Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 74
Chapter 74 You win, I’m too tired.
2024-10-13 07:29 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
“To jump or not to jump? Let’s decide quickly, Zhang Chen, everyone’s exhausted.”
The crowd divided the rooftop terrace. On the opposite side of Fan Xiao, Zhang Chen was truly trembling. His dangling leg felt as if it were weighed down by a thousand pounds, as if an invisible hand was constantly pulling him down.
He clung tightly to the railing, his legs clamped against the wall, and roared incredulously, “You Shulang, are you even speaking human language?! What good would it do you if I died? My mother really raised an ingrate; you should have frozen to death in the garbage dump that winter!”
He was like a demon crawling out of raging fire, his bony neck veins bulging: “What’s so precious about a dead TXL like you? What’s with the attitude? It’s just sleeping with men a few times, why are you being so picky? You should be grateful that someone is willing to sleep with you and do such disgusting things with you!!”
The man in the corner suddenly turned piercingly cold, his eyes flashing with a menacing light. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles bulged, his temples throbbed, and he took a step forward to push through the crowd.
Shi Lihua was startled and quickly grabbed Fan Xiao’s arm.
“If you go there now, things will only get worse! Wouldn’t that be a clear admission that you ordered Zhang Chen to jump off the building?”
Fan Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he hesitated, stopping in his tracks. His expression shifted from anger to coldness, and he retreated into the corner again, pressing his lips together.
Zhang Chen’s voice remained loud, and seeing the strange looks on the rescuers’ faces, he even showed a hint of triumph: “You Shulang, don’t put on that arrogant face. You look down on Fan Xiao’s money, don’t you? My dad was absolutely right, you’re just waiting for the best price!”
His twisted expression made the otherwise handsome Zhang Chen look terrifying: “Who doesn’t know what tricks you’re playing? You’re just playing hard to get, trying to raise your own value! You’ve got all the schemes, fine, but can’t you leave me a way out? I just want to keep my job, is that not even possible?!”
The biting wind couldn’t dispel the vicious words, and Zhang Chen’s bloodshot eyes were filled with ruthlessness: “Afraid I’ll get in your way? Or afraid I’ll take a share of your money? You Shulang, you’re far too selfish!”
Zhang Chen finally stopped his one-sided rant, and the rooftop suddenly became eerily quiet. All eyes turned to You Shulang, scrutinizing this man whom his younger brother had described as dissolute, disgusting, and despicable.
“I was too lenient with him last time.” Fan Xiao pinched the deformed matchbox between his fingers. “The cigarette must have burned his tongue.”
His gaze also fell on You Shulang, and a sharp, stabbing pain welled up in his heart. So this was what heartache felt like. Fan Xiao didn’t like it.
Suddenly, You Shulang smiled, though his lips curled up, his face was like shattered jade porcelain.
“No wonder,” he said. “I’ve been wondering why you’ve suddenly become so greedy. If you’ve gotten involved with Wei Linming, then it’s not surprising.”
“You’ve started calling him ‘Dad’?” You Shulang slowly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a fierce, fiery gaze. “Have you forgotten who gave our mother all the suffering she’s endured in her life? Have you forgotten all the evil deeds he committed? Or have you forgotten how our mother screams in terror whenever she hears his name!”
“I…” Zhang Chen stammered, guiltily avoiding eye contact, his face shifting between light and shadow. After several changes, he retorted, “What can I do? After all, he’s my only family member in this world.”
Suddenly, Zhang Chen began to feel aggrieved: “He secretly bought me all the candy I could eat when I was little, my first pair of sneakers, my first time going to an arcade, my first time riding a motorcycle… I know I should hate him, but he made many of the ordinary wishes of an ordinary child come true for me!”
“So you went to gamble with him!” You Shulang suddenly questioned.
“I didn’t…” Zhang Chen’s panic and guilt were blatantly obvious. You Shulang’s heart sank. What was meant to be a trick was now proven true.
He rubbed his face vigorously, his brows furrowed with unconcealed weariness: “That gambling addict, if he and his wife hadn’t been unable to have a son, would he have bestowed such cheap fatherly love upon you? He gambled away his family’s fortunes, and you didn’t even see it. Do you really want to follow in his footsteps?!”
At this point, You Shulang paused slightly, thought for a moment, and then raised his eyelids: “Was this suicide attempt also instigated by Wei Linming?”
From Zhang Chen’s subtle expression, You Shulang knew that his guess had been confirmed once again.
He smiled wryly: “He did the same thing when he was young and successfully got what he wanted, no wonder he’s encouraging you to do it.”
Only a sliver of light remained on the horizon, unable to penetrate the heart burdened by layers of obstacles. You Shulang weakly raised his hand: “Zhang Chen, if you want to jump, then jump. But don’t come looking for Mom, because you don’t deserve her!”
Zhang Chen was suddenly enraged. He howled like a madman, “Do you think I want to be lying here? Do you think I want to threaten you with my life? It’s all your fault! My dad and I took money from our clients to gamble. At first, we won some, but in the end… in the end, we lost everything. We lost so much that we couldn’t cover the losses, so I borrowed money from loan sharks. Now they’re coming to collect! If I can’t pay them back, they’ll drag me away and sell my organs!”
Zhang Chen’s face was streaked with snot and tears: “What can I do? I can only get Fan Xiao’s money first and pay off the loan sharks. But you…” His eyes seemed to be spitting fire, “But you ruined my plans! Do you know that? Ruining my plans is like taking my life!”
You Shulang quietly looked at Zhang Chen, at that once familiar face that had become strange and ugly.
“I broke my promise.” The man’s face was as calm as the sky after the rain. “When Mom passed away, she asked me to take good care of you. I’m sorry I couldn’t take good care of you, and I’m even more sorry… I don’t plan to take care of you anymore.”
“Zhang Chen, you’d better watch yourself.”
After saying that, You Shulang straightened his back and walked towards the entrance of the rooftop.
Looking at that figure, Zhang Chen panicked completely. For the first time, he loosened his grip on the railing and reached out towards You Shulang.
“Don’t go, please don’t go! What will I do if you leave?!”
No one paid him any attention. The hem of You Shulang’s clothes fluttered gently in the wind, leaving only a curved line.
Looking at the strong back he had always looked up to since childhood, Zhang Chen suddenly opened his mouth and cried out, “Brother! You can’t abandon me!”
Perhaps due to his panic, Zhang Chen’s movements were too exaggerated, causing the railing to vibrate slightly again. Covered in cold sweat, Zhang Chen subconsciously glanced down at the building below, and immediately felt dizzy! The tall, sheer walls and reflective glass seemed like a long, deep passage leading to hell!
Startled and panicked, Zhang Chen lost all his strength, swayed twice, and was about to rush downstairs!
“careful!”
“Don’t move!”
“Danger!”
The sounds erupted on the rooftop. You Shulang turned around abruptly and saw that Zhang Chen was acting strangely. Without thinking, he turned back to save him!
“You Shulang!” Fan Xiao roared and charged out like a wild beast.
Everything happened in an instant; the chaotic rooftop quieted down again in just a few breaths.
Zhang Chen was rescued by the firefighters who had ambushed him during the chaos; while You Shulang was intercepted by Fan Xiao on the way…
As people gradually dispersed, Zhang Chen, who was still shaken, was carried away on a stretcher by medical staff.
When Shi Lihua’s shadow disappeared off the rooftop, the gale-force winds from the 30th floor only enveloped the two of them.
“Let go!” You Shulang’s voice was even more chilling than a gale.
Fan Xiao knew he had no right to be willful now, so he let go of her hand, but the shock and anger in his eyes had not subsided: “Why did you save that kind of scum? Aren’t you afraid of risking your own life!”
A pain shot through his ankle; he’d probably twisted it while running. You Shulang endured the pain, propped himself up, found a sheltered corner, and sat down on the ground: “What I do is none of your business.”
He took out a cigarette, and Fan Xiao handed him a light. You Shulang held the cigarette in his mouth without moving, letting the wind extinguish the flickering flame.
Fan Xiao looked a little embarrassed, threw down the matchstick, and half-squatted in front of You Shulang.
“This has nothing to do with me; it was all Zhang Chen’s own idea,” he explained again.
You Shulang lit a cigarette, turned his head and exhaled a long puff of smoke, still indifferent: “Can I have some time to myself?”
“Shulang, can you…?”
“Can’t.”
You Shulang interrupted Fan Xiao and finally looked him in the eye: “If you’re not leaving, then I’ll be the one to leave.”
Fan Xiao remained silent, his gaze sweeping over You Shulang’s body, a renewed surge of greed and desire rising within him.
“Didn’t you want to know why I treated you this way?” Fan Xiao leaned closer and whispered, “How about I explain it to you?”
You Shulang flicked his cigarette ash, not minding using Fan Xiao’s expensive shoes as an ashtray.
“Get out!” he said in a deep voice.
If gazes had a tangible form, Fan Xiao felt as if he had been slowly tortured to death by You Shulang a thousand times over. Yet, he felt a strange sense of perverse pleasure; being tortured at close range was better than the agony of not being able to see him at all.
“I was wrong before, you can punish me however you want. If that’s not enough, you can beat me up again, as many times as you want, as long as you can give me another chance, let’s start over, okay?”
Fan Xiao’s heartfelt words only earned him a sneer. You Shulang held a cigarette between his teeth, slightly raised his chin, and looked utterly smug.
“Fan Xiao, be careful what you say, it stinks.”
Even though the person was right in front of him, Fan Xiao felt as if there were thousands of miles between him and You Shulang. He began to feel anxious and afraid, and suddenly felt that he was no different from Zhang Chen, who was leaning on the railing, both of them waiting in despair for You Shulang to decide their fate.
However, just as he would not want that piece of trash, You Shulang would also not want himself!
The darkness in his eyes extended beyond the boundaries, as if he had made a difficult decision. Fan Xiao’s voice was slow and hoarse: “Shu Lang, I don’t want to force you.”
“Haven’t you pressured me enough?” You Shulang had no desire to argue with Fan Xiao anymore. He stubbed out the cigarette that was still half-smoked. “If you don’t leave, I will.”
Just as he was about to get up, his phone rang loudly in his pocket. You Shulang ignored it; he just wanted to leave this suffocating space as soon as possible.
“Aren’t you going to answer the phone, Director You?”
Fan Xiao’s voice carried a chilling mystery.
You Shulang belatedly realized that this phone call was not ordinary.
He slowly pressed the back of his head against the rough wall, and no matter how he tried to hide it, a hint of sorrow still lingered: “Fan Xiao, now I am all alone, with no ties. Even if I die, I’m afraid there won’t even be anyone to grieve for me. I’m really curious, what else do you have to threaten me with?”
The two stared at each other silently in the increasingly dim light; the only sound was the continuous ringing of bells.
Another song played, and You Shulang got really annoyed. He took out his phone and glanced at it casually, but the screen was suddenly covered by Fan Xiao’s hand.
At this moment, Fan Xiao was filled with despair and hesitation.
He knew that this phone call was yet another blow to You Shulang, and that he himself had been pushed to the brink of disaster, facing utter ruin.
You Shulang looked at Fan Xiao, holding his phone loosely.
“I can ignore this call, and you can take the phone with you. Whatever you’ve done before, everything between us…”
“Then everything is settled.”
“Even even?” Fan Xiao’s expression gradually became frantic. “How can it be so easy to be even?”
Without further hesitation, he moved his hand away, and the screen slowly appeared. You Shulang smiled bitterly, realizing he really hadn’t learned his lesson. Neither Zhang Chen nor Fan Xiao should have placed their last hope in them.
With a heart full of despair, You Shulang looked over, but when he saw the names on the list, he showed a shocked expression.
“Bai Ting!”
He quickly answered the phone, and a woman’s panicked voice came from the other end: “They called and said they’re going to take me back!”
The phone slid slowly to the bottom, You Shulang’s anger evident: “Fan Xiao, you won’t even spare a poor woman, you’re going to use her too?!”
Fan Xiao lowered his eyes, his eyelashes trembled, and he said softly, “Just think of me as crazy.”
The last glimmer of light on the horizon was swallowed by darkness, and the city lights had not yet been lit. In the lull of this nighttime revelry, You Shulang, who had been silent for a long time, finally gave in.
“You win, Fan Xiao.” His lifeless eyes were shrouded in darkness. “I’m too tired.”
Despite the pain in his feet, You Shulang leaned against the wall to get up: “You’d better handle Bai Ting’s matter properly. Also, don’t follow me. I don’t want to see you right now. Don’t worry, I’ll come find you. You really have me wrapped around your little finger. You’re pretty awesome.”
He walked with great difficulty past Fan Xiao, but his back remained straight in the biting wind…
After leaving the municipal building, he turned a few corners and entered a hidden alley. He took out his phone and dialed a number.
The call was answered, and he whispered, “Second Young Master Fan.”
