Movie
"I wouldn't say I have anything on my mind."
If Li Cheng really took this matter seriously, it would be like a child's quarrel. But precisely because the reason was heavily influenced by personal emotions, Zhou Lexing didn't know how to handle it for the time being.
Should we really let him go along with Li Cheng's wishes, reveal his true feelings, and say those high-sounding words that show his deepest affection for him?
This doesn't seem like a close friend or brother at all; it's more like a heartless man who's juggling multiple relationships.
Zhou Lexing felt goosebumps all over his body just thinking about it.
Gu Jiansheng: "It's my fault. If I hadn't tried to build a good relationship with them, things wouldn't have been like this..."
Zhou Lexing reached out and patted his shoulder: "What does this have to do with you? I've taken care of everything. Making friends is a matter of fate."
As Zhou Lexing spoke, he couldn't help but think back to the time when he and Gu Jiansheng first met.
Although he approached Gu Jiansheng against Zhou Yuanxiang's advice, in the end, it was because Gu Jiansheng's appearance was so appealing to him that he was a perfect match for her looks.
Zhou Lexing couldn't help but smile.
Gu Jiansheng looked at him, his hand resting on the bench making a small semicircle on it: "If you're worried about Li Cheng, why don't we go back first?"
Rather than letting Zhou Lexing and Li Cheng be alone together later, it's better to let him go together now.
Gu Jiansheng was certain that he would never let Li Cheng stand out.
He's just a fool who acts on impulse.
Zhou Lexing shook his head: "Watch your movie, don't think about those things." Jian Sheng is just too sensitive, always easily blaming himself for other people's problems. He must have suffered a lot of grievances because of this when he was with Gu Jia.
Feeling sorry for Gu Jiansheng's suffering, Zhou Lexing turned around and bought some snacks from the vendors outside the movie theater to distribute.
The four underlings were all very happy, but Gu Jiansheng's smile seemed somewhat forced.
I really can't eat anymore.
Gu Jiansheng looked at the golden-brown fried potatoes in his hand, then turned to Zhou Lexing, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zhou Lexing immediately thought of Gu Jiansheng's unfinished words about Li Cheng, and immediately lowered his head to get close to his face: "You have something to say to your brother?"
"Don't be afraid, say whatever you want, I'll just let it go in one ear and out the other, I definitely won't take it to heart." Zhou Lexing's irritating curiosity, which had been suppressed for so long, was about to pop up as soon as he saw an opportunity.
Gu Jiansheng opened and closed his lips slightly, looking at Zhou Lexing up close. He was momentarily distracted, but quickly regained his composure. After thinking for a moment, he felt that the time was about right.
If Zhou Lexing went to see Li Cheng first before returning, then his words would be less reliable.
"Hmm..." Gu Jiansheng looked to the other side, as if embarrassed to look at Zhou Lexing, "Actually, I was just imagining things."
Zhou Lexing: "You're just imagining things, I'm just listening. It doesn't matter."
Gu Jiansheng's gaze slowly drifted back: "It's just my guess, it's not necessarily true. It seems like saying this wouldn't be good for Li Cheng..."
Zhou Lexing's curiosity had been hanging in the air for a while, but upon hearing this, he observed Gu Jiansheng's expression to judge his intentions. He then took a slight step back, as if he was really going to give up asking questions.
Gu Jiansheng's eyelashes fluttered, and he blurted out, "I'm telling you, but you can't tell anyone else, okay?"
Zhou Lexing stopped retreating.
Regardless of the content of this little secret, the way Gu Jiansheng uttered these childlike words was so... so...
cute.
Zhou Lexing nodded slowly.
Gu Jiansheng stared at him, as if to ascertain Zhou Lexing's sincerity.
Zhou Lexing did not flinch, and the two stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
The protagonist's impassioned red-themed lines at the beginning of the movie spurred the audience's emotions to a fever pitch. Even though the movie had been shown several times, viewers still couldn't help but whisper their thoughts about this scene, as if they wished they could step into the movie and experience it for themselves.
“Li Cheng,” Gu Jiansheng finally spoke, his gaze slowly sliding down from Zhou Lexing’s bright eyes, “the things he said didn’t sound like he considered you a friend… it sounded like he considered you his girlfriend… I’ve seen it at the Gu family home… men can actually…”
The intentionally distorted words, because of the gaps in their delivery, actually filled Zhou Lexing's mind with a wealth of details.
Zhou Lexing was stunned for a moment.
This statement contains a lot of information.
He paused for a moment, then asked his first question: "What did you see at the Gu family's house...?"
This is a melodramatic gay romance novel; all the men surrounding the protagonist are gay, which doesn't seem like a difficult thing to understand, but...
"You..." Zhou Lexing fumbled with his suddenly impoverished vocabulary, "In the Gu family, no... um, has anyone bullied you?"
Li Jianshan, who lurked in the mountain pass of Zhoujia Village to harass men, and Zhou Dongqiang, who dared to climb the wall in the middle of the day, both showed a different, ferocious face in Zhou Lexing's memory at this moment, making him clench his fists involuntarily.
Gu Jiansheng felt somewhat helpless, but he also sensed a sweet concern in her words: "I'm fine. They..." He didn't dare.
But he certainly couldn't say that.
“They usually avoid me when they see me, probably because they think I'm an eyesore.” Gu Jiansheng’s nonchalant words easily had a chain reaction effect. “But it’s good this way. Apart from not being able to go out freely, I’m living a pretty peaceful life.”
He would seize every opportunity to drag He Huaizhi into the swamp. He Huaizhi had also set up many traps and dangers around him. Therefore, Gu Jiansheng did not go out often to avoid being murdered under the pretext of robbery, kidnapping, or car accident.
Gu Jiansheng did not return to Zhoujia Village, nor did he dare to contact Zhou Lexing, because he was worried that he might implicate Zhou Lexing before he had a firm foothold in the family. However, the letters related to Zhou Lexing were still delivered to the Gu residence smoothly every month.
"You..." Zhou Lexing wanted to say something, but then felt that his words were too weak. It seemed that nothing he said now could undo the hurt Gu Jiansheng had suffered, so he changed the subject, "Are you going back after the New Year?"
Gu Jiansheng didn't mind Zhou Lexing skipping over the topic of Li Cheng; sometimes, avoiding the topic meant that the words had taken to heart.
When an idea takes root in one's heart, it's only a matter of time before it silently changes a person.
“Yes.” Gu Jiansheng nodded. “If I don’t go back, they will definitely come looking for me.”
The climax of the film has come to an end, and the gradually concluding plot, with its gentle and calm tone, begins to distract the audience who were initially focused.
"If, I mean if," Zhou Lexing scratched his face, "after the New Year, I'll take you away. Would you like to come with me?"
Gu Jiansheng's heart pounded wildly at first, but then he calmed down under Zhou Lexing's gaze, which was full of pity and care, but absolutely not related to infatuation or love.
"I……"
"Brother Le, Brother Le," Zhou Bobo ran up behind us with a hunched back, followed by a string of tails, "There's nothing to see in the back. We're planning to go to the supply and marketing cooperative now."
Zhou Lexing turned his head and glanced at it, then nodded: "Go ahead."
That string of tails followed Zhou Bobo away.
Zhou Lexing turned to look at Gu Jiansheng again. Gu Jiansheng smiled at him but did not continue with the previous question. Zhou Lexing then understood.
There was disappointment, of course, but more than disappointment, there was confusion.
"You think I can't protect you?"
If that's the case, then in Gu Jiansheng's eyes, the Gu family shouldn't just be a large family with a little extra money.
Zhou Lexing thought about it carefully. Although the history of this world did not completely match the era he knew, the main plot was roughly the same. A large family that was able to avoid the chaos of the early years and survive, and lead many relatives of the same surname to seize the opportunity and rise up immediately, with some power and even some involvement in the underworld, seemed to fit the setting quite well.
Gu Jiansheng was unaware that Zhou Lexing had gleaned a general outline from a single statement, but ultimately, the nominal head of the Gu family was still his current adoptive mother, Gu Ruijin. Therefore, even if Zhou Lexing knew the depths of the Gu family, it wouldn't affect his future plans.
I don't want you to get hurt because of me.
Instead of directly answering the question, Gu Jiansheng took the opportunity to express many of his thoughts that were buried deep in his heart.
“In the future,” Gu Jiansheng looked down at his hands clasped on his knees, “if in the future… if you still care about me then, I will definitely want to be with you.”
The film's drawn-out ending caused distracted viewers to start talking about their own things, making the small elevated space suddenly noisy.
The projectionist sat to the side, yawned, and offered no comment on the situation.
"Don't worry." Zhou Lexing put his arm around Gu Jiansheng's shoulder and hugged him tightly. "I will always be on your side."
This impromptu trip to the town was a delightful affair for both hosts and guests, especially after Zhou Lexing helped them settle their accounts with the supply and marketing cooperative, which added an extra layer of joy to the group.
"Brother Le, it's so nice to go out with you." Zhou Xiaoxiao exclaimed from the bottom of her heart, holding peanuts, hawthorn rolls and rice sticks in her arms, unable to suppress her smile.
Zhou Lexing glanced at him and bluntly exposed the kid: "You think it's nice to go out with my wallet, not with me."
Zhou Xiaoxiao chuckled, took a few quick steps, and jumped onto the truck bed in one go.
Although Zhou Bobo's family situation has greatly improved since he started earning money outside, and Zhou Xiaoxiao's face has become chubby, his round figure in winter clothes still lives up to his nickname "monkey".
"Brother Le, are you going to look for Acheng after you go back?" Li Dagang asked, his eyes still filled with trepidation. "How about I go with you?"
Li Cheng's temper has indeed been quite bad these past two years, and he was afraid that Li Cheng would anger Zhou Lexing.
Moreover, Li Dagang believed he could at least figure out some of his longtime friend's hidden thoughts.
When they were teenagers, they longed to travel around like the heroes in the movies. Later, they became fascinated by the gangster spirit of the Young and Dangerous movies. Zhou Lexing led him and Zhou Bobo to a coastal city that they had only ever glimpsed in movies.
However, the high spirits and ostentatious displays portrayed in those movies can only be truly appreciated when you actually go there; they are merely products of cinematic embellishment.
For ordinary people like them, their daily lives are filled with unscrupulous merchants selling inferior goods, haggling customers, and cramped, stuffy rental rooms.
But whether it was complaining or reporting good news, for Li Cheng, who couldn't get what he wanted, it was all tinged with a sense of boasting. Even his longtime friends became repulsive under this veneer.
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