On the morning of Xu Yin's funeral, the sky cleared up in Bingang.
The sun rises from behind the mountains, illuminating the entire lake crystal clear.
The lake water resembles glowing silver fish scales. The dark woods, the wide asphalt mountain road, and the dense garden in the main house have all become beautiful.
Xu Yin's coffin was to be carried from the mourning hall to the hearse. There were eight people in Fuling, with Xu Sheng at the front, Tang Zhi representing Xu Keyu, following him, and several close relatives and juniors. Although eight people carried the coffin together, the coffin was still heavy.
Xu Sheng was the tallest among the people supporting the spirit, and he should have endured the most force, but he stood very straight, and Tang Zhi looked at him walking without much effort.
After placing the coffin in the hearse, they headed to the funeral home.
The time of the funeral coincided with the morning rush hour in Bingang South District, and there was a slight traffic jam at the foot of the mountain into the city.
Tang Zhi sat on the window side of the business car, quietly beside Xu Sheng without saying a word.
Because Xu Yanlu and Xu Rong were still sitting in the back seat, the air in the car was as stagnant as the speed.
During the journey, Xu Sheng replied to a few text messages, tilted his head slightly, called Tang Zhi, and whispered to him: "The lawyer will be here tonight.
When saying this, Xu Sheng behaved in a gentle and upright manner, very similar to the way he spoke to other people in the Xu family and his business partners.
Tang Zhi basically didn't hear Xu Sheng talking to him like this. He looked up at Xu Sheng and agreed to say "ok".
There was no music in the car, and what Xu Sheng said could be heard clearly in the back seat. When Tang Zhi looked sideways at Xu Sheng, he noticed the probing glances from the two people behind him out of the corner of his eye.
"Xu Sheng." Mrs. Xu suddenly called him.
Xu Sheng didn't completely turn around and glanced at her: "Aunt." Tang Zhi felt that Xu Sheng's tone was not very good, and Mrs. Xu might have noticed it. She paused for a moment and then said, "After a while, when you are done with your work, please bring more soups to our house for dinner."
"My uncle's family has a new chef recently, and the food is very good," she said enthusiastically. "It's too deserted for the two of you to eat together."
Xu Sheng leaned against the back of the black leather chair, raised his chin slightly, and looked ahead, as if thinking for a moment, and said to Mrs. Xu, "No, Auntie. I'm not free."
Mrs. Xu didn't seem to expect that he would refuse so simply. She was stunned for a moment, then smiled reluctantly and asked Xu Sheng, "Are you so busy? You don't even have time to eat?"
"Well," Xu Sheng turned his face, looked at her, and said calmly, "My uncle should know what I am busy with."
"You can send the chef's phone number to Jiang Yan," Xu Sheng said. "If you don't want to cook at your house, you can come to my place to try the dishes."
He didn't say it politely. Tang Zhi glanced at it and felt that Mrs. Xu's face was very ugly. Xu Yanlu looked even more angry. It was only Mrs. Xu's hand on the back of her hand that kept her from swearing. After more than ten minutes, the motorcade drove into the gate of the funeral home.
According to Xu Yin's wishes during his lifetime, the funeral was very simple. Most of the people present were relatives, and there were also a few female friends who were good friends with her.
The eulogy was delivered by Xu Hefu. He talked about some memories of getting along with his daughter in his early years. By the end of the story, his voice was choked up and he looked a little older.
From his words, it seemed that he felt sorry for his daughter, but Tang Zhi couldn't tell what exactly happened.
Xu Hefu looked in the direction where Xu Sheng was standing several times, while Xu Sheng lowered his hands naturally and looked at the podium, as if he was looking at Xu Hefu.
A little after twelve o'clock, the funeral ended.
Xu Sheng and Xu Hefu stood next to Xu Yin's portrait and said goodbye to the visitors one by one.
After all the guests had left, Xu Hefu said openly in front of Tang Zhi, "Grandpa will come over tonight."
Xu Sheng nodded.
After Xu Hefu got in the car, Xu Sheng took the urn from Jiang Yan's hand and walked out slowly.
Tang Zhi followed Jiang Yan, looking over Jiang Yan's shoulder as he watched Xu Sheng walk out of the shadow of the building and into the noon sunshine of Bingang, as if he didn't care and was in no pain.
The driver drove the car in front of them and opened the door for Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng didn't sit in immediately. He looked back as if he was looking for something, and then his eyes met Tang Zhi's eyes a few meters away.
"You also sit in the back." Xu Sheng said.
Tang Zhi said "Oh" and walked around to the opposite side.
The driver drove back. Xu Sheng held the dark red wooden box in his hands and sat upright.
Tang Zhi stared at the screen installed on the back of the chair in front of him for a while. Xu Sheng suddenly raised his hand to open it for him, took out the headphones from beside the screen, and put one on Tang Zhi's right ear.
Xu Sheng's fingers touched Tang Zhi's face cleanly, and Tang Zhi smelled the rich sandalwood incense coming from the wooden box.
"You can adjust whatever you want to see." Xu Sheng let go of his hand.
Tang Zhi said "thank you" and put on another earphone. He felt that Jiang Yan suddenly moved in front of him.
Xu Sheng said he wanted to let him choose, as he didn't seem to like seeing him act aimlessly.
Tang Zhi only chose it for three minutes and still didn't decide. Xu Sheng couldn't bear it anymore. He grabbed Tang Zhi's hand, pulled it down, and chose a marine documentary for Tang Zhi.
He caught Tang Zhi and didn't let go. The silent warmth and mindless ambiguity were all close to Tang Zhi.
The two of them placed their hands in the blind spot of the front seat's view. When they stopped the car at home, Xu Sheng let go of Tang Zhi's hand.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the lawyer arrived.
Xu Sheng called Tang Zhi to the study and asked him to listen to the lawyer read out the will.
They waited in an uneasy atmosphere for fifteen minutes, and Xu Hefu arrived late.
Secretary Fei followed him. Tang Zhi took a quick glance at Xu Hefu and felt that he seemed to be in poor spirits and had looked a lot older overnight.
When everyone arrived, the lawyer announced Xu Yin's last wishes before her death.
The will was as simple as her funeral. All her shares in the Xu family were immediately handed over to the Xu family, and the rest of the property was given to Xu Keyu.
However, because Xu Keyu is still in the hospital and has not yet woken up, the portion given to Xu Keyu must be given to her after she wakes up, undergoes a doctor's examination, and confirms that she has the ability to think for herself. Her husband Tang Zhi cannot accept it on his behalf.
If Xu Keyu dies, the inheritance will be donated to her designated charity fund.
Tang Zhi was in a daze, and when he heard his name, he was startled. He happened to meet Xu Hefu's eyes as Gu Jing Wubo glanced at him, and Tang Zhi subconsciously lowered his eyes.
He knew that the supplementary part of Xu Yin's will was to protect himself, and Xu Hefu might want to know if he had any objections.
Tang Zhi had no opinions or feelings. These were not what he needed.
After the lawyer finished reading, Xu Hefu sighed suddenly.
"Xu Sheng," he said, "your mother is still blaming me." Xu Sheng looked at him and did not answer.
"What do you want these shares for?" Xu Hefu said to Xu Sheng, "Sooner or later the whole family will be yours."
He spoke sincerely, and added: "Actually, your mother's shares should have been returned to me long ago. I gave her these for some other reason."
Tang Zhi didn't look at Xu Hefu, he stared at Xu Sheng's face.
Xu Sheng's expression did not change at all, and he said humbly to his grandfather: "Really?"
"I don't know," he added.
Then, Xu Sheng looked at his watch, stood up, showed a little tiredness, and said to Xu Hefu: "Grandpa, I haven't slept for four days. I want to go to bed early today."
The displeasure on Xu Hefu's face flashed away, but he seemed to quickly compromise with Xu Sheng for unknown reasons. He stood up and said, "Then grandpa won't stay with you any longer. You have a good rest and arrive at the stadium on time tomorrow morning. "
Xu Sheng said "ok" and he left.
Only Tang Zhi and Xu Sheng were left in the study. Xu Sheng was sitting on a chair, as if he was still thinking about something.
Tang Zhi wanted to go back to his room. When he stood up, Xu Sheng's eyes turned towards him.
"I want to sleep." Tang Zhi said to Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng didn't respond to Tang Zhi, but just looked at him. Tang Zhi looked at him for a while, and then took the initiative to walk over tentatively.
As soon as he got closer, Xu Sheng grabbed Tang Zhi's wrist and pulled Tang Zhi onto his lap.
Tang Zhi didn't struggle and let Xu Sheng hold him in his arms like a doll.
The two hugged for a while. Tang Zhi felt a little uncomfortable and asked Xu Sheng, "Is it heavy?"
Xu Sheng rubbed his thumb on the back of Tang Zhi's hand, kissed Tang Zhi's eyelashes as if to comfort him, and said, "It's not heavy."
"How can you be so heavy if you don't eat anything?" Xu Sheng inserted his fingers between Tang Zhi's fingers and accused Tang Zhi calmly.
Tang Zhi retorted silently, Xu Sheng leaned against him again and kissed the tip of his nose and lips.
Xu Sheng kissed Tang Zhi very gently, as if he was obsessed with Tang Zhi's face and body. He hugged Tang Zhi tightly, kissed from lips to chin, loosened Tang Zhi's tie, slowly unbuttoned it, and kissed Tang Zhi's collarbone.
Thick hair pierced Tang Zhi's neck, and hot and ambiguous breath pressed against Tang Zhi's chest. Tang Zhi was sucked by Xu Sheng, which made Tang Zhi feel more pain than itching. He pushed him gently, and Xu Sheng raised his head and grabbed Tang Zhi. He pushed his right hand.
"Why did you push me?" Xu Sheng said.
Tang Zhi looked at him, and after a while, Xu Sheng kissed him again. Xu Sheng pressed his lips against his and said to him, "Tang Zhi, you are so beautiful."
Tang Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then felt his skin feel a little hot. Maybe his body's reactions are always honest, and what he wants is what he wants, independent of his thoughts.
Xu Sheng stared at Tang Zhi's eyes, as if it was difficult to look away, and slowly unbuttoned Tang Zhi's shirt. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Tang Zhi turned his back to the door and immediately turned around. He saw the doorknob being pressed and Jiang Yan pushing in with something for Xu Sheng's signature. Jiang Yan looked up and saw the postures of Xu Sheng and Tang Zhi, and was immediately stunned.
Xu Sheng hugged Tang Zhi and looked down first, as if to confirm that Jiang Yan couldn't see Tang Zhi's body exposed in the air, then raised his head and said calmly to Jiang Yan: "Get out. Lock the door."
Jiang Yan quickly lowered his head and retreated.