Chapter 8 The Deceased Boy 1
The wind blew in gusts, eerie, from the cracks between each tombstone.
The world is black, the tombstone is white, and the memories are in a mess. Tang Ai stood in front of the tombstone, alone, as if this gloomy world had abandoned her, and as if the world was a turbulent river, they were all on the other side, and only she was here.
Xichen, Xichen, I am afraid that we will be separated forever by life and death...
The photo of Xi Chen on the tombstone shows him at his youngest age of 19, with a touching smile on his face.
Tang Ai stood there in a daze, and asked in a trance: "Teacher Shao, how do you know that Xi Feng is not Xi Chen?"
Shao Yu stood behind her, with the cool wind blowing into his collar, and said, "Not long after you entered school, I saw a photo of Xi Chen and Xi Feng at the teacher's place. When I asked the teacher about it, he said regretfully, 'It's a pity that only one of the two brothers is left now.'"
"So you went to find Xi Feng, asked him everything, and kept it a secret from me together with them." Tang Ai's voice was devoid of emotion.
"Once things start, it's hard to end them." Shao Yu sighed as he spoke.
Everyone knows that truth cannot be hidden, but they are willing to take risks and pretend that they don't understand.
Everyone knows that Tang Ai will eventually find out that Xi Feng is not Xi Chen, but when you step onto the single-plank bridge on the cliff, you are already in a dilemma.
Tang Ai walked forward slowly, stretched out her hand and gently stroked the photo of Xi Chen on the tombstone. Her shoulders couldn't help shaking slightly because of sobbing. Xi Chen was dead. No matter how much she didn't want to believe it, it had become a fact. The Tianwu Mountain that year was destined to become only a vague dream, slowly dissipating in her memories.
"Don't cry." Shao Yu took a step forward and gently placed his hand on Tang Ai's shoulder.
Tang Ai couldn't hide the bitterness in her heart. She gritted her teeth, turned her head and rested it on Shao Yu's chest. Sobs came out from between her teeth and gradually became louder.
Shao Yu gently patted Tang Ai's back without saying anything. Such an important person is gone, if you must cry, then cry loudly and shout out all the pain in your heart.
Tang Ai was ultimately unable to overcome the pain in her heart and burst into tears in Shao Yu's arms.
The night was already very deep. If the stars were not so bright, it would be pitch dark. Perhaps because we were in the cemetery, the wind at night was piercingly cold. However, how could such coldness compare to the pain in my heart?
People and things that we are unwilling to become the past have already become the past. All we have to do and can do is to slowly accept them.
After the wind, rain and darkness, what awaits people will surely be the blue sky and the rainbow.
On Monday, senior management of HE, a subsidiary of Xi Group.
Xie Wanqiu sat at the front of the desk, watching the shareholders below discussing at once. Finally, she closed her eyes and said, "Have you finished your discussion?"
"This... this doesn't need to be discussed. Xi Chen is dead, Xi Feng is uneducated and has depression. How can we let him manage the company? Mr. Xie, this is half of the company's shares!"
"Yes, yes. The corporate legal person cannot use Xi Feng's name. If something goes wrong, how can he be held responsible?"
"This old Xi is really something. Even if he is his own son, he can't be so careless about the overall situation. This company doesn't belong to him alone."
"Everyone, don't be anxious." The chaos in front of them was exactly what Xie Wanqiu wanted to see. She waved her hand with a faint smile on her face. "If more than half of the board of directors disagree with this decision, then the second young master cannot be officially appointed as the chairman. I am Zhengfeng's wife. I have the responsibility and obligation to consider the company and the overall situation. I will stand on the side of reason. I think you think so too, right?"
"Of course, of course, what Mr. Xie said is true. Mr. Xie really understands the greater good. Moreover, during the time that Mr. Xie has led us, we have gained a lot."
"Yes, Mr. Xie, don't worry, we will stand by your side no matter what."
The smile on Xie Wanqiu's lips deepened. Everything was under her control.
"Everyone is here. Are you here to celebrate my appointment?" A clear and loud young voice sounded at the door. Everyone was startled and looked up.
Xi Feng, dressed in a suit and tie, stood tall and straight, his hair combed back neatly, his face glowing with a friendly yet sharp smile - he didn't look like a depressed person at all.
Seeing this, Xie Wanqiu's face changed and she sat stiffly in the chair.
Behind Xi Feng, there was another person—Shen Ruoyun.
Xi Feng strode towards Xie Wanqiu and leaned slightly towards her like a gentleman: "Mother."
With his growing figure looming over her head, Xie Wanqiu felt a little oppressed. She gripped the handle of the chair tightly, stood up with difficulty, and sat down beside the conference table.
Xi Feng sat down at the main seat, clasped his hands together and placed them on the conference table. He looked at everyone with a gaze that flashed with the light of catching prey. Suddenly, he smiled slightly and said, "Since everyone is here, I will show you two documents."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Ruoyun took out two documents from the briefcase in his hand, held them up with both hands and showed them to everyone.
One is the "letter of appointment" signed by Xi Zhengfeng and the major shareholder of the head office, and the other is a certificate issued by the hospital's highest agency stating that Xi Feng does not suffer from depression.
Seeing this, everyone lowered their heads, exchanged awkward glances with each other, and could not utter a word.
Seeing this, Xie Wanqiu struggled desperately and said calmly: "Xi Feng, even so, you are not suitable to be the chairman. Before, your brother has always been in charge of the company, and you have never been involved in the workplace, so how can you..."
"Mother, you are worrying too much." Xi Feng smiled and asked, "Why haven't I been involved in the workplace? After my brother passed away, I have been interning here until now. In addition, if I remember correctly, my brother kept three unfinished major cases before he died, and these three major cases were transferred to you, and they were all messed up by your subordinates. If you say that I have never been involved in the workplace and it is inappropriate to serve as the chairman, then you who have been involved in the workplace for many years, it is not inappropriate to easily lose three major cases?"
The meeting room was silent.
Xi Feng added, "Besides, the appointment letter states that the probation period is three months. If I fail the probation period, the majority shareholder of the parent company will remove my chairman's hat. So whether I am inappropriate for this position is not your concern at the moment. Success or failure is in my own hands. If I fail, I will take the initiative to leave the subsidiary and give the position to a more suitable person."
The conference room remained silent. After a long while, someone spoke weakly, "Everything...everything is up to Mr. Xi's arrangements."
Xi Feng's brows were full of sternness mixed with a smile. He straightened his face and said, "Ask the managers of each department to come to the office for a meeting immediately, report the number and progress of the projects they are working on, and talk about the pros and cons of the current working form!"
"Yes." The shareholders and senior managers present called the secretary and passed the matter on.
All of a sudden, managers from all departments of the subsidiary company prepared and rushed to the conference room for the meeting.
In this meeting, Xi Feng convinced the employees with his ability and deterrence. His skillful conversation and sharp analysis of the company and market situation made everyone admire him sincerely, and they completely forgot that he was just a teenager who was just over 20 years old.
After the meeting, Xi Feng stood alone at the smoking area in the aisle, smoking. The swirling smoke slowly came out of his mouth and his eyes were a little hazy.
"You looked just like your brother." Shen Ruoyun walked slowly over from behind and leaned against the wall like Xi Feng.
"If it weren't for the experiences my brother left in his blog, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get through this." Xi Feng said lightly, turning his head to look out the window at the end of the aisle, with a heavy heart.
Shen Ruoyun knew what was on his mind and asked, "Aren't you going back to school?"
"Except for the exam, I probably won't go back."
"Then...what about Tang Ai?"
Xi Feng lowered his head in silence. After a while, he put out his cigarette, walked slowly to the window, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and said, "I really want to find her and ask her to forgive me, but I can't challenge her feelings for my brother, let alone my deception of her. I don't have the courage and confidence to ask her to let it go."
"So, you plan to do nothing?" Shen Ruoyun asked.
Xi Feng frowned and said nothing.
Shen Ruoyun continued, "She shouldn't forgive you. But Xi Feng, you've been with her for a while, not Xi Chen. You know what she's thinking. Ask yourself, do you really want to give up on her? You and us have lied to her for so long. Are you going to run away and not apologize or resolve the issue just because she won't forgive us? Didn't you say you would protect and take care of her on behalf of Xi Chen?"
"I understand what you said. Let me think about it." Xi Feng lowered his head even deeper. Of course he wanted to apologize. As long as Tang Ai was willing to forgive him, he would do anything. But he felt guilty and had no face to face her...
What's more, the situation of HE is still unstable now, and he dare not take any risks.
The quiet corridor became even quieter. The two young men who had just grown into men stood there silently, each with their own thoughts.
"Brother——" The sound of high heels hitting the ground was heard from the other end of the aisle. Xi Shanshan came out of the elevator with a bouquet of flowers in her hands and called sweetly towards this side.
Xi Feng didn't look over, but Shen Ruoyun's eyes followed Xi Shanshan until she approached him.
However, in such a long corridor and despite the sound of high heels so many times, she didn't even look at Shen Ruoyun.
"Brother, congratulations on becoming the chairman of HE." Xi Shanshan held the flowers in front of Xi Feng, her smile more beautiful than the flowers.
Xi Feng silently glanced at the bouquet of bright and juicy roses without saying a word. Instead, he brushed past Xi Shanshan and walked away calmly.
Xi Shanshan was unable to come back to her senses for a while. Her hand holding the flowers was raised in the air, feeling a little sore.
Xi Feng's disregard made her feel embarrassed. She moved her mouth unnaturally, turned around quickly, and shouted, "Xi Feng!"
Xi Feng ignored her and his figure became farther and farther away in the aisle.
Xi Shanshan felt a sense of grievance in her heart, and tears came. Shen Ruoyun walked over slowly, put his hand gently on Xi Shanshan's shoulder, and comforted her: "He is in a bad mood, so don't touch the fuse in his heart these days."
"Can he ignore me just because he's in a bad mood? He wasn't like this before." Xi Shanshan said stubbornly.
"Shanshan, those things happened a long time ago." Shen Ruoyun frowned.
"I know, you don't have to tell me!" Xi Shanshan took out her anger on Shen Ruoyun and shouted at him, "He's my brother, I know he still has me in his heart!"
Shen Ruoyun sighed slightly, shook his head and said, "You are too stubborn."
"Am I the only one who is obsessed with Xi Feng?" Xi Shanshan stared at Shen Ruoyun. Although she was angry, she had other intentions. Shen Ruoyun was not stupid. He could naturally hear the meaning behind her words. She was obsessed with Xi Feng, and Shen Ruoyun was obsessed with her.
“Shanshan…”
Shen Ruoyun didn't know what to say, and a sense of uneasiness was slowly building up in his heart.
Xi Shanshan didn't say anything else, but turned and left, throwing the bouquet of roses into the trash can in the aisle.
After Xi Shanshan left, Shen Ruoyun walked over slowly and picked up the bouquet of roses. The originally intact flowers were thrown like that, and the petals were scattered all over the ground, just like some people's hearts, drifting everywhere without knowing it.
Things have come to this point, and they don't know what to do next...
After returning to school, Tang Ai has been obsessed with studying. However, outsiders think she is obsessed with studying, but only she knows that she has no interest in studying since that incident.
Often, when Lin Xiaoya and her friends went out for dinner, they would invite Tang Ai along. Tang Ai would always smile haggardly and say, "I have something else to do, so I won't go."
Tang Ai was always in a daze and listless every day. One day, she came out of the library alone and bumped into someone's back while walking.
"I'm sorry..." Tang Ai touched his forehead, without raising his head, and wanted to leave in a daze.
At this moment, the person who was hit turned his head and looked at her in surprise: "Tang Ai?"
Tang Ai looked up in confusion. The boy smiled warmly at her and said, "I'm Xu Yueping. Don't you remember me?"
Xu Yueping? That Xi Chen... No, Xi Feng's friend? She remembered.
Tang Ai smiled awkwardly and nodded to him as a greeting, but Xu Yueping pulled her back and said with concern: "Tang Ai, you don't look very well. It's very dangerous to be so reckless. Why don't you stay with your friends?"
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about something and bumped into you." Tang Ai explained.
Xu Yueping looked at her and sighed softly. He knew what happened between Tang Ai and Xi Feng. Tang Ai must have not gotten over it yet, considering her current state.
"Tang Ai, do you have time? There will be a photography exhibition with the theme of 'Dandelion' in Ancheng in a week. Let's call a few friends to go and see it together. Aren't these flowers and plants the most interesting to you?" Xu Yueping wanted to bring Tang Ai out of her depression, but Tang Ai pulled back her hand and refused, "I don't have time, so I won't go."
After saying that, she went back to school alone.
Xu Yueping looked at her back, feeling strange emotions in his heart.
Tang Ai can't be like this. She is such a smart person and her life and study must not be affected by this.
Xu Yueping straightened his face, and an idea came into his mind.
On the day of the photography exhibition, Tong Lin went from her own dormitory to Tang Ai's dormitory and knocked on the door frantically. Lin Xiaoya helped her open the door, but before she could ask any questions, Tong Lin stood by Tang Ai's bed and shouted, "Tang Ai! The sun is already halfway up in the sky, why don't you get up!"
There was no movement on the bed.
Tong Lin simply lifted Tang Ai's quilt and shouted at her sleeping on the bed: "Tang Ai! There's a fire!"
Still no movement.
