Chapter 26
Shang Mu slid the screen, and another icon appeared. It was the icon of the live broadcast software.
Zhou Wangchuan: “…”
Shang Mu opened the photo album, his slender fingers sliding across the screen, revealing the screenshots he had just captured. Two accounts, several pages of barrage messages, each one crystal clear.
Most comments were like, "Take care of yourself, host," "It's late, get off the air," "One pill is enough," "Host, eat something before testing the new drug," "Host's face looks thinner, get some rest," "Button up your clothes, don't catch a cold"...
A few comments were, "The anchor's collarbone is so beautiful," "How come the anchor's jaw is so beautiful," "The anchor is the most beautiful person I have ever seen"...
There was another one: "Long time no see, I miss you so much." This was posted using a secondary account when I was attending a seminar abroad.
Of course, most of them are incomprehensible Martian languages.
Zhou Wangchuan: “…”
Shang Mu opened another album. It was an encrypted one, but he'd managed to unlock it. Inside was a sea of screenshots, all of his livestreams. Most of them showed him with his head lowered; it seemed the person who took the screenshots liked the lines of his cheek when he looked down.
Zhou Wangchuan: “…”
He turned around, locked the door of the clinic, and returned to the desk.
Shang Mu raised his head, stared at him lightly, and tapped the phone screen with his fingertips: "Explain."
Zhou Wangchuan coughed lightly and said, "I'm afraid you might hurt yourself, so I'm watching the live broadcast."
Shang Mu smiled faintly: "You mean, you think I have no sense of propriety?"
Zhou Wangchuan immediately said, "Of course not. You certainly know your limits."
"Heh." Shang Mu laughed coldly, flipped through the pictures again, and began to interrogate, "When did you start looking at it?"
Zhou Wangchuan said vaguely: "It was... the weekend when you said you would go back to school for self-study."
Shang Mu recalled it for a moment, his expression gradually becoming incredulous: "You started watching it the first time?"
Zhou Wangchuan looked up at the sky: "Yeah."
That year, Zhou Wangchuan learned of Shang Mu's hobby, and the two began arguing. On the Saturday they were supposed to meet, Shang Mu sent a message saying he had to study, his words cold and angry. Zhou Wangchuan bought roses and a diamond ring and drove to the school to pick him up. While they were waiting, a message popped up on the live streaming app.
"The new anchor [Masked Man] has become so popular among "People Nearby", come and check it out~"
I wanted to close the message, but accidentally clicked on it and went straight into the live broadcast room of [Masked Man]. It was the first time I saw the heavy and exquisite brass rose mask.
Shang Mu asked: "How do you know it's me?"
Zhou Wangchuan said: "The background of the live broadcast is the school dormitory."
Shang Mu: "It could also be other alumni."
Zhou Wangchuan looked at him for a while, sighed, bent down, put one hand around his knees and the other around his waist, picked him up and put him on the table.
Shang Mu had been hugged by him once yesterday, and now he was completely calm, even straightening his waist slightly.
"Baby, do you think I can't recognize your voice or your face?" Zhou Wangchuan stood in front of him, cupping his cheeks with both hands and gently stroking his delicate jawline. He thought back to the recorder. "What can a mask cover? Even if you turned to ash, I would still recognize you."
Shang Mu was shocked when he heard this sour and corny remark, "What are you talking about?"
Zhou Wangchuan remained calm: "Even if I only saw a strand of your hair, I would still recognize you."
Shang Mu said: "You knew it was a recorder, and you listened to the contents."
Zhou Wangchuan: "Yes."
Shang Mu: "You know that going to the company to work overtime every Wednesday is just an excuse."
Zhou Wangchuan: "Yes."
"You know I'll take medicine to hurt my stomach."
"yes."
"That time when you saw the mask in the hotel, you were pretending not to know."
"……yes."
"Then I asked you if you enjoyed watching it, why are you still pretending to be stupid in front of me?!" Half a month ago, Zhou Wangchuan was abroad, and he called him right after the show ended. He became suspicious and deliberately asked him unexpectedly, "Did you enjoy watching it?" Most normal people would reply with "It's okay" or "Very happy", but this guy asked back doubtfully and simply, "What?", as if he was really innocent!
Shang Mu said woodenly: "You have practiced the art of speaking and traps, and you used it on me."
Zhou Wangchuan: “…”
He moved forward and put his arms around Shang Mu's waist, their noses touching. He gently kissed Shang Mu's lips and called out, "Baby."
He pecked the lips again: "Good baby."
Shang Mu sneered: "It's no use calling me dad."
Zhou Wangchuan: “…”
"I was afraid you'd get angry after you knew, and anger is harmful to your health, so I didn't tell you. I was wrong." Zhou Wangchuan said, "I will report everything in the future."
Shang Mu took a deep breath, and the emotions he had been suppressing for so long finally burst out: "Are you crazy?!"
"Did you know the platform takes half of the money?! You're stupid and have a lot of money, right?! If you have that spare money, why don't you just transfer it directly?!"
"I thought I was making some extra money from live streaming, but now, I've lost more than I earned!"
Zhou Wangchuan readily agreed: "Next time I will definitely transfer the money directly."
"Okay, baby, don't be angry anymore, okay?" He gently rubbed Shang Mu's waist and coaxed him in a low voice, "Let's go eat first, okay? Your stomach isn't well yet, so you can't miss dinner. You still have to take medicine after dinner."
Shang Mu gradually calmed down and weighed in his mind what purpose he could achieve by using this matter.
Using abuse as a bargaining chip for forgiveness? Shang Mu immediately rejected the idea, thinking it was too direct, too inelegant. He wanted to play slowly, not smash the chessboard.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhou Wangchuan said, "Let's go buy a beautiful parrot."
Shang Mu jumped down from the table and smiled slightly: "Okay."
Zhou Wangchuan was surprised at his calmness and hurried to catch up with him.
Shang Mu strode ahead, thinking to himself that he would record this account first, and when Zhou Wangchuan's guilt accumulated to a critical point, he would take advantage of the situation and make that request.
After lunch, Shang Mu asked Zhou Wangchuan for the car keys, saying that he was going somewhere in the afternoon.
Zhou Wangchuan knew where he was going.
About a month ago, he had secured medical parole and placed Shang Mu's father in a nursing home. The cancer had spread throughout his body, and the once sinister, sneaky middle-aged man was nearing death, clinging to life on a ventilator and nutrient solution.
Zhou Wangchuan went to see him. The man on the hospital bed was haggard and weak, and had basically lost his physiological functions. He could only convey slight emotions through his cloudy eyes.
"Don't let your emotions get too high, or you'll get upset." After sending Shang Mu to the car, Zhou Wangchuan leaned against the window and said to him, "Call me anytime."
He did not specify Shang Mu's destination, but Shang Mu understood his intention.
The car drove all the way to the suburbs. While waiting for the red light, Shang Mu lit a mint cigarette and let the smoke sink into his lungs.
After arriving at the nursing home, he registered at the front desk and was led by the nurse to the outside of the ward.
Before pushing the door open, the nurse lowered her voice and said, "The condition is very bad. He is very conscious for a short time. I guess..." She paused and didn't say anything else.
Shang Mu entered the ward and looked at the person on the bed.
He was so thin that only bones and skin remained. His hair had completely fallen out. The oxygen mask almost covered his entire emaciated face. His whole body exuded the smell of decay and decay. If it weren't for the slow and gentle rise and fall of his chest, Shang Mu would have almost thought it was a corpse.
He paused. He was simply wondering how such a frail and withered man could have possessed such immense strength. Like a heavy and terrifying mountain, he pressed down on him and his mother, crushing his mother to death and nearly bending his back.
The nurse quietly left and closed the door.
The sound of the door closing brought Shang Mu back to his senses. He pulled over a chair and sat down beside the bed.
Since that summer night when Zhou Wangchuan took his wrist and led him out of the dark alley, he had never seen the man in the bed again.
He studied the man on the bed for a moment, trying to find any similarities between him and the tall, tyrannical man.
After an unknown amount of time, the unconscious person slowly opened his eyes. At first, they were dull and wooden, but then, as if recognizing Shang Mu, the light in them gradually focused.
Shang Mu smiled nonchalantly: "It seems that you still know me."
The man's breathing quickened and his eyes widened.
"Let's chat." Shang Mu played with his car keys and said calmly, "I've had a good life these years. How about you?"
This statement is sincere.
He began earning his own tuition after graduating from junior high school, initially tutoring classmates and delivering food. Later, he modeled for clothing brands, managing to live comfortably on his own while in college. After graduation, he became a designer. His aesthetic and design talent earned him recognition from numerous clients and brands, putting him within striking distance of becoming chief designer.
Before dating Zhou Wangchuan, he had learned about his family background. Zhou Wangchuan's father was one of the earliest and most influential figures in finance and real estate, amassing an immense fortune. Zhou Wangchuan's mother was a daughter of one of the most powerful families in the area, wielding considerable influence in both business and politics.
He was just an orphan who had been without a father or a mother since he was very young.
But he has never felt inferior, because he has reached where he is today through hard work and dedication, and his back has never been bent.
Although he occasionally had some stubborn insistence, for example, when the two bought a house, he insisted on paying half of the money, for example, he would return the gifts Zhou Wangchuan gave him with equal value, and for example, he would refuse some of Zhou Wangchuan's help.
In his life, he had only ever felt inferior for one thing, and that was that he thought Zhou Wangchuan just pitied him, not loved him.
To be fair, he is living a pretty good life today.
The man on the bed opened his mouth in vain, but no sound came out.
Shang Mu could now see some familiarity. The man's eyes were still the same as they had been many years ago, greedy and fierce. These eyes brought him back many years ago.
My mother's heart-wrenching screams and cries. The crash of tables, chairs, and benches crashing to the floor. The man's swearing and curse words. The excruciating pain of a broken right leg. Bruises all over my body. The dark, cold room. Hunger.
Shang Mu discovered that he wasn't as indifferent as he thought, because his stomach began to cramp.
He sat for a moment expressionless, head bowed as if in deep thought. Then, with a pale face, he whispered, "I hope you'll go to the eighteen levels of hell, never to be reborn." His voice was so gentle, like a blessing.
The man widened his cloudy eyes, took a few breaths, and his electrocardiogram began to become unstable.
Shang Mu stared at the oxygen tube, stretched out two slender fingers, and pinched the transparent tube. This tube supplied fresh oxygen to the dying patient, prolonging his life.
And now, the tube is pinched.
The man opened his mouth and gasped rapidly.
Shang Mu gripped the tube loosely, as if strangling a patient's withered throat. He looked at the man's liver-colored face and smiled happily: "It feels very happy to hold someone's life in your hands, right? I feel it now, it's true."
The man's pupils gradually dilated and white foam came out of his mouth.
Shang Mu stared at the eyes of the dying man. These eyes overlapped with the ones in the dark alley in early summer, showing the same fear, helplessness, and pleading.
How miserable, how pitiful, how insignificant.
Shang Mu watched expressionlessly, and then his expression gradually softened as he remembered a warm hand. That hand held his wrist and led him out of the dark alley and into the world filled with flowers and birdsong.
The electrocardiogram machine made a sharp beep and hurried and chaotic footsteps were heard outside the ward.
Shang Mu loosened his fingers.
Soon, the man's breathing returned to normal, but there was obvious fear in his eyes. He opened his mouth in vain and babbled some words that no one could understand.
Before walking out of the ward, Shang Mu looked back for the last time. He saw withering, death and decay, but those filth could no longer affect him in the slightest.
He left without looking back.
When he reached the hospital lobby, his stomach still twisted in fear, he turned pale and slowly sat down on the stairs, holding on to the handrail.
After his breathing became a little calmer, he stood up, walked out of the hall, and called Zhou Wangchuan.
"Senior, come and pick me up." His voice was soft.
Zhou Wangchuan said, "Okay."
Shang Mu said again: "Right now."
Zhou Wangchuan's voice was filled with a hint of laughter: "Why don't you look up?"
Shang Mu was startled and looked up. Zhou Wangchuan was standing next to the car a few dozen steps away, holding a birdcage in his hand.
Seeing him looking over, Zhou Wangchuan lifted the birdcage and smiled at him. A voice came from the receiver and the front at the same time: "Little Blue and Little Green have flown away. I'll buy you Little Red and Little Yellow. Come and see if you like them."
The two looked at each other, and Shang Mu walked slowly over step by step. He walked out of the shadow of the hospital building under the sunlight, and also walked out of the shadow of that man.
Standing in the sunlight, he completely broke with the past.
Zhou Wangchuan hung up the phone, took his hand and led him to the car: "Your hands are so cold, take a rest before you go."
Shang Mu hummed dully.
Zhou Wangchuan waved the birdcage in front of him and said, "Look, a new son and daughter."
Shang Mu blinked, watching intently. The two birds were not at all shy, flapping their wings happily. One red, the other yellow, their colors pure and bright, like two flawless gems.
He said tartly, "Poor little birds! In less than a month, your unreliable father will release you all again."
Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said, "I swore I would never forget to close the screen window again."
"Oh, what if I forget?"
"If you forget, I'll buy you Xiao Zi and Xiao Bai."
Shang Mu laughed out loud: "I'll trust you again for now."
On the way home, Zhou Wangchuan told Shang Mu some interesting stories about his medical treatment. Shang Mu listened attentively while holding the birdcage, and was amused from time to time. He leaned back in his chair and became more relaxed.
The atmosphere in the car was gentle, and both of them spoke softly. As they were waiting for a red light and about to exchange a kiss, the phone suddenly rang through the car's Bluetooth.
The words "Fu Nian" were flashing on the central control screen.
In an instant, both of them remembered the cold war and quarrel more than a month ago, as well as the conflict in the private room of the club.
There was an eerie silence in the car.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
