Home/ The Selfish Gene/ Chapter 36
For over twenty years, I had never thought of celebrating my birthday, but because of a sudden impulse, I ended up in the police station.
Upon inquiry, the boy’s name turned out to be Cheng Tao. He was thirteen years old. As he said, he had a sister two years younger than him and a father who was paralyzed in bed. Their mother abandoned them and left this hopeless place two years ago, and has disappeared since then. He was young and couldn’t find any decent work. He usually made a living by picking up bottles, digging through trash cans, and occasionally… doing some petty theft.
“I won’t do it anymore, please don’t arrest me, I can’t go to jail…” The boy sat in the interrogation room with shiny handcuffs in his hands, wiping his tears with his arms, “If I go to jail… My sister and father will die… Please let me go… I just wanted to get some change… Buy a hairpin for my sister…”
The young police officer sighed softly after listening to the boy and closed the door of the interrogation room.
“He is less than fourteen years old. We can only admonish him and lock him up for 24 hours.” Leading us out, he explained to us in a low voice, “There are too many such children here. We will contact relevant organizations to help them, but whether they are willing to accept the help and correct their ways is not up to us. I hope I don’t have to meet him here again in the future.”
The young police officer escorted us to the gate and patted Ji Chenfeng’s shoulder as he bid farewell, saying ‘thank you’ to him.
Until I got into the sports car whose window was smashed again, I still couldn’t figure out why this was something worthy of gratitude, and who the young police officer was thanking for. He himself? Or that kid?
The wind poured in through the broken window, and it was useless to turn on the heating all the way. All I could do was reduce the speed as much as possible to alleviate the chill.
“I thought he was lying, but I didn’t expect that there was really a father and sister.” Thinking about the two children who smashed my window last time, one must be Cheng Tao, and the other was his sister.
One kid was on the lookout and the other was smashing the car window. Would such a little bastard really change his ways because he was scared out of his wits after being locked up for a night?
“I… met him and his sister on the road before. I wanted to give them some money to buy food, but they didn’t want it.” The passenger seat was covered with broken glass, so I let Ji Chenfeng sit in the back seat. This way the wind won’t blow over him directly.
“Why not?”
“Perhaps they were afraid that others would look down on them.”
I sneered: “Then smashing car windows and stealing money won’t make people look down on them?”
“He probably thought so, that’s why he must be punished. If he doesn’t get scared enough, he will go too far, eventually losing control and becoming a cancer in the society.”
My heart moved slightly, and I raised my eyes to look in the rearview mirror. As Ji Chenfeng said these words, he was looking out the window with a very pale expression on his face, without any regrets or self-proclaimed justice. He just tried his best, doing what he could do. It’s not about receiving anyone’s gratitude, let alone saving someone.
It has nothing to do with anyone else, but…his own principles.
Cold and gentle, pure and fierce, kind and ruthless. Perhaps this guy was really a snowy mountain in his previous life.
When angry, a dangerous snowstorm blows, but when in a good mood, it snows and the sky clears up. He will freeze those humans to death who don’t respect him, but take good care of the small animals on the snowy mountain. Occasionally, when he encounters a climber he likes, he will invite him to climb the mountain together, regardless of whether the other person is willing or not.
“If their mother hadn’t abandoned them, they might not have lived such a miserable life. Dr. Ji, have you ever resented your biological parents? If they hadn’t abandoned you, you should’ve had a healthy body and wouldn’t have to work so hard.” I carefully led the conversation from Cheng Tao to Ji Chenfeng, insinuating his views on his own life experience.
“‘Abandoning’ may seem like a serious crime to outsiders, but it’s very common in Fly City. It’s hard for someone to keep people who want to leave. Resentment can’t change my body, nor can it heal my mother. Moreover…..” The rest of the words stopped and disappeared between his lips and teeth.
The car slowly stopped. The police station was only two kilometers away from Ji Chenfeng’s home, so it didn’t take long to arrive. The road ahead was still flickering with fresh glass shards, indicating the crime that had occurred here not long ago.
Because it looked like it was raining again, I simply went to the trunk to get an umbrella, intending to let Ji Chenfeng take it back home.
“Moreover what?” Holding the umbrella in one hand, I extended my other hand towards him and spat out two words, wanting him to finish his previous words.
Grasping the palm that is wider than mine, the metacarpal bone on the back of his hand slightly protruded due to the application of force, making it look particularly sexy.
With my strength, Ji Chenfeng stepped out of the car door and stood under the same umbrella as me.
“Moreover, if it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been able to meet you.” His expression was too calm, and for a moment, I couldn’t even tell whether he was flirting with me or if he sincerely believed so.
Are you just saying beautiful things to please me? How could anyone be willing to disregard their health and wealth just to meet another person? It’s not like acting in a TV drama, right?
As I tightened my grip on the umbrella handle, I looked into Ji Chenfeng’s eyes and asked, “Even if I do something to hurt you, will you not regret meeting me?”
“I won’t regret it.” After hearing this, I felt relieved for some reason, but then Ji Chenfeng added, “But I still hope you won’t do that.”
Although his tone was flat and ordinary, I felt as if a sharp knife had been held against my back. Goosebumps appeared all over my body, and even my hairs stood up, feeling an unprecedented sense of oppression.
Damn it, why did I ask such an ominous question? And how could this kind of thing hurt me?
At least for the next three years, while Yan Shanhua is still alive, I have to coax him well, sleep with him, and spend money on him. After breaking up, I would just find some excuse to deal with him. On the other hand, even if I did play with his feelings, what harm would it be if I kept him from knowing the truth for a lifetime?
…..
During the coldest month in Hong City, I joined the investment department of my own company and began my busy and boring daily routine.
It’s busy because the end of the year is approaching, and various brands have sent dinner invitations to thank us for the services we have provided over the past year. Unable to decline it, I had no choice but to attend banquets every day.
It’s boring because the investment department has already established its own fixed work model. Small problems can be solved by asking the manager or the deputy director. There are rarely times when I, the director, need to take the lead. Everyone agreed that I just came here to sit around, and would leave soon to experience life in other departments. Their attitude toward me was often one of respect and fear on the surface, but they must be chewing their tongue behind my back.
“Master, they were again gossiping about you in the tea room today, saying that you were lucky and could only reach this position because of your father.” Tang Bian put the coffee in the tray on the desk and whispered to me in a low voice.
I joined the investment department as the director, and Tang Bian followed as my assistant. But to the outside world, everyone only knew that I was Sang Zhengbai’s son, and they didn’t know that Tang Bian was Tang Zhaoyue’s son. They thought he was a newly recruited college student and did not avoid him when they gossiped.
Thanks to this assistant, it didn’t take me too long to figure out the interpersonal relationships in the entire department.
“They are not wrong in saying that.” Turning over a page of the document to sign, I raised my chin and pointed at the pile of documents on the corner of the table and said, “Take those out and divide them.”
Tang Bian picked up the documents and was about to go out, but then suddenly turned back and said, “Master, you have to go to Miss Gu’s house for dinner tonight, don’t forget it.”
The tip of the pen stuck on the paper, gradually sinking into a small ball of ink spreading out slowly. I clicked my tongue, moved the pen, and re-signed my name in another blank space.
“I know.”
Perhaps to highlight the importance she attached to me, or perhaps to win the trust of her parents, as soon as my car was parked in Gu Ying’s garage, she quickly came out of the door to greet me and held my arm affectionately.
“Have you memorized all the information I sent to you?” Gu Ying asked with a smile.
Birthdays, horoscopes, graduation schools, friends, playmates, these are all basic things that must be known. In order to avoid revealing the secrets, it is necessary to memorize them in advance.
Every week, when she told her parents that she was out with me on a date, she actually spent those few days with her boyfriend, and she also needed to communicate with me to complete the information. There’s even a simulation of where we’re supposed to go with each other.
“Of course.” Although it was troublesome, when I thought of the benefits I could get from her, I had no choice but to endure it.
The tip of my nose twitched, and as soon as I entered the warm room, I smelled a vague aroma of popcorn.
“Did your family make popcorn or something?”
“Popcorn?” Gu Ying frowned, with a puzzled look on her face.
“Caramel popcorn.”
“Ah,” She suddenly reacted and pinched her collar to sniff it, saying jokingly, “It’s the smell of my perfume. My boyfriend likes it very much. He said it’s sweet and smells appetizing.”
What a weird taste.
Compared to popcorn, I’d rather choose the cheap soap flavor. At least I won’t feel like my trachea is being stuck with sticky industrial saccharin every time I breathe.
After dealing with Gu Ying’s parents, it was already past nine o’clock when I returned to the hotel, and Ji Chenfeng had already left by then. There was a note on the table, saying that Xiaocao has been fed, and there are sandwiches in the refrigerator that can be used for breakfast tomorrow.
I’ve been too busy these days, always leaving early and coming back late. It feels like I haven’t seen him for a long time.
Stroking the handwriting on the note, I sent a text message to Ji Chenfeng, asking if he could come over and wake me up tomorrow.
Although tomorrow is Saturday, logically he should have a day off, but when it comes to work, isn’t it the boss who has the final say?
Early the next morning, when Ji Chenfeng entered the suite, I had already woken up and just deliberately lay down, waiting for his wake-up call service.
As a result, I waited for a long time but Ji Chengfeng didn’t come in, wondering why he was lingering outside.
What the hell is he doing? He insists on barking when I don’t want him to, but now he was dragging his feet when I wanted him to wake me up. Unable to wait any longer, I put on a bathrobe and gently opened the bedroom door.
The living room was silent, warm and tidy. Through the narrow crack in the door, I quickly saw Ji Chenfeng, but when I saw what he was doing, my eyes couldn’t help but widen slightly.
In the bright morning light, Ji Chenfeng was facing me sideways, standing next to the sofa, holding my coat in his hand. He buried the lower half of his face completely into the soft fabric and sniffed deeply. Like a… puppy trying to feel reassured by its owner’s scent.
“Ding ding ding!”
The hurried doorbell interrupted the puppy’s private time, causing him to turn back and look towards the door in fright. I also instinctively closed the bedroom door in a hurry. I didn’t come back to my senses until I got back to bed and lay down again… No, what am I hiding from??
“…Huh? You, do you live here? Where is Sang Nian?”
My scalp felt numb, feeling as if the bed was electrified. As soon as I lay down, I jumped up and rushed out without even having time to tidy up my bathrobe.
Damn it, it was all because of Ji Chenfeng that I became stupid too. How could there be anyone other than Zheng Jieyuan who rang the bell like this early in the morning?
What should I do? What kind of lies should be told to smooth things over with Ji Chenfeng? A private veterinarian? Will Zheng Jieyuan believe it?
No matter what, it’s better than being found out as gay.
Leave a Reply