Luo Jun later got off the boat alone.
When it was almost dawn, Minglu asked someone to take Luo Chengxiu out for some fresh air, and he saw a figure wandering in the fog at the dock.
Luo Chengxiu didn't seem to be any better.
Minglu has seen many people like him who put profit above all else and are ungrateful.
It's just that nothing is more important than business matters, and they naturally look down on the physical and mental suffering of others.
Minor injuries and illnesses are not worth making a fuss about, and people coming and going are not worth caring about. Nothing is so serious that you have to suffer and despair to death.
Until now, Luo Chengxiu didn't even understand what the son he said "was ready to treat him well" had experienced.
Luo Chengxiu even still thought that Luo Zhi was just sick and feeling unwell.
He still thought that Luo Zhi had just had an argument with Luo Jun on the cruise ship, and because an accident happened on the cruise ship, Luo Zhi and Jian Huaiyi who was protecting him were pushed off the tilted side of the ship by Luo Jun.
Luo Chengxiu regarded this as an accident in which his eldest son was the culprit.
The Ming family was not unreasonable, so they simply brought Luo Chengxiu into the reception room in the cabin, asked the head of the Luo family to sit down and drink tea, and found someone to read to him Luo Zhi's injury assessment and medical records over the years.
The reception room was very strange. Its walls were extremely narrow, there were no windows, and the ceiling was so high that it seemed as if there was no end in sight. No matter how I looked up, I could only see empty darkness.
Luo Chengxiu sat on the cold concrete floor, looking at the cup of premium pre-rain tea in front of him, and listened to all this without saying a word.
He hid in the shadows that seemed to have no warmth. He was silent for a long time before he spoke in a low voice: "I know, it's my fault."
It turns out that this is what Mr. Ming wanted. No wonder the Luo family was forced to this point.
Luo Chengxiu clenched his palms tightly. He chose his words carefully, with a tone that was obviously awkward and stiff: "It's me who didn't fulfill my responsibilities. I treated him badly all these years..."
"You may have made a mistake, Mr. Luo." Ming Lu raised his hand to interrupt, "Have you memorized it?"
Luo Chengxiu was stunned: "...what?"
"How is your injury?" Ming Lu had a kind look on his face. He turned his back to the half light coming in from the door and took the injury assessment document from his hand.
Minglu's tone was very kind, as if he was conducting a random check on a teenage student who was having a headache with his schoolwork: "How much have you memorized?"
Luo Chengxiu's mind went blank for a moment.
He has always been sensitive to crises, and at this moment he felt uneasy for no reason: "He, he has poor hearing..."
"Why not?" Minglu asked.
Luo Chengxiu's heaving chest suddenly stopped.
"Why not?" Ming Lu probably thought he didn't hear clearly, so he asked again, "Master Luo, do you remember?"
Luo Chengxiu shuddered, and a chill slowly crept up his spine.
…
He instinctively realized that if he couldn't answer it now, there might be some more serious consequences.
Luo Chengxiu tried desperately to search for the remaining impressions in his mind. His body was stiff on the cold concrete floor, and sweat slowly seeped from his forehead.
…He didn’t listen too seriously.
It’s not that he didn’t want to listen or understand, it’s just that he had too many things to consider at that time.
How can the Ming family stop, how can they make up for this loss, which assets should they sell so that the Luo family will not collapse instantly, and how can they avoid being eaten up by the surrounding rivals after their vitality is severely damaged?
I'm afraid we can't rely on Luo Jun in that condition. Can Jian Huaiyi support the Luo family? No, what was he thinking? Was he really going to hand over the Luo family to an adopted son who had no blood relationship with him...
He was forced to come to the Ming family due to the situation. Sitting in this reception room, his mind was filled with all these messy things.
When I was looking at the injury assessment and the medical records, and listening to the person reading them out in a flat voice like chanting a sutra, although I briefly had some understanding of these contents, it was quickly overwhelmed by more thoughts.
…
He even subconsciously felt a little annoyed.
He knew that his son had been wronged, and he knew that Luo Zhi had been badly injured, but what time was it now? Why can't Luo Zhi ever learn to be more sensible? She always causes trouble for him when he is the busiest and most irritable.
Then he suddenly remembered that Luo Zhi seemed to be dead.
Luo Chengxiu raised his head.
He looked at Minglu and suddenly remembered what Minglu had said to Luo Jun on the deck just now.
Luo Zhi is in that water.
Luo Zhi has indeed learned to be sensible and will never bother him again.
"Mr. Luo." Ming Lu called him.
Luo Chengxiu came back to his senses and suddenly saw clearly what Minglu was holding in his hand. It was an hourglass.
The fine sand in the hourglass is flowing slowly and evenly. Nothing can stop the fine sand because it has already lost its shape and is just falling down.
Minglu put the hourglass on the table: "Time is running out."
Luo Chengxiu's chest suddenly sank along with the hourglass. He suddenly came to his senses, clenched his fists and spoke with all his might: "Yes... he was beaten, someone beat him..."
Up to this point he was only speculating, and it was impossible for him to tell any more details.
Luo Chengxiu knew very well that this answer would not satisfy the other party. He watched the fine sand slowly flow away, and two strong figures slowly walked in front of him, and even his pupils shrank unconsciously.
He was dragged up by the arm and walked into an even darker and colder corridor.
The fear brought by visual deprivation increased exponentially. He could hear his weak legs being dragged and staggering, his own rapid breathing, and Minglu's slow footsteps beside him.
"He was rescuing the girl from your family. There were seven or eight people chasing him. He ran with the girl on his back, but he couldn't get away, so he went back to lead those people away."
Minglu said: "Those people were so angry that they beat him until he couldn't move."
These people were later sent to prison by Luo Chi himself based on the evidence he collected. Their sentences would be longer than their entire lives, so it was not difficult to obtain a true record of the situation at the time.
All these contents had been noted on the injury assessment given to Luo Chengxiu. Since he didn't memorize it, Minglu read it again to him.
This time, Luo Chengxiu finally listened to all of this.
There was really nothing else for him to hear, nothing else to think about.
The details were so real and terrifying that he almost saw himself being retaliated and tortured in the same way. The intense fear and pressure made him tremble uncontrollably and cold sweat kept pouring down his face.
There was only thick darkness in the field of vision, and the coldness seeped into the skin. The sound of footsteps, neither light nor heavy, echoed in the air.
"Master Luo." Ming Lu finally finished the last word, "Have you ever thought that it would be better if that child died on that day?"
Luo Chengxiu's spirit had been tortured to the limit. He could not control his anger at such accusations: "How is it possible! He is my son, why would I think so? How could I think so--"
Minglu was silent for a moment and looked at him: "Then why did you do this?"
Luo Chengxiu stood there with his mouth wide open.
His expression was distorted and twisted, with cold sweat pouring down his face. He looked almost comically embarrassed.
...why do this?
What did he do? Did Luo Zhi force his son to death after he came back?
Luo Chengxiu couldn't control his irritation.
He shook his head desperately, trying to find any business or family matter to think about. He didn't want to think about these things anymore...it would be better for these people to torture him now.
Yes, better do it now.
It would be better for these people to take revenge on him now, to inflict upon him all the harm that Luo Zhi had suffered, and then wipe out all grudges. In this way, he would not have to be tormented by these messy thoughts anymore.
After the Luo family has recovered, he will transfer the family assets as quickly as possible and never get involved in the maritime business again. When he has some free time, he will have a lot of time to think about Luo Zhi. He will go to Luo Zhi's grave and talk to his son...
Minglu pushed open a door.
Luo Chengxiu had long lost all his composure, he collapsed and allowed himself to be dragged away, thrown into the mud like a puddle.
He closed his eyes tightly, even waiting impatiently for the punches and kicks that were about to fall on him.
There's nothing to blame now, right?
He repaid the debt he owed to his son in his own way, and he willingly endured the suffering that Luo Zhi had endured.
All the harm that he, as a father, failed to protect Luo Zhi from when Luo Zhi was alive, has now been returned to him one by one, so that they can be even.
Luo Chengxiu waited anxiously. He even began to consider whether he should deliberately provoke those people and then attack them more ruthlessly, so as to vent the anger of the Ming family as soon as possible. Would this give the Luo family a chance to survive...
The waiting time was a bit too long.
Luo Chengxiu finally vaguely sensed something was wrong and opened his eyes.
As far as the eye can see, there is only deep darkness without a trace of light.
There was only him, no one else.
Minglu took his men away.
Luo Chengxiu's hands and feet went weak, and after a long time he struggled to stand up, then reached out his hands tremblingly and felt around.
It is not only dark here but also dead silent, and the space is extremely cramped and small. He couldn't even stand up straight. The surroundings seemed to be made of thick iron plates. No matter how hard he knocked, he could only hear his own echo.
The darkness was so thick that it seemed to have become liquid, and there never seemed to be enough air. His chest began to twitch and spasm.
Luo Chengxiu smashed and shouted like a madman, and finally he was exhausted and fell back heavily.
He breathed heavily with labored effort, and habitually tried to fill his head with ideas, but after searching for a long time he came up with nothing. My rationality was overwhelmed by the accumulated fear of being cut by a blunt knife, and finally only the things I had just heard remained.
...Has he ever thought that it would be better if the child died on that day?
If not...why would he do that?
"No." Luo Chengxiu shook his head heavily, "It's not like that."
"I'm doing this for our family. I'm punishing you to teach you a lesson, to make you sensible, not to torture you."
Luo Chengxiu stared at the darkness in front of him, his voice hoarse and dry: "I didn't mean to torture you."
"I didn't realize you were so seriously ill. I didn't know you were in such pain." Luo Chengxiu trembled and whispered, "You are like this, kid. You hold back on everything. Why don't you say it? If you say it, I will know. You-"
"Dad." He heard Luo Zhi's voice, "After I die."
Luo Zhi said: "Let's scatter the ashes in the sea as well."
Luo Chengxiu felt as if something cold was entangled in his throat.
He closed his mouth and slowly looked behind him.
…
Luo Zhi rarely spoke to him.
It’s not Luo Zhi’s problem, it’s that he doesn’t want to listen.
Either it was because he didn't have time, or because he felt irritated when he saw Luo Zhi - in his opinion, anything related to Luo Zhi would always bring a lot of inexplicable trouble.
Luo Zhi ran away with her sister, and then his wife's mental condition deteriorated.
Luo Zhi was found, and then the family business situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.
Every time Luo Zhi came to the Luo family, the whole family would be in unrest. Or they would just be unreasonable and fussy about dealing with an adopted son, making outsiders laugh at the Luo family...
The last time he spoke calmly to Luo Zhi was at Ren Shuangmei's funeral.
The child of the Ren family couldn't accept his mother's sudden death. I heard that he fainted from excessive grief and is still recuperating in the hospital, so Luo Zhi came to help with the soul care.
The little boy, dressed in solemn black formal suit, bowed to everyone who came.
Everyone had to bow once, and every time the figure bent down it seemed as if he could never get up again, but he would just clench his hands until they trembled, and then slowly raise his extremely pale face.
Luo Zhi had a small wound on her forehead, which was covered by a dressing.
The injury was caused by a conflict with the Ren family. Ren Shuangmei's last wish was to have her ashes scattered into the sea, but the Ren family disagreed.
During the argument, the old man became angry and hit Luo Zhi hard on the head with his cane, asking him what qualifications he had to speak here.
Luo Zhi failed to accomplish this.
He carried Ren Chenbai's coffin, watched the jar of ashes being buried in the cemetery with the best feng shui, and watched the guests coming and going sighing.
The ashes of the burnt paper were blown away by the wind and the sky became dark. Luo Zhi was still standing there, not moving at all.
…
After the funeral, Luo Chengxiu did not leave immediately like everyone else because he wanted to take Luo Zhi away.
When Ren Shuangmei was around, she could leave Luo Zhi at Ren's house to help take care of her.
Now that the person is gone and that bad conflict has arisen, it is undoubtedly no longer appropriate to keep Luo Zhi here.
Luo Chengxiu knew that Luo Zhi would never give him peace of mind - she even had a conflict with the Ren family over the funeral, and things had become so awkward. He didn't know how he would repay the favors involved.
He was angry when he went to see Luo Zhi, but for some reason, he was unable to vent his anger during that meeting.
…
Perhaps it was because Luo Zhi looked so abnormal at that time.
It was a very cold and gloomy day, and it started snowing in the evening.
By the time it got completely dark, the snow had piled up very thickly.
Luo Chengxiu's assistant tried to pull Luo Zhi, but with a little force, Luo Zhi fell to the ground in the snow.
The assistant was startled and dragged Luo Zhi into the car. Luo Zhi's right leg was so stiff that she couldn't bend it and couldn't get it into the seat.
After struggling for a long time, Luo Zhi seemed to come back to his senses from a state of complete isolation from the outside world.
Luo Zhi slowly apologized to the assistant, slowly curled up her body, and slowly sat in the small space in the back seat of the car.
Luo Chengxiu sat in the passenger seat, watching them struggle, and impatiently signaled the driver to turn up the heater.
……never mind.
Luo Chengxiu thought so.
He knew that Luo Zhi and Ren Shuangmei had the best relationship, and Ren Shuangmei had often vented her anger for Luo Zhi and went to his house to cause trouble.
Now that the person is gone, he won't bother a child at this time.
"Get a blanket yourself." Luo Chengxiu said in a deep voice, and then couldn't help frowning, "Your Aunt Ren passed away, how come you didn't even cry?"
Luo Zhi sat with her knees hugged for a while before she raised her head slightly: "Dead."
He whispered these two words in a low voice, paused for a moment and then asked, "Will everyone cry?"
"Of course people with a heart will cry." Luo Chengxiu was a little annoyed, "If some people don't even have a heart, then there's nothing we can do. It's useless to force them."
Why did you say that at that time?
After Luo Chengxiu blurted out this, he felt that he had gone too far, so he waited for Luo Zhi to retort.
Being able to talk back and refute is at least better than looking like a lost soul.
But Luo Zhi said nothing, just said "hmm" very softly and buried her face in her arms again.
Seeing him like this, Luo Chengxiu felt even more annoyed. After a while, he suddenly said, "If you feel uncomfortable, it's not impossible for you to go home and stay for a while."
Luo Zhi's shoulders trembled slightly.
He unconsciously exerted some strength on his clenched arms, slowly raised his head and looked at Luo Chengxiu.
In fact, Luo Chengxiu regretted what he said as soon as he said it. After all, the family would be in chaos. His wife's illness had recurred over the years, so how could she bear to have Luo Zhi running around and stimulating her.
"Just say... it's a distant relative's child."
Luo Chengxiu pressed his brows hard and thought of a compromise: "Stay at our house for a few days."
"I'll have someone arrange a room for you that's farther from the main house. Don't go out on weekdays. I'll have someone deliver food to you." Luo Chengxiu said, "After a while, I'll buy you a house somewhere else, and you can move out."
He thought this was a very thoughtful idea and he had done his best to take care of Luo Zhi's situation. However, after talking for a long while, he could not hear any response from Luo Zhi.
Luo Zhi just stared at him.
Luo Chengxiu's expression turned colder, and he glanced at the rearview mirror: "Answer me."
"No." Luo Zhi said slowly, "No, thank you."
Luo Zhi shook her head: "I'm going to look at the sea. Aunt Ren said I can go to look at the sea."
The Seaview Villa is not very close to the main residence of the Ren family. It is a good place to escape the heat in the summer, but in such cold weather, probably no one in the Ren family would be willing to go there to enjoy the sea breeze.
Seeing that he was sensible, Luo Chengxiu breathed a sigh of relief and signaled the driver to drive to the beach.
Luo Zhi sat in the car for a while, and her lost-hearted state improved a lot.
Luo Zhi apologized for her previous state, and politely asked Luo Chengxiu if he could ask the driver to take her to the beach first, away from the sea-view villa, where the tide was the most violent.
Perhaps because such calm conversations between father and son were rare, Luo Chengxiu agreed for some unknown reason.
The car stopped by the roadside. Luo Zhi got out and sat on the rocks looking at the waves.
Luo Chengxiu stood under the reef and smoked.
It happened that he didn't have anything urgent to do that day, so he had some rare patience for Luo Zhi.
Luo Chengxiu looked at Luo Zhi's right hand, which had been clenched since getting in the car: "What is that?"
"Hair." Luo Zhi said, "Aunt Ren's."
He secretly cut off a small piece and kept it in his palm without being discovered.
Luo Chengxiu frowned. He probably guessed what this was for. Although he didn't understand the meaning, he still asked, "Is there something I can put it in for you?"
Luo Zhi shook his head.
He suddenly opened his palms, and the strands of hair were blown away by the sea breeze and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Aunt Ren loves the sea and said she wants to sleep in it." Luo Zhi said, "Aunt Ren wants me to be a captain."
Luo Zhi said: "I will have a small boat that can't be overturned by any storm or wave."
Luo Chengxiu couldn't stand seeing him like this. The irritation that he had suppressed with great difficulty rose again, and he said in a cold voice: "Alright, there is no such thing."
"Have you had enough?" The weather was too cold. Luo Chengxiu put out the cigarette and his patience finally ran out. "If you have, get in the car and I'll take you to Wanghai."
Luo Zhi seemed not to hear what he said.
Luo Chengxiu completely lost his patience and turned away.
Luo Zhi was sitting on the rocks behind him. In fact, Luo Zhi's voice was not small, probably so that the strands of hair that were blown away by the wind and fell into the sea could be heard.
"Be happy and cheerful."
"I will go find many people who like me and many happy things."
"I'll find someone I like and bring him to Aunt Ren to see."
"I will Survive."
Luo Zhi's voice was trembling as he assured her incoherently: "I will live and live to be eighty years old."
…
The cold sea water dragged him out of his memories.
I don't know where the water came from, but it was rising faster and faster, and now it had already submerged my chest.
Luo Chengxiu shuddered violently. He pushed the water away with force and hit the thick iron bulkhead with even greater force.
He was hit in the face by the surging salty sea water, which squeezed into his mouth and nose, pushing out the air in his lungs. The only sound in his ears was the roaring sound of the water hitting his eardrums.
Is this how Luo Zhi fell asleep?
Luo Chengxiu instinctively opened his mouth and gasped, but could only swallow more sea water. He finally realized that he was really a very stubborn person - so stubborn that it was only at this time that he was willing to think about these things.
He remembered every lie Luo Zhi told at the beach.
Luo Zhi was lying there, using the most clumsy lies to deceive Ren Shuangmei who was no longer able to teach him a lesson. It's not difficult to tell when a child is lying. Can't he hear it? If he couldn't hear it, he wouldn't remember it now.
Luo Zhi never asked him for anything, nor did she tell him to scatter her ashes into the sea.
He was subconsciously thinking about how Luo Zhi would say this to him, and he was comforting himself. Luo Zhi probably also wanted to sleep in the sea, so this result was not bad.
He told himself this before going to bed every night that sleeping in the sea was not difficult and Luo Zhi did not suffer much.
The chest and lungs feel suffocating and the eardrums are torn. Luo Chengxiu's consciousness began to blur, and then suddenly someone opened a door, and he fell heavily down along with the surging sea water.
Luo Chengxiu kept choking and coughing. He guessed that he might have coughed out his lungs. His entire chest cavity was empty, with only a burning pain and a bloody smell. He was carried to the deck to get some fresh air. Minglu stood beside him, still looking very friendly.
"Please keep your voice down, Master Luo." Ming Lu said, "The volume of the video should not be too loud."
Luo Chengxiu collapsed on the deck, gasping for breath and looking blankly at the figure wandering on the dock below the ship.
...What video?
…
Ming Weiting took off his headphones.
The volume of the video had no effect.
Mr. Ming was not interested in torturing people. He just glanced at the progress bar casually, closed the computer, handed it to Ming Lu, and sat back in front of Luo Chi's bed.
Luo Chi closed his eyes. He looked fine, but he did not sleep well.
He seemed to be in a dream unknown to outsiders. His breathing was a little rapid, his eyelashes fluttered slightly, and water vapor silently seeped out.
Minglu was a little worried: "Should we go call a doctor?"
"Not for now." Ming Weiting shook his head. He checked the data from the monitoring equipment and held Luo Chi's hand that was hanging by the bed.
He was learning to infer Luo Chi's emotions based on his subtle reactions. Now that Luo Chi was asleep and didn't have the instinctive concealment he had when awake, it wasn't very difficult to judge.
If he guessed correctly, Luo Chi should not be in a bad dream.
…
Luo Chi was in a very good dream.
After Aunt Ren passed away, he saw Aunt Ren for the first time in his dream.
Luo Chi has been reflecting on himself for many years. He thought Aunt Ren must be angry with him.
Maybe it was because he lied and Aunt Ren saw through it at a glance, so she wanted to punish him.
It might be because he failed to fulfill Aunt Ren’s wish, causing Aunt Ren to be trapped in that luxurious but boring cemetery, so she had no way to come find him.
So he often went to that cemetery, he tied himself to that grave and never went far. He has already breached the contract, so he must not let Aunt Ren get bored.
But he still couldn't dream of Aunt Ren, no matter what he did. The closest time was probably the shipwreck. He was sinking in the water and saw Aunt Ren’s shadow. He ran over happily, but found nothing.
For the first time, Luo Chi saw the person he really wanted to see in his dream.
He couldn't say anything. He wanted to pretend that he was living an extremely happy life and make up many happy things to tell Aunt Ren, but his body seemed to melt.
Except for the outer shell, everything turned into water and rushed out of the eyes.
He cried so hard that he couldn't breathe, and bit his arm to try to hold it back. Aunt Ren patted him lightly on the head and then hugged him tightly into the arms behind his back.
Aunt Ren lowered her head and smiled at him, scratched the tip of his nose to laugh at him, and pinched his earlobe lightly.
Luo Chi raised his hand and wiped away the tears.
"Oh no," he whispered. "Oh no, Auntie."
"I owe a lot of paintings. How come I owe so many? There are more than a hundred."
Luo Chi's voice was very low: "I may have to paint until I am eighty years old."
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