Chapter 83: Goodbye
“Get off. He’s waiting for you in front.”
An old sedan with dust on its doors slowly stopped on the side of the road. Next to the intersection was a sparse and ordinary street in the bustling city. It was noon, and all the stir-fry shops on the street were open for business. The smell of oil and smoke from various stir-fries was mixed with the fragrance and was scattered everywhere. Many workers in dark blue work clothes, with a rough appearance, had just come out of the construction site and were passing by the car with a full of dust.
Su Yu lowered his eyelashes, and his hand was on the door. He looked at the man’s face in the rearview mirror, which was scratched by the wind and sand. The man looked a little old, his skin was dark, and his temples were pale. Perhaps it was because he was old, and he had been tossing and turning all night yesterday, and his eyes were still a little tired.
“You… why did you knock me out then?”
The old man was silent for a while before he said in a hoarse and vicissitudinous voice.
“I’m a teacher there. I was just helping someone out. I still want to work there in the future. This matter can’t be known by others.”
“I know. Anyway… thank you.”
“Sigh, find a place to live a good life.”
He had just gotten out of the car, and the old man sighed and threw down a light and airy wish, and he drove away.
Su Yu was still only wearing that thin white shirt. The cold wind was blowing, and the clothes were tightly clinging to his thin back. A little bit of dust was on his collar, and it was not very clean. He squeezed through the crowded crowd and walked into an ordinary stir-fry shop on the side of the road.
The owner of the shop was shirtless, and he was tossing a dark black iron pot in his hand. The gray and black dregs that were stuck to the bottom of the pot were shaking off. The exhaust fan was buried in the choking smoke, and the yellow and black fan blades were turning rapidly in front of the pot.
He scanned the narrow shop. A well-dressed man was sitting at a dining table. It seemed that he had washed away his flashy hair color from the past. His black hair was messy and curled, and his face was pale, with a deep weariness in his expression. He was very familiar with that face. He had even once considered the other party as the culprit of all this…
When Su Yu’s attention was on the man, the other party’s neck turned a very small arc towards him, but it quickly and stiffly stopped. He paused for a few seconds before he looked up and met his gaze.
He walked over and sat down. The fist that was originally clenched was slowly loosened. It was probably clear that everyone was not doing well. It was just a meaningless mutual torment.
“You promised me. I’m leaving. None of them will be hurt.”
Su Yu did not mention the past. He just wanted to leave this city quickly. On the way here, he had seen the buses on the road with the same advertisements as back then, and it had made him feel dizzy.
After he had escaped… he did not feel the expected sense of relief. His heart was as if it were being pressed by a huge stone, and it was not beating smoothly. He was so sad that he wanted to cry out loud, but not a single tear could be squeezed out of the corners of his eyes. He stood in front of the mirror as if he didn’t believe it and looked at his eyes. But besides the bloodshot whites of his eyes, there was not a single bit of watery light in them.
Everything looked very normal, but he knew he was not getting better. He was just holding on to that little bit of faith, stubbornly believing… that he would get better.
The pessimistic emotions that had been accumulating in his heart for the past few years were as if they had been blocked in his chest and could not be relieved for a long time. It was like a time bomb that would be detonated at some point. He just wanted to go a little further for the time being, just by himself.
“They won’t be hurt. You believe me. I was sorry for you before… but I really had no other choice then.”
Gu Chuan saw Su Yu break the silence first. He was as excited as a drowning person who had grabbed a piece of driftwood. He quickly took out a paper bag from his pocket and pushed it in front of Su Yu.
“There’s a fake ID in here. You can use it for now. I’ll think of a way later.”
“Thank you.”
Su Yu took the paper bag and opened it to take a look. Inside were his ID card and some other trivial documents. He took out his ID card and held it tightly in his hand. This was probably the only thing he had left.
He put the ID card in his pocket as if he were holding a fragile item, and then he forced a smile. “Where can I go now? The farther the better.”
“Go… go to Lin’an. It’s quite far. The ticket is also in the bag. It’s for tomorrow afternoon’s train. I’ve asked someone to rent a house for you in the city…”
Gu Chuan glanced at the increasingly crowded small shop. The workers, who were covered in mud and sand, sat down next to them with a swagger. He licked his dry lips. “The landlord said it’s near the construction site. It might be a little noisy during the day. But there are a lot of people there, so it’s also convenient for you to hide your identity. I’ll send you money every month. Just endure… endure for a while longer. There will always be a way.”
“Lin’an, haha… that place is also pretty good.”
Su Yu smiled and nodded. He twitched his nose. The smell of fireworks in the shop actually made him feel a little at ease. He suddenly raised his head and stared at Gu Chuan and asked, “Did something happen to Gu Zhi? Otherwise… why are you so sure that the others won’t be hurt?”
“Something did happen. But it’s a company matter. She’s not in a good state now. And besides…”, Gu Chuan’s face was still pale, without a trace of blood. He looked up and met Su Yu’s gaze. “Whether she will do it or not, you have the answer in your heart, right? But it’s better not to appear in front of them. I’m worried that the news will leak and she’ll find you.”
“Okay, then I believe you…”
Su Yu put away the things on the table. He had no intention of reminiscing. He stood up and was about to leave. Before he left, he made a joke in front of Gu Chuan’s worried gaze. “It would be a little creepy to ask you to say hello to them for me again. Then you should be careful yourself.”
“Wait…”
Gu Chuan suddenly called out to Su Yu from behind. He chased after him to the door of the shop. His light blue pupils, which he had inherited from his mother, contracted imperceptibly. His back, which was hidden under his suit, was bent, as stiff as a full-drawn bow.
“About you and Xia Qiange, she’s told me some things. She’s very good now. She’s interning at a big law firm. Her teacher is the president of the law firm. As long as she’s not in Qingchuan, Gu Zhi can’t do anything to her.”
He took out a business card and stuffed it into Su Yu’s pocket. Before Su Yu could check it, he explained first, “I don’t know when I can change all this. If you really can’t stand the days of hiding, just call the number on it. She can help you…”
Su Yu reached into his pocket and found the business card. His fingertips gently caressed the smooth paper. He smiled and nodded.
“Okay, I know. Then… goodbye. Take care.”
“Goodbye. You too.”
…
In the evening, the red sun was setting in the west, and it was slowly disappearing into the towering modern buildings around it. This city, which was full of paper and gold, and was busy and disorderly, finally got a moment of respite in the quietness of the day and night.
The orange sunset was as gentle as water, and it was sprinkled on the street, which was filled with scattered figures. The small pavilion at the corner of the street was standing at the junction of the sunset and the shadow. A few colorful small windmills were turning gently in the autumn wind.
“Hello? Who is this…”
Su Yu was standing on the street like a statue. The shadow behind him was stretched long on the sidewalk. His prominent Adam’s apple was rolling up and down. He wiped the wet and greasy sweat from his palm. The business card was crumpled in his hand. Before he had dialed the phone, his voice, which had been moistened for a long time, finally no longer sounded so hoarse.
His uneasy heartstrings instantly became quiet the moment he heard the familiar female voice. It was as if a clear spring had soaked the smooth and translucent pebbles in a river. He didn’t need that business card. He just suddenly wanted to hear her voice…
“I… I dialed the wrong number.”
“Wrong number? Is that so?”
“Yeah, then I’ll hang up. I’m sorry.”
“Wait…”, the girl suddenly called out to him, her voice with a hint of nostalgia. “Your voice is very similar to a friend of mine. Very, very similar. I almost thought it was him.”
“A friend…”
“Yeah. It’s a pity I’ll never see him again. Now that I think about it, I still owe him an answer.”
He wanted to know, he really wanted to. His heart was clenched and was hanging high in the air. But he couldn’t express the confusion in his heart. He was silent for a few seconds and didn’t ask. “My condolences.”
“Thank you. It might be my good luck to have met you. I often think of him. I wish I could have told him the answer earlier.”
The girl on the other end of the phone smiled, but her voice was trembling like a rope that had been broken in the high altitude, with a heavy and sad cry.
“I want to tell him that I love him…”
