Chapter 16

Zhu Ze calmly pushed the tray aside, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said nonchalantly, “The environment here is quite nice.”

“You know what I’m talking about.” The bar was dimly lit, with many people glancing over intentionally or unintentionally. At this moment, Huo Jun’s face could be described as grim. His eyes, usually indifferent, now seemed as sharp as blades.

Zhu Ze remained unfazed, even raising an eyebrow playfully, “Not everyone who comes here goes underground.”

He looked at Huo Jun, then at the man standing not far behind Huo Jun, wearing a black baseball cap and looking down at his phone. With a polite smile, his gaze returned to Huo Jun, “I hope Third Young Master understands what I’m saying.”

The man in the cap slightly raised his head. Fang Shimian happened to be looking in Huo Jun’s direction and instinctively made eye contact with the man, who then quickly pulled his cap down lower.

Huo Jun chuckled, his eyes cold. He seemed about to say something but changed his mind upon seeing Fang Shimian. After a moment of silence, he flashed a gentlemanly smile, “Alright then, have fun.”

With that, he left with the man in the baseball cap.

Fang Shimian noticed someone in the bar emerging from the shadows to lead the way.

Zhu Ze took a sip of his drink and explained to Fang Shimian, “There’s another level underground in this bar… a place for indulgence, not very clean.”

They were all adults, and the meaning was clear enough.

With the gentle rhythm of the music and the warm, clean decor, Fang Shimian found it hard to imagine that this place hid a key to another world.

Zhu Ze noticed Fang Shimian’s unease and chuckled softly, “Don’t worry.”

“Up here is just a place for relaxing and chatting. The drinks are good, and the environment is nice.” Zhu Ze took another sip of his drink, “At least it’s clean here.”

Fang Shimian also took a sip of the blue drink in front of him, glancing around at the relaxed and open environment without saying a word.

The reason Zhu Ze chose this place was indeed because it was one of the few places where he could relax his constantly tense nerves.

He liked it here.

At the boundary between clean and dirty, in the ambiguous zone between order and sin, this chaotic and stimulating psychology provided him with a continuous source of emotional nourishment.

Zhu Ze’s earlier life was tied to the Huo family. He was groomed as Huo Zhongshan’s right-hand man, much like a companion selected for a crown prince in ancient times. Their studies, social circles, and most aspects of their lives overlapped, but everyone knew he was just a dog for the Huo family, to be discarded when necessary.

A fox borrowing the tiger’s might, a mere facade.

Everyone tried to guess the Huo family’s intentions through him, and the respect and flattery were performances for the Huo family.

The only one who truly saw him walking in this world was Fang Shimian.

Fang Shimian could see his joys, anger, sorrows, and happiness, sensing the emotions that belonged to Zhu Ze as a person.

After the rain, the city was damp, the dust on the trees washed away by the rain, the vibrant green seemed reborn, and the unspeakable oppression and frustration seemed to be washed away as well, the city was breathing.

When Fang Shimian and Zhu Ze left the bar, the driver was already waiting outside.

Fang Shimian’s electric scooter wasn’t in Yunjin, so this time he told the driver the address of his rented apartment complex.

Zhu Ze was still looking at the report sent by his assistant on his phone when he heard the new address Fang Shimian mentioned and frowned slightly, “You don’t live in Yunjin?”

Fang Shimian looked at Zhu Ze with some confusion, not knowing what gave him the impression that a poor guy like him could afford to live in Yunjin, “I just work there.”

Zhu Ze was taken aback and blurted out, “So Dean Fang really doesn’t care about anything?”

Actually, Fang Shimian didn’t want to answer this question, but for some reason, he felt a bit soft-hearted towards Zhu Ze today, so he said, “I’m an adult now, and I can support myself.”

“You’re his only son, after all…” Zhu Ze seemed genuinely shocked, “I only know about them… What about your mother?”

Fang Shimian shook his head expressionlessly, feeling his heart harden again, not wanting to answer questions that were repulsive to him.

Just then, they arrived at the entrance of the apartment complex. Zhu Ze seemed to want to say something more, but Fang Shimian thanked him and got out of the car without hesitation.

The road in the complex was uneven, and even though the property management was diligently repairing it, whenever it rained, many small puddles would appear on the road, and the neatly arranged square bricks were not to be stepped on carelessly, or you’d end up with muddy pants.

The lights on both sides were dim, not very bright, but enough to see the road ahead.

Back in his rented room, Fang Shimian first pulled a towel and put it in a basin of water, planning to set an alarm and then wash up and go to bed. But then he noticed a notification of a deposit in his bank account.

Then came a voice message from Zhao You.

Fang Shimian opened it, and it was Grandpa Zhao’s voice, telling him that his manuscript had been sold. This time, it wasn’t sold to a jewelry company, but during the price negotiation, it was snatched up by a recently popular celebrity who bought it outright at a fixed price.

He then opened the bank’s text message notification and was stunned.

120,000.

Fang Shimian had been selling manuscripts since high school, with Grandpa Zhao helping him negotiate with design companies. It started at a hundred or so and went up to a maximum of five thousand, and that was when he was lucky enough to catch the eye of a big brand.

Sometimes, human intuition is incredibly sharp. Almost instantly, Fang Shimian thought of the hush money Huo Jun mentioned.

Fang Shimian asked Zhao You which celebrity it was.

He waited for a while before Zhao You slowly sent a name.

[Zhou Yu]

Fang Shimian opened a video app to search, and many results popped up, with lots of topics. He casually clicked on one.

It was a photo collection, very popular. Fang Shimian quickly skimmed through the photos until he saw one of Zhou Yu wearing a baseball cap at the airport, and he paused.

The photo was very clear, and although the cap was pulled down low, covering most of his handsome face, Fang Shimian immediately recognized him as the person who had appeared with Huo Jun at the bar that day.

No wonder.

Fang Shimian let out a breath. He thought so; he knew his own level. But such a windfall was indeed enough to make someone dizzy.

However, the Huo family was truly terrifying. They could even find such a channel to give money, and the reason they made up was quite convincing. The image of wealthy celebrities was deeply ingrained in people’s minds, and even Grandpa Zhao didn’t suspect anything. If it weren’t for the large amount, Fang Shimian might have really thought his luck had changed.

But after all this fuss, Fang Shimian knew that if he didn’t accept it, he would seem ungrateful.

Moreover, those people were naturally suspicious, and only after paying the hush money would they truly feel at ease.

With this in mind, Fang Shimian no longer hesitated and happily transferred all the money into his savings account, watching the balance grow closer to his goal.

The next day, when the alarm went off and the long-lost beautiful sunlight shone through the glass into the bedroom, Fang Shimian felt that he really liked working the day shift. He didn’t have to reverse his schedule, and he had a proper job to keep him busy during the day, unlike a wandering ghost looking for things to do to feel fulfilled.

In November, the temperature in Haishi was getting lower. Fang Shimian received the company’s custom winter uniform, complete with a shirt, tie, and black coat.

The small rectangular work badge had Fang Shimian’s name on it. Xu Long helped him pin the badge on his new coat while Fang Shimian was trying on the shirt. He turned around just in time to see the pin going through the coat’s lapel, his eyes wide and his mouth pouting, feeling a pang of heartache.

Xu Long was amused and couldn’t help but tease Fang Shimian, “You really care about such low-quality clothes, kid.”

Embarrassed by the laughter, Fang Shimian scratched his head and continued to tie his tie.

Xu Long was about to stand up and help him, but to his surprise, Fang Shimian was quite skilled in this area, tying it quickly and neatly, as if he had done it thousands of times before.

This was strange. Xu Long sat back down, feeling a bit odd but quickly dismissing it.

Fang Shimian changed into his pants, happily taking the coat from Xu Long and putting it on. After carefully tidying up, he proudly turned to Xu Long to show him.

“How do I look, Brother Long? Do I look mature now?” Fang Shimian pretended to adjust his tie in front of Xu Long, his eyes and brows filled with the unmistakable joy of a young man.

The boy’s figure was thin, and logically, he shouldn’t be able to pull off such a coat. But his exceptionally handsome face and the hint of youthful innocence somehow gave this stiff uniform a different flavor.

The bright light in his eyes, the sunny and cheerful youthfulness intertwined with maturity and steadiness, could easily arouse others’ curiosity.

Even in this dark, gray underground, someone could still shine brightly.

Xu Long looked for a long time and finally sighed, “People really aren’t equal.”

Fang Shimian was looking for a mirror and turned back to him when he heard this, “What?”

“Nothing, just saying you look good in it.” Xu Long glanced at the oversized green-gray hoodie Fang Shimian had left on the workbench, then at the faded, fleece-lined thick cotton pants. While it was good that the kid had a sense of warmth, his fashion sense…

“From now on, throw away those ugly clothes you’re wearing.”

Fang Shimian chuckled.

On Saturday, his day off, Fang Shimian uncharacteristically didn’t turn off the alarm early and still got up early to wash up.

He rode his electric scooter to the roadside non-motorized vehicle parking spot, parked his scooter, and walked a short distance to the bus station, bought a ticket, and waited for the bus.

While waiting, Fang Shimian found a number in his contacts and dialed it.

The other end picked up, and the noise was loud. A middle-aged man’s voice shouted, “Hey, little brother, you’re coming to see it now?”

“Yes, I should be there in about two hours.” Fang Shimian looked at the scrolling departure schedule on the screen, gathered his things, and headed to the ticket gate.

“Two hours, huh? Alright, alright, you can make it. Just come, and call me when you arrive.”

“Okay.” Fang Shimian hung up the phone, handed his ticket to the attendant, scanned his face to enter the station, and found his bus, choosing a window seat in the back.

A two-hour journey wasn’t too long or too short, but compared to most of the tired passengers on the bus, Fang Shimian was in a very excited state, constantly looking out the window.

From the bustling city to the sparse small towns, the last stretch was a pastoral landscape surrounded by mountains and water.

The bus pulled into the small passenger station, and Fang Shimian, holding his phone, called as he followed the crowd off the bus.

Before the call connected, he saw a middle-aged man in a brown down jacket outside the station waving his phone at him, “Here, here, here!”

Fang Shimian jogged over, “Sorry to trouble you, uncle. I’ll pay the deposit after I see it today.”

The man took Fang Shimian on his cargo tricycle, and amidst the roar of the engine, the middle-aged man lit a cigarette, tilting his head, “This place is in high demand. I’m only holding it for you because you seem like a good kid.”

Fang Shimian nodded earnestly.

The man glanced at Fang Shimian, chuckled, and pulled another cigarette from the pack, “You must be an adult by now, right? Want one?”

Fang Shimian shook his head, “I don’t smoke.”

The middle-aged man tossed the cigarette pack onto the windshield, stepped on the gas as he turned, and said proudly, “If you don’t smoke, you should learn. My brat knew how to hold a cigarette in his mouth when he was just a few years old, and he dared to drink white liquor too, tough as nails.”

The mountain roads were full of twists and turns, and when the asphalt road ended, the tricycle continued up the mountain on a small path. Fortunately, it hadn’t rained in the past few days, so the road wasn’t muddy or slippery.

The air in the forest was fresh. Fang Shimian held onto the small handrail beside his seat, feeling the breeze brush against his cheeks and wrists. He thought, if there really were gods in this world, the wind god who governed this mountain forest must be very gentle.

The last stretch of the road was too steep for the tricycle, so they got off and walked. The middle-aged man took a sickle from the cargo bed. The rarely used path was overgrown with weeds, and in just a few months, the vegetation had covered the road. As he cleared the way, he muttered, “The soil on this mountain is very fertile. Anything you plant will grow. It’s a treasure land of feng shui, really, I’m not fooling you. It’s very good.”

Fang Shimian followed closely behind, his eyes fixed on a certain spot ahead, whispering, “I know, I know.”

When they reached the place, Fang Shimian walked to the front. The middle-aged man stopped and looked down the mountain, biting a cigarette but not lighting it.

Their destination was two grandly built connected tombs, with photos of two elderly people on them, both with stern expressions.

Fang Shimian took a bottle of white liquor from his bag and poured it in front of the tombstone, placing some candies as well. His gaze lingered on the photos for a long time, showing a sorrowful expression.

The middle-aged man glanced over a few times, walked over, and squatted beside Fang Shimian, “This feng shui is really good. Your grandparents must be enjoying themselves now. Life was so hard for them.”

Fang Shimian nodded, then slowly walked to a piece of land beside the two tombs, gently stepping on the soft soil with his foot, “I’ll pay you a ten thousand deposit first. Please don’t sell this place to anyone else, okay?”

The middle-aged man nodded eagerly, “Of course, I’ll draft a note for you, oh, a contract. Just like your grandparents’, I’ll make a copy for you. Once you sign it, it’s settled.”

They rode the tricycle back down the mountain, and Fang Shimian transferred the money to the man, signed the contract, and pressed his fingerprint.

On the return journey, it was still a bus, but this time it was more crowded, with seats filled with bags of vegetables, eggs, and fruits, packed tightly in the gaps.

Riding his electric scooter home, Fang Shimian hummed a song and suddenly felt like taking a detour, so he changed his route and slowly drove down a less crowded road.

This road didn’t have much traffic; it was a new road. Previously, this area was all factories, but most of them had been demolished. It was quite deserted, and it might only get busy once the airport was built.

Just then, a roar came from the highway, getting closer and closer. Almost in an instant, several cars sped around the bend. Fang Shimian watched as one of the cars skidded and flew over the guardrail, crashing into the rock wall, billowing smoke.

Then there were several loud crashes. Fang Shimian turned the corner on his scooter and saw two cars collided, both crashing into the opposite lane.

In the blood-red sunset, it was like a doomsday carnival for desperados.

Fang Shimian’s hands and feet were cold, and his instincts told him not to meddle. He didn’t know who these people were. He drove as fast as he could until he couldn’t see the cars anymore, then stopped and called for an ambulance and the police.

After making the calls, Fang Shimian felt an inexplicable panic. He got back on his scooter and drove forward, only to find another car crashed into the rock wall, billowing thick black smoke.

The black oil leaking out looked like thick blood.

Suppressing his fear, Fang Shimian tried to bypass the car and leave quickly, but as he passed by, he saw a familiar face through the shattered window and deformed door.

Huo Zhongshan!

Fang Shimian had gritted his teeth and driven past, but seeing the billowing smoke, he stopped his scooter, took off his helmet, and ran back.

The driver’s seat had been compressed against the rock wall along with the engine. Fang Shimian forced himself to ignore the mixture leaking from the gap in the driver’s door.

The rear door had clearly been through more than one violent impact, and the bullet holes in the window glass made Fang Shimian’s heart race.

The man inside had his eyes closed, the silent darkness of the car swallowing Huo Zhongshan’s expression, his life or death unknown. Fang Shimian saw his hand hanging to the side, covered in blood.

Fang Shimian used all his strength to pry open the car door, but it was severely deformed and wouldn’t budge. The smoke brought scorching heat, and a loud explosion sounded not far away. Fang Shimian trembled all over. He had never experienced anything like this, but he knew this car was going to explode too.

His grave hadn’t been fully paid for, and they certainly wouldn’t bury him there.

He really, really didn’t want to die yet.

Choking with sobs, tears streaming down his face, Fang Shimian let go of the car door. Being burned to death would be excruciatingly painful, he knew. He had seen people wailing in medical documentaries.

What if the person inside was already dead? Fang Shimian trembled, trying to convince himself. It was just someone he had met a few times, exchanged a few words with, a stranger…

But just as he was about to give up, he saw that hand, illuminated by the sunset, suddenly clench, the blue veins under the skin clearly visible.

Still alive, he was still alive.

Fang Shimian’s sobbing echoed on the empty highway, sounding particularly mournful. He picked up a piece of rock that had broken off the wall and smashed it hard against the stuck part. He cried out loud, thinking that if it exploded, it was fate.

A bad fate, heaven wouldn’t pity Fang Shimian. Perhaps after being blown up, even his soul would be devoured by evil spirits.

He wouldn’t meet the gentle wind god in the forest, nor would he be buried in that land.

Several more loud explosions sounded in his ears. Just as Fang Shimian’s hands were covered in blood, and he was in utter despair, the door suddenly loosened. He quickly dropped the rock and pulled on the door.

With a screeching sound, the door actually opened. By now, the temperature inside the car was very high. Fang Shimian bent down, reached inside, and used all his strength to pull on that hand.

He had just moved a little.

The hand suddenly squeezed his lightly. Fang Shimian, tears blurring his vision, looked up. Huo Zhongshan had somehow opened his eyes. His gaze was still as calm as ever, who knows how long he had been watching, his dark eyes like a silent deep sea.

In the scorching, dark car, he spoke softly.

“Go quickly.”

“Stop crying.”