Gentle morning light slipped through the gap in the bed curtains and fell across Fu Zhen’s face. He lazily raised a hand to cover his eyes. After a while, he parted his fingers slightly, then opened his eyes. What entered his sight was the white, uneven ceiling above him. He turned his head and glanced at the small alarm clock on the bedside cabinet. It was not even eight in the morning yet.
Fu Zhen sat up from the bed. After getting dressed, he took his toothbrush mug and toothbrush to the bathroom to wash up. When he returned, he passed by Jiang Hengshu’s room. Jiang Hengshu had already gone to the construction site. His door was locked, and the room inside was completely quiet.
Fu Zhen lowered his head and went back to his own room in disappointment. The noodles in the cabinet had already been eaten. He put on an overcoat, went downstairs, bought some vegetables and rice at the morning market, and came back.
Only after Fu Zhen finished breakfast and sat down in front of the computer to draw did he remember that he had forgotten to buy painkillers when he went out just now. But his leg was not hurting too badly at the moment, and the painkillers were no longer that effective anyway. After thinking about it, Fu Zhen decided to keep drawing. As for the painkillers, he could buy them the next time he went out.
The weather was growing colder and colder. No matter how thick his clothes were, they could not block out the bone-piercing chill. Besides, Fu Zhen now had new work and no longer needed to keep suffering at the construction site, even if Jiang Hengshu also worked there. He really did like Jiang Hengshu, but he could not ruin his own body for Jiang Hengshu’s sake.
After resting for two days, Fu Zhen’s illustration draft was almost finished. On a morning when light snow was falling, he went to the construction site with Jiang Hengshu and found the
foreman. He said to him, “My leg has been hurting a little these past two days. I can’t keep working here.”
The foreman frowned. If Fu Zhen had said this to him a few days earlier, he would definitely have agreed without even thinking about it. But over the past few days, several workers had already left the construction site. He took a drag from his cigarette and said to Fu Zhen, “Little Fu, Brother Chen has treated you pretty well, hasn’t he?”
Fu Zhen nodded without speaking, already understanding in his heart that resigning this time would probably be a little difficult.
The foreman sighed. White smoke drifted toward Fu Zhen with the wind. Fu Zhen heard the
foreman say to him, “There’s a lot of work at the site these next two days. Work one more week, and I’ll settle all your wages for you.”
The foreman had previously lent him two thousand yuan for an emergency, so he did owe the foreman a favor. After hesitating for a while, Fu Zhen still agreed. “All right.”
The foreman raised a hand and patted Fu Zhen on the shoulder, smiling as he said, “Work hard. When your leg gets better in the future, you can still come back.”
Fu Zhen softly thanked Brother Chen, then went to the side to find the small cart he usually used. He moved through the construction site and began pushing sand again.
The cold wind was biting. It rolled up the sand and dust on the ground and flung them against people’s faces, sharp as knives. Fu Zhen lowered his head, almost burying it against his chest, and only then did he feel slightly better.
While working that morning, he passed by Jiang Hengshu several times. Jiang Hengshu always looked straight ahead, focused on the work in his hands. Fu Zhen, meanwhile, was like a lovesick stalker, unable to control himself from paying a little more attention to Jiang Hengshu, then a little more.
From now on, Fu Zhen’s life would only continue under the shadow of the Fu family. There was no possibility of turning it around. But Jiang Hengshu was a very good person. If possible, Fu Zhen hoped Jiang Hengshu could live more happily than he did, that he could have the person he liked, and that his life would go smoothly from beginning to end.
He wanted to do something for Jiang Hengshu, but right now, there was nothing he could do.
Fu Zhen looked at Jiang Hengshu. He knew very little about him, yet he had already let his whole heart fall onto him without reservation. This was destined to be a sorrowful story.
Sometimes, Fu Zhen also wanted to see what the person Jiang Hengshu liked looked like. He suddenly thought of the dream he had had the night before, and a flush rose across his face.
If he were a little more thick-skinned, he could have grown a little closer to Jiang Hengshu. But the moment he thought of his deformed body, all those thoughts immediately vanished without a trace. He would start wondering why he could not have been born a girl.
And now, he could only sit in a dark corner and silently look at Jiang Hengshu. If Jiang Hengshu happened to turn his head at that moment and smile at him, Fu Zhen’s mood would remain happy for a very long time afterward.
He was too timid, like a mole in winter. All his love was hidden inside a dark nest. Only when no one was around did he dare take it out and examine it with a gentle, cautious gaze, hoping that when spring came, it would break through the soil and bloom into a fragrant flower.
A coworker lifted his arm and nudged Jiang Hengshu, asking, “Have you noticed? That little cripple keeps sneaking looks at you.”
Jiang Hengshu gave a hum but said nothing. The expression on his face did not change either.
“Is he gay?” the coworker asked, rubbing his arms after he said it, as if the thought disgusted him.
Jiang Hengshu raised his head and glanced in Fu Zhen’s direction. Fu Zhen had already withdrawn his gaze at some point and was now lowering his head, somewhat picky as he ate his boxed lunch. Soon after, he put the lunchbox in his hands down and lowered his head to fiddle with his phone, no one knew what he was doing.
Seeing that Jiang Hengshu was not speaking, the coworker pressed his lips together and continued, “That thing you asked me about yesterday—I found out a little.”
Jiang Hengshu withdrew his gaze. “What did you find?”
“Someone really did die at this construction site. It happened in April this year. The body was found in the ditch behind the site. By the time they found it, it had already been soaking there for several days. But I don’t know who suppressed the matter. It never reached the police, and the
body was just casually dealt with.” The coworker paused, feeling a chill creep over his back. He turned and glanced behind him, but there was only the old earthen wall. After coughing once, he added, “That may not necessarily be true, though. I only overheard it.”
“Thanks,” Jiang Hengshu said.
“What are you being polite for?” The coworker had finished his boxed lunch. He took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, took a drag, and narrowed his eyes in enjoyment. Glancing at Jiang Hengshu, he asked, “Looking at you, you probably weren’t doing construction work before,
right? You’ve studied, haven’t you? Why are you doing this kind of work?” “I’ve been short of money recently.”
When the coworker heard this, he sighed and took another heavy drag of his cigarette. “Money really is a good thing.”
Jiang Hengshu made no comment. He set his boxed lunch aside, leaned against the earthen wall, and closed his eyes.
Fu Zhen sat under the tree root, looking at Jiang Hengshu eagerly as he chatted and laughed with someone else. Although Jiang Hengshu’s personality was somewhat cold, he could now become friends with other workers. That person, however, was not Fu Zhen. Fu Zhen felt a little jealous, but also felt that it did not matter.
The work in the afternoon was just as boring as in the morning, mechanically repeating the same motions. After Fu Zhen had worked for most of the afternoon, he stopped and sat by the earthen wall, waiting for Jiang Hengshu to finish work so they could go home together.
The sun sank toward the west. The sunset dyed the horizon rose-red, and the golden fish-scale clouds gradually faded in color. Fu Zhen and Jiang Hengshu took the bus together. As usual, when there were too many people and it became crowded, Jiang Hengshu kept him protected inside the space formed by his body. Warm air flowed around him. The driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, and Fu Zhen was caught off guard, crashing into Jiang Hengshu’s arms.
The passengers’ endless shouts rang beside his ears. Fu Zhen sniffed, straightened up, and moved his head away from Jiang Hengshu’s chest. He secretly looked up at Jiang Hengshu.
Jiang Hengshu was also lowering his eyes to look at him. Their gazes tangled together, and Fu Zhen seemed to see a trace of hidden gentleness in Jiang Hengshu’s eyes.
Fu Zhen’s heart fluttered, but afterward, he knew he was probably just flattering himself. He pressed his lips together and looked away as if nothing had happened.
The bus soon arrived at the stop. Fu Zhen and Jiang Hengshu got off together and walked toward the residential building. Under the streetlights, their shadows overlapped.
Suddenly, Jiang Hengshu stopped. He turned and looked toward an alley not far away to the southwest.
The sky had already darkened. There were no lights in the alley, and from where he was standing now, the inside of the alley was full of blind spots. There was simply no way to see what was inside that old, dilapidated alley.
Fu Zhen stretched his neck and looked over as well. There was not a trace of light in the deep alley. Curious, he asked, “What is it?”
Jiang Hengshu turned back to Fu Zhen and said, “Nothing. Let’s go upstairs.”
After Fu Zhen and Jiang Hengshu went upstairs, the two brothers hiding in the alley came out. Under the dim yellow lights, both of their faces looked rather unpleasant.
Because the Liu brothers had previously harmed Tang Wanwan, the Fu family and Qin Zhao had joined forces to target them. Before long, the Liu family went bankrupt, and the two Liu brothers were chased everywhere by creditors, forced to hide from place to place.
That day, they had gone to the Fu family and even knelt before Fu Jianchen, but they still had not been able to salvage anything. They did not want to live like rats for the rest of their lives, hiding and dodging in this city.
They walked to a barbecue stall and sat down. The younger Liu brother lowered his voice and asked his older brother uncertainly, “Are you sure it’s him?”
The older Liu brother replied, “Of course. I checked clearly. He’s the younger son Fu Jianchen and the others drove out of the Fu family two years ago.”
The younger Liu brother was still a little uncertain. “The Fu family already drove him out. Will it still be useful if we kidnap him?”
“No matter what, that cripple has Fu family blood in him. I don’t believe Fu Jianchen and Fu Ting can really harden their hearts and ignore him.” The older Liu brother paused, rubbed his
chin, and continued, “I even saw Fu Ting and Fu Jianchen come looking for him a couple of days ago. Sure enough, they still can’t let him go.”
Seeing his younger brother frown without speaking, the older Liu brother added, “Fu Jianchen and the others forced us into this. They protect Tang Wanwan so tightly that not even water could get through. We have no chance to make a move against her. This time, if we kidnap Fu Zhen, we won’t kill anyone. Once we get the money, we’ll go abroad. No matter how capable Fu Jianchen is, he can’t stretch his hands overseas.”
The younger Liu brother felt that what his older brother said made some sense. After hesitating for a while, he nodded and agreed. “All… all right.”
The older Liu brother said, “Get ready. We’ll act before Tang Wanwan gets married. Otherwise, if they really take Fu Zhen back, it’ll be too late for us to regret it.”
Author’s note: There are probably still three or four chapters of angst. Little cuties who can’t bear it can wait a while before reading.