Chapter 51 Old Friend
Fu Guanshan followed his assistant into the living room. Looking past the heavy floor lamp and coffee table, he saw an old man embedded in the sofa and felt dazed for a moment.
He hasn't seen his father face to face for more than ten years.
Of course, when Kexin went public and expanded its territory, he would see the other party's photo in countless news reports and interviews. But portraits modified by lenses and technology always have some distortion.
It turns out he is so old now.
The wrinkles at the corners of the eyes were imprinted into the skin like knife cuts, and a few age spots were faintly visible on the neck and backs of the hands. Judging from the cane leaning on the sofa, he seemed to have difficulty walking, but his back was very straight and he looked in good spirits. However, it may also be because he wanted to meet Fu Guanshan, so he intentionally put on a majestic attitude.
Fu Guanshan hesitated for a while and did not address the other party by any title, which was too inappropriate.
Zhong Yuan glanced at him and said, "Why aren't you talking? Don't you have something to talk to me about?"
Fu Guanshan said "hmm". Relatives who haven't seen each other for more than ten years can almost be considered strangers, not to mention that when they lived under the same roof, they seemed to have always had difficulty communicating.
Zhong Yuan studied his expression and said, "It must be very important, otherwise you wouldn't have come to see me."
Yes, Fu Guanshan thought, there are very few pairs of fathers and sons in the world who can reach the point of hating each other to this extent.
After his younger brother got into trouble, the man in front of him actually left a mother who had just lost her child and embraced a new family. This is not something a human being can do.
He knew his father hated him too. The words his father said after his brother died were deeply engraved in the mind of a 12-year-old child.
Old events and old grudges flashed through his mind. Fu Guanshan frowned and returned to the topic: "Do you know what Zhong Wenchu is doing recently?"
Zhong Yuan raised his eyes. Fu Guanshan refused to sit down. He was too tall, and Zhong Yuan could only look up at him, which was very uncomfortable for him.
"He's giving me trouble."
Zhong Yuan frowned.
"I know you don't care much about my career," Fu Guanshan said, "but don't you value the company the most? Zhong Wenchu used the company's connections to throw dirty water at me. He's making such a fuss, and you don't care about it?"
Zhong Yuan turned around and waved to his assistant, who then left the room.
"Also," Fu Guanshan said, "he's been pestering my wife's brother like crazy. He framed him before, and now he's acting like a stalker. If this continues, I don't know what he'll do. Isn't this the heir you chose? Wouldn't it be good for the company's image if these things were exposed?"
Zhong Yuan was silent for a moment and said, "I know."
Fu Guanshan stopped talking for a moment and stared at his father in surprise.
"I just retired and rested, not died," Zhong Yuan said. "I talked to him, but he was more stubborn than I thought."
Fu Guanshan waited for a while, but didn't hear anything else. He looked at the other party in disbelief: "And then? Just talk about it? He's almost driving me to death, and you're just going to let him do it?"
Zhong Yuan glanced at him and said, "When will it be your turn to teach me?"
"That's not how you disciplined your son in the beginning," Fu Guanshan said coldly, "or do you just want him to be capable and nothing else matters, even if he's a lunatic?"
"What did you say about your brother?!"
"He's not my brother at all! You can't control the son you raised with your lower body, so don't drag him here and ask me to recognize him as my relative!"
Zhong Yuan stared at him and suddenly calmed down. "Yes," he said, "you always treat your brother like this."
Fu Guanshan felt a buzzing in his head, blood rushed up, and his temples throbbed.
This is a sick old man, he reminded himself, and he must not take action.
They stared at each other in silence, as if they both wanted to pierce each other with their eyes.
After a long while, Zhong Yuan said, "I will ask him to withdraw those things. As a director, he really shouldn't do such a boring thing."
Fu Guanshan looked at him, and suddenly twitched the corners of his mouth, his smile full of sarcasm. "I haven't thought of this possibility before," he said, "You don't want to manage it, but you can't manage it anymore, right? They and their son have sidelined you?"
Zhong Yuan's eyes were fixed on his face, and the wrinkles around his lips began to tremble. “A person who doesn’t even know the fiscal year,” he said, “should not comment on the company’s affairs.”
Fu Guanshan shrugged. "Well," he said, "I hope you can show your fatherly dignity this time."
Zhong Yuan seemed to be about to say something, but Fu Guanshan had already turned and left.
He walked out of the empty house and garden, and when he was almost at the gate he looked back again. He thought he would run into his stepmother, but it seemed that only Zhongyuan lived here, and maybe a nanny.
He stood there, and except for the sound of the wind and the swaying shadows of the trees, the whole house was like a silent tomb.
He suddenly shuddered and hurried back to his little nest with an old exterior and a new interior.
Before entering the door, he stayed outside for a while, trying to wipe the gloom brought by the conversation from his face. After much difficulty, he succeeded. When he came in, he saw the two Meng brothers sitting at the table, each one more silent than the other.
He sighed and sat next to Meng Chu. He originally wanted to hug her shoulders and rub them, but since there were outsiders around, he sat up straight with dignity, leaving only his hands on the table.
"Are you guys reading the comments again?" He pointed at his phone. "Didn't I tell you to uninstall Weibo?"
Meng Chu looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
"What's wrong?" He glanced at the two people, "What happened again?"
Meng Chu nodded, frowning deeply: "The bartender."
Qi Liang was surprised when Meng Jining suddenly resigned from the bar and moved out of Yong'an Street. Even though Meng Jining explained to him that he had found a new assistant job and moved to his brother's house, he still felt uneasy.
This morning, Meng Jining called him to ask about his father's condition, but felt that he spoke vaguely.
Meng Jining realized something was wrong at the time and asked him to turn on the camera. He found that his elbows and calves were wrapped in gauze and there was a scratch on his face.
He explained to Meng Jining that he had just returned from the hospital and was walking across an intersection when suddenly a motorcycle parked on the side of the road rushed over and knocked him into the bushes. The brakes were pressed at just the right point, enough to knock him down but not enough to send him flying or run him over.
He had a large piece of skin scraped off on his arms and legs. Just as he got up, the driver who caused the accident rushed out, apologized repeatedly, and said he would take him to the hospital immediately.
When he arrived at the hospital, he went through the torture of cleaning his wounds and disinfecting them, and he felt stinging all over. The driver paid for his medical expenses and served him tea and water, and was quite attentive.
Qi Liang was about to call the police, but seeing the other party's sincere attitude, he hesitated. Unexpectedly, the driver smiled and said familiarly, "You don't have any broken bones. The contusion on the surface of your body is at most a minor injury, not enough to warrant criminal responsibility. Even if the police come, it will be a private matter. I don't think it's necessary."
On the way home, Qi Liang kept thinking about the whole incident, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. It seemed that the motorcycle was aimed at him. Fortunately, he sent his father home first. If he had been pushing a wheelchair at that time, it would have been troublesome.
This fact was so shocking that Fu Guanshan's mouth twisted in horror: "Is that Zhong guy crazy?!"
Meng Chu stared at Meng Jining for a long time, sighed, and stood up. "You need to eat something," he said. "Don't let the guilt get the better of you. That's what he's trying to do to you."
Meng Jining buried her face in her hands. He knew it, but even if he knew it, how could he not feel guilty?
Qi Liang is not even as good as Fu Guanshan. Fu Guanshan has money, fame, resources, and room for counterattack. Qi Liang had nothing except poverty and his seriously ill father.
He has always been a person in the abyss, and now, I am one of the people who pushed him in.
Fu Guanshan frowned, thought for a while, and said, "I'll go to his house and take a look."
Meng Jining was stunned.
"I'll ask Haiqiu if there are any regular nursing homes that can take in patients like this. We have to get the old people out first so we can free up our hands," Fu Guanshan said. "Besides, someone has to explain to that...what's his name? Qi Liang? Someone has to explain what happened to him, otherwise he won't understand the situation and will be suspicious, which will make his life even more tiring."
"I'll go too," Meng Chu said, "I've met him, and he knows I'm Jining's brother."
This relationship is enough to start a conversation.
The moment Qi Liang opened the door, he could hardly hide the look of surprise on his face. Meng Chu's visit was strange enough, and there was also a person who appeared on the TV nearby.
However, perhaps because of Meng Jining, he quickly let them into the room.
Meng Chu looked at the gauze on his arms and legs, then at the old man on the bed. Given Fu Guanshan's character, even if Meng Jining was not involved, he would definitely help based on this scene alone.
He sat on a somewhat unstable chair and explained the whole thing to Qi Liang. From the moment Meng Jining was prosecuted, Qi Liang's face changed from astonishment to rage.
He knew Meng Jining was a liar with sweet words, but he didn't expect the lie to be so abominable.
Only after a period of time did he understand why he had fallen drunk on the side of the road.
"Where is he?" Qi Liang asked, "Is he okay now?"
"He is my brother," Meng Chu said, "of course I will ensure his safety."
Qi Liang wanted to ask a few more questions, but he felt that he didn't trust the other party's family, so he was hesitating. Meng Chu continued, "We have told you about your father's plan. What about you?"
Qi Liang glanced at the closed bedroom door and said, "I will find a job and return the money to you as soon as possible."
Meng Chu hesitated for a while. He seldom takes the initiative to help others, because helping others requires courage. "Well..." he said, "I know the TV University has an adult education program. If you have good grades, you can get a scholarship..."
Qi Liang's eyes flickered, he thought for a moment, and said, "Thank you, I'll consider it."
"What are you still considering?" A voice suddenly came from the bedroom.
Qi Liang stood up, his face turning red and white. He whispered, "I thought he was asleep," and opened the door.
"Now that we've come to this, why don't you go?" His father glared at him. "Where else can you find such a good opportunity to study and get rid of me at the same time?"
Qi Liang turned his head and looked at the guest, as if he wanted to explain himself, but he was powerless to do so.
However, Fu Guanshan did not pay attention to this conversation. He stared at something on the bedside table: "What is that?"
Before Qi Liang could answer, he walked over and picked up the watch.
He rarely did such rude things, and Meng Chu was also stunned.
"Is this watch yours?" he asked Qi Liang, "How come you kept such an old thing until now?"
Qi Liang was confused by his question, but answered anyway: "It has been kept in the cabinet and I just found it out a while ago."
"You have always lived in Yong'an Street?" He stared at Qi Liang, "Then do you know about the drowning case eighteen years ago?"
Before Qi Liang could reply, his father said, "Of course, I was nearby that day and saved a child."
Fu Guanshan turned his head suddenly.
“I’m not bragging,” he said, “but this watch belongs to that kid.”
"Child?" Fu Guanshan's voice was a little trembling. "Do you remember what he looks like?"
"Of course, he is quite distinctive," Qi Zhengguo pointed to his forehead, "Here, the child has a scar here."
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