Chapter 29 Look up, look in your ten o'clock direction.
Su Mu made up his mind to return to Jiangzhou, and told his parents about it during dinner that evening.
At the dinner table, Su's mother was placing a piece of Su Mu's favorite dish on her plate when she heard this: "Going back so soon?"
Su's father, who was standing next to him, also put down his soup bowl, looked up at his son, and his eyes also showed the same question.
Su Mu picked at the rice in his bowl, feeling embarrassed. He couldn't very well say that he missed Jiang Ran, could he? "Well, there's something I need to take care of over there."
The next day, he went to the factory and told the factory manager he was resigning. Actually, he had had this thought for a while and had even hinted at it to the factory manager. Recently, the factory's performance had indeed been poor, orders had decreased, the production line had stopped intermittently, and the workers were somewhat idle.
When he brought it up again, the factory manager didn't try to stop him. He just patted him on the shoulder and sighed, "Alright, Xiao Su, you're young and have ideas. It's good for you to go out and try your luck. When you come back next time, you can come to my factory anytime you want."
Small factories in places like Fenghuang Village don't have the cumbersome resignation process of city companies. There's no need to write reports or have a handover period. The main thing is to find someone who can take over the work and hand over the tasks clearly.
It wasn't hard to find a replacement, but Uncle Zhao, upon hearing that Su Mu was leaving, took a long time to say, "Little Su... are you really leaving?"
His words were full of reluctance.
Su Mu nodded, feeling a little uneasy. During his time in Phoenix Village, Uncle Zhao had treated him like his own son, teaching him at work and often looking after him in his daily life.
Uncle Zhao sighed and patted Su Mu's arm: "That's good, that's good. Young people should go out and see the world. Our Phoenix Village has a nice name, but it's still a small place and can't hold back talented young people like you. When a bird grows up, it has to fly out eventually. Fly higher and farther, that's what makes it special."
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something: "Oh right, Xiao Su, that bodyguard who came with you last time... what was his name again? Could you give me his contact information? I still want to show it to my daughter. That young man is really spirited and looks very composed."
Su Mu: "…………"
He looked into Uncle Zhao's eager eyes and said, "Uncle Zhao, he's not single."
"Huh?" Uncle Zhao muttered with some disappointment, "You've already found a boyfriend so quickly? Well, that makes sense, such a good young man is bound to be in high demand."
Su Mu hummed in agreement: "And... he already has a child."
Uncle Zhao was stunned: "So fast?"
Su Mu barely thought it through, and following Uncle Zhao's exclamation, he casually replied, sounding quite convincing: "Yes, his baby is due soon, and he has to rush back to be with him during the delivery."
This statement is half true and half false, but it's not entirely a lie; it simply shifts the timeline forward a bit.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhao's last glimmer of hope vanished completely. He shook his head and sighed, "Alas, that's important business, it can't be delayed."
"When you go back to the city, if you're doing a live stream, connect with me on video chat whenever you have time. It's been pretty boring at the factory since you left."
Su Mu nodded in agreement, but his heart felt a little throbbing.
His time in Phoenix Village was like an unexpected, slow, and steady rain falling on the parched and cracked soil of his life.
He felt as if he had gone through a period of unbridled growth. Falling from a bustling city to this remote mountain village was initially an escape, and he had achieved nothing in terms of work, driving a forklift and doing live streaming, which had nothing to do with his previous life.
But these seemingly unrelated skills actually supported him during his most lost and confused moments, giving him at least the strength to catch his breath and a place to rest his shaky self-esteem.
He didn't tell anyone, including his parents, in detail what he had experienced at the company in City B.
That project that suddenly collapsed was just the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The real desire to escape began much earlier.
When he first joined that company, things actually went quite smoothly. His mentor was a decisive and efficient woman, whom they called Sister Jing. Although she wasn't very old, she was already a key member of the department.
She appreciated Su Mu's diligence and his fearless spirit, so she taught him step by step and was willing to share some good client resources and project opportunities with him.
During that period, Su Mu worked overtime until late at night almost every day, drinking coffee like water. He was exhausted, but his heart was full, like it was filled with high-pressure gas, swelling up. Although the road ahead was full of thorns, it led straight up to the light.
He felt needed, valuable, and that the future was visible and achievable through hard work.
Later, that senior colleague fell ill. It was very sudden; a medical checkup revealed lung cancer, in its middle stage. She was so young.
On the day of her resignation handover, she was pale, but still wore light makeup. She sat in her mostly empty workstation and smiled at Su Mu. Her smile contained both exhaustion and relief.
She said, "Xiao Su, I'm so tired, really. Family and work, I'm burning the candle at both ends. It's good that I can rest now. You must do a good job. I have faith in you. I'll be sure that my position will be yours in the future."
She didn't say anything more, packed her things, and left.
Su Mu frequently sent her messages to check on her, until she went abroad for treatment, after which she stopped replying to her messages as often.
Later, a new leader took office. He was a man in his forties, with a warm smile and impeccable manner of speaking.
The new leader quickly restructured resources, ostensibly to motivate employees and cultivate new talent. The few important clients that Su Mu had painstakingly maintained and were just beginning to see improvement were quietly taken away and transferred to the leader's cronies or other more shrewd colleagues.
The reasons given were plausible: Su Mu is still young and needs more training, or the client's strategy has been adjusted and a more experienced person needs to take over.
After a few times, Su Mu understood.
He wasn't one of their own chosen ones.
His diligence, steadfastness, and even his previous small achievements are worthless in the face of the new rules of the game.
He was like a worn-out rag, used to wipe the places that needed wiping, and then casually tossed into a corner.
During that time, he sat at his workstation, watching the people around him bustling about, genuinely or feigning concern for the new leader, and felt like an outsider.
After Sister Jing left, the small team that was once quite cohesive was like a team that had lost its backbone, and its members quickly fell apart.
Several colleagues who joined around the same time as Su Mu, or who were also not considered part of the new leader's inner circle, successively found new paths and submitted their resignations. One workstation after another became vacant.
Only Su Mu persisted. It wasn't that he particularly loved this job that had become so distorted, nor that he couldn't see the situation clearly. He was simply still harboring resentment, and he remembered the words Sister Jing had said to him before she left, looking at him very earnestly.
He felt he couldn't just leave like that.
That period was the most difficult time for Su Mu after graduation. The huge psychological gap, falling from the aspirations of the future in the ivory tower to the cold reality and interpersonal conflicts in the cubicle, made him suffer from insomnia night after night.
He began to miss his university days immensely, missing his innocent roommates with whom he could joke freely, missing the afternoon sunlight in the library, the time he spent sitting next to Jiang Ran, and even the bland food in the cafeteria.
Su Mu had considered contacting Jiang Ran, typing and deleting messages repeatedly. Ultimately, he didn't send them. He was in a mess, feeling utterly defeated, and didn't know how to begin the conversation.
About two weeks before he hesitated to submit his resignation, on an ordinary workday afternoon, Su Mu was looking at a report on his computer that he had revised countless times but was still rejected. He checked his phone and saw that Jing Jie's long-dormant social media account had updated with a new post.
He clicked on it.
It was an obituary. A black and white background with simple text announced that Sister Jing had passed away in the early hours of the previous day after her treatment failed. Attached below were several photos of her from her life; her smile was still bright, her eyes still radiant.
Su Mu stared at those lines of text for a long time. The tapping of his colleagues' keyboards, the faint sounds of their conversations, and the hustle and bustle of the city outside the window became blurred and distant. His fingers grew stiff, and he slowly stood up and walked straight out of the office.
Instead of going to the rooftop, he turned into the fire escape stairwell.
Almost no one comes here; the air is thick with dust. He sits motionless on the cold cement steps.
He just sat there, his mind completely blank.
Sister Jing is gone. The guiding light that once illuminated his path when he first entered society has been extinguished.
The surrounding environment was rotten to the core. Hypocrisy, infighting, and repetitive labor with no hope in sight.
Su Mu had always known this, but he was unwilling to accept it.
Now, even that lingering resentment has been completely extinguished with Sister Jing's departure.
He slowly exhaled, and the stone that had been blocking his chest for so long loosened.
He had to get out of this mess as soon as possible. If he stayed any longer, he feared he would be gradually corroded away, becoming someone he wouldn't even recognize.
Just before Su Mu finally made up his mind to leave City B, the city that had exhausted him both physically and mentally, he heard the news that Jiang Ran was getting married.
An idea grew uncontrollably, like wild grass: go see him.
Looking back now, Su Mu is somewhat glad he acted recklessly back then. It was that do-or-die impulse that led to an unexpected, even embarrassing, breakthrough in their relationship, but it also showed him another possibility in his life.
It turns out that he can be so reckless for someone, for a certain feeling.
It may not be terrible for a person to remain unchanged; what is terrible is to be unwilling to accept things as they are, yet to be forever trapped in the same place, drawing a circle around oneself and imprisoning oneself.
These past few days, Jiang Ran has been unusually well-behaved, playing dead. She's been slow to respond to messages, attempting to paint a rosy picture.
Su Mu didn't expose him, and continued to send him videos as usual, showing Rou Rou and patting his belly.
Jiang Ran replied with an emoji after a long while. It wasn't text or voice; it was a fluffy cartoon animal with round, bright eyes, making an innocent and cute face.
Looking at that expression, Su Mu realized that Jiang Ran was just trying to get away with being cute.
Clearly, Young Master Jiang is working hard to clean up the mess, and the first step is to pin all the blame on the culprit, He Angxiao, for the outrageous drunken remarks he made that night while intoxicated.
According to Jiang Ran's excuse, it was his bad friend He Angxiao who encouraged him to drink and failed to stop his incoherent ramblings in time when he was out of his mind.
In response, He Angxiao, who was forcibly dragged into taking the blame, had a "what's it to me?" look on his face: "Young Master Jiang, please be reasonable. You have your own mouth, and you chose to drink the alcohol. How could I stop you? Seal your mouth shut with tape?"
He Angxiao was indeed Jiang Ran's childhood friend. They came from similar backgrounds and knew each other well. However, in Jiang Ran's opinion, his character was somewhat questionable.
He's sharp-tongued, mean-spirited, and cynical. Recently, there have been rumors circulating in the industry that he's taken in a particularly handsome young man and is keeping him around, and that his behavior is becoming increasingly outrageous.
In Jiang Ran's moral standards, He Angxiao was practically running headlong down the road of moral depravity.
At this moment, Jiang Ran was furious when He Angxiao retorted, neither too soft nor too hard: "When you were listening to me say those rubbish things, didn't you stop me? Are you even my friend?"
He Angxiao: "Good question. You were exercising your right to emotional communication with your partner. How could I, an outsider, stop you? Should I rush over, cover your mouth, and tell your wife, 'I'm sorry, he's drunk. I apologize on his behalf'?"
He Angxiao suddenly clicked his tongue and sighed, "But to be honest, Jiang Ran, I really didn't see it coming before. You usually act all proper and serious, but when you're drunk, the words that come out of your mouth are really quite saucy. I really underestimated you; you're quite daring."
Jiang Ran: "…………"
His ears burned uncontrollably. He himself blushed when he thought about those words afterward, let alone having his mischievous friend He Angxiao bring them up and comment on them to his face.
Jiang Ran held back for a long time before retorting in his heart with a hint of annoyance: That's because I'm really going to be a father. Su Mu, his Su Mu, is carrying a child for him.
This ecstasy of impending bloodline continuation, mixed with a certain masculine possessiveness, gave rise to those crazy things that one would never normally say.
"Just wait and see," he thought.
Once the baby is born, Jiang Ran will definitely hold their child and swagger up to He Angxiao, giving that loose-lipped bastard a good scare.
Jiang Ran angrily hung up the phone with He Angxiao, opened Su Mu's chat interface, and stared at the side profile photo Su Mu had sent not long ago. In the photo, Su Mu was wearing loose loungewear, slightly turned to the side, his hand gently resting on his lower abdomen.
The light was soft, making his skin appear fair and his eyes gentle. Jiang Ran was somewhat engrossed in watching, her finger lightly tracing the outline of Su Mu's abdomen on the screen.
His belly seemed to have indeed swelled up a bit more than the last time he saw it, a realization that made his heart both tender and throbbing.
He immediately typed a message, instructing: Don't stand for too long, don't lift heavy objects, walk slowly, and tell me immediately if you feel unwell.
He had no idea that while he was gazing at his phone screen, repeatedly giving instructions, Su Mu had already boarded the high-speed train from Fenghuang Village to Jiangzhou.
Meng Lingxuan drove him from the village to the county town.
When they got off the car, Meng Lingxuan helped him take out his suitcase, straightened up, looked at Su Mu standing by the car, and squinted at him for a few moments: "Hey, why do I feel like you've gained a little weight recently?"
Su Mu's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface. He pulled his mask down to cover the lower half of his face and mumbled, "It's probably because my mom has been cooking so much delicious food for me since I came back. I'm getting too much nutrition."
“No.” Meng Lingxuan shook his head, moved closer, and his gaze swept over his face.
Indeed, Su Mu's cheeks were no longer as thin as when he first returned; they had become a bit fuller, and his skin had a moist glow—not an oily sheen, but a radiant, nourished quality.
Her complexion had improved a lot, and she even had a soft, indescribable glow.
Meng Lingxuan observed for a while but couldn't figure it out, only noting that Su Mu was indeed in good condition. He didn't press further, instead patting Su Mu on the shoulder: "Alright, it's good to eat more. Come back when you have time during the New Year, and remember to bring Xiao Jiang back with you for the New Year, to make it more lively."
Su Mu responded and waved goodbye to Meng Lingxuan one last time.
As the car started, Su Mu told his parents that he was leaving. He leaned back in his seat, his hand habitually resting on his lower abdomen. He hadn't told Jiang Ran in advance that he was going back this time.
He wanted to give Jiang Ran a surprise.
Su Mu felt that Jiang Ran had really misunderstood him, and upon careful consideration, he realized that he hadn't actually confessed his feelings to her in a serious way.
Jiang Ran believed that Su Mu agreed to be with him because of the child.
What would Jiang Ran's expression be when she saw him? She'd probably be stunned, Su Mu thought, and couldn't help but smile. He felt Jiang Ran would be incredibly moved; he'd even paused his livestreaming career for her sake, and without hesitation, traveled hundreds of kilometers back.
In the early months, the changes in my body were not obvious, and I could still move around easily.
But this time, after a long car ride, Su Mu truly felt the difference. His back and waist ached easily, and after sitting in one position for an hour or two, his legs and feet began to go numb. He shifted his body, trying to find a more comfortable position, but to little avail.
As they approached a stop, an announcement reminded passengers that they could get off and move around for a few minutes. Su Mu followed the flow of people and slowly walked towards the door at the junction of the carriages, hoping to get some fresh air.
The high-speed train came to a stop, the doors opened, and the cool air from the platform rushed in. Su Mu walked to the door and took off the mask he had been wearing the whole way.
After being cooped up for so long, my cheeks turned a little red, and my breathing became much easier.
Just then, the cheerful laughter of several girls came from behind him, growing louder as they approached. One of their voices, tinged with hesitation and surprise, rang out softly, almost whispering behind him: "Excuse me, aren't you... that handsome young man who does live streams while driving a forklift in the village?"
Su Mu snapped out of his daze and turned to look at three girls who looked quite young. They were staring at him with bright eyes, their faces filled with curiosity and excitement.
He was a little embarrassed and nodded: "It's me."
"Wow, it really is you!" The girl who asked the question immediately jumped up, her eyes curving into crescents. "We watched your live stream and thought it was really interesting, but we didn't expect you to be even more beautiful in person than on camera!"
Another girl next to her came over, held up her phone, and politely said, "Can we take a picture with you? Just one."
Su Mu couldn't bring himself to refuse. He smiled, stepped aside to find a better-lit background, and nodded, "Sure."
The girls immediately crowded around excitedly, raising their phones and adjusting the angles. Su Mu stood cooperatively in the middle, giving the camera a gentle, slightly shy smile.
After taking the photos, the girls said a few more words like "Good luck" and "Take care of yourself" before waving goodbye with satisfaction and returning to their own carriages.
Su Mu put his mask back on and walked back to his seat.
In a few hours, the high-speed train would arrive in Jiangzhou. Su Mu leaned back in her chair, her hand gently resting on her lower abdomen through the soft fabric of her clothes. Actually, Su Mu could occasionally feel the baby move, but the baby didn't seem to like moving; each time she felt a movement, it was like a small fish gently blowing a bubble.
On the other side, in Jiangzhou.
Jiang Ran finished processing a document and glanced at the time; there was still some time before he got off work. He was somewhat absent-minded, clicking the mouse aimlessly a few times. Finally, he couldn't resist, took out his phone, and opened the short video account of a Phoenix Village resident that he had been secretly following.
The page refreshed, and the latest post was from Aunt Wang next door in Sumu. It showed several rows of newly planted green vegetables in her yard.
Jiang Ran typed a message in the comments section and clicked send: Aunt Wang, why didn't you update the handsome boy next door's status today?
Aunt Wang replied: Oh dear, the handsome young man next door left early this morning, on a long trip!
Jiang Ran stared at the line of text: "!!"
A long trip? Where did Su Mu go? He's heavily pregnant right now.
He immediately switched out of the comments section and quickly browsed several potentially relevant local accounts.
Just as he was feeling uneasy, a video with the hashtag #HandsomeForkliftMan# popped up unexpectedly.
Click to view. In the video, Su Mu is surrounded by three smiling girls, with a high-speed rail waiting area in the background. He is wearing a thin white fleece jacket, zipped all the way up, and his mask is pulled down below his chin, revealing his entire face without any covering. He is not wearing glasses, and a few strands of hair fall across his forehead.
He tilted his head slightly towards the camera, his smile gentle, his eyes clear; in short, he looked...very well-behaved.
The caption reads: "I ran into a handsome forklift driver on my way back to Jiangzhou. He's even more handsome in person than in the live stream, and he's such a nice guy. I'm so excited!"
Jiang Ran almost immediately exited the video, her fingers trembling slightly as she opened the ticketing app and quickly checked the high-speed rail schedules, times, and train numbers from Qu County to Jiangzhou for the day.
He abruptly stood up from his office chair, grabbed the suit jacket draped over the back of the chair, and quickly put it on as he strode toward his assistant Allen's workstation in the outer room.
Allen was engrossed in organizing meeting minutes when the commotion startled him and made him look up.
“Allen,” Jiang Ran said quickly, “I’m postponing all my work and meetings this afternoon, no, starting now. I have an urgent matter to attend to and need to pick someone up.”
Allen paused for a moment, then, seeing the rare, almost uncontrollable urgency on Jiang Ran's face, he immediately understood and nodded: "Okay, Ms. Jiang. Do you need a car arranged?"
"No need, I'll drive myself." After saying that, Jiang Ran strode towards the elevator, adjusting her shirt cuffs as she went.
The high-speed train arrived at Jiangzhou Station on time.
Su Mu followed the flow of people and slowly moved off the train.
He pulled his small suitcase and followed the signs toward the exit, his back aching a little.
Just then, my phone vibrated; it was Jiang Ran.
Su Mu answered the call, holding the phone between his shoulder and ear, and reached for his ID card to swipe at the gate to exit the station. The background noise on the other end of the line was a bit loud, as if he was also outdoors.
Su Mu stepped out of the gate, a mischievous smile on his face, and asked, "Jiang Ran, guess where I am right now?"
Jiang Ran's voice came through the receiver, somewhat low and urgent, with a slight panting from running: "Mu Mu, look up, look in your ten o'clock direction."
Su Mu was taken aback, and subconsciously looked up as instructed, his gaze passing over the bustling crowd in front of him, looking towards the ten o'clock direction to his left.
In the relatively empty arrival area outside the station exit, a familiar figure stood. Jiang Ran wasn't wearing a coat, only a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his smooth forearms. He must have rushed over; his hair was a little messy. He just stood there, and because he was tall, his gaze pierced through the surging crowd, firmly locking onto Su Mu.
Their eyes met.
The moment Jiang Ran saw Su Mu, all her anger vanished.
-
A note from the author:
[Starry eyes][Starry eyes] We met!
[Dog head emoji] Little Wood realized that he didn't seem to have confessed his feelings to his husband, which is why his husband looked so insecure and silly.
Please prepare some quick-acting heart medicine for Young Master Jiang, in case he gets too excited when he's being confessed to and accidentally faints.
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