Chapter 104: Physical Examination Report: Passing by or visiting him?
"Hey, have you seen any news about Yike's incident recently?"
"I saw it, and it was actually a leak from a company executive. I'm glad I didn't join in the fun when the market opened."
"Tsk, is Yike out of money?"
"That's impossible. Didn't he generously donate 100 million a while ago?"
A casual chat during work break came into Guo Tianlin's ears without any warning.
"Are you guys chatting after finishing your work?"
The department head's untimely appearance abruptly shattered this relaxed atmosphere.
The crowd, who had been talking loudly one moment, fell silent the next. One young colleague, a recent arrival, gave his supervisor a playful smile and said, "Boss, we're all thanking the company for organizing the physical examinations for us outsourced employees this morning."
"Now that you know everything, why don't you get back to work and make achievements to repay the company?"
How could a supervisor not understand the hidden agenda of their employees? After showing off his power, he walked straight to Guo Tianlin's workstation and asked, "Have you completed the data analysis I assigned you last night?"
Guo Tianlin was absent-minded, and what he heard went in one ear and out the other.
The supervisor frowned, dissatisfied, and asked quietly again, "Do you still want to be transferred to a regular employee?"
A word of advice woke Guo Tianlin up from his dream. He looked at the computer screen in front of him, then at the empty promise manager beside him, and nodded randomly.
After getting the answer he wanted, the supervisor finally smiled with satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "That's good. Remember to send it to me later."
After finally getting to lunch break, Guo Tianlin immediately ran to the stairwell to search online for the buzz surrounding Yike's new property. Sure enough, it was the Ideal City he had purchased. Despite a statement from Yike's official website, the comments kept coming in, with property owners demanding an explanation, sympathetic victims sharing their experiences, and the general public eager to watch the action.
What surprised him most was another related entertainment entry - the illegitimate son of the chairman of Yike.
When you click on it, a highly-praised post comes into view, and the protagonist at the center of the topic is none other than Lin Su.
Then, the illegitimate child corresponds to Xiao Lang.
The moment he sorted out the cause and effect, the phone almost slipped out of his hand. Guo Tianlin felt that a trace of faith in his body was collapsing and disappearing. He grabbed the handrail and barely stood firm. He leaned on the railing to relax, as if remembering the most urgent thing. He quickly exited the interface and called the contact person noted for his wife.
The first system automatically hung up, and so did the second and third.
Guo Tianlin was like a madman, interrupting the attack and then continuing to fight, but the results from the other side pushed him out of the fence of rationality inch by inch.
The critical point of collapse, perhaps it was God's mercy, after countless calls, the other end finally answered.
Guo Tianlin scratched his hair, concentrating and holding his breath: "Where are you?"
Lin Su, who was standing opposite, was silent, as if weighing the pros and cons: "Buying groceries, where else can I go?"
Before she finished speaking, another voice interrupted: "Mom, where are we going after packing our bags?"
Guo Tianlin recognized his son's voice and clenched his fists: "You lied to me, you were clearly at home."
Even though her lie was exposed, Lin Su remained fearless: "So what?"
Before Guo Tianlin could question him, the call was ruthlessly cut off with the sound of a zipper being zipped up.
Now, Guo Tianlin could no longer remain calm. He ran back to the office area where it was so busy that only the sound of typing could be heard. He began to pack his things in a hurry, picked up the car keys and prepared to go home to stop Lin Su from leaving with his son.
This abnormal behavior immediately attracted the supervisor.
"Guo Tianlin, during working hours, why are you not staying at your workstation? What on earth are you doing?"
When colleagues heard the noise, they looked at him strangely.
Guo Tianlin was already overwhelmed by the sudden change. He pushed away the supervisor who came to question him and shouted, "Don't stop me, I want to go home."
In front of everyone, the supervisor couldn't let him walk away without explanation. He grabbed his arm and said, "The company has its own rules and regulations. You need to go through the leave application process right now."
Guo Tianlin didn't have the time to wait for approval step by step. His tone was full of undisguised impatience: "I'll come back and make up for it, okay?"
The supervisor still insisted: "You have to finish the work before you can leave. Where is the data analysis you promised me? Did you send it to me?"
"Data analysis, data analysis," Guo Tianlin muttered over and over again, a task that was not part of his job description. In a flash, the accumulated resentment suddenly burst out. "Don't think everyone doesn't know this is your job. You think I'm easy to bully, don't you? You throw all this crap at me. Please, do I have the permission? I'm really fed up. Every time you ask someone to clean up your mess, can you please remember to give them permission? Huh?"
After years of working together, this was the first time the supervisor had seen an honest man lose his temper. He reacted quickly and poked Guo Tianlin in the chest, yelling, "Well, you, an outsourced contractor, actually dare to tell me what to do. Do you still want to work here?"
Each bite of outsourcing was like a sharp knife piercing Guo Tianlin's heart. He straightened his back, which had been bent for decades, and glared with murderous eyes, fighting back word by word: "I quit, I didn't want to do this anymore!"
He took off his work badge from around his neck, threw it at his supervisor's face which was full of surprise, and walked away after saying "Fuck you".
There was a constant traffic jam on the way back to the village in the city. Guo Tianlin was so impatient that he kept pounding the steering wheel. Not feeling satisfied, he frantically honked the horn of his malfunctioning second-hand car to disrupt the order, causing passers-by to open their windows and curse.
Passing the traffic light of the Yike office building, I watched for a while. The rights-defending owners holding signs and loudspeakers gathered in the open space on the first floor and shouted in protest.
He narrowed his eyes and thought, "Don't be in a hurry. Take them one by one. Wait until he resolves the internal conflicts before dealing with these evil capitalists."
Here, Lin Su simply packed up her clothes and took her son's hand to escape from this damp sewer that could not see the sun.
When she opened the security door, a gust of wind blew in her face, making her freeze in place. A gloomy face as dark as a cloud appeared at the door.
Lin Su was a little frightened and took a half step back, but her tone was still righteous and confident: "Why don't you go to work at this time and go home?"
"I quit."
The light words "I resigned" made Lin Su think he was seriously ill and she retorted: "Are you crazy? Now get back to work."
Guo Tianlin ignored him and lowered his eyes to the suitcase beside him. He thought about how when Lin Su came to him with a big belly, she also brought a password box with her. Now she took everything away intact.
Thinking of this, the anger in his heart could not be suppressed and burst out of his throat: "Tell me first, where are you taking Xiao Lang?"
Xiao Lang was just about to go forward and call out "Dad", but was forced back behind his mother by the voice.
Guo Tianlin was afraid of scaring his son, so he turned his back and took several deep breaths to calm himself down: "Let's talk."
Hearing this, Lin Su put down her suitcase, took out some cash from her wallet, and told her son to go to the store at the corner of the alley to buy some snacks and wait for her.
Then he returned to the living room, turned on the TV, turned up the volume, and threw the remote control on the coffee table: "Don't you want to talk? Let's talk."
The remote control fell on the table and bounced onto the wooden floor, and all the batteries fell out. Guo Tianlin suddenly lost his temper, squatted down to pick up the batteries and put them back into the remote control, but he could no longer put it back to its original state.
"Don't go, okay?" he begged.
"Okay." Lin Su folded her arms and sat on the sofa. "Then give me a reasonable reason not to leave."
Guo Tianlin raised his eyes in response, staring at Lin Su with an upward gaze: "Including today, are you planning to dump me for the third time? The first time was when you took a part-time tutoring job in your senior year, and the second time was when you joined Yike. Why this time? I've been working very hard to make money to support our family. Why can't you wait for me a little longer?"
"Guo Tianlin, honestly, didn't I give you a chance? Four years of college, two years of work, and five years of Xiaolang's. Now that you've lost your job, how are you going to take care of us? A thirty-year mortgage? A life of meager living?"
Lin Su stood up suddenly and pointed at the news report on TV. "Is it still about the unfinished house that can't be lived in?"
Having his pain point touched, Guo Tianlin stood up angrily, smashing the remote control in his hand against the wall to his right. He pointed his index finger at Lin Su and said, "That's better than your wishful thinking of becoming a phoenix every day. Ha, you didn't want to get married with me, so you've been waiting for this day."
Lin Su was not afraid at all. On the contrary, she pressed on with a half-smile on her face: "After being such a coward for so many years, I finally spoke out my true feelings."
Guo Tianlin was heartbroken: "Back then, the Fang family couldn't tolerate you, and they won't accept you now."
"That's none of your business." Lin Su wasn't moved by his words at all. "I have my own way of dealing with my own affairs. Get out of my way."
Guo Tianlin refused to give in: "If you want to take Xiao Lang away, it's my business."
At this moment, a ray of light came into the living room, lasting only half a minute before fading away.
Lin Su's expression changed as if she was turning the pages of a book. She lowered her eyes, and when she looked up again, she had an embarrassment on her face. She cupped Guo Tianlin's cheeks and gazed at him lovingly, "Tianlin, I'm taking our son to live a good life. Success or failure depends on this one. If you want to blame someone, blame those powerful people who have been oppressing us and making it impossible for us to turn things around. As a parent, who doesn't want their child to be a dragon and phoenix among men? You should fully support me, instead of stopping me and dragging Xiaolang and me into this quagmire with you."
She knew where Guo Tianlin's weak spot was.
The moment she stepped out of the door as she wished, Lin Su shed her previous pitiful appearance and became a different person. She walked out of the urban village with her chest held high and her back straight, and then moved to the hotel with her son in one hand and her luggage in the other.
The first thing he did after checking into the hotel was to dial a number and make a provocative call.
"How does it feel to be on the front page?"
I don’t know if it was in the parking lot or the elevator had a bad signal, but I only heard the three words “not bad” in feedback.
The high-rise overlooking the city center was unobstructed. Lin Su's eyes were filled with fierceness instead of admiration. "I know Fang Jueshan can't show up, and I don't want to make a big deal out of this. So, if you send me the child support, I'll take my son and leave Shenzhen immediately. Otherwise, I'll turn the paternity test in a week into a press conference and expose all the dirty deeds your Fang family has done behind the scenes. You're not afraid of being ruined, but are you willing to let your long-dead mother be talked about and gossiped about?"
"Threatening me?" A sneer escaped from the receiver. "Sorry, the group just donated money, so I don't have any money."
"No money? Fang Qingzhuo, do you think I'm stupid? Every year, Yike has a targeted donation amount to offset taxes."
With Lin Su's shouting in his ears and Guo Tianlin's physical examination report and blood sample in his hand, Fang Qingzhuo calmly stepped into the elevator going up to the underground garage.
"Then you can hold a press conference. I don't mind."
The elevator door closed and he hung up the call.
Arriving at the corresponding floor, Fang Qingzhuo ran into Zhuang He who came to see him off as soon as he got out of the elevator. The two looked at each other in surprise. Of course, the reason for looking at each other was not because of their familiar brothers, but because of Luo Shu.
Thinking he was seeing things, Fang Qingzhuo took another peek and it was her, really her.
But why would Luo Shu come to Zhuyou, passing by to visit him? It's impossible. After what happened last time, she must have hated him to death. Why would she come to see him again? Maybe the truth about the student card back then had been exposed by Shen Qianshu, and then he took advantage of the opportunity.
No one present could guess the complicated thoughts going on in his mind at this moment.
Zhuang He couldn't stand someone's stupid behavior anymore, so he jumped out to explain, "I invited Luo Shu to help plan the annual meeting."
Fang Qingzhuo nodded somewhat disappointedly, standing motionless at the elevator entrance, forgetting to give way or speak.
Luo Shu glanced at Fang Qingzhuo, who was as stiff as a wooden stake. She took a step forward and resolutely pressed the elevator button. She turned sideways and said goodbye to Zhuang He: "Senior, I have to go home now. You don't have to see me off."
Seeing Luo Shu enter the elevator, Zhuang He was so disappointed that he winked at Fang Qingzhuo frantically, suggesting that he seize the opportunity.
Unfortunately, Fang Qingzhuo had no other expression except for his wandering eyes.
Zhuang He, determined to see Fang Qingzhu off to the west, immediately came up with a plan. He pushed the awkward Fang Qingzhuo back into the elevator and said, "Oh, I'm still worried about Luo Shu going back alone. This is unfortunate. Please send her back for me."
The elevator door closed again, and the claustrophobic space was more or less filled with an eerie silence.
Zhuang He's attack was too rough, and Fang Qingzhuo staggered half a step. After he stood firm, he consciously retreated to the corner, leaning his head against the smooth wall and breathing silently. The person who he could only see through the mobile phone surveillance in the past two days was now right in front of him. The familiar smell that he inhaled into his lungs also made him stunned for a moment.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he unscrupulously observed Luo Shu, who was standing in front of him to the right. Her back was still so thin, and her hair seemed a little shorter, had it been cut? He wanted to ask her how she was doing recently. Had her hypoglycemia recurred? Was she eating on time? Would she not suffer from insomnia without him bothering her?
I noticed that no one pressed the elevator button, and a familiar scene suddenly brought my thoughts back to the past.
He took two steps forward and extended his index finger, ready to press the button to return to the basement floor the same way he had come.
But Luo Shu was faster. She seemed to sense his approach and pressed the button for the first floor before him. Fang Qingzhuo's heart immediately sank. He raised his finger in the air, not knowing whether to stretch it out or retract it. He naturally understood that Luo Shu didn't want him to send her off, which obviously meant that she still disliked him.
Amidst the awkwardness, we soon reached the first floor, and with a ding, the door slowly opened from both sides.
The two walked out of the elevator one after the other. Luo Shu walked with sometimes fast and sometimes slow steps. She walked to the side of the road, waved her hand and successfully stopped a taxi and sat in the back seat. She didn't even look at Fang Qingzhuo behind her the whole time.
Just when the car door was halfway opened, a hand suddenly got stuck in, and its long and powerful fingers gripped the window sill tightly.
"I'm well aware that I'm deeply in debt. Even if you hate me and want to chop me into pieces, I'm fine. I only ask you to be well and alive. I'll do whatever you say and won't disturb your life or appear before you."
Finally, he added solemnly, "This time, I promise to do what I say."
From beginning to end, Luo Shu did not see the owner of the hand, but only heard the voice, trying her best to keep her voice steady.
The driver in the front row watched the show with great fascination for a long time, and those who didn't know thought it was some sad idol drama.
After Fang Qingzhuo finished speaking, he pulled his hand away and gently closed the car door as if he had made a huge decision.
Until the master asked the line "Where are you going", Luo Shu was still confused and dazed. She clearly felt her heart skip a beat because every word Fang Qingzhuo said was so touching.
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