Liu Han gave a cold snort. The way Fu Zhen looked really did not seem like someone who was afraid.
Did Fu Jianchen truly not care about this younger son, or was he putting on an act now, hoping Liu Han would lower his guard and, preferably, see that Fu Zhen had no value and simply let him go?
Liu Han sneered inwardly. If Fu Jianchen really thought that, then he was looking down on him far too much. Even if they could not get the eighty million, they absolutely would not let Fu Zhen have an easy time.
One night quickly passed in calm, but this calm was not a good thing for Fu Zhen or for the Liu brothers. Nothing happening meant the Fu family did not care at all whether Fu Zhen had truly been kidnapped.
The next morning, warm dawn light shone in through the glass window on the east side of the sheet-metal hut. There was a bruise at the corner of Fu Zhen’s mouth, left there by Liu Han the night before. He raised his head and looked out the window. Outside was a dense stretch of brown woodland, extending endlessly. Sunlight fell over it, and beneath the gray, smoggy sky, it looked as though it had been covered with a layer of gold dust.
Fu Zhen looked for a very long time. Only when Liu Han and Liu Wen entered the room again did he withdraw his gaze, lower his head as if nothing had happened, and look at the floor.
Liu Han walked up to Fu Zhen and kicked him in the lower leg. Fu Zhen raised his head. His face was haggard, his eyes were full of blood vessels, his lips were pale, and there was almost no color in his face. Liu Han clicked his tongue, turned, sat down on the table, lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and took a deep drag.
Liu Wen leaned against the wall. After playing on his phone for a while, he looked up and asked his older brother, “Did you get in touch with Fu Ting?”
“Get in touch, my ass. These people’s hearts are all black.” Liu Han jumped down from the table and started cursing. “I just saw Fu Ting on television. That bastard has the mood to hold a press conference for his sister, but no time to save his own younger brother. Don’t count on him.”
“What press conference?” Liu Wen could hardly believe that, at a time like this, Fu Ting still had the mood to hold a press conference for Tang Wanwan.
Liu Han scoffed. “Didn’t Tang Wanwan fall yesterday?” “They’re holding a press conference just for that?”
Liu Han shook his head and did not answer Liu Wen’s question. He slowly walked up to Fu Zhen, bent down, and asked, “What do you think about this?”
Fu Zhen had not had water for a day and two nights. His lips were badly dry, even cracked. Hearing Liu Han’s question, he raised his head, thought for a moment, and shook his head. “I don’t think anything.”
His voice was very soft. If one did not listen carefully, it was almost impossible to hear what he had just said.
“Useless piece of trash!” Liu Han slapped Fu Zhen on the head.
Fu Zhen’s head was knocked to the side. Only after a long while did he turn it back somewhat sluggishly.
Liu Wen glanced at the entertainment news on his phone. For some reason, he felt uneasy. He asked his brother, “They won’t find this place, will they?”
“So what if they do? I’d rather they found it,” Liu Han said. If Fu Jianchen was willing to investigate this matter, at least it would prove Fu Zhen still had some place in his heart. The thing he feared most was Fu Jianchen not caring at all. Then all their efforts would truly be like drawing water with a bamboo basket.
Liu Wen was still uneasy. This was the first time he had followed Liu Han in doing something like this, and he still had no confidence. Liu Han saw his worry and sneered. “What are you
afraid of? Worst case, we die here together. What’s the point of living this rotten life of hiding here and there?”
Liu Wen pressed his lips together and said nothing. In truth, as long as he was with Liu Han, he could endure any kind of life. But since Liu Han had chosen to walk this path to the bitter end, he would not abandon him.
Another day passed. There was still no news from Fu Jianchen or Fu Ting. Every phone number the Liu brothers had called before had been blocked by them, showing that Fu Jianchen and the others truly would not care whether Fu Zhen lived or died.
Fu Zhen had not eaten for two days. His hair was a mess, his face was ashen, and there was no light at all in his eyes. He looked extremely terrible.
“Damn it, that old bastard Fu Jianchen really does have a hard heart.” Liu Han walked over and grabbed Fu Zhen’s chin, forcing him to raise his head. Liu Han looked down at the young man before him, who seemed so fragile he could break at a touch, and asked, “Are you really his
biological son?”
Fu Zhen thought for a moment, then answered in a hoarse voice, “Who knows?”
Liu Han had already been suppressing a huge fire in his chest for the past two days. Now, hearing Fu Zhen say this, he only felt that Fu Zhen was mocking him. The powder keg in his mind was instantly lit. With a bang of rage, he kicked viciously at the chair beneath Fu Zhen. The chair shook and nearly toppled over with Fu Zhen still tied to it.
He raised his fist and smashed it toward Fu Zhen’s face. Fu Zhen was tied to the chair and had no way to dodge at all. He let out a muffled groan. A thread of bright red soon seeped from the bruised corner of his mouth. His face was deathly pale, shocking to look at.
Liu Han looked fierce and vicious. His fists struck the table and chairs with loud bangs. Even Liu Wen was frightened by his momentum. Afraid Liu Han would beat Fu Zhen to death just like
this, he hurried forward and pulled Liu Han back. “Forget it, forget it, Brother. Calm down. If we can’t get this money, we’ll think of another way. Don’t beat him to death.”
Liu Han stopped, panting heavily. He glared at Fu Zhen. There was no way he could just send Fu Zhen back without pain or consequence, but he also did not want to kill someone in front of Liu Wen. Then an idea moved through Liu Han’s mind. He said to Liu Wen, “We’re leaving!”
“We’re just leaving like this?” Liu Wen could not quite accept the huge difference in his brother’s attitude before and after.
“If we don’t leave, are you staying here to keep him company?”
Liu Wen fell silent and followed Liu Han out of the sheet-metal hut. Fu Zhen, meanwhile, had been hit so hard by Liu Han’s punch that his mind was a little unclear. His head drooped as he sat on the chair. Sunlight scattered over his body, making him look like a suffering believer.
When Liu Han reached the door, he suddenly stopped. He took out his phone, turned around, and took a photo of Fu Zhen. Then he sent that photo to Fu Jianchen’s phone. As for when Fu Jianchen would see the photo, and what expression he would have when he saw it, that had nothing to do with Liu Han.
Fu Zhen could stay here forever. Whether he could survive would depend on whether Fu Jianchen and the others were willing to save him.
He would not kill anyone. If Fu Zhen really died, then he would have died from Fu Jianchen and Fu Ting’s indifference.
Liu Han gave a soft laugh, drove the car, and took Liu Wen away from the woods.
The sky outside gradually darkened. The sun had already sunk to the top of the western mountains. Liu Han and the others never appeared before Fu Zhen again.
This was the fourth day since Fu Zhen had been kidnapped. During this time, he had not drunk even a drop of water or eaten even a single grain of rice. He felt deprived of air. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Now, he only wanted to close his eyes and sleep properly, but he also knew he could not sleep. If he fell asleep this time, he probably would never wake again.
Fu Zhen understood Liu Han’s intention. Liu Han wanted to trap him here until he died. He had no relatives and no one close to him. Even if he disappeared, no one would come looking for him. He only wondered how long it would take before someone discovered his bones.
If he had known this disaster would happen, he should have written a will in advance and left the tiny bit of savings he had to Jiang Hengshu.
Fu Zhen silently sighed. He was truly too tired. His mind was a blur. There were only a few indistinct figures inside it, but very soon, even they were swallowed by white fog. His eyelids gradually drooped, and he sank into darkness.
…
Fu Zhen was startled awake by a huge pounding sound against the door. He did not know how long he had just slept. He lifted his heavy eyelids and looked toward the door. Liu Han had the key to this sheet-metal hut, so the person outside should not be him. Fu Zhen opened his mouth and wanted to call for help, but his voice was far too small, like a mosquito’s buzz.
Fu Zhen bit his lip hard, forcing himself to become a little more awake. He opened his mouth and gave a hysterical cry. The volume was still not loud. In the empty sheet-metal hut, it sounded like a trapped beast.
Fortunately, the person outside never gave up. At last, the iron door fell down with a crash. A tall figure stood at the doorway. Moonlight poured over him like water, and behind him was a ground full of brilliant starlight.
A soft breeze blew in. In that instant, winter’s ice and snow turned into flowers blooming across the ground, each one competing to open.
But Fu Zhen thought he was hallucinating.
That was…
Jiang Hengshu.
“You… why are you here?” Fu Zhen’s voice was terribly hoarse. When he spoke, his throat tore painfully, accompanied by sharp pangs. His voice was also far too small. He did not know whether Jiang Hengshu could hear him.
Jiang Hengshu walked silently toward Fu Zhen. He crouched down in front of him, then untied the ropes around him.
Fu Zhen stared blankly at everything before him. It was as if he were dreaming. He was afraid that when he woke again, Jiang Hengshu would be gone. He did not know what he could do to make him stay.
Tears seemed like beads slipping from a broken string, rolling one after another from his eyes and falling onto the back of Jiang Hengshu’s hand. Jiang Hengshu seemed to sense it. He raised his head, and his gaze met Fu Zhen’s.
Jiang Hengshu seemed to sigh softly. He lifted his hand and carefully wiped the tear tracks from Fu Zhen’s face, then stood and said to him, “Let’s go.”
Fu Zhen gave a low hum. But his leg was injured, and after freezing in the sheet-metal hut for the past two days, he could not walk at all. Fu Zhen tilted his head up and looked at Jiang Hengshu. A layer of watery light covered his eyes, making him look exceptionally pitiful.
“You can’t walk?” Jiang Hengshu asked him.
Fu Zhen nodded.
“I’ll carry you.” Jiang Hengshu turned his back to Fu Zhen and crouched down in front of him.
The back before him was broad and warm. Fu Zhen lay against it, his head resting on Jiang Hengshu’s shoulder. His eyelids soon drooped. He was becoming sleepy.
Jiang Hengshu took a small bottle of mints from his pocket and placed it in Fu Zhen’s hand. “Don’t sleep. Eat a piece of candy first.”
He carried Fu Zhen out of the blue sheet-metal hut. His car was on a small road not far away.
Under the cold moonlight, Jiang Hengshu’s and Fu Zhen’s shadows intertwined, like a pair of twin trees born in ancient times, inseparable from each other.
The evening wind stirred the branches, making a soft rustling sound. After eating the candy, Fu Zhen felt a little better. He could not help calling Jiang Hengshu’s name. “Jiang Hengshu?”
Jiang Hengshu gave a hum and said nothing else.
“Jiang Hengshu…”
“What is it?” Jiang Hengshu asked.
Fu Zhen’s arms around Jiang Hengshu tightened slightly. His breath brushed against the hollow of Jiang Hengshu’s neck.
The moonlit night, the withered pines, the little hut… everything was so beautiful, like a dream.
There was one sentence in his heart that he wanted to tell him.
I like you…
But in the end, what Fu Zhen said was not that sentence.
“The moon is beautiful tonight,” he said.
Author’s note: I originally wanted to contact my editor to remove the sweet romance tag, but the editor said tags can only be changed for works that are not currently on the ranking list. I’m very sorry to the little cuties who clicked in because of the sweet romance tag. Maybe there’s been a slight deviation in my understanding of sweet romance. I used to think that because the main couple had no misunderstandings in their feelings and the later development was fairly sweet, it should count as sweet romance, but it seems the little cuties can’t quite accept that.
Once again, I’m sorry. But I swear on my saved drafts that the later part really is sweet.