Geng Zhi's expression changed in an instant, in the night, with the lights covering him, he seemed to be flushed with anger.
But when he took another step to the side, the light turned at an angle, and his face seemed pale again.
Fang Musen didn't pay attention to look carefully at all, he left without looking back.
Back at the table, Fang Musen drank some juice, briefly chatted with his colleagues, and took out his mobile phone to process some pending messages. After a long time, the man next to him came back.
Geng Zhi's body was covered with cold water vapor, and the two of them sat side by side, and it was easy to detect that the water vapor and the heat from the hot pot together gave off a slightly peculiar smell.
It's like an illusion that the fire is scorching and extremely cold.
Fang Musen didn't talk to Geng Zhi anymore, he just concentrated on drinking juice and chatting.
He knows that Geng Zhi has done a lot, and he must have made a lot of preparations to ask for a reunion, but Fang Musen knows better that the resolution of the obstacle does not mean that it can be logically started again.
Love is never just a conditional match.
Just like Fang Musen himself, over the years he has met many suitable partners with excellent conditions and similar interests, but he still has not fallen in love.
He has always remained single.
When I was young, I was always naive, always full of sincerity and enthusiasm, no matter how many obstacles there were, I would break through desperately, just to get closer to each other.
But Fang Musen's youthful years are already over.
After a lively meal, the guests and the host had a good time. After eating, everyone went downstairs together, preparing to take a taxi back, only to find that it was actually raining outside.
The daytime was still unbearably hot, but the sudden rain in the evening caught people off guard. Even standing outside would feel the coldness. It was so cold that a group of people in short-sleeved clothes couldn't help rubbing their arms.
The distance between this shopping mall and the subway station is relatively far. When everyone came here, they carpooled together from the company. In this weather, they had to carpool home again.
Everyone started to report their addresses one after another, hoping to find someone close to them and drop by on the way back together. But everyone consciously didn't get close to the two leaders. During the period of cooperation, everyone was used to seeing Geng Zhi and Fang Musen walking together, and knew that they lived close together.
Taking a taxi on a rainy day is a test, not to mention that this is a shopping mall, so there are already many people leaving by taking a taxi. When Fang Musen clicked on the online car-hailing app, he found that the order was already in the 70th place, and the expected waiting time was one and a half hours.
Originally, this was not a big deal, and other colleagues had to wait, so they went to hang out in a sheltered shopping mall first, but Fang Musen just received a call from his boss before finishing the dinner, and he still had work to deal with.
Documents related to the chairman need to be processed on the intranet, and special processing machines are required outside the company. Fang Musen happened not to bring his computer out today, and he thought he could catch up when he went home, but suddenly it rained, which was really a bit of a misfortune.
Although he is Director Lu's special assistant, he has no right to call the chairman's driver casually. Fang Musen stood at the entrance of the shopping mall and frowned for a while, looking at the small rain curtain that was still missing, and finally raised his hand, took off his coat, and wrapped his handbag tightly.
The wind wrapped in the rain and blew, and a thin layer of tremors arose on his bare, pale arms. Fang Musen took a breath, stuffed the wrapped bag into his arms, and raised his legs to rush into the rain.
He was going to run to the subway station.
But before he ran out, Fang Musen's upper arm was suddenly grabbed by someone.
The bare, cool skin was suddenly scalded by the warm palm, Fang Musen couldn't help but froze, he turned his head, and saw Geng Zhi looking at him disapprovingly, saying: "You just have a cold, you can't get wet in the rain."
Fang Musen was a little surprised.
Geng Zhi actually still talks to him
Fang Musen thought that what he said in the corridor was enough to hurt others. With Geng Zhi's temper, he had to bear it without getting angry on the spot. He didn't expect that the other party would communicate with him.
He tidied up the bag in his arms and said lightly, "It's okay."
Geng Zhi frowned, but did not let go, said in a low voice: "Wait a while."
What are you waiting for
Fang Musen was a little confused.
The colleagues who came together have almost left, they have all entered the shopping mall, there is no one they know around, Fang Musen does not intend to continue to endure, he said directly: "Mr. Geng..."
But before he finished speaking, a black Mercedes-Benz Vito suddenly stopped at the bottom of the steps not far ahead and honked its horn.
A black suit got out of the car, opened a dark umbrella, and walked over.
The black suit stopped at the foot of the steps in front of the two of them, bowed slightly, and said, "Young Master Geng, Mr. Fang, please."
Only then did Geng Zhi explain: "I called the driver over."
Fang Musen didn't intend to have any more interaction with the other party, he calmly shook his head and said, "No, thank you, I'll go back by myself."
"It's 1.5 kilometers away from the subway station. It takes at least 20 minutes to run there. The subway stops twice in the middle, and you have to walk another 1 kilometer to get home after leaving the station." Geng Zhi said, "It's raining and the road is slippery. You go back. At least two hours."
He raised his chin and gestured towards the car: "It only takes half an hour by car, and it won't delay your work."
Fang Musen paused as he tried to break free.
What Geng Zhi said was not an exaggeration, and his work really couldn't be delayed for so long.
Geng Zhi spoke again, his voice lowered a bit, accompanied by the sound of rain, slightly cool.
"I won't get in the car, you go back by yourself."
Fang Musen was slightly stunned, but the man in the black suit under the steps had already come up and held up an umbrella for him, and the other party did indeed only hold an umbrella, which only helped Fang Musen cover the rain, and invited him to the car.
Only Geng Zhi remained where he was.
Fang Musen got into the car, he glanced out through the open window. The light in the shopping mall was very bright, and the lights were shining brilliantly in the rain, but the man standing under the lights couldn't get much light. His face fell into the shadows, blurred, and his expression couldn't be seen clearly.
Only that tall figure, in the night wind and cold rain, fell lonely and lonely.
—
Xu was the first to send someone home this time, and for a long time after that, Geng Zhi kept this kind of companionship that he didn't show much for a long time.
Fang Musen is still very busy. Between work and home, he will receive some anonymous gifts from time to time, which are not expensive, but very thoughtful, such as a windbreaker for cooling down, a power bank for power outages, and fresh flowers and plants for festivals. .
Fang Musen has worked for Lu Nan for so long, and he is also from Baixi Town, so he naturally has a little understanding of the behavior of the boss when he chases people. Fang Musen knew the reason and would not question the boss, but if this happened to him, it didn't mean he would accept it.
Compared with Lin Yuhe, who may be criticized by the Lu family from time to time, Fang Musen does not feel that he is in any danger, so that he needs to be protected and monitored by others.
So at first, Fang Musen was wary of Geng Zhi's actions.
But Geng Zhi was much more measured than he expected.
The jacket was given away because of the sudden cold air, and half of the circle of friends was mourning the temperature difference of ten degrees; the power bank was because a power outage notice had been posted in the building, and Fang Musen hadn’t noticed it when he came back too late; the festival flowers were more reserved, Fang Musen If you don't want it, the other party will take it away safely, but you will choose another one when you send it next time.
After a long time, everyone is not surprised, only know that Fang Tezhu has another persevering and caring suitor.
Fang Musen and Geng Zhi still have a relationship, after all, Geng Zhi is still in charge of Lin Yuhe's business affairs. However, most of the contact between the two is online, Geng Zhi uncharacteristically did not use this to meet Fang Musen.
He retreated so much, it made it hard for Fang Musen to say anything.
Fang Musen has been very busy with work, and after a long time, he gradually ignored the existence of the other party. It was only when I occasionally met in the elevator that I remembered that I still had such a neighbor.
The two seem to really only have a neighbor relationship left. Once Fang Musen lost his cat, and Geng Zhi helped find it.
Time dilutes everything. Fang Musen thought, one day Geng Zhi will give up.
The other party was not originally patient and willing to be lonely.
This kind of calm and even dull days lasted until Fang Musen received a call from the Chen family.
"Xiao Mori, do you still remember that Xiao Zhou you met some time ago?"
The call was from Mother Chen, and the Xiao Zhou she was talking about was the blind date Fang Musen had met at the beginning.
"He just got engaged and is getting married next month!"
Fang Musen was slightly taken aback.
"So fast?"
"It's fast enough. I heard it was a flash marriage, but it seems that the relationship between the two is not bad, and the conditions are quite right."
Mother Chen said, smiling again, pretending to sigh.
"And you, when can you hurry up?"
It has been fourteen years since Fang Musen was adopted by the Chen family at the age of fourteen. As he got older, the relationship between him and the Chen family gradually deepened, and it was no longer as rigid and distant as it was when he was young.
Ten years of getting along with each other is not a time that can be erased by a single adoption.
Fang Musen is used to this kind of tone of urging marriage, inside and out, and Fang Musen is used to it, but he is too busy with work, so there is no love to talk about. The last time he went on a blind date, it was Chen's mother who helped him arrange it. I couldn't push it, so I went there.
It just happened to hit...
Fang Musen came back to his senses and didn't continue to think about it, he just said: "When I finish the work at hand and have a little free time."
"You," Chen's mother smiled helplessly, and was obviously used to Fang Musen's stereotyped answers, "Even if this matter is not urgent, you should pay attention to your health when you are busy with work."
She gave a few more instructions, but didn't mention anything special.
Fang Musen received some work news here, and was about to say goodbye to someone, but suddenly heard Chen's mother say.
"Xiaomori, you..." She paused, seemingly hesitating slightly, "I heard that Mr. Geng went to Yancheng recently, and moved to live near you?"
Fang Musen's fingers on the computer keyboard paused, and half of the sentence he just typed was instantly deleted.
The cursor flickered on the screen, chattering silently.
Fang Musen raised his fingertips, pressed cancel calmly, sent the message back, and then said calmly: "Where did you hear about it?"
"I just heard from a few friends..." Chen's mother was a little vague, and asked, "Is this true?"
She didn't seem to know what to say, she hesitated and said, "You two..."
"We've been separated for a long time."
Fang Musen looked at the computer and replied another message, saying.
"I still have some work to do here, you should rest early."
After hanging up the phone, Fang Musen finished processing the messages to be replied, flipped through WeChat Moments for a while, and then stood up suddenly.
He went to the living room and put on his coat, changed his leather shoes without saying a word, and tidied up his clothes meticulously before opening the door and going out.
Fang Musen wanted to go straight to knock on the door, but he didn't expect that when the door of his room was opened, he was facing a tall man.
He made a move.
"... Mr. Geng."
Fang Musen frowned secretly.
Haven't seen him in weeks, why is this guy... so gaunt all of a sudden
Geng Zhi also froze for a moment, as if he didn't expect him to open the door suddenly. The man also touched his face subconsciously, with a rare uneasiness in his expression.
In fact, there was nothing unusual on Geng Zhi's face, it was still clean and tidy, and there was not even a trace of stubble. It's just that his complexion is really not good, the three-dimensional eye sockets are obviously sunken, and his face is faintly gray, and the 1.9-meter-old man looks a little unstoppable.
Geng Zhi coughed lightly, and her voice was a little hoarse.
"What's wrong?"
Fang Musen remembered his purpose, frowned slightly, and asked, "You introduced Zhou Ming's marriage partner?"
Geng Zhi paused and didn't speak.
But Fang Musen already knew the result.
The other party did not refute.
Fang Musen was so angry that he laughed instead.
"Send away those who are in the way, and then tell my family that you plan to chase me again, and ask Auntie to help persuade me, will you?"
He clenched his fingers, and inevitably remembered the reason why the two were together back then—if the Chen family hadn't wanted to establish a good relationship with the Geng family, how could Fang Musen have been sent to a counseling institution at a high cost, and was able It's an honor to meet Young Master Geng!
Fang Musen had to take a deep breath before he could finish speaking: "After all these years, haven't you gotten tired of using the same method?"
He couldn't understand the other party's approach at all: "Hasn't the same person been tired of watching?!"
There was a moment of silence in the corridor.
The residents in the building are divided into two sides, and this side is only Fang Musen and Geng Zhi's house. They talk in the corridor and cannot be heard by others.
But it was also because of this that the moment of silence was even more desolate.
Until Geng Zhi's hoarse voice broke the silence.
"I don't."
He licked his chapped lips, his expression was slightly bitter, and his voice was still calm.
"Zhou Ming's partner was introduced by me. But Aunt Chen and the others...not me. Some time ago, someone from Baixi came to me to deal with matters. I gave them a new address, and they knew that I had moved."
Fang Musen's forehead was humming and painful, and he couldn't help but raised his hand to rub his forehead.
"I'll let them clarify. I'm sorry to trouble you."
Geng Zhi smiled wryly.
"Originally, I just wanted to let you relax and stop worrying about the blind date, so I helped Zhou Ming get married..."
Fang Musen raised his eyes: "If you really want me to relax, just..."
He paused.
Facing Geng Zhi's gray and thin cheeks and dull eyes, Fang Musen still couldn't say the last part of the sentence.
—Don't appear in front of me again.
The surrounding suddenly became quiet again, and Fang Musen's ankle suddenly felt warm.
He lowered his head, and saw the snow-white cat poking its head out of the room, walking to his feet, just looking up at him.
Fang Musen didn't speak, and leaned over to pick up the cat. Since the last time the door was left open and the cat ran away, he was extra careful. Before the kitten stayed outside for long, he turned around and went back to the room with the cat in his arms, and closed the door.
The next day, Fang Musen did not see Geng Zhi again.
On the third day, the lights in Geng Zhi's kitchen and living room were not on.
On the fourth and fifth day, it was still the same.
The processing of information related to Muhe is still going on, and Fang Musen is still in contact with Geng Zhi online. The other party has not disappeared, but has never appeared in the house next to Fang Musen's house.
Fang Musen thought.
Maybe he moved away.
But in fact, Geng Zhi did not move away.
He just changed his place to live.
When Lin Yuhe rushed to the hospital after class, the ward had just calmed down. The table was full of flower baskets and supplements.
Beside the bed were a few chairs borrowed from the next ward, which were brought by Geng Zhi's friend who had just left. Lin Yuhe moved the extra chairs to one side and piled them up, pulled them up and sat down, took a breath, and then looked at the chairs. Looking at Geng Zhi lying on the hospital bed, he asked.
"what happened?"
Geng Zhi was lying lazily on the hospital bed, not even covered by the quilt, except that his face was more gray under the white quilt, he didn't seem to be in any serious condition.
The bed in the ward was not long enough, Geng Zhi rested his ankle on the end of the bed, shaking it leisurely,
He laughed and said, "It's nothing."
"fine?"
Lin Yuhe's forehead began to jump.
"Hospitalized with acute pancreatitis, is it okay?"
When talking about illnesses, as a medical student, Lin Yuhe's tone was involuntarily stricter, but what made him even more dissatisfied was Geng Zhi's attitude.
"You didn't get it once before, why didn't you pay attention?"
Lin Yuhe said.
"That time, it was acute pancreatitis and mild alcoholism, which almost caused a major accident. What about this time, are you drinking again?"
Geng Zhi is not addicted to alcohol at all, and Lin Yuhe can't figure out why he always has such accidents. This time Geng Zhi had a relapse, and his body was no longer in a condition that could be created casually in his early twenties.
Geng Zhi said, "No, it's just ordinary entertainment..."
Lin Yuhe was not fooled, he frowned and looked at Geng Zhi.
"You told me at that time that you owed debts and had to pay them back. What about now?"
"It's been so many years, and you have made yourself like this again. How much do you owe, and you want to pay it with your life?"