Chapter Twelve A Patch of Sunshine

  Yang Tao fell silent for a moment, and it wasn't until after a good while that he lifted his head again, wanting to speak but hesitating.

  Wu Lun raised his hand, "You don't need to tell me, I'm not interested in your affairs."

  Yang Tao was taken aback, "It's a fact that you and Yuanzi live together."

  "It's none of your business, to be honest. When we were in Dongcheng, since Yuanzi could bring you out for Cui Zimin, that means you're nothing in her eyes, so you have no right to interfere with Yuanzi's affairs."

  Yang Tao's wine glass paused heavily, staring at Wu Lun, "Don't mention me in the same breath as Cui Zimin and others, including Lü Chóng and Li Péi. They all have wives. If the garden falls into their hands, it will be nothing more than a plaything. But I am different. Only I love her unconditionally, want to marry her, and hope to accompany her for life."

  Wu Lun burst out laughing, "Then I think you're a bit pitiful."

  Yang Tao suddenly lost his spirit, "I also pity myself, I'm just a mouse in the crack, now I'm notorious. Do you know why I came to Beicheng? I couldn't make a living in Guangcheng! Someone like me, the garden would naturally only think of me as a fart!"

  Wu Lun did not say a word.

  Yang Tao quickly got himself drunk, and with a chuckle, he put his arm around Wu Lun's shoulder. "Actually, as soon as I saw that red-faced girl, I knew you and Yuanzi had nothing going on, but I still yelled and shouted. I wanted to hear Yuanzi explain herself, it should be such a happy thing, but she didn't say anything, do you know? Actually, I like the angry Yuanzi better, I hate her smile towards those people even more than I hate her using the same smile when facing me. But today, she wasn't angry at me, she was angry at you, and I'm not even as good as you, this little pretty face!"

  Wu Lun's eyebrows furrowed, and he shook off Yang Tao's arm, only to discover a wet patch on his shoulder. This guy was crying! Wu Lun couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

  Since running into Yang Tao, Wu Lun seems to have started having bad luck. Not counting last night, Wu Lun went to the company earlier than usual but was caught by Cheng Lai who had never arrived early before. Cheng Lai looked at Wu Lun like a monster, scolding him for his sloppy clothes and not wearing the company uniform. Wu Lun listened with a helpless expression, then turned around to see Li Na holding her own set of clothes, her face bright red as she stood not far away, her eyes welling up with tears. After being glanced at by Cheng Lai's mocking gaze, tears started streaming down, making Wu Lun suddenly feel overwhelmed with guilt. This was the first time a woman had been wronged because of him.

  In the afternoon, Lü Zhòng called him again to give a serious and heartfelt lecture: "The thing about you hitting Li Na, although it was extreme, but you were right, and the other party didn't suffer any consequences, so it's over; however, you're becoming more and more unscrupulous. The company doesn't recommend employees dating each other, but today you actually came to work wearing slippers and sweatpants. As a result, Li Na had to bring you clothes. If other colleagues saw this, what would they think? And how would our clients view our company?"

  Wu Lun remained silent, too lazy to explain.

  Endured various gazes in the morning, arrived at the front desk at noon, "Going out for lunch?"

  Li Na's face hesitated for a moment, "You go first, I still have some phone calls to deal with."

  "What would you like to eat? I'll help you..."

  "No need, I'm not hungry yet," said Li Na, and then she lowered her head to tidy up the things in front of her.

  Wu Lun walked in and as soon as he entered the restaurant, he heard someone calling him. He looked around to locate the source of the sound and found it was Yang Tao. Wu Lun walked over, and when Yang Tao saw him approaching, he burst out laughing, "Tell me, I lent you a suit, why are you so disheveled?"

  Wu Lun sneered with a smile, this absurd guy can now mock himself, "How did you end up here, who told you about my business."

  "Who else could it be, that Lü Zhòng guy. That kid promised to treat me to a big meal, but was called away at the last minute, so I came here to make do with a simple dinner, and ran into you again, we're really fated, haha."

  "You knew I'd come here for dinner, didn't you?" Wu Lun smiled.

  Yang Tao smiled and said, "You're smarter than I thought."

  Wu Lun and Yang Tao sat facing each other, "Speak up, what's going on, then disappear from my sight."

  Yang Tao smiled, "I learned some things from Lü Chóng and realized I misunderstood you, but you can't go back now. As compensation, I'll find a place for you with an environment that will satisfy you, and I'll prepay your rent for a year."

  "Don't you think it's pitiful?"

  "Everyone has a tight spot sometimes. Consider it a favor from your brothers, and when you're successful in the future, just pay me back with interest."

  Wu Lun looked at Yang Tao with a seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling expression, "I'm saying you're pitiful, as for me, there's no need for you to worry about it."

  Yang Tao was taken aback.

  ……

  After work, Wu Lun followed quietly, seemingly completely unaware of Li Na's anxiety and embarrassment. Turning into the residential area, the noisy traffic had passed, and Wu Lun's rhythmic footsteps were exceptionally clear. Li Na could no longer bear it, suddenly turned around, but lowered her head, not daring to meet Wu Lun's gaze, "I know you have nowhere else to go, but you can't stay here anymore."

  Wu Lun smiled, "What did Yuanzi say?"

  Li Na hastily shook her head, her face unclear, but the crystal tears flashed in the sunlight, "No, it's just that I think it's not suitable."

  "Why was it suitable before?"

  Li Na just shook her head, "Sorry."

  Wu Lun couldn't bear it anymore and said, "At least let me take away your luggage."

  Li Na trembled and tears gushed out, Wu Lun walked over and handed her a tissue.

  Li Na took it over, after a long time, she raised her head and looked at Wu Lun with her red eyes, "Will you leave Chongxing?"

  Wu Lun couldn't help but laugh, "I've only been doing this for a few days, and I've already spent a month's salary in advance. Even if I wanted to run away with the money, it wouldn't be possible."

  "What about that month later?" Li Na asked.

  Wu Lun shook his head, "I don't know."

  Two people walked to the door, but it suddenly opened from inside. It was Yuanzi. Li Na hastily explained, "Wu Lun is back to pick up his luggage."

  Yuanyuan smiled innocently, "I didn't drive him away."

  Wu Lun lost her smile, as if the crazy woman who had pulled at her own hair yesterday was not her.

  Li Na's bright red eyes couldn't help but flash a few times, her excitement was evident, but Wu Lun's next sentence made her heart plummet to the bottom of the valley.

  "It's not you kicking me out, it's me who wants to leave." Wu Lun shrugged and brushed past Yuanzi, returning to his own room to pack up.

  Before long, Li Na came in, her eyes still red, and said softly, "Let's eat first before leaving."

  Wu Lun nodded.

  This time Wu Lun finally got to eat the long-awaited ji cai jian bao, then walked to the entrance of the community and looked around in a daze, where to go?

  The phone vibrated, it was Yuanyuan, "What's wrong, did you lose something?" Wu Lun smiled.

  "Don't speak to me in that tone of voice, do you think I've done something wrong?" Garden's voice.

  "You're wrong. This time it's Yang Tao, I won't leave, next time it will be Li Tao, Wang Tao, until I leave."

  The garden's clear and crisp laughter, "You're not stupid, so can you accept my kindness?"

  "What?"

  "My friend has a house for rent, and it's not far from your and Li Na's company..."

  Wu Lun interrupted directly, "I'm right at the entrance of the residential area. You come down and we'll go now. It's almost dark."

  "Frankly, I like it. But you come up first, and I'll bring some things over, can't carry them."

  Wu Lun came back to see Li Na holding the bed sheet she had used, standing at the door, biting her lip as if trying to hold back a smile, and was shocked. Then he saw Yuanzi take out a bunch of keys and walk a few steps to the apartment next door that had never been seen before, the key turned around and the door opened...

  Wu Lun looked around the two-bedroom, one-living room house, which was fully equipped with electrical appliances and very tidy, apparently regularly cleaned. Then he saw a hand stretched out in front of his chest, "Water, electricity, gas, property management fees are self-paid, rent is 3,000 yuan per month, paid half a month in advance, 1,500 yuan, take it!" It wasn't the landlord who was speaking.

  Wu Lun sighed, knowing how much money she had left. She took out her wallet and handed the money to Yuanzi, then put back the almost empty wallet. Taking the bed sheet and quilt from Li Na, she gave a stern order: "Everyone get out, I want to sleep."

  Li Na let out a snort of laughter and said "We'll still have dinner at our place." Then she turned around and swiftly left, with no sign of her previous sadness.

  ……

  The sound of the elevator opening was followed by a series of footsteps on the shiny floor, and Yang Tao instinctively felt danger, but the wall of people blocking his way left him with no escape route. In the next second, his flailing arms were restrained, and his kicked-out legs were caught, and he lost his balance after being pulled forward. As he fell to the ground, several pairs of hard-soled boots trampled on his shoulders, waist, and thighs. Yang Tao curled up on the ground, clutching his head, as the rough soles of shoes trampled on his hands, causing excruciating pain. The blood from his hands seeped through his fingers, filling his nostrils with a bloody smell. The trampling continued, with multiple boots stomping on him. Yang Tao remained still, curled up in a ball, which seemed to enrage these people further. A shoe tip jabbed sharply into his lower back, and Yang Tao let out a muffled groan, biting down hard on his teeth as his body went limp. One of the men then stepped on Yang Tao's chest, pinning him down, and squatted beside him, slapping his face. "Listen up, buddy, we don't want to mess with you, but if we see you around here again, our brothers will take care of you."

  Yang Tao struggled and said, "Brother, you've got the wrong person."

  "Damn it! I've been stuck here for a few days because of you, kid." With a forceful kick on the ground, Yang Tao let out a pained groan but started laughing with a chuckle, "You go tell whoever called you guys to come, if they want me not to show up here, they might as well kill me!"

  "Looking for death!" A fierce kick to the abdomen made Yang Tao feel a tearing pain, but horror quickly overtook the pain. The icy blade was already pressed against his cheek, "Brother, you're still obstinate, I can see you're a man with a head and a face, but I have no choice but to scrape off this face of yours."

  "You dare! As long as you don't kill me, I still have a little money, and it's still possible for several of you to be worse off than dead!"

  "You're asking for it, I'll give you a quick death!" The moment Cold Knife left, Yang Tao seemed to have already heard the sharp whistling sound. His entire body's cells shrunk together, waiting, and his mouth was actually curved into a smile. A burst of dazzling sunlight poured in, illuminating the corridor, and it was only then that people realized that one of the doors beside them had been opened at some point, with someone standing at the entrance. Yang Tao blinked once to clear his vision, but a drop of blood simultaneously dripped into his eyes, dyeing everything red, followed by the sound of knife wind, intense flesh collisions, and the crisp sound of breaking bones. Then, everything returned to calmness. Only then did Yang Tao see someone merged with the sunlight, their face pale white in the brightness.

  "If you can move on your own, get back in yourself. The gardeners should be back soon, if you don't want them to see you like this."

  Yang Tao really crawled, using his limbs to move laboriously into the house, and then kicked the door shut with a dog-like motion, before lying down on the floor, stretching out his limbs, and savoring the pain all over his body.

  [Thanks to Mu Tian Shui for proofreading]