Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 28
Where is Gu Jiahe now?
After Li Zhao left the project team, it was like he vanished into thin air. Even He Xiao didn’t know where he went.
Gu Jiahe had no way to ask either. He just saved the picture of that news article on his phone and looked at it twice.
When he wanted to open it for the third time, he hesitated. He created a separate folder and moved the photo into it, then set it to be hidden.
On October 3rd, Gu Jiahe’s birthday, he slept alone in his rental until noon. The autumn weather in North City was nice, with sunlight streaming through the floral glass window into the bedroom, brightening the floor.
He picked up his phone from the bedside table, opened WeChat, and glanced at it. Only his grandmother had sent him a birthday blessing.
Wishing her good grandson a happy birthday.
And all other chat windows were quiet.
He got out of bed, opened a drawer beside the bed, took out a kraft paper envelope, and then took out a banknote from his wallet, stuffing it into the envelope.
This habit of his started the year Qian Liyun passed away. Every October 3rd, he would prepare a new banknote and put it in the envelope. By today, there were about a dozen banknotes in that kraft paper envelope.
And the one Qian Liyun left for him was neatly pressed at the bottom.
Gu Jiahe managed to have a simple lunch and didn’t leave until the afternoon. The sun was hanging low in the sky, but the wind on the road was a bit chilly. He regretted wearing too little and shrank his neck.
He walked five to six hundred meters and passed by a bakery. Just as he took a few steps past it, he turned back. He pushed open the door and walked in to buy a small slice of cake. It was a way to celebrate his birthday.
After enjoying the National Day holiday at the beginning of October, Gu Jiahe had just returned to work at the company for a few days when he was sent on a business trip to Ningcheng. The company had an investment project in Ningcheng that required his presence.
Taking the high-speed rail from North City to Ningcheng took about four hours.
Before the high-speed train stopped, it passed by Ningcheng University. Gu Jiahe leaned forward to look out the window.
In October, the gingko trees outside the walls of Ningcheng University had begun to turn yellow. It seemed that the cold spell had come early this year.
The last time he came to Ningcheng was when he traveled with Li Zhao. It was also the only trip they took when they were in a relationship.
Gu Jiahe’s memory of that trip was already somewhat blurred. All he remembered was that they visited Ningcheng University. Li Zhao didn’t say why he wanted to come here, just took a look at the university gate and left without even taking a photo.
Then that afternoon, they went to Ningcheng’s old city wall.
Ningcheng was an ancient city with a long history, and there were many towering city walls in the city. Underneath the red brick walls was a vast expanse of green grass. There was a famous piece of grassland, which was hyped by the local media as Lover’s Slope.
In order to generate revenue for tourism, the scenic area management erected a huge frame next to Lover’s Slope, filled with love locks. It was promoted that couples who hung locks here could have a long-lasting relationship.
Most importantly, it cost 59 yuan for a lock.
At that time, Gu Jiahe told Li Zhao that it wasn’t worth it, that it was just a gimmick for the scenic area to make money, and it was better to go to the night market for snacks.
But Li Zhao insisted on buying one, and Gu Jiahe went along with him. Later, Li Zhao wrote a line on the lock himself and went to hang it up alone.
Until today, Gu Jiahe still didn’t know what he wrote on the lock.
After getting off the high-speed train, he opened the map and searched for Lover’s Slope, only to find that it was very close to the high-speed rail station.
He inexplicably took a taxi to the attraction.
However, when he got off the car, he found that the scenic area seemed to have been rebuilt, looking completely different.
The original place for hanging locks was nowhere to be found.
He walked through a small path and arrived at the guard booth on duty. He asked the staff inside, “Excuse me, do you know where the place used to hang love locks on the lawn outside?”
The person inside was dozing off and was startled by Gu Jiahe’s question. After wiping away the drool, he looked up at him.
Gu Jiahe stared at his face, hoping for an answer.
Unfortunately, the man took a long time to react before saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
Gu Jiahe sighed and turned to continue walking inside.
That’s right, the last time they hung locks here was many years ago, and the staff on duty had probably changed several times.
Walking along the city wall, he arrived at the scenic area management office.
He knocked on the door, and it took a long time for someone to answer.
“Who are you looking for?” The person inside looked slightly older.
“I’d like to inquire about the place where there used to be love locks on the lawn outside, where is it now?” Gu Jiahe asked.
The person pondered for a moment before replying, “Oh, you mean that lock frame. It was dismantled a long time ago. The municipal government said that the scenic area set it up without approval, occupying public green space. It was all dismantled several years ago. Why are you asking about this?”
“And what about those locks?” Gu Jiahe continued to ask.
“They were thrown away. What’s the point of keeping that stuff?”
Gu Jiahe didn’t know why he cared about some old locks today. He just felt his throat was dry, and his legs felt heavy.
Later, he took a taxi and went to the office in Ningcheng. It seemed like nothing had happened.
The journey was somewhat far, so Gu Jiahe opened his phone. There was a new red dot in his friend circle.
Gu Jiahe opened it to see that Li Zhao had posted a rare moment on his friend circle five minutes ago.
The picture was an upward shot of the blue sky and white clouds.
There were only five words on it: “A peaceful and sunny day.”
Gu Jiahe closed the page, locked his phone, closed his eyes, and leaned against the back seat of the car. The car bumped all the way, as if to shake off the memories in his mind.
He stayed in Ningcheng for a whole week. He didn’t go to any scenic spots, just shuttled back and forth between the hotel and the office.
When he returned to the company in North City, Gu Jiahe received an email from Wu Mou. The IPO project team was going to hold the final coordination meeting for the first phase.
Originally, Li Zhao didn’t need to attend this meeting, but there was a document from the audit that needed to be confirmed with the lawyer. It involved materials from a visit to Lingang, which Qin Yi did not participate in, so Li Zhao was called back.
When Li Zhao arrived at the company, the meeting was still an hour away. He Xiao was preparing materials at her desk.
When He Xiao saw Li Zhao arrive, she waved to him, “Long time no see, Lawyer Li!”
Li Zhao walked over and nodded to her.
“Oh, Lawyer Li, I need to rush back to the office later. Could you please pass this to Manager Gu?” He Xiao handed him a small box from the other end of the table, looking a bit apologetic.
Li Zhao took a glance, it seemed to be some kind of ointment, “What’s this?”
“Scar removal cream. Manager Gu was scratched by a tile last time, right? I gave him a tube before, but he said the scar hasn’t faded yet, so he asked me to buy another one.”
Li Zhao frowned, “Scratched by a tile?”
“Yeah, it’s the long one on his arm. You’ve seen it, right?”
Li Zhao paused for three seconds without moving, then asked her, “Why was he scratched by a tile?”
He Xiao was a bit puzzled. Why would Lawyer Li even ask about this? But she could only answer, “I’m not sure about the specifics. Last time, I heard that there was a water leak at home, and it happened while cleaning.”
“Forget it, I have to go now. The administration department is urging me. Bye, Lawyer Li! I’m counting on you for this!” With her bag on her back, He Xiao hurried out of the office.
Li Zhao stood alone in the empty office, with the noon sun casting shadows on the desk outside the window.
He stood there for about ten minutes without moving. It wasn’t until the HR manager walked in from the next office.
Bang—
The HR manager placed two or three folders on the desk in front of him.
“Lawyer Li, you’re here. Take a look at these documents, see if you need them. They’re all miscellaneous stuff, you figure it out.”
Li Zhao came back to his senses. Before he left last time, he had asked the company’s HR department to help find some relevant materials.
He reached out and flipped through them, “Thanks, I’ll take a look.”
However, these materials were indeed as she said, of little value and could be archived. Li Zhao flipped through them a couple of times, ready to close the folders, when suddenly his gaze stopped.
Seeing that his expression was a bit off, the HR manager asked quickly, “What’s wrong? Any problem?”
Li Zhao’s finger paused on a page and didn’t move.
It was a personnel file form for middle management of the company.
Seeing that he hadn’t answered yet, the HR manager leaned over to take a look and explained, “Ah, this is our personnel file archive. But we have a confidentiality agreement and can’t provide all the information to you. Only a part of the basic information not involving privacy is listed.”
“No,” Li Zhao shook his head.
“What’s wrong then?”
“Why is Manager Gu’s entry year listed as 2013?” Li Zhao asked her softly, “Didn’t he join right after graduating?”
“Ah?” The HR manager didn’t understand why he suddenly cared about this issue.
“Wasn’t he a graduate in 2012?” Li Zhao asked again.
Seeing his persistence, the HR manager could only try to recall, “He did join right after graduation, as a fresh graduate.”
But it was too long ago, and she squinted for a while before remembering a detail, “I seem to remember that when he joined, he said he took a year off during his senior year, so he graduated a year late.”
“Year off…” Li Zhao repeated these two words softly, “Did he say why he took a year off?”
The HR manager gave a slightly embarrassed smile, “Is this important? I don’t really remember, there must have been some reason for him to take a year off…”
She couldn’t understand why an ordinary mid-level manager’s length of service, such an insignificant matter, was worth probing into.
Li Zhao didn’t answer her question but suddenly looked up and asked her, “Where is Gu Jiahe now?”
It was the first time the HR manager heard Li Zhao call him Gu Jiahe instead of Manager Gu, and she was a bit stunned, not reacting immediately.
“Gu Jiahe, where is he now?” Li Zhao repeated.
“Ah. He just said he was going out for a smoke, probably downstairs.”
Then she saw Li Zhao immediately turn around and stride towards the elevator hall.