Why is the system taking my request to photograph a cosplayer seriously?

Chapter 244 Recalling the Past

The Mercedes pulled into the garage, Ding Heng turned off the engine, opened the door and got out of the car. Long He looked up at the dusty apartment building entrance, and a flood of memories came to mind.

Ding Heng took out the key from his pocket, weighed it in his hand, and it made a crisp sound when they clattered together.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, they found the motion-activated lights were broken, and the two groped their way forward in the dark.

Ding Heng stood in front of the door, inserted the key into the lock, and found that the lock seemed a bit rusty and not working properly.

After some effort, the door was finally pushed open, and a stuffy, stagnant air rushed out.

Longhe reached out and groped along the wall, then pressed the switch, illuminating the living room with a dim, yellowish light.

The furniture was still the same, covered with a light layer of dust.

Ding Heng walked over and opened the window, letting the night breeze in and dispersing the stuffy air in the room.

Longhe stood in the center of the living room and looked around. Her gaze swept over the TV cabinet, bookshelves, dining table, and so on. The layout was almost exactly the same as she remembered.

"How long has it been since you last came back to stay?"

"From the Lunar New Year until now."

Ding Heng went into the kitchen and turned on the tap. The rusty water gushed out for a while before becoming clear.

"I only come back occasionally to pick up some things; I don't stay here much."

"Isn't your uncle staying there either?"

"He wanders around everywhere and is never home."

"oh----"

Longhe walked to the TV cabinet, bent down and glanced at the dusty old PS5.

This PS5 was the last birthday gift she left for Ding Heng before leaving Xingcheng.

Although it was a second-hand item from a salted fish shop, it still cost her all her pocket money and New Year's money at the time.

However, it seems Ding Heng didn't play much.

Longhe asked curiously, "Where do you usually stay when you're not home?"

Ding Heng pulled a broom out of the cabinet, but froze upon hearing this.

"live----"

"Don't tell me you're living in a dorm."

Long He interrupted, "You smell like a woman's perfume. Is that even allowed in the dorm?"

Ding Heng coughed lightly, raised the broom in his hand, and tried to change the subject: "Let's clean up first, there's a lot of dust."

"————"

Long He sighed and tried to comfort himself again.

It's okay, it's okay. Just think of it as other women giving my brother practice his skills every night.

She bent down, pulled a dishcloth from under the coffee table, shook off the dust, and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

The tap was running, and Longhe wet and wrung out the rag before walking back to the living room to wipe the table.

His movements weren't particularly nimble, but he was quite meticulous, paying attention to every nook and cranny.

The two of them, one sweeping the floor and the other wiping away dust, didn't say much.

When he swept the TV cabinet, Ding Heng bent down and swept a game disc out from under the cabinet.

He picked it up and glanced at it. It was the Royal Edition of the P5, a game disc that the seller had given away when Longhe bought a used PS5.

Long He glanced at it and tentatively asked, "Speaking of which, what's this game about? That guy said it was over 300 yuan a copy!"

"High school students gain superpowers and band together to punish bad guys."

"and then?"

"Then I'll conquer all sorts of beautiful girls and build a harem—"

"Um!?"

"Clean! Clean!"

Ding Heng put the game disc back on the TV cabinet and changed the subject again.

After a quick dusting, the two of them mopped the floor together, working on various tasks until 11 p.m.

Ding Heng went to the restroom, grabbed a towel to wipe his face, and then turned around.

Long He was standing on tiptoe, hanging the wet rag on the clothes rack.

She had taken off her coat at some point, leaving her only in a close-fitting black undershirt that accentuated the smooth lines of her waist and back.

My brother's physique is getting better and better the more I look at it.

After hanging up the rag, Long He turned around and asked, "Do you have any clothes? I'm going to take a shower first; I feel all sticky from sweating."

"There should still be some from my high school days in the closet. Look for them yourself."

"good!"

Long He went into the bedroom, pulled out a high school sports jersey belonging to Ding Heng, and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Soon after, the sound of rushing water could be heard.

Ding Heng turned and went into the kitchen. He took out two cups from the sterilizer, washed them, and then took out a bag of goji berries to brew two cups of tea.

The sound of water stopped.

Long He walked back to the living room, wearing a large Lakers jersey with the number 24 on it. Once again, he bare his two long, white legs and flaunted them in front of Ding Heng, his cleavage partially exposed.

She sat cross-legged on the sofa, water droplets dripping from her hair, spreading a small dark stain on her light-colored clothes.

Taking the goji berry tea from Ding Heng, Long He asked in surprise, "You drink goji berry tea regularly?"

"Occasionally, occasionally."

"Brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're still young—you need to take care of your health!"

"what?"

"Nothing much, just a couple of reminders."

Long He took a sip of tea, a thought rising in his mind.

Practicing skills is one thing, but don't let those women end up draining his brother's finances.

Ding Heng sat down in front of the TV, picked up the game controller, and turned on his PS5.

The screen displayed an interface, and Ding Heng browsed through the game library.

"What do you want to play?"

"casual."

"Then this—"

Ding Heng opened the "Nonsense Kitchen" app and casually asked, "Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet, why did you buy me a PS5 in the first place?"

"I came across a video where a girl bought her boyfriend a PS5, and he was extremely excited."

"Boyfriend—?"

"Hmm—you're practically my brother."

Long He said shyly, "Besides, I was leaving back then, and I wanted to leave you something as a souvenir."

Ding Heng handed the other handle to Long He, looking lost in thought.

"I'm sorry, Longhe."

"what?"

"Back then—I never even thought of leaving you a farewell gift or anything."

"Why bring this up? We're brothers!"

Longhe waved his hand magnanimously and began to learn how to operate the joystick.

Games start.

The first challenge was a kitchen for two. Long He was in charge of chopping vegetables, while Ding Heng was in charge of cooking and serving them—it was incredibly easy.

As the third stage began, orders surged, and Longhe started to get overwhelmed.

"Left, left, left! The food's burnt!"

"I'm cutting! What's the rush!"

"Big sister, you've been chopping those vegetables for almost a minute now."

97

"This controller isn't working properly!"

Long He began to argue, his hands moving more and more erratically, and in the blink of an eye, the kitchen was a complete mess.

"I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore."

She tossed the game controller onto the coffee table, then slumped back onto the sofa: "What a crappy game."

Ding Heng could tell that Long He was in a bad mood, so he didn't force her to continue. Instead, he went downstairs to take out the trash and bought some steamed buns and porridge.

Back upstairs, each person carried a bowl of porridge, and two small dishes were placed on the coffee table.

Longhe picked up a bun, took a bite, and the juice spread in his mouth.

"Hmm, is this steamed bun still being made by Old Wang at the main gate?"

"He's his son now."

"Yeah?"

Longhe began to reminisce: "Back when we were in elementary school, if we were just a little nice to each other, Old Wang would give us an extra steamed bun, and we could save money on breakfast."

"And then you took them all and ruined the Water Margin cards."

"Have you ever seen anyone collect all 108 of them?"

"Do you think that's possible? Only someone in sixth grade would be so persistent; you can't be persuaded to change your mind!"

"Wasn't it you who started it all!"

Longhe retorted confidently, and the two began to reminisce about their childhood, talking non-stop until the day they parted.

"Ding Heng".

"Um?

'

"Do you think people change as they grow up?"

"In which aspect?"

I can't quite explain it—

Long He stared blankly at the TV screen: "Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing now if I hadn't debuted."

Ding Heng did not respond.

"I might get into an ordinary university, study an ordinary major, and find an ordinary job after graduation."

Long He sighed, "But it certainly won't be like now, where most of the time I don't even have anyone to talk to."

"Don't you have teammates?"

"teammate----"

Long He gave a wry smile and put down the porridge bowl.

"Zhou Yi, to be honest, isn't really that bad. It's just that she's too desperate for fame, to the point of madness. She'll jump on any trending topic and take any gig, regardless of whether it's appropriate or not."

Last time, a variety show asked her to be a judge. She didn't even understand basic music theory, but she went anyway and got roasted by the contestants until she was speechless. She came back crying, saying that they were targeting her.

Long He shook his head and sighed.

"Zheng Shiyu, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. She's incredibly lazy. If she can lie down, she'll never sit; if she can sit, she'll never stand. She'll ask for leave from rehearsals whenever possible, and if she can't, she'll just slack off."

Her agent keeps urging her to post on Weibo, and she manages to produce two posts a month, both of which are unsuccessful. She's not worried about losing all her fans; to put it nicely, she's easygoing; to put it bluntly, she's lazy.

Ding Heng joked, "You seem to know them quite well."

He could vaguely sense that Long He didn't actually dislike her teammates that much.

Just like when she was a child, whenever someone comes to her to be friends, she always treats them with sincerity and puts loyalty first.

But reality often delivers a harsh blow to her!

"You know, those two, one really wanted to be famous, and the other didn't, but they ended up in the same group. At first, they argued and gave each other the silent treatment every day."

I tried to mediate in the middle, but unfortunately, my emotional intelligence was too low, and I ended up pleasing neither side, resulting in them all disliking me.

She picked up the bowl of porridge, took a sip, and then put it down.

"I've thought it all out. Once I go solo, I'll help Zhou Yi get some connections and get her a chance to be a regular guest on those variety shows. She's actually not bad, she's just too impatient. As Sister Song would say, she needs someone to give her a push and help her stabilize her career."

Zheng Shiyu — I'll leave her two songs. After that, she can do whatever she wants. Anyway, she's not short of money; her family is well-off. Being a star is just for fun. If she really can't make it, her parents can support her back home for the rest of her life.

Ding Heng listened quietly.

"As for Chan-ah—"

Long He's tone suddenly turned somber: "Chan Ya—she's different from them."

"Why is it different?"

"Chan-ah was eliminated."

Long He sighed, "She trained there for four years, was cut from the group just before her debut, and joined a new group, but that group also flopped. The company felt she had no potential, so—basically, they packaged her up and shoved her into a domestic group."

Ding Heng remained silent.

"She's different from us. Zhou Yi, Zheng Shiyu, and I, no matter what we do, at least have a way out. She can't. If she fades into obscurity, she'll have to go back to China. What can she do back home? The entertainment industry there is booming, and she's not particularly talented, plus she's too old. Change careers? She barely went to school, what can she do?"

Long He grew increasingly worried; one could tell she was genuinely concerned about Jin Canya's future.

"So she's the hardest worker in the group. She's always the first to arrive and the last to leave for rehearsals. When we're on variety shows, while everyone else is thinking about how to get more screen time, she's thinking about how to make the process smooth and not make things difficult for the director. In every interview, she's the one who handles the vast majority of questions, never deliberately avoiding them or acting like a diva."

Long He sighed again: "But hard work is the least valuable thing in this industry."

The kitchen faucet wasn't turned on tightly, and water droplets were clearly visible in the quiet space.

Long He looked up and forced a smile: "You're being dramatic again—why am I talking to you about this? You're not even in this line of work."

Ding Heng didn't respond; he simply picked up the bowls from the coffee table and stacked them neatly.

"I'll go wash the dishes."

"I'll do it."

Long He pressed Ding Heng back onto the sofa, then took the bowl and went into the kitchen.

Working in this house makes Longhe feel fulfilled.

Just like when Ding Heng's mother assigned chores to the two of them when they were young, she was always more proactive than Ding Heng.

The sound of rushing water filled the air.

Long He stood by the pool, his shoulders swaying slightly.

Ding Heng saw this and gradually understood.

Longhe believes that people change as they grow up because she has never changed.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't have any feelings for her teammates; after four years of working together, they were just colleagues.

For the other three, it would be best to part ways amicably and with everyone having a good time.

If things really get too messy, going online to tear each other apart and stage a big drama can at least generate buzz for both sides.

Only Longhe was genuinely thinking of his teammates and taking action when they parted ways.

Just like when they parted ways four years ago, Long He racked his brains and spent all his savings to leave a gift for Ding Heng.

It's a pity that his good intentions ended up with his house gathering dust.

What a scoundrel!

Ding Heng gently slapped himself, feeling deeply ashamed.

The sound of water stopped.

Long He shook the water off his hands and smiled again.

"Going to sleep, I'm so sleepy."

She went into the bedroom, lifted the covers, crawled in, and lazily yawned.

An old-fashioned wooden bed frame, a bit hard.

But after Longhe lay down, he felt as if he had finally unloaded a burden.

She's slept in this bed countless times since she was a child.

Ding Heng walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed: "Is there enough blanket?"

"That's enough."

Long He turned over, showing Ding Heng the back of her head: "Could you please turn off the light? Goodnight!"

Ding Heng reached out and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

The curtains weren't fully drawn, and moonlight shone through the gaps, spreading a small patch of silvery white light on the floor.

Ding Heng didn't leave immediately. After sitting for a while to make sure Long He was sound asleep, he stood up and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Ding Heng got back into the car, started the Mercedes, and drove out of the residential area, merging onto the main road.

My good brother treats people with sincerity.

Ding Heng wanted to see who would take her kindness for granted!