Chapter 59 Meeting Him

Shen Yuan was invited to participate in an art exhibition in Jiang City. The organizer sent him a ticket. When the secretary handed it to him, he was hunched over the table, staring blankly at the chat box.

The screen was full of messages he had sent. Shen Zhi hadn't replied for three days.

Glancing at the colorful ticket, he couldn't help complaining: "What time is it! These insignificant things, don't waste my time."

The secretary was his distant cousin. Knowing that something had happened to Shen Zhi, he nervously explained: "No, no, I saw the artists we collaborated with here, and it seems that your brother Shen Zhi is among them."

Shen Yuan perked up, scratched his hair, and looked carefully for a long time.

Indeed, Shen Zhi was there, and one of Shen Zhi's paintings was on display.

Shen Yuan sighed in disappointment and said, "For this kind of commercial exhibition, we should have signed a contract with him a long time ago. We sent him the ticket because he has a relationship with our company. There is not much point in contacting the organizer now."

He thought for a moment and said, "He doesn't have much money on hand, and there are not many places he can go. Maybe..."

Maybe, Shen Zhi is in Jiang City.

The last time he said Feng Ran was in Jiang City, the expression on Shen Zhi's face made him guess that he really wanted to come back.

Even if they never met again, being closer to Feng Ran would be enough.

Shen Yuan turned a ballpoint pen in his hand, his brain working fast. Shen Zhi had no residence in Jiang City. Where would he live when he just came back?

- South City. He made a bold guess.

The rent in South City was cheap, and it was close to He Chuan's shabby shop.

Shen Yuan's intuition was always accurate. With a direction, he drove there without stopping. For several days in a row, he wandered the streets whenever he had time, looking for the community that Shen Zhi might choose, and he didn't miss a single one.

Finally, he found it—the car that Chen Zhi had bought for Feng Ran.

Shen Yuan couldn't eat or sleep, and he didn't want to go to the company anymore. He just stood there with his eyes wide open.

The residential buildings in this area were all old, and the environment was decent. Most of the permanent residents were elderly, and the rent was only one or two thousand yuan a month.

The next day, Shen Yuan couldn't stand it any longer, so he started asking the elderly people sitting on the curb and the security guard at the door.

After asking for half an afternoon, he found it. The security guard was very impressed by the luxury car, and since Chen Zhi had only been there a few days, he accurately pointed out the building and house number where he lived.

At the end, he added, "The young man looks sick. He takes a breath every three steps. Go to the hospital soon."

Shen Yuan, with dark circles under his eyes, rushed upstairs in a rage and knocked on the door for half a minute. He heard someone in slippers inside the room, and he knew that sound so familiar. He knew it was Chen Zhi.

He couldn't bear it any longer and banged on the door.

The door finally opened a crack, and when Shen Zhi saw him, there was no surprise in his eyes.

"I'm here." He greeted calmly, as if inviting Shen Yuan back home for dinner.

It was Shen Yuan who was stunned. Shen Zhi was wearing a home suit. Under the loose and soft fabric, his collarbone protruded high. His hands were skinny and rested on the rusty door handle, without a trace of blood.

Shen Yuan grabbed those hands. Shen

Zhi frowned and tried to shake them off, but failed.

"Your car is too conspicuous, and you say my name everywhere," Shen Zhi frowned and said with a bit of complaint in his tone, "The property management even called me."

Shen Yuan almost gritted his teeth: "...If you had known I was coming to see you, why didn't you reply to the message or answer the phone!" Shen Zhi's

body swayed, and he opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but suddenly leaned over and coughed violently. As soon as Shen Yuan lost consciousness, Shen Zhi immediately pulled his hand away, rushed into the bathroom, and locked the door tightly.

The sound of running water and pumping continued, covering up some of the embarrassing sounds. When Shen Zhi came out, his face had turned even paler. He leaned against the wall and said listlessly, "What's up?"

Shen Yuan was already furious, but seeing him like this, his heart ached. He said, "Go and rest. I'll talk to you slowly... It's nothing. I was really worried about you." Shen

Zhi turned, pushed open the door, and climbed onto the bed.

Shen Yuan followed him in.

It was a very small house with only one bedroom, a bit like a studio apartment.

The bedroom had good lighting, allowing sunlight to stream in. There was also a small balcony with a few green plants, probably left by the previous owner.

The furnishings were simple, with only a table and a bed. Shen Zhi's belongings were also few: a few clothes, a few packs of tissues... and one very eye-catching object on the table.

A lighter.

Shen Zhi had asked for the lighter from him and given it to Feng Ran.

Shen Yuan's eyes moved away as if they had been stung.

He looked at Shen Zhi on the bed and pulled out a stool to sit beside him.

"Tell me, what do you want?" he said in a negotiating tone. "You've been hiding for so long, and I finally found you. From now on, don't hide anymore. Tell me what you want, and I'll grant it to you." Shen

Zhi remained silent, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

Shen Yuan patiently said, "You want to see Feng Ran, right? I'll find him for you. He's right here, not far from here. I can be with you anytime—"

"No," Shen Zhi said.

"Chen Zhi, brother, please stop being so willful, okay?"

"No."

"What do you want? Do you want me to watch you die?" Shen Yuan finally exploded, glaring, nearly leaping to his feet.

He really didn't want to tell Shen Zhi the truth. Feng Ran already had a lover. As far as he knew, Feng Ran hadn't had a single day alone since they'd parted ways. He was living with He Chuan, hanging out in bars with all sorts of people, and now, he was hanging out with his boss, close and intimate...

And his Shen Zhi, his only brother, was still lying alone in bed, sick on his last legs, yet he was worried about causing Feng Ran any unhappiness.

Shen Zhi's voice was light, like a breeze: "He's fine, that's enough."

Shen Yuan's heart trembled: "You've seen him, haven't you?"

Shen Zhi said nothing, turning his back. Shen Yuan stared blankly at his back. He should have expected that Shen Zhi's first move upon arriving in Jiang City would be to look for Feng Ran.

"What did you see? Where did you find him?" Shen Yuan was a little anxious. He was afraid that Shen Zhi would see Feng Ran with someone else, and even lose all hope of survival. "How could you fall into his hands like this, Shen Zhi!" Shen

Zhi turned his head and said coldly: "Here you are, talking nonsense. I've told you several times that my personal life has nothing to do with you, but you just won't listen. Go away, and don't come again."

Shen Yuan couldn't explain the feeling in his heart. Even though he was so old, he sometimes acted like a child in front of Shen Zhi. When he was harshly criticized, he became stupid and at a loss.

He hung his head, like a primary school student being scolded. He hesitated for a moment, then murmured, "I won't disturb him... but he has to come."

As Shen Yuan left and the door closed, Shen Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

He had seen Feng Ran. Although he had warned himself not to disturb him again, from the moment he set foot on this land, his soul seemed to be drawn there, unable to control itself.

It was an afternoon that day. He could only watch from afar as Feng Ran, wearing a particularly nice black shirt and holding an unlit cigarette, emerged from the subway station, striding at a brisk pace.

He followed quietly from behind, a hundred meters away. Feng Ran was moving very fast, and he struggled to adjust his pace, almost unable to keep up.

A few times, Feng Ran's steps stopped, and his heart tightened.

But Feng Ran just stopped and yelled angrily into the phone.

It was too far away to hear clearly, probably because someone had provoked him again.

Shen Zhi boldly walked closer and finally heard Feng Ran's voice.

"Chen, you can't even calculate this account correctly. All these years of studying are in vain... Don't tell me this. I never want to see you again."

He hung up the phone angrily.

Shen Zhi guessed that he had gone to work again. Short of money? He thought.

The tracking only ended near He Chuan's house. After returning home that day, he was obviously exhausted and took several days to recover.

In his current physical condition, he couldn't do anything to Feng Ran. He just wanted to see him one last time before disappearing from this world, just one look.

Who knew that Shen Yuan would find him?

What if Shen Yuan really did find Feng Ran... Shen Zhi paused. He didn't dare to think about it anymore. Just the thought made his heart race, and his whole body tense with excitement.

Only then did he realize how much he missed Feng Ran. He wanted Feng Ran to see him, talk to him, hug him like they used to, and kiss his lips with his eyes closed.

He quietly reminisced about the past until night fell, and in his drowsiness, he even had a very hypocritical and ridiculous fantasy. Even if Feng Ran did nothing, just stood in front of him and said in his usual nonchalant tone, "I'm here. Now you can finally die in peace, right?"

Then he could leave contentedly.

After a phone call, He Chuan added Feng Qing's social account and sent her messages like a machine gun.

"Hey, what's going on between you and my brother?"

"What can't you say over the phone?"

"I remember you, He Chuan. You were my classmate in high school."

"Do you remember what you did then?"

"Last time, you came to help me carry my luggage, right?"

"You looked familiar, but I didn't dare to recognize you."

"You're so brave!"

"Hey, hey, talk! If you don't, I'll call."

The brother and sister had similar temperaments. He Chuan was afraid she would actually call, so he replied, "I know, I remember. But I didn't come to you to talk about that."

Feng Qing: "Then what do you want?"

He Chuan got straight to the point: "Chen Zhi's brother came to me and asked me to persuade Feng Ran."

Feng Qing was silent for a moment before sending a message: "Shen Yuan, right? He came to me too."

He Chuan had expected this.

Shen Yuan didn't come directly to Feng Ran, it must be because Chen Zhi didn't allow it. So he had to turn to people around Feng Ran, like him and Feng Qing.

Shen Yuan's grovelling and pleading in the silver shop made it difficult for He Chuan to look directly at him.

At that time, he had a strange feeling. Would an ordinary cousin really treat his cousin like this?

He shook his head and typed slowly: "I know, so you go and persuade him. Persuade him to see what Chen Zhi is saying."

"Why don't you go and tell him yourself?" Feng Qing asked.

He Chuan deleted and cut some things on this end, and finally sent a line: "I may not be that magnanimous yet."

After sending this sentence, he threw his phone aside and lay on the table. He admitted it. He finally admitted it.

It was as if a huge stone in his heart had finally fallen, and he felt an indescribable... relief.

Feng Qing kept sending messages again, probably because she was curious about his feelings. But he didn't want to say much.

He had never thought of confessing to Feng Ran, and simply hinting to his sister had exhausted all his courage.

He wanted to beg Feng Qing today to ask her not to expose his stupid things when he was eighteen years old to Feng Ran, but now he thought about it and felt that it was unnecessary.

Feng Ran wouldn't care.

He never cared about him from the beginning to the end.

Feng Ran received a huge transfer.

He was working when the bank card sent a message. He glanced at the text message casually, his eyes widened immediately, and he shouted "Oh my god".

Chen Shuze asked: "What's wrong?"

Feng Ran slowly turned his head and looked at him: "What tricks are you playing again?"

"What do you mean?"

Feng Ran blinked: "The bank card has arrived..." 850,000 in total, isn't it Chen Shuze?

Chen Shuze looked confused: "What happened? Someone transferred money to you? How much?"

It seemed that it really had nothing to do with him. Feng Ran lowered his head, and a name popped up in his mind. That guy always uses this trick, and transfers money to him as soon as he disagrees with something.

But this time it's too much, 850,000, where does he get so much money? Could something have happened? He

hurriedly opened his mobile phone to check the transaction, and sure enough, the other party's account name was "Chen Zhi".