When facing a confrontation
"Is there no room for negotiation?" Yu Chunsheng looked quietly at the man opposite him. "You didn't come here to see me just to tell me about this, did you?"
"Yes," Xu Zhilian said, his kindness suddenly piqued. "I haven't officially approved it yet."
Silence fell over the ward once again.
Xu Zhilian was about to say something when the ward door was suddenly pushed open, and he shut his mouth again.
The nurse removed the IV from Yu Chunsheng and then told him, "You can leave after you complete the discharge procedures."
"Okay, thank you," Yu Chunsheng replied to the nurse with a slight smile. The nurse exchanged a glance with him, blushed, and left.
When Yu Chunsheng turned to look at Xu Zhilian, he was greeted by a pair of venomous eyes.
Xu Zhilian squinted and smiled faintly at him, though he didn't speak, it looked just like he was flicking his tongue.
Yu Chunsheng knew that he probably didn't have anything good on his mind.
He was about to say something, but the nurse interrupted him, so Yu Chunsheng had to patiently ask him, "What were you about to say?"
"Brother Lin is still so popular with the ladies." Xu Zhilian lowered his head, rolled up his sleeves, and suddenly jumped up and slapped Yu Chunsheng.
Yu Chunsheng immediately stood up, gritting his teeth as if to fight back, but then he remembered something and his clenched fists remained still. He silently sat back down.
Seeing that he didn't fight back, Xu Zhilian knew that he was still the same Kong Lin, and smiled smugly again.
With a "slap," he slapped the other half of his face, looking down at him and saying casually, "I really hate your face. It's so popular wherever you go."
"Yu Fen likes you, the nurses at the hospital like you, and even my granddaughter betrayed me because of your face."
Yu Chunsheng let out a soft breath, blew the hair that had been messed up on his forehead, looked up at him and deliberately said, "Do you hate my face, or are you angry that this face isn't on your body?"
"Slap!" Xu Zhilian slapped him twice in succession and spat on the ground. "I hate this face and you."
Yu Chunsheng's entire face was swollen. His cheeks, which were already pale from illness, now had two five-finger marks on each side, making them look somewhat messy.
He thought of what Xu Zhilian had said that day, and how his unintentional mistake had caused Yilin City's industry to stagnate for twenty years. Now, the person who could decide on the bridge construction project was right in front of him, and he couldn't muster any anger.
Yu Chunsheng sighed, "I'm not a saint, and maybe I did make some mistakes before. But with you, I still don't know what I did wrong. What did I do to offend you that you hate me so much?"
"There are too many things you should hate!" Xu Zhilian said through gritted teeth, pacing back and forth in the corridor between the hospital beds, as if recalling something.
"Someone like you was born with everything. You don't have to do anything when you grow up. Teachers, classmates, and women all surround you. What makes you so special?!"
"Just because of this?" Yu Chunsheng really couldn't understand what was so special about this that made him have such malicious thoughts, or even murderous intentions.
"Put away that arrogant face of yours!" Xu Zhilian strode up to him again and said fiercely, "I hate your sense of entitlement the most, as if everything is effortless."
"Do you know how much money I have to ask my family for, and how I have to treat those people to meals every day before they're willing to invite me to all sorts of activities? Do you know how many gifts I have to give my teacher before he's willing to give me a good grade?"
"And Yu Fen!" Xu Zhilian couldn't help but grab Yu Chunsheng's neck tightly. "I've been chasing her for so long, and she won't even give me a smile, but she stares at your back every day. What gives you the right to do this?!"
As he spoke, he became more and more excited. Xu Zhilian's face turned red, and he clenched his right hand, wishing he could strangle him right there.
A strong, familiar feeling of suffocation washed over him. Yu Chunsheng opened his mouth wide, trying his best to breathe in every inch of air. His survival instinct made him unable to hold back any longer and kicked out.
Xu Zhilian was kicked to sit on the next hospital bed, staring blankly at him, seemingly not expecting him to dare to fight back.
Yu Chunsheng took a few more deep breaths, covering his face with the backs of his hands to try to cool it down, and muttered impatiently, "I let you slap me a few times to vent your anger, and I let you grumble a few times, is that not enough? Even if you want to kill me again, can't you at least do it in a different way?"
"Kill you?" Xu Zhilian chuckled self-deprecatingly. "In a society governed by the rule of law, I'm not that stupid."
He straightened his wrinkled clothes, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a puddle of saliva on his leather shoes, which seemed to be the saliva he had just spat out. His eyes lit up and he had another wicked idea.
"Do you want Yilin City to build this bridge?" Xu Zhilian sneered.
Yu Chunsheng's face stung with pain. He was annoyed at the thought of Xu Tangmian coming over and asking him all sorts of questions when she saw the marks on his face. He didn't know how to answer her then.
"Just say what you have to say!" he said angrily. "You know my temper, and I know yours. Didn't you say something like that the other day, waiting for me to come to you? You were so anxious waiting for me for days, weren't you? You even made a special trip to the hospital."
"To be honest, I hope you can approve this project. Please just say what you want me to do! No need to beat around the bush."
"Brother Lin is so straightforward." Xu Zhilian laughed heartily, propping himself up with his arms and leaning back slightly, quite comfortable. "I have no complaints. You've already died once, and today I slapped you a few more times. What can I say?"
Yu Chunsheng was somewhat surprised. He moved his lips and said in a low voice, "If you are really that understanding, then I should thank you."
“However,” Xu Zhilian changed the subject, “I want you to kneel down before me.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Chunsheng's relaxed nerves tensed up again, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Want to hit me?" Xu Zhilian glanced at his clenched fist and then quickly switched his gaze to his face, saying with a grin, "You can hit me, but after you do, I won't be able to agree to this project."
Yu Chunsheng clenched his back teeth so hard that they made a grinding sound.
The angrier he got, the more smug Xu Zhilian became.
"I heard that the entire city of Yilin is welcoming our inspection team, and even the students have been told not to say anything out of turn. I think this cable-stayed bridge must be very important to this place, right?"
“How can it not be important?” Xu Zhilian said to himself, “A few days ago, when I was on an inspection tour, I fell into the water, and a child jumped in without hesitation and pushed me out.”
“I verbally said yesterday that I would not approve it, but the secretary of your town told me that the child died to save me, and that I must carefully consider this project in consideration of the fact that the child saved my life.”
“That child looks about twelve or thirteen years old, about the same age as my son. Oh, by the way, Brother Lin, didn’t you just have a daughter too? We parents really can’t bear to see our children die before our parents.”
“I didn’t want him to die in my place, and I wanted to help him, but he said to me, ‘It’s so cold, Uncle. I stole my dad’s bike today, and he’ll scold me when I get home. I know you’re a high-ranking official and can do a lot of things. I’m not going to amount to anything when I grow up anyway. Can you let me be a little hero just this once?’ Then he sank into the water.”
"Water poured into his mouth and nose from all directions, and his legs were still twitching. Someone jumped down and pulled me towards the shore. I struggled to pull the child back, but I watched helplessly as he got further and further away from me."
“I don’t dare to see his parents. Seeing his tiny body lying on the shore reminds me of my own son, and I can’t bear it! I think I should do something for him, but you!”
Xu Zhilian suddenly pointed at Yu Chunsheng, "But you haven't come to see me at all!" He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I guess I don't need to worry about him anymore, right?"
Yu Chunsheng's face flushed red and then turned pale, and his forehead was covered with a fine layer of sweat.
He closed his eyes, and several images flashed through his mind. First, there was a scene from his imagination: a bridge collapsed twenty years ago, burying the construction team under blocks of concrete.
Then he witnessed Luo Hui lying quietly in his mother's arms at the school gate. His mother was screaming hysterically, and his father was going crazy and trying to hit him.
Finally, there's Qiu Shi's rosy little face. She lies in her crib, giggling as he prepares formula, while Xu Tangmian shakes a rattle.
When Yu Chunsheng opened his eyes again, what appeared before him was not Xu Zhilian's ferocious face, but the hardworking workers in the printing factory and the farmers in Meixiang Village working in the fields.
They toiled away, sang revolutionary songs loudly, and hoped for a better tomorrow.
What self-respect does a man who has already died once have? In front of so many people, and at such a heavy price, let alone making him kneel down, even if he were to die again, it would be worth it.
Finally, with a martyr-like resolve, he bent his knees, his spine trembling slightly.
"Bang!"
The sound of his knee hitting the concrete floor was dull and resonated deep within Xu Zhilian's heart.
"Is that alright?" Yu Chunsheng asked slowly.
"Not enough!" Xu Zhilian laughed loudly, stepping on his chest. "I also want you to wipe the drool off my shoes and respectfully tell me that you were wrong, that neither Kong Lin nor Yu Chunsheng are worth even half a finger of Xu Zhilian!"
Yu Chunsheng clenched his fists and remained motionless for a long time. He could die, he could kneel, but dying on his knees like this was more painful than being killed!
With a "bang," the ward door opened. The two looked towards the doorway, only to see Xu Tangmian and Song Weidong's faces, one in front of the other.
Xu Tangmian couldn't hold back any longer.
Song Weidong kept blocking her at the door. If he hadn't stopped her, she would have rushed in when Xu Zhilian told Chunsheng to kneel down!
Then Chunsheng wouldn't have to kneel before such a person, nor would he have to suffer such humiliation. Xu Zhilian, how could he have the nerve to say those things!
Xu Tangmian rushed over to help Yu Chunsheng up, her anger rising, and she started speaking without thinking again: "You heartless scoundrel, you don't deserve to be a local official! Why wasn't it you who died back then!"
These words were truly hurtful, especially considering that the speaker was a close relative. Xu Zhilian was indeed enraged upon hearing this and raised his hand to slap her.
The expected slap did not fall. Xu Tangmian turned her head and saw Yu Chunsheng tightly gripping Xu Zhilian's wrist.
The slap didn't land on her face, and she didn't hear any slapping sound, so why was Yu Chunsheng's face covered in slap marks and swollen?
The bright red handprint terrified Xu Tangmian. Upon closer inspection, she noticed several red marks on his neck, as if he had been choked.
There were only the two of them in the ward. Thinking about what she had heard at the door and what she had seen when she came in, she immediately connected the dots and wondered what had happened here before she arrived.
The photo of Confucius hanging himself that she had seen in the museum suddenly popped into her mind again. Xu Tangmian turned pale, trembled all over, squatted down, and painfully hugged her head.
"You bastard! Are you trying to scare her to death?" Yu Chunsheng couldn't help but curse.
Xu Zhilian glanced at her, seemingly worried, but remembering what she had just said, he raised his head high and said coldly, "She cursed me to die. What's the point of having such an inhuman relative?"
"She's your granddaughter! Can't you do something for your family?" Yu Chunsheng squatted down beside Xu Tangmian, patting her back gently, but still couldn't help but look up and scold her when he had a moment.
"You heard her insults at me just now. How can someone like that be worthy of being my family?" Xu Zhilian sneered. "If it weren't for the fact that we're related by blood, I would have dealt with her long ago!"
"You want to get back at anyone you don't like or who has insulted you?" Yu Chunsheng questioned him sharply.
“Yes!” Xu Zhilian said without hesitation, “They all deserved it.”
"I've cursed you too, do I deserve it?" A woman's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Xu Zhilian subconsciously replied, "Yes!", but the next second he turned his head and saw the person who had come in, and his voice immediately trembled: "Xiao Fen?!"
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