Deskmate, Your Image Is Slipping - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Accident

“Yes, yes, exactly!” Tao Yu laughed heartily. “Everyone has worked hard! Come on, bottom’s up!”

The atmosphere gradually livened up amidst round after round of toasts.

As the star contributor to this project, Gu Yu was pressed into drinking quite a bit of alcohol. He didn’t decline when others toasted him, and when no one was toasting, he drank by himself. By the time his consciousness began to float, he poured another full glass. Just as the rim of the glass was about to touch his lips, a hand wearing a silver wristwatch pressed down on it.

“Stop drinking. The feast is almost over.”

Gu Yu followed the voice and looked over, his eyes glazed, saying nothing and making no movement.

“Ah, looking at Little Gu, he must have had too much to drink. Is anyone going the same way who can give him a ride? It’s not safe to take a taxi back like this,” Tao Yu said with concern.

“President Zhao, Chief Engineer Tao, I’ll take him back. He’s staying at XX Hotel, and the two of us usually share a car to work, so it happens to be on the way.” Ren Yi walked over, intending to help Gu Yu up. But before his hand could even touch the man, he heard Zhao Che say: “I brought him here, so I’ll send him back.”

With that, Zhao Che politely bade everyone farewell, then helped the swaying Gu Yu into the Land Rover SUV.

Ren Yi: “…”

The inside of the car was dead silent, so quiet that even breathing was barely imperceptible. Gu Yu leaned on Zhao Che’s shoulder with his eyes half-closed. From the driver’s perspective, it looked as though Zhao Che was gently holding him in an embrace.

The two maintained this position all the way to the hotel.

After getting out of the car, Zhao Che reached into Gu Yu’s coat pocket to feel out the room card. Spotting the room number on it, he brought him into the room without much effort.

Zhao Che didn’t leave right away. Turning around, he pulled out a sachet of honey from the neatly arranged drink section, mixed it with a glass of warm water, stirred it thoroughly, and handed it to Gu Yu: “Drink a little, or you’ll feel terrible tomorrow.”

He lowered his voice, looking at the person in front of him who was taking small sips of water without making a sound, and added: “You’ll feel a bit clearer in a moment. Call me if anything comes up. I’m leaving now.”

Once the door closed, Gu Yu pulled open a drawer, searched out a few bottles covered in English lettering, hastily unscrewed them, poured out several white tablets, stuffed them into his mouth all at once, and washed them down with the honey water.

After taking the medication, he collapsed onto the bed as if all his strength had been drained, curling up on his side. In fact, he had already woken up while on the road earlier. At that time, he felt he was clinging very close to Zhao Che, as though his entire body was resting on him. To avoid embarrassment, he simply pretended to be drunk, keeping his eyes shut the entire ride.

Once they arrived at the hotel, he hadn’t intended to wake up either, merely accepting the honey water Zhao Che handed him in a daze. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of the door closing that he finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Hello, sir. How may I assist you?” The hotel front desk staff member flashed a standard, polite smile.

Zhao Che asked, “Is there a vacant room next to 1809?”

“Let me check for you.” She quickly looked up the occupancy details and said, “Yes, sir, there is.”

“Open one.”

“Alright, here is your room card. If you need breakfast service, you can scan the code to reserve it.”

Zhao Che nodded, took the room card, and placed a call to his assistant: “Tomorrow, pack a few changes of clothes and daily necessities for me, and send them to Room 1811 at XX Hotel.”

There was an unusual pause on the other end of the line for a few seconds before a response finally came: “Alright, President Zhao.”

Hanging up the phone, he let out a soft sigh. He knew his assistant was puzzled as to why he was staying in a hotel instead of his own spacious luxury apartment.

It was simply that he couldn’t put his mind at ease regarding Gu Yu.

Entering Room 1811, the hotel facilities were fully equipped, with disposable amenities neatly arranged on the vanity. After taking a shower, Zhao Che lay on the bed, recalling the scene of his reunion with Gu Yu today. Gradually, his consciousness drifted into a haze, returning in a half-dream state to the day Gu Yu had left…

The day before school started, Zhao Che went early in the morning to knock on Gu Yu’s door, intending to invite him to go shopping at the mall, but received no response after knocking for a long time. Gu Yu never locked his door, so Zhao Che pushed it open directly.

The moment the door opened, however, he saw the bed inside neatly made, and the routinely used laptop was missing from the desk as well. Only a copy of Tagore’s Stray Birds sat quietly to one side. Zhao Che’s heart tightened, and he hurriedly phoned him, only to hear the machine-generated female voice saying the call could not be connected.

Hanging up, he dialed Wang Xue. The phone was picked up very quickly.

“Mom, where’s Gu Yu? Why isn’t he answering my call?”

“Zhao Che, have you lost your mind? School starts tomorrow. I’m taking Ah Yu to the airport right now. He should be taking off about now, so he’s probably turned on airplane mode.” Wang Xue’s tone carried a hint of helplessness.

Zhao Che gripped his phone tightly, saying in disbelief: “Taking him to the airport? Didn’t he apply to Nancheng University just like me?”

“Ah Yu ended up applying to Haicheng University. He said their civil engineering program is better.” Wang Xue paused. “He also said he wanted you to sleep in a bit longer, so he didn’t call you to come send him off…”

As it turned out, everyone knew except him, who had been kept completely in the dark.

He didn’t clearly hear what was said afterward. After hanging up the phone, his gaze fell upon a black box on Gu Yu’s writing desk. He walked over and unwrapped it—inside was a new model of a silver wristwatch, with a note pressed beneath it: Wishing you an early Happy Birthday, Che-ge.

The fountain pen handwriting was dashing and forceful, but the ink marks had long since dried up.

“When did you decide to leave? You wouldn’t even say goodbye to my face?” He pinched the note, muttering to himself.

…

After Gu Yu left, Zhao Che sent countless messages, all of which ultimately sank like stones into the sea. He had originally thought that on his birthday, he would express the feelings he had hidden for so long to Gu Yu. Yet those words were ultimately choked in his throat, never finding another chance to be spoken aloud.

The phone on the nightstand vibrated, dragging Zhao Che out of the nightmare. He fumbled twice in the dark, found the phone, unlocked the screen, and glanced at it—it was status reports sent from the work group chat and concern from Tao Yu.

He replied with a few simple sentences, then opened the pinned chat box once more. The avatar was a patch of blue sky with a few paper cranes hanging from a window sill, and the contact note consisted of two simple words:

Gu Yu.

Staring again and again at the chat box that had never received a single reply, Zhao Che couldn’t understand why Gu Yu had left so abruptly without a word.

Yet upon actually meeting face-to-face, all those questions suddenly faded away, leaving behind only endless longing. The emotions accumulated over six years seemed to scatter into nothingness at that very moment.

He instinctively clicked into the other’s Moments. The latest post remained stuck in January six years ago—“Happy New Year. May everything be well.”

“Is everything really well?” Zhao Che let out a bitter smile.

Early the next morning, Gu Yu was rubbing his swollen eyes in front of the mirror. Hearing a knock at the door, he thought the breakfast had arrived. Pulling open the door, he was just about to offer his thanks, but swallowed his words back down the moment he raised his eyes.

How was it… Zhao Che?

Perhaps due to having just woken up, Zhao Che’s voice was somewhat deep: “Morning. I’ll drive you to the company in a bit.”

“No need.” Gu Yu declined instinctively. Sensing his words lacked warmth, he slowed down and added: “Sorry to trouble you, President Zhao, but the company dispatched a car.”

“Engineer Gu probably isn’t in that group chat, so you wouldn’t know that today the official car went to the airport to pick people up.”

Zhao Che opened his phone, presenting the screen showing the page for “Nancheng Yuhua No. 1 Internal Communication Group (12)” in front of Gu Yu.

Notice: This project proposal has passed approval… Tomorrow, the official car will temporarily head to the airport for pickup duty. Everyone please make transportation arrangements in advance.

Gu Yu was left speechless. He indeed hadn’t joined this group chat, so naturally he couldn’t see the message.

“I already troubled you last night, President Zhao. I can just take a taxi in a short while.” Even so, he still didn’t want to stay in a single space alone with Zhao Che.

“Giving a colleague a ride a few times is nothing, let alone Qixing being our long-term partner. Don’t decline. 7:30, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Zhao Che turned and left right after speaking, his tone carrying not an ounce of emotion, looking entirely like a superior giving instructions to a subordinate.

Left with no alternative, Gu Yu had no choice but to agree.

At 7:30, the two sat punctually inside the Land Rover SUV from the previous night. Aside from a polite greeting when getting into the car, there was no further interaction.

The mint incense in the vehicle lingered at the tip of his nose. The ride of over twenty minutes went by very quickly, and Gu Yu surprisingly felt no motion sickness.

After arriving at the company, the two entered the elevator side by side. Along the way, many employees stared at them.

The transparent glass of the elevator reflected their two tall and straight figures—clad in crisp black suits, with striking looks, they were the center of attention wherever they walked. Though their aura was starkly different, there wasn’t the slightest sense of discordance.

“President Zhao, Little Gu, you’re here. Once everyone is gathered, let’s head to the construction site to take a look and prepare for tomorrow’s groundbreaking ceremony,” Tao Yu came up to greet them.

Yuhua No. 1 was a key development project facing eastward in Nancheng. In a few years, it was very likely to become the most prosperous commercial district in the East District, so every company attached great importance to it.

The soil on the construction site had been pressed firm by the road roller, leaving several deep wheel tracks stamped onto it. Green iron sheets enclosed the surrounding area, separating the road from the construction site, leaving only a few temporary entrances and exits.

“We’ve arrived, everyone get off.”

When a female executive wearing high heels got out of the car, her heel accidentally got stuck in the mud, causing some embarrassment. Zhao Che was right behind her; seeing this, he reached out to lend her a hand and helped pull the heel out.

Gu Yu cast a glance, turned around, and walked toward the construction area.

At this time, the construction manager emerged from a temporary shipping container, handed a hard hat to each person, and distributed the schedule for the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Little Gu, your Mr. Zhou is tied up with matters and can’t make it, so you’ll represent Qixing to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.” Tao Yu looked down at the schedule, but after waiting a while, he heard no response from Gu Yu. He raised his head and looked all around, “Hey, where’s Little Gu? Didn’t he follow us inside just now?”

Zhao Che had already noticed he wasn’t around, thinking he had gone to the restroom. But not being back by now was indeed a bit abnormal.

“Little Ren, go look for him,” Tao Yu said to Ren Yi.

Just as Ren Yi was about to stand up, Zhao Che stood up instead: “I’ll go. I already know the schedule in advance, no need to arrange for me.”

“President Zhao, how could we dare trouble you over such a small matter?”

“I know which direction he walked in,” Zhao Che said in a deep voice, his gaze falling upon Ren Yi with an overwhelming pressure.

After a moment of stalemate, Ren Yi conceded defeat, his lip twitching slightly: “Fine, then sorry to trouble you, President Zhao. Everyone says Qixing has a great relationship with your company, and it seems that’s truly the case.”

Zhao Che paid no attention, getting up and stepping out of the container. He walked along the muddy road toward the main building’s construction plot. The custom leather shoes on his feet were smudged with mud and coated in a layer of dust, losing their former luster.

From afar, he saw Gu Yu squatting on the ground, holding a blueprint and comparing something.

Just as he was about to walk over, a loud RUMBLE echoed—a tower crane was hoisting a heavy load to move elsewhere. Whether due to improper securing or the force of inertia, a corrugated steel sheet slipped out from between the steel wires and plummeted straight down toward Gu Yu.

Zhao Che’s heart leapt into his throat. Without time for a second thought, he instinctively rushed toward Gu Yu, letting out a loud shout: “Gu Yu!”

Gu Yu was still looking down using his hands to measure against the blueprint, completely unaware of the danger. Hearing someone call his name, the moment he raised his head, he only felt his vision go dark, and the very next second, he was pulled into a firm, solid embrace.

He was shielded tightly beneath Zhao Che’s body. He only felt a surge of sharp pain hit as his back was pressed painfully against the gravel on the construction site, as if it were embedding into his flesh. The weight on his chest pressed down so heavily he couldn’t catch his breath. He wanted to open his eyes, but his vision was blurred over by a warm liquid.

Before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw Zhao Che, who was lying atop him, his face covered in blood.