Chapter 72#

Upon returning to the sanatorium, they met Mr. Ding at the entrance again. Seeing the “cousins”, Mr. Ding asked with concern what had happened to Yan Zishu’s foot, then told him to remember to ask the nurse for a cold compress, but didn’t say much else.

Yan Zishu felt a bit embarrassed and asked Fu Jinchi to put him down. Fu Jinchi pretended not to hear.

After being placed on the bed, Yan Zishu bent one leg and rolled up his trouser leg. Fu Jinchi had just found the common medicine for bruises from the room’s first aid kit when his phone rang again. Yan Zishu signaled to him with his hand, and Fu Jinchi handed the medicine to him, saying “Don’t let it touch water”.

The reason why Fu Jinchi said “contact later” at the seaside, and the other party couldn’t wait to call him again, was because there was another emergency.

Third Uncle Fu had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage at home and was taken to the hospital by ambulance just now.

It was about the time when they were halfway back.

Yan Zishu had been in Hong Kong for a long time. Through social media, at most he could only search for some news about Fu Weishan. As for other people who were not in the public eye, there was no channel for direct contact. However, he wasn’t that curious either.

“Why would he have a cerebral hemorrhage all of a sudden?” Yan Zishu closed the lid of the bruise medicine, “He didn’t even get sick from fright on the ship.”

“Having a precious son brings such blessings.” Fu Jinchi actually didn’t care much, “He was angered into it.”

Hearing this, Yan Zishu was stunned for a moment.

He was just thinking that for a selfish person like Third Uncle Fu, would he really work so hard for a nephew like Fu Weishan who had lost his utilization value that he fell ill? It turned out to be Fu Xiaoyu. Hearing this name gave him a feeling of sticky disgust, and he frowned unconsciously.

Yan Zishu’s face became a bit cold. He had also inquired about Fu Xiaoyu before, considering how to make him pay the price with his own hands. Later, he accidentally experienced all kinds of troublesome things, kidnapping and injuries, which happened suddenly, so naturally, he couldn’t attend to it.

Although this left a faint regret in Yan Zishu’s heart, the series of news tonight seemed to indicate that Fu Xiaoyu had reaped the bitter fruit of evil being rewarded with evil. Fu Jinchi relayed with a flat expression that he had been inhaling crystal meth and had been addicted to drugs for several months.

As for Third Uncle Fu, he actually didn’t faint from anger because he learned that his son was taking drugs. As early as when Fu Xiaoyu was caught “skating” (taking meth) for the first time, Third Uncle Fu already knew and accepted the reality helplessly, secretly sending Fu Xiaoyu to rehab.

Throughout the process, Third Uncle Fu didn’t dare to make a sound; this kind of family scandal made him feel extremely ashamed. Last month, Fu Xiaoyu was finally able to go home. It was said that he had quit and rarely admitted his mistake. However, it is easy to change mountains and rivers but hard to alter a person’s nature. Once he returned to his original environment, he felt an unbearable itching in his heart. Fu Xiaoyu’s mother felt really distressed seeing her son like this, and actually gave him money privately to support his relapse.

The mother and son kept it from Third Uncle Fu until yesterday when Fu Xiaoyu was caught gathering a crowd to “skate” again. By the time Third Uncle Fu heard about it today, everything had already spread in the circle. Only then did the old man fail to catch his breath; he wanted to hold onto the chair to get up, but collapsed directly.

Yan Zishu went to the bathroom to wash his hands and face. After coming out, his thoughts were clearer, and he had digested this fact.

He went to the table to pour himself a glass of water, holding the mug, but looked at Fu Jinchi with a thoughtful expression.

Fu Jinchi knew at a glance that he was suspecting something, so he took the initiative to say: “Fu Xiaoyu studied in a diploma mill in the United States for a few years, and started flying marijuana leaves there. Only he has these channels.” The implication was that this matter had nothing to do with him.

“I know that.” Yan Zishu smiled and put the cup back, “I didn’t say anything either. Fu Xiaoyu brought it upon himself.”

Marijuana is not considered a prohibited item in some countries and regions, but studies have also shown that people who have long-term contact with marijuana have a high possibility of turning to other drugs a few years later. Fu Xiaoyu didn’t take flying leaves seriously, nor did he take drugs and sex seriously. If one day he couldn’t hold back the temptation to try drugs further, it would be neither surprising nor blameable on others.

But Yan Zishu still knew Fu Jinchi in some aspects; telling only half the truth is also telling the truth, but it’s not comprehensive. Fu Xiaoyu picking up bad habits was of course his own problem; but how could the family scandal that Third Uncle Fu tried hard to cover up become known to everyone in the circle just like that?

But, forget it, the result is already like this.

As for whether Third Uncle Fu would fall ill, this was an unexpected result that no one could predict. Yan Zishu thought about the old man still in the ICU at this time, feeling that speaking ill of a patient behind their back seemed a bit lacking in humanitarian spirit, so he simply didn’t ask more for the time being.

Regarding this subtle news, he couldn’t talk about sympathy, but just sighed, feeling a sense of sorrow.

After all, anyone who has had close contact with a drug addict, regardless of whether he was using at that time, would feel quite disgusted when looking back.

Yan Zishu shuffled over in his slippers, slowly walked over, and looked down at Fu Jinchi under the soft warm light. Fu Jinchi was sitting by the sideboard, his phone face down on the table, his facial contours looking like they had a layer of soft light, looking up slightly: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Yan Zishu also sat down opposite him, “You have to hurry back, right?”

“I won’t be gone too long.” Fu Jinchi said apologetically, “I’ll come back to accompany you as soon as I’m done there.”

“No rush.” Yan Zishu thought for a moment, “I think you’d better be careful and don’t get yourself in too deep.”

“You still don’t know me?” Fu Jinchi smiled and promised, “Scourges last a thousand years, I’ll be fine.”

Yan Zishu lowered his eyes, but Fu Jinchi walked over, leaned over to encircle his thin shoulders, looking very reluctant to part.

Yan Zishu had only recently gained a little weight; a bit earlier, he was all bones to the touch. Every morning and evening when he brushed his teeth and looked in the mirror, the mirror reminded him how emaciated he was. Sometimes this also made Yan Zishu wonder, didn’t Fu Jinchi pursue him initially because of his looks? But gradually he rarely bothered to think about it, at least the other party seemed very enthusiastic so far.

Whatever.

What Fu Jinchi was more concerned about now was wishing he could find all the panaceas and pour them into Yan Zishu at once.

Early the next morning, Fu Jinchi returned to Hong Kong Island, preparing to take the afternoon flight back to Dongcheng. Yan Zishu wanted to send him to the ferry terminal, but he refused. However, before leaving, Fu Jinchi found Yan Zishu’s original mobile phone from his luggage and returned it to its owner.

Yan Zishu didn’t expect him to bring this, but after looking at it for a long time, he glanced at Fu Jinchi: “Add five points, deduct ten points.”

Fu Jinchi was still smiling gently, but his face changed slightly upon hearing this.

“Because you clearly brought it, but delayed giving it to me until now.” Yan Zishu smiled faintly, “Don’t worry, I’m good at making charts and PPTs. When I dump you later, I’ll make a complete report with quantified scores, so you won’t die without knowing why.”

Fu Jinchi gritted his teeth, but finally laughed, leaving a tooth mark on his neck before leaving.

“Alright, I’ll come back and wait for your judgment.”

As if to prove that he would return soon, Fu Jinchi didn’t even take his suitcase. He left empty-handed in a dashing manner, with only a coat over his arm, just like going for a walk as usual.

At the entrance of the sanatorium, Yan Zishu watched his back gradually turn into a small dot, and his expression slowly became solemn.

The vague worry about Fu Jinchi lay in the fact that Yan Zishu couldn’t know now whether the plot still had an influence on them, the people in the game. Yesterday’s phone call also reminded Yan Zishu that he himself could stop facing those people, but it didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

Third Uncle Fu, Fu Xiaoyu, and other people from all walks of life were still continuing their lives, even if they were rotten, and Fu Jinchi was still half in the game. Fu Jinchi had been gone for two hours, and Yan Zishu actually wanted him back already.

It’s just that thinking too much now is useless. He sorted out these emotions clearly so as not to leak them casually and increase unnecessary anxiety.

Yan Zishu now owned two mobile phones. He returned to his room, sat on the rocking chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and turned on the long-lost old phone. The traces from half a year ago appeared quite lively. Obviously, many people had looked for him.

The unread notifications had been eliminated by Fu Jinchi who had browsed them many times, so he could only scroll through them one by one himself.

But there was nothing to fuss about. Yan Zishu started reading from top to bottom. The most recent one was a message from the girl who adopted the dog before, saying nervously that the handsome dog was taken away by someone who claimed to be your friend, and asking if you knew about this.

Yan Zishu smiled, moved his fingers, and sent her a comforting message.

Unexpectedly, the girl soon requested a call.

“Yes… I was, unable to raise it because of illness at that time.” Yan Zishu had to explain following her topic with a mix of guessing and bluffing, awkwardly thinking about what kind of tear-jerking story Fu Jinchi had made up, which was quite socially embarrassing, “So later my friend went to bring it back… It’s okay, I’m better now. Yes, I’m fine, and it’s fine too. I’m really sorry, thank you for taking care of it.”

“So that’s it, I was almost scared to death.” The girl breathed a sigh of relief and said, “That’s good. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t be willing to part with it, but since you picked up Maomao, it seems your fate with it can’t be broken. By the way, let me return the money to you. I wish you a speedy recovery.”

Yan Zishu assured her that he wasn’t short of money for treatment now and let her keep it, then ended the call.

Further down were messages from Helen, Ben, and other company colleagues, asking what happened to him, if he was safe, and if he could reply. These were messages from months ago. Yan Zishu considered them and replied to each one, though late.

Like throwing out a pair of jokers, in the following time, he quickly harvested a bunch of message bombardments.

Even though he felt he didn’t know that many people before.

Especially Helen, after being shocked and excited, called and complained a lot, saying she had called the police and there was no news of Yan Zishu for half a year, scolding him for not reporting his safety earlier since he was fine, and actually disappearing with peace of mind for so long, asking if he was reliable or not, and then hung up the phone with a “snap” in anger.

Yan Zishu was dumbfounded, resignedly opened the chat software, corrected his attitude, and drafted a few words of apology.

Before he finished writing, Helen called back again: “Forget it, I won’t hold it against you. Where are you now?”

Yan Zishu smiled: “Still recuperating out of town, probably won’t be able to go back this year.”

“Ah, so serious? Are you okay?”

“No problem. Just planning to spend the winter in a warmer place.”

“Okay.” Helen’s capable tone returned to normal, “Let us know when you’re back, and we’ll have a meal together.”

–

The author has something to say:

Tip: Drugs are an absolute no-go zone. Even for villains, framing others for drug use is behavior that hits rock bottom. So Mr. Fu really didn’t do anything outrageous; at most, he belongs to the enthusiastic Chaoyang masses with extremely strong combat effectiveness.