Rust II

The emotions suddenly gathered together, and a series of accidents happened afterwards, which also made these difficult to face and digest emotions find a reasonable outlet——With the successful completion of the pharmaceutical factory, the cooperation project between the company and City B is also very smooth. It will soon be officially put on the agenda.So in the next six months, all kinds of endless meetings, endless discussions, endless proposals, endless revisions of bids, and all kinds of banquets and dinners in various departments, large and small, were overwhelming for a while. Filled Xu Xin's life.

Busy became the only synonym for the next six or seven months.

And in this busyness, that vague figure that occasionally flashed through my mind in the gaps also seemed to have turned into an extremely distant and absurd dream, and was forced into the dust by itself. , and even the turmoil caused by that person in my heart returned to indifference under the sneer and whip of reason.

In 03, at the end of autumn again, Xu Guang went back to City C on the pretext of a business trip and cheap, and it happened to be Xu's mother's birthday in the lunar calendar, so he simply asked Xu Xin to bring Xu Yuan with him, and went back to the old house to give The old man celebrated his birthday and stayed with his mother in his hometown for two nights.

Since Xu Guang was transferred to City B, the three mother and son rarely got together, so Mother Xu was very happy every day in those few days. After all, as she gets older, she sees these extraneous rituals less and less, especially after her second son Xu Zhong and her husband Xu Boda passed away one after another. Her only wish is that the remaining two sons can be safe and successful, and that her grandchildren and grandchildren They can grow up healthy, of course, which of course also includes Xu Xin's life-long events that he has to worry about from time to time.

So according to Xu's mother's wishes, there was no big fight on this birthday, and everything was kept simple. Except for Xu's mother's close friend Hou Weiting, he didn't even invite outside guests, so he only accepted the cook Xu Guang transferred from the restaurant to stay at home. A table of dishes was cooked, and several relatives sat around the table, chatting and laughing, and planned to spend the day as a whole.Unexpectedly, halfway through the meal, the nanny suddenly came in with a smile, and said to Xu's mother who was sitting in the main seat and asked Xu Yuan's recent academic situation with a smile: "Mr. Wang, the two children from Ma's family are here. He also brought a lot of gifts and said he would like to congratulate you, and he is waiting in the front room."

Xu Guang and Xu Xinyan each looked at each other. The birthday they celebrated for their mother was not a day in the Gregorian calendar when they feasted guests on big birthdays, and this year, because they responded to Xu's mother's request for simplicity, no one mentioned it to the outside world. Will the family call someone over?

However, Xu's mother didn't seem surprised. Hearing this, she held Xu Yuan's hand for a moment, then raised her head and asked kindly, "Oh... two children? Is there a girl from Lao Ma's family besides Yifu?"

The nanny had never met Ma Jiaqi before, and only knew that Ma Hui's brother's family had a beautiful girl about the same age as Xu Xin, who was studying abroad in the past few years, so she replied, "I don't know, she looks unfamiliar, but her eyes are It's a bit like Young Master Ma." As he spoke, he turned his body slightly and asked, "Shall I invite someone in?"

Xu's mother raised her hand to stop it: "You don't need to go." She looked at Xu Xin who was sitting next to the door and said, "Young three, you go and take it."

Now everyone at the next table understood what Xu's mother meant, and even Xu Yuan followed behind, staring at her uncle with a big smile, and winking in the direction of Xu Xin playfully.

It is no secret that Ma Yifu has a cousin who is both talented and beautiful.

Xu Guang smiled inexplicably at a table of dishes, and then looked at his younger brother on the side.

Xu Xin glanced around the table for a while and cast ambiguous eyes on himself, but raised his eyebrows indifferently, stood up and walked out the door without saying a word.

After a while, Xu Xin led a man and a woman into the dining room.

Ma Jiaqi, who was wearing light makeup and elegant clothes, immediately attracted the attention of everyone present, especially Xu's mother, who smiled so much that her eyes were even more bent, she raised her hand kindly at the other party, and called her to her side.

She hasn't seen the daughter of this old friend's family for several years. Firstly, with the development of the previous generation, the communication in recent years has become less and less. In the past, Xu Boda and Ma Hui were both old friends and comrades-in-arms. With a first-level relationship, there are more opportunities for the juniors to walk around, but since Xu Boda passed away seven years ago, Xu Guang's relationship with the Ma family has obviously weakened, not to mention that he was transferred from City C a few years ago. There are fewer opportunities to catch up with each other.On the contrary, Xu Xin who stayed in City C, because of business, still had some contacts with Ma Yifu and his like from time to time, but it was only by chance.Furthermore, it was Ma Hui's niece who was sent abroad as soon as she graduated from high school. Although Xu and Ma's family were known as family friends, in fact, Xu's mother had hardly seen her in the past ten years. Ma Jiaqi.

At this moment, seeing that the child is well-behaved, well-behaved, and even more beautiful than when he was young, he felt unspeakably satisfied and happy, and quickly greeted the other party and Ma Yi, who was also eloquent and coaxed her to laugh. After Fu sat down, he concentrated on chatting with this girl from the Ma family with great interest.

Xu Yuan sat closest to Xu's mother and this newcomer but popular Miss Ma, so she heard her grandma's euphemistic questions one after another but the purpose was obvious, knowing that the other party was After meeting this Miss Ma, I was thinking about finding an aunt for myself.She also has some understanding of the fact that her uncle is not very willing to start a family for the time being. After all, every time she goes back to this old house or listens to him talking with the family, this topic can be talked about seven or eight hundred times, so in the 20s Minutes later, she finally heard her grandma ask Ma Jiaqi straight to the point, "How are you doing abroad? Have you found a boyfriend yet?" Her ears were already pricked up like rabbits. In a few seconds, Mother Xu said in a rather annoyed but inexplicably "gratified" tone: "Haven't found it yet? Then we should hurry up after returning to China. Alas, our third child has not been found yet, all day long. I only know about work, and I don’t know how to understand the painstaking efforts of my family.” At that time, he glanced gleefully at Xu Xin who was sitting across from him.

Ma Jiaqi spent most of her time chatting with Xu's mother. From time to time, she told this aunt of the Xu family who had met several times when she was young, telling some interesting things she encountered when she was studying abroad, making the other party smile, and even had a meal. Just listening to it makes me full.

Those present during the banquet basically saw what Xu's mother meant, and they all followed behind and echoed. They talked about the only two single young men and women on the table together, and what they said was right for Xu Xinyi Ma Jiaqi shows off her coquettish attitude, occasionally looking at her with joy and shyness in her eyes.

Xu Xin, however, always dealt with it nonchalantly, and the elders said whatever they asked, which made people confused for a moment about their likes and dislikes.

Xu Guang remained as still as a mountain, only when his mother turned to him meaningfully and said, "You, you should also pay more attention to your brother's personal life, don't just focus on B city B, hear No?" Then he replied with a smile twice.

After the meal, Xu Guang was about to return to City B. As usual, Xu Xin personally sent him to the airport. Before leaving, a large group of people sent the two brothers to the front hall, and you explained politely to him. Then, Ma Jiaqi also followed behind, her eyes were facing Xu Xin who was at the door, watching him until he got into the driver's seat.

Sitting in the car, Xu Guang watched the scenery of his hometown receding in the drizzle outside the window, and suddenly laughed lowly after a few minutes.

"It seems that the Ma family can't bear it anymore."

Xu Xinshou rested on the steering wheel, only raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, stared at the road conditions without saying a word.

Xu Guang looked outside for a while, and then said in a half-joking manner with unclear meaning: "Actually, Ma Jiaqi is in good condition. If you are interested, it is not impossible to talk about it."

Xu Xin moved his gaze while looking ahead, but remained silent.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Xu Guang looked away and glanced at him.

Just when the car encountered a red light, it stopped at an intersection before the elevated road, and the wiper was swinging regularly on the front window. After a few back and forth, Xu Guang's voice sounded again in the quiet car, asking: " I heard that you ran a lot to County X a while ago?"

Xu Xin's hand holding the steering wheel moved slightly, but he still didn't answer, and only smiled after a few seconds.

"How is it?" Xu Guang observed his reaction, and after a while, asked again, "Have you gained anything?"

Xu Xinyan knocked on the gear lever with his right index finger. Taking advantage of the indicator light not changing, he turned his head and stopped his gaze on the other party. After a while, he asked with a half-smile: "The branch factory is one step ahead. Is it a harvest if the quarter is completed?"

Xu Guang's gaze changed several times, and finally he also smiled, turning his face away and no longer dwelling on this topic.

On the way thereafter, the two brothers chatted one after another, mostly around the recent work, occasionally mixed with some recent trivial matters at home. It was not until more than 40 minutes later that they waited for the car to arrive at the place, and Xu Guang said it before leaving. Pulled back to the original topic of the two.

He pondered for a while, looked at Xu Xin who had turned off the ignition and unbuckled his seat belt, and then suddenly called him.

Xu Xin stopped what he was doing and raised his eyes to look at him.

Xu Guang paused for a while, and then continued to speak pointedly: "Boiling frogs in warm water...is indeed a good way to paralyze the enemy, but this method is also the same when the firepower is running out. The easiest thing to do is not worth the loss, or even counterproductive, so that the prey has not yet fallen, but our water has cooled in advance.”

Xu Xin's expression moved slightly, but he didn't answer.

Xu Guang looked back at him, and after a short pause, he looked away and smiled slightly, and then said: "So when the time is right, don't forget to add some firewood to the fire. After all, the more erratic the bait, The more powerful it can stimulate the prey's eager desire to invade, and at the same time let them relax their vigilance in a manic state."

Xu Xin still didn't answer, and the carriage was very quiet for a while, set off by Xu Guang's whisper alone.

He finished speaking slowly, turned his head slightly to look at his younger brother who was sitting next to him, who was frowning slightly and said nothing. Although Xu Xin never said a word, he knew that the other party must have understood the meaning of what he said .So a few seconds later, he continued with a half sigh: "...No matter how big City C is, the pharmaceutical market is only so small. If someone becomes bigger, it is inevitable that someone will be squeezed into the cracks. Coupled with the current tense situation, the road to The road to Kangzhuang is often narrow and narrow. If the cooperation with medicine and equipment is taken down by Xu, it will be difficult to change the surname to Ma in a short time. Therefore, it is normal to be coveted by others, or even secretly sabotage. But being normal doesn’t mean infinite tolerance and concession.”

Xu Guang spoke slowly, as if suddenly recalling something from the past, he turned his eyes and looked out of the gloomy window. Personal name: "... Ma Hui, Ma Zhongping."

When Xu Xin heard it, his hand on the shift lever moved slightly.

Seven years ago, Xu Boda's condition deteriorated rapidly due to the loss of his second son, Xu Zhong, and he died in the hospital shortly after. As for the seat, he intends to use the largest pharmaceutical equipment company left by Xu Zhong in City C at that time to connect with City B and reach a long-term strategic cooperation with the other party. Just when the other side of the city also showed their willingness to cooperate, the provincial party committee suddenly issued a transfer order, temporarily waiving Li Ping's concurrent job as the new district guard (...) in city C. The matter quickly spread to the people in city B. In the ears of the partner, the other party saw that there was something wrong with the limelight, and based on the principle of being cautious in everything, he immediately pushed back all the contracts that had been negotiated and only waited for the signature, then turned around and ran away.At the same time, several other foreign trade cases negotiated by Li Ping for the new district were all forced to hand over to others, making wedding dresses for the latecomers in vain.As soon as Li Ping was passive, the cooperation process of medicine and equipment was completely stranded. It was not until three years later that the leadership of City B was changed, and Xu Guang was promoted to City B in the early autumn of 2000, and things turned around again.

And the instigators behind all this happen to be the two Ma brothers who have always claimed to be Xu Boda's close friends.

Xu Guang looked at the figures who came in and out from time to time outside the gate of the opposite airport without moving. When Dad Nian just passed away, they impatiently tripped me up and Li Ping one after the other, but apart from messing up the first cooperation with City B that year, they failed to set off what they expected. Storm. Now seeing the ashes of Xu and Li's family revive, they immediately turned the wind direction again, and even sent their daughter to the door to ask for cooperation with a stern face. See the light." After saying that, he smiled at the window sill in an unclear manner, "Since I want to see you so much... why don't you just let them see each other thoroughly at once."

After speaking, she turned her head, glanced at Xu Xin who was sitting beside her quietly, and whispered more meaningfully: "Ma Jiaqi... this is a good opportunity, cherish it, don't waste it."

After 20 minutes, Xu Xin watched Xu Guang disappear in the airport hall, turned back into the car and drove towards the city.

It was still drizzling along the way, and the shadows of the heavy cars on the elevated road were darker and hazy than before due to the thin layer of wind, fog and rain, so inadvertently, it set off even more those words that Xu Guangshi left in his ears. The words are clear and clear.

Over the years, Xu Xin, as Xu Guang's invisible hand stirring up the drug production business in City C, has a thorough understanding of the entanglement between the Xu and Ma families.Therefore, he also knows very well that Ma Yifu, the only son of Ma Hui, who has always been eager for quick success and quick profit, has been targeted by Xu Guang, who is like an old fox.Therefore, the purpose of re-cooperating with City B after nearly 4 years was not just for profit from the very beginning, it was not only a stepping stone to seek a larger market, but also a bait to lure the enemy deeper.

And with the gradual advancement of the cooperation case, the development of the situation is indeed as Xu Guang expected in advance. As the most impatient member of the Ma family, when faced with this "big gift" carefully prepared by the Xu family, Ma Yifu was the first to jump out uncontrollably.He unabashedly showed great interest in the cooperation case. Under the insinuations and insinuations one after another, there were all kinds of explicit hints that could not be hidden, and Xu Xin's always ambiguous and indifferent attitude also made him The mentality of eager to board the Clippers of the Xu family was aroused to the extreme.

This point is not difficult to see from the fact that he took the initiative to contact Xu's mother and brought Ma Jiaqi to the door, but these are far from what Xu Guang wants. The state of "satisfactory flattery" is further advanced, and the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry, or the desire for profit is unbearable.He wanted the other party to be angry and crazy, and Ma Yifu gradually lost his mind, and took the initiative to show the life of the Ma family to his eyes.

As for the method to stimulate this emotion, Xu Guang had already pointed out the direction more than 20 minutes ago.

So these three words, in the next few hours, and even extended to the next half a month, were like an alarm bell that would explode at any time, constantly echoing in Xu Xin's heart.

He knew that the "firewood" in Xu Guang's mouth was nothing more than another stimulus to the Ma family when they were faced with the temptation of huge benefits.Just imagine who can maintain a calm and indifferent attitude when seeing a duck that is about to be cooked halfway but throwing itself into someone else's arms?Not to mention that this person is Ma Yifu, the son of the Ma family who is notoriously arrogant and arrogant.

It's just this "tool" used to stimulate the other party, Xu Xin thought about it for a long time, but finally another face gradually emerged in his mind.

A face full of gentle smiles that I saw on Qinghe Road in X County not long ago.

Once this idea germinated, it was like a weed that had finally absorbed nutrients after a long drought, and began to grow silently and crazily in the bottom of my heart until one day after another month, when he was sitting in the Olympic Games because of the donation to build a laboratory building in X. At the hotel in the body center, the weed finally swallowed up the last bit of rationality and hesitation left in his heart unconsciously, prompting him to make a request to Chen Jianliang who was sitting beside him when the banquet was drawing to a close— —He wanted to transfer a friend of a distant relative to be placed in Xu Yuan's class.

So in August of 04, Xu Xin successfully saw the familiar name again in Xu Yuan's home-school contact book: Lin An.

And just as he expected, Ma Yifu, who was always watching the movements of the Xu family, almost immediately noticed this "chess piece" that he deliberately arranged into the battle without knowing it, and his emotions were also very emotional. As soon as I wished, under the several "wavering" between him and Lin An Ma Jiaqi, and several successive intentional or unintentional "abandoning the horse to the forest", the whole person became more and more restless and anxious.

These eagerness and dissatisfaction piled up rapidly, and finally reached a peak after a few months, and then broke out without any effort.

And Lin An, without any suspense, became the most reasonable target and victim in this game of playing hard to get.

Xu Xin stood silently on one side of the hospital bed. In the dim light, his eyes no longer knew when he would return from the other party's injured right hand to the pale white face full of exhaustion and emaciation. face.

Time and memories came to an abrupt end at this point, and when he came back to his senses, Xu Xin's hand dangling by his side had unconsciously lifted slightly, and it could barely fall on the man's soft and fine forehead.

After a short pause, he waved his palm again, following the ups and downs of the face, slowly slid all the way down to the opponent's shoulder and arm, and finally silently covered the gauze-bound palm.

The moment fingers touched, the breath on his chest that had been tightly held since he saw the other party's fallen figure from the entrance of Cui Fang Yuan seemed to have finally found the switch with this cool touch, and he fell heavily .

However, at the next moment, there was another stronger and more violent emotion, which quickly penetrated into the heart along this opening, blocking the turbulent thoughts in the mind, and also blocked the changes caused by those thoughts. Got stagnant breathing.

Xu Xin's gaze was fixed on the overlapping palms of the two, and he was suddenly agitated by the sudden onslaught of emotions. Two seconds later, he shrank his fingertips slightly, and silently retracted his hands.

At this moment, Chen Jianliang's call came in.

Xu Xin looked at the caller ID for a while, then silently reached out and pressed the call button.

Chen's slightly anxious voice came over immediately.

"Hey, Mr. Xu, you finally answered the phone. Have you seen all the messages I sent you? Something happened to Mr. Lin, someone put him..." Chen Jianliang said in a very low voice, but The urgency of the situation is still revealed from his slow speech speed which is different from the past.

But he didn't want to be interrupted by Xu Xin's unusually hoarse voice before he finished speaking.

"...I know everything."

After a pause, he asked again, "Is there anything else?"

Chen Jianliang was obviously a little surprised. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately continued: "Ah? Oh... oh, that's good, then... Are you planning to...?" He waited and waited, and said with some embarrassment: "Oh You don't know, these things have become more and more troublesome these days. The school has held several meetings. I couldn't contact you a few days ago, so I can't say much. Principal Ge's side... I guess it's not very good It's done, according to her idea, it's best to immediately..."

When Chen Jianliang said this, he stopped on purpose, and Xu Xin on the other end didn't seem to respond, so he continued: "I will be fired immediately, or let Teacher Lin resign on his own initiative... So we will also start from this morning. We have already given him a holiday. Of course, if Mr. Xu has a better solution, we are happy to refer to it, but we don’t know..."

Chen Jianliang paused as he spoke, seeing that Xu Xin hadn't said a word, he couldn't help being embarrassed, and after a while, he said with a sigh again: "Oh, it's true to say, I was in Austria last Saturday night. When we were together, Mr. Lin also thanked me because you asked me to help me with the matter he transferred to X. We also joked that we must invite dinner if we have the opportunity in the future. something like that..."

After finishing speaking, he sighed with great regret.

Xu Xin's eyes flicked when he heard the last sentence.

What thought flashed through his mind immediately, with a hasty scorching heat, forcing him to blurt out subconsciously before he could think clearly, "Saturday night?"

"Ah, yes, on the open day, Mr. Lin probably drank too much and wanted to find a toilet. I happened to bump into me in the corridor, so we chatted for a while." Chen Jianliang explained again.

"But I didn't say too much. Didn't you explain it on purpose at first, saying that you were afraid that he would have psychological pressure, so try not to mention this matter."

Xu Xin suddenly lost his voice.

Chen Jianliang said something on the other side, it was nothing more than Lin An's situation these days, like he had asked Lin An to try to contact him this morning, but it was probably because the phone was not connected, and he has not been able to get through until now. Give an answer or something, or add some details from Zhou Tao's parents making trouble at school to the exposure of Lin An's malicious video and photos these days.

Xu Xin just listened quietly most of the time, and rarely spoke out to give any feedback. After about five or six minutes, perhaps there was another notice from the school. Even Chen Jianliang, who took time out to make this call, also It's hard to say more, and after a hasty greeting, I hung up the call.

The room regained its silence for a moment.

In the stuffy air, there was nothing but the sound of each other's shallow and deep breathing.

But Xu Xin clearly felt something, and again involuntarily penetrated through the gaping atrium.

Mixed with blood, pierced with bones.There was an indescribable heart palpitation.

And this convulsion-like feeling that suddenly surged up in his chest was actually not that strange to him. On the contrary, he had experienced it in the person in front of him who was unconsciously falling asleep for no reason. Countless times.

For example, 12 years ago, at the alley where 30 to [-] people fought in a scuffle outside the steel factory; for example, in the abandoned garden where dozens of empty factory buildings were row upon row; A strange dream in which people fall and sink.

Even just last month, two hours ago, on that night when my heart was beating because I couldn't get in touch with the other party, I ran into the figure of that person falling to the ground in the middle of the road where the person was coming and going.

And until this moment, watching the other party with his own eyes because he was unable to break free from this carefully planned conspiracy, and he was covered in embarrassment and scars.

Xu Xin couldn't tell what was the reason behind this throbbing.

It's like he still can't explain why when he ran into that person on Qinghe Road three years ago, the surge in his heart was clearly anger, hatred, disdain, or hatred, but he still couldn't stop his sight and mind from being affected by the other person; he couldn't explain Why is it that the methods and candidates used to stimulate the Ma family back then were not irreplaceable, even if you just pick one from around, you can achieve the goal, but I still stubbornly transferred the other party back to City C and pushed him into the city with my own hands? Once you step into the vortex, you are destined to be crushed; it is impossible to explain why every cause and every detail behind this situation has already been calculated, but when all the results come true, all the results come true, and the pain in my heart is lost. Much more than joy and joy.

And thus all the more inexplicable, all those occasional bewilderments hidden behind careful planning;

Occasional absences suppressed under apathy and sobriety;

As well as the joy, anger, sorrow, and joy in the eyes every time I met that person's eyes, and the rising heartbeat and body temperature after every hug with that person.

I can't explain all of this, whether it's unscrupulousness in the cloak of revenge, or it's hard to control myself by taking advantage of the vented emotions.

Before he could put it back in his pocket, the phone suddenly vibrated again.

Xu Xin collected himself, lowered his head, and saw Xu Guang's name flashing on the lit screen.

It was a text message, concise and to the point.

It foretells that the dramas staged in recent months will come to an end, and it also heralds the beginning of another upcoming game.

——Get ready, wait for me in Zhuyuan tonight, and go to Ma's house with me at seven o'clock to meet Ma Zhongping.

Xu Xin stared at this short line of words, and after a long time, his mind, which was on the verge of collapse, began to gradually gather together again.

And sober, and quickly condensed and regrouped in the next few minutes.

He slowly closed his eyes.

In this wordless silence, the expression on his face returned to indifference again.

There is a voice in my heart, which is expanding little by little, sending out warnings and reminders to him one after another.

Yes, there is no way to explain all of this. At this point, what is the need and reason to pursue it?

This is not a game that can be started at will on a whim, and can be easily ended because of a moment of intolerance.On the contrary, it is a huge ship that has already sailed halfway and can no longer turn back. If it is not careful, it may be swallowed by the wind and waves along the way at any time.

This point, from the moment I decided to go to that person's invitation at the beginning of Xu Yuan's school, I have confirmed it countless times in my heart.

And since everything has been confirmed, then why bother to put on a pose at the last moment when the dust has settled, and do the ridiculous and unnecessary struggle and regret.

So after a few more seconds, Xu Xin quickly and calmly replied to Xu Guang—see you tonight.

Then he turned around without any hesitation and walked towards the door.

Unexpectedly, he didn't take two steps, and immediately there was a faint and soft voice behind him, which made him stop.

"...Brother Xu." Lin An's voice was calm and weak.

Xu Xin paused, stood there for a while, and slowly turned half sideways.