Chapter 52: Past Events
While Zhong Wenchu was waiting on the porch, he noticed that the lily of the valley in the corner was hanging lower than last time. The white petals turned yellow and wrinkled, as if they were infected with their owner's illness.
The door opened quickly, and his mother's assistant came in with a stack of documents and invited him in.
He walked into the living room and saw his mother with food at hand, but her eyes were fixed on the screen.
The assistant asked him to sit down on behalf of his boss, but he gestured for the other person to leave and poured himself a cup of tea.
"You have just recovered from a serious illness, so take a rest for two days," he said. "If you are really worried, leave the important matters to me."
Hearing another voice at home, the mother looked up at him, then quickly returned to the documents: "No, I'll be anxious if I'm idle."
Zhong Wenchu did not insist any longer. He knew that if the condition was not urgent and surgery was not necessary, she would not hand over the project to him. Now that he had recovered, she would naturally take it back.
She trusts no one, and this is passed down from mother to son.
Probably after she finished reading a report, she stopped and finally looked him in the eye: "Thank you for helping me deal with the board of directors' affairs during this period of time."
"You're welcome."
As relatives who have depended on each other since childhood, their conversation was a little too cold, but Zhong Wenchu felt at ease because of the familiarity.
After all these years, they are still more like accomplices than mother and son.
His mother looked at him and said, "I'm sick, so I made you busy on both ends, and disturbed your beautiful wife. If you weren't so busy abroad, she wouldn't have been able to escape."
This sentence entered the unfamiliar private realm, and he raised an eyebrow: "When did you start to care about my private life?"
"You made such a fuss that you used all the public funds to frame me. How could I not know?" the mother said, "You really like to make trouble for yourself by picking such a tough bone to chew."
"Do you think I should find someone who is a good deal? Someone who can bring benefits to the company?"
The mother shrugged: "Who you marry is your business."
Her attitude made it seem as if her son's life partner was an outsider.
At a certain moment, an absurd thought flashed through Zhong Wenchu's mind. He would rather his mother come out to oppose his choice and interfere with his marriage. Although he would not be influenced by anyone, a gesture of obstruction at least showed a little concern.
It was just a fleeting thought and he quickly dispelled it. Because it's ridiculous.
The mother picked up the spoon at hand and seemed finally willing to spend some time eating. During this leisure time, she ruminated on Zhong Wenchu's recent ridiculous behavior and made a light judgment: "But you don't know how to hide it well."
Zhong Wenchu frowned: "What?"
"People like us, if our true nature is exposed, no one will accept it," she said, "I hid it from your father for nearly 30 years, and you can't even hide it for three months?"
Zhong Wenchu looked at her. It's always like this, when they are silent, he wants her to communicate with him, but when she really opens her mouth, he feels that it is not what he wants.
Even though they are so similar, they cannot understand each other.
"It's different," he said, "You don't love your father, but I love him."
The mother smiled, a rare occurrence. She always had no expression when there was no social need, but it was ridiculous for people like them to talk about love.
The table fell silent again. Apart from business matters, they find it difficult to maintain a long conversation. After a while, Zhong Wenchu got up and left the living room.
"Please heat up the food," he said before leaving. "The patient should eat less raw or cold food."
It’s always like this when I visit my mother. I know it will be deserted before I start, but when I actually experience it, I still feel lonely.
He returned to the office from his mother's residence, and his secretary had a strange look on his face and said that the actor named Fu was waiting for him.
Zhong Wenchu frowned. Go to his territory to call him to account? You can't be that stupid.
He stood at the door and could see the familiar figure on the sofa from afar. The secretary asked if he wanted to send a bodyguard over, but Zhong Wenchu said no.
He walked into the office, sat on another sofa, and looked at his brother—even though they had never been like brothers: “If there is no news about him, there is no need to talk.”
Fu Guanshan glanced at him. That look made him feel unfamiliar. It contained neither the artificial depth he showed on the screen nor the light-hearted teasing he showed in real life. He looked at him, as if he was looking through him, to the other side of the distant river of time.
Then he spoke up and said something puzzling: "You installed a metal detector at the door and your secretary searched me to make sure I didn't have any weapons or bugs?"
This question is very out of the ordinary, but Zhong Wenchu answered: "Safety is always the most important thing."
Fu Guanshan stared at him and stood up: "Your secretary and the equipment have confirmed that I have nothing on me."
"What do you want to say?"
"I didn't wiretap or record anything. Now, these things are meaningless. I just want to hear the truth. I just need an answer."
As soon as he said this, Zhong Wenchu had guessed his intention, but his face remained calm.
Fu Guanshan took out a photo and asked, "Do you still remember this watch?"
Zhong Wenchu took a quick glance and said, "Why are you showing me a child's watch?"
"This is my brother's watch," Fu Guanshan said. "An old man picked it up."
"What do you want to say?"
Fu Guanshan just told the story slowly: "The old man said that he was doing business on the street that day, and there was a reckless child who didn't even look when crossing the road, just running forward. Seeing that the car was about to hit him, he quickly threw him down and saved him. He wanted to ask who the child was and if he was injured, but the child got up and ran away, and he couldn't stop him. After the person left, he found a watch on the ground. It was probably in his pocket and fell out when he fell."
Zhong Wenchu drank a sip of water calmly without any reaction.
"He said the child had a scar on his forehead."
Zhong Wenchu paused as he put down the cup and looked up at him.
"That day was a school day," Fu Guanshan said. "As far as I know, you lived in Dongcheng at that time, which is dozens of kilometers away from Yong'an Street. What were you doing there?"
Zhong Wenchu took back his hand and sat up straight: "Social practice."
Fu Guanshan stared at him, their eyes met, but there was nothing in his eyes.
After a while, Fu Guanshan continued: "I suddenly felt that I had been wrong all along. I always asked what happened on the day of the accident, but perhaps, things had started long before that."
Zhong Wenchu remained silent.
Fu Guanshan stood up slowly: "Have you been to our house before?"
Zhongwenchu did not answer.
"Have you been watching us, following us?"
Still it was quiet.
Fu Guanshan took a step forward and walked up to Zhong Wenchu, grabbing him by the collar: "Does my brother's death have anything to do with you?!"
Zhong Wenchu finally responded. He grabbed Fu Guanshan's wrist and pulled it off his clothes: "Don't talk nonsense."
"What are you worried about? You were only ten years old at the time, and you don't have to bear any legal consequences... I told you, I just want an answer. This matter has been turning over and over in my mind for eighteen years. Every night I have to go over the cause and effect, and every day I wonder what the truth is. Give me an answer, tell me how he died!"
"Are you crazy? What does it have to do with me?"
"Then why are you there?!"
Zhong Wenchu suddenly clenched his fist and swung it forward. Fu Guanshan took a step back and then rushed forward to fight back. Zhong Wenchu dodged his elbow, quickly stood up, and kicked him in the lower abdomen with a side kick.
The wooden table overturned during the fight, and the ceramic cup fell and shattered on the floor. The secretary and assistant ran in upon hearing the noise, and were shocked to see two people fighting in the room.
The guards came and pulled Fu Guanshan away. Both of them had disheveled hair and looked dishevelled. There were bruises on their foreheads from bumping into the wall. They did not look like reputable and well-established people in society.
Fu Guanshan glanced at him, said "This matter is not over yet", and turned and left.
The secretary asked if they wanted to take the medicine box, and Zhong Wenchu waved his hand and asked them to go out. The cleaning lady came to clean up, but he sent her away.
He was the only one left in the huge room. The floor-to-ceiling windows are bright and wide, reflecting the hustle and bustle of the city. Standing here, it seems as if you can overlook all living beings.
Zhong Wenchu pressed his hand against the glass, and pain surged through his broken knuckles.
He earned all this. Even though he got it by standing on the shoulders of the previous generation, he earned it all.
Since childhood, he knew that his father did not belong to this family. The father has another family, and only the children of that family can rightfully call him father, ask him to attend parent-teacher meetings, and ask him to cheer at sports meets.
He, his mother, and their quiet little home could only get a little attention when the company was not busy and when the other family did not need it.
He had a father, but he could only pretend that he didn't have one. When he was a child, he was often ridiculed for this. He asked his mother when he could openly introduce his father to his classmates, and his mother always said it would be soon.
But after one year, two years, and three years, nothing changed.
He wondered, did his father dislike him? Or don’t you like this home?
He asked his mother what kind of child his father liked. His mother thought for a moment and said, "One with good grades."
She is an employee of Kexin and often hears colleagues say that Zhongyuan brags to his partners about how smart his youngest son is.
So he began to study hard, trying to become the perfect child in his parents' eyes.
However, even though he got first place in the exam and even though he became a model student in the eyes of his teachers, nothing changed.
His parents were still rarely together and he still didn't have a complete father.
Gradually, he began to become curious about the family that had taken his father away. What exactly is the family that the father prefers and is more willing to accompany?
He often went to Yong'an Street to observe the house.
As soon as he got out of school, he would take the bus or subway to go there, which took quite a long time, but it didn’t matter because his mother would always be home very late.
He watched them walk in the park, play and laugh on the fitness equipment, and go to the supermarket and eat out together.
That day, he was wearing a baseball cap and looked at the familiar mother and child approaching. He quickly turned around and disappeared into the woods of the park. He was about to leave when he was stopped by a childish voice.
"Are you lost?"
He turned his head and felt the hairs on his back stand up slightly. It's the youngest son.
"I've seen you in the park several times," Zhong Wenqi looked around, "What are you always doing in the woods?"
Zhong Wenqi's tone was very innocent - yes, how could a child who is loved by his parents not be innocent?
The situation seemed like a dead end, but he almost immediately thought of a perfect lie. "Dig for earthworms," he said. "Do experiments."
As expected, Zhong Wenqi's eyes lit up. "I like to do experiments, too," he said. "I've even raised tadpoles to see how they turned into frogs. Have you ever raised one?"
He stared at the other person for a while and said, "I have raised one. It's very interesting."
"That's right," Zhong Wenqi said happily, "the way earthworms dig holes is also very interesting."
Zhong Wenqi felt very happy. At school, no one understood why he was so keen on these things. How could those wriggling bugs be as fun as playing volleyball or folding airplanes? It's rare for him to meet someone who has the same hobbies as himself. "Then we can do the experiment together next time."
He assessed the other person's expression for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Okay."
"My name is Zhong Wenqi," the other party asked, "What's your name?"
He made up a name.
"You can come to my house," Zhong Wenqi said excitedly, "My mother welcomes me to bring my classmates back."
Suddenly, a vague plan flashed through his mind. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he knew that he would achieve it in the future. "No," he said, "you can't tell anyone about me."
Zhong Wenqi opened his eyes wide: "Why?"
He looked very embarrassed. "I ran away secretly," he said slowly, "If my father knew... he would beat me."
Zhong Wenqi was stunned for a moment, and seemed to see the faint scar under the brim of the hat. He was suddenly angry and sympathetic: "How could your father do this?"
As if to confirm the other party's guess, he lowered his eyes: "You promise? If you don't promise, I won't come."
Zhong Wenqi quickly said, "I promise."
"Well," he said, "I'll see you here the day after tomorrow if I can get out."
"Okay," Zhong Wenqi looked at the watch on his wrist, "Then I'll wait for you here at seven?"
"Okay," he said, looking at the watch. He saw it right away, a beautiful blue cassette watch that he had seen on TV commercials.
Zhong Wenqi noticed his gaze and shook his wrist: "This is what my father gave me when I got first place in the exam last time."
The sky gradually darkened and the shadows of the trees obscured the expression on his face.
Suddenly, a female voice came from afar, full of anxiety. "Oh, my mother asked me to go back. See you the day after tomorrow?" Zhong Wenqi waved at him. "I'll bring soybeans and paper. Let's grow bean sprouts together."
He also waved, but not with much excitement.
He took the bus back home, and as expected, the house was still dark.
He looked at the dead silent living room and the cold dining table. On the table were a few bills and a note telling him to buy something to eat.
The mother is not here, so the father is certainly not here.
He pressed his hand on the banknotes, and the chill penetrated the crumpled paper and reached his body.
He turned his head, his profile reflected in the gray glass, and the scar on his forehead looked like a crawling centipede.
When he was very young, he was home alone and tried to reach for some candy in the cupboard, but instead knocked a bonsai tree down. The edge of the ceramic hit his forehead, leaving a cut that required several stitches.
He raised his hand and pressed it on the scar. Every time I felt the raised scar, it was like a crack in my heart, with pus and blood gushing out.
The mother in that family is so loving, and the brothers in that family are so harmonious.
Why can't he have all this? Why can he only be a peeper in the dark corners?
He obviously... looks so much like Zhong Wenqi.
The other person is the same age as him, has the same father, and is even as smart as him, like a mirror image of him.
But, that mirror is so perfect.
He stood outside the mirror and could only look at the happy family in vain, unable to enter into it no matter what.
He really, really wanted everything in the mirror.
I can replace him. He thought.
As he met Zhong Wenqi more and more often, this idea became more and more deeply rooted in his mind.
He works very hard and is good at studying, so why can't his father love him with the same love? Why can't he get the same happiness?
That day, they met in the woods as usual, and Zhong Wenqi told him excitedly that there was good news. "Mom is very busy at work recently and will be home late," he said, "It will be more convenient for me to come out."
He glanced at the other person. The companionship he longed for was readily available to him, and occasionally a little less was actually a happy thing.
"Let's go to another place next time," he said suddenly. The plan became clearer and clearer, and he could already outline its general outline.
"Where are we going?" Zhong Wenqi asked.
"I see there's a river here," he asked. "Did you learn your lesson about the algae?"
Zhong Wenqi nodded excitedly.
"How about we go pick up some algae together? See if they change color in the sun."
"Okay," Zhong Wenqi thought for a while, "My brother will pick me up from school in the next few days, so I'll wait and see when there's a chance."
Opportunities come quickly.
After his brother ran to the game hall like the wind, Zhong Wenqi quickly walked out of the bookstore. When he arrived at Yingyue River, the child was already waiting for him and had even found a plastic bottle to catch the algae.
"You are so careful." Zhong Wenqi said.
He handed the bottle of water to Zhong Wenqi and checked the surroundings again. There was no one there, no cameras, and this corner could not be seen from the windows of nearby houses.
Zhong Wenqi held the bottle, but did not squat down to pick up the algae immediately. "By the way," Zhong Wenqi took off his watch, "this is for you."
He stared at the watch, with a circle of star stickers on the strap, which was very childish.
Seeing that he did not move, Zhong Wenqi stretched his hand forward again. Since the first time they met, the other party has been looking at the watch from time to time. He thought that the other party must want it very much, but his father would not buy it for him.
Also, how can a father who beats his child fulfill his child’s wishes?
He hesitated for a moment, took it and put it in his trouser pocket. "Won't your parents say anything if you gave me the watch?"
Zhong Wenqi shrugged. "It's okay," he said in a relaxed tone, "I can just ask dad to buy me another one."
At that moment, at that instant, the gears that he had spent a long time building and that fit together perfectly began to turn.
He stretched out his hand and pushed Zhong Wenqi forward violently.
The calm surface of the water was broken and splashes of water began to surge. Imagining it in the mind and actually doing it are different after all. He took a quick breath, turned around in panic, and ran out of the crime scene. He heard faint shouts behind him.
Just like that, the mirror of happiness fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
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