Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

Chapter 1269 Where did the music come from?

Although he hadn't been back for more than half a year, the rented house was still there, just as it was when he left, except that the door was covered in a layer of dust.

There were two pairs of slippers at the door, one large and one small, both the same style. Further inside, in the living room, hung the short-sleeved shirts that the two of them had hung out to dry that day on the balcony.

The trash can in the corner of the kitchen was still lined with the trash bags she had changed herself, but the recliner on the living room balcony was empty.

He stepped forward and opened the window. A gentle breeze blew in, causing the slightly yellowed white short-sleeved shirt on the clothes rack to sway. Old Zhao's lips curled up slightly, as if this was the last time she would help him straighten his clothes.

He then went to the bathroom, where their toiletries were still there, though covered in dust. The bedroom furnishings were unchanged, with her skincare products still on the makeshift dressing table.

This small rental apartment is not big, just over 60 square meters, with one bedroom and one living room. It's a bit cramped, but the two people have decorated it to make it very cozy.

Even though it's been almost a year, traces of her life are still visible inside.

Finally, he stood in the living room, looked around, and chuckled, "Those days were indeed good. I think about them occasionally, but there's nothing I can do. There's always a reason why those days can't be returned to."

"I'll clean today, you can rest!"

After saying that, Old Zhao rolled up his sleeves, went to the bathroom, and started filling a basin with water.

I wiped all the furniture in the house with a rag, then swept and mopped the floor, tidied up the house, put away the clothes on the balcony, and put the slippers at the living room door back on the shoe rack.

Two hours later, the house was transformed. The dusty rented room had become a cozy little nest for the two of them. It seemed that nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.

The furnishings in the house remained the same, but what changed was that no one would gently greet him when he came home from get off work, saying, "You're back. Are you tired?"

There's one less person in the house to talk to. It's only one person gone, but it feels so empty now that he can faintly hear an echo when he speaks.

After he left last year, he didn't dare to cancel the lease because it was his only safe haven. It seemed that as long as this place existed, he still had a last hope.

So he wanted to come back, but he didn't dare to. It wasn't until he returned to Jiangning this time that he finally had the courage to open that door again.

"Are you hungry? I'll go cook!" Old Zhao said with a light laugh.

As he spoke, he went to the refrigerator, opened the old refrigerator, and found the crisper compartment empty. When he opened the freezer door, Old Zhao was stunned for a moment.

The dumplings she made before she left last year are still here. Luckily, the power didn't go out and the refrigerator kept running, so the dumplings are still frozen. However, because they've been frozen for so long, the dumpling skins have cracked.

He reached out and squeezed it; it was very hard.

"That's good, you can still eat. But I'll eat it. I'll buy you something nice later. It's your birthday, we should have a cake, right?" After saying that, Teacher Zhao boiled water and cooked dumplings.

I made dumplings with chive and egg filling. I originally wanted to make dumplings with a three-delicacy filling, but shrimp was too expensive, so I used some dried shrimp instead.

Soon, a plate of fresh dumplings was ready. Two of them broke during cooking, but he didn't throw them away or add vinegar. He just ate them dry, one bite at a time. The more he ate, the lower his head drooped.

His shoulders twitched slightly. The dumplings had a slightly salty taste, but they were delicious, just like the ones he had eaten before.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo had already met up with Chuan Mei.

"Wow, what a show-off! What's up, are you getting married?!"

The Sichuan girl looked Lin Mo up and down, dressed in a handsome black suit, and couldn't help but laugh.

Hearing this, Lin Mo rolled his eyes at him and said smugly, "Of course, don't you know? In all movies and TV shows, saving the day is undoubtedly the most exciting scene, without exception."

"We're supposed to make our appearance when Lao Zhao is at his loneliest, most helpless, and most vulnerable. Are you sure you don't want to look dashing?"

The Sichuan girl was taken aback for a moment, then slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "That makes sense! Let's go, I'll go get one right now!"

"By the way, where's Director Wang?" Lin Mo asked.

Chuanmei: "Don't worry, I've already caught up with Lao Zhao, and I've taken care of things on my end. I guarantee there won't be any problems!"

"That's good, don't mess things up!" Lin Mo reminded him.

The woman from Sichuan made an OK sign, and then the two got into the car she had rented and drove off.

Meanwhile, after Lao Zhao finished his meal, it was already getting dark outside. He came out of his rented room again, acting as if nothing had happened. He went to the night market not far away and bought some cooked food, and also bought a cake for Xu Ying.

As he walked back, it was already past nine o'clock at night. Suddenly, a familiar face appeared on the curb next to the bridge on the outermost edge of the night market he was passing.

It was an old man with a hunched back, sitting on a small stool, with a cloth spread out on the ground in front of him for fortune telling.

He had seen this man before, more than once; he and Xu Ying had even consulted this old man to have their marriage fortune told.

The fortune teller had given them a very auspicious reading, predicting a happy marriage and harmonious family life. Although there would be some ups and downs, the overall outcome would be positive. They were both very happy at the time, even though they knew it was a fake reading, but that's what the young couple liked about it.

A year later, when he saw the old man again, Old Zhao was filled with mixed emotions, but after thinking for a moment, he still stepped forward and stood in front of the old man's stall.

"Grandpa, do you still recognize me? I had my fortune told here before, and it was a very auspicious sign!"

"But the fortune you told me was completely inaccurate!" Old Zhao said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the old man looked up at Old Zhao, and finally sighed, saying, "I'm afraid if I tell the truth, you'll have no hope left."

No matter how accurate your calculations are, you can't escape a life of misfortune, can you?

Hearing this, Old Zhao was taken aback, then nodded and smiled, "That's true, people still need something to look forward to in life!"

After saying that, he didn't make a scene, just smiled and left.

Old Zhao carried a strawberry cake in his left hand and cooked food, as well as two dishes that Xu Ying liked, in his right hand, and quickly arrived at the entrance of the residential area.

But suddenly, he tripped over a step by the roadside, stumbled, and the strawberry cake in his left hand crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.

For a moment, Old Zhao was stunned. In the past year, he had endured one lonely and self-reproachful night after another. He persevered. He revisited old places and resisted the backlash of emotions.

He returned to his old place, cleaning the house alone, eating alone, talking to himself alone, and he got through it.

But at that moment, the instant the cake hit the ground, it was as if a string in his mind snapped, and a huge wave of collapse swept over him, leaving him powerless to fight back.

It wasn't sadness, nor grief, nor hysteria; he just felt like a failure, someone who couldn't do anything right, a useless person.

Sometimes people are like that; when faced with huge setbacks, they persevere and show amazing resilience, as if they are invincible.

But they can completely break down over a small mistake, and that's exactly what happened to Lao Zhao.

He then slowly squatted down, reached out his trembling hand, picked up a piece of cake that had fallen to the ground, and put it in his mouth.

In an instant, tears streamed down his face. He ate faster and faster, and the tears flowed more and more, his mouth full of food. He didn't stop, but he finally broke down and realized that he couldn't finish the food. He ended up sitting on the ground, the food in his hands scattered to the side. At that moment, he was like a helpless child.

He thought that after returning from Jiangning, he had accepted his lover's departure, made peace with himself, and let go of the past. But now he realized that he was not strong at all, just an ordinary person.

He thought that if this had happened before, Xu Ying would have comforted him in every way possible, and she would never have let him push himself to this point over a cake.

It was only then that he understood why Xu Ying would only buy a whole cake when he was around—because cakes are meant to be shared.

When you're a child, you'll take the whole cake. Only adults know that you can't possibly finish a cake by yourself, but there's no one left to share it with.

'Da~da~da~da'

Just then, a series of neat footsteps sounded; it was the sound of leather shoes walking.

The footsteps grew closer, and suddenly, a car headlight shone on. Old Zhao snapped out of his daze, looked up, and saw three straight figures walking towards him against the light, their faces obscured.

This was followed by a low, rhythmic melody, the famous "Fell Down".

The three continued walking until their long shadows on the ground reached Old Zhao, at which point they stopped.

Then, a familiar voice rang out.

"Hey~ We can't accept such a terrible ending!"

Cars whizzed past on the side of the road, the lights went out, revealing three young men in smart suits. Just by standing there, they exuded an aura of terrifying strength.

Wang was on the left, Chuanmei on the right, and Lin Mo firmly in the center. At this moment, the three of them were posing for photos, feeling that they looked very handsome, but in Lao Zhao's eyes, they looked silly.

Although it was silly, he smiled the moment he saw the three of them. The feeling of salvation from having his best friends appear in front of him from thousands of miles away when he was on the verge of collapse instantly dispelled his despair.

Then Old Zhao spoke up: "You."

But before he could finish speaking, the Sichuan girl interrupted him, saying, "That's right. Aristotle once said that even if our hands and feet are broken tomorrow, our collars and cuffs will still be straight. How about that? Cool, right?"

Hearing this, Old Zhao rolled his eyes at the three of them and spat with a smile, "Get out of here! Where did that music come from? Who played it? Turn it off!"

Upon hearing this, the three immediately lost their composure, with Director Wang frantically pulling out his phone to turn off the music.

That's right, they manually composed the background music themselves because they felt that the person who came to the rescue should have a grand entrance, but Lao Zhao just didn't buy into that.

(End of this chapter)