Ren Qingzhou was spotted by a fan while watching a movie. Although the fan didn't have the nerve to bother him, they secretly took a blurry photo of his profile.
Ren Qingzhou sent Su Tang a photo of the movie theater. Although the main focus was the screen, some of the theater's layout could still be seen.
So, he was extremely nervous at the moment, constantly feeling that his alias was on the verge of being exposed.
Su Tang actually saw that Weibo post. Since it was highly popular, as soon as she searched for Ren Qingzhou's name, it was the first one that popped up.
Her reaction was, "Did your boss treat you guys to a movie?"
Upon receiving Su Tang's message, Ren Qingzhou let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he hadn't been caught.
It was really hard for an ordinary person to imagine that their idol would use someone else's identity to try to start an online romance.
"Yes, but I quite like Actor Liang," he said, temporarily shifting the blame onto his real self.
"His movies always receive good reviews. It's really something that Ding Huanyu got to play the second male lead in his movie this time," Su Tang said.
Ding Huanyu made his debut in art - house films and had been on the art - house route all these years. He was the kind of actor whose characters were memorable but whose real name was easily forgotten. Ren Qingzhou, feeling a bit nervous because of Su Tang, couldn't help but ask, "You seem to like Ding Huanyu quite a bit?"
"Not really. I like your boss a lot. Ding Huanyu has a good relationship with him, so I guess I like him a bit out of love for the one I admire," Su Tang said. Mentioning to Song Yang that her idol was Ren Qingzhou made her feel a bit embarrassed.
After some thought, fearing that he might misunderstand, she added, "But you're really nice. We really get along well." The subtext was - I didn't approach you just because of your boss.
"Yeah." Even if she did approach him because of his boss, he didn't really mind... after all, he was the boss himself.
Su Tang took two days off to attend a concert. After returning to work, she was as busy as a spinning top. Recently, Penguin was developing a new project, and their entire department was swamped.
To be precise, Penguin was researching new projects every year, but many of them died during the research process.
She and Fang Ting were in the same project team. The team leader was a demon. Fang Ting secretly called him Demon Chen in private.
He was like a perpetual motion machine, taking pleasure in squeezing the labor of his team members.
Su Tang had been working overtime every day this week.
Ren Qingzhou received a message from her every day that said, "I'm still working overtime. Let's talk later."
Did Penguin really love overtime that much? Ren Qingzhou asked Jiang Bai, and Jiang Bai said it was normal. "It's normal for programmers to work overtime. It's very common."
"Why do I always feel that you're so idle?" Ren Qingzhou felt inexplicably unbalanced.
"Brother, I'm on a break at the moment. Could you find me when I'm working?" Jiang Bai complained. "But to be honest, both of your jobs are so busy. When both of you are swamped, when will you even get to see each other?"
Considering Ren Qingzhou's eagerness to spend the rest of his life with her, Jiang Bai decided to give him a friendly reminder.
Ren Qingzhou suddenly thought of something else. "Aren't you starting your own business recently? Don't you need manpower for your startup?"
"Of course I do. How can I not?" Jiang Bai didn't react at first.
"You can poach her," Ren Qingzhou said, thinking that he could then be in a better position to win her heart.
"Do you think I don't want to? I've been wanting to poach my college classmate's roommate these days, but I just can't bring myself to ask. Although the work pressure at Penguin is high, the benefits are good. Asking someone to quit their job and follow me to start a business? No one would agree to that," Jiang Bai replied.
"Your project is really good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to invest in it. Have more confidence in yourself and poach both of them," Ren Qingzhou encouraged Jiang Bai.
Even though Jiang Bai was a bit slow - witted, he understood Ren Qingzhou's ulterior motive. "It'll only get busier during the startup phase. It won't be any less stressful than working at Penguin. And with your job that requires you to travel all over China, even if she really comes to Beijing, the distance between you two won't change much. You should focus on getting closer emotionally."
Ren Qingzhou showed meticulous care for Su Tang. On sunny days, he'd remind her to apply sunscreen; on rainy days, he'd remind her to bring an umbrella. Even though they were miles apart, he'd still send her late - night snacks when she was working overtime.
Fang Ting thought that if it weren't for the distance, Song Yang would definitely come to pick up Su Tang when they were working overtime.
Fang Ting wondered, "Are people in the entertainment industry so idle? I feel like he's always available."
"Their studio is on vacation recently. He's usually quite busy," Su Tang replied.
Fang Ting and Su Tang were packing up their things, getting ready to go home.
Even at 10 p.m., City S was still bustling. Su Tang stood on the overpass, looking at the traffic and the pedestrians below. Everyone was struggling for a living, including herself and Fang Ting.
"Do you think long - distance relationships aren't very reliable?" Su Tang suddenly asked.
"You're already thinking about a long - distance relationship. City S is really far from Beijing. But you can apply to transfer to the Beijing branch. In my opinion, he could change his job. His family is in City S, so it'd be more convenient for him to come back," Fang Ting analyzed seriously. "You two can't afford a house in Beijing either."
"We can't afford a house in City S either," Su Tang said, getting sidetracked by Fang Ting's train of thought. "What a mess. I haven't even said who it is, and you're already thinking about buying a house."
"Who else could it be? The only man in your life at the moment is Song Yang. His care for you is all - encompassing and thorough."
"We just have a lot in common. He hasn't said he wants to pursue me," Su Tang said.
"Sis, I finally understand why you didn't have a boyfriend during your four years in college. Men are goal - oriented animals. If he's willing to spend time chatting with you, it means he's interested in you. And 'pursuing' is just a word. There are many ways to do it. It's not like a man has to shout 'I like you. Be with me' every day for it to count as pursuit."
"Are you sure Song Yang is pursuing me?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's so attentive to you every day. He wants to be your boyfriend, not just a friend."
Fang Ting really wanted to knock on Su Tang's head to see what was going on in there. No wonder she didn't have a boyfriend during her four years in college. With her slow reaction and reserved personality, boys probably thought of her as an unattainable beauty.
When they got back to the apartment, they ran into the apartment security guard. The security guard called out to Su Tang. "Do you live in Unit 4 and your last name is Su?"
"Yes."
"What's your phone number?"
Even though she was confused, Su Tang still gave him her phone number. Then the security guard carried out a huge box. "This is your express delivery. It couldn't fit in the locker, and your phone was off, so the courier left it with me. Take it."
Su Tang was really shocked by this express delivery. Seeing her bewildered expression, the security guard kindly asked, "Do you need me to help you carry it up?"
"No, no. We can carry it up ourselves," Fang Ting said after trying to lift the express delivery. She felt that they could manage without bothering the security guard.
Su Tang thanked the security guard. The security guard nodded and opened the building door for them. She and Fang Ting carried the huge express delivery into the building.
Fang Ting was also shocked. She asked Su Tang, "What did you buy? This box is so big. It could fit me in it."
Su Tang was even more shocked. "I didn't buy anything."
"Could it be your mom?" Su Tang's mom loved sending her express deliveries, but this was the biggest one she'd ever received.
With great difficulty, they carried the express delivery into the living room. Su Tang found a knife and started to open it.
Inside was a box of snacks.
And it was a box of snacks that perfectly suited her taste.
She quickly called her mom.
"It's 11 p.m. now. Didn't you just get off work?" When Su's mom answered the phone and looked at the time, she thought her daughter's job was really unreliable. "Why does your company make you work overtime all the time? It's not safe for a girl to go back so late."
Su Tang covered her head. She'd forgotten that it was already 11 p.m. She shouldn't have called her mom at this time.
"No, I got off work a long time ago. Did you send me an express delivery?"
"No."
"Are you sure? Did you buy it a long time ago and forget about it?"
"Really not. Su Tang, your job is really unreliable. You'd better change it. And that son of Aunt Wang I mentioned last time, remember to meet him when you come back for Chinese New Year."
"Which Aunt Wang?" In the two years since Su Tang graduated, her mom had become increasingly concerned about her love life and was gradually leading her into the world of blind dates.
"The Aunt Wang in the neighborhood. She used to be a high - school teacher. She's a really nice person. Her son is one year older than you and is a university teacher. I've seen his photo. He's really good."
Su Tang decided to interrupt her mom's endless talk about blind dates. "Let's talk about Aunt Wang's son when we get back, okay? I'm going to sleep. Good night, Mom."
"You're really giving me a headache. How many years have you been out of college? If you could just find a boyfriend for me to relieve my worries. Alright, go to bed early. I'll give your WeChat to Aunt Wang some other day. You young people always have a lot in common."
"It wasn't my mom," Su Tang said after hanging up the phone.
"What kind of blind date is your mom setting you up with? A university teacher has a stable job, healthy parents, and is a good - looking guy," Fang Ting joked.
"Don't even mention it. I'm so stressed out. My mom is really going to take me on a blind date," Su Tang said, kicking the box and feeling even more stressed.
"Who is this angel who sent this? Can you please come and claim it?"
"I think it's not your mom. It must be Song Yang," Fang Ting analyzed rationally. "During the days you've been working overtime this week, he's almost ordered late - night snacks for you every day and even sent me one. This young man has potential."
Su Tang didn't have time to talk to Fang Ting. She picked up her phone from the sofa and asked Song Yang, "Did you send me something?"
Ren Qingzhou was on the plane back to City S. He hadn't been home for a long time. Taking advantage of this vacation, he decided to go home and spend some time with his parents first.
It was already early morning when he saw the message after getting off the plane. After some thought, he decided not to disturb her.
Sitting in the car on the way home, Ren Qingzhou kept thinking about whether he should go and see Su Tang when he got back. If he did, his alias would be exposed. But if they wanted to make any real progress, they couldn't always hide behind the internet.
Ren Qingzhou was really torn and didn't know what to do.
Even though they got along well in their conversations, he still wasn't sure how Su Tang would react if she found out he wasn't Song Yang.
When people are in love, they tend to be indecisive. They're afraid that their casual actions might make the one they love unhappy. Ren Qingzhou felt like he was back in high school, feeling nervous and hesitant when facing the girl he liked.
This was the feeling of being in love, a very wonderful feeling.
Su Tang had a chaotic dream. She actually dreamt about Song Yang. Even though she didn't know what he looked like, the person in the dream was very blurry, but she just knew it was Song Yang. He held her hand and asked if she would be with him.
Then Su Tang woke up.
There was an unread message on her phone from Song Yang. "You've been working overtime these days. I'm afraid you'll get hungry at night."
Fang Ting was right. It was really him.
Su Tang had been sleep - deprived these days. She felt confused in her mind. Thinking about the dream she had last night, she felt even more muddled.
She asked herself in her heart how she would react if Song Yang really confessed his love to her. She hadn't been in a relationship for all these years because she really wanted to find someone who loved her and whom she loved in return.
In college, after being freed from parental control, everyone's hormones were raging. They were eager to pursue a relationship. People around them fell in love and broke up easily. By the time they broke up, they couldn't even tell if they really loved each other.
Su Tang didn't want to take a chance. Sometimes she would watch old movies because she secretly yearned for the simple kind of love in the past, where once you committed to someone, it was for a lifetime.
But she was also a very rational person. The person she could spend the rest of her life with, besides being someone she liked, must also meet certain conditions. Therefore, those who made her a bit flustered but didn't meet the conditions were also rejected by her.
Was Song Yang a person who met the conditions? In Su Tang's eyes, he had a lot in common with her, was considerate, and thoughtful.
Most importantly, even though she didn't know what Song Yang looked like, she had a good impression of him.
In the dream, she tried hard to see Song Yang's face clearly. She was curious about what he looked like, and now, she also really wanted to know what he looked like. Unfortunately, Song Yang only showed his WeChat Moments from the past three days, and he hadn't posted anything for a long time. Su Tang was too shy to directly ask him for a photo.