The next day was the emotionally charged Double Eleven, yet Qiao Jingjing had to calmly watch videos of herself playing Niu Mo.
Yu Tu had indeed recorded them, transferring them to the computer to analyze with her what she did right and where she went wrong. "The commonly used Support heroes are essentially those few. Their skills differ, but mastering one means your game sense is in place."
They then watched several videos of professional players using Niu Mo.
Qiao Jingjing felt bitter inside. On such a grand Singles' Day, being single was one thing, having to study was another, but why did she have to learn such an unhandsome hero? Niu Mo was really not aesthetically pleasing at all.
By around four in the afternoon, Yu Tu said he needed to leave early today.
"I have a gathering with colleagues from work tonight."
"I think you have quite a few gatherings." It made her, a female celebrity, seem like she had no social life at all.
Yu Tu didn’t find it comforting. "Isn’t it a normal frequency? And it’s themed around celebrating Singles' Day."
"..."
Yu Tu coughed lightly. "They said they also want to ask me about some work-related matters."
"...Go ahead."
Yu Tu didn’t forget to remind her, "Make sure to practice Support heroes like Zhang Fei on your own."
Qiao Jingjing felt a bit frustrated. He was going out to have fun and still assigning her homework?
Bored, she followed him to the door, thinking that he got to attend a lively gathering while she had to stay alone—it was almost pitiful. "It would be nice if I could go with you to have fun."
As soon as she said it, she realized it might be inappropriate. Even if she weren’t Qiao Jingjing, going with Yu Tu wouldn’t be suitable either.
Just as she was regretting speaking without thinking, she heard Yu Tu say, "If I took you, would you dare to go?"
Qiao Jingjing was taken aback, but then she noticed a flicker of regret on his face as well.
After an awkward exchange of glances, she quickly saw Yu Tu off. "Have fun, bye-bye."
At this gathering, Yu Tu felt much more at ease. Everyone clinked glasses, and colleague Xiao Hu sighed, "It’s the same people as last year."
Da Meng said, "Next year won’t be the same as this year. Yu Tu’s going into investment banking—that glamorous world. Can he stay as pure as us?"
"Won’t it feel like something’s missing with one less person?"
"Maybe Lao Guan will be the extra one."
Yu Tu was startled. "What’s wrong with Lao Guan?"
Lao Guan, whose full name is Guan Zai, is a Ph.D. returnee from the U.S. and serves as the chief designer for the same model as Yu Tu. Yu Tu’s rapid promotion to deputy chief designer at such a young age was partly due to his mentorship.
"His wife is threatening to divorce him."
"How could that be?" Lao Guan and his wife were famously devoted; otherwise, she wouldn’t have given up a high salary to return with him from the U.S.
"Why not? After you left, his workload doubled, and his overtime hours increased again. If he’s never home, wouldn’t his wife be furious?"
Yu Tu frowned. "What are the others doing? Two more people joined just before I went on leave."
Da Meng said, "What’s the use of more people? You understand this best. Besides, with Lao Guan’s proud and stubborn temper, who else does he even respect besides you? If he’s not satisfied, he just does it himself and endures it."
Yu Tu silently picked up a cigarette from the table.
"Don’t talk nonsense," another colleague interjected. "Lao Guan already smoothed things over with his wife. He was even bragging to me about his loving breakfast today."
"Exactly, Da Meng, you’re just jealous because you’re single."
Da Meng spat in mock disgust, and everyone laughed again. Xiao Hu remembered something: "Oh, right, Lao Yu, I have a question to discuss with you. I think it might give me some insight."Before Yu Tu could speak, Da Meng interjected, "Hey, hey~ you two, don’t forget about confidentiality. No discussing technical matters outside."
"Can’t I even chat with Old Yu about foreign tech? What else am I supposed to talk to him about? Housing prices in Lujiazui?"
The two of them started bickering, and Yu Tu’s gaze dimmed slightly. Their industry had strict confidentiality rules—once they left the workplace, they couldn’t even mention specific technical details. After he left, he’d probably only be able to glean bits and pieces from news and magazines.
He leaned back in his chair, lowered his head, and lit a cigarette.
The dinner wrapped up around eight o’clock. His colleagues decided to let loose completely and go sing karaoke. But Yu Tu felt somewhat disinterested. After saying his goodbyes, he left alone.
They had met at Grand Gateway, right above Metro Line 1.
The subway station was as crowded as ever.
This city was fascinating. Heading south to Xinzhuang to transfer to Line 5 would take you to Zhuangiao Aerospace City, while going north to People’s Square to switch to Line 2 led to Lujiazui Financial Center.
Opposite directions—one side lonely, the other bustling.
Like a fork in the road of life.
Trains came and went one after another. Amid the crowd, Yu Tu stood for a long time.
Qiao Jingjing was at home playing games.
She hadn’t really felt anything about Singles' Day before, but the thought of Yu Tu out eating and drinking with friends while she was pitifully gaming alone suddenly made her grasp the melancholy of being single.
Maybe the skilled players were all out celebrating, or perhaps singles just weren’t in the mood—her Wang Zhaojun actually managed to Carry, delivering outstanding performances for several rounds in a row.
So she took a screenshot, blurred out the details, and posted it on Weibo. Most people liked and praised it, saying, "Our goddess is amazing!"
But there were some unique comments too.
Like this one—
Little Wife Dudu: My goddess is so beautiful, so rich, and so slim, yet on Singles' Day, she can only play games………… I’m not pretty, I’m chubby and broke, but at least I have a husband ╮(╯▽╰)╭
...This must be a true fan.
Feeling aggrieved despite being so slim and beautiful, Qiao Jingjing started another round. Just as she was unleashing her ultimate in a Team fight, Yu Tu called. Qiao Jingjing mercilessly rejected the call and only called back after the match ended.
As soon as the call connected, Yu Tu asked, "Playing Wang Zhaojun again?"
"...Are you spying on me?"
"Just checked," he seemed to chuckle on the other end, then asked, "Want to go out?"
Qiao Jingjing was taken aback and stood up. "Where are you?"
"Downstairs."
Qiao Jingjing happily ran downstairs.
Yu Tu saw that she was fully disguised again, yet even her hair seemed to radiate the joy of getting some fresh air. Amused, he felt an unexpected sense of relief.
Qiao Jingjing asked cheerfully, "Why are you back? Was your gathering nearby too?"
Yu Tu wanted to ask himself the same question.
"Something like that," Yu Tu said. "They wanted to go sing, but I wasn’t interested."
"Oh~ so where are we going?"
Yu Tu thought for a moment. "How about a movie?"
There was a cinema in the basement of a nearby mall. As they walked over, they browsed their phones to see what was playing.
"How about this one?" Yu Tu pointed to an artistic romance film—the kind girls usually liked.
Qiao Jingjing glanced at it. "No way, are you doing this on purpose? Everyone knows I don’t get along with the female lead."
Yu Tu: "...I’m not too familiar with your circle."Yu Tu glanced through the options again and, playing it safe, chose a movie with an all-male cast. "How about this one?"
"Ah, this one should be quite good. But the male lead just broke up with his girlfriend, and his girlfriend happens to be my close friend." No matter how good the movie was, she couldn't betray her bestie.
Yu Tu: "..."
He handed her his phone. "You choose."
Qiao Jingjing was already quite familiar with Yu Tu's phone. She scrolled through the options and said, "Let's watch an animated film. Only aisle seats are left... Give me your fingerprint."
She had quickly selected the seats and stopped walking, holding out the phone for Yu Tu to use his fingerprint for payment. In that moment, she completely forgot she could have just handed the phone back to him.
Surprisingly, Yu Tu didn’t take the phone either. He simply lowered his head and gently pressed his fingerprint on the phone she was holding.
In that instant, Qiao Jingjing felt as if something inside her had been lightly touched as well—a sudden flutter in her heart. She looked up and met Yu Tu’s deep gaze.
It felt like a long time had passed, or perhaps only a moment, before Yu Tu took his phone back.
He checked the time. "We need to hurry. There are only fifteen minutes left."
The two walked quietly toward the cinema without another word. After entering the shopping mall, Yu Tu suddenly said, "Let’s split up."
Qiao Jingjing was taken aback.
"Don’t look back. Someone’s following us."
Then he quickly walked past her. A moment later, she received a QR code for the movie tickets via WeChat from him.
Yu Tu: You get the tickets and go in first.
Jingjing: But it looks like both tickets will be printed at once. How will you get in?
Yu Tu: I’ll let you know once we’re inside the theater.
Qiao Jingjing felt like watching a movie had just turned into a thrilling adventure. She picked up the tickets and, following Yu Tu’s instructions, placed one of them on an empty table before going in alone. It was just like a spy movie she had acted in!
As soon as she settled into her aisle seat in the screening room, the lights went out, and advertisements began playing on the big screen. The seat beside her remained empty, and Jingjing grew anxious. What if someone else had taken the ticket?
She took out her phone to send a WeChat message, but before she could type anything, the light around her dimmed. A figure appeared beside her, and in the pitch-black darkness, the person leaned down and whispered, "Is this seat taken? I found a movie ticket on a table."
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