Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 38
Chapter 38 It’s okay, I’m here.
2024-10-13 07:18 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
After hanging up the phone once again, Fan Xiao slammed it onto the card table.
A single spotlight shone vertically onto the black velvet tabletop. Layers of darkness pressed in from behind, and apart from the slender fingers holding the cards on the table, only a sliver of Fan Xiao’s sharp jaw was visible in the shadows.
His lips were pressed tightly together, and he looked a little annoyed.
“Still Lu Zhen?” Shi Lihua leaned crookedly against the other side of the card table, placing the cards face down on the surface and swirling a wine glass between two fingers. “He broke up with You Shulang for you. Aren’t you afraid that by avoiding him like this, he’ll be heartbroken and go back to your Director You?”
With a long finger, Fan Xiao drew a card and tossed it lightly onto the center of the table. His nasal voice carried a hint of sneer: “You Shulang will no longer accept him.”
Shi Lihua drew a card from the deck and placed it down, continuing lazily, “How can you predict matters of the heart? If an ex-boyfriend acts cute, takes off his clothes, and has sex, how many men can resist?”
The card that had just been drawn was pressed back down, and Fan Xiao changed to another one: “Will this one be of any use?”
Shi Lihua chuckled: “I can’t control that. Fan Xiao, you’re the kind of person who holds grudges, even at the card table.”
He downed his drink in one gulp: “But what I’m saying is all good advice. You’ve never been in a relationship, so you naturally don’t understand how easy it is to rekindle an old flame.”
Fan Xiao played a straight, cleared his hand, and said coolly, “You’ve lost three hands in a row. I want your bottle of Romanée-Conti red wine.”
“That was for my goddess.” Shi Lihua finally straightened up, gritting his teeth. “Fan Xiao, I advise you to have some decency. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Winners in gambling, losers in love’?”
“Never heard of it,” Fan Xiao replied curtly. He found a note in a hidden compartment of the card table, wrote down an address, and handed it to Shi Lihua’s assistant. “Please send the wine here, along with a bouquet of flowers. Remember, no red roses.”
Shi Lihua was utterly helpless. He craned his neck to take a look, and his expression turned to surprise: “I thought you were going to use my good wine to win You Shulang’s favor. Why did you give it to Lu Zhen?”
Fan Xiao tossed aside his pen, picked up a stick of “rouge” and bit it in his mouth, nonchalantly laying bare his dark thoughts under the spotlight: “You always need something expensive to support some unrealistic fantasies, right?”
“Damn, You’ve got your eye on You Shulang, and Lu Zhen’s caught in the crossfire. I don’t even know who to sympathize with.”
“Remember the third young master of the Bai family? The rich second-generation you beat up for ten minutes.” Shi Lihua added more wine, swirling it to fill the room with its aroma. “He really went to see Ann.”
Fan Xiao paused, the cards no longer flipping smoothly between his fingers.
Shi Lihua shook his head helplessly: “Ann really gave you face, she even met someone like that.”
Fan Xiao lowered his eyes, skillfully shuffled the cards again, and asked lightly, “Are they asleep?”
“No, she had a few drinks with him, and then Bai Yupeng shamelessly forced her to kiss him.” Shi Lihua scoffed. “Do you think Ann had any murderous thoughts at that time? After all, you’re all crazy.”
His eyes flashed, and he started gossiping: “I heard that last month a young tycoon tried to force Ann to change her mind. He committed suicide in front of her, and blood was everywhere. But Ann was still leisurely listening to music and drinking red wine. In the end, the tycoon himself called an ambulance.”
After saying that, Shi Lihua sighed and said, “No, you two are willing to do so much for each other, why don’t you stay together? Why do you have to go so far away and spend so much time playing around with men?”
The cards were neatly stacked, like someone’s perfect life, but Fan Xiao flicked his finger and they scattered and became messy. Where was the perfection in that?
The man’s tone was calm and even, like a high monk preaching: “The Buddha said that nine types of people will fall into hell.” He smiled slightly, “Neither she nor I can escape it.”
Shi Lihua: “…”
You Shulang was still a little dazed when he put down his luggage.
The Shuxin Oral Liquid project has been launched. On the one hand, we are optimizing the process and developing production; on the other hand, we are also working tirelessly to build a sales network and establish channels.
For OTC drugs about to be launched, industry endorsement is crucial. Bohai Pharmaceutical is a small company without strong background support, so it has turned its attention to expert endorsement.
In the coastal city of S, a grand forum of pharmaceutical experts is about to be held, and pharmaceutical companies, both well-known and unknown, are eager to secure a place. This is a golden opportunity, and no one wants to miss it, including Bohai Pharmaceutical.
Tickets were hard to come by, so the project team selected two key R&D personnel. Just as they were about to make a final decision, the pragmatic and capable General Manager Fan added You Shulang’s name to the list. His reasoning was also quite plausible: Director You is knowledgeable in business and good at socializing, so he might win the favor of those older experts.
The air in the seaside city is slightly damp and humid, and the coconut palms sway their branches, pulling at the enchanting sea breeze.
The group chose a seaside restaurant for their first meal after landing, which was booked by Yu Shulang.
Far from the sea and near the sand, tourists chatted and laughed lightly. After a long journey, everyone showed a bit of lazy relaxation, except for Fan Xiao.
“What’s wrong?” You Shulang placed the deboned fish meat into the empty plate in front of Fan Xiao and asked him in a low voice, “Not to your liking?”
He had already passed the initial stage of needing emotional adjustment in taking care of Fan Xiao. The man, whose hand had been injured along the way, was like a delicate flower, requiring his personal attention in every way. Sometimes, You Shulang felt that Fan Xiao’s injury wasn’t to his hand, but to his mind, that he had regressed into a mentally challenged person incapable of taking care of himself.
However, because Fan Xiao was injured by him, and a few days ago he got drunk and acted like a hooligan, You Shulang felt guilty and was therefore willing to indulge the spoiled and arrogant Fan Xiao.
The other two people sitting at the table were already used to You Shulang taking care of Fan Xiao. They were even secretly glad that Director You was with them, otherwise who would take care of that seemingly polite but actually pretentious CEO Fan? With this in mind, the two of them gratefully turned over the fish belly so that You Shulang could pick at it.
Along the way, Fan Xiao accepted all of You Shulang’s arrangements without question, except for this fish.
He leaned back in his chair, smiled, and lowered his eyelashes to conceal the emotions in his eyes: “I’m a little tired and have no appetite. Director You, don’t bother, eat by yourself.”
He asked the waiter if smoking was prohibited, and after receiving a negative answer, he put the cigarette in his mouth.
“I’ll do it.” You Shulang took the match from his hand, struck it, and presented the flame to Fan Xiao.
In the warm flames, he noticed that Fan Xiao’s muscles tensed instantly, the veins on his uninjured left hand bulged, the cigarette trembled slightly between his teeth, and his pale face was illuminated by the flickering firelight.
Before the words of concern could even leave his lips, the man regained his composure, lit a cigarette with You Shulang’s hand, and gave a frivolous thank you with a smirk.
After dinner, the sunset glow had already set the sky and the sea ablaze with color. The waves tore off a wisp of golden dust and sent it over in waves. But the journey was long, and the wisp of light gradually dimmed from its intensity, until it was just a few shimmering specks of light when it got close.
With its soft white sand and gentle sea breeze, someone suggested taking a walk on the beach.
“You guys go ahead,” Fan Xiao said with a faint smile. “I’m going back to rest first.”
As he passed You Shulang, he reached out and patted the man on the shoulder: “Have fun to ease your heartbreak.”
That’s infuriating, he deserves to be scolded. But all You Shulang felt was that the hand was very cold.
Yu Shulang bought a takeout bowl of udon noodles from a Japanese restaurant and carried it to his hotel.
He shared a room with Fan Xiao while on a business trip, and to save money, there was no reason for him to book a room by himself. In fact, he was already used to sharing a room with male colleagues on business trips. If he encountered someone who was uninhibited and naked, he would automatically avoid looking at them. He would also occasionally go to a sauna with them and never hesitated to tip women.
Therefore, no one ever doubted his sexual orientation, only saying that Director You was a person of integrity who never got involved in messy things.
Fan Xiao knew his sexual orientation, and the fact that their beds were next to each other and they shared a bathroom made You Shulang feel somewhat awkward.
“It’s not like we haven’t slept together before, we’ve even rolled around in the same blanket, why are you still fussing about this?” Fan Xiao said, only to be shoved back by You Shulang.
When You Shulang opened the door with the room card, he was stunned.
The room was pitch black, without a single ray of light. The endless darkness seemed to expand the small area, and the deep unknown and panic spread endlessly, turning this corner into a black hole, waiting to swallow those who had gone astray whole.
Instinctively, You Shulang assumed the room was empty. He reached for his key card to insert into the switchboard, but then heard a voice from the dark corner say, “Don’t turn on the light!”
The voice, trembling slightly, reached You Shulang’s ears.
Then it turned into pain: “Please, don’t turn on the light.”
You Shulang’s expression changed slightly. He took back his key card, walked into the house, placed the noodles on the shelf by the door, turned around and closed the door, cutting off all the light.
“What’s wrong, Fan Xiao?”
He walked to the sofa following the sound, but before he could even stand still, the man sitting there hugged him tightly, felt a warmth on his stomach, and pressed his cheek against his.
“Let me hold you for a while!” The man’s voice was hoarse and heavy, as if he had been rolling in gravel for three days.
It was very tight, very heavy. You Shulang felt a fine, persistent pain in his waist.
He didn’t move, letting Fan Xiao hold him. After feeling the warm, moist sensation on his skin, his fingers gently ran through the soft strands of hair.
“It’s okay, I’m here,” he said.
