Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Fang Shimian was stunned for a moment, then...
Fang Shimian was stunned for a moment, and after a while he realized that Huo Zhongshan was referring to the word "you" in his words just now.
I've already eaten, I've already called him brother, I've already added his contact information, but it's a bit strange to still use honorifics at this time, it seems like I'm being sarcastic...
Fang Shimian didn't mean to say that, he just said it easily, and then explained: "I'm not used to it."
After Huo Zhongshan finished the operation, he handed the phone back to Fang Shimian. He didn't seem to take it to heart. He raised the corners of his lips slightly and said, "It will be fine after a long time."
Fang Shimian nodded, and the scene of Huo Zhongshan buttoning his shirt emerged in his mind again. He once again acknowledged in his heart that Huo Zhongshan was a very good person.
It's just... Fang Shimian suddenly caught the weird feeling that had been lingering in his heart, "Can I ask a question?"
Huo Zhongshan: "Ask."
"I...someone like me, and you..." Fang Shimian didn't know how to express himself, and he couldn't utter a complete question for a long time, feeling a little anxious.
"I also lived in the military compound for a while before, in the building opposite your house. You called me brother when you were a child." Huo Zhongshan rubbed the boy's head gently, with a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, "We can be considered to have reunited."
Upon hearing this, Fang Shimen was struck by lightning, he could never have expected such an answer. He felt that everything that had just happened was an illusion, an illusion created to destroy him. The pain and repression of his childhood were like a flood that was about to crush him.
"How long... will it take to get to the monitoring room?" Fang Shimian's voice was shaking, and he tried to stop his tears from falling even though his hands were about to break. The little bit of hope in his heart was completely crushed.
So that’s how it is, so… pitiful.
His hand was suddenly held, and a warm current passed through his skin, but Fang Shimian felt pain. Huo Zhongshan's voice came to his ears, "So cold."
With both of his hands held in his, Fang Shimian heard Huo Zhongshan sigh, "How come you were so cute when you were little, but you're so quiet now that you've grown up."
Fang Shi Mian held back his tears. After hearing this, he suddenly looked up at Huo Zhongshan. He didn't know when the man had sat down next to him. His handsome face seemed to be filled with genuine doubts. "When I left there, you were still very young, probably in kindergarten. It's normal that you have no impression of me."
"Kindergarten?" Hot tears rolled down uncontrollably as his inner defenses relaxed. Fang Shimian wanted to pull his hand out to wipe away his tears, but a warm and dry big hand gently wiped away those salty and wet tears for him.
"The way you ran after me and called me brother when you were a kid is unforgettable." Huo Zhongshan's voice was low, with a gentle smile.
Fang Shimian looked at Huo Zhongshan and gradually calmed down. He thought, it turns out he had never seen it before, and it turned out not to be pity.
"Once you fell down, and I didn't care because I was holding fruits in my hands. I quickly hugged you and comforted you, and the apples rolled all over the floor." Huo Zhongshan let go of Fang Shimian's hand that had regained its warmth, and simply held him in his arms.
Fang Shimian stared at him blankly, his eyes were empty and confused. After two seconds, he relaxed and leaned into Huo Zhongshan's warm and solid embrace, whispering, "Yes, is that so?"
After that, Fang Shimian began to tremble and sob slightly. He didn't make any sound, only some barely audible sobs.
Huo Zhongshan placed the soft silk handkerchief in Fang Shimian's hand and said nothing more, just gently patted the boy's back.
After he had completely recovered, Fang Shimian grabbed the crumpled handkerchief and slowly sat up. He felt embarrassed belatedly, especially when he saw Huo Zhongshan calmly dealing with the shirt he had wet, his shame reached its peak.
"I... I'm sorry for getting you dirty." Fang Shimian said this with a nasal tone, his eyes were red and swollen, and he looked very fragile.
Huo Zhongshan acted calmly, "It doesn't affect you."
He asked, "Is the assignment two days?"
Fang Shimian nodded without any hesitation, "Yes, today and tomorrow."
We are almost at our destination.
Huo Zhongshan nodded lightly, picked up his phone, glanced at it, and said, "I'll take you to the gate of the community in a while, and someone will take you to the property manager's office. Go and help organize the documents this afternoon."
Doesn't that mean the monitoring room is short of people? Although Fang Shimian had this doubt in his mind, he still agreed. He was originally here to support and do odd jobs, so he did almost anything. Besides, the new community hadn't even been occupied yet, so the monitoring room really didn't need two people.
When they arrived at the gate of the community, Fang Shimian suddenly plucked up the courage to ask before the driver opened the door, "Did I...did I have anything else when I was a child? That is, the kind you just mentioned..."
Those little things that make you loved by your parents.
Huo Zhongshan was reading the message sent by his special assistant at this time. He was not surprised that Fang Shimian would ask this. Instead, he was a little surprised that he could endure it for so long. He thought that some of his guesses were wrong.
"I'll tell you tomorrow at noon." Huo Zhongshan replied, turned off his phone and put it aside, raised his eyes to look at Fang Shimian, and instructed, "Wait for my news tomorrow at noon, don't eat the box lunch."
Fang Shimian quickly agreed, his eyes full of anticipation. After getting off the car, he stood there for a while, still a little absent-minded as he watched the car leave.
"Mr. Fang?"
A soft female voice woke Fang Shimian from his distracted state.
Fang Shimian turned around and saw a man in Mingheng Property's uniform smiling at him. He suddenly remembered that Huo Zhongshan had said someone would take him to the office to sort out the documents, so he quickly stepped forward and said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Mr. Fang, you're welcome. I just arrived too." The girl smiled, her hair lifted by the breeze, and introduced herself neatly: "My last name is Zhou, and I'm Manager Li's secretary. I'll take you to his office."
Fang Shimian nodded and followed. After hesitating for a few seconds, he introduced himself. "I'm a monitor transferred here by Qihe Property Management for support. I can do anything."
Secretary Zhou smiled and nodded, "Okay, I understand, Mr. Fang."
The two walked into the office, which was very clean. The windows were wide open, allowing them to see the beautiful greenery outside the property center. The documents were all organized and locked in the cabinet, and there were only a few empty folders scattered on the table.
Secretary Zhou went over and sorted out a few empty folders and put them aside, and said jokingly, "Manager Li is not on the project today. He was assigned to study other projects. He originally wanted to come and pick you up, but he had no choice but to send me here."
Fang Shimian thought this was strange, but he just thought that they were worried that their outsourced employees would not be able to find the way and waste time, so he did not think too much about it. "In fact, I can find it by asking for directions myself. You don't have to pick it up. My colleagues and I found the monitoring room ourselves this morning."
Secretary Zhou didn't respond. He just smiled and said, "Mr. Fang, please help look after this office this afternoon. The documents are all in order. You just need to sit here. If someone goes to the wrong office or an owner breaks in, please help explain and ask them to leave."
This job is even less stressful than working in the monitoring room, because the sign outside clearly says "Manager's Office". Who would be so illiterate as to barge in?
Fang Shimian was feeling a little bored sitting there, so he wanted to call Ma Liang to ask him where he was assigned to do that afternoon, but the voice prompt said that the number was out of service area.
That should still be in the monitoring room.
On WeChat, there was an emoticon package of secretly observing sent by Ma Liang two hours ago. Fang Shimian gave a simple reply and then turned off his phone.
The afternoon sun was shining brightly and the office was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of one or two birds. No one came in. Fang Shimian felt sleepy after sitting for a while. He leaned back in the soft and comfortable office chair, still thinking about the words that Huo Zhongshan had said inadvertently, and soon he actually fell asleep.
In his dream, he was floating in the courtyard where he once lived. As he was floating, he suddenly turned into a child. He deliberately rolled to the ground, and then was picked up. His mother's face was blurry, and she couldn't hear the words coaxing him clearly. He was crying, but he couldn't get the hug back. He just lowered his head and watched the ground under his feet turned into flowing gray apples.
It was already past four in the afternoon when he woke up. Fang Shimian rubbed his eyes and stood up, looking at the tranquility outside the window. He felt that the salary for this overseas assignment was a bit hot, as if he had done nothing.
Fang Shimian stood there for a while, looked around the empty office, went out to ask the cleaning lady for a towel and a broom, and cleaned the office briefly. After that, he sat by the window and stared blankly.
The office door was pushed open, and Fang Shimian saw Ma Liangle walking in happily, his eyes shining, and he started talking non-stop.
"Damn it, you left today and didn't see the guy who told you not to come tomorrow. Remember, that big guy, his face turned pale, he was so scared that he couldn't even stand, and he was asking around about who you are." Ma Liang sat on the office chair opposite Fang Shimian, crossed his legs, and said proudly, "He still came to ask me in a roundabout way, I gave him a direct answer of four words, no comment!"
"What do you think? Be tough, brother!"
"Besides, that guy is just a security foreman, who was just promoted from the security guards and is still in the internship period. I thought he was some kind of important figure, but he even asked our manager to replace him. He is so arrogant relying on his muscular body. How shameless of him."
Fang Shimian didn't know what was going on. "They didn't cause you any trouble, did they?"
"Oh, you were respectfully invited out by the official. Whoever dared to come and make trouble for me was trying to curry favor with me. They offered me cigarettes one by one, and I couldn't refuse. After you left, Mingheng and his men were much more polite to our people. They used to look down on people, but now they know how to say thank you." Ma Liang took out a wrinkled loose cigarette from his pocket and took it out to smell it. "It's a good thing."
"How do you know those officials? I've never heard you mention them. If I had known you had such connections, I would have run out to report it." Ma Liang rolled the cigarette on the table twice, then put it back in his pocket. "Let's go. Our employees who come here to support us can leave work half an hour earlier. This place is a bit remote. I don't know if it's easy to get a taxi."
"What did they ask you to do today? They didn't even give you a lunch break."
Fang Shimian stood up and pushed the chair back. He didn't know what to say, so he said vaguely, "I didn't do anything. I just came back after talking about something."
"That's what I told you. Some of them said they saw you standing with the big boss of Hengshi. I said it couldn't be you. If you knew that kind of person, would you get scolded by the security guard for two boxes of lunch?" Ma Liang opened the door and walked out.
"But who is that person who came to see you today? He looks so impressive, he must be a high-ranking official."
Fang Shimian opened the taxi app and asked, "Brother Ma, where are you going?"
"Let's go back to Yunjin. My car is still there."
Not long after placing the order, a driver accepted it. Fang Shimian was a little surprised. He thought he would have to wait a long time like Ma Liang said. "It's pretty easy to get a taxi here."
"Oh, yes, the hospital has started operating here, there must be people taking taxis here, and we are going to the city center, there must be people who will take the order." Ma Liang came over to look at Fang Shimian's mobile page, and suddenly shouted: "Damn, they are robbing people, the taxi fare is over a hundred! Will the company reimburse it?"
Fang Shimian shook his head, "I don't know, it should be reimbursed. There won't be any buses to pick you up in the afternoon."
"Wait a minute, cancel it first, and I'll get two more people over, otherwise it will be a big loss."
As they were talking, a business Mercedes drove up in front of them. Fang Shimian saw that it was a white car on the taxi app, so he pulled Ma Liang to the side. Ma Liang was still on the phone to gather people and was talking very loudly.
As a result, the car drove forward a little bit, and a driver got out, walked up to Fang Shimian, opened the door for him, and said respectfully: "Mr. Fang, Mr. Huo asked me to take you back."
"No, it's easy to get a taxi here."
The driver still smiled and said, "This place is remote and the road is long. Mr. Huo is really worried."
Fang Shimian was distracted by a certain word, hesitated for a moment, looked at Ma Liang who was trying hard to invite people, and asked: "Then... can we add one more person?"
The driver smiled and said, "Of course."
When Fang Shimian pulled Ma Liang into the car, he was still talking to the person on the other side about the fare. It was not until the car started moving forward that Ma Liang suddenly realized and hung up the phone. He whispered in Fang Shimian's ear, "Why didn't you wait for me? I still have Lao Liu and the others to ask. Two people pay fifty, four people pay twenty-five and we can go back. You are so stupid."
Fang Shimian also whispered, "It's okay, I just got a coupon...it's free."
Ma Liang was shocked but also secretly delighted. He looked around the car and found that the interior was spacious and luxurious. He couldn't help but bumped Fang Shimian on the shoulder and said, "You kid actually drove a luxury car."
Fang Shimian turned off his phone awkwardly, "Maybe I didn't notice and clicked the wrong button."
"I'll take some videos. The driver won't laugh at me, right? I'm treated a bit like an official. Let my fellow villagers see it." Ma Liang took out his mobile phone and started taking selfies.
When they arrived, Ma Liang got out of the car with a reluctant look, and took a photo of the car's exterior, looking very proud, "This Mercedes-Benz actually has a look like this, I'll get one when I have the money."
The two were walking and had just greeted the security guard on duty when Ma Liang burst into a scream from behind, "Damn, that car costs more than a million!"
Fang Shimian paused for a moment, he felt that Huo Zhongshan should know his situation and would not make such a high-profile move, he firmly believed that Ma Liang was wrong.
Ma Liang showed Fang Shimian the result of the image recognition. "Buffett S, there is one with a price tag of two million."
Fang Shimian remained calm, "You just took a picture of the side. Image recognition is unreliable. Last time I took a picture of a stray puppy, it insisted it was a fox. There are no foxes in this city."
Ma Liang thought it was reliable, so he nodded, "It's possible. How could that kind of car be pulled out to pick up passengers?"
The two of them went down to the monitoring room. In front of Xu Long, Ma Liang didn't say much. He sat for two minutes and then packed up and left. This was very unusual, because normally he would catch Xu Long and chat with him first, telling him all the gossip of the day.
After Ma Liang left, Xu Long asked Fang Shimian, "Did that guy get into a fight and run away today?"
"No, maybe I didn't get enough rest."
Xu Long didn't believe it at all. He snorted coldly and said nothing.
At night, Fang Shimian had a rare sleepless night. He tossed and turned thinking about what Huo Zhongshan had said about his childhood. For the first time in his life, he hated his poor memory and his inability to clearly remember the time when he was loved.
And maybe it was because Huo Zhongshan's description was too vivid, Fang Shimian actually had some impression of being held high up and coaxed by his family, just like the child surrounded by his family at the party that day.
His heart began to pound and he suddenly felt a very strong urge.
I want to call my mother.
Just ask her one question, ask her if she is doing well.
Fang Shimian got up and looked at the time. It was half past nine, so his mother should not be asleep yet.
He opened the window and wandered in the living room for a long time. Huo Zhongshan's words kept echoing in his ears. He stopped and finally dialed the number that he knew by heart.
It rang for a long time, and Fang Shimian's head slowly dropped.
At the last second, the call was connected. There was a slight sound of electricity from the other end, and a strong male voice asked, "Who?"
Fang Shimian glanced at the number in panic. His throat seemed to be blocked by cement. He spoke with difficulty, "I... I'm looking for Director Zhang."
There was a sneer from the other end, and after a brief pause, Fang Shimian's familiar voice finally rang through the phone.
"Hello?"
Before Fang Shimian could even finish his sentence, the other end said impatiently, "Go ask your dad for the money. You awarded it to him. Don't call me anymore."
The sound of the call being hung up was like a sharp blade from reality, which broke Fang Shimian's heart that had been warmed with great difficulty.
In fact, it was expected.
The wind blew in through the window. Fang Shimian put down the phone and then he felt the cold. It felt like his blood had run cold and cheap tears gathered on his chin and dripped down.
He returned to the bedroom in a daze. When his cheek touched the pillow, he felt a chill. Fang Shimian reached out and touched his face, then closed his eyes and sobbed.
When he heard the alarm clock, Fang Shimian felt his head was heavy and he was very thirsty. His nose was stinging when he breathed. He staggered out of bed, picked up a bottle of water from the table and gulped it down. Then he walked to the living room, got his cell phone and went back to the bedroom.
When he looked at the time, it was already past nine o'clock. There was a missed call from Manager Yang, so Fang Shimian called it.
"You weren't there when they called the roll today, and the cars were gone. Did you take a taxi there yourself?"
Fang Shimian fell on the bed, his brain a little groggy, he said: "Hello, can I take a day off and make up for it next week?"
The other end quickly gave the OK and said a few words of concern. Fang Shimian didn't hear clearly what was said. He hummed twice and the phone fell on the pillow.
Sleepiness came over him again, Fang Shimian felt cold, he curled himself into the quilt and fell into a deep sleep.
An unknown amount of time had passed before Fang Shimian heard a continuous knocking sound in his sleep, like the sound of a monk knocking a wooden fish in an ancient Buddhist temple. Sometimes it was as fast as a hurricane, and sometimes it was as slow as a misty drizzle. Fang Shimian remembered many things that he thought he had forgotten long ago.
That day was the day the monthly exam results were announced. He went to his teacher's house to do his homework and he was crying the whole time because he didn't do well in the exam. The teacher comforted him and said that he had already communicated with his parents in advance that the test questions would be difficult. Zhao Shun sat next to him, holding his hand, and secretly wiping away tears.
Zhao You was still very awkward at that time. He stared at Fang Shimian fiercely, and after the teacher left, he scolded Fang Shimian, calling him a fool who only knew how to cry and was annoying!
Fang Shimian didn't dare to dirty his homework, so he could only wipe his tears with his sleeves until his face turned red. Zhao You angrily threw the pack of paper on the table and ran away.
Grandpa Zhao happened to be at home that day. He waited for Fang Shimian to finish his homework and then took him to see the strange pattern books collected in his study. Fang Shimian liked reading them very much because Grandpa Zhao was very patient and would tell him the stories behind the patterns and lines.
When it was time to leave, Fang Shimian cried and begged the teacher to let him stay that night, but when he saw the teacher's embarrassed expression, Fang Shimian immediately said that it was okay, that his parents would forgive him, and told the teacher not to worry.
After returning home, his schoolbag was turned upside down and a picture album with intricate patterns was found.
It was given to him by Grandpa Zhao.
Fang Shimian cried and promised that he would do well in the exam next time, but the angry parents did not care about the promise and fear of a poor child.
Moreover, Dad found some naive drawings full of childish imagination on a piece of draft paper.
It had nothing to do with studying, and was irrefutable evidence that his grades had dropped again.
The rage finally found a reasonable outlet, and the extremely humiliating scolding was thrown at the frightened child. After a painful crying and begging for mercy, the child's cowardice was the final fuse that ignited his nerves, and Fang Shimian was limped downstairs by his parents.
"If you don't want to study, don't study!"
When the well-preserved books were engulfed by the raging flames, Fang Shimian screamed and tried to put out the flames. He wailed and begged for mercy, but his small body could not even break through his father's arms. When Fang Shimian tried to lower his head and bite people, the severe pain on his face and head made him fall into desperate fear.
He saw the red flames, the cold and stern eyes of his parents, and many familiar classmates, friends, uncles and aunts whispering in the yard.
The neighbors were used to seeing Fang Shimen being beaten, but such a tragic situation was too traumatic for a child. Although they were unwilling to get involved in these household chores, they still stepped forward to stop the brutality that almost killed Fang Shimen.
When peace returned to the house, Fang Shimian was allowed to go back to his room to sleep, but he didn't dare close his eyes the whole night. He was afraid that the man-eating fireworks would bring the ghosts of the books to burn him to death.
I’m really afraid that I won’t be able to study.
Afraid of the indifference in my father's eyes and the disappointed expression on my mother's face.
The next day, his mother called him to go to school in extreme nervousness, with Zhu Ze's old books in his schoolbag.
He walked out of the house and saw Zhu Ze's concerned expression. Zhu Ze still hugged him and asked him if he still felt pain. Everything returned to normal, but he couldn't even cry.
The scene changed again, showing a phone call that couldn't be dialed.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-
The knocking sound in the dream suddenly stopped, and the heat brought by the fire was also dissipated, but Fang Shimen woke up suddenly. He opened his eyes and met Huo Zhongshan's calm gaze.
His vision was still a little blurry, and Fang Shimian blinked.
Huo Zhongshan didn't speak to him. He turned his head and whispered to the doctor in a white coat next to him.
Fang Shimian then noticed that there were two doctors standing in his small bedroom. He wanted to sit up, but he had no strength. He looked at Huo Zhongshan and wanted to ask something and thank him, but before he could act, he felt an irresistible drowsiness. He wanted to close his eyes before asking, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into the darkness of nothingness again.
When Huo Zhongshan, who was talking to the doctor at the time, saw this scene, the anger in his heart because of the child not taking care of his body was suddenly extinguished.
The sleepy boy in the quilt woke up from his dream with red and swollen eyes. He looked at him silently with such dependent and tender eyes, and then fell into a deep sleep again.
A slight electric current flows through the heart, and the tingling stimulation instantly flows through the whole body, and somewhere in the emotional space softens.
After the two doctors explained everything, they left. Huo Zhongshan stood quietly beside the bed, gazing down at the young man who was sleeping uneasily on the bed. There were fine beads of sweat on his pale skin. He frowned slightly, and his lips trembled slightly, looking very lovable.
Huo Zhongshan turned off the light in the bedroom, but did not go out. Instead, he stood in the dark and watched for a long time. The man had a deep gaze, and was silent and majestic. He seemed to be making some kind of decision, and his eyes were dark and unclear.
Fang Shimian didn't sleep for a long time this time. He was sweating all over. He took a special medicine and although his body was still sore, he felt refreshed. He opened his phone to reply to Xu Long's message, but unexpectedly saw a message from Zhu Ze, asking him how he felt and saying that he would come to see him after the meeting.
Sitting up in a daze, he always felt as if he had forgotten something important, but he couldn't quite remember it.
The lights in the bedroom were not on. Although the lighting here was not very good, the afternoon sun could still illuminate a small area in the house. Fang Shimian got up and sat for a while, then went to the closet to grab a sleeveless T-shirt, opened the bedroom door, and went into the bathroom across the narrow corridor to take a shower.
Fang Shimian showered very quickly this time because halfway through he began to feel his feet dizzy and his head heavy. He already had experience with this kind of situation, so he acted decisively and pushed open the thin wooden door of the bathroom to let the cold air pour in. The fresh air rushed into his nasal cavity, clearing his cloudy brain and preventing him from falling down.
He casually put on the long old T-shirt and walked out. He originally wanted to squat against the wall next to the toilet to recover for a while before going to the bedroom to get clothes, but suddenly he noticed someone sitting in the living room.
At that moment, Fang Shimian's hair was about to explode.
He was wearing only an old, loose, ill-fitting T-shirt.
Not even wearing...
At this moment, Huo Zhongshan, who was sitting on the sofa with his eyes downcast replying to emails, obviously also saw him.
That majestic and silent gaze, the calm demeanor of a superior, was like a ball of fire that burned people thoroughly.
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