Chapter 31

As the doctor treated their wounds, Fu Jingyuan watched with goosebumps, especially when hydrogen peroxide was applied to Xiao Meng's face; it was like watching a horror movie.

The doctor, quite young, wore an incredulous expression as he carefully removed the scuff from Xiao Meng, revealing his true appearance. On his left cheek were two cuts running from his eye to his chin, and another from his temple to his brow. These were the three most severe cuts; the remaining, numerous, crisscrossing, shallow scratches were too many to count.

The young doctor breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, it was just an ordinary dinner fork. Although it injured the skin, it didn't cut deep into the flesh. Otherwise, if the muscle had been torn open, stitches would have been needed, and a very noticeable scar would have been left. As for this gentleman—" He turned to Rongxiang: "As long as the dressing is changed on time, there won't be any problems. Remember, never let it get wet."

Fu Jingyuan watched coldly as the doctor applied medicine and bandages, covering most of Xiao Meng's face. He was clearly trembling with pain, yet he gritted his teeth and refused to utter a sound. Although he had never liked him, this whole ordeal made him seem quite pitiful. To be beaten so badly and watch himself get disfigured without daring to fight back showed that he must have been bullied by Rong Xiang since childhood.

This also shows that Rongxiang was a vicious person from a young age—perhaps it was related to his family? No one is born that bad, right?

Fu Jingyuan sighed, thinking that if he were to spend his life with Rong Xiang, he would really have to reform him properly—this man had just too many problems.

After seeing the doctor off, he returned to his room, dismissed the unrelated servants, and stood before the two like a parent: "Well, that's enough for today. Xiao Meng, go back to your room and rest. As for anything else, don't think about it for now; recovering is the priority."

Xiao Meng sat upright on the sofa. After listening to Fu Jingyuan's words, he nodded slightly—because his neck was very sore from being bumped, he did not get up, but looked at Rong Xiang instead.

Rong Xiang's face turned ashen, and he waved his hand toward the stairs. Only then did Xiao Meng get up and go upstairs to her room.

Fu Jingyuan sat down next to Rong Xiang and sighed, "You mean... you're going crazy!"

Rong Xiang was already in a state of confusion, and when he saw Fu Jingyuan adopting a posture as if he was about to give a heartfelt lecture, he subconsciously wanted to slap that round face that was leaning out, but in the end he only clenched his fists secretly - after all, he still didn't have the confidence.

“I know you probably didn’t have any real family back home, only Xiao Meng was with you day and night, so you were quite close. So objectively speaking…” Fu Jingyuan pushed up his glasses, “Xiao Meng was loyal to you. In that case, why did you have to be so cruel to him? If he really died, wouldn’t you regret it terribly?” He leaned back on the sofa, shifting to a more comfortable position, “He was so young, didn’t even have a girlfriend, and you slashed his face like that. Even if it heals, there will be some scars left. What will you do then?”

Rongxiang turned his face away: "He doesn't make a living based on his looks!"

"Sigh, that's not how it works—if it were your face, wouldn't you be angry? Wouldn't you be upset?"

Rong Xiang was burning with frustration, and gritted his teeth as he replied, "This can't compare! I make a living with my looks!"

Fu Jingyuan was taken aback, then got up and sat down on the other side of Rong Xiang: "Don't talk nonsense! If you think of our relationship like that, it's disheartening."

Rongxiang remained silent.

Seeing his stubborn invulnerability, and noticing the darkening sky outside, Fu Jingyuan stopped his lecturing and stood up, walking towards the servants' quarters as he spoke: "Let me see how dinner is going. After all that commotion, the old women have all hidden themselves."

Rongxiang shrank back on the sofa, stretching out his long legs. His injured hand rested on the armrest, with a little blood seeping through the white gauze.

Dinner was prepared hastily. The cooks and housewives were hiding in the kitchen, chattering excitedly about the afternoon's fierce battle, and had no interest in cooking at all.

Fu Jingyuan and Rong Xiang ate hastily, their hearts heavy with worry, naturally they had little appetite. Rong Xiang ate two bites, then pushed his bowl away to leave. Afraid he was about to attack Xiao Meng again, Fu Jingyuan quickly put down his chopsticks and followed, asking, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to eat?"

Rong Xiang gave a gloomy reply and left the restaurant, walking into the room opposite. This room was well-lit and usually uninhabited, so a thick carpet was laid on the floor, where the baby would roll and crawl when he came. Fu Jingyuan saw Rong Xiang pull open a small drawer on the low cabinet and rummage through it after entering the room, and became even more curious: "What are you looking for? Your hands aren't very convenient, let me help you."

He had barely finished speaking when Rongxiang pulled a packet of what looked like infant formula from a drawer. Fu Jingyuan recognized it as a kind of baby food paste for the baby. The wet nurse had taken some medicine for a cold a few days earlier and refused to breastfeed while sick, instead buying some baby food from a foreign store to make it for the baby. Rongxiang took the packet, ignoring Fu Jingyuan, and walked back to the dining room with his head down, where he made a large cup of thick, sweet-smelling paste with hot milk.

Fu Jingyuan thought he had suddenly changed his taste and quickly reminded him, "This smells delicious, but it actually tastes terrible."

Rongxiang sighed and replied dejectedly, "Give it to him."

Fu Jingyuan waved his hand: "The kitchen made him some porridge and soup, it will be ready soon."

Rongxiang reached back, took a spoon, stuck it into the cup, and walked out, saying, "Go back to your room and rest!"

At this moment, Fu Jingyuan felt like an outsider again.

This feeling is really uncomfortable.

Xiao Meng lay on the bed in an odd position—more precisely, his upper body was lying on the bed while his legs dragged on the floor. His face was covered in medicine, so it didn't hurt much. What hurt was his head—he'd been bumped on the head by Rong Xiang.

This lying position wasn't very comfortable, but Xiao Meng seemed to have never enjoyed it in his life, so he thought it was so-so, better than standing. Another advantage of this position was that if the door was kicked open with a "bang," he could immediately sit up while keeping his appearance intact.

At that moment, he sat up like a frightened bird, looking at Rongxiang standing at the door: "Third Master."

Rongxiang walked in carrying the cup of white paste, then turned around and kicked the door shut again. Xiao Meng stood up, her face covered in gauze, so her expression was unreadable.

Rongxiang ignored him, and walked angrily to the bedside, slammed the cup of paste on the bedside table, then looked around, dragged a chair from the corner and sat down in front of Xiao Meng's bed.

"Sit down! Eat!" He seemed to utter these three words with great difficulty.

Xiao Meng carefully squeezed to sit down next to the bedside table. Rong Xiang's chair was too close to the bed, and although he tried his best to keep his legs on the edge of the bed, he still couldn't avoid touching Rong Xiang.

Stirring the paste in the cup with a spoon, Xiao Meng thought indifferently that this must have been something Third Master had personally concocted—he liked these sweet and cloying things, and assumed everyone else did too. He scooped up a little and brought it to his lips; the complex sweetness, mixed with a milky aroma, almost made him vomit.

Seeing him holding a spoon, he hesitated to eat, Rongxiang, not understanding why, assumed he was feeling wronged, so he kicked his shin: "Eat up, you bastard!"

Xiao Meng let out a silent sigh and put a spoonful of paste into his mouth. Unexpectedly, he aggravated the wound on his face, and the pain made him hold his breath. It took him a long time to recover.

"Third Master," he murmured, "I'm not hungry yet, let's eat later."

Without answering, Xiao Meng looked up and met Rong Xiang's gaze.

Rongxiang's eyes were clear and bright, so the sharpness in his gaze was particularly striking.

The eye contact lasted only a moment, because Xiao Meng immediately lowered his head, and even through the gauze, one could imagine his indifferent expression.

Rongxiang suddenly spoke up: "You little bastard, why didn't you run away when I hit you? I didn't tie you up with a rope this time. When you were a kid, you could always find a way to sneak down from the rafters in the middle of the night, what's wrong with you now?"

"Third Master, are you really going to let me leave?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion, as if he were a statue.

"Fuck you! You bastard, didn't you hear me asking you a question?"

"I live for Third Master. If Third Master wants to fight, then fight."

"What if you kill him?"

Xiao Meng remained silent for a long time. Rong Xiang was about to continue his tirade when Xiao Meng suddenly knelt down, his legs buckling. He said, seemingly trembling, "Third Master, I dared to run away before because without me, you could still take your anger out on others. But now that I'm gone, who will you beat up?"

Rongxiang stared at him, speechless for a moment.

"Third Master, I have been serving you ever since I was sold to the Rong family. I have nothing else to do. Without you, I simply don't know what I would do every day."

Hearing this, Rongxiang felt a pang of sadness: "Fool, there are so many things you can do. You can find a woman and go out and about. You've been with me, don't you know all this?"

Xiao Meng lowered her head even further, one hand gripping Rong Xiang's trouser leg, and whispered, "Third Master, I don't want any of that."

The place where he was kneeling was very cramped; with his head bowed like this, it seemed as if he were shrinking between Rongxiang's legs. Rongxiang sighed and reached out to touch his head—he felt a large bump.

The two remained silent.

Rong Xiang was once a young man with a high opinion of himself. After being brought back to Xi'an by Fu Jingyuan, he was constantly on morphine and became delirious, which was tolerable. But these days, as his mind cleared up, he couldn't help but think about his future situation. As a result, the more he thought about it, the more inferior he felt, to the point of feeling tormented.

Moreover, the reason he can continue this life of luxury is entirely because of Fu Jingyuan. This always makes him feel like a gigolo—of course, this analogy isn't quite accurate, since Fu Jingyuan is a man. But he'd rather be a gigolo than be supported by a man.

The room was silent. His unspeakable worries resurfaced in his mind, binding his heart like a rope. He subconsciously touched the bump on Xiao Meng's head, oblivious to the pain in his hands.

Xiao Meng huddled on the ground, his head aching from Rong Xiang's touch. Rong Xiang didn't really treat him like a human being, and never wondered what he thought about when he was silent. Actually, it was better that he wasn't curious; if he really knew what Xiao Meng was thinking, he would probably be devastated.

After sitting for an hour, Rongxiang left, looking very distressed. Xiaomeng slowly stood up and sat in the chair where Rongxiang had just been sitting. The air was filled with a sweet smell, probably from the cup of milk paste that was gradually cooling down, but Xiaomeng preferred to believe that it was left by Rongxiang.

"I hope you end up in a state of disgrace, abandoned by everyone, penniless, and homeless." He thought emotionlessly, "If I could become an idiot or a cripple, that would be even better. I'm willing to be your dog forever—actually, I can do anything, and I can support you. My dear Third Master, you should at least give me a chance."

When Rongxiang returned to the bedroom, Fu Jingyuan had just finished showering. He wasn't wearing his glasses, which made him look much more handsome.

"Do you want to wash them? Your hands shouldn't get wet, I'll wash them for you. How is Xiao Meng?"

Rong Xiang took a deep breath, looked up at Fu Jingyuan and smiled: "He's fine, just a superficial injury. The wound will heal in a few days."

Seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, Fu Jingyuan boldly continued his criticism: "It's true that he has physical injuries, but the problem is that the wound is on his face. Won't he be disfigured?"

Rongxiang took off his coat and hung it on the hanger: "It's nothing, he rarely gets scars. Why are you so concerned about him today?"

Fu Jingyuan curled his lip: "I feel sorry for him because you beat him up today. What kind of temper is that? It's too cruel. You need to change it in the future—it's so uncivilized!"

"Okay, okay. I'll change it."

Wow, why are you being so agreeable today?

Rongxiang was preoccupied with his own thoughts, which made him even more irritated and restless: "I..."

Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door. The maid said through the door, "Second Master, the ice cream is ready. Should we bring it in now, or put it in the freezer?"

Fu Jingyuan happily turned to Rong Xiang as he went to open the door and said, "I had them shake some ice cream, and it tastes pretty good!"

Two trays of ice cream were brought in, and Fu Jingyuan took them and found a comfortable position to sit on the bed. Rong Xiang secretly watched him, and saw him take a big bite of ice cream with a smug expression, clearly ready to have a long talk with him. He quickly sat down at the small glass table by the window, opened a book, and pretended to read attentively.

"I've been thinking about it." Fu Jingyuan stirred the ice cream into a paste with a spoon. "The weather is getting hotter and hotter now, and Shanghai must be even hotter. I might as well postpone my trip for three months. Besides, my brother's old subordinates are always causing trouble with Chairman Cui, and that Cui guy is even blaming me for it. Luckily, I've kept a close watch on things, otherwise I would have had a lot more trouble."

Rong Xiang held the book upright with both hands, glanced at Fu Jingyuan from the top of the page, and mumbled, "Oh...is that so...but in this situation, hiding isn't the solution."

He had always felt that Fu Jingyuan was a bit of a bookish dullard. He was certainly intelligent, but deep down he was naive and willful. So he could fool people for a while, but he wouldn't have the patience or interest to fool people forever. Sometimes he really wanted to offer him some of his own experience, but then he would think that he was such a failure in every aspect, how could he have the face to teach others?

"I can't care about those old parasites! With such people as the pillars of the nation, it's no wonder that it has fallen into such a state of decline and chaos!"

Rongxiang smiled and said, "Yes."

"I am utterly disillusioned with politics! I have no desire to waste my life on hypocrisy with those officials. I should learn from Master Zhenchan, who refused to leave his seclusion no matter how much the government invited him. Now he has a clean reputation, how wonderful."

Rong Xiang had no impression of Yan Zhenchan, but when he thought of Yan Guanglin, he couldn't help but sigh silently.

That night, the two of them went to bed as usual.

Rong Xiang was in pain all over his body from Fu Jingyuan's massage. He gritted his teeth and endured it until finally, a pair of huge tears streamed down his face.

As Fu Jingyuan worked, panting heavily, he lowered his head with concern and licked away the two teardrops: "It's almost over... just bear with it a little longer..."

Rongxiang nodded: "I'm fine... I'll get used to it..."

Fu Jingyuan was caught up in his passion and didn't notice the obvious self-deprecation in his words.

August arrived in the blink of an eye.

In this sweltering season, people are lethargic and reluctant to move, and even if they don't move, they still sweat profusely from the heat.

Fu Jingyuan wore a snow-white short-sleeved shirt, his back soaked with sweat, the thin fabric clinging to his body. His hair, cut extremely short, stood up, also damp. He always carried a Panama hat, not for sun protection, but rather as a makeshift fan.

He was constantly busy, either sitting at home meeting with his elder brother's old subordinates or running to Chairman Cui to negotiate. Everyone knew he had submitted his resignation; some lamented, while others secretly rejoiced. He was unaware that he was caught between the new chairman and the old officials, both sides having their own opinions about him, whether good or bad.

He thought that after submitting his resignation, he could live a carefree life. He never expected so many troublesome things to follow, so tangled and complicated that he was almost at his breaking point.

“Second Master Fu,” a middle-aged, stout man he didn’t recognize came to his house for the third time, puffing on a small pipe, and said in a low voice, “You can’t just abandon the brothers like this. After Chairman Fu left, we’ll all be relying on you. Now Chairman Cui is insisting that we reduce and merge our troops. We brothers all understand his purpose. It’s pitiful that we’ve risked our lives with Chairman Fu for so many years, and now we have no soldiers and no pay, and we’re seen as a thorn in the side by the higher-ups. How are our families going to survive? Second Master Fu, I’m shamelessly begging you. It’s not that I don’t want you to leave, but I’m asking you to help us talk to the higher-ups, to negotiate. It doesn’t matter whether it works out or not.”

These words were quite sincere, and Fu Jingyuan was somewhat moved. That afternoon, Chairman Cui called again to ask him to come for a face-to-face meeting.

Chairman Cui smiled broadly: "Brother Fu, it must have been hard for you to make this trip in this sweltering heat."

Fu Jingyuan forced a smile, clearly annoyed: "Nothing, nothing."

After a few pleasantries, the two got down to business.

“Brother Fu, I know you're a man who doesn't care about fame or fortune. But your subordinates... they're all so arrogant, regardless of rank. They treat my orders as nothing. That's fine, I'm wholeheartedly serving the Party and the country, so personal grievances and misunderstandings don't bother me. But their unauthorized recruitment and their demands for military pay are a matter of national interest, and I have to intervene. I also have to trouble you to handle this matter. Some of the regimental commanders are extremely arrogant, they simply don't respect the government at all.”

Fu Jingyuan grabbed his straw hat and fanned himself a few times: "This matter... has been going on for quite some time now. Those soldiers are naturally used to being rough, and they must have been quite disrespectful to their superiors. As for reducing the number of soldiers, that would be like stripping them of their wings, so naturally they won't agree. I think you, Chairman, should compromise with them and prevent them from recruiting soldiers privately in the future. As for military pay, it should still be paid according to the original regulations, and if there's a shortfall, let them find their own way to pay it. This way, they won't suffer any serious damage, and the government won't have to spend extra money. Let's just let it go like this!"

“Brother Fu, you can’t say that. Military discipline and national laws are not like business deals where you can haggle over them.”

Fu Jingyuan swallowed hard, his mouth dry and his mind a jumble of thoughts. All he wanted to do was run away and get as far away from the office as possible.

"Chairman Cui, then you should negotiate with them directly. I have no other choice."

Chairman Cui paused for a moment, then suddenly switched to a relaxed and amiable tone and said with a smile, "Brother Fu, I know you are a scholar, and it's already quite difficult for you to deal with these scoundrels. It's nothing, I'll think about it some more. It's terribly hot outside, you should go back and rest."

Fu Jingyuan stood up: "Then my resignation..."

"Don't worry, it will be approved for you in a few days."

Fu Jingyuan breathed a sigh of relief and immediately took his leave.