Seeing the sudden appearance of the "female fan," Chu Ge was so embarrassed he felt like he could dig a two-bedroom apartment with his toes. He had no choice but to awkwardly sign his name for her.
The female fan seemed satisfied and ran off. People's gazes shifted to amazement, and Chu Ge found the second half of the gathering unbearable. His buttocks felt like they had needles in them, and he just wanted it to end quickly so he could go back to Qiu Wuji.
Fortunately, everyone was married with families, and Lin Wuyang and the others had public office, so they couldn't cause any trouble. The gathering ended relatively early.
As everyone was exchanging pleasantries and parting ways, Old Hong, who was supposed to pay the bill, ran back. He stared at Chu Ge strangely for a long time, then sighed, "The great writer."
Chu Ge asked curiously, "What now?"
"Someone in the private room upstairs said they were your fan and paid the bill for you first."
"Holy crap..." The crowd was even more excited than when the "female fan" had appeared.
Fans are just fans, after all. You can't necessarily sleep with them, and marrying a fan is a million miles away.
But someone actually paying for it is a real thing, happening right before your eyes. Chu Ge's demeanor is that of a true master, completely different from the image everyone had of him as someone holed up in his room writing erotic fiction.
At this moment, everyone's gaze wasn't just amazed, it was downright respectful. As Qiu Wuji had said before, if someone is truly a master, society will respect them.
However, Chu Ge felt no pride whatsoever, because both of them were fake.
The female fan was Qiu Wuji pretending, for some strange reason… and the one paying the bill could only be Zhang Qiren.
He glanced subconsciously at Lin Wuyang, who was also looking at him with a meaningful gaze: "Want to chat?" Chu Ge hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."
"Great writer, keep in touch!" The gathering finally ended amidst people's exclamations of admiration for Chu Ge. Chu Ge smiled and said goodbye to everyone, eventually leaving the hotel with Lin Wuyang, the two men strolling towards the riverbank not far away.
Passing the parking lot, Lin Wuyang gestured with his lip: "Look, a G-Wagon, Zhang Qiren's. At least it's not a Rolls-Royce."
Chu Ge clicked his tongue, remaining silent.
Back then, the Tank 300 had only recently been released, and this guy Zhang Qiren announced it was his dream car. At the time, he had even mocked Zhang Qiren for his refined appearance and glasses, saying he actually had a wild heart…
Well, he was still wild, just with a price difference of almost tenfold.
Damn liar.
Lin Wuyang asked, "How much do you know about your roommate...?" Chu Ge felt a strange force influencing him, as if he couldn't help but tell the truth.
He felt a slight unease, letting the force invade him, then found himself unable to control himself and sighed, "I used to think I knew a lot, but now it seems I know nothing."
Lin Wuyang nodded; the effect of his ability was obvious, it was the truth.
His gaze softened, showing a hint of apology for using his ability on his classmate, and he said softly, "Well, it's normal that you don't know."
Chu Ge followed up, "What does he do?"
"Officially, he's the legal representative of a nightclub." Lin Wuyang lit a cigarette: "Want a smoke?"
Chu Ge waved his hand, indicating he didn't smoke, but asked, "The legal representative of a nightclub, what does that mean? Is it not clean?"
Lin Wuyang said, "People subconsciously think that nightclub owners might not be so clean, that's a stereotype, it's not really that bad. Besides, the legal representative thing... sometimes it's just a scapegoat, it can give us a way to close the case, to leave it at that." Chu Ge's face turned somewhat grim. "The scapegoat?"
Lin Wuyang continued, "Therefore, it only means he has the authority he should have on the surface, not that he's the real boss. So, you ask me what it means? I don't know."
Chu Ge said, "Logically, he's only been in charge for a few days, so does that mean he actually doesn't have any problems?"
Lin Wuyang exhaled a puff of smoke and shook his head, saying, "I don't know if he has any problems or not, because our investigation was halted."
He then chuckled, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have had time to come to the gathering today. I should thank them for giving me the day off."
Although Lin Wuyang repeatedly said "I don't know," and even seemed to be making excuses for Zhang Qiren, Chu Ge could still tell that he had clearly started monitoring Zhang Qiren as an important lead. Considering their behavior when they entered, it was obvious they had matched up.
So, his "excuses" weren't genuine; it was just that he couldn't share his judgment with an ordinary person like himself.
Sure enough, Lin Wuyang's next words were: "I see you weren't aware of his situation before... but now it seems you two have a pretty good relationship, not just casual acquaintances, so it's possible he might have revealed something to you. If you find out anything about him later, I hope you can tell me." Chu Ge didn't answer immediately.
Lin Wuyang said, "You should know the difference between public and private matters. It's not like you'd go to such lengths just for friendship... Hey, even if we're talking about personal matters, am I not your classmate?"
Chu Ge laughed, "I guess the reason I haven't been dragged in for questioning is because an old classmate is looking out for me?"
Lin Wuyang waved his hand: "That's not between you and me... We're not that close to begin with. How could I drag everyone I've met into the house for questioning? I already said, he might just be a scapegoat; I'm not targeting him personally."
"Hmm... if anything bad really happens, I'll tell you." Chu Ge asked, "By the way, which nightclub was that?"
"It's not a secret, telling you is fine." Lin Wuyang said, "Miracle Nightclub, you probably haven't heard of it... it's best not to go." Chu Ge's face turned very ugly.
"Alright, that's enough. My wife's waiting for me to come home." Lin Wuyang patted Chu Ge's shoulder. "I never imagined one of our classmates would become a great writer. I look forward to the day your book gets adapted for television." Lin Wuyang left, and Chu Ge stood quietly by the river, watching the water, seemingly lost in thought, or perhaps waiting for someone.
Sure enough, just as Lin Wuyang's figure disappeared completely, Qiu Wuji appeared beside him, smiling. "This constable is quite selfless. He didn't forget the case even during his vacation. Even after being pulled away, he wasn't satisfied and kept trying to investigate."
"Hmm… It's because of people like them that ordinary people can live peaceful and comfortable lives." Chu Ge sighed. "At today's gathering, I really felt that those unruly kids from back then have all grown up. Lin Wuyang is especially noticeable. He used to get caught watching porn in his dorm and almost got a school-wide announcement. Now he's a guardian of our city."
"What's porn?"
"Oh, we call our northern neighbor 'Russians.' It's the kind of films they produce." Qiu Wuji glanced at him sideways, clearly not believing him.
Chu Ge said, "Why are you looking at me? What's with all this fanboy act today?"
Qiu Wuji snorted twice, "I planned to come today before I went back. Didn't you always think this gathering would make you lose face? So I'll give you face."
Chu Ge thought about it; she did indeed ask about the gathering time twice, and even said she'd go back early. So she was planning this all along? But her acting was just… too cute! He couldn't believe Qiu Wuji would do something like that.
He was both amused and exasperated. "How did you come up with this act? Didn't you say it was a worldly view?"
Qiu Wuji said nonchalantly, "Because I see you care, and I don't want worldly distractions to disrupt your cultivation. That's from my perspective as your master. From another perspective, no one can look down on me, Qiu Wuji's father."
Chu Ge turned to look at her profile, and Qiu Wuji calmly returned his gaze.
The river flowed slowly eastward, silent and tranquil. A gentle breeze blew through the late summer evening, causing a stray strand of Qiu Wuji's hair to brush against his cheek.
Chu Ge instinctively reached out to brush it away, but Qiu Wuji took a half-step back, his face stern. "What are you trying to do?" he asked.
Chu Ge withdrew his hand and said softly, "I don't feel embarrassed... but still... thank you."
"Why don't you feel embarrassed anymore?"
"Because you like it." The air fell silent again, broken only by the gentle sound of the river flowing past them, flowing into their hearts.
"It's good that you don't feel embarrassed. Your mindset has improved; you're not so vulgar anymore." Qiu Wuji took a deep breath, his face still stern as he changed the subject: "Now, shouldn't we talk about something else?"
Chu Ge didn't react immediately: "What?"
Qiu Wuji cracked his knuckles: "The person who made me bang my head against the wall, how do you plan to die?"
Chu Ge's face turned green.
How could he forget about that...? He's really doomed this time...