Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 52
Chapter 52 Who will you save first?
2024-10-13 07:22 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
The gray-white sky of early winter meets the end of the road, and the car glides along the road, like a journey without end.
At a cemetery on the outskirts of the city, You Shulang slowed down, his tires crunching on fallen pine branches.
The car stopped, and Fan Xiao pushed open the passenger door. As soon as he peeked out, he was hit in the face by a blast of cold wind. The contrast between the cold and the warm air made him shiver.
You Shulang got out of the driver’s seat, took off his scarf as he walked, walked up to Fan Xiao, put it on him, wrapped it around his arm a few times, and covered half of the man’s face.
Fan Xiao pulled down his scarf, revealing his mouth: “I don’t need it, it’s not that cold.”
“Wear it.” You Shulang, who had already climbed the mountain path, tossed out the sentence without turning his head.
The scarf still carried body heat, warm and cozy. Fan Xiao took a light sniff; the scent of shaving lotion wafted from the tangled yarn—it was the scent of You Shulang.
“Wait for me.” His lips were hidden by the scarf, only the curve of his eyes was visible. Fan Xiao took three steps in two and chased after the figure.
Fan Xiao had seen the woman on the tombstone before; she was in one of his privately kept photos.
You Shulang placed the flowers in front of the tombstone and softly called out, “Mom.”
His smile was warm, his mature composure gone, and he suddenly looked like a child: “Have you missed me? Have you learned all the characters I taught you last time? I’ll teach you again when it gets warmer. It’s too cold here now, you can’t sit still.”
He turned slightly to the side and extended his hand to Fan Xiao: “Mom, I came here today to introduce someone to you. His name is Fan Xiao, and he’s my boyfriend.”
His hand, hidden in his sleeve, suddenly clenched, and Fan Xiao’s slightly startled expression froze on his face. He hesitated for a moment before taking You Shulang’s hand, stepping forward to stand side by side.
“Didn’t you say that if I found someone I liked, I would bring him to you to see, regardless of gender?” You Shulang’s deep gaze fell on Fan Xiao. “Today, I brought him. He’s very handsome, isn’t he? He’s also very good to me.”
The cold wind was even stronger halfway up the mountain, and Fan Xiao’s hands were as cold as ice.
He didn’t know what he said; he acted purely on subconscious, mechanical reactions, making statements that were most advantageous to himself. The words dissipated in the cold wind and carried no weight whatsoever.
On the way down the mountain, You Shulang slipped him a note. Fan Xiao unfolded it and found it was an IOU.
He finally regained some of his senses and asked, “What is this?”
“The money you paid for my brother,” You Shulang looked back at him on the mountain road, “I consider it a debt I owe you.”
“How could you…”
“Thank you.” You Shulang interrupted Fan Xiao, took his cold hand and put it into his coat pocket. “I’ve met the other party before. He’s not an easy person to talk to. So when my brother told me that the matter had been resolved, I knew it must have been you who helped. And after checking, it turned out to be true.”
Going down the mountain was easier than going up. By this time, the two had reached the car. The suburbs were quiet and deserted, with no one around and not even a passing vehicle.
Suddenly, You Shulang gave Fan Xiao a gentle push, pushing him against the car, and quickly pressed his own body against him.
The imposing manner wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t exactly flirting either. You Shulang turned Fan Xiao’s chin towards himself and lectured, “I didn’t want you to get involved because this matter might have legal risks. But you, on the other hand, got involved completely behind my back.”
Fan Xiao, looking completely unfazed, pulled the person into his arms and said, “Anything that can be settled with money isn’t a big deal. Don’t worry, there’s no risk.” He spoke in a slightly coquettish tone, “The main thing is that you just changed the locks, curtains, and bed on your house, which were all quite expensive. It would be a shame to sell them.”
Unable to do anything to Fan Xiao, You Shulang loosened his grip and nestled into his arms. The man’s body wasn’t warm, but it shielded him from the wind.
“I’ve lived for almost 30 years, and I’ve always been the one standing in front of others to shield them from the wind and rain. I never thought that someone could shield me from the wind and rain.” His voice was low and soft, like a rootless wind. “Over the years, I’ve gotten used to the fact that I have to be strong and persevere. But now, I find that I can also be a weak person.”
Taking a slight step back, You Shulang gazed at the man in front of him: “It feels great to be taken care of by my boyfriend, Fan Xiao, thank you.”
He placed a light kiss on Fan Xiao’s lips, dispelling the chill. But before the tenderness could deepen, sharp teeth bit into that soft flesh, and You Shulang threatened in a low voice amidst the lingering breaths: “However, if you dare to disobey me again and secretly do things behind my back, I will punish you severely!”
Ignoring the pain, Fan Xiao eagerly deepened the kiss. Between their burning lips and teeth, not a trace of coldness could be tolerated, only a perfunctory “Yes, my Director You.”
On the way back, the car’s air conditioning was very hot, and Fan Xiao was feeling drowsy. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, his jealousy kicked in.
“Did your ex come here too?”
“What?”
“Paying respects to your foster mother?”
You Shulang sighed inwardly: “No, he hasn’t been here.”
Fan Xiao slowly straightened his back, his face full of suspicion: “Really? You’re not lying to me?”
“Really, I’m not lying to you.”
Fan Xiao sank back into his seat and asked loudly, “Why? You two have spent quite a bit of time together.”
You Shulang glanced at Fan Xiao, noticing his arrogant and smug expression, like a child who had won a game. He said helplessly, “He’s young and inexperienced. There are some things he can’t understand. He doesn’t know anything about my past experiences.”
Amidst a whirlwind of thoughts, Fan Xiao’s brows furrowed, and a chill gradually enveloped him. He turned his gaze to the window, his tone calm yet indifferent: “Director You, do you think I’m too old? Or do you feel you don’t need to protect my pure heart?”
You Shulang glanced sideways, but only saw the man’s well-defined profile. He turned on the hazard lights, pulled the car over to the side of the road, and took Fan Xiao’s hand to hold. Their fingers intertwined, one cold and one warm.
“To be honest, when I was with my ex, it was a bit like coaxing a child.” You Shulang leaned back in his chair, looking at the long road stretching out before him, and said slowly, “Aside from daily life, we rarely had any spiritual communication. I thought loving him meant taking good care of him and providing him with a comfortable environment and a peaceful state of mind to the best of my ability.”
“He broke up with me very suddenly. I didn’t ask why, because I was afraid of embarrassing him. During that time, he was completely distracted and his mind was not on me at all. What happened is self-evident.”
Fan Xiao turned to look at You Shulang, a strange look in his eyes. You Shulang rubbed his fingertips together, finding them icy cold, and turned the air conditioning up a few degrees.
“I appear magnanimous on the surface, but I actually feel a little resentful that he wronged me. However, he later told me that I was actually very cold towards him. I shut myself off completely, and he couldn’t enter my world at all. This made him very sad and anxious.”
“It was only then that I realized I had never intended for him to understand the whole me, nor had I particularly wanted to know his thoughts.” You Shulang’s face showed a hint of self-reproach. “It seems I didn’t really love him that much.”
“And what about me?”
You Shulang’s hand was gripped by someone else, and even the usually assertive Fan Xiao seemed a little uneasy when he asked the question.
“To you?” You Shulang looked blank for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. “I don’t know either. In the past, when I was dealing with people and things, even before starting a relationship, I would always analyze the pros and cons and consider whether it was suitable. But with you, I’ve done all sorts of foolish things and accepted all sorts of foolish debts.”
“Shulang.” Clenching their fingers together, Fan Xiao leaned closer and asked softly, “So, if I and your ex fell into the lake together, who would you save first?”
You Shulang was taken aback, then broke down, letting out a low “Damn it!” as he shook off Fan Xiao’s hand and started the car: “I’ve only been back in the country a few days, but I’ve already watched plenty of jokes. Who to save? I’m not saving anyone, let them live or die!”
The car slid off, kicking up a cloud of dust.
