trouble
"You're looking for Lexing? He should be at the drying yard right now. What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Looking at Gu Jiansheng, who was hanging his head and remaining silent, Zhou Yuanxiang felt a pang of inexplicable heartache and pity for this introverted child.
Back then, Lan Hua longed for the birth of this child, but unfortunately, all that love was cruelly eroded by time and turned into hatred for another person, which was eventually projected onto Jian Sheng. But what did this child do wrong?
Gu Jiansheng lowered his eyes to avoid Zhou Yuanxiang's gaze. He would rather everyone look at him with hatred or disgust than accept this pitying look, which would only remind him again and again of his sad, ridiculous, and meaningless life.
"It's nothing, I'll be going now." Gu Jiansheng said, and turned to leave before Zhou Yuanxiang could say anything more.
Zhou Lexing did not go to the Gu family last night; his pillow was still there, with a lonely palm-leaf fan on top.
Gu Jiansheng had already walked the path to the drying ground once, but he had not found Zhou Lexing. However, he still did not choose to go home, but instead slowly walked towards the drying ground again.
Gu Jiansheng felt that fate had played a cruel joke on him, giving him hope only to pluck the strings of fate again, causing He Huaizhi to reappear before him and take away his hope.
Gu Jiansheng had never known more clearly what he wanted than at this moment.
His face was almost translucent in the bright sunlight, and there was a dark undercurrent in his light eyes, which was quickly and silently concealed as he lowered his eyes.
"Jian Sheng!"
Gu Jiansheng paused for a moment, but quickly regained his footing and looked in the direction of the sound, where he indeed saw He Huaizhi's figure.
He Huaizhi's expression was filled with pain and melancholy. A bruise had appeared on the bridge of his nose at some point, but it did not detract from his appearance. Instead, it amplified the fragile feeling brought about by that melancholy.
He Huaizhi was undoubtedly handsome, but in Gu Jiansheng's eyes, he was like a demon, full of genuine scheming and malice.
"Jian Sheng, what are you doing here?"
He Huaizhi took a few steps closer.
He originally intended to catch up with Zhou Lexing to see what Zhou Lexing and Liu Wu were up to, but he didn't expect that the two of them would disappear in the meantime, and instead he ran into Gu Jiansheng.
Although he has no interest in Gu Jiansheng now, the Gu family will come looking for their only child sooner or later. He Huaizhi will have to recruit him sooner or later to gain his first source of support, so he will not let go of any opportunity to get close to him.
Gu Jiansheng's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, a flash of hatred and anger passing by, but it did not escape He Huaizhi's keen eyes. He felt much more at ease and revealed a somewhat sad smile.
"I ran into Zhou Lexing earlier, and I don't know what I did to offend him, but he keeps bothering me..."
Showing vulnerability appropriately is one of the important ways to deepen emotional bonds.
Of course, incidentally smearing Zhou Lexing to alienate and sow discord between Zhou Lexing and Gu Jiansheng is an essential bonus.
The natural intimacy between the two that He Huaizhi had witnessed earlier was still vividly etched in his mind.
Gu Jiansheng glanced at the wound on He Huaizhi's nose, a flash of malice crossing his eyes, but his tone was very gentle: "Do you want me to help you treat it?"
He Huaizhi smiled and said, "Won't this be too much trouble for you?"
Gu Jiansheng looked directly at him and said, word by word, "Of course not."
.
County Police Station
"Le Xing, how about we ask your mom to get you some talisman water later?"
After Zhou Lexing finally finished giving his statement, he heard Old Yang, who was sneaking up to him, whispering something to him.
Seeing Zhou Lexing's bewildered expression, Old Yang sighed, "Ever since you kowtowed, one thing after another has happened. Luck is a complicated thing. Although it was strictly regulated a few years ago, recently even those who make paper offerings have started to show their faces. The heat should have died down, so we'll secretly help you get rid of this bad luck. That rice-counting old woman in Lijia Village is very effective..."
Zhou Lexing was both amused and exasperated. He was about to refuse, but then he thought about his own experience of time travel and realized that it was really hard to explain these mystical things.
What Zhou Lexing couldn't understand the most was, if the plot couldn't be changed, then why did fate bring him into this world?
His brief moment of distraction led Old Yang to mistakenly believe he was wavering, so he quickly pressed his advantage: "I'll take care of this for you. While you're at it, go to the village chief's house and settle things with Zhou Laozhuang. If you delay like this, that old guy will start playing dead. Today he'll say he saw a ghost, tomorrow he'll say he has one leg in his coffin. Then it'll be even harder to get the debt back..."
Old Yang kept talking, and Zhou Lexing didn't interrupt him. He knew that Old Yang was only concerned about him, and all he had done was help him repair a tractor.
Zhou Lexing couldn't quite describe the feelings in his heart. This world was so real; everyone had their own story, their own preferences, and a future that was constantly moving forward. But then there was He Huaizhi's appearance and Gu Jiansheng's relationship...
Zhou Lexing frowned.
"There it is!"
Zhou Lexing's thoughts were still drifting when he heard someone shout in the hall. He looked up and saw a familiar face.
"Huh? Isn't this Xiao Zhou?"
Chen Libang led two people over, and after a brief moment of surprise, they immediately approached him warmly to try and get closer.
"What, it's you? Are you alright?" Chen Libang came to pick up the person. Things have been tense lately, and he has explicitly forbidden his men from causing trouble during this period. But causing trouble is one thing, collecting debts is another. He just didn't expect to run into a brick wall so quickly.
Before coming here, Chen Libang was thinking of meeting this debtor who dared to fight back. Even if he couldn't deal with the other party right now, he had plenty of ways to make the other party suffer. But he didn't expect that this trip would give him a 'surprise'.
Chen Libang cursed inwardly, but on the surface he still wore a kind smile and stepped forward to pat Zhou Lexing on the shoulder.
Zhou Lexing looked up at him, but there was no smile on his face: "So it was you."
Chen Libang: "Hey, hey, hey, Xiao Zhou, you can't say that."
"I really value smart people like you. If I found out these kids were going to cause you trouble, I'd break their legs first!"
These days, skilled technical personnel are hard to find.
Recently, individual business owners have been popping up one after another, and Chen Libang naturally did not miss out. He was planning to use the connections and savings he had accumulated from his earlier years of speculation to open a factory that made mechanical parts and equipment. He originally thought of having Xu Laosi as a partner, but now that there was a better option, he naturally had his own plans.
Chen Libang has recently thoroughly investigated Zhou Lexing's background, but he didn't expect that before he could even start recruiting him, his subordinates would cause him trouble.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely give you an explanation for this!"
Zhou Lexing shook his head: "No need, just don't let me see you again."
Chen Libang's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He cursed these good-for-nothings in his heart, but he still managed a smile on his face: "What's so difficult about that? Don't worry, with your Uncle Chen here, I definitely won't let these blind fools cause you any more trouble."
"How much do you owe the shop? I'll settle it for you here. I'll also have someone buy some dried goods for you to take back and calm your nerves."
Zhou Lexing was as impenetrable as a fortress, rejecting them all.
This is different from previous car repair jobs; I won't accept a reward without having done the work.
Even if Zhou Lexing couldn't figure out the man's purpose in recruiting him, he was familiar with this approach, and moreover...
I don't owe you anything.
Chen Libang's eyelids twitched. He knew that things were not as simple as he had imagined. He also noticed that Zhou Lexing was becoming increasingly resistant to him. He decided to put aside the matter of recruiting Zhou Lexing for the time being and instead find out what was going on.
“Hey,” Chen Libang stood up again, supporting his knees, his amiable elder demeanor unchanged. “I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter.”
After Chen Libang left, Old Yang came over again: "Lexing, this guy is no good. You'd better stay away from him."
Although this person looks harmless, the things he did in previous years can be described as ruthless.
This kind of person is like a venomous snake; you never know when they might bite someone nearby.
Xu Laosi has been keeping a low profile lately, but no one knows when Chen Libang will lash out. In Lao Yang's view, they are all criminal gangs that should be eradicated.
Zhou Lexing: "Yes, I know."
Each getting what they want and colluding with each other are not the same thing.
As they were talking, they saw Liu Wu come out after giving his statement. His eyes scanned the crowd, and as soon as he saw Zhou Lexing, he immediately came over.
"Are you alright?" Liu Wu asked hesitantly.
Zhou Lexing glanced at him: "What do you think could happen to me?"
Liu Wu got stuck.
That's hard to say.
After all, he had witnessed the miserable state of the people who had fought with Zhou Lexing. Compared to them, Zhou Lexing could be considered to have escaped unscathed, but Zhou Lexing gave him a different feeling.
This victory did not seem to bring Zhou Lexing much joy.
Liu Wu: "Well, I'm definitely taking care of this. Who knows how many despicable things Li Hubing and Zhou Dongqiang have done together? I'll make sure Li Hubing pays when I get back!"
Zhou Lexing was somewhat surprised: "I didn't expect you to have such a strong sense of justice."
Liu Wu was taken aback by Zhou Lexing's seemingly casual remark, unsure whether Zhou Lexing was being sarcastic or telling the truth. However, seeing that Zhou Lexing remained uninterested, he simply swallowed back his subsequent barrage of protests and questions, snorted, and sat down obediently.
After the case was prepared and the group was about to leave, Chen Libang came again. Logically, he should have sought to understand Zhou Lexing, the "victim," but this matter clearly displeased Zhou Lexing, thus creating a minor grudge.
Chen Libang hadn't given up on recruiting Zhou Lexing, so he simply let the young men go in for a few days to learn a lesson, and also gave Zhou Lexing a red envelope to calm his nerves.
Zhou Lexing naturally refused to accept it, and had no intention of dealing with him.
"Wait, at least take this phone number. If you feel unwell, call this number and someone will come to me. Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility for this."
Chen Libang still had that same friendly, smiling look. Zhou Lexing glanced at him and actually took the piece of paper with the phone number written on it.
Seeing Zhou Lexing and his men walk away, Chen Libang's men were very indignant.
"Brother Chen, this guy's got some tough bones, how about we..."
The hostility in his words was palpable, but Chen Libang simply waved his hand dismissively.
“Which young person doesn’t have a temper? Things are different now than they were a few years ago. You guys are all seasoned veterans. If you don’t recognize the situation, we’ll be the first ones targeted by the authorities. Be smart and stop shouting for war at the drop of a hat.”
After saying this casually, Chen Libang changed the subject: "Everyone has a weakness. As long as we cater to his preferences, how can we not win over such a young upstart?"
Those around Chen Libang naturally echoed his sentiments.
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