Chapter 32
At night, the skyscrapers in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong CBD pierce the sky like a giant lightsaber.
On the 19th floor, Deep Blue Network Co., Ltd. It's time to get off work, and men and women in elegant suits and dresses leave their cubicles, or go downstairs to pick up takeout before returning to work overtime.
"Sister Xiaosui, I bought some new nutritious meals from Dongbei. Would you like to try them?" Cheng Xin, a girl who had just started working, had a neat high ponytail and came to Meng Sui's workstation with a takeaway box.
Meng Sui is a kindhearted person and the team leader. Whenever someone else is asked to do a task by their boss, Meng Sui will take it upon herself if they're reluctant or absent. She is always meticulous, efficient, reliable, and eerily stable, like a flawless machine.
She unconsciously tucked her short hair, every strand of which was meticulously groomed, behind her ears and stared at the computer screen in silence, not knowing what she was thinking.
Meng Sui has fair skin, a sharp jawline from her long-term fitness routine. Her small earlobes are adorned with simple yet priceless earrings, and her slim-fitting white suit accentuates her clean and sleek figure. Even after working non-stop for over two months on a major project, she maintains a straight posture, appearing unhurried.
Cheng Xin just looked at her profile and secretly felt admiration and envy.
Meng Sui was concentrating on looking at the screen and didn't notice Cheng Xin calling her.
"Sister Xiaosui, are you busy?" Cheng Xin walked behind her and was frightened by her rare serious expression. She felt the majesty and distance of her direct leader.
Meng Sui seemed to be suddenly awakened, showing a rare hint of panic. He exited the interface on the screen, stood up and gave Cheng Xin a familiar and friendly smile. "Sorry, I was so focused just now that I didn't notice you calling me. What's wrong?"
Cheng Xin accidentally glanced at the screen. It was a web page. She couldn't see the text clearly, but she could see the icon in the upper left corner of the text clearly - it was a triangle with a flame pattern in the middle.
She didn't know what this was, but she was certain that her boss would also slack off. She instantly felt closer to Meng Sui and smiled sweetly, "Sister Xiao Sui, I bought some nutritious meals from Dong Bei. Look, does it look like mashed potatoes? There are actually a lot of ingredients in it, just mashed up. It's suitable for a fitness meal. It won't make you gain weight, and it can quickly replenish your energy. Do you want to try it?"
Meng Sui looked at the pig feed-like substance in the exquisite lunch box, and caught a glimpse of the people coming and going in the cubicle, as well as the dying green plant on the windowsill of the large flat, and suddenly felt dizzy.
The ceiling was too low, there were too many people, and the stagnant air made it almost difficult for her to breathe.
Especially since the housing prices plummeted by 4 million overnight...
She forced a smile and said, "No, you eat it. I'm not hungry yet."
"Oh, okay. Then remember to eat. I'll go back to my workstation first." Cheng Xin pouted and strolled back to her cubicle. But Meng Sui called her from behind.
She turned back in confusion, only to see Meng Sui smiling at her like a girl next door. Her petite figure, wrapped in a white suit and skirt, seemed to glow, forming a striking contrast with the night sky behind the large flat-screen glass curtain wall. She heard Meng Sui say to her, "If you have time, you should cook yourself a good meal."
"Hmm? Oh, okay, thank you Sister Xiaosui. Love you!" Cheng Xin just thought it was her leader's concern for her, but Meng Sui at that moment did make her feel very charming. Although she was smiling, she had the "broken feeling" that has been very popular on the Internet recently. She couldn't help but secretly make up her mind to work hard to reduce Meng Sui's pressure.
That night, Meng Sui was the last to leave her workstation. Standing before the glass curtain wall, gazing at the endless night and the bustling traffic 19 floors below, she suddenly felt that it would be nice to be free like this, to return to God's embrace, to live toward death, just like in "Inception," where only by killing oneself can one return to the real world.
Seven years had passed since she came from a small county town in the northwest to the glamorous city of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Apart from the money she saved from her job, she had nothing and was still alone.
Now, that money has vanished with the real estate bubble, leaving her burdened with a massive loan. She thought she could bring her mother here and give her a better life, even if it meant working like a slave in a cubicle, eating grass and fodder. As long as there was a bright future, she felt the current situation was bearable.
However, however…
She turned off all the lights, closed her eyes in the darkness, and imagined what it would feel like to die.
Her cell phone vibrated, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hello, Mr. Zhang, OK, I got it. I'll send it to you before I get off work tomorrow." The call from the boss ended and the screen showed 22:09.
She had never found the boss's unrelenting work calls so unbearable. She took several deep breaths, but the volcano in her chest, ready to erupt, grew increasingly uncontrollable. These moments were common, but she'd always gritted her teeth, telling herself to be a perfect employee and let go of her emotions, so she could calmly continue working.
Perhaps this is why the number of nodules detected during physical examinations increases year by year.
"It's time. What else can I do?" After a while, she opened an overseas app and sent a short message to an unknown contact: "I accept 'purification' and am willing to return to God's embrace."
The other party's reply was also concise: "Tomorrow night at ten o'clock, you know where, the incense for purification will be delivered to you."
Meng Sui smiled with relief, and the sound of her high heels gradually disappeared in the cold corridor.
·
Binhai Private Hospital was always sparsely populated. After Zhou Mubai left, Lin Xian pressed the bell at the bedside to call the nurse, saying she wanted to go downstairs to relax.
Despite having his neck brace and stitches on his back removed, he was still very weak. The male nurse half-supported and half-carried him to a wheelchair and took the elevator downstairs.
As he passed the front desk, he signaled the nurse to stop.
"Excuse me, were you on duty last night?" Facing the elegant head nurse who was about the same age as him, he showed a decent smile, with slender eyes, gentle eyebrows, and a somewhat sickly frail and pale appearance, which quickly aroused the other party's favor and desire to protect him.
"I'm a young nurse in our duty room. Is there anything you need?" the head nurse asked eagerly.
"Someone seemed to come see me last night, but I fell asleep, so I wanted to ask. If it's convenient, could you ask her to come over?"
Soon, the young nurse on night shift came trotting over, panting.
Lin Xian looked at her, his eyes filled with just the right amount of affection and confusion. "Thank you for coming all this way. I just wanted to ask, who came to see me last night?"
Since it was rare for someone to come last night, the young nurse remembered it without any effort and blurted out: "First, there was a gentleman in black clothes. He said he was a policeman, so I didn't register. Later, when I told this to our head nurse, I was criticized. He was here for about forty minutes, and then another gentleman came. He was Mr. Zhou who accompanied you to see the doctor. Look, his registration is still in the booklet." As she spoke, she took the visitor registration book from the front desk and showed it to Zhou Mubai.
As if remembering something, she continued, "Mr. Zhou also asked me if anyone came to see you, and reminded me to call him if anyone else came to see you."
As she spoke, she noticed that Lin Xian's originally gentle eyes suddenly turned cold, and she was startled. Then she looked again and saw that he was looking at her with a smile: "Thank you. I'm sorry, this involves a little private matter of mine. I'd like to ask you to keep it confidential for me. Don't tell Mr. Zhou about what happened today."
Lin Xian's eyes revealed a hint of fragile pleading, and the young nurse blushed and said quickly, "It's okay, you're welcome. This is what I should do. I wish you a speedy recovery!"
"Thank you," he said, and the nurse behind him was about to push Lin Xian out to the woods for a walk. It was around three or four in the afternoon, the sun still had a hint of warmth, and many birds had returned to their nests in the woods. Groups of patients were strolling and chatting outside.
Lin Xian suddenly said, "Let's go back. I'm a little tired."
The nurse had no choice but to push the seriously injured patient back to the ward with regret.
Back in the ward, he pretended nothing had happened, and looked around the furnishings in the room unconsciously. Then he took the fully charged but unpowered mobile phone beside him and sent a message to Zhou Mubai: The food in the hospital is too bland. Bring me a serving of truffle mushroom dumplings from Sanheji and a bottle of red wine from the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains in the evening.
He knew that Zhou Mubai would not refuse.
The other party even replied to his message within seconds: Okay, wait for me.
Lin Xian looked at the crystal vase on the windowsill. The lilies with slightly dull edges had been replaced by a bunch of bright red roses.
He scrolled through his phone idly, countless calls and messages popping up, mostly from the magazine. But the carefree President Yun seemed accustomed to his ten-day-or-so absences, and simply told him to get back to work.
Seeing Lu Chengtian's more than 100 missed calls, he closed his eyes with a headache, thinking of what Lu Chengtian said before leaving last night. He was indeed the one who provoked the person, even though he hadn't meant it that way.
Lin Xian, nearly 40, understood what Lu Chengtian was thinking, but she hadn't figured out how to respond, or even reject him. The young man had finally struggled out of the darkness and found a way to the sun, and he couldn't drag him back down that dark path.
Just plan to continue.
Zhou Mubai arrived earlier than he expected. He looked very happy and brought a bottle of excellent red wine, a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Gernischt, which was rich in flavor.
While Zhou Mubai was in the restroom, Lin Xian poured wine for them. From a glass bottle hidden in the sleeve of her loose hospital gown, a colorless, odorless liquid mixed with the wine. Even if Zhou Mubai were standing there watching, he might not have noticed.
When Zhou Mubai came out, Lin Xian pretended to shake his hands and spilled some of the wine.
Zhou Mubai carefully wiped it for him, added some more wine to the glass that was already filled with wine, and naturally pushed the newly poured glass in front of Lin Xian, while he took the glass of wine that Lin Xian had poured in advance.
"Ah Xian, I'm really happy today. This is the first time you've taken the initiative to invite me to drink with you. What's the matter? Are you too lonely alone?" Zhou Mubai picked up the wine glass, clinked it with his, took a sip, and the wine flowed down his Adam's apple into his stomach.
Lin Xian took a sip and said, "It's just that I haven't drunk alcohol in a long time. I really can't stand the patient's meal."
The two chatted idly and quickly finished half a bottle of red wine.
Zhou Mubai picked up a truffle and mushroom dumpling for him and, while he was eating, replied to a message. Lin Xian glanced at his phone screen from the corner of his eye. The screen saver was still the photo of him giving a speech when he was inaugurated as student union president in college.
After Zhou Mubai put down his phone, he said, "Lend me your phone."
"What?" Although there was a smile in Zhou Mu's white-green pupils, there was also a hint of vigilance.
"You don't believe me?" Lin Xian raised his eyebrows.
Although his injury made him look unusually pale and thin, the sip of red wine he had just taken added a touch of alluring color to his naturally upturned lips. Zhou Mubai looked at him without blinking, quickly unlocked the phone with his fingerprint, and handed it to him.
Lin Xian turned on the camera's photo mode, flipped the lens to the side, and took a photo with Zhou Mubai in the sunset light. "You should change your screensaver. It's too old."
Zhou Mubai took back his phone, changed the wallpaper as he listened to him, and said with a smile: "Indeed, my Ah Xian is more charming than when we were in college. It would be great if we could always be like this. Tell me, this is not a dream——"
He seemed a little drunk, and put his glass aside. He pressed the back of Lin Xian's head with one hand and leaned over to kiss her. Lin Xian did not struggle as she had in the past, but responded enthusiastically.
The two of them quickly came to the hospital bed. Zhou Mubai put one hand under the hem of Lin Xian's loose hospital gown and looked at him as if he was a little drunk, with bottomless desire surging in his green pupils.
Lin Xian closed his eyes and counted silently in his mind. When he reached 39, Zhou Mubai fainted on top of him.
He helped Zhou Mubai up, and despite being injured, he took great pains to bring Zhou Mubai into the bathroom in the ward, avoiding the room's surveillance.
Letting Zhou Mubai sit on the edge of the bathtub, he grabbed his right hand, unlocked it with his index finger, then opened his communication history and searched for "A Qiang".
Two weeks ago, A Qiang sent Zhou Mubai a location, followed by a message: Lin Xian is here.
After briefly wiping Zhou Mubai's face, he carried him back to the bed in the ward and sent the address of the abandoned industrial park to Lu Chengtian: "Lin Xian is here. The ward is monitored. Zhou Mubai knew you were coming last night, so the information he revealed may not be reliable. Be careful."
After sending the message, he untied Zhou Mubai's tie and loosened his shirt collar in an ambiguous posture under the surveillance of the camera, and made a fake gesture of kissing him.
When Lu Chengtian received this message, he was watching the "transaction" between Luo Xiaohei and "Z." He understood Lin Xian's intention and lowered his voice to Zhao Yiqing, who was sitting with his legs crossed, sipping an espresso and yawning, and said, "I'll leave this transaction to you. I'll take my men to the abandoned industrial park in the north of the city. Don't trust anyone until I get back, including the leaders."
Hearing this, Zhao Yiqing glanced at him and immediately became sober like a bee falling into coffee.
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