Chapter 43 Gu Lin, are you crazy?
Song Zhenshu asked Aunt Yang to make some honey water and brought it up to Ji Tong to drink. Afraid that he would overthink and have trouble sleeping, he sat by the bed and chatted idly for a while, talking about this and that, about all sorts of things, until Ji Tong fell asleep. Only then did he turn off the light and leave the room.
Ji Tong slept restlessly, as if he were being haunted by a nightmare. He kept waking up and falling asleep, with various dreams appearing in a loop, all of which were related to Gu Lin.
Ji Tong couldn't remember how many dreams she had, but she remembered the last one.
He dreamt that Gu Lin got married and even sent him an invitation.
In his dream, he tried very hard to see what Gu Lin's new wife looked like, but it was always as if a layer of fog covered his eyes, sometimes visible and sometimes not. Through the fog, he could only see the general outline of the person.
The other person seemed to be very tall, and had short hair.
In his dream, Gu Lin's wedding place resembled a medieval castle. Ji Tong stood at the other end of the red carpet in the cathedral. He lifted his foot, wanting to run closer to see Gu Lin's bride, but the fog in front of him suddenly dissipated, and the castle disappeared.
As soon as Ji Tong opened her eyes, Gu Lin appeared in the Peninsula apartment.
He was still wearing his wedding suit.
This time, Ji Tong finally got to speak with Gu Lin from her dream.
His first words were: "You're married, why are you still living with me!"
Without waiting for Gu Lin's reply, she packed her things and prepared to move out.
As a result, one suitcase wasn't enough, and two suitcases weren't enough either, so my uncle finally drove a truck over.
Ji Tong, carrying her suitcase in her left hand and a small jar of mint in her right, struggled to the door. Then, remembering that the "Together Forever" balloon's decomposition residue was still buried in the jar, she suddenly became furious. She grabbed the mint and threw it at Gu Lin's forehead, shouting even louder, "You made me the third party who ruined someone else's relationship! I hate you!"
Then he stormed out the door.
Then Ji Tong woke up.
I woke up at 8:30 in the morning.
Ji Tong lay on the bed, grimacing. His head was throbbing so badly it felt like it was going to explode, and his stomach was cramping.
His mind was filled with the scene of Gu Lin's wedding, and he didn't even pay attention to the meaning behind the word "third party". He grabbed his phone from the bedside table, just like grabbing the small pot of mint in his dream, and sent Gu Lin three emojis in a row.
[JT: Death Sentence.jpg]
[JT: I'll smash you to death with a corn cob.jpg]
[JT: Kitten Shooting.jpg]
On a rare day off, Song Jiahe was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine when Ji Yuanfeng returned from his run. Hearing a noise on the stairs, the two turned around and saw their son coming down with a wrinkled face.
"Are you still feeling unwell?" Song Jiahe knew about the drinking between the uncle and nephew last night. "Come here, let Mom massage you."
Ji Yuanfeng instructed Aunt Yang, "Cook a bowl of tomato noodles, but make a small amount; he won't eat much."
Aunt Yang: "Okay."
Ji Tong walked over and sat down next to Song Jiahe.
Song Jiahe was massaging his temples, and as she was massaging—
"Mother."
"Um?"
Ji Tong paused for two seconds.
Have you ever dreamed that your father marries someone else?
Song Jiahe: "..."
As Ji Yuanfeng was stretching, his shoulder suddenly snapped shut.
Ji Yuanfeng: "???"
Song Jiahe glanced at Ji Yuanfeng: "I dreamed about it once or twice a few days before I married your father."
Ji Tong: "And then?"
Ji Yuanfeng: "Then a handprint appeared on my face."
Ji Tong: "..."
Song Jiahe found the question strange: "What's wrong? Did you dream that your dad married someone else?"
How should I put this?
You can't exactly say you dreamt that Gu Lin got married.
Ji Tong couldn't even figure out why she suddenly asked that question, and with a real headache, she could only grit her teeth and say "Mmm".
Ji Yuanfeng has another handprint.
It's better than before, not on the face, but on the back.
Ji Yuanfeng felt like hanging himself: "I might as well die unjustly."
Song Jiahe knew, of course, that Ji Yuanfeng was innocent, but her son's wrinkled little face was really pitiful: "Behave yourself in Tongtong's dreams from now on."
Ji Yuanfeng: "..."
Ji Tong was also aware of her father's undeserved misfortune, so she obediently massaged Ji Yuanfeng's shoulders for more than ten minutes until Aunt Yang finished cooking the noodles.
"Is Uncle still not up?"
Ji Tong took a sip of the noodle soup, which made her stomach feel a little better. She was about to tell Aunt Yang that she would make a bowl for her uncle later when Song Jiahe said, "Go out."
Ji Tong looked up: "So early?"
Ji Yuanfeng: "Yes, we had an appointment."
Song Jiahe recalled Song Zhenshu's appearance that morning: "His dark circles were so heavy they looked like they were about to fall to the ground. I wonder if it's because he hasn't adjusted to the time difference."
Ji Tong frowned.
-
Song Zhenshu stopped his car at the entrance of the clubhouse. He didn't even bother to drive a few more steps into the garage. He turned off the engine, got out of the driver's seat, and left the keys in the car.
The club is extremely private. The owner is a good friend of Song Zhenshu. After receiving Song Zhenshu's message, he adjusted his biological clock and came to wait for her early in the morning. After Song Zhenshu got out of the car, he waved his hand behind him, and the valet driver received the signal and drove the car away.
Song Zhenshu, dressed in a long black trench coat, strode over and, before the boss could speak, asked, "Did you bring any cigarettes?"
His tone betrayed his impatience.
The shopkeeper smelled the smoke on Song Zhenshu's trench coat and, while touching a cigarette, said, "Such heavy smoke? How many have you smoked?"
Song Zhenshu couldn't remember how many cigarettes he had smoked from last night until now. He only knew that when he wanted to light one in the car this morning, the cigarette pack was already empty.
"Didn't you say you weren't going to smoke anymore?" The shopkeeper handed over the cigarette case along with the lighter.
Song Zhenshu's expression was cold: "I can't stand it."
The lobby of the club was a bit dimly lit, and the owner couldn't see Song Zhenshu's face clearly. It wasn't until they walked around to the courtyard corridor that he let out a "teasing" sound.
"Where did you go coal mining last night? Your dark circles are so bad!"
Song Zhenshu ignored him: "What time is it?"
Boss: "9:39."
Song Zhenshu: "Remind me at 9:50."
The boss nodded.
"By the way, who's that tall young man in the private room? He looks unfamiliar."
Song Zhenshu's hand, which was smoking, trembled: "He's here?"
Boss: "Yes, I arrived about ten minutes earlier than you. I had someone lead me in."
After the boss finished speaking, Song Zhenshu suddenly took a deep drag on his cigarette, stubbed it out, threw it in the trash can, and walked towards the private room.
Boss: "Did you eat gunpowder?"
Song Zhenshu unlocked his phone as he walked.
The screen was displaying a detailed document that was over forty pages long.
The information is about Gu Jia.
More than forty pages.
From last night until now, Song Zhenshu has read every single word, not even missing a single punctuation mark.
Only son, from a prominent family, with a powerful background.
The situation was more complicated than he had imagined, and the stakes involved were far more complex than they had been back then.
Song Zhenshu even wondered more than once, what was Gu Lin doing back in China? Couldn't he just stay in Germany and be his third-generation descendant?
The club was entirely designed in a Chinese style. The private rooms were at the end of the east hall. Song Zhenshu was very familiar with the place, so he didn't have any waiters or butlers follow him. He walked quickly to the door, didn't knock, and pushed the door open to enter.
The dishes were already laid out on the sandalwood wooden table, and the celadon teapot was filled with the smoke of tea. Gu Lin was standing by the window and turned around when he heard the sound.
Today he was wearing a black and gray windbreaker with matching black trousers underneath. His hair was casually pulled back, with only a few strands of hair left on either side of his forehead. It was a slightly slicked-back hairstyle, like a casually styled look after playing ball, different from the one I saw at the apartment that day.
For the first time, Song Zhenshu had a real sense of the fact that "Gu Lin is two years older than Tongtong".
He couldn't help but think that if he hadn't spent two extra years in Germany, Gu Lin, at his age, would have been two years ahead of Ji Tong... and there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
But things just turned out differently.
"Sit down," Song Zhenshu said quickly, as if he was eager to complete a task. He took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair, pulled out the chair, and sat down. His tone was relatively natural, but because of his familiarity with the place, he had an air of authority that left no room for doubt. "Have you eaten breakfast?"
"have eaten."
"Eat some more." Song Zhenshu pushed all the food prepared on the table in front of Gu Lin.
"I made an appointment at ten o'clock, why are you here so early?"
"The senior is also twenty minutes early."
Song Zhenshu remained noncommittal, leaning back in his chair and quietly watching Gu Lin with his arms crossed.
Gu Lin didn't touch his chopsticks.
Despite the harsh winter weather, one of the windows in the private room was open.
Light also shone through the window frames.
Occasionally, a breeze would blow, causing the bells on the eaves to ring.
Song Zhenshu's gaze drifted out the window.
"Did you hear the eaves bells?"
"Um."
"In temple architecture, eaves bells are also called wind chimes," Song Zhenshu suddenly said. "Do you know what their function is?"
Gu Lin looked up at Song Zhenshu.
Song Zhenshu wrote: "The wind blows and the jade chimes, constantly startling and warning people."
“You know why I’m here,” Song Zhenshu said indifferently, looking at him for a long time. “If you don’t eat now, you might not be able to eat after we finish talking.”
Gu Lin simply raised his hand, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it in front of Song Zhenshu.
Song Zhenshu glanced at the cup of tea but didn't drink it.
"Now that you've found my contact information, then..."
As Song Zhenshu was speaking, Gu Lin suddenly turned to the side and took something out from behind him.
It looks like a... file folder?
It was indeed a parchment document.
Gu Linchang pressed his finger against the end of the file and pushed it forward as well.
He didn't speak, but Song Zhenshu smiled.
"What," Song Zhenshu glanced down at the light brown hue, "the information you looked up? Whose? Mine or the Ji family's?"
Gu Lin said calmly, "Senior can take a look."
Speaking frankly and decisively, Song Zhenshu felt that it was perfectly acceptable for young people to be a little impetuous.
Information asymmetry is the key to victory at the negotiating table, and Song Zhenshu was even "grateful" for Gu Lin's decisiveness.
He didn't want to hide anything, so he took the phone, unlocked it, and the screen was still on the forty-three-page document. Song Zhenshu pushed it back to him as well: "I was going to give it to you too."
"There's only one night, so time is a bit rushed. Let's see if there's anything we've forgotten."
You can call it a show of force, or you can say it isn't.
Song Zhenshu didn't think of anything else, nor did he intend to actually threaten Gu Lin. He was just a junior; it wouldn't be that serious.
He just wanted Gu Lin to know that he alone could cover for Ji Tong in everything.
Gu Lin controlled his emotions so well that Song Zhenshu thought the forty-three pages of information would eventually cause him some emotional fluctuations.
But no.
Gu Lin merely glanced down at the screen, then locked the phone and handed it back.
His gaze wasn't even as intense as when he pushed the teacup away.
Song Zhenshu felt as if he had punched cotton, enveloped in a sense of emptiness.
He finally reached out and picked up the file—
Song Zhenshu was taken aback.
The file was very light and thin, so thin that Song Zhenshu suspected there were only a few sheets of paper inside.
Song Zhenshu frowned, loosened the drawstring of the file folder, and opened the seal.
He peeked through the crack in the opening and it seemed there really were only two or three sheets of paper.
Song Zhenshu took out the paper with a puzzled look in his eyes and saw the outline of the words printed on it, which looked like English.
Song Zhenshu stared intently at it.
One second.
Two seconds.
When he saw what it was, Song Zhenshu's pupils shrank, and his eyes were filled with completely unexpected astonishment.
Song Zhenshu pulled out the three sheets of paper at once, barely read half of them, and then pressed them heavily onto the file folder.
"Gu Lin, are you crazy? How old are you?!"
--will.
Moreover, it was a notarized will.
The beneficiary of the bequest was Ji Tong, and the will was made before Gu Lin returned to China.
Song Zhenshu's limbs felt as if they were immersed in seawater, unable to find any point of leverage.
It even gave me the creeps.
"Three copies each," Gu Lin's voice rang out.
"One copy is at the notary office."
"One copy is with me."
"There's another copy in my parents' hands."
Gu Lin's voice remained consistently calm, but Song Zhenshu's heart was in turmoil, and he felt as if he were nailed to the chair, unable to move.
Notary office, parents...
Therefore, Gu Lin has already made it clear to his parents.
…and even more than just the main road.
“Gu Lin,” Song Zhenshu’s voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, “How old are you? Do you know your family’s circumstances? Do you know how valuable these few pieces of paper are? Do you know that once you make this will, even if… even if Tongtong marries someone else and has children in the future, your bequest clauses will still be valid?”
"I know."
Song Zhenshu suddenly felt a loss of strength, even the strength to sit up was completely gone. He struggled to put the few papers back into the file folder, sealed it, tied the drawstring, and handed it back.
After Gu Lin took it, Song Zhenshu leaned back on the bench.
I don't know how much time has passed.
"Do you mind if I smoke while we talk?"
"I don't mind."
Song Zhenshu took the cigarettes he had snatched from his friend out of his pocket, picked one up, and without looking up, asked, "Do you know how?"
Gu Lin: "Yes."
Song Zhenshu was no longer surprised. He lit one for himself and tossed the cigarette case and lighter to Gu Lin.
Gu Lin raised his hand, caught it in mid-air, and used a single finger to open the cigarette box and take one out as well.
He lit the cigarette with practiced ease and with a graceful posture.
"Does Tongtong know you smoke?"
"have no idea."
Song Zhenshu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if he were breathing with a cigarette.
"Aren't you afraid he'll find out?"
Gu Lin was silent for a moment: "It doesn't matter if I have one more."
Song Zhenshu actually smiled and said, "That's true."
Song Zhenshu never imagined things would turn out this way.
A long time passed.
"Tongtong said you had injuries when you came back. Were they inflicted by your grandfather?"
"Um."
"Why doesn't your grandfather agree?"
“No,” Gu Lin’s features were blurred by the smoke rising from his fingertips, “He said I was too young and that I should remember the pain.”
“You’re right,” Song Zhenshu exhaled a smoke from her eyes, then looked up at him. “Aren’t you young?”
"Gu Lin, you know about my past."
“Those things I thought I could never get over back then, I can now sit here and talk to you about them with ease.”
"We've spent more time together than you and Tongtong have known each other."
"But now, we've been apart for longer than we've been together."
After taking his last drag of his cigarette, Song Zhenshu finally asked his last question.
"Life is so long, are you sure you only want Tongtong?"
Gu Lin didn't speak; he simply lowered his eyes and looked at the file.
He waited until the tea had cooled down before speaking in a low voice.
"The day I'm lying in the operating room, I hope he's the one who signs my consent form."
Song Zhenshu thought he had been numb by the shock, but his heart still trembled.
All the things he wanted to say were ultimately condensed into one sentence: "Have something to eat."
The two finished their morning tea in silence.
Just as Gu Lin put down his chopsticks, his phone rang.
Song Zhenshu saw the profile picture of the person he was chatting with: "Is that Tongtong?"
Gu Lin: "Mm."
Song Zhenshu: "What did you say?"
Gu Lin: "You asked me why I wasn't in the apartment."
Song Zhenshu sighed and got up to put on his coat.
"I'll take you back."
“No need,” Gu Lin said, looking at Song Zhenshu’s less-than-pleasant expression. “It’s very close.”
"Senior, go back and rest early."
Before Song Zhenshu could react, Gu Lin had already pulled out a chair, grabbed his bag, and walked toward the door, but then suddenly stopped beside Song Zhenshu.
Gu Lin, dressed in a shabby windbreaker, was taller than Song Zhenshu. Song Zhenshu sat on the bench, as if he were cast a shadow by Gu Lin.
Gu Lin tilted his head to look at him.
Song Zhenshu was puzzled and about to ask a question when Gu Lin suddenly spoke—
"Senior, it wasn't you who 'corrupted' him."
"If anyone is to be held responsible for what's happening today, it's me, not you."
"Drive carefully on your way back."
After saying his last sentence, Gu Lin nodded to Song Zhenshu, opened the door, and walked out.
Song Zhenshu sat in his seat for a long time, unable to speak.
The private room was completely silent, with only the wind chimes on the eaves making a soft sound once or twice.
Gu Lin came out of the private room in the corridor, but Song Zhenshu was not seen. After standing there for a while, he walked through the corridor to the private room.
"Who was that guy? Giving a night owl like you a head start in the morning... Hey, what's wrong? Why are your eyes red???"
After a long while, Song Zhenshu closed his eyes.
"...Smoked."
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