After finishing the late-night snack and heading back, just as I walked into the alley, I received a call from Teacher Xie at home.
Seeing this, Gu Yunzhen paused and pointed towards the rental with her finger, signaling to Liang Weining with her eyes that she should go ahead first.
It's only natural for students to be afraid of their teachers.
Even after so many years since graduating from high school, to this very day, whenever Ning Xiaoguai's phone rings and she sees the caller ID flash the three words 'Teacher Xie', Gu Yunzhen instinctively tenses up with nervousness.
She was afraid.
Afraid that Teacher Xie would one day suddenly remember this disappointing student of hers, to whom she had placed great hopes, having protected and supported her wholeheartedly throughout the three years of high school.
But she had given up on the college entrance exam.
Gu Yunzhen felt too ashamed to face such a devoted class teacher.
Even when Liang Weining suggested moving in together after graduating from university, her first thought was that they had to keep it a secret from Teacher Xie.
Liang Weining asked why.
At that time, Gu Yunzhen only smiled and explained lightly, "For example, if Teacher Xie asks about my current situation, what would you say?"
"Say that you are working in the Hong Kong Region and doing quite well."
Ning Xiaoguai caught on quickly, understanding her concerns.
But Gu Yunzhen just shook her head, "Forget it, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Like when?"
"Like a few years later, when I have to attend your wedding as a bridesmaid."
Liang Weining was just about to object but then caught herself.
She almost forgot, her best friend was against marriage.
Collecting her thoughts.
In the not-so-quiet alley at night, with people occasionally passing by on bicycles, Liang Weining held the phone to her ear and walked at a leisurely pace, patiently listening to her mother's detailed instructions.
"As a girl living alone, pay attention to safety, how is the security in the area you rented?"
Liang Weining nodded, "It's okay, a commercial apartment definitely won't be bad."
"Is your monthly living expense enough? I'll ask your dad to transfer some more money."
"Go ahead, transfer a million."
This kid.
If she's in the mood to tease her like this, it means she must be enjoying her job.
Thinking this way, Teacher Xie lost focus, and the phone slipped into her husband's hands.
Old Liang cleared his throat symbolically a couple of times, indicating to his daughter that there was a change of speaker.
Liang Weining held back a grin, "Dad, is your blood pressure still high lately?"
If he were in good health, there wouldn't be any high blood pressure.
Old Liang often exaggerated intentionally, merely to chat with his daughter a bit longer and find an excuse to monopolize the phone.
Teacher Xie saw through it but didn't point it out, snorting amusedly in her heart.
Old fox.
The call ended amidst the laughter and chatter of the three family members.
It was twenty minutes later when I returned to the rental.
The sound of the door closing came from the entrance, and Gu Yunzhen, brushing her teeth, turned around.
"Back already?"
"Yeah." Liang Weining put down her bag and sprawled on the recliner, comfortable.
At the bathroom sink, Gu Yunzhen, with her mouth full of toothpaste suds, looked at the girl in the living room and mumbled unclearly, "I really can't understand why you'd rather squeeze into this shabby little place with me when you could be comfortably living off your family."
Liang Weining opened a snack bag and chewed on chips leisurely, "Eliminate the 'comfortable living', and 'mooching off the family' would be more apt."
"Then why aren't you mooching?"
"Afraid of retribution."
"Retribution from whom, your son?"
Liang Weining glanced at her, "If I have a son in the future and he dares to mooch off me, I'll nip it in the bud."
Alright, that's ruthless.
End of conversation.
The reason for squeezing into a shabby little place was obviously clear enough.
Four years ago, when Gu Yunzhen left Chengdu all by herself, dragging her luggage behind her, Liang Weining said, "Wait for me, I'll be there soon to keep you company."
She smiled and asked, "For how long?"
"Until you get tired of me."
Liang Weining knew that Gu Yunzhen was very afraid of loneliness.
She had known it since the very first day they met.
Perhaps she had eaten too much supper, because even after washing up, Liang Weining still wasn't sleepy.
She had planned to play games for a while, but her gaze fell on her laptop, and that was when she remembered it was currently infected with a virus.
Her good mood instantly vanished.
Without anyone available to fix it, she browsed various computer forums on her phone, in case there was an expert who might offer some advice.
And believe it or not, she actually found a solution.
Liang Weining decided to try following the steps suggested by that anonymous user.
She restarted with the Shift key, choosing "Troubleshoot" when the computer booted up, then "Advanced options," and in the "Startup Settings," she selected "Safe Mode with Networking."
After entering safe mode, Liang Weining inserted a USB drive to start reinstalling the system.
Everything was progressing normally, the whole process was suspiciously smooth.
It looked as though the hacker hadn't been thoroughly malicious after all.
It was odd—how could she, a layperson, manage to fix it when the shop owner claimed it was impossible?
She distinctly remembered the owner joking as she left: "A real hacker wouldn't use a cutesy pink pig icon on a girl's computer—your case is probably the work of someone you know."
Someone she knew...
Who could it be?
Liang Weining didn't ponder it long; since the problem was solved, she pushed it to the back of her mind.
The next day at the office, a group of assistants were neatly seated at their workstations.
She was surprised.
Why was everyone so energized today? They were never this proactive about starting the workday.
No sooner had she booted up her computer than Vivi handed her two warm A4 sheets for review.
Behind her, out of sight, several pairs of eyes were fixed intently on Liang Weining, filled with eager anticipation, seemingly waiting for some outcome.
Liang Weining skimmed the interview agenda at a glance and realized that this bunch had included a whole ten private questions about Mr. Chen.
She lightly slapped the list on the desk and signaled to Vivi, "Keep numbers 15 and 16, strike out the rest."
Upon hearing this, the latter's face showed a plea, "Little Boss."
This was not up for discussion.
She was Chen Jingyuan's secretary, not a gossip conveyor.
If this interview agenda really ended up in the hands of the TV station, the entire secretarial office would be in deep trouble.
So, Liang Weining had to refocus, repeatedly editing and revising until she finalized the list before lunchtime.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, everyone on the top floor was immersed in their well-ordered work.
That is, until the elevator at the end of the corridor dinged open.
Looking through the glass partition, Liang Weining saw only Xu Zhou. After pondering for two seconds, she picked up the interview agenda from her desk and walked out of the secretarial office.
Having exchanged greetings, Xu Zhou stretched out his hand to take the list, glanced over it, and asked with a smile, "Is there some problem so tricky that even you're not sure about it?"
Liang Weining sighed, "A financial interview extending into personal love life—those people at the TV station truly are talented."
"You'll get used to it."
Xu Zhou was no longer surprised by such things and reassured her, "Whether it's the entertainment segment or the financial one, none of the Hong Kong media channels are serious. Don't compare them to the Mainland."
"So, has Mr. Chen been asked these questions before?"
"Not at all, even with the agenda in hand, they wouldn't dare."
But one couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be some fearless host in the future.
Any detail about Mr. Chen's private life in the Hong Kong Region, if broadcast, would set a new high for the TV station's ratings.
But this was supposed to be a financial interview—shouldn't it be treated with seriousness?
Liang Weining couldn't make sense of it.
However, what she couldn't understand even more, was Chen Jingyuan's reaction after browsing the agenda.