"Brother Xu? Brother Xu!"
Xu Ran suddenly raised his head and saw He Yuxuan's worried face.
He Yuxuan stretched out his hand and shook it in front of his eyes, "Are you okay? You didn't respond when I called you just now."
Xu Ran was stunned for a moment, looked down at his computer, and found that the document was full of meaningless content, so he quickly deleted it.
"I..." He hurriedly dealt with the messy documents and said, "I'm fine."
He Yuxuan frowned, "Are you sure? After going to work today, your complexion has been…"
"Yuxuan." Xu Ran interrupted him with a cold voice, "I'm fine."
Seeming to have calmed down suddenly, He Yuxuan looked at him, but finally said nothing, sighed and returned to his seat.
After a while, after making sure that no one was looking this way, Xu Ran let go of all his strength and buried his face in his palms.
He didn't sleep last night, all he could think about was He Cheng's expression before he left. For so many years, He Cheng had been angry with him, but he had never been so angry like this time. This incident really touched He Cheng's backlash, Xu Ran wanted to say sorry to him, but He Cheng's phone showed that it was turned off all night.
The place where he was kicked was painful, and Xu Ran lay there on the cold floor for a whole night. At five o'clock in the morning, the pain finally subsided, and he struggled to get up from the ground, looking at the empty space in the dim light. In the living room, I felt as if I had just died once.
The heart-piercing pain occupied all his senses. Not only physically, but his emotions were also torn into pieces, falling to the bottom one by one. He was like a headless fly, confused and frightened, the uneasiness rising from the bottom of his heart and the guilt towards He Cheng tormented him almost to a mental breakdown. He couldn't imagine He Cheng's mood when he heard Mai Xing slandering him, it must be more uncomfortable than kicking him.
But he still has to support his almost collapsed body to clock in at work and sit in his seat to handle the work.
The biggest disadvantage of being a social person is that you can't act like a child. No one knows your pain, they don't need to know, and you have no right to tell.
Sometimes, Xu Ran feels like a grain of sand in the sea, floating and sinking with the waves, even if he wants to go ashore, he is unable to resist the tide, occasionally looking back at the days that have passed, laughter or sadness, are just Just a tiny drop. No one really cares about other people's feelings, even Xu Ran himself doesn't care about his own.
What is his mood? He is just a dispensable guy, cheekily rubbing against He Cheng's side, taking He Cheng's generosity as capital to arrange him at will. In the past ten years, he always thought that He Cheng should have some thoughts about his right leg, and he convinced himself that He Cheng was the culprit, so that he could occupy a higher moral position. But He Cheng didn't know it from the beginning to the end, he was the one who felt sorry for himself, and out of generosity, arranged an unwarranted crime for He Cheng. It is natural for He Cheng to be angry, and Xu Ran also hates himself who has fabricated lies for ten years.
He clicked on the chat software, looked at the avatar on the top, and clicked into the conversation.
Sorry.
He hesitated to add something, he wrote, and eventually gave up.
The moment Xu Ran clicked to send, he knew that this message would go nowhere, and He Chenghui even deleted him in a rage. No matter what, he deserved it, and he had to bear it.
He didn't know how many sorrys would be needed to make up for the loss caused by He Cheng being framed in front of the employees. If He Cheng wanted it, even if it was a thousand or ten thousand, he would be willing.
But there are some things that cannot be undone by an apology.
After finally getting off work, Xu Ran saw a familiar figure walking towards him not far away as soon as he left the gate of the unit's yard.
Looking at Mai Xing's fearful face full of evil spirits, Xu Ran thought that maybe since he was admitted to that high school thirteen years ago, his life has been misplaced.
Completely, completely wrong.
"long time no see."
From the moment he opened his mouth, he heard the familiar riffraff accent, and Mai Xing's voice had a very deliberate depth, which was disgustingly contrived. Xu Ran frowned, lowered his head and decided to ignore him.
He walked to the side, and Mai Xing stopped him first. Xu Ran looked around, but desperately found that he was the only one walking through the main entrance at this time.
Mai Xing looked at him with great interest, and jokingly said, "You've grown taller, I thought nerds couldn't grow taller."
"... What are you doing here?" Xu Ran asked impatiently.
Mai Xing shrugged, "Looking for an old classmate? I just arrived in this city, so it's great to know that you and He Cheng are here."
Xu Ran was taken aback when he heard He Cheng's name, and then remembered what happened last night, his face paled instantly.
Mai Xing smiled, "Aren't you wondering how I knew you were here?"
"No." Xu Ran replied quickly, looking for an opportunity to leave quietly, "I'm not interested."
"It's a pity," Mai Xing sighed regretfully, "Awen recognized you at the hospital on the weekend, and told me so excitedly."
Ah Wen, Xu Ran instantly recalled the name. Ah Wen was one of the attendants who followed Mai Xing and broke his right leg.
The hospital on the weekend... He doesn't remember meeting anyone, except for the doctors and nurses, and that's just... that rampant and rude man.
Xu Ran began to suspect that his life had never had a smooth moment, and he would never be able to escape this nightmare.
Mai Xing draped his shoulder like a good brother, no matter how hard Xu Ran tried, he couldn't shake it off, "I should thank you, if it wasn't for you, I still wouldn't be able to appreciate He Cheng's wonderful expression."
He smiled, just like the smile they showed after they forced Xu Ran into a small alley ten years ago, cruel and crazy.
"You're crazy." Xu Ran gritted his teeth and struggled, "Let me go!"
Mai Xing held his shoulders with one hand, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Let's go, let's 'catch up'."
"what are you doing?!"
Xu Ran suddenly turned around and saw He Yuxuan standing behind them like a savior.
Mai Xing looked at He Yuxuan's size, slowly straightened up, but did not let go of the hand on Xu Ran's shoulder.
Xu Ran didn't know what to do. He Yuxuan was probably not Mai Xing's opponent, but he walked towards them step by step without the slightest fear.
"Let him go!"
He Yuxuan's roar attracted the attention of the guards not far away. Two guards poked their heads out from the pavilion, frowning and looking at this side.
Mai Xing sighed regretfully, "You are so lucky."
He let go of Xu Ran's shoulder, stepped back and said, "It seems that we have to talk about it later. But..."
He blinked at Xu Ran, and his deep voice was like a spell, lingering in Xu Ran's ears.
"I know about your relationship with He Cheng, about this, maybe we can have a good chat."
Mai Xing stepped back to the side of the road step by step, raised his hands innocently to the guard booth, then opened the door of a black Land Rover parked by the road, and walked away.
He Yuxuan ran over in two or three steps, and asked worriedly, "Brother Xu, are you okay?"
Xu Ran nodded, then shook his head again. He was really exhausted physically and mentally.
"You look bad, I'll take you home."
He Yuxuan took a taxi and pulled Xu Ran into the back seat without any explanation. Usually Xu Ran would refuse, but for some reason today, maybe he really didn't have the strength to resist, so he let him go.
Unable to bring He Yuxuan back to He Cheng's house, Xu Ran could only go back to his hut. Some old communities are not considered spacious. He Yuxuan's face was tense, and he sent Xu Ran into the room without saying a word.
In addition to being full of energy, this young man also has a super high emotional intelligence. Xu Ran is grateful for his silence, which saves him from being too embarrassing. There wasn't much at home, and he had nothing to entertain He Yuxuan, so he paused and said, "I'm fine, let's go, I'll treat you to dinner."
He Yuxuan shook his head, "You have a good rest, I'll go buy food and come back."
Xu Ran couldn't hold him back, so he could only take out the money from his wallet and hand it to him. Perhaps it was to take care of his mood, He Yuxuan accepted it without any refusal.
Xu Ran gave him the spare key, and after He Yuxuan went out, he slowly fell down on the bed and let out a long breath.
There seemed to be a hole in the heart, and Mai Xing's appearance tore open the old scab, revealing the bright red flesh and blood inside. Mai Xing wanted to use him to deal with He Cheng, this was the only conclusion Xu Ran could draw.
Ah Wen's presence here shows that Mai Xing's influence has spread to the city, and He Cheng's business will be threatened. He Cheng's father explicitly forbade him to have any contact with people like Mai Xing. If Mai Xing made such a fuss, He Cheng's life in the He family would probably be difficult.
I am the culprit, Xu Ran thought, it was he who gave Mai Xing the opportunity to deal with He Cheng in such a low-handed way, if it wasn't for him, Mai Xing would never have found any excuse to intervene in He Cheng's work.
He used to be He Cheng's lover, but now he has become a stain.
Perhaps he was He Cheng's stain from the beginning to the end, someone He Cheng didn't want to mention at all, but the appearance of Mai Xing made them recognize this point clearly.
Xu Ran closed his eyes in pain, the pain in his right knee hit again, he gritted his teeth and moaned softly.
He Cheng is right, he is a waste.
A waste that will only bring misfortune to those around him, and will never be able to be happy.
"I said, should you calm down?"
Bai Jinming watched helplessly as He Cheng tore up the fifth document and threw it into the trash can, then yelled into the phone to ask the other party to rewrite it. The little girl on the other side almost cried and agreed, so she couldn't help asking tentatively.
He Cheng ignored him at all, swept the scraps of paper on the table to the floor, and picked up the next document.
When he was about to get angry again, Bai Jinming rushed forward and snatched the document from him, "This cannot be torn, this is the contract."
He Cheng said coldly, "Give it back to me."
Bai Jinming was not afraid of him at all, and said calmly, "You need to rest."
"I'm fine. Give it back."
Before he kicked himself out of the office, Bai Jinming wisely chose to return the contract to him.
As soon as he got the contract, He Cheng immediately tore it into pieces.
"... What do you want to do?" Bai Jinming said helplessly.
"This is the contract handed over by the Mai family." He Cheng sneered, "They really think I will sign it?"
"Whether you sign it or not, shredding it is not a reasonable behavior."
He Cheng looked at him, took out a kraft paper bag from the drawer, stuffed the shredded paper inside and sealed it, called his assistant in and said, "Send this back to the original address."
"OK."
Bai Jinming rubbed his brows, suddenly felt that the man in front of him was terribly angry.
When the assistant left, he intimately closed the door of the office. Bai Jin made sure that no one would notice the movement here, and sat down opposite He Cheng, "Are you still angry with him?"
He didn't say Xu Ran's name, but He Cheng still frowned in disgust.
"Shut up." He Cheng said, "Go home if you have nothing to do."
Bai Jinming shook his head, "Brother, your mood is not right this time."
From childhood to adulthood, he has seen He Cheng lose his temper for various people. Reckless housekeepers, annoying children next door, adults with bad words, and even Joan who left him to go abroad without authorization. Every time He Cheng would try his best to suppress his anger, show a magnanimous appearance, and then say some harsh words to humiliate the other party, but this time is different. He was completely angry, and he no longer controlled his anger, nor did he intend to hide his disappointment with Xu Ran at all.
He Cheng was silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Recently, you've always been speaking for him."
Bai Jinming frowned, "I don't like your hint."
"Then shut up." He Cheng ordered.
Bai Jinming silently rolled his eyes, sat for a while, and made sure that He Cheng was really not in the mood to continue the conversation, then he sighed and got up, ready to leave.
Before reaching the door, there was a loud noise behind him, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground. Bai Jinming was taken aback, turned around quickly, and found that the documents on the desk that were nearly half a meter high had been swept to the ground at some point.
He Cheng was holding the phone, his eyes were fixed on the screen, and the veins in his temples were bulging. Suddenly, he cursed an extremely nasty swear word, and threw the phone hard.
The expensive phone case showed its value at this moment, Bai Jinming leaned over and picked up the phone that had slid to his feet, trying to see the contents clearly through the broken screen.
It was a photo, Bai Jinming squinted his eyes for a while, and when he finally realized what he saw, he opened his mouth in surprise and was speechless for a long time.
He Cheng clenched his fist and slammed it hard against his desk, making a disturbing loud noise.
In the photo, a young man held Xu Ran's shoulders and walked into a cheap house that was obviously not part of He Cheng's property.