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墨書 Inktalez
Zhou Ziyan sat listlessly at the dining table, seemingly lost in thought or perhaps resisting something.
Zhou Xuanyu stood up.
"I'm heading back now. I'll come to work on Monday once I've figured things out."
As he walked past Zhou Ziyan, he gave his shoulder a light squeeze. The pressure was slight, but Zhou Ziyan felt as if his left shoulder was sinking under the weight.
Zhou Ziyan neither agreed nor disagreed; he simply watched as Zhou Xuanyu made his way toward the door step by step.
Suddenly, Zhou Xuanyu turned back.
"By the way, this CD is from Junxi. She asked me to bring it to you." Zhou Xuanyu returned, pulling a CD case from his jacket pocket and placing it in front of Zhou Ziyan.
Zhou Ziyan glanced at the transparent CD case, where a messy signature caught his eye, momentarily taken aback.
"I don't know what's on it. Junxi wouldn't tell me. She said it's a secret between you two, and that you'll understand once you see it."
Zhou Xuanyu's tone revealed no hint of emotion. He had begun to come to terms with the past that Junxi and Zhou Ziyan shared—those moments he would never have the chance to be part of.
He didn't want to be greedy, wanting her future while also intruding on Zhou Ziyan's past with her.
In this way, fair competition would yield a fair outcome, which was just fine.
As Zhou Ziyan listened to the sound of a car starting up and driving away outside, he slowly raised his hand and opened the CD case. As the cover lifted, something fell out from inside.
It was a yellowed piece of paper, with elegant, swirling handwriting that he remembered well, for it was written by someone he had humbly asked to do so.
"Though fierce winds may rise, one must never give up on life."
Zhou Ziyan recalled that the signature on this CD was obtained after he traveled through several cities and stood in line for seven hours.
The singer was someone Junxi adored; she said his songs were filled with positive energy and could help her out of her lows. When she said this, she was merely trying to emphasize how wonderful her idol was to Zhou Ziyan, completely unaware of what those lows truly meant.
But soon enough, the lows came quietly.
At eighteen, the once vibrant young lady suddenly became the daughter of a despised embezzler. Wen Junxi's fall from grace felt even more painful because it came from such great heights.
She locked herself away in her room, avoiding the outside world, refusing to read books, newspapers, or watch television, completely shutting out the sounds of life around her.
Zhou Ziyan spent countless days lingering outside her door without success.
Until one day, he stumbled upon news that Junxi's favorite singer would be holding a signing event in S City. With a glimmer of hope, he flew to S City, only to find that the event had been canceled due to heavy rain.
Undeterred, he followed the singer's footsteps to H City and then to C City. Finally, in C City, he queued from dawn and managed to get that signed CD.
There were too many people in line that day, and the singer's schedule was packed. Just getting a signature felt like enough luck. But when it was his turn, he pulled out that small piece of paper and hoped the singer would write an encouraging message on it.
Many people behind him sighed at his greed, and staff members quickly came over to intervene. Yet he stubbornly pleaded not to leave empty-handed.
Perhaps moved by his sincerity, the singer hurriedly wrote down those words on the white paper.
"Though fierce winds may rise, one must never give up on life."
After returning, Zhou Ziyan secretly slipped the note into Junxi's room. She was unwilling to go out, so he played the singer's new song outside her door, again and again, day after day.
Eventually, he could sing those songs with his eyes closed.
He remembered Junxi telling him that these songs could help her through her lows...
He had done many foolish things for Junxi, but he never expected she would still remember them.
Zhou Ziyan placed the CD into the player, and the familiar melodies filled the air, effortlessly bringing back memories from years ago.
On the back of that note, Junxi had added a line.
"I never thought I would lose you because of who I love."
Such a simple sentence, yet Zhou Ziyan felt as if he could see Junxi's helplessness and sincerity when she wrote it.
Indeed, loving her was his own decision. He had never told her, yet when she fell for someone else, he made her pay for that decision. It was unfair.
She regarded him as a friend, as family, as someone she would never lose. But what about him? Just because he loved and couldn't have her, he easily severed years of friendship?
As Zhou Ziyan listened to those songs that once comforted Junxi while eating the cold curry rice Zhou Xuanyu had made for him, he stubbornly pushed the food into his mouth and swallowed it down.
Because he couldn't bear to see the two people he loved most in this world hurt because of him.
---
Junxi arrived at the company early in the morning and saw Zhou Ziyan's car parked in the lot at the entrance of the building.
"Zhou Ziyan will definitely come to work on Monday," Zhou Xuanyu said confidently, not expecting that he would actually show up. It seemed that Zhou Xuanyu truly understood Zhou Ziyan better than anyone else.
When Junxi arrived at the office, Zhou Ziyan had just walked out of Galen's office.
"Zhou Ziyan!" Junxi waved at him.
Zhou Ziyan glanced at her, and the fact that he didn't avoid her gaze filled her with joy.
"You came to work!" Junxi jogged over and handed him the pancakes she had made that morning.
He usually loved to snatch her pancakes, but today he seemed completely indifferent.
"Let's talk over there," Zhou Ziyan said, turning to walk into the empty meeting room next door.
Junxi didn't care about the curious glances from people in the office; she hurriedly followed him inside and closed the door behind her.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm here to resign," Zhou Ziyan said.
"Resign?" Junxi exclaimed, nearly dropping the pancake in her hand.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Zhou Ziyan's demeanor softened slightly.
"Yes, resign."
"How can you just resign like that?" Junxi scoffed. "You're the heir of Hengfu Group; if you can't hold on, who else can?"
"Everyone has their own aspirations. Some come to Hengfu Group for experience, some for money, but I'm neither," Zhou Ziyan said, his piercing gaze fixed on Junxi.
Junxi suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"You always ask me why I came to work at Hengfu Group," Zhou Ziyan paused. "Now I can tell you: it was for you."
"Zhou Ziyan..."
"But my leaving isn't for you; it's for myself."
As Zhou Ziyan spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and gently touched Junxi's cheek. His movement was so tender, as if he feared that with even a slight pressure, she would vanish from his fingertips.
Junxi didn't dare to move, afraid that any shift would put more distance between them.
"If I keep looking at you, how can I forget you?"
So he left, simply to forget her better.
Only by forgetting everything that had come before could he face her calmly again.
Such a reason for resignation would surely be understandable to anyone.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, a colleague pushed the door open. Upon seeing Zhou Ziyan and Junxi gazing at each other with such emotion, they chuckled and turned away.
“Zhou Gongzi, we didn't disturb anything, did we?”
Junxi quickly took a step back.
Zhou Ziyan withdrew his hand and smiled at them with a meaningful expression.
“Of course, you did disturb something.”
“Alright, alright, then we'll leave. How about we delay for fifteen minutes just for you?” The colleagues laughed and prepared to leave.
Junxi hurriedly waved her hands.
Zhou Ziyan stopped joking: “I have to go now. Junxi, I’ll trouble you to take care of everyone from now on.”
“Oh, if you can't bear to leave, then don’t go! What will happen to this pair of lovebirds if they’re separated?”
“Exactly!”
Teasing voices echoed around them.
It seemed no one realized how painful this farewell was.
Zhou Ziyan left without a second glance at Junxi.
She couldn't help but feel a bit lost. She didn't know if they could ever return to being friends like before. Perhaps she was too greedy; one cannot have both fish and bear's paw.
“Junxi, how can Zhou Gongzi bear to resign?” someone chimed in.
"Didn't I hear that he confessed to you and you two are together now? Are you afraid that an office romance might have a negative impact?"
"Or are you worried that being together every day will lead to getting sick of each other?"
"…"
Just as everyone was exchanging their thoughts, a sudden cough interrupted from the doorway.
Junxi turned around to see Zhou Xuanyu standing at the entrance. It was hard to tell if he had overheard their conversation, but his expression was far from pleasant.
"Mr. Zhou…" Several colleagues exchanged glances, lowering their voices and daring not to say more.
"Why did everyone stop talking?"
Zhou Xuanyu walked in, casually placing his notebook on the conference table, clearly intending to hold a meeting.
"We were just joking about how Zhou Gongzi is leaving and teasing Junxi," someone whispered.
"What kind of joke?" Zhou Xuanyu asked seriously.
"Well… we were just encouraging them to get together."
"Get together?" Zhou Xuanyu frowned. "Don't you all know that Wen Junxi is my girlfriend?"
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