thought
"Don't touch me!"
Before Li Cheng could even get close to Gu Jiansheng, the man had already slipped behind Zhou Lexing.
He gritted his teeth in hatred, and his pent-up anger was directed at Li Dagang. He grabbed Li Dagang's hand that was on his shoulder and pulled it away forcefully.
Before Zhou Lexing could figure out what was going on, he saw his underlings about to start fighting.
He frowned, reached out and grabbed the arms of the two who were pulling on each other, twisted them in one direction, and the two of them let go in pain.
"What's going on?"
Zhou Lexing let go of their hands and instead put his arm around their shoulders, pulling them to the left and right sides to create a safe distance.
"Brother Le! Ah Cheng is unhappy with Gu Xiaozi and is about to..."
Having finally caught up with Zhou Xiaoxiao, she jumped up and shouted that she was complaining before she could even catch her breath, and was immediately pinned down by Zhou Bobo.
"Would it kill you to say less?!"
Zhou Bobo felt the death stare that Li Cheng was giving him, and his head was spinning.
Zhou Lexing looked at Zhou Bobo: "You tell me."
Zhou Bobo glanced at the two people who were being restrained, then at Zhou Xiaobing, who was terrified like a frightened bird. Knowing that he couldn't rely on anyone, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say something.
"Well, Ah Cheng, well, there's a little misunderstanding about Gu, uh, I mean about Jian Sheng, cough, well..."
Li Cheng immediately retorted angrily, "I'll say it myself!"
Everyone immediately looked at Zhou Lexing, who didn't stop them and even let go of the two people. He never expected that Li Cheng's next question would leave him completely dumbfounded.
"Brother Le, why do you always protect this kid?! You've helped him so much, and he just left without a word. He's obviously an ingrate! Now he suddenly reappears and is leading you by the nose again! You can tolerate it, but I can't!"
There was a brief silence around the tractor, broken only by Li Cheng's heavy breathing and the clicking sounds of Old Yang smoking as he watched the spectacle.
Zhou Lexing wasn't angry, though he noticed that everyone was subtly watching his expression.
Ultimately, these henchmen left behind by the original owner didn't know much of the inside story; they were simply standing up for him. To be honest, there might also have been a bit of resentment mixed in with their boss not wanting to associate with them anymore.
“He’s my brother too.” Zhou Lexing considered for a moment. “I’m not helping him because I want him to do anything for me. He just happens to be someone I like. Aren’t you all people I brought together one by one?”
“If you two don’t get along, I won’t force you to be together. Jian Sheng has come all this way, so let’s have a welcome dinner for him today. Acheng, why don’t you go back first? We can get together another day.”
Zhou Lexing's words can be described as kind and gentle.
Although he wasn't as open and honest with the original owner as he was with the original team, he still showed them respect and offered help whenever possible.
Zhou Lexing also knew that the fate between people could not be forced. Some people just dislike each other. Forcing two people to stay together might cause some trouble.
If Gu Jiansheng were to recall some sad memories and run away again, there would be no reasoning with him.
Gu Jiansheng, who appeared timid, weak, and kind in Zhou Lexing's eyes, took a step outward. His gaze swept past Zhou Lexing in front of him and met the eyes of Li Cheng, who was glaring angrily. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and the corners of his mouth seemed to be curving up. Instantly, the nameless fire in Li Cheng's heart flared up again, and the instinctive awe he felt for Zhou Lexing disappeared under the burning nameless fire.
"Brother Le, I've been your brother for years! You took Bobo and Dagang out to make your fortune, fine! But is that coward Gu Jiansheng more important than me?! Has he ever done anything for you?! He's just an opportunist..."
Zhou Lexing frowned and reached out to pat Li Cheng on the shoulder.
This wasn't a particularly forceful blow, but it immediately silenced Li Cheng's thoughtless remark.
Li Cheng stared at Zhou Lexing, who had a stern face in front of him, and a sudden surge of inexplicable grievances and bitterness welled up in his heart, causing his eyes to redden in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Lexing was speechless. The anger that hadn't yet ignited was extinguished by his underling's tearful appearance: "I don't expect you to be friends with Jian Sheng, but even with a stranger, you should still have basic respect. Don't say those annoying things."
"Furthermore, I treat you all equally." Zhou Lexing paused, noticing that Li Cheng's body was trembling slightly and he dared not blink, for fear that he would really shed tears.
Although Zhou Lexing had lost his temper with Li Cheng's increasingly turbulent emotions over the past two years, he still patiently comforted him, saying, "If you can convince your parents, you can come with us after the New Year."
Li Cheng was the only son in his family, who hoped he could make the family's pig-raising business successful. Therefore, whenever Li Cheng had the idea of leaving Li Family Village, his parents would be the first to stand up and oppose it.
This was the first time Zhou Lexing had heard resentment in Li Cheng's words about the matter, but even the parties involved couldn't sort out such family matters, so it was really inappropriate for an outsider like him to take on too much responsibility.
But these words seemed to strike Li Cheng's weak spot, and tears streamed down his face.
He immediately raised his arm to wipe it, shouting as he did so, "You're just favoring those few! Do you think I can't see through you?!"
Zhou Lexing was completely at a loss. This young man in his early twenties was yelling at him like he was a heartless man. Before Zhou could even respond, the young man turned and ran away.
Another suffocating silence fell beside the tractor.
Zhou Lexing kept a straight face under the cautious and probing gazes of everyone. After a while, he turned to look at Gu Jiansheng, only to find that Gu Jiansheng had been staring at him for who knows how long. There was no mischievousness in his eyes as a friend, but rather an expression that Zhou Lexing found unfamiliar.
Although Zhou Lexing couldn't quite put his finger on it, he instinctively felt something was off. But as soon as Gu Jiansheng met his gaze, he lowered his eyes and parted his tightly pursed lips slightly.
"Should we go back instead..."
“It’s alright,” Zhou Lexing replied immediately. “Get in the car, I’ll talk to him later.”
When people are excited, it's actually difficult for them to receive outside messages. It's better to wait until Li Cheng calms down before talking to him.
Zhou Lexing had never imagined that Li Cheng would have such a strong possessive desire for the original owner. The fact that this kind of situation, in which he felt he had excessive ownership over his playmates when he was young, appeared in an adult male made Zhou Lexing feel that something was really wrong.
He had never dealt with this situation before.
As Zhou Lexing drove the tractor into town, he couldn't help but think about the matter. It was the excited laughter of the onlookers who got off the tractor that brought him back to reality.
"Are you alright?" Gu Jiansheng looked up at him, his hand subconsciously rising slightly as if to grab him, but then somehow it stopped in mid-air.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Lexing immediately put his arm around Gu Jiansheng's shoulder and pulled him close, his tone as relaxed as possible: "What could possibly be wrong with me?"
"Let's go, you can choose whatever you want."
The crowd cheered, especially Zhou Xiaoxiao, who was in her teens and almost jumped up. She darted out in an instant.
"I'll choose! I'll choose!"
Everyone showed the utmost patience towards the youngest brother in the group, and no one had any objections.
Gu Jiansheng deliberately slowed his pace, letting Zhou Lexing lag behind the others, before asking softly, "Are you and Li Cheng on good terms?"
Zhou Lexing thought for a moment and said, "Hmm."
Gu Jiansheng: "I think he..."
Zhou Lexing waited, but didn't hear the rest: "What?"
Gu Jiansheng shook his head: "It's nothing, I'm probably overthinking it."
Zhou Lexing couldn't help but become curious: "What exactly happened? Tell me about it."
Gu Jiansheng turned to look at him, and from this angle, the corners of Gu Jiansheng's eyes appeared upturned, giving him a slightly mischievous look: "No, it doesn't seem right to talk about others behind their backs."
"Brother Le! Over here!"
The first few people to enter the store greeted the customers loudly.
As the year draws to a close, many people have extra money and are happy to eat better, so restaurants are doing quite well.
As soon as their conversation was interrupted, Gu Jiansheng lowered his eyes again, took a few quick steps into the shop, and immediately disappeared into the crowd.
Zhou Lexing was a step behind, and he felt his curiosity had been inexplicably piqued, making it difficult to erase the casual conversation he had just exchanged.
Really.
Zhou Lexing felt that today was not a good day for traveling...
At the dinner table, the four people were quite friendly to Gu Jiansheng and took the initiative to talk to him. However, their conversations were full of curiosity about Gu Jiansheng's life over the past three years. Gu Jiansheng looked at everyone, including Zhou Lexing's occasional glances, but did not hide anything.
"The Gu family only looks impressive; they're not actually that wealthy."
"Yeah, my dad doesn't really like me."
"It's just for having more sons."
"Yes, it was a relative of the Gu family who told me. I don't know what kind of relatives they are; they just call me a country bumpkin, but they're not wrong."
"My mom didn't go back."
"I'm doing alright."
Although Gu Jiansheng did not embellish his past three years with tragic embellishments, his nonchalant words revealed a hint of sorrow in his past.
The story vividly portrays a pitiful character who is tricked into going to an unfamiliar city to fulfill her father's power struggles. She is isolated and helpless, and has to deal with the constant harassment from her relatives.
Even Zhou Xiaoxiao, usually so impulsive, was unusually quiet. Most of the sharp questions had come from his mouth, but now he gradually realized something was wrong. He cautiously observed Zhou Lexing's face, which looked like a black pot, and buried his face in his bowl, turning his embarrassment into a good appetite.
Zhou Lexing remained silent, and seeing Gu Jiansheng picking at the rice in his bowl like a chick pecking at rice, he took it upon himself to serve him food.
At least Gu Jiansheng slowly finished all the food he put in his bowl.
After the meal, everyone had become familiar with each other. At least the four underlings had developed several new attributes towards Gu Jiansheng, who used to be a coward, and were much kinder to him.
People tend to sympathize with the weak, gaining a sense of superiority through pity. But who can be sure that the weak cannot benefit from this distorted relationship?
Gu Jiansheng thought indifferently, lowered his eyes and pretended to listen attentively to Zhou Bobo, occasionally glancing at Zhou Lexing, only to find that he was once again lost in thought.
The person most likely to steal his attention right now is Li Cheng.
Gu Jiansheng's hands, hanging by his sides, unconsciously clenched into fists.
"Brother Le, let's go see a movie!" Zhou Xiaoxiao said happily, munching on a fried dough stick and pointing to the movie theater not far away.
The movies in town are shown on a strict schedule, not every day. However, the screenings are still open during the year-end season. When they arrived, the movie had just started.
This place is quite different from the cinemas of the future. It's just a space in the open space under the building where plastic stools and long wooden benches are placed to serve as the audience seating. There are many posters on the outside of the open space that have faded a bit after being exposed to the wind and sun for a while. Tickets only cost 50 cents.
Zhou Lexing paid the money and found a seat at the very back.
Zhou Xiaoxiao led the others ahead, but Gu Jiansheng noticed that he hadn't followed and got up to come over.
"Is something on your mind?"
Gu Jiansheng sat down beside him, his soft voice like a feather fluttering in the wind, casually brushing against one's heart and stirring up ripples.
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