xu Huan immediately.

But since it was getting late and he didn’t want to bother Xu Huan, he decided to send a friend request first, planning to call at a better time the next day.

After sending the friend request to Xu Huan, Su Xingyao glanced at his WeChat interface and noticed a new like.

Su Xingyao, who couldn’t stand any notifications on his phone, immediately clicked to clear the small "1".

Lu Jiuxu was the latest to like his post.

When Su Xingyao met Hermann earlier that morning, they took a photo together.

In the photo, Hermann, like a giant kitten, smiled as he held Su Xingyao’s shoulder with one hand.

On Su Xingyao’s other shoulder, Hermann’s slender chin rested gently.

It had been a long time since they last met, so Su Xingyao shared the photo with a specific group.

The photo Lu Jiuxu specifically liked was this one.