Sometimes, one has to take responsibility for the words they say.
Initially, Cheng Daqi thought it was just an ordinary interview. But looking back now, it seemed to mark the beginning of the turning wheel of fate.
Seeing Zhao Hongjin's message, he didn't hesitate and directly admitted it was himself.
"It's me. ABC really screwed me over. They used my material in the news broadcast without my authorization."
Zhao Hongjin was a top-tier socialite, but not a necessity.
Cheng Daqi no longer felt the urgency he once did as a wanderer.
Back then, roaming the streets of a foreign land alone, he naturally wanted to network with someone like Zhao Hongjin, with great potential.
If the future in America didn't work out, he could always return home and seek support there.
Now, with the cooperation with Eris finalized and only a few days left until he received the system's identity recognition reward, the probability of staying in America was high, and the possibility of returning home was slim.
The more pressing issue was that those words were his own, and he was that person.
"Xiao Zhao, I'm coming clean. No more pretending.
You're great, like a golden thigh, but I don't need to lean on you that much anymore."
Hesitatingly looking at Cheng Daqi's response, Zhao Hongjin furrowed her brows.
"You really admitted it just like that? Are you really just a smooth-talker?"
She came across the video while lurking in the Feixin group today and immediately sent it to Cheng Daqi.
Zhao Hongjin thought there might be some misunderstanding, especially since she had a good impression of Cheng Daqi. But Cheng Daqi's response genuinely surprised her.
He admitted it was himself outright, with a hint of sincerity in his words.
In other words, he didn't try to cover it up at all.
"Alright, I suppose everyone has their own thoughts, which is normal. After all, everyone has their own world, not to mention a living person.
But Cheng, what's your purpose in saying this?"
Zhao Hongjin could understand diverse perspectives, but she couldn't grasp Cheng Daqi's intentions.
She remembered vividly how precise and sharp Cheng Daqi's criticisms of America were before, without any courtesy.
From Cheng Daqi's words, she could tell he was a smart person with a broad vision and perspective.
Such a smart person usually had strong independent thinking skills, able to find the best way out in different situations and events.
Many things Zhao Hongjin was aware of, and she believed Cheng Daqi wouldn't be unaware of them either.
Zhao Hongjin was certain that Cheng Daqi was as smart as herself.
A person who guessed her school just by a bit of information on their first meeting, and the subsequent conversation was pleasant.
She knew Cheng Daqi might have ulterior motives, but she was used to different people approaching her with their own agendas.
But Cheng Daqi was too strange, really strange.
A person with independent thinking, but saying something 'not so clever' in an interview.
There were only two reasons for this.
Either his position determined his words, he was smart, so he understood the significance of speaking for his stance.
Or there was another motive, using language as a tool, with hidden purposes behind it, not to be spoken to others.
Zhao Hongjin wanted to know which one Cheng Daqi was.
If it was the first one, then there was nothing more to discuss, they could part ways.
'Answer me, what's your purpose?'
Cheng Daqi couldn't reply to Zhao Hongjin's question.
They were chatting on Feixin, a Chinese app.
But the network provider was an American company, and Zhao Hongjin's identity might be sensitive, with a certain probability of being monitored.
Cheng Daqi had already decided to take an irreversible path.
He had already suffered from speaking rashly.
American TV stations were unethical, but compared to the American intelligence agencies, their actions were trivial.
Seeing no response from the other side, Zhao Hongjin, feeling bored, pursed her lips.
She wondered if she should delete it now or wait a few days.
Basic respect had to be maintained. Let's compromise and delete it tomorrow.
"Do you remember the question we discussed last time?"
Cheng Daqi didn't answer Zhao Hongjin's question but brought up the question they hadn't had time to discuss last time.
Zhao Hongjin's Feixin signature was 'Ask whether the green hills persist, will return?'
He asked what the green hills in Zhao Hongjin's signature referred to, but she was busy at the time, so she said they would talk later.
With her beautiful peach blossom eyes slightly narrowed, Zhao Hongjin remembered Cheng Daqi's previous question.
She didn't really want to reply to Cheng Daqi's message, but this man really hit her weak spot.
Last time, she postponed the conversation for a different time because she was busy with her thesis, but also because she wanted to discuss the origin and meaning of her signature with Cheng Daqi.
She admired Xin Qiji, admired the boldness of Xin Qiji's poem "Drunkenly Picking Swords under the Lantern." When she was young, she even regretted not being born a man.
For thousands of years, people thought that Xin Qiji's "returning to the green hills" meant revisiting a scenic spot.
But Zhao Hongjin thought differently. From the first time she saw this poem, she stubbornly believed that the green hills Xin Qiji referred to were not scenery, but the thousands of miles of territory abandoned by the Southern Song Dynasty.
As she grew older, Zhao Hongjin's appreciation for this poem deepened, so she used this line from Xin Qiji as her signature.
"My signature is a poem by Xin Qiji. You can look up its meaning online. As for your question about the green hills, different people have different answers."
Last time, she wanted to find a good time to talk, but now she didn't feel like it.
So she simply replied with two sentences, without further explanation.
The proud Zhao Sister didn't like being played.
Who made Cheng Daqi want to be America's lapdog?
"In that case, your signature is quite interesting, but it's still a bit inferior to mine, haha."
After replying with this sentence, Cheng Daqi found an article about Prism Gate and sent it to Zhao Hongjin.
"She should understand, right?"
It's not that Cheng Daqi intended to be cryptic or elaborate unnecessarily, it's just that America's standards for humanity were too low.
Whether Zhao Sister understood or not wasn't that important. If she truly didn't understand, it would just mean losing a top-tier connection she had just made, which wasn't a big problem.
If she did understand, all the better. It's always good to have one more influential friend.
After replying, Cheng Daqi squeezed onto the bus and headed back to the recovery point.
On the other end, the black girl was already worried and calling him.
In a villa in San Lotou with Chinese-style decoration, Zhao Hongjin sat up straight on the sofa, her posture changing from a curled up position to sitting upright.
She just experienced the sensation of her spine tingling.
Since when did the people of Rui Mei like to watch the plum blossoms in the North Sea?
The person who wrote this line had become taboo worldwide.
Looking at Cheng Daqi's signature, her beautiful peach blossom eyes first showed confusion, then astonishment.
Thinking of the article Cheng Daqi sent about Prism Gate, his words, and his signature, Zhao Hongjin discovered for the first time that there were such interesting stories in the world.
And she seemed to understand what the person in the story wanted to do.