C46

When Lin Qingrou arrived at the airport early in the morning, she saw that Fang Tong and the other kids were already waiting for them.

She hurriedly apologized, "I'm really sorry. I didn't expect that there would be a traffic jam today."

Fang Tong said with a scowl, "If you know there's a possibility of a traffic jam, you should leave home a little earlier."

Lin Qingrou quickly explained, "I definitely won't be late again. I didn't plan on doing so this time."

Seeing that, the boy helped her out, "Sister Lin, come over to my side and wait. It will take another ten minutes or so for the boarding pass to change. It's the first time I've been on a business trip and I'm really excited. "

Seeing that she was finally a little further away from Fang Tong, Lin Manrou smiled, "I've been out for a while with Shen laoshi since I started working. I haven't been out for a long time."

Fang Tong listened to the two girls' whispers while feeling a bit uncomfortable sitting on one side. After changing his boarding pass, he sat down in the coffee shop across from her, checking his cell phone to pass the time while drinking a cup of coffee to refresh himself.

The child then asked, "Sister Lin, did you know? When I first knew that I was going on a business trip with Dean Fang, I felt really uncomfortable."

"Why?" Lin Qingrou asked curiously.

The child smiled and said, "Isn't he afraid? He is always so strict and abnormal in the company. I am already scared. However, after spending a while with him and having a chat with him just now, I feel like he's just an ordinary person. "

Lin Manrou saw that her words were sincere, and she became a bit interested.

The child explained with a smile, "Actually, I just caught a lift from Dean Fang. We chatted while we were in the car." Although there was nothing nutritious about it, his words sounded rather grumpy. About having a dog at home, his parents pushing for marriage, his aunts introducing him to their girlfriends, that sort of thing. It was only then that I realized that he also ate to his heart's content. "

Lin Qingrou couldn't help but laugh, "Did you all think that he was an immortal that only drank dewdrops?"

The child said embarrassedly, "That's not true. It's actually just that we were all calling him 'Medusa' behind his back. Do you still remember?"

After saying that, she raised three fingers and swore, "But I swear, I will never call him that again!"

She forced a smile onto her face and put her hand down. The two of them couldn't help but look at Fang Tong's back, and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

It would only take an hour for them to get from B city to S city, so no one seemed to be tired. After they got off the plane and arrived at the hotel, Fang Tong said to Lin Wanru, "I'm going to do an interview with the boy. You wait in the hotel first."

Lin Qingrou froze for a moment before asking, "Then if I don't go with you, I …"

Only then did Fang Tong react and explained, "You should check out S city's fifth sanatorium's information and address in the hotel this afternoon. We'll go there tomorrow."

Lin Qingrou wrote them down one by one. After sending Fang Tong and the boy off, she returned to her room in the hotel to look up information for Fang Tong.

The Fifth Sanatorium in S City was located in the suburbs. It was a recuperative hospital that mainly focused on mental illness. To put it bluntly, it was a mental hospital.

Lin Qingrou examined the place closely, not understanding why Fang Tong wanted to visit her. She was looking at her computer when her cell phone suddenly rang.

It was actually Ye Qingming. Speaking of which, the two of them hadn't seen each other for a few days, and they hadn't talked on the phone much. Lin Qingrou had almost forgotten about him, to the point where she almost used "Long time no see" as her opening words when she answered the phone.

Ye Qingming seemed to be in a good mood. He took the initiative to ask, "You still haven't gotten off work?"

Lin Qingrou came back to her senses and explained, "I've been on a business trip recently, so I didn't work. In City S. "

Ye Qingming was a bit surprised. He regretfully said, "I've been a bit busy recently, so I haven't been able to keep you company."

Lin Qingrou smiled and said calmly, "It's alright, I've been busy with work recently, so I didn't call you."

"I was going to have dinner with you, but since you're not here, I'll go home."

"Alright, then …" Let's hang up first. " Lin Qingrou said.

Hesitantly, she pulled the phone away from her ear and the screen lit up again. Just as Lin Qingrou was about to press the hang up button, Ye Qingming's voice sounded again.

Lin Qingrou quickly put the phone close to her ear.

He suddenly asked in a low voice, "When are you coming back?"

For some reason, Lin Qingrou felt as if a beautiful flower had bloomed in her heart. However, she didn't understand the true meaning behind this feeling. This feeling of loss made her feel terrified. Whether it was anticipation or warmth, she was somewhat at a loss. However, it seemed like she was even more at a loss as to whether she should flee or not. It might be a long time, maybe a week. "Because I've been so busy recently, I might not be able to return for a while." Lin Manshou quickly told a lie and talked a lot.

Ye Qingming seemed to be able to hear the evasion in her tone. Although he was a bit disappointed, he still smiled and said, "Alright, then we'll talk about it when you come back."

Lin Qingrou asked hesitantly, "Do you have something to say?"

Ye Qingming wanted to say something but hesitated, "Let's talk after you come back." "It's alright, that's all for today. Be careful when you're outside."

Lin Qingrou responded with an "En" before hanging up quietly.

She was thinking, what did Ye Qingming want to tell her? From his somewhat serious and formal tone, it seemed that he had something very serious to say. Did he know something? Or had he heard something from Quan Wei or Ye Qingzhi?

Suddenly, Lin Qingrou's heart was in turmoil. She stood up uneasily and paced around the room uneasily.

From time to time, she would glance at the phone in her hand. After thinking for a while, she would eventually give Liu Yuxi a call.

"Who is it?" Liu Yuxi's drowsy voice came out from his phone.

Lin Qingrou looked at her watch and asked, "You're still awake?" It's already afternoon. "

Liu Yuxi rolled over and complained, "Don't mention it, I didn't sleep last night. "He's in a hurry to draw."

Lin Qingrou muttered to herself for a while before she told Liu Yuxi about the conversation she had with Ye Qingming. Liu Yuxi immediately became spirited, she sat up straight and said with a serious expression, "This is really strange, he shouldn't be that bad right? Could it be that I want to confess to you? "

Lin Qingrou was speechless. "Stop talking nonsense. Can you still play?"

Liu Yuxi chuckled, then sat upright and explained, "How about this, I'll help you meet up with him today and see what he knows. However, according to my guess, he should not know about your situation. After all, Ye Qingzhi and Quan Wei have already ceased their actions.

Hearing her words, Lin Qingrou seemed to be slightly relieved. She could only say, "Alright then, but you'd better not ask him. Otherwise we'll be alerted when the time comes."

Liu Yuxi also felt that this made sense, so he obeyed Lin Qingrou's orders and did not go ask Ye Qingming.

"Where are you? At home? " Liu Yuxi asked.

Lin Qingrou laid on the bed and said weakly, "Of course not. He went on a business trip with our director and is helping him look up information."

Liu Yuxi said in surprise, "Wow, a man and a woman alone, no wonder Ye Qingming is acting this way."

Lin Qingrou laughed. "You can say whatever you want. There's still a female colleague, so I guess they should be back soon. Let's not talk about that for now. "

As expected, not long after she hung up the phone, Little Tong and Fang Tong came back one after the other.

The child held the camera and plopped down on the bed. "God bless me," he said, "next time don't let me interview this writer again."

Curious, Lin Qingrou asked her, "Quick, tell me, what's going on?"

The child sat up straight and looked at Lin Qingrou with envy. "Sister Lin, it's all thanks to you that you didn't go. That person is simply a wonder!"

Lin Qingrou did not expect that a question she had inadvertently said would trigger the switch of the little child, causing her to talk about the famous "eccentric" writer's weirdness from the time she came back to dinner.

Seeing this, Fang Tong took the opportunity to speak to Lin Qingrou, "Tomorrow, you and I will go to the sanatorium. Have you found all the documents?"

Lin Qingrou nodded, she could not help but ask, "What's the meaning of bringing an assistant out today?"

Fang Tong looked at her and helplessly said, "If I want to know what the little kid said, I definitely won't bring her." Today, I had a headache over that writer, but I didn't expect to have to listen to her ramble when I came back. "Right now, I am really one of the top two."

Lin Qingrou smiled as she passed the documents she had prepared today to Fang Tong.

"What are you doing here?" Is there something special you want to interview? "

Fang Tong looked through them one by one and said to Lin Qingrou, "He's a friend of mine from the past. He fell ill due to an accident. Later on, his family was really unwilling to take care of him, so they sent him here. "

Lin Qingrou looked at him. Fang Tong lowered her head with a frown on her face. It was as if the mere thought of this friend of his caused him to feel indescribably depressed.

She softly said to him, "I'm sorry, I didn't think …"

"It's okay, it's not like you don't know." Fang Tong gave her a comforting smile.

The next day, Fang Tong and Lin Qingrou set off early in the morning. After the two of them had breakfast in the car, they rushed to the sanatorium.

Lin Qingrou sat in the car, looking at Fang Tong's nervous expression as he drove. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you alright? Is it uncomfortable? "

Fang Tong shook his head and explained, "It's nothing, it's just that I haven't seen him for a long time." Thus, right now, they were more or less a bit nervous. Don't be afraid, I know how to drive. "

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Lin Manrou saw that his knuckles were white and his muscles were taut, so she was still worried.

However, although it was a bit slow, they were still able to arrive here safely in the end.

This time, Fang Tong did not bring any photographic equipment, nor did he bring anything for recording purposes. He was just an empty-handed person, and did not have the heart to come and see his old friend.

After asking the nurse for their names, Lin Man and Fang Tong went to the small garden behind the hospital.

"At this time of the day, it is the usual time for a walk. You can look for him here. But remember not to make such a big noise or keep looking around to avoid putting some patients at risk. "

Lin Qingrou and the others replied as they walked towards the garden.

Fang Tong looked at Lin Qingrou and asked worriedly, "You saw it here too, I didn't expect it to be like this … "If you're scared, go back to the car and wait for me?"

Lin Qingrou put her hands in the pockets of her coat and looked left and right. She didn't seem to care at all as she said, "What's wrong with that? I'll lead the way."

With that, she walked in front of Fang Tong and subconsciously held his arm. They walked through a few iron-gray doors and through a white corridor to the garden at the back.

Fang Tong looked at her in surprise. She wanted to say something, but hesitated.

Some of them were sitting in chairs talking to themselves while others just sat on the floor and played with their fingers. There were even a few who were talking nonsense in the corner, so it was easy for them to have a male nurse by their side.

It was as if these people didn't notice anything, or even if they did sense something, it had nothing to do with their world. They didn't care in the slightest.

Fang Tong looked over at the railing and suddenly recognized the familiar face.

"There he is."

Fang Tong said as he walked over. Lin Qingrou followed quietly behind him, watching as Fang Tong approached, one step at a time. She didn't say a word.

The man looked to be in his fifties. He had coarse skin, gray hair, and a swarthy complexion. He was slightly stooped. He stared expressionlessly at the grey wall in the distance. That murky despair that seemed endless seemed familiar to Lin Qingrou.

She was curious. What was their relationship? Just a friend? It didn't seem like it, because in Fang Tong's eyes, other than familiarity, there was also a hint of guilt and cowardice.

However, the word 'timid' should never have appeared on Fang Tong, so now this friend of his was especially unusual for him.

He didn't expect that Fang Tong would just look at his friend quietly, tears in his eyes. But even in the end, he didn't say anything or disturb him.

After about ten minutes, Fang Tong looked at Lin Qingrou, indicating that she could leave.

Lin Qingrou looked at him in surprise. Fang Tong said softly, "Let's go."

The two of them returned to the car. Lin Qingrou looked at Fang Tong and noticed that his expression was calm. It seemed as if he had calmed down a lot.

Unexpectedly, Fang Tong suddenly asked, "Can you guess that person's age?"

Lin Manrou thought about it and replied, "I think, he should be around 45 years old?"

Fang Tong smiled bitterly and said in a low voice, "He's younger than me. If I remember correctly, he should be 30 this year."

"30 years old? I... "How is this possible? He looks so …"

"Venerable, right?" Fang Tong looked at her.

Lin Qingrou nodded unconsciously. She would never have thought that that person would be only 30 years old. The wrinkles on his face made him look old and sad, making it impossible for Lin to relate him to the young people who had just started their lives.

Fang Tong sighed and said slowly, "Four years ago, I was in S Province investigating the black coal kiln incident. I got to know him there. Because his family was poor and he had many brothers and sisters, he had been tricked from his teens into going up and down the mine. He was not allowed to go out, and he had never done any dirty work. But even so, the boss will still deduct their wages from time to time. "

"Later, I went there with another friend of mine to pretend to be a workman and to expose the illegal exploitation of the black coal kiln and the illegal employment of the workers. So for a long time after that, I ate with him and lived with him. Eventually, he became a friend that talked about everything. He told me he wanted to build a big house for the family and buy new clothes for his sister and brother. To be honest, before I met him, I only knew that people were poor, but I didn't know that there would be places where people were poor to that extent. That place is completely different from our world. "

"Until the end, when the underground resources were over-exploited by those profiteers and the land collapsed. It was also that time that he saved my life. I was only hit on the head by a rock, while he was unconscious for half a month. After the accident, my friends and I took advantage of the chaos to escape and returned to the company at that time to report everything that had happened, layer by layer, to the authorities. We waited and reported everything that had happened. Fortunately, hard work pays off. In the end, we still win. "

"However, when I returned to the hospital, the doctor told me that although he had woken up, his mental state was not as good as it used to be. He might even have very serious sequelae."

Fang Tong suddenly stopped. He almost couldn't continue on several occasions as he endured the pain and guilt brought to him by the memory, almost making him unable to breathe.

Lin Qingrou didn't know what to do, but she was very worried. She looked at Fang Tong, but still reached out her hand and patted his shoulder.

"Thus, ever since he was sent here, I have never dared to come here. because I don't know how to face him, and... As you can see, he doesn't recognize me anymore. "

Fang Tong's smile was somewhat bleak.

In that instant, Lin Qingrou felt that the scar on Fang Tong's heart was even deeper than the scar on his forehead.

Lin Qingrou's heart grew heavy for some reason. She looked at Fang Tong silently, then secretly passed him a tissue.

Fang Tong looked up at Lin Qingrou and smiled helplessly, "I'm fine. It's just that it's a little difficult to say everything that has been on my mind for years all of a sudden." "He was like a man walking with a weight on his back. He was used to being under pressure, but now that he was suddenly taken away by someone, he could not help but feel a little empty.

"I was scared to death," she said. "You didn't see your own eyes, empty and desperate."

Indeed, this was the first time Lin Qingrou had seen Fang Tong in such a daze. After all, his image had always been resolute and strong. That was the reason why he was named "Black Hole of Difficulty" by his subordinates. It meant that no matter what difficulties were in front of him, they would be instantly eliminated and would never exist again.

Unexpectedly, Fang Tong actually laughed when he heard Lin Qingrou's explanation, and the tears that had been glistening in his eyes just now had taken the opportunity to fall onto the back of his hand.

Seeing him smile, Lin Manrou could finally put her heart at ease. After the two of them returned to the hotel, they called the kids over and rushed to the airport together.

Sitting on the plane back, Fang Tong sat next to Lin Manmei. He asked curiously, "When I saw you go to the hospital just now, you didn't seem scared at all. It seemed to be very familiar. "To have a whole new level of respect for them."

Lin Manchu smiled, and said, "I have relatives, who are about the same as your friend. She lives in a mental hospital all year round, and I often go to see her, so naturally I'm familiar with her, and I'm not afraid. "

Fang Tong nodded. He tilted his head and asked Lin Qingrou, "Did you really have something to tell me the last time you came to find me?"

Only then did Lin Qingrou remember. She smiled embarrassedly, and Fang Tong said, "I do have one, but it's something I want to ask for a leave of absence from."

"Leave of absence?"

"Well, I'd like to take the wedding leave. "Probably just around the corner."

"Marriage …" "Fake …" Fang Tong was momentarily lost in thought.