Simon sat in his familiar office. Ever since graduating, he had joined this GG company. His major was financial management, but his work content had little to do with finance; he was responsible for creative design. His team leader was a senior from the same university, two years his elder, a slow-spoken and very proper person.
Simon's girlfriend was Xu Yuanqi, a university classmate who majored in fashion design. She was from the north but stayed in the southern city after graduation, living with Simon. She was responsible for promotion and post-production at an online studio, and her work hours were relatively flexible, at least more so than Simon's.
The Jiangnan region in May was warm and rainy. This wasn't entirely accurate, as the city Simon lived in had rain almost all year round; the difference was whether the rain was heavy or cold.
It was 6:51 PM, long past quitting time, but the team's work wasn't finished, and a new rookie was to blame. Someone quietly said they saw the rookie secretly playing games. But the rookie said he lacked ability and would definitely improve in the future.
Everyone was used to such excuses, and they also believed that this rookie would continue to drag everyone down—no, to be precise, Simon and the team leader.
The senior called Simon, and the three of them worked overtime to finish the task. Everyone else had long since left.
Simon finished typing a document, and his phone vibrated.
Xu Yuanqi sent a message, asking, "Why aren't you here to pick me up yet?"
Simon unlocked his screen, opened the message, and then stared blankly at the WeChat chat background for about five seconds before slowly typing: "[Almost there.]"
Xu Yuanqi replied instantly, "[You're lying.]"
"[You're definitely still at the company, aren't you? Did you work overtime again?]"
Simon glanced at the documents on his desk.
"[...No.]"
"[Appear before me in five minutes!]" She also attached an angry emoji.
"[Can't do that.]"
Simon turned off his screen and looked around.
The floor lights were already off. Aside from the dim twilight outside the glass wall, only three faint yellow eye-protection lamps were still on in the room. Of course, there were also computer screens and the senior's forehead.
Simon smiled. The senior stood up, walked over to him, and took a document. He was always like this, helping others whenever he could. The reason he never suffered a major loss was because of his excellent ability.
"Thanks, Yu-ge."
"Don't thank me. If it weren't for me, you'd have already gone to pick up Qiqi, right?"
"...Yes."
"It's getting late. You should go first."
"I'm almost done."
"Go."
"Thanks."
The senior smiled and took all the piled-up documents.
Simon turned off his computer and stared blankly at the shutdown animation for a while.
When he left the company, Xu Yuanqi was waiting downstairs. She was holding an umbrella. There was a light drizzle, but just as Simon came out, it stopped.
"Are you a lucky charm? The weather clears up as soon as you step out."
"I'm not. Whenever I see you, it's always like spring is in bloom, no matter where I am."
"Cheesy pick-up line, gross, blech!"
They ate dinner together, a habit they'd had since their university days.
At the dinner table, Xu Yuanqi said, "I still want to go to the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts."
The Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts was, of course, in Shanghai. That city wasn't far from here in terms of distance, but the economic levels were vastly different.
Simon paused with his chopsticks, his mind suddenly racing with thoughts.
Night Shanghai, Night Shanghai, you are a, an, evil, succubus!
"Hmm, I've got this." He lowered his head, took a mouthful of minced meat and eggplant, then a mouthful of rice, and chewed vigorously.
Xu Yuanqi frowned, staring at Simon with a worried look. His eating style was so earnest it could make anyone hungry. She recalled their university days, where Simon's joyful eating always led her to overeat. Those were happy times.
Xu Yuanqi managed a smile, lowered her head, and poked at the few grains of rice in her bowl, "That's for later, let's not talk about it now."
After dinner, they said goodbye and returned to their respective places.
Their companies both provided employee dormitories, but Xu Yuanqi was sharing a rented apartment with a close friend.
In the middle of the night, Simon was woken by thunder.
For some reason, he wasn't very sleepy. He sat up, unlocked his phone, and leaned against the headboard, browsing Moments.
Today was the fourteenth. Yesterday, the thirteenth, his mother had shared five chicken soup articles and two health articles throughout the day, as well as some articles on modern issues like elderly care and the pros and cons of children working in different cities.
His father shared some scenic photos and some artsy quotes from young people.
Xu Yuanqi posted nine photos of her dinner six minutes before midnight.
Simon liked all of them and, while he was at it, blocked a few WeChat merchants.
He also wanted to post something on Moments.
"[Only hard work doesn't disappoint, only work doesn't hesitate.]"
His intuition told him this sounded stupid, but in his half-asleep state, he felt whatever he said made sense. So he carefully chose a beautiful deer head image as an accompanying picture and clicked send.
The next day, he woke up to about forty messages in Moments. Besides likes, there were only four comments.
His mother said: "Come home if you're tired, get some rest early."
His father said: "Keep it up, thumbs up.jpg"
Xu Yuanqi said: "Don't push yourself too hard."
His senior said: "Makes sense."
Xu Yuanqi sent him a message, asking if he was under too much stress lately and if she should just give up on going to the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts.
Simon replied: "I was just saying whatever on Moments."
They exchanged messages, and Simon explained for a long time before dispelling Xu Yuanqi's guilt.
From then on, he rarely posted on Moments, though he had always posted infrequently.
He started to block some people, not letting them see his status, so Moments became a place for quiet thoughts, not to be spread everywhere.
One year later.
He didn't get a promotion, but his senior did. Fortunately, he also got a raise. The rookie was fired because he was watching a live stream when the boss came to inspect.
After his senior left, he became the team leader. No one would help him with his work, and he was unwilling to assign tasks to others. He was often the one who stayed behind to work overtime.
His mother was urging him to get married and move back to his hometown to develop his career.
His father told him to take care of his health. Besides that, the father and son didn't have much communication.
Xu Yuanqi was preparing for her postgraduate entrance exams. She resigned from her position at the studio and chose to take on some easy part-time jobs, which allowed her more time to prepare for her studies.
He occasionally met with his senior, exchanging a few simple words. It wasn't awkward, but they weren't particularly close either. Simon knew that his senior was very considerate to everyone around him, and there were too many juniors like him to truly be important in his senior's heart.
Simon spoke less and less.
Online, he was a transparent person; in reality, his presence wasn't very strong either.
After an unknown number of times being late, Xu Yuanqi sent him a string of ellipses on WeChat, ending with a tired emoji.
Sitting in the restaurant, Xu Yuanqi ordered the food.
When all the dishes were served, neither of them touched their chopsticks.
"I'm so tired, do you understand?" She gently pressed her dark circles.
"..." I understand.
"You're becoming more and more indifferent now."
"..." I just don't have the energy.
"I don't want to go on like this anymore."
"..." Don't.
"Let's eat."
Simon resigned from his job. Six months later, he went to the train station to see Xu Yuanqi off.
It was a rare snowfall in the Jiangnan region. In previous years, winter always failed to arrive properly, but this year, the northern air mass was exceptionally cold. The Asian high pressure was indeed high pressure.
He stood outside the station, hesitating.
Simon closed his eyes. The girl hugged his neck from behind.
"Simon—Kang, hehe."
Xu Yuanqi.
"I'm leaving now."
I know.
"Don't miss me."
Impossible.
Today is December twenty-first.
Go home, play games.
-------------------------------
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