Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

During the Spring Festival, Jingzhou experienced a light rain.

The rain was light, a fine, dense patter that pattered on the bare branches of the loquat tree.

Su Yu was nestled in his room, a blanket covering his legs, holding a cup of ginger tea that Li Xiulan had just brewed. His computer was on, and a video website was playing on the screen.

He rewatched "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun," for the second time; Su Yu wondered if he should make a movie about eating for the rest of his life.

Su Yu laughed again after reading it, so much so that he spilled ginger tea on his trouser leg. He quickly shook it off and grabbed a tissue to wipe it off.

He thought for a moment, copied the video link, opened QQ, found Anxi's profile picture, and sent the link to her.

"Little rich girl, I'll show you something funny. It's hilarious."

After finishing, he picked up his ginger tea and continued drinking. The sound of rain outside the window was like an old lady rambling on and on.

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, put his feet on the edge of the bed, and swayed back and forth a couple of times.

My phone suddenly rang; it wasn't a QQ message, it was a phone call.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number, registered in Wuhan; Su Yu paused for a moment, then answered.

"Feed?"

"Hahaha..." A burst of laughter came from the other end of the phone, crisp and clear. "Su Yu! I saw it! That 'A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun' you sent! It's hilarious! It's way better than 'The Promise'! Seriously, I watched it twice. The first time I laughed until my stomach hurt, and the second time I finally understood it..."

Su Yu gripped his phone, his fingers unconsciously tightening. He recognized that voice. He'd heard it on set, in the coffee shop; the voice from those old QQ voice messages always had a slightly hoarse quality, as if it were deliberately lowering its voice.

The person opposite didn't stop, continuing, "You have no idea, when I watched 'The Promise,' I sat in the theater for almost two hours. When I came out, I said to my assistant, 'What did I even watch? The visuals were great, but what about the story?' This short film explained everything to me in twenty minutes. Do you think Director Chen would be furious if he saw this?"

As Su Yu listened, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up. He didn't speak, waiting for the other person to continue.

"Su Yu? Are you still there?"

"Yes." Su Yu's voice was calm, but the smile on his lips grew wider and wider.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you think I have a low threshold for humor? Let me tell you, this video has more artistic value than the movie itself. Just think, a movie was defeated by a steamed bun, a steamed bun..."

Su Yu cleared his throat, his voice soft but his pronunciation clear: "Happy New Year, Senior Sister Liu Yifei."

The voice on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

All the laughter, complaints, and breathing sounds vanished in that instant, as if even the air itself had frozen.

Su Yu held his phone, and could hear a faint electrical hum from the other end, along with the sound of breathing, which was much faster than before.

The silence lasted for about five seconds; then the voice rang out again, this time without laughter, without complaints, and without rapid-fire speech.

Her voice was several octaves lower than before, as if she was trying to steady herself. "Huh? What, Senior Sister Liu Yifei?"

Su Yu placed the ginger tea on the table, held his phone in one hand, leaned back, and the chair creaked.

"Hehe, shall I call you Anxi then?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone again, this time for a longer period, about ten seconds.

"Um... Su Yu, I'm a bit busy right now, let's talk later..."

"Oh, okay." Su Yu smiled gently and said.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

After hanging up the phone, Su Yu looked at the words "Call Ended" on the screen, put his phone on the table, picked up his ginger tea, took a sip, and his lips curled up even wider.

He didn't call again, nor did he send any messages. He just sat there in the chair, drinking ginger tea, listening to the rain outside the window, occasionally smiling like a child who had just unwrapped a present.

He already knew what the gift was, but he still felt happy when he opened the package.

......

Li Xiulan called him from downstairs for dinner. Su Yu responded, stood up, stretched, and walked out of the room.

As I passed through the living room, Su Jian'an was watching the news. Without turning his head, he said, "What are you laughing at? Your mouth is stretched to your ears."

Su Yu touched his face, trying to suppress his smile, but not completely.

"It's nothing, Dad. I just watched a funny skit."

"What kind of skit?"

"A skit about steamed buns."

Su Jian'an glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.

Over the next few months, Anxi really got busy. No, I mean Liu Yifei.

Su Yu sometimes got confused himself. Anxi's avatar on QQ was always grayed out, with no new messages, no emojis, and no "goodnight".

Su Yu didn't send a message proactively. He knew Liu Yifei needed time to process things, just like he had needed time to process who she was.

He would occasionally see news about her, such as "Liu Yifei went to Japan for training to prepare for entering the music industry" and "Liu Yifei's new album is expected to be released in the middle of the year".

The accompanying photo showed her at the airport, wearing sunglasses and a trench coat, accompanied by Liu Xiaoli and her assistant. Looking at those photos, Su Yu would think of An Qian, who had sent "hahahaha" messages on QQ, the little figure slamming the table in the GIF, and the tone of her voice saying, "You're such a smart aleck."

He put down his phone and continued writing the script.

.....

March arrived in the blink of an eye. The wind in Beijing was still the same, sharp as knives against the face, but the occasional gusts had a hint of warmth.

Su Yu walked into the lobby of the Industry and Commerce Bureau and submitted the registration materials for his studio.

"What name do you want to change to?" The staff member behind the counter didn't even look up.

Su Yu placed his hands on the counter and leaned forward slightly: "Shiguang Films. The 'Shi' in 'picking up' means 'the light of time'."

The staff member typed a few words on the keyboard, looked up at him, and said, "Okay, fill out the form."

Su Yu leaned over the counter, finished writing, stamped the form, paid the money, and received a receipt.

Standing at the entrance of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, he took out his phone and called Wang Boxue.

"The company is registered, Shiguang Film & Television. When will you sign the agreement?"

Wang Boxue hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone: "Su Yu, are you really planning to recruit me? I can't do anything except carry a camera."

"Knowing how to carry a camera is enough. We're running a film company, not a restaurant. I wouldn't hire someone who can cook."

Wang Bo chuckled on the phone, "Okay. I'll sign, but I have one condition."

"explain."

"If there's any good opportunity later, give some to Zhu Rui."

Su Yu stood on the steps in front of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the cold wind blowing against his face, but the corners of his mouth were turned up high: "Damn, you lackey, you're something else."

After hanging up, Su Yu called Lu Yang again.

Lu Yang answered quickly, his voice unhurried: "Feed."

"Yang-ge, the company is registered, Shiguang Film & Television. Wang Boxue has already joined. Are you coming?"

Lu Yang was silent for two seconds, then the sound of tapping came from his phone, and Su Yu knew he was thinking.

"Su Yu, I'm not joining you." Lu Yang's voice was calm. "I can work with you. I'll direct the films for you and keep an eye on the projects, but I have my own studio."

Su Yu leaned against a lamppost and unzipped his cotton-padded jacket: "How do we cooperate?"

"You provide the money, I provide the labor. We split the profits according to the project."

Su Yu thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, we'll draft the contract later."

After hanging up the phone, Su Yu stood next to a lamppost, watching the traffic flow by.

In March, Beijing hadn't fully woken up from winter yet. The branches of the trees along the roadside were bare, but if you looked closely, you could already see some tiny buds, plump up, as if they were gathering some kind of strength.