Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 83
Chapter 83 A Glimmer of Hope
2024-10-13 07:32 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
Since their unpleasant parting, Fan Xiao has not returned to his apartment for several days.
Every day, high-end hotels deliver meals to him, including local delicacies that Yu Shulang enjoys.
But most of these things were taken away by the cleaning staff who visited the next day. Even when Fan Xiao wasn’t there, You Shulang still guarded the dark guest room, day and night.
The phone had rung many times, and text message notifications kept coming in. Fan Xiao had plugged You Shulang’s phone into a power source before leaving, so that it wouldn’t run out of battery.
Annoyed, You Shulang was about to turn off his phone when his gaze swept across the screen and he saw an uncommon name. He subconsciously stopped, remained silent for a while, and then answered the phone.
“Madam, is there something you need from me?”
…
After hanging up the phone, You Shulang’s expression was solemn. He sat on the sofa and smoked a cigarette. Only after the last puff of smoke dissipated did he unplug his phone from the charging cable, open his email, and check the huge email.
The massive email remained unopened in his inbox. He felt exhausted and bored, lacking interest in everything, and even devoid of any desire for revenge.
What good would it do to take revenge on Fan Xiao? He would still be all alone, with no connection to this world whatsoever.
From the time he could remember, he was accompanied by loneliness. He was abandoned outside the orphanage by his biological parents, and later adopted. However, he was abandoned again because his adoptive mother was pregnant. Fearing that they would be held responsible, they abandoned him on the roadside a hundred meters away from the orphanage, doing the same thing as his biological parents.
That day, little You Shulang sat on the ground, staring at the dilapidated gate for the entire afternoon. As the sun was about to set, he turned and left, never to return, becoming a beggar.
Later, that little beggar would often stretch his hand into the sunlight to see if he was transparent. If not, how could he explain why people coming and going could see him clearly but also seem not to see him?
A transparent soul wanders in other people’s worlds, naturally ignored by everyone.
There were a few years when he had a home, relatives, people who cared for him, and people who needed him. He finally tasted the warmth of this world and met the person who told him that this world wasn’t so bad after all.
But fate had already been decided. The loneliness and isolation he once felt returned, pressing down on You Shulang a hundredfold, a thousandfold, making it hard for him to breathe.
He wanted to give up, to succumb to despair. But whenever You Shulang had such thoughts, Fan Xiao would stab him hard in the heart. Only this person who brought him endless pain could ignite You Shulang’s desolate fighting spirit.
Opening the email, among the vast amount of information, several documents were highlighted. Double-clicking the document, You Shulang began to study it carefully.
The words in his pupils kept changing, and the man’s brow furrowed more and more tightly.
Upon seeing the detailed explanation clearly marked in the document, You Shulang suddenly turned off the screen, revealing an expression of utter shock on the black LCD screen!
After a two-minute standoff with Fan Xiao’s bald assistant, You Shulang finally waited for Fan Xiao to open the office door from the inside.
Fan Xiao’s brows were furrowed with gloom, and his eyes were bloodshot. He stared intently at You Shulang, but was actually cursing his bald assistant.
“No one can stop Director You. If he continues to act like this, he should just go back to Thailand.”
After instructing that tea and refreshments be prepared, he led You Shulang into his office, remaining silent despite his thoughtfulness.
“You filed a lawsuit against Changling Pharmaceutical?” You Shulang asked directly.
Fan Xiao lowered his eyes, a self-deprecating smile on his lips: “You came to me just to interrogate me?”
“Why?” You Shulang didn’t mince words with him. “I’ve already left Changling Pharmaceuticals, so why are you still suing my teacher?”
Fan Xiao leaned lazily against his desk, his fingers tracing the Buddha’s Hand ornament displayed on it.
Coldness and indifference, contempt and arrogance, all appeared on his face at the same time, revealing the most authentic Fan Xiao: “No reason, I’m just in a bad mood lately.”
“In a bad mood?” You Shulang was shocked by this answer.
Fan Xiao tossed a rouge into his mouth, half-turned around and rummaged through the desk for matches. He smoked a cigarette, his words slightly slurred: “Yeah, I’m in a bad mood. Your teacher Huang is challenging me on some issues again. Well, let’s just forget about it. Who told him to walk into the line of fire?”
“Do you know that he was so distracted because of this that he fell down the stairs and fractured his ankle!”
“Really?” Fan Xiao was taken aback, then lowered the corners of his lips. “You’re going to pin this crime on me too?”
He finally found a match, lit the cigarette, and then threw the still-smoking matchstick into the lotus platform held up by the Buddha’s hand.
Making the sacred defiled is Fan Xiao’s specialty.
“Shulang,” he exhaled his first puff of smoke, “if you plead for Huang, I’ll drop the charges immediately. You know I love you, and I’ll do whatever you say.”
You Shulang scoffed: “Besides this coercive tactic, you have no other skills?”
Fan Xiao wasn’t ashamed at all; on the contrary, he was quite generous: “Yes, I begged and pleaded, almost as humble as a dog, but you were still determined to leave me. To be honest, suing Huang Qiming wasn’t to force you to compromise; it’s just that I was really upset and felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t do something!”
He walked up to You Shulang, looked directly into the man’s eyes, and slowly said, “Shulang, let’s stop torturing each other, okay? I admit my mistake, you can punish me however you want, just don’t leave me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the office door was pushed open, and the bald assistant brought in tea and snacks.
You Shulang strolled over, sat on the sofa, and took a sip of hot tea. When he looked up again, his face was as calm as ever.
“President Fan, coercion is not your sole means of dealing with people. I have something on my hands right now, and if I were to use it, it might cause quite a stir.”
Fan Xiao stood there, his face lowered, his expression unreadable. His usually upright back seemed to slowly slump, and he appeared to be shrouded in an unyielding sadness.
“Director You,” Fan Xiao finally spoke after a period of silence, “No matter what you have, the contract I signed with Huang Qiming is real and valid. Even if I am not the general manager of this company, Huang Qiming and his team will be held legally responsible.”
He turned to look at You Shulang: “He probably can’t afford the penalty for breach of contract. If he tries to deceive me with an unfinished product, I will file a lawsuit against him for commercial fraud. In that case, it won’t just be a matter of paying money.”
You Shulang’s knuckles turned blue as he gripped the teacup: “If Teacher Huang goes to jail, the project is terminated, and the compensation isn’t paid, how will you recoup your initial investment? What good will this do you?”
Fan Xiao, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, raised an eyebrow: “Director You, you once said I was a madman. What reason does a madman have? I just want to have fun. If I’m not happy, I’ll take as many people as I can!”
You Shulang wiped his face with his palm and sighed deeply: “As far as I know, this lawsuit has now reached the mediation court. The mediation court’s opinion is that both sides should compromise. If Changling Pharmaceutical can complete the process optimization within three months, they hope you will withdraw the lawsuit.”
“Yes, but if I don’t sign and agree, this case will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the mediation court the day after tomorrow.” Fan Xiao walked to the window, pulled the heavy curtains open a little to let the sunlight fall on You Shulang, turned around and looked at the man on the sofa, “Besides, it’s impossible to complete the process optimization in three months. Although I’m a layman, I have some understanding of the procedures and time required.”
You Shulang looked at the man standing with his back to the light and said calmly, “If Changling can complete the process optimization within three months, could President Fan please be lenient?”
The man exhaled a long puff of smoke: “Why should I?”
You Shulang clenched his fists tightly, his eyes were filled with a snowy white light, and his brows were filled with sorrow and grief. His voice was unusually hoarse, like a weight weighing a thousand pounds, rough and heavy: “Because you once said that you would unconditionally grant me one request.”
He put the cigarette in his mouth, but stopped halfway. Fan Xiao’s hand holding the cigarette began to tremble violently. He felt pain in every vein in his body, especially deep in his chest, where sharp pains throbbed.
Fan Xiao had once made many promises that were as firm as gold. But now, he suddenly knew what You Shulang was referring to.
The romantic night in H City was their first experience. Fan Xiao successfully tricked You Shulang into willingly submitting to him. Like a child born in the wilderness, he had no skills, only brute force. He went crazy all night, and only after calming down did he realize that You Shulang was in so much pain that his face had turned pale.
He comforted him while feeling sorry for him, vowing that he would go through fire and water for You Shulang in the future.
At that moment, You Shulang listened with a smile, and seeing that he was getting more and more out of control, he leaned down and kissed him on the lips: “Okay, I’ll remember it. You’ll have to promise me one thing unconditionally in the future. Alright, come here, come into your brother’s arms.”
The sweet words of the past are now just You Shulang’s painful memories. Yet he has no choice but to use them as a bargaining chip, which shows how much he has to endure and how desperate he is.
Fan Xiao raised his hand, pressed it against his chest which felt like it had been ripped open, stubbed out his cigarette, and said, “Three months, not a day more. Then I’ll wait for Director You’s good news.”
Leaving Fan Xiao’s company, You Shulang felt somewhat dazed. The bright early summer sunlight illuminated the dullness on his face. He seemed unaccustomed to the sunlight, walking into a shaded alley and taking out his phone.
“Teacher Huang, we have secured three months. Although time is very tight, if you and your team work day and night, there is still a glimmer of hope.”
The voice on the phone was old and heavy: “Shulang, I’ve injured my foot. Several key members of the team were already unsettled when they heard we were sued, and now they’ve all left. We’re left without any leaders or soldiers. Even if you help me secure three months, there’s no chance of survival.”
Suddenly, the defeated voice rang out: “Come back and help me, Shulang, will you stay and keep watch for me?”
The man in the back alley was silent for a moment. Without being modest or making a show of refusing, he replied in a deep voice, “Okay, I’ll help you.”
Huang Qimin hung up the phone and glanced at the heavy curtains: “President Fan, I really don’t like this air-raid shelter of yours. Do you like paying electricity bills so much?”
Seeing that Fan Xiao ignored him, he said again, “So? Was what I said on the phone correct?”
Fan Xiao sat in the seat where You Shulang had just been, pressed his lip print against You’s and took a sip of the tea You had drunk: “Old Huang, you need to work on your acting skills in the future, so you don’t give yourself away.”
“I’ll take any acting skills you need, as long as President Fan invests more.” Huang Qimin stood up, leaning on his cane. “What are you young people doing all day?”
He glanced at the lounge he had just been in: “I was terrified. I’ve never done anything wrong in my life, but now that I’m old, I’m even lying to my own students.”
“Mr. Huang,” Fan Xiao stood up respectfully, “thank you.”
Huang Qimin waved his hand: “You have to atone for your own sins. Hurry up and transfer the investment funds.”
He limped toward the door, leaning on his cane, when he heard a faint voice behind him: “Your leg was tripped by your dog, it has nothing to do with me, why are you making such a fuss?”
Huang Qimin glanced back and said, “Actually, the nature of it is… no different.”
He pushed open the door and came out; Fan Xiao’s face darkened.
