[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, Jiang Ge, how have things been with you lately?]
[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, it's New Year, Happy New Year (fireworks.jpg)]
[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, my family introduced me to someone for a blind date, sigh, I guess I should go see her.]
[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, Jiang Ge, I actually think she's so cool, what's going on!!!]
...
From some point on, the conversation box between the two only had one person's messages.
Opening the other person's Moments feed, it was still empty. That person seemed to have no habit of posting.
And... it seemed they couldn't frequently access their phone.
As the years passed, Shen Jie got used to it, sending a message whenever he felt like it, like a confidant.
He sometimes wondered if the other person was too lazy to reply.
But thinking back to their interactions, Jiang Ge didn't seem like that kind of person, and he hadn't been blocked either.
After much thought,
Shen Jie felt the most likely reason was that Jiang Ge's industry was too special, and he didn't want to implicate him.
Well, of course, it was also possible that the other person forgot about this account?
Regardless, life went on.
At 32, his friends were all married with children.
At a gathering for dinner, he realized their children were old enough to run errands.
After a few drinks, a male friend sitting next to him sighed,
"Time flies."
Shen Jie: "Yeah, it really does."
"Has your gynophobia gotten any better? Are you really planning to be alone forever?" his friend asked with concern. "If not... why don't you find a man?"
(ꐦÒ‸Ó) Shen Jie pushed him away, "Get lost, I'm not interested in men."
"Then what are you going to do?" his friend asked.
"...Whatever happens, happens?" Shen Jie replied.
Honestly, Shen Jie didn't know what to do either.
If he went to see a psychologist... but when he watched adult films alone at home, both his physical functions and imagination were perfectly fine.
Yet in real life, encountering women always made his neck feel cold.
...
Actually, after the major earthquake a few years ago, his family had become much more lenient about him getting married.
As long as he was alive and well, that was enough.
However, during every holiday season, Shen Jie could still see their expectations.
"Child, we can't accompany you forever. But you will grow old."
After the New Year, his mother couldn't help but say this before seeing him off.
After the car drove away, Shen Jie watched his parents' receding figures on the platform and suddenly had a strange feeling.
—Mom and Dad are old.
—I'm not young anymore.
When he first graduated from college, he always felt he was still young, and everything was still far away.
He didn't have that awareness.
When his mother nagged him about getting married, he could still retort.
"There are nursing homes for the elderly, what's there to be afraid of?"
His mother: "If you don't have children, do you think the caregivers will treat you well?"
"Raising children is too expensive now, what doesn't cost money?"
His mother: "If everyone thought that way, humanity would have gone extinct long ago!"
Every time they argued, the phone would be hung up in anger.
At that time, Shen Jie always found it annoying.
Having a girlfriend wasn't something he could just decide to have.
It was just... he couldn't help it.
...
With age and experience,
Shen Jie gradually came to understand and appreciate many things he couldn't grasp before.
Marriage, for example.
It wasn't necessary to consider too many factors; the most important thing was that the two people felt comfortable and free with each other.
As for children, if one didn't compare them to others and just focused on living their own small life, the expenses wouldn't be that high.
It was just that the current internet amplified many things.
Thus, Shen Jie began to accept blind dates.
Was it a compromise?
No.
Shen Jie felt he was gradually preparing himself for marriage.
And he had finally found the state of marriage he desired.
Instead of being lost, ignorant, and unprepared, and then being pushed into marriage like a duck being herded.
...
...
"Stop thief—!"
What Shen Jie didn't expect was to encounter such a situation even on a blind date.
After shouting and instinctively giving chase, he then began to second-guess whether he should continue.
Although it was his phone...
What if the thief had a weapon and decided to fight him to the death?
His life was worth much more than a phone.
Moreover, if he got injured, medical expenses would also be a huge burden.
At this moment, Shen Jie's body was still chasing, but his mind was racing.
The next second, his peripheral vision flashed,
and a striking figure dashed out.
She quickly caught up to the thief.
"Hey!" Shen Jie was about to call out to stop her,
when he saw the girl make her move, and in a few swift actions, she had the thief kneeling on the ground.
Her movements were clean and efficient.
However, she seemed to have forgotten she was wearing a skirt.
She instinctively patted her lower back, as if reaching for something.
Only after finding nothing did she realize.
When Shen Jie caught up, he was still panting, but his mind was filled with fireworks going off: "Th-thank you..."
This woman was too cool!
Afterward,
Shen Jie and the woman took the thief to the police station together.
The duty officer saw them and then his gaze fell on the woman's face. "Huh? Qin Jie, aren't you supposed to be off today?"
The woman had a hint of helplessness in her eyes. "There was a theft, I asked Xiao Guo and the others to handle it."
"Pfft... okay." The duty officer suppressed a smile and quickly called for an officer.
After subduing the thief, they took the two to make statements.
While making his statement, Shen Jie's mind was filled with fireworks from time to time.
Bang, bang, bang.
It kept him from being calm.
...
[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, Jiang Ge! Do you know, she's actually my blind date!!!!!
I think I'm in love! Good thing I didn't go bald!
The police station has so much yang energy... there shouldn't be any more accidents like that, right? Right?]
...
While interacting with the female police officer, she frankly stated: My profession has certain dangers, and it's actually not very suitable for marriage.
Seeing her directness, Shen Jie also immediately replied: It's okay, if it weren't for you, I might have ended up alone for life.
...
[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, I'm getting married!!]
— You shared [Wedding Invitation].
[Programmer Can't Go Bald: Jiang Ge, if you have time, remember to come to the wedding banquet! I still owe you a meal!]
...
Looking at the still unresponsive conversation box, Shen Jie sighed inwardly.
He didn't hold out much hope.
Life is unpredictable, and things change.
Jiang Ge's industry was dangerous.
Shen Jie had a feeling that Jiang Ge might... have met with an accident.
Alas.
With such a guess, it was no wonder that later at the wedding, while busy socializing,
he suddenly heard a voice behind him, "Shen Jie."
Shen Jie looked over and saw a middle-aged man with a decent and handsome appearance.
He looked somewhat unfamiliar.
For a moment, he thought it was someone from the bride's family.
"Congratulations on your new marriage," the man said.
Shen Jie went over to toast him, smiling, "Thank you, thank you, please enjoy the meal."
"Mm."
The man didn't say much more, just acknowledged him and drank the wine.
Afterward,
When Shen Jie and his wife were looking at the guest list, they suddenly felt a jolt when they saw a familiar name.
He pointed at the name, excitedly saying, "This Jiang Lin...?!"
His wife looked over. "You don't think it's the streamer from the Underworld Live Stream, do you?"
Shen Jie: "No, no, no, is he a relative of yours?!"
His wife thought for a moment. "I don't think so. People from my side of the family have basically had their backgrounds checked for criminal records, and I remember all their names."
"Besides, he submitted the gift money under your family's list."
"Is there a problem?"
"!!!"
The idea in Shen Jie's mind grew stronger. He didn't have time to answer and quickly opened his phone.
Then, among a string of congratulatory WeChat avatars, he found Jiang Lin's.
He actually replied!!!
[Jiang Lin: Okay. I'll definitely be there.]
[Jiang Lin: Congratulations on your new marriage, may you have a hundred years of happiness.]
[Jiang Lin: The wedding candy was delicious.]
...
Seeing him staring at his phone, his wife came over to look. "Is this the person you used to message so often?"
"..."
Shen Jie froze for a while,
then turned to look at his wife and stammered, "He... he's back from the dead..."
Jiang Ge actually came.
...
After marriage,
One day, his wife suddenly asked curiously, "Jiang Ge never replied to you, so why do you still remember him so well?"
Shen Jie: "You don't understand... Jiang Ge came down from the mountains before, and he didn't understand many modern things. He only bought a phone after we met!"
Wife: "Oh? How did you meet?"
Shen Jie: "It all started when I rented a place back then..."
Jiang Ge, you see,
He was very skilled in martial arts, a great cook, and a sincere person.
When others said they could beat someone through the internet, he actually considered the feasibility, hahahaha...
...