Global Film Emperor

Chapter 406 "Rebirth" (Part 2)

The two shook hands briefly, said nothing, and then went their separate ways. Parker stopped in front of the car, composed himself, and then got in, fastening his seatbelt with a frosty expression.

“Starting today, you must be home before 6 p.m. every day after school. You can forget about the PS game console and new cell phone you wanted. Your allowance will also be cut in half. It was my fault for letting you participate in the protest, but you also need to take some responsibility because you went too far.”

"It was my fault, I will return the money to you."

"Ha, what are you going to do? Collect scrap? You think you can out-rob a homeless person? Do odd jobs? Unemployed people with survival skills are fighting tooth and nail for those jobs. What can you do? You can't even do drug trafficking now!"

"Parker, that's enough! Stop it! Don't make any more noise, I'm begging you, okay?"

Women are more perceptive and can better sense other people's emotions, especially their own children. How could Lisa not understand the changes that might occur in his heart?

"Phew, you should reflect on yourself and think about how much disaster you've caused this family."

Parker didn't want to talk anymore. Even though he was furious, he lit a cigarette in frustration and kept honking his horn whenever the car on the road slowed down. The constant phone calls from his subordinates made him increasingly irritable.

Compared to Parker, who was on the verge of a volcanic eruption, Jason was increasingly sorrowful. The scene he had just witnessed had dealt him a huge blow. His partner, who had been full of energy just two hours ago, had rapidly decayed after being arrested. All of this was too much for him to bear.

"This isn't fair, Matthew and Morrison didn't do anything..."

"squeak……"

He slammed on the brakes, and the inertia nearly threw the three people in the car out. At that moment, Parker finally snapped.

"Fairness? Do you think what you're doing is child's play? Are you just playing around?! None of the people participating in the march are innocent, because you're overestimating yourselves by trying to change all of this! What do you mean by unfairness? Even if you escape this time, you'll definitely be arrested next time! Do you know why? You'll never know the pain until you get punched! You'll become more and more arrogant and reckless. Look! I hit a cop! They can't catch me~ How awesome is that!"

"Think about it carefully! Because of lawless people like you who try to attack the police, how many other protesters have you harmed? Just like your three classmates harmed you! You should be glad you're not over eighteen yet, so I still have to take care of you, otherwise you would end up like those arrogant classmates, doing manual labor your whole life, earning the lowest wages for the hardest and most tiring jobs! 'Extremist protester' will be your label for life!"

“Parker! That’s enough! He’s already having a hard time accepting the facts! You went through the same thing, didn’t you? Everyone makes mistakes. It’s a blessing that he was able to get out on bail, rather than have a criminal record. Stop talking!”

"I will never be the first to stick my neck out; that's the difference between him and me!"

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel, uttered a curse without targeting anyone, and the cars behind him started honking. The family continued on their way home, dropping Jason off at his house. Lisa stayed behind to comfort him, while Parker left to return to work at the company.

……

"This is the father-son conversation I regret the most. I never thought that these words would have such a huge impact on Jason, making him despondent and plunging him into utter despair."

"He started to become depressed, in a very short time, just like I did when I heard Mr. Hea's last words in the square and learned of my parents' passing. Thinking about it, I am very grateful that Lisa was by my side. She accompanied me through the longest low point in my life. But I never thought that no one would accompany Jason through the difficult times."

“Jason, forgive your father, forgive his words and deeds, forgive the harm he caused you, although... if it were me, I probably wouldn’t forgive him either.”

……

"That kid's the bastard who got arrested during the parade? He looks really pathetic."

"I think I've seen him before. We were a group of people back then, right? A small clique, arrogant, unreasonable, and uncultured. Now there's only one left? Hahaha, that's really funny."

"Everyone else went in, right? Tsk tsk, if you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? Hey! You bastard! Is this the result you wanted? Look at me! Come and hit me! For your damn sense of justice! Come on!"

His companion leaned out of the car window and taunted Jason, who was wearing a hoodie and had a gloomy expression, by raising his middle finger and whistling to attract Jason's attention. He was hoping Jason would cause trouble so he could send him to the police station again.

"This is so boring, I'm leaving."

"Hey Chris, are you feeling sorry for your childhood friends? I know you're kind, but it's not worth it for these bastards who pretend to be acting out of a sense of justice but are actually just banding together for courage and using violence as an excuse. It has nothing to do with class or wealth; I just can't stand people like that."

"That has nothing to do with me."

Chris drove away with his female companion, neither stopping the students from mocking Jason nor joining in the mockery. After Jason ignored his advice and went to participate in the march, Chris had nothing to do with Jason anymore.

He didn't mock his childhood friends, and his classmates didn't lay a hand on Jason for ignoring them, but to their utter surprise, Jason was still bullied, but this time... it came from Jason's own classmates.

……

“Hey Parker? Are you busy? I know you're under a lot of work pressure right now, but... but Jason came home with injuries and footprints on his body, and he hasn't come out of his room since. If you have time, please come home. I'm very worried about Jason’s condition.”

Parker received the call forty minutes ago. Lisa was crying, so he had to go home. Now, he arrived at his doorstep, took out his key, and opened the door.

Lisa sat on the sofa, her eyes red, clearly still crying. The current atmosphere displeased her. She rubbed her head, which was throbbing with pain, put the keys aside, and took off her shoes.

"Still inside?"

She nodded and said nothing.

After gathering his thoughts, he stood at Jason's door, listening intently to any sounds behind it. When there was no sound, he coughed twice and gently knocked on the door.

"Hey Jason, are you asleep? Mom made lots of delicious food tonight. Dinner's in fifteen minutes, okay, Jason? Can you answer me?"

The room remained quiet, without any sound. After hesitating for a moment, Parker finally decided to talk to Jason about what he might encounter that day.

“Jason, listen, nobody’s lucky all the time. Everyone’s life gets messy sometimes. You can’t just let this mess continue. You have to sort it out. If you can’t solve it yourself, you can talk to me and your mom. We’ll help you. Don’t worry.”

"..."

“Jason? I need your answer. Are you alright? Hmph... Okay, what happened at school? Did they bully you? If so, tell me, and I'll make them taste my fists. But right now, I need you to answer me. Do you need my help? If you keep silent, I'm going to talk to your homeroom teacher, even though you know I don't like your old-fashioned and stubborn homeroom teacher. If you don't answer me, I'm going to make the phone call.”

It remained quiet, but this didn't alarm Parker too much. If Jason had done something foolish, the police would have been at the door long ago, and he wouldn't have had a chance to speak. The windows were fitted with bars, so there was no possibility of him jumping off. Even if he did, he could hear him.

"Lisa, I remember there's a spare key to Jason's room in the cabinet. Go get it."

"Don't come in!"

This seemed to have an effect and elicit a response, but Parker still didn't change his mind. He simply put a finger to his lips, signaling Lisa to be quiet and bring him the keys.

I want to help you.

"No one can help me."

“I can do it. I’m your father. I’ll take care of everything, okay? I won’t go in, but you have to come out and tell the whole story.”

He reached back and held the key in his hand. He pressed himself against the door, but there was no response.

"Then I'm coming in."

He finally made up his mind, inserted the key, turned the first latch, the second latch, and then opened the door. Before him, Jason was sitting on the bed, covered in wounds. He was sitting there, looking out the window as if searching for the moon, which was obscured by tall buildings. But at this moment, his unspeakable ordeal was seen by someone, which completely enraged him.

"Get out! Who let you in! Get out!"

"I only want to help Jason! I am your father!"

"Do I need your help? Do I look like I need your help? Do I look like I need help? Get out of here now! Immediately!"

He shoved Parker with unexpected force, and Parker, afraid of touching his wound, could only back away step by step until he reached the bedroom door.

"They beat you up, right? Who was it? Classmates? Students from the next school? Or someone else?"

"I don't need to tell you! Leave! Can't you leave me some dignity? I'm begging you! I'm begging you! Get out of my room!"

“I am your father! I cannot stand idly by.”

"Did I ask you to give birth to me? Did I ask you to give birth to me? Did you get my consent? You have no idea how much I hate this world!"

He spoke it aloud, uttering the question that terrified the Parkers—or rather, an interrogation. He was pushed out of the room, utterly drained of strength. Lisa was even more devastated; her entire psychological defenses crumbled. She had given an answer, but no longer had the courage to say it aloud.

Sinking into the mud, there was no fragrance of soil, only silt, stagnant water, and the stench of corpses. Since Jason was born, the world has not gotten better; on the contrary, it has become worse.

Because he was not a savior, but merely a person living in dire straits.

Sitting on the sand, the two remained silent. Parker chain-smoked, unable to exhale the frustration in his heart, when the phone rang.

"Hello? Charles."

"Mr. Parker... there's an error in the data. Now one-third of the data has to be scrapped and started over... I'm sorry, this is my mistake..."

"You fucking gotta fix your mistakes right now! And you're wasting time stammering on the phone! I'm giving you one day, only one day! If you don't finish, you can sleep on the streets! You're fired!"

Misfortunes never come singly. Family matters could still be resolved, but work matters left him completely overwhelmed. For a moment, he could only quickly get dressed, tell Lisa to get some rest, and then rush back to the company.

Five hours later, someone tiptoed past the sleeping Lisa and quietly left the house.

……

At this moment, the area near the apartment is the territory of homeless people. They roam the streets, causing chaos and even gang fights. Jason was spotted as soon as he stepped out of the door, but it was clear that he was just a child, so they did not attempt to rob him.

This was the first time Jason had left home late at night. He felt a little flustered as he was surrounded by pairs of menacing eyes. He didn't know what he should do outside, but he just didn't want to stay at home staring at the ceiling and losing sleep.

He walked for an unknown amount of time, but the sky was no longer so dark, and he could vaguely see his fingers. Finally, he arrived at the area where people gathered, a street lined with bars.

He never imagined that the streets he occasionally passed by would be such a chaotic scene in the dead of night, with men and women drunk to the point of unconsciousness, some still able to stand up and hug each other, barely clothed, uttering foul language that was unbearable to hear.

"Handsome, wanna have a go? It's almost dawn, let me keep you company?"

"Hey, don't go, let's chat."

Surrounded by so many women with heavy makeup, he panicked and tried to pull away, but he couldn't resist the persistent advances of these middle-aged women whose wrinkles were so thick with powder that they could make a whole batch of dumplings. They hoped to work overtime with this young man before going to bed and make some more money, since they felt they had an advantage, and after all, it was indeed cheaper.

"Get out of my way, you bunch of bitches! Get out of my sight right now!"

"Who the hell are you talking about? Who gave you the guts? Bitch!"

"Johnny, someone's trying to bully me."

At the entrance of the strip club, a security guard dressed in a uniform, wearing disposable black rubber gloves, with a big beard and covered in tattoos, who looked like a tough guy, looked over and waved to the woman who had come to the rescue.

"Consider you lucky."

The older women left dejectedly, and at that moment, Jason finally saw the face of the girl who had come to help.

"Jenny? What are you doing here..."

"I... work here, so... that's how we met."

She pointed to the strip club behind her, hesitated a few times before speaking, but was generally cheerful and answered Jason's question crisply and clearly. The long legs and high heels revealed under her beige trench coat indicated that she was not a waitress in such a place; she was doing the kind of job Jason was thinking of.

He finally understood why she always wore heavy makeup to school and why she would sleep soundly at her desk every day. He had found the source of everything, although the answer was unbelievable to him: the school? A strip club?

"I haven't even asked you yet, what are you doing here? Are you really here to see these old women who are definitely over a hundred years old?"

"I didn't... I was just passing by."

"I got beaten up today, so I came out to clear my head because I'm in a bad mood?"

"how do you know?"

"You saw it? Actually, I wanted to beat you up too..."

"why?"

"It's just that their naivety is infuriating..."

She looked Jason up and down, ignoring his gaze, lit a cigarette, and asked a question.

"not going home?"

"Ah."

"Nowhere to go?"

"Ah."

"God, since you're my classmate, let's go to my place."

"Isn't that a bad idea? Your parents should be home..."

"I'm nineteen years old, kid~, and I moved out a long time ago."

"The one who takes you to school..."

"My boyfriend."

The two stood on the side of the road, at least a meter apart, with a bus stop behind them. Although the buses were no longer running, the billboard was still lit up. She leaned against the billboard, smoking, her left foot pulled out of her high heel, her black-stockinged foot sticking out against the billboard. She reached out to flag down a car, but it didn't stop and drove off.

"Idiot..."

He muttered a curse under his breath, took out a small makeup mirror from his bag, removed his false eyelashes, and casually tossed them into the trash can, along with his cigarette butt. The false eyelashes went in, but the cigarette butt didn't.

He glanced at Jason and chuckled silently. After all, the boy looked like an idiot, wearing a hoodie and a hat, and could play with a drink bottle cap for half a day.

Holding onto the billboard, he hopped twice on one leg, getting a little closer to Jason. After estimating the distance, he stretched out his bare foot and kicked Jason, sending him sprawling to the ground, and then burst out laughing.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, smell it, does it stink? Hahahaha..."

Taking advantage of the situation, she stretched her foot out in front of Jason and deliberately wiggled her toes. She laughed loudly, which made Jason roll his eyes and slap the foot away from her.

"childish……"

He muttered something under his breath, stood up, and dusted off his pants. Fortunately, the distance between them wasn't so great anymore.

"You're doing the most childish thing, yet you're mocking others for being childish?"

He froze, but didn't refute. He just angrily kicked open his good friend, the plastic bottle cap, and watched it roll onto the road before being crushed by a car wheel.

"Okay, okay, get in the car."

She had already hailed a taxi and patted the seat next to her, but he turned around and got into the passenger seat.

"Sir, please take a seat in the back."

He slunk out of the car again and sat down next to her, only to be met with an elbow strike that hit his chest wound squarely. He grimaced and leaned against the car window, unable to even be distracted by the scent of her perfume.

……

Living in an old-fashioned apartment building, he could smell the musty odor emanating from outside the walls as soon as he arrived. He noticed that even homeless people didn't want to come here. Perhaps the only advantage of this place was that he lived on a high floor and could see the sunlight at sunrise.

Unfortunately, she doesn't live on a high floor, so she never sees the sunlight.

"wait a second."

She didn't go straight into the house, but knocked on the door next door. When an old lady opened the door, she went in and soon came out carrying a baby in swaddling clothes.

"he is……"

"My child...please keep this a secret."

For a moment, he found it difficult to speak and could only nod stiffly. This scene refreshed his understanding once again.

Finally, he entered her home. It wasn't as dirty and messy as he had imagined. Although the house was old and didn't smell very good, it was very clean and tidy. The floor was shiny, the shoes were neatly arranged, the clothes were not scattered around, and there wasn't even a single piece of underwear or socks to be seen. The bedding was also laid out very smoothly.

The only place that could be considered messy was perhaps the few unwashed dishes in the sink.

The baby suddenly started crying, which startled the couple, but after checking, they found that it wasn't a problem with the diaper.

"Just sit there and don't move."

She picked up the child, got up, walked to the window, turned on a lamp, and drew back the curtains. With her back to Jason, her shadow fell on the curtains, like a bizarre shadow play. She took off her clothes, and the child soon quieted down.

"What's his name?"

"No name."

"No name?"

"I just don't know what to call him."

She straightened her clothes, put the baby in the crib, and quietly took two bottles of beer from the cabinet, handing one to Jason.

"No classes today, wanna grab a drink?"

"I can't hold my liquor."

"I'm not a good drinker either."

They turned on the TV and turned the volume down to the lowest setting. The two of them didn't say a word, just stared at the boring content on the TV screen and drank mindlessly. She drank more, one bottle after another. By the time she finished three bottles, he had just finished his first one.

He opened a new bottle for him, sat down, and tossed the remote control he'd been sitting on next to Jason.

"If you're bored, just change the channel. There's no food, so let's watch some music while we're watching TV."

He didn't refuse, and kept switching between TV programs until he switched to the next channel, a pay-TV program, adult-oriented. His face suddenly turned red, and he pressed the down button hard.

"You've never seen a show like this? Hahaha, good boy. I wish my child could be like you someday. So... have you ever seen this before?"

She chuckled softly, her whole body shaking with laughter so as not to wake the child. Then, suddenly, she mischievously took something out of the cabinet, pressed the switch, and turned on the light with a buzzing sound.

"Put it away, put it away! Put it away quickly."

"Look how scared you are, hahaha... Anyway, the shows are pretty boring, so let's watch this one."

She didn't put her things away; they were just left on the table. She also switched the TV channel back to the previous one. Suddenly, she took off her trench coat, revealing her work clothes underneath—the sexy kind.

"Don't... I'm getting a call."

He took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID—it was Lisa—and panicked. He didn't dare look at the TV or at her, and hung up the phone with his head down.

The phone rang a second time, and then the call was disconnected again.

Are you family?

"Um……"

"I heard your parents have pretty good jobs."

Comparing their high school alone, Parker and Lisa's jobs are indeed quite good, at the top level. Ignoring the neighboring school, Jason's family background is certainly something other students envy.

"fine……"

"So that's how you were raised... Jason, I really want to punch you. Part of it is because of your naivety, but more of it is actually out of jealousy, out of jealousy of someone who doesn't even dare to dream."

"I have no dreams anymore..."

"That makes me feel much better. Cheers!"

This time, he drank a whole bottle in one go, not because the TV program was good to drink with, nor because her current appearance was good to drink with.

The phone rang again. She glanced at the contact on the screen, gently rubbed her inner arm against her fair belly, and smiled tenderly.

“I’ll give you two choices. First, turn off your phone, be a bad kid for once, and sleep here. This is your first time, right? I can teach you, just like in the movies.” “Second, answer the phone, let your mom know you’re safe, and then hurry back home so she doesn’t worry. I’m leaning towards the second option because it would be really embarrassing for me to do this…”

The bell rang, and the two stared at each other for a long time. She was like that, without a coat, just staring at each other, and then…

He answered the phone.

"Hello? Mom, it's me. I've gone for a walk. Okay, I'll be home in an hour."

She listened intently and could tell that the woman's voice on the other end was very gentle. She rubbed her forehead, shook her head, and smiled. She didn't seem embarrassed at all, unlike what the woman had described. She stood up, exposing her body, picked up her bag, and rummaged through it. Inadvertently, a switchblade fell to the ground.

Ignoring it, he continued searching and finally found some loose bills that were crumpled beyond recognition, which he handed to Jason.

"Take a taxi home. Don't let her worry too much. I'm a mother too, and I know how that feels. Let's go home."

She pushed Jason towards the door, not caring about any physical contact, and stuffed the money into his pocket, along with the half-finished beer. Finally, the two reached the door. Actually, she still had something to say.

"Jason."

"Ok?"

You like me, don't you?

"Ah."

"Did you ever like me?"

He shook his head.

"Seeing me like this, this kind of life?"

"Ah."

Suddenly, his body lost all strength, and he suddenly had no strength left. Even speaking became difficult. When he spoke again, it was as if he had just cried his heart out, leaving only the sharpest, most piercing voice that might go silent at any moment.

"After you go home, stop dreaming. We are just ordinary people. We won't achieve great success in our careers, realize our ideals, or live a wealthy life. You are different from me, but in reality, we are pretty much the same. Be more mature and continue to be a good kid."

After saying that, she closed the door and waited for a long time. Through the peephole, she could no longer see anyone outside. She opened the door and saw banknotes on the ground. She smiled helplessly, picked up the money, and closed the door again. The child was crying, so she rushed over, clumsily picked up the child, and gently rocked the swaddled baby until she made him laugh. She was happy too.

Sleep well, baby, Mommy loves you.

……

He took the subway and was the first passenger on the first train of the morning. As soon as he sat down, he began to feel dizzy. He was drunk, having only drunk two bottles of beer.

Barely managing to stay awake and avoid missing my stop, I got off at the subway station near my home. Looking around, the roadside that was full of tents last night was now clear and unobstructed, without a single piece of debris left. It was as if what happened last night was just a dream, but the groggy feeling in my head reminded me that it was all real.

"Sir, do you need someone to work for you? I can do anything, repair cars, repair appliances, no problem."

The homeless man didn't have high hopes, after all, Jason looked like a child, but happiness always comes unexpectedly, so he tried asking.

How did you become like this?

"What does it have to do with you?"

"I'll give you five dollars, can you tell me now?"

His originally fierce face softened into a smile again. He stuffed the banknotes into his pocket, lit a cigarette, and adopted a nostalgic air before finally speaking.

“I was twenty years old that year. I was participating in a march, and because other people tried to attack the police, I was unlucky enough to be arrested, and that’s how it happened.”

"You didn't attack the police?"

"Of course not, I was just unlucky to be dragged into this."

How can you prove you didn't do it?

"You... that's the end of the matter. Hurry up and get out of here, or I'll beat you up, buddy."

He was chased away, but he didn't care. He suddenly remembered something he'd seen on TV: prisoners in jail all claimed they were innocent. Perhaps in real life, countless people are also pretending to be innocent.

He walked along, passing the bridge near his home. He paused for a moment, and a train was approaching in the distance. He stepped onto the railing and swayed gently from side to side, as if feeling the wind passing by him.

My father once said that when you're in a bad mood, do this: when the train passes by, imagine you've died once and then start over. So he often does this, except... today he wants to do something different.

As the train approached, he swayed more and more violently, like a leaf fluttering in the wind. Suddenly, his health bracelet began to emit a piercing scream. In the distance, police cars roared by. He thought of a sentence... and shouted it out loud.

"I will die for my ideals! Therefore, I am destined to die for my ideals! World! See you the hell again!"

As the train approached, the leaf danced in the wind, tilting towards the other side of the bridge...

……

“Mr. Parker, please come with me.”

Paddington knocked on the door and stood there, his expression unreadable. Everyone fell silent, not daring to even lift their heads. Parker got up and followed Paddington to his office.

Paddington sat down, while he stood in front of the bookshelf, saying nothing.

Why were the documents not submitted?

"There were some errors, so we're still fixing them."

"How long will it take to hand it over to the design department?"

"It will probably take another three..."

Wow...

A stack of papers was thrown at Parker. He didn't dodge, nor did he dare to. It didn't hurt when it hit him, so he remained expressionless. However, a small cut was made at the corner of his eye by the papers, and blood was flowing out, running down his chin and dripping onto the papers.

"I'm only giving you one and a half days! If you still can't submit the materials by the morning after tomorrow, you're fired! Think about the consequences, Mr. Parker!"

This was a subordinate he liked, so when he saw that Parker was injured, he didn't say anything more, just waved for him to leave. Parker nodded, picked up the papers, tidied them up, put them back on Paddington's desk, and turned to leave.

Back in the office, he didn't go inside immediately. Instead, he stood at the door, gently knocking with his fingers. His blood-stained face revealed neither joy nor anger as he looked at Charles.

“Charles, come out with me…”

……

I rinsed the blood off my hands under the tap, looked up in the mirror, and saw that the wound wasn't big. There were just a lot of capillaries around my eye, but the bleeding had already stopped, so there was nothing to worry about.

He shook the water off his hands, grabbed a few sheets of paper to wipe them clean, and was about to leave when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen; it was an unknown number. Just then, an employee entered the restroom. The two exchanged a glance, and Parker pushed open the door to one of the stalls.

"Hello? It's me..."

Gradually, faint sobs could be heard from inside the stall. The employee who had just entered the restroom did not change his expression, and did not even flinch when he sprayed water.

……

"Come in... Parker, what can I do for you?"

The anger had subsided, and the new deadline for submitting the documents had been set. At this moment, Paddington returned to his usual amiable demeanor, looked at Parker, and expressed his doubts.

"Mr. Paddington, I would like to ask for a leave of absence."

"What's wrong?"

"My son is dead."

……

After parking the car, he walked into the funeral home. At that moment, the funeral home was bustling with people coming and going. The families of the deceased carried coffins and rushed inside. Parker could only wait for them to enter before he could take his heavy steps.

"Hello, I'm looking for..."

"Parker!"

Before he could finish asking the receptionist, a figure hugged him tightly, causing him to take two steps back. Lisa burst into tears in his arms, attracting the attention of many people.

"What should I do! What should I do! Jason is gone! What should I do! He said he'd be home within an hour! Why!"

The heart-wrenching cries drew countless onlookers, and even the deceased's family members stopped arguing for space and began commenting on the two individuals until the police chased them all away.

"Is this something you should be watching? Do you need to come with me to the police station to see it?"

Klose chased away the onlookers, then, with two other officers, walked over to Parker, gently patted him on the shoulder, and spoke apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Parker. I didn't expect things to turn out this way. Maybe if I hadn't scared him so much, things wouldn't have turned out this way..."

Before she could finish speaking, Klose couldn't hold back her tears and lowered her head to gently wipe them away.

"I had thought about apologizing to Jason after he got a job, but I never imagined that day would never come..."

To this, Parker could only manage an awkward smile and ask in a hoarse voice.

"May I see him...?"

……

The body bag was only slightly opened, revealing Jason's nose and above. In an instant, Lisa fainted. Only Parker, who was still pretending to be strong, was holding back his tears, his hand covering his mouth, his right fist clenched, and gently pounding the wall.

Father Mike, who had rushed over after inquiring, stood beside Jason, holding up the crucifix, closing his eyes in prayer, muttering words, a tear rolling down his cheek. Jason was someone he had watched grow up; every prayer day, Jason would go to church with his parents, secretly taking the candy they were preparing to distribute to the children, but never taking more than necessary.

In his eyes, Jason was a cute child who was a little mischievous but very well-behaved and sensible.

“Our Father in heaven, please forgive Jason’s sins as you forgive ours. May you see the sins of this world, but not forgive theirs. May Jason’s soul no longer linger on bridges and driveways. May Jason enter heaven and be with the Father. Amen.”

After the prayer, he did not linger. The sorrow he felt at that moment would still be left to his family to silently endure. Other comforts, or the presence of other people, would only lead them to a more painful outburst after they had forced a smile.

"I will take care of everything at the funeral, don't worry, Parker. Comfort Lisa and don't let her be too sad. You need to be strong, so you need to comfort her and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish."

“Father Mike, I’m sorry, Jason has never been a believer in the church, but we’ve always taken him to church. This is the last time, I hope we can let him go.”

Father Mike held the Bible, remained silent for a long time, and then pushed open the door and left, leaving with a soft reply.

"That's fine..."

As they helped the convulsed Lisa out of the morgue, they were met by Klose and a middle-aged white man in a suit behind her.

"Hello, Mr. Parker, this is Steve Osvira from the End of Life. We are deeply saddened by the fate of your son, Jason Kellin Wong. However, I regret to inform you that because Jason's death did not comply with legal procedures, you will receive a court summons within fifteen days, suing you and your wife for improper parenting that led to the child's untimely death. You will also be required to pay compensation to the childcare foundation and a fine under the Suicide Punishment Act."

"Alright, I don't want to hear any more of this. My wife has already had several mental breakdowns. We need to go home and rest. Going home and resting is perfectly acceptable, right? You can send the summons to my house instead of coming to me for compensation without any evidence! I will pay you. As long as it's done according to the law, I'll sell the house and the car to compensate you. If the money isn't enough, I'll go to jail. Do you still have any objections? If so, I don't mind covering your medical expenses!"

"Parker! Calm down!"

"How the hell am I supposed to stay calm! My son just passed away, and they immediately came to collect debts! How am I supposed to stay calm?!"

"Okay, then you take Lisa home, and I'll handle the rest, okay? You can go now."

Klose was much stronger than Parker. He dragged Parker to the parking lot, shoved him and Lisa into the car, closed the door, and the staff of the Asylum smiled and gestured for them to enter before turning and leaving without looking back, leaving Parker to angrily punch the car window.

……

Seven days later, Jason was laid to rest. The weather was sunny and the midday sun was just right. Many people attended the funeral, which was as grand as when Parker's parents passed away.

There was no pastor, no music, and no one from other denominations present. Only relatives and friends came to offer him a bouquet of white flowers before turning and leaving.

Jason's classmates were also present, especially those who had been arrested for participating in the protest. However, the Parker couple found it difficult to smile at these classmates now, because they still didn't know if any of them were among those who had hurt Jason in the past.

After everyone finished laying flowers, the group got into the car, and the convoy drove away from the cemetery toward Parker's home. But what Parker didn't see was a girl hiding behind a tree, holding a baby and a bouquet of flowers.

After everyone had left, she came out, walked to the tombstone, gently placed the flowers in front of it, and then bent down to gently stroke the tombstone, as if she could feel the body temperature of the person sleeping below through the coldness of the stone.

She had cut her hair short, wasn't wearing makeup, and had dark circles under her eyes, but at least she looked like she was nineteen.

"If you had chosen the first option, perhaps you wouldn't be lying here. I never thought you would become the worst child. Indeed, naive people remain naive until the end..."

"I'm sorry, I will still work at the strip club. The haircut wasn't because of you, but the lack of makeup was definitely because of you, at least it's appropriate for this occasion."

“I can’t have ideals like you, nor am I foolish enough to die for them. I will continue to work hard to make a living until I reach retirement age and save enough money for my passing, because I am just an ordinary person. But I hope that my children can have their own ideals, just like you.”

"Right, Jason..."

She teased the child, waved to the tombstone, turned and left, leaving only the child's silvery laughter fading into the distance.

……

"Three days later, I received a termination notice from the company. I was fired and became unemployed. Charles replaced me as the team leader, but I was unaware of this at the time."

"Thirteen days later, I received a court summons. Just as the staff at the hospice had said, I needed to pay a large sum of money to make up for Jason's mistake of wantonly dying."

"Just like that, in a mere ten days or so, I lost my job, lost my source of income, lost my savings, lost my livelihood, lost the house my parents left me, lost my place to live, lost my child, and lost my reason for living."

"What else do I have to lose?"

"Have."

"my wife."

"And I lost her too."

……

"Parker, let's get a divorce..."

A divorce agreement was placed on the table. Parker showed no surprise, because he had also considered it carefully and found it difficult to find any reason for their marriage to continue.

"Forgive me, Parker, but I really can't stand life without Jason. I can't live with you anymore. The feeling of a family of three missing one person... is just too agonizing."

“I don’t dare to talk to you, I don’t dare to cross that bridge, I don’t dare to pass by our old neighborhood, or even every street he took to school. I always think of him, not just when it’s late at night.”

"I don't love you anymore, even though I don't want to, it's too hard..."

Parker didn't speak, but remained silent, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, picked up the pen, signed without hesitation, and pushed it back in front of Lisa.

"I see."

Seeing Parker's numb appearance, Lisa couldn't hold back her tears and kept sobbing. She hadn't been able to fulfill the request that Parker's parents had made for her before they died, but things had come to this point, and continuing to live would be torture for both of them.

Her heart was broken and unlikely to heal, and so was Parker's.

He got up and left, because this was Lisa's home, not his.

Numbly, I went downstairs, got into the old Ford that once held so many happy moments for my family of three, sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove off.

He lit a cigarette but didn't open the window, driving through the smoky environment from sunset to nightfall. Perhaps his eyes were stinging from the smoke, he slowed down and wiped away his tears.

He turned the steering wheel, wiped away his tears, and finally burst into tears. He sat upright in the driver's seat, no longer wiping them with his hands, and instead looked around, not wanting to be seen by passersby.

The crying was unpleasant; the dry, emotionless voice sounded like a long, soft "ah," followed by a breath and the same "ah" sound again.

Finally, the screen dimmed...

……

"Stop talking about your old, trivial matters, Parker! Nobody wants to hear them!"

"Everyone here has a tragic past, so shut up."

"Exactly, my wife and son are dead, what's so great about that? Why are you bragging?"

The screen lit up again, and a pair of tattered jeans appeared on the screen. The camera moved up to reveal Parker, who had grown a beard and had messy hair, arguing with a group of homeless people dressed similarly to him.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit walked past them, and everyone rushed over in a swarm, including Parker.

"Sir, do you need any workers? I need a job. I can clean drains, do tiling, carpentry, I can do it all, sir."

"Sir, do you need car maintenance? Or even repairs? Whatever the problem is, I can fix it for you. My prices are very reasonable, sir."

"Sir, would you like me to paint a picture for you? I paint very well, and the price is very reasonable. I can frame it for you, and it will look beautiful in your home."

"Sorry, I don't need it."

No one was dejected or cursed after being rejected. They calmly accepted the reality. After all, getting a job is much harder than winning a lottery. Parker glanced at the time, said goodbye to the others, and turned to leave.

"Leaving so early?"

"Go back to sleep."

Without turning around, he waved in agreement, rummaged in his pocket, threw away the lottery ticket he hadn't won, picked up the large bucket of cola, drank the last bit of it, threw it at his feet, and kicked it as he walked further and further away with the cola bottle.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, his shadow stretched long, eventually disappearing from sight on the flat road...

The accompaniment started, but the screen didn't dim; it retained the final image, with the subtitles rising downwards.

Directors: Mitch Taylor, Kyshar Mendeleev.

Production Supervisor: Lucas Mendeleev.

Creative direction: Mickey Taylor, Lu Ze.

Artistic direction: Kyshar Mendeleev, Lukas Mendeleev.

Post-production: Mickey Taylor, Keishal Mendeleev, Lucas Mendeleev, Lu Ze.

Starring: Lu Ze, Kamiya Kidman Schugula, Linko David Porto, James Burton, Jimmy Crowe...

Movie Title: Rebirth

The movie ends.

"..."

The ending is 27,000 words long, but each chapter is only allowed 20,000 words, so it has to be published in two chapters. This is the longest chapter I've ever written, a short story of 58,000 words. It really exhausted me. The original plot was that Parker would become a homeless man and then commit fraud, swindling money from Chris's father before passing away. However, the police would arrive before the injection, leaving an open ending. But after thinking about it, I realized there was no need to add such a thrilling plot. I'll just leave it as it is, with a plain beginning and a plain ending. This short story is completely original. It took a lot of brainpower. I've been losing a lot of hair lately, which is a bit worrying. I feel like I'm going to go bald at any moment... Fortunately, I can finally take a break.

Actually, I fell into a pit I dug myself. In order for Lu Ze to win an award, I had to write some more difficult films, otherwise people would feel it was unfair if he won the award. As a result, the more I wrote, the more difficult it became. I was so frustrated.

Fortunately, the main plot is easy to write, and the main focus is on making it enjoyable. The script, on the other hand, is more difficult to write but more reasonable, so the audience won't feel too immersed. Therefore, those who call me a pretentious intellectual, please stop! Stop! Stop, I'm crying.

It's been several months since I've given you all any homework. You write the movie review, and I'll copy it. Feel free to find some hidden meanings, since I might have to change it later to reflect reality, and I'm afraid I'll mess it up. Okay, that's all for today. Looking forward to tomorrow's comments section. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, everyone.

Finally! I'm begging for votes! I'm begging for votes! I'm practically kneeling before you all!

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(End of this chapter)