[13]
Lu Ming is a man of his word.
From this day on, he comes home from get off work on time every day. If he works overtime, he will call Chi Qiu in advance.
Time blinks to Friday.
It was rare for Chi Qiu to attend someone else's birthday party, so he couldn't help but feel uneasy. He changed into the light-colored suit that Aunt Zhang had chosen for him early, and got ready to go out.
Lu Ming came out of the bedroom, wearing his usual dark suit, with a serious expression on his face.
Considering that he might drink some wine at night, Lu Ming took Xiao Yan as the driver.
Along the way, Chi Qiu was always arranging his tie, obviously nervous.
He said to Lu Ming, "The last time I wore a suit was when we were having a wedding."
Lu Ming frowned, remembering that on the day of their wedding, there were not many people present, a total of more than 20 people came.
"Lu Yinliang's birthday party must have been attended by many more people than our wedding." Chi Qiu laughed, pretending to be relaxed.
He hadn't seen any big scenes before, so he couldn't help being afraid, afraid that he would say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. He was like a schoolboy giving a speech for the first time, uneasy.
Lu Ming saw it: "Nervous?"
Chi Qiu shook his head and found an excuse: "Actually, I'm not used to wearing a tie, it's a little tight."
Lu Ming helped him tidy up and loosened his tie knot: "Although most of the people who came today are relatives and friends from both sides, the occasion should not be too casual. If you feel uncomfortable for a while, we will leave early."
"Is it okay to leave early?"
"Just show up." Lu Ming didn't intend to help Lu Yinliang in his career, he was going to put on a show and don't make things difficult for anyone.
Back then, when Zhen Zhen dragged Lu Yinliang to the door to provoke him, Lu Ming's mother happened to be ill.
Lu Ming will never forget that day, Lu Yinliang's terrified eyes, and Zhen Zhen's ear-piercing scream. Scenes and sounds, all the first buds of knots fell in his heart when he was young.
"What are you! No wonder, no wonder Rong Tian hates you!"
Zhen Zhen seemed to see a monster hiding in the darkness, disgust and loathing burst out in the rotting blood, and ruthlessly devoured a patient who was ruthlessly driven to the bottom by Lu Rongtian.
When Lu Ming was a teenager, there were several bloody scratches and tooth marks on his arms. He raised his head and saw his half-brother Lu Yinliang leaning on the wall, vomiting due to the smell in the room. Dirty vomit ran along the floor, out of the house, and twisted into a giant black lizard.
Climb in his memory.
Lu Ming couldn't think about this, his head was buzzing, something squeezed and swelled in his temple, the pain made him clenched his back molars.
At the age of 17, he accompanied his finally divorced mother to go abroad for medical treatment and recuperation. Unfortunately, an accident happened. He had a big wound on his head, bled a lot, needed several stitches, and had to recuperate in the local area for a long time before recovering.
During that time, Lu Ming's mother died in a tragic way. When Lu Ming returned to his temporary home abroad, what greeted him was a scene he would never forget.
The overwhelming smell of blood enveloped him, and his mother's eyes were like ropes from hell, tightly strangling Lu Ming's neck, forcing him to look at each other.
The bag of medicine in Lu Ming's hand fell to the ground, and the medicine bottle rolled into a corner. He knelt on his knees and couldn't make a sound...
The news quickly spread back home.
murder? Love kill? homicide? Vendetta? For a while, this case became a staggering existence.
After Mr. Lu found out, he became very angry. He called the trembling Lu Rongtian to scold him, and then escorted Lu Rongtian to go abroad without stopping.
Unfortunately, Lu Ming's grandfather did not welcome their arrival, let alone accept their apology.
"They said that it was my daughter who opened the door and let that person in." The old man said tremblingly, his eyes filled with tears, "Why did she do this?"
He looked at Lu Rongtian full of hatred, gnashing his teeth word by word: "It was you who said that even if she was born with a defect, you would be loyal and loving to her. But you betrayed her, deceived her, and tortured her ! Let her live without hope... "
Lu Rongtian was held down by Mr. Lu and knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word.
Because of this incident, Mr. Lu has already removed all his positions in the company. At this moment, the benefits he gained from climbing up to Lu Ming's mother were stripped alive.
He regretted it unceasingly, and finally confessed his mistake with tears, hoping that the two old men would give him another chance.
Everyone died, but he said "opportunity".
Mr. Lu hit him with a cane, trembling with anger, he couldn't even swear the word "animal".
Lu Ming's grandfather looked at the cowardly and greedy Lu Rongtian in front of him, and closed his eyes: "Get lost, never appear in front of me."
And his only request was to keep Lu Ming, who was underage, and this grandson who was almost in the same mold as his daughter.
Lu Ming remembered very clearly that his grandfather's hands kept shaking, and the grief of losing his daughter in his later years weighed him down like a collapsing mountain. He held Lu Ming's hand and wept uncontrollably.
In his old age, he was afraid that Lu Ming would also embark on the same road of no return as his daughter, so he broke the relationship between Lu Ming and Lu Rongtian without hesitation.
For this reason, for nearly nine years, before his grandfather passed away, Lu Ming never returned to China once.
...
At the red light, Xiao Yan stepped on the brake slowly.
Lu Ming closed his eyes and took a nap, furrowing his brows deeply.
Today's air is humid, but the temperature is comfortable. There was only a heavy rain in the afternoon, and it wet the city. Now, the sky is showing a clear color, and there is a rainbow that is neither thick nor light.
The inside of the car was unexpectedly dull, and Xiao Yan dropped the window a little.
Chi Qiu habitually held Lu Ming's hand and noticed that Lu Ming's palm was sweating.
He tried to call him: "Lu Ming?"
"..."
"Lu Ming, what's wrong with you?"
Lu Ming opened his eyes tiredly, Chi Qiu's hand had already run along his arm, and found his forehead regardless. After making sure that Lu Ming didn't have a fever, he asked worriedly, "Are you feeling unwell? Your palms are sweaty, as is your forehead, but your body temperature seems normal."
"I'm fine." Lu Ming tried his best to calm down, forcing himself not to think about those fragments hidden deep in his memory.
Chi Qiu clenched his hand tightly with one hand, and hurriedly stroked his shoulder with the other: "Do you want some water?"
Lu Ming signaled Chi Qiu to sit down, and said again: "I'm fine."
Xiao Yan hurriedly asked: "Boss Lu, do I need to turn around and go to the hospital?"
"Need not."
Lu Ming took out a bottle of unopened mineral water and a tablet of medicine from the glove box in the car, took out one, and swallowed it with cold water. His headache was a long-standing problem. As long as Lu Ming's emotions were strong or unstable, he would have frequent attacks.
A psychiatrist who was abroad once said that Lu Ming would suffer from emotional apathy, the main reason being that his body might be protecting itself.
Only by hiding and burying all emotions, Lu Ming himself will not suffer.
Chi Qiu beside him heard the sound of him peeling off the capsule from the aluminum foil, and asked anxiously, "Are you taking medicine? Lu Ming, what's wrong with you? Let's, let's go to the hospital!"
Lu Ming closed his eyes and his heart was beating fast. He didn't have the mood and time to comfort Chi Qiu who was worried about him. He wiped his face vigorously, waiting for the effect of the medicine to take effect: "Chi Qiu, be quiet."
A few minutes passed, and the temperature of Lu Ming's palm gradually returned to normal.
He raised his head and saw Chi Qiu's face turned pale, pinching his own fingers helplessly. He keenly heard the slight friction sound between the fabrics of Lu Ming's suit, and turned his head suddenly. Just about to speak, but shut up embarrassingly.
The corners of Chi Qiu's eyes were slightly red. If Lu Ming didn't speak, he would probably cry in anxiety.
"Chi Qiu."
"I am here!"
Lu Ming held his hand, then let go: "I'm fine, don't worry."
Only Chi Qiu quickly grabbed the hand he was about to take back, clenched it tightly, and rubbed it vigorously, as if to warm him up. Chi Qiu opened his mouth, with a crying sound, probably really frightened: "What's wrong with you?"
"Headache, maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night." He lied casually.
But Lu Ming's behavior just now didn't look like an ordinary headache. He always had medicine in his car, obviously it wasn't just a matter of not sleeping well. Seeing that he didn't want to say anything, Chi Qiu hesitated again and again, and swallowed back what he was about to say.
"Let's not go to the birthday party, okay?" Chi Qiu said again, "Let's go home, you have a good rest tonight."
However, the car had already driven into the entrance of the hotel where the birthday party was held.
"It's here."
Lu Ming didn't want this trivial matter to affect the business, so he reassured Chi Qiu. In order to appease Chi Qiu's emotions, Lu Ming gently touched the corner of his eyes with his fingertips, wiping away some tears.
"I'm really fine." He said, "Let's rest in the car for a while before going down." Otherwise, with Chi Qiu's expression, anyone who sees it will mistakenly think that the two of them have just "finished arguing".
Chi Qiu rubbed his eyes: "Okay."
...
Twenty minutes passed.
Lu Ming got out of the car, strode to Chi Qiu's side and opened the car door. He protected the roof of the car with one hand, let Chi Qiu hold the other hand, and took Chi Qiu out of the back seat with ease.
Under the professional guidance of the hotel staff, Xiao Yan drove the car to the corresponding parking lot, where there is a tea room for the driver to rest.
On this side, after learning their purpose, the waiter politely led them into the corresponding elevator.
The birthday banquet is arranged on the fifth floor, in the mode of western buffet.
When the two arrived, there were already many people inside. Lu Yinliang was the first to see them and greeted Lu Ming: "Brother! Brother Qiu! Why did you come here? We've been here for a while." His tone of voice was enthusiastic, and those who didn't know it might mistakenly think that the two brothers had a good relationship .
"Happy birthday, this is the gift that Chi Qiu and I picked for you." Lu Ming even gave his blessings without a smile on his face. He took out the prepared gift box and handed it to Lu Yinliang.
Chi Qiu didn't even know that Lu Ming had prepared a gift.
Lu Yinliang opened the box without hesitation, and said pleasantly, "I've been in love with this watch for a long time, thank you brother, thank you Brother Qiu!" He turned his head, pointed inside, and said heartily, "Go in, we are all acquaintances today. "