Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 96
Chapter 96 The Toad and the Lotus Platform
2024-10-13 07:36 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
Good motorcycles and broken motorcycles both roar, but the latter sounds more like a tractor.
Fan Xiao has a meeting at 5 o’clock, and he needs to deliver an order beforehand, so time is a bit tight.
Near the municipal kindergarten, cars moved slowly, but this did not affect motorcycles. With a twist of the handlebars, Fan Xiao’s beat-up motorcycle sped off along the curb.
The cold wind of early winter cut like a knife on his face, and Fan Xiao thought he should get a scarf to wear.
The weeping willows that once rippled like waves in spring are now bare and shabby, showing no trace of their former glory.
The rows of willow trees receded rapidly, and Fan Xiao increased his speed a little more.
Suddenly a tall figure came into view and swept past in an instant. He quickly turned his head to look, only to see the person being embraced in a broad embrace.
With a slight tremor of his hand, the motorcycle veered off course, leaving wavy tire tracks on the thin layer of snow.
Bang! The car overturned!
There seemed to be a moment of silence before low gasps and whispers broke the silence. Fan Xiao braced himself on his elbows, recovering from the initial dizziness, and slowly got up to pull his right leg out from under the motorcycle. Ignoring the medicine boxes scattered all over the ground, he limped and struggled to sit on the motorcycle that had fallen to the ground.
Taking off his helmet and holding it, Fan Xiao rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a stick of rouge. He shook it twice before managing to get one out, then put it in his mouth and chewed on it.
He just bit down, without touching the food, his arms resting on his knees. He slowly raised his head and framed the person from before in his eyes.
It is You Shulang.
His complexion had improved considerably. Although he was still thin, he had lost the previous sense of dejection. He was still dressed in the style of an old cadre, and the gray-blue scarf around his neck added a touch of elegance to his appearance.
Fan Xiao’s gaze fell on You Shulang’s shoulder, where a large, strong hand was resting—the kind of hand You Shulang liked. Fan Xiao looked down at his own hand; it was weathered, dark, and rough, and now, braving the cold wind, it showed signs of cracking.
They truly don’t deserve anything.
He frantically searched through the matches, checking every pocket, but found nothing.
“Need any help?” a voice suddenly came from above.
Fan Xiao met the voice and saw the man who had just been embracing You Shulang trying to help him.
Behind the man, You Shulang still stood not far away, the withered branches of the willow tree sweeping back and forth in front of him, constantly cutting off his overly calm gaze.
Their eyes met, but then the gaze turned indifferent, hidden in a detached expression, even more distant than the onlookers.
“No need.” Fan Xiao finally looked away, a forced smile appearing in his crimson eyes, and politely said to the man in front of him, “I’m fine.”
He propped himself up on one leg, picked up the motorcycle, put the scattered medicine boxes into the crushed box, and then pushed the motorcycle, limping along the road.
“Do you know him?” Lu Bowen asked You Shulang.
You Shulang watched the limping figure walk away without saying a word.
Lu Bowen raised an eyebrow: “It’s him?”
Brushing aside the willow branches in front of him, You Shulang withdrew his gaze and said calmly, “Let’s go, it’s almost time for school to end.”
After turning off the main street and entering the alley, Fan Xiao could no longer support the heavy motorcycle. The motorcycle slowly slid down the wall, and Fan Xiao fell to the ground.
The seawater rose from his feet, its coldness threatening to soak him, envelop him, and bury him! Fan Xiao retreated and retreated until his back pressed against the wall, with nowhere left to go!
“It’s all fake, it’s all fake! You Shulang said these are all illusions!” Fan Xiao buried his face in his palms. “I don’t need to be afraid, I don’t need to hurt myself!”
He repeated his words over and over, suppressing the urge to bang his head against the wall: “You can’t go crazy, Fan Xiao, you can’t go crazy, You Shulang doesn’t like crazy people.”
After an unknown amount of time, his fingers and face were frozen stiff, and the seawater at Fan Xiao’s feet slowly receded. He leaned weakly against the corner of the wall, gazing at the narrow patch of sky above the alley.
With a bit of effort, Fan Xiao lifted the motorcycle up, only then feeling the pain in his right leg. He did a preliminary self-check and figured it wasn’t anything serious, so he endured the pain, got back on the motorcycle, and drove away from the alley.
The car wheel ran over a few very new cigarette butts by the corner wall and sped away…
Fan Xiao hasn’t appeared for a very long time.
The red brick road he had paved was damaged and became extremely slippery after snowfall in winter, so it was demolished by the residents of the community. The honeysuckle beverage project also became history, and no one would mention it again except in the quarterly financial reports. The sound of motorcycles like tractors was never heard again, nor was the shrewd face in work clothes ever seen again. Sometimes, You Shulang would drink a cup of tea on the balcony at night, looking at the streetlights under the window. He would see that the area around the light and shadow was clean and quiet, with nothing but emptiness.
All traces that could prove Fan Xiao’s existence gradually disappeared from You Shulang’s life…
“Uncle, will you come and play with me?”
Tian Tian’s voice brought You Shulang back from his reverie. He turned to look at the toddler and saw that his short arms were holding up a big toy.
Tian Tian has recently acquired many new toys, some bought for him by You Shulang, some given by Lü Bowen, and many more that Qin Zhiyang insisted on giving him.
The thought of Qin Zhiyang gave You Shulang a headache. His repeated rejections had not made him give up, and Qin Zhiyang was even pressing him harder.
Forget it, I don’t want to think about it anymore. You Shulang walked up to Tiantian and said with a smile, “Megatron is already on his way. Is Optimus Prime ready to fight?”
In Qin Zhiyang’s office, Fan Xiao was drinking coffee.
This was already the second glass, and he gestured to Qin Zhiyang’s secretary to pour him another.
“Such good coffee can only be found here at Mr. Qin’s place nowadays.”
Qin Zhiyang sat behind his desk, flipping through documents. His youthful face held an air of maturity. The paper rustled softly as he turned a page and casually stated, “With the assets under your name, you don’t need to come here to pretend to be poor.”
“You investigated me?” Fan Xiao asked with a smile.
“Trying to play the victim to win back Brother You?” Qin Zhiyang raised an eyebrow and finally looked Fan Xiao in the eye. “Didn’t expect him to fall for that, did you?”
Fan Xiao didn’t want to waste words with him, so he nodded to acknowledge it. He put down his cup and crossed his legs casually: “I’ve already given up, so don’t be stubborn either. You Shulang is impervious to reason; if it’s no good, it’s no good.”
Qin Zhiyang’s gaze returned to the documents: “I’m not like some people who give up so easily.”
Fan Xiao tightened his grip, hesitated for a moment, and then squeezed out a sentence with difficulty: “You Shulang already has… If you keep pressing him like this, you are disturbing his life.”
“So what if he has a boyfriend?” Qin Zhiyang laughed nonchalantly. “Weren’t you his boyfriend before? Didn’t you break up in the end? How long do you think that Lü Bowen will stay with Brother You? I bet he won’t stay as long as you.”
Fan Xiao sat there, tall and slender, with a hint of warmth in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips, yet it was a look that sent chills down one’s spine: “You investigated him?”
“You are treated the same.” Qin Zhiyang took his glasses off the document and corrected the error seriously. “Not exactly the same. He is my official boyfriend now, so naturally I have to pay more attention to him.”
“What did you find?”
“This guy is a bit stronger than you, but he’s not without weaknesses.” Qin Zhiyang closed the file and invited, “President Fan, would you like to join forces with me to drive him away from Brother You?”
Fan Xiao’s smile widened. He picked up the cup with his slender fingers, took a small sip, and uttered two words: “Okay.”
“And then?” he asked again. “With the man surnamed Lü gone, who will take over?”
“Then let’s each rely on our own abilities.”
The coffee cup suddenly fell to the ground, the fine porcelain shattering into pieces. Fan Xiao dodged the splashing coffee, casually flicked his clothes, and said with disgust, “It’s fucking awful.”
The young man behind the desk had a dark expression and placed his hands on the table, crossed over his shoulder: “Fan Xiao, what do you mean?”
Fan Xiao rolled his eyes, revealing a sharp gaze: “What I mean is, little madman, stay away from You Shulang! Stay away from the people around him!”
After these words were spoken, the room was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly burst into laughter.
Qin Zhiyang curled his lips into a sarcastic smile: “Fan Xiao, do you treat Brother You like your own property? You even want to arrange his life? Who can get close to him, and who can’t, all have to be decided by you? Does Brother You know about this?”
“You little brat, your ability to distort the truth is nothing compared to yours.” Fan Xiao smiled again. “Anyway, I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Oh, by the way, doesn’t your dad want you to go to Africa to open up trade routes there? I don’t mind giving him a push.”
Qin Zhiyang’s expression gradually turned cold, and his voice changed from calm to angry: “Fan Xiao, don’t think of yourself as a guardian of justice. Have you forgotten what you’ve done?”
“It is precisely because I have never forgotten that I will not allow you to hurt You Shulang in the same way again.” Fan Xiao stood up and walked to Qin Zhiyang, placing his hands on the table. “Xianglian, let me tell you another wise saying: some toads will never be able to jump onto the lotus platform of the Bodhisattva, like you, and like me.”
