5
Lu Changze stayed at home for a few days. When he opened the refrigerator, he found that there was nothing left to eat at home. As such, he went out and opened his shop and made a packet of instant noodles.
He sat down and ate at the cashier. After that, he was shrouded by a person’s shadow just after eating half of it. Lu Changze swallowed the instant noodles in his mouth and looked up. Gu Xiu stood in front of the cashier. He had one hand inserted obliquely into the pocket of his hand-tailored suit trousers while his other hand was naturally hanging by his side. Lu Changze’s mouth was covered with the inferior oil of instant noodles.
Gu Xiu frowned in disgust, “Lu Changze, come out.”
After speaking, Gu Xiu turned around, went out the door, lit a cigarette and waited.
Lu Changze put down the instant noodles and adjusted his glasses. Seeing Gu Xiu, who was standing by the door and had no intention of leaving, he opened a bottle of mineral water and took a few sips.
After wiping his mouth twice with his hand, he got up and went out. Gu Xiu looked back and saw Lu Changze follow him out. He then opened the car door and got in his car. Lu Changze followed behind him slightly.
Gu Xia sighed as Lu Changze pulled down the shutters and locked his shop. Gu Xiu in the car waited impatiently and honked the horn before opening the passenger’s door.
Gu Xiu looked through the car window at the middle-aged man who had his head down as he locked the door.
He was now flat and expressionless, which is not right. Gu Xiu impatiently pressed on the horn with his hand holding a cigarette, at least his shy, shrinking look did not change.
After Lu Changze got into the car, the two of them didn’t speak. Gu Xiu didn’t even bother to give Lu Changze a look.
Lu Changze didn’t ask him where he was taking him, but quietly looked at the receding buildings outside the car. Gu Xiu snuffed out the cigarette on his fingertips as the car reached the expressway, Lu Changze looked at the sign and headed towards Pingzhou.
“Fang Ming was still looking for you a few days ago and you have been living here for the past two years? Why didn’t you tell Fang Ming?” Gu Xiu’s voice had always been monotone.
Lu Changze turned his head and looked at the man sitting beside him. Gu Xiu was the same age as himself, forty-two years old. Besides being more mature and manly, there is no change from before. Lu Changze adjusted his glasses. This man, the man he has loved for more than 20 years, seems to have stayed the same, except in age and appearance. Everything else is still the same as before.
“Fang Ming is busy so I didn’t say anything.” After Lu Changze finished speaking, he didn’t speak anymore and the car fell into silence again. The highway from Xuan Qi to Pingzhou was very short. After driving into the urban area for a long time, Gu Xiu drove the car to an office building and stopped.
“Get out.”
Lu Changze followed Gu Xiu out of the car and looked up at the sign on the top of the office building, Huihua Real Estate.
Lu Changze followed Gu Xiu into his office on the top floor. Gu Xiu sat down on the sofa and threw a document over. Lu Changze opened it.
He looked at it carefully.
“The area of Huihua where you live now is going to be converted into a high-end villa area. The scenery and environment there is good. I inspected it two years ago and it’s going to be actioned on. After that, the profits will definitely not be small but the area is too big and the staff are not familiar with it. You have lived there for a long time, so the job will be entrusted to you.
Report to the Human Resources Office in a bit.” Gu Xiu gave the order expressionlessly.
Lu Changze read the contents of the document. It contained a basic compensation agreement. He put the document gently on the desk after reading it, “Boss Gu, I resigned five years ago. I am no longer an employee of Huihua. I am afraid… you should leave this job to others.”
After speaking, Lu Changze looked at Gu Xiu nervously and instinctively became afraid. He was afraid that Gu Xiu would be angry, that Gu Xiu would be dissatisfied, and that Gu Xiu would dislike his expression.
He has always been afraid, even after five years.
“Five years?” Gu Xiu asked suspiciously, “Didn’t you suddenly disappear two years ago?”
Lu Changze was taken aback for a moment, feeling a sense of sadness in his heart.
“Boss Gu has been too busy. It’s normal for an ordinary employee like me to leave.” Lu Changze laughed with a flattering expression on his face like a natural, “I have resigned for five years, Mr. Gu. I really can’t do this job.”
Gu Xiu looked at Lu Changze with disdain, “You take over first and next month Fang Ming will finish the work at hand and come to take over and lay a solid foundation. I need a trustworthy person. You are Fang Ming’s brother. Why? You can’t help a little? Don’t worry, the compensation is negotiable.”
“Boss Gu.” Before Gu Xiu could finish speaking, Lu Changze mustered up the courage to interrupt him, his face was a little pale, “It’s not about the money, I…I want to do it, but I can’t do it even after so many years. Mr. Gu should hire someone else. I still have something to do, so I’ll leave first. ” Lu Changze said it all in one breath.
After that, he hurriedly got up, opened the door and went out. Lu Changze was so fast that Gu Xiu had no time to speak.
Gu Xiu swept the documents that fell on the ground thoughtfully. This is the first time Lu Changze has blatantly disobeyed him in so many years.
6
Running out of Huihua in one breath, Lu Changze coughed and panted against the cold wind. He looked back to see if anyone was chasing him, then smiled self-deprecatingly.
There was no way Gu Xiu would follow him. Lu Changze rubbed his stomach. He didn’t eat much in the morning and now he ran against the wind for a long time.
Lu Changze frowned uncomfortably due to his gastritis. He had always known that he had stomach problems, but he was used to the pain since he was a child.
The more severe pain started two years ago.
Lu Changze was in so much pain that he found a quiet place and squatted for a long time. He then turned to see a homeless man covered with a black shabby quilt lying not far from him.
Lu Changze laughed out loud, he didn’t expect to look like a beggar after hanging around in his forties. He took out his phone in his pocket and saw it was four o’clock in the afternoon. The latest bus from Pingzhou to Xuan Qi leaves at six o’clock, so Lu Changze slowly stood up and walked to the station.
It was past seven when he got home and it was completely dark outside. Lu Changze was so uncomfortable that he drank two cups of hot water and threw himself on the bed.
He doesn’t know if he fell asleep or passed out. He probably started dreaming in the middle of the night about something from the past.
Gu Xiu, Fang Ming and Lu Changze. The three have known each other for a long time. Lu Changze frowned uncomfortably in his sleep. Yes, we have known each other for too long.
Lu Changze and Fang Ming were cousins. Lu Changze was brought up by Fang Ming’s parents. When Lu Changze was five years old, his parents owed an usury and were chased by loan sharks.
The debtor was hit and killed by a car. The driver who caused the accident ran away and disappeared completely. No one took care of Lu Changze, who was five years old, and he lived in an orphanage for half a year.
He was not treated well. Lu Changze suffered a lot in the orphanage. Later, his uncle, Fang Ming’s father, took him out.
The living conditions of Fang Ming’s family were not very good. At that time, the family lived in the capital and the cost of living was high. Although Fang Ming’s family was well off, they had to provide for two boys. Both of them went to school and their living expenses were not cheap. Although he tries not to talk about it, Lu Changze, who has been dependent on others since he was a child, can feel the emotions of others better than ordinary people.
Precocious, he started thinking about making money when he was in junior high school. He did everything to make money. He secretly sold things in school. He picked up bottles and sold them. Sometimes, he also stole things because he really wanted it too much. The protagonist in the novel must maintain a noble character in adversity, but from Lu Changze’s point of view, that was nonsense. It seemed that he hadn’t suffered enough. Even though the Fang family provided him with food to eat, when children reach a certain age and when they want something very much, they’ll be very envious when they see others have it. No matter how wise beyond his years Lu Changze was, he would not be able to bear it.
When he was in the first grade of junior high school, there was a popular snack. It was very delicate. He has forgotten what it is, but all the children in the class have eaten it. Fang Ming’s parents took him there before. But for Lu Changze who was earning a little money, it was only enough to buy two erasers, but he can’t afford what he wants. Even after saving for a long time, Lu Changze, who has a low self-esteem in his bones, didn’t have the courage to push open the high-end glass doors of the snack shop. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he was afraid of being looked down upon by others inside.
The more unsatisfied you are, the more you will want it.
Gu Xiu saw him when he mustered up the courage to steal from the boy at the front desk who brought the leftover snacks to school. The 12-year-old Lu Changze was ordinary-looking but the inferiority complex in his bones made him shrink back a little. Gu Xiu looked at him with disgust when caught him doing something bad and the corner of his mouth couldn’t be concealed.
Gu Xiu was dressed exquisitely and he at Lu Changze like he was looking at trash. Lu Changze was terrified, flustered, and ashamed.
When the people in the school found out, Lu Changze was shunned and then Fang Ming was implicated. Fang Ming is a very good person, and Lu Changze has always known that if Fang Ming had a brother, he would always treat his brother with sincerity. If he had a lover, he would be a considerate and gentle lover.
Lu Changze was ashamed. Only Fang Ming still treated him like before. Naturally, for a good person like Fang Ming, Gu Xiu also treated him well while always looking down on Lu Changze.
It’s just that humans are very strange. Lu Changze found out that he liked Gu Xiu when he was in his first year of high school. They went to the best high school in Beijing at that time.
Gu Xiu’s family is rich, so naturally they went to the best school. Fang Ming got good grades, and Lu Changze, who worked so hard to pass the admission line, also got into the first year of that high school.
While everyone was talking about girls, Lu Changze looked at Gu Xiu while he was ignorant.
He had a physical feeling and it happened to be towards Gu Xiu. Lu Changze knew how disgusting that person was, but he just couldn’t control it. Gu Xiu was good-looking and well-dressed.
He had an arrogant personality and was self-righteous. Even if he had a bad temper, in Lu Changze’s eyes, those were all good. Probably because he likes them, so they all looked good in his eyes. No matter how disgusting Gu Xiu was, Lu Changze still stuck to him like a rascal for more than twenty years.
7
If Lu Changze does not participate, Huihua will not lack him. While the demolition work is in full swing, Lu Changze will still be guarding his small shop.
Gu Xiu never came to the small shop again and everything seemed to return to those five years, until Fang Ming appeared.
Lu Changze found a chair and handed it to Fang Ming. He was wearing a high-end coat and squeezed behind the narrow cash register with Lu Changze. The Fang Ming now and five years ago was still the same. He had a warm expression and temperament. If Lu Changze is mudwater, Fang Ming is the lotus on the mud. To be honest,he was not exaggerating at all.
“Brother, I heard from Gu Xiu that you have been here for the past two years and you refused to go back to work?” Fang Ming looked around, “Why did you come here without saying a word? Mingyu and I didn’t know you were missing until we returned to China. Why didn’t you contact us?”
“I had enough of staying at the same place, so I wanted to change the location. You and Boss Qi are both busy. It’s not a big deal for me. There’s no need to make a special effort.”
To explain. Boss Qi, Qi Mingyu, was Fang Ming’s boyfriend. It was not easy for these two to be together, but it had been more difficult for Lu Changze when the two were together.
Few people didn’t know that Lu Changze liked Gu Xiu back then and all kinds of bad words were used to criticize Lu Changze.
But Lu Changze was cowardly, so he pretended he didn’t hear what others said and he still shamelessly clung onto him every day.
Gu Xiu, for some reason, when Fang Ming and Qi Mingyu fell in love, still regarded him as a brother. Both of them were men, so Fang’s father and mother hated Lu Changze to the core.
If it weren’t for the abnormal Lu Changze, would Fang Ming, a good young man, have fallen in love with a man too?
Gu Xiu was a man with power in his family, so he has played with both men and women.Despite this, Gu Xiu thought the same thing, if Lu Changze hadn’t influenced Fang Ming, how could Fang Ming have set foot on that path? What’s more, the two became acquainted because of Lu Changze. Just because of this, Gu Xiu even asked someone to get rid of Lu Changze several times. In the end, the two overcame all the difficulties and finally became lovers. However, Lu Changze remained a sinner.
“It’s not a problem for you to stay here…” Fang Ming looked sympathetically at Lu Changze’s blue cotton coat with some oil stains.
In comparison, Lu Changze is really a middle-aged, useless uncle, “You are much thinner than before.”
Lu Changze smiled, “Fang Ming, go back. If this piece is torn down, give me some more compensation. You know, I love money the most.”
Fang Ming couldn’t persuade Lu Changze, so he stopped talking and went back.
Xuan Qi is a city to the south and it doesn’t snow in winter, despite being gloomy and cold. Lu Changze looked out at the gloomy sky from behind the cash register.
He beat his stomach lightly twice, it has been so painful for the past few days and the pain hasn’t stopped.
T/N: Happy Bad End Month! Hope you had a lovely time reading~
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