The director was speechless, unsure of what to say, when an intern knocked on the door and came in.
"Um, Brother Ye..." the intern blushed, "There's someone downstairs looking for you, claiming to be your cousin, you see..."
Ye Yubing was bewildered, and the intern was almost in tears: "He won't leave, even the security guards can't move him, he just keeps saying he wants to see you... why don't you... go down and take a look?"
The agent was incredibly curious about the "cousin" who won the lottery, but if they were such a close relationship, why didn't he call? So he secretly followed him.
Fortunately, the silly Ye Yubing didn't let him leave.
Upon reaching the first floor, Ye Yubing surprisedly removed his sunglasses and strode towards a masked man: "Ah, you're the boss's......" He stammered for a moment: "...Big Brother!"
After thinking it over, he seemed to think his answer was great, and enthusiastically repeated, "Big Brother!"
Wen Zheng: "…………"
They had met once outside the recording studio of the guqin. Wen Zheng made a gesture to him with a cold face, and the two found an empty small room.
"Get out," Wen Zheng said to Sister Sun, who had followed him in.
Sun Jie, who had originally wanted to join in the fun, had no choice but to turn around and leave.
The small room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Wen Zheng took off his mask, his eyes bloodshot. Before Ye Yubing could exchange pleasantries, he spoke first.
"Big Black has run away from home again."
“…Ah.” Ye Yubing opened her eyes wide, unsure how to answer.
"I can't find him." Wen Zheng sighed heavily, "I can't find him."
From the moment he discovered the cat was gone, he hadn't closed his eyes to rest. At first, he thought he knew a lot about cat spirits, but when he arrived at Little Yellow Hair's pet shop and found it deserted, his heart pounded in his chest.
He stayed there, searching for Wendy's registration information for Little Yellow Hair overnight. He couldn't get through on the phone, and the home address was fake. If he hadn't suddenly remembered Ye Yubing, his feline underling, he might have impulsively gone to their registered hometown in the mountains to survive.
Fortunately, the young actor with a wide social network is still around.
"Then, what should we do? Why don't you put up a 'Lost Cat' notice?" Ye Yubing was a bit silly; she almost blurted out "I don't have his phone number" without thinking.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "So you came to find me because you wanted to see the boss? But I don't have his phone number."
Wen Zheng rubbed his forehead: "I need to talk to him. When was the last time you two contacted each other?"
Ye Yubing recalled: "About three days ago, he transferred money to me to terminate the contract... Go, ah, go rest."
"...Terminate the contract?" Wen Zheng suddenly looked up at him, which startled Ye Yubing a little.
"Yes, I've already signed the papers, and I won't be working here anymore."
He made up his mind to leave completely, taking his cat, Little Cat, with him.
Wen Zheng closed his eyes wearily, leaned back against the wall, and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“I have something to say to him, just one sentence,” Wen Zheng said, “but his phone is off.”
Ye Yubing didn't know what to do. If his boss deliberately hid and he was exposed, wouldn't he have to come back to be a star? So Ye Yubing could only keep his mouth shut.
The air seemed to freeze. Wen Zheng stood there in a daze for a full five minutes, while Ye Yubing was sweating profusely. Sister Sun outside the door was about to call someone to pry open the door when he finally moved.
"Give this to Bei Sining for me."
Wen Zheng took a brown paper envelope from his pocket, gently tossed it on the table, and turned to leave.
***
"For me?" Bei Sining took the letter.
The blond-haired guy declared emphatically, "It was given to me by Big Brother!"
"..." Bei Sining inexplicably tore open the envelope, saw the handwriting, her hand froze, and she almost made a hand seal to burn the letter.
No other reason than feeling guilty.
Yesterday, my impulsive act of running away without a trace certainly had an element of rashness. Today, I've been listless and bored in the office all day, not knowing what's wrong with me.
Young man with blond hair: "Boss, aren't you going to watch?"
"How did it end up in your hands?" Bei Sining asked, snapping out of her daze.
“Hey, big brother…” He glanced at the boss’s fierce expression and changed his words: “Brother Wen went to Ye Yubing’s company. It took a long time to catch him. Xiao Bing said he looked particularly miserable, particularly dejected, and particularly frustrated because his cat got lost… uh… and then he asked me to deliver a message to you.”
Bei Sining remained silent.
"Boss, boss, why did he write you a letter? Did he... find out?"
Bei Sining gritted his teeth, opened the letter, and the contents made his expression go blank for a moment.
I didn't scold him, I didn't tell him to get lost, and I didn't say anything like "let's break off our friendship, you ungrateful wretch, don't come back."
The letter was very short.
I'm leaving tomorrow or the day after, so I'm saying goodbye in advance. Don't try to avoid me. If you have nowhere to stay, come home; the window's open for you. Let me know in the game if it's convenient, otherwise, it's fine.
The signature read: Goodbye.
It doesn't even have a name.
Bei Sining felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, and she felt a panic she had never experienced before.
What do you mean by "leaving"?
Isn't he just an ordinary office worker? Where is he going?
Is it related to that unknown elevator? Is it related to the few hours Le Cheng disappeared?
Has Wen Zheng given up investigating his identity?
"Boss?...Boss, boss, boss?"
"Calling back the soul." Bei Sining bit her lower lip, folded the letter vaguely, stuffed it into the envelope, folded the envelope three times, and then opened it again.
"No, boss, isn't today New Year's Eve? We were supposed to have a party... The streamers are all set up in the lobby! Director Fan brought a few girlfriends and asked us what we like to eat. We'll buy some ready-made food on the way."
December 31st, the last day of the year.
This is a day to celebrate in this world.
Bei Sining knew Wen Zheng's single life all too well; he had very few friends, and basically only Deng Puyue would come to his house.
Bai Shuang and Deng Puyue are together now, and they will definitely celebrate the festival together today. Wen Zheng probably won't participate in their activities.
Most likely, he'll just play a regular game at home, do a live stream, become a dedicated and lonely streamer, and receive lots of gifts and blessings from strangers.
Bei Sining felt anxious, so she pulled a strand of hair and rubbed it clockwise, then counterclockwise.
"Boss, what exactly did Brother Wen write? You're so distracted. I've asked you three times what you wanted to eat..."
"Eat shit." Bei Sining suddenly stood up.
"Huh?" The blond-haired guy exclaimed in surprise, "This is a bit difficult..."
"Get out, hey, wait a minute, get out now, go buy me a pair of holographic glasses."
The blond-haired boy blinked: "Now?"
"Now! Immediately! Right now!" Bei Sining yelled at him, "Buy the most expensive model! Use the company's money! If you're not back in half an hour, I'll throw you into the spatial rift!"
...
Wen Zheng opened his eyes.
In the main hall of the living space, the blue crystal pillar turned a dazzling bright red tonight, adorned with gold dust, a special commemorative pillar for the New Year.
Even so, the place was much quieter than usual. It was no longer crowded like dumpling filling; all that could be seen now was the thick soup of noodles.
One reason is naturally the various New Year's Eve activities, classmate reunions, company dinners and social gatherings, but for most introverted internet-addicted youths, playing games at home is still a comfortable option—they just play different games.
After all, even the red of the New Year's special commemorative pillar couldn't dispel the eerie chill of this horror puzzle game.
Wen Zheng didn't try to hide his necklace, and no one was watching him at the moment. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, he walked openly towards the leaderboard.
During the closed beta testing, the rankings for large-scale dungeons stopped updating. Upon finding Pharaoh's Wrath, he discovered that the name "The Storm Is Brewing" was no longer listed.
All the IDs on the list were unfamiliar.
This is an unfamiliar memorial pillar.
However, the testing period will officially end tonight, and there will be an update tomorrow. Many enthusiastic players will be working tirelessly to prepare for the brief replay of the pillar.
On the last day of the livestreaming competition, not all participating livestreamers were online.
Deng Puyue and Bai Shuang went to the suburbs to celebrate the New Year, and May went to Winter City. She probably hasn't settled down yet—even if she has, she might not log into this account again. Her friend list in the game is completely grayed out.
In reality, Wendy took her dog to run a cross-province New Year's Eve marathon. Cui Tiantian sent him a New Year's greeting via WeChat, and his master called him several times, but he didn't agree to go out for dinner.
Wen Zheng discovered that he was a very idle person, and he couldn't help but become a dedicated champion anchor.
Let's finish what we started.
As soon as the live stream started, viewers flooded in, and the chat was filled with even more comments than usual.
Wen Zheng felt a little warmer, and he was no longer so lonely that he had to chat with the smart home system.
Happy New Year, Zheng Ge!
- Is Brother Zheng going to broadcast tonight, or just say hello?
-I'm going to shower all the gifts I've saved on on Zheng Ge today! I promise I won't let you fall off the top spot!
-z remained completely calm, showing no sign of the festive spirit of the Lunar New Year.
Upon seeing this, Wen Zheng slightly curved the corners of his mouth and said, "Then what should I do? If it's not festive, I'll end the broadcast?"
-Aaaaaah! No way! That person in front of me is slapping me!
- It's incredibly festive! Even just sitting here makes Zheng Ge feel festive! And with a huge red pillar behind him, it's even more joyous!
"...Is that the central crystal?! That red color is so creepy!"
- Hahaha, or maybe the officials are furious.
Fireworks also happen at midnight in the game! Where can I watch them, Zheng Ge? Are you watching alone?
-Where is Mingzhu?
-Yeah, where's Mingzhu? Brother Zheng has been calling for Mingzhu to come online for days now, I miss him!
...
Wen Zheng's smile faded, and he sighed, "He probably won't be online anymore."