Shen Ruozhen was so pious that he dispelled most of Yao Zheng's concerns. When they parted at the temple, they left each other their contact information.
There were nearly a hundred steps down the mountain. The sky had already turned dark. Shen Ruozhen realized that he had stayed in the cemetery and the temple for a long time. It took him two hours to copy just one scroll of scriptures.
Although it seemed to him that it was fleeting, it might have seemed very long to the person accompanying him, especially in the temple, where Xiang Mingzhang had been waiting quietly in the courtyard without leaving.
Shen Ruozhen asked: "Mr. Xiang, did you worship Buddha while you were waiting for me?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "No."
Shen Ruozhen had never seen anyone who could resist worshipping after entering a Buddhist temple. After all, he was already here. He asked, "There is an old tree in the side yard that is covered with red ribbons. Every pilgrim can tie one and make a wish. Have you tied one?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "There are artificial wishing trees on every decent mountain in China, but apart from the fact that the red and green are very eye-catching, they have no practical use."
Shen Ruozhen smiled, slowed down his pace and fell back a few steps. The shadows of the two people also moved away from each other. He thought of the time when Xiang Mingzhang was waiting for him in the cemetery, standing alone and looking very lonely.
When he saw Shen Zuorun, would Xiang Mingzhang think of his father at that moment
Shen Ruozhen no longer has any secrets in front of Xiang Mingzhang, but he knows very little about Xiang Mingzhang. What kind of feelings does Xiang Mingzhang have towards his father who has no news from him
There were trees between the two roads, and the treetops rustled overhead. Shen Ruozhen asked, "Has there been no news from your father?"
Xiang Mingzhang stopped and said, "Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?"
Shen Ruozhen said: "I want to know more about you."
Xiang Mingzhang turned around and said, "It's enough to understand me. People who have nothing to do with me don't need to care."
Shen Ruozhen heard the resistance in his words, which was also Xiang Mingzhang's attitude towards Xiang Long. He said, "I have no intention of prying into your family affairs. If you don't like to talk about it, then don't talk about it. But I want to tell you that if you need to face something one day, I am willing to accompany you to solve it together."
Xiang Mingzhang is always the one who makes the decisions, both in the company and in the Xiang family. He never shows his weak side and makes a fool of himself, and even hides his occasional laziness.
He thought that to love someone, one had to be a roof to protect against the wind and a high wall to keep out the rain, but he forgot that before they fell in love, Shen Ruozhen had already watched his family affairs and comforted him every time he was depressed.
But those are just the tip of the iceberg. Xiang Mingzhang said, "What if my family affairs are dirty affairs?"
"Do you think I would hate you?" Shen Ruozhen stepped down a few steps. "Didn't you say that you don't need to care about irrelevant things? It's enough that I care about you."
Xiang Mingzhang was rarely moved, and he stubbornly turned the tables and said, "Is it because I did these things for the identity of 'Shen Ruozhen' that you were moved and wanted to repay me?"
Shen Ruozhen stopped at the next step. He reached out and brushed away the fallen petals on Xiang Mingzhang's shoulder. He looked down at him and said with concern, "Mr. Xiang, are you talking to me about gratitude?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Is it impossible to discuss it?"
"Verbal arguments are not rigorous." Shen Ruozhen said, "Please use the data center to calculate whether I am more grateful or more affectionate. Do you want me to repay you or talk about affection?"
Xiang Mingzhang admitted defeat and returned to his ancestral home. When he met his relatives and elders, Master Shen was a little arrogant. He dared to say such things near the temple. As an outsider, he didn't dare to be frivolous in the Buddhist temple. He dragged Shen Ruozhen down the stairs and said, "Let's settle the score when we get down the mountain."
The two men lingered until they reached the foot of the mountain. It was already dark. After wandering in the suburbs for a day, they finally entered the city of Ningbo.
The hotel they stayed in was in Haishu District. The suite was on a high floor and was surrounded by the bustling and colorful night scene on three sides. After taking a shower, Shen Ruozhen stood by the window, trying to find the light that belonged to the old Shen family among the bright lights.
After looking for a long time, his eyes became blurry. He turned around and moved to the head of the bed. He kneeled too hard in front of the grave today, and the hem of his nightgown was slightly open, revealing his bruised knees.
Xiang Mingzhang frowned when he saw it: "Does it hurt?"
"It's okay." Shen Ruozhen said, then changed his words, "It hurts a lot."
Xiang Mingzhang was at a loss: "Is it serious or not?"
Shen Ruozhen said carefully: "You can walk, but you can't kneel, lie down, or stand for a long time."
Xiang Mingzhang thought to himself that the logic was very clear, then he realized what Shen Ruozhen was talking about. That night in the living room of Manzhuang, he had knelt in the bathtub, lay on the dressing sofa, and even stood by the window for a long time until he fainted.
Walking to the bedside, Xiang Mingzhang sneered: "Don't worry, I won't do anything tonight. Even if you are not afraid of pain, I am still afraid that your father and Mr. Yao will team up to send me a dream."
Shen Ruozhen said: "You should leave it to me."
Xiang Mingzhang lifted the quilt and got on the bed: "Then ask you why you sleep with a man, how do you answer?"
Shen Ruozhen had never considered this question. After thinking about it seriously, he realized that he could even tamper with Shen Zuorun's funeral affairs, which was a great act of treason. What did a little love matter? Butler Yao became a monk, and he had seen through the world.
Shen Ruozhen covered himself with the quilt and said rather rebelliously, "Why else? I'm just in love."
Xiang Mingzhang couldn't help laughing. He turned off the lights, opened the curtains, and let the night scene of Haishu District come in.
After a day of running around, Shen Ruozhen fell into a deep sleep. After such a long time, he finally dreamed of Shen Zuorun, his mother, sister and housekeeper.
They stood on the old Jiangxia Street, separated by a soft but lingering mist. He wanted to chase them, but couldn't, and could only look at them from a distance.
Shen Ruozhen woke up and it was already bright outside.
The dream turned out to be a farewell, the mist was the boundary between life and death, and the old friend said goodbye to him. He got out of bed and looked out the window from high above, and saw the new look of Jiangsha.
There was a rustling sound on the bed, and Shen Ruozhen turned around: "Did I wake you up?"
"No." Xiang Mingzhang rubbed his eyes, "Does your knee still hurt?"
Shen Ruozhen was in a good mood: "It doesn't hurt. Let's go shopping in Ningbo today."
Xiang Mingzhang thought it was inconvenient for the driver to talk, so he asked the driver to take the high-speed train back. He and Shen Ruozhen had been to several cities together, including Nanjing, Beijing, and Harbin, but they only took a quick look at each place and never had a good time.
When we got out of the house, Xiang Mingzhang drove the car and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
The city has undergone tremendous changes in the new era. Shen Ruozhen said from memory: "Qianye Guild Hall."
In fact, Shen Ruozhen did not live in Ningbo for a long time, mostly in his childhood. What impressed him most were the Qianye Guild Hall, the meeting room, a big table taller than him, and some arguing uncles.
There was a stone tablet in the guild hall, and he knew the inscriptions engraved on it by heart.
There is no trace of the former Shen's residence. The houses, shops and fields have become high-rise buildings and schools in the tide of the times, and may also have become broad roads under the wheels of cars.
Shen Ruozhen strolled around tirelessly for a long time, and told Xiang Mingzhang anything worth mentioning that he thought of. When he was tired of strolling around, he found a restaurant to eat Ningbo cuisine.
The cook who made soup at the Shen Mansion was from Ninghai. Her wheat and shrimp soup was extremely delicious. In the past, when Shen Ruozhen was busy late, he would have a small hot bowl of it as a midnight snack.
When they were almost done eating, Xiang Mingzhang's phone rang. He heard, "Peng Xin is quite conscious. He led the team back from Bali two days ahead of schedule."
These days have been like a dream. Shen Ruozhen said, "It's time for me to go home."
After spending another night in Ningbo, Xiang Mingzhang and Shen Ruozhen set out early the next morning and got off the highway and returned to the city before noon.
The scenery on Jiangan Avenue remained the same. Shen Ruozhen ran out of the Chu family in the middle of the night, and nine days had passed in a flash.
Arriving outside the Chu family's door, Xiang Mingzhang turned off the car engine but locked the door. Shen Ruozhen unbuckled his seat belt and jokingly said, "You won't let me get out of the car?"
Xiang Mingzhang weighed the pros and cons rationally at the beginning, and now he is a little reluctant: "You will continue to be Chu Shichen when you go back."
Shen Ruozhen said: "I know."
Xiang Mingzhang discovered that once Shen Ruozhen made a decision on anything, he would carry it out firmly. It was probably this kind of courage that enabled him to abandon everything and embark on a new path.
"Click", Xiang Mingzhang unlocked the car door and stopped hesitating: "Go back and say hello to Mrs. Chu for me."
Shen Ruozhen did not move. To be on the safe side, he considered, "You can continue to call me 'Chu Shichen' from now on."
Of course he had to hide it in front of others, so Xiang Mingzhang asked, "Then should I call you by your real name in private?"
Shen Ruozhen said cautiously: "Don't do it in private, otherwise you will get used to calling her by that name and inevitably make the wrong call."
Although it made sense, Xiang Mingzhang was not satisfied: "Then when we go to bed, should I also call you 'Chu Shichen'?"
Shen Ruozhen choked: "In broad daylight—"
Xiang Mingzhang learned to answer quickly: "Respect yourself."
Shen Ruozhen opened the car door: "I'm leaving."
Xiang Mingzhang leaned over to the passenger seat, kissed Shen Ruozhen on the temple, and said, "It doesn't matter what you call me, as long as you are fine. If there is anything, call me immediately."
Shen Ruozhen got off the car. A lot had happened in these nine days. He and Xiang Mingzhang confirmed their feelings and returned to their hometown to resolve their regrets. Every minute was perfect.
He experienced the life of Shen Ruozhen, and it was real, not just a fantasy dream.
Now he was going back, going in and out of the carved iron gate morning and night, back to the home that gave him shelter in this time and space. He wanted to continue to be Chu Shichen and do what he hadn't finished.
As he stepped through the gate, his mood was completely different from when he left. He walked to the front of the villa and shouted softly, "I'm back."
Mrs. Chu was the first to run out, and like every day in the past six months, she happily greeted him: "Xiaochen!"
Chu Shichen gave Mrs. Chu a hug: "Mom."
"What's wrong with you?" Mrs. Chu gently patted his back. "You ran out in the middle of the night and scared your sister. Later, Mingzhang contacted me and said he was taking you on an emergency business trip. He didn't even take your cell phone or luggage. Where did you go on this business trip?"
Chu Shichen walked into the house listening to the chatter and just smiled "hmmmm". Mrs. Chu stopped asking any questions and sent him upstairs to change clothes.
The room had just been cleaned and the cell phone was placed on the bedside table and fully charged. Chu Shichen first saved Yao Zheng's number, then turned to the record of the night he left, and there was a long list of Xiang Mingzhang's name.
He walked out onto the terrace, where a corner of the car's hood was visible through the gap in the lush tree canopy.
Xiang Mingzhang hadn't left yet because he was worried that if Shen Ruozhen went in and ran out again, he would not care about anything and would just take the person away.
There was half a pack of cigarettes in the storage box, probably from the driver. Xiang Mingzhang took out one, got out of the car and lit it by leaning against the door.
Suddenly, music was heard from upstairs in the villa.
Xiang Mingzhang looked back at the terrace on the second floor and vaguely saw Shen Ruozhen holding a pipa.
With his white shirt rolled up to reveal part of his arms, Shen Ruozhen sat upright behind the railing. His hair was disheveled in the cold wind, but his hands were not in a mess. He plucked the strings of the pipa in the direction of Xiang Mingzhang.
The sound of bells, fast but not urgent, flows down through the dense shadows of the trees and fills the ears along with the joyful chirping of birds on the branches.
Xiang Mingzhang forgot about the cigarette between his fingers. The sparks burned his skin, but the pain was soothed by the sound of the pipa.
The last time it ended with a sudden thump of the string, this time it was gentle and lingering, as if it was reluctant to end the song and leave.
When it finally stopped, before Xiang Mingzhang could come to his senses, his cell phone rang.
He answered the phone while looking at the terrace, moving his lips, hesitantly not knowing which name to call.
On the phone, Chu Shichen asked, "Does it sound good?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Yeah, it sounds good."
Chu Shichen said: "When you call my name, it sounds nice too."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "When should I call you again?"
There was silence for a moment, and then the other party replied: "When I lose self-respect, I want to hear you call me Shen Ruozhen."
(End of this chapter)