In Perpetual Flight Chapter 6

After all the commotion, it turned out that the group of people were old acquaintances.

When Tony Wei opened a massage parlor, Brother Hu worked under him for several years and was considered a senior henchman. Later, Tony Wei went to jail and the massage parlor was closed, so Brother Hu changed jobs and looked for another way out.

After many years, the former Fatty Wang has become "Brother Tiger", and Tony Wei has long become a legend in the underworld, disappearing from everyone's memory.

Who could have thought that it was such a coincidence that just by collecting protection money I could get into the shop of my former big brother.

The flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, and no one was more embarrassed than Brother Tiger.

The three of them immediately stopped acting out their anger and admitted that it was all a misunderstanding. They then lined up in two rows face to face with me, Leo Shen, and Liu Yue, and shook hands and made peace in the police station.

It was already past eight o'clock in the evening when several people got out of the police station. Tony Wei treated everyone to a hotpot meal. After the meal, they felt unsatisfied and decided to go to the nearby "Golden Years" to sing.

Except for Miss Liu Yue, who was not suitable to go home too late and was sent away by Tony Wei in a taxi, the rest of the people went to the nightclub in a mighty manner.

Just as Liu Yue said, there were indeed many luxury cars at the door.

Tony Wei ordered a large and luxurious steamed bun and called a few princesses to sing with him. The lights in the box were flashing, and there were ghosts howling and wolves howling, which gave me a headache.

"Handsome guy, do you want to smoke?" The girl with thick makeup leaned towards me intimately, holding a cigarette in her hand.

I shook my head and declined.

I told them that I just wanted to listen to them sing, but that idiot Tony Wei refused and called a lady for me, saying that it was the rule here that everyone had to have a backing singer.

"Handsome guy, how about a drink?" The girl with the "Lili" brand on her chest saw that I didn't smoke, so she poured me another glass of wine.

I held the cup against my chest and declined again: "I'm allergic to alcohol."

In fact, these were all excuses. I just couldn't drink. When I was 14 or 15 years old, I did secretly smoke and drink like adults, but my mother caught me before I could master it. After that, she beat and scolded me hysterically, which made me dare not learn bad habits easily.

Lili probably thought I was a bit boring, so she pouted and finished the glass of wine silently.

I find it boring too.

Leo Shen stood on the small stage, holding the floor microphone and singing pop music that I could not appreciate at the top of his lungs; Tony Wei and Brother Hu were whispering and reminiscing about the past, both of them were shrouded in misty smoke, and the expressions on their faces seemed a little unreal; Brother Hu's two younger brothers were chatting and laughing with the women, boasting and laughing all the time.

They're all quite boring.

I said hello to Tony Wei, said I had to pee urgently, and got up and walked out.

I bought a bottle of water at the small supermarket at the entrance, and for some reason I bought a pack of cigarettes. I sat by the flower bed in the parking lot outside the gate of Golden Years. I put the cigarette into my mouth clumsily but did not light it.

So astringent.

Holding the cigarette holder in my mouth, I picked up the cigarette box and looked through it, but didn't see anything special.

The cigarettes that Brandon Sheng'ou smoked didn't taste that good, not even as good as a lollipop...

Even though I thought this, I still held the cigarette tightly in my mouth.

Men and women in luxurious attire were coming in and out of the magnificent gate of Golden Years one after another. I was looking at the door boredly when I suddenly saw a familiar figure.

Mason Fang hugged a fallen body intimately and walked towards the parking lot in a staggering manner.

"I want to drink more..." The woman with curly hair, red lips and seductive eyes, wrapped around Mason Fang like a snake.

"Okay, okay, stop drinking. You've been drinking all day. Let me take you home, otherwise your fiancé will be worried." Mason Fang comforted her gently, patting her back with his hand.

I fixed my eyes on the woman and narrowed my eyes.

"He won't worry about me... He doesn't care at all!" The woman's tone suddenly became fierce, "You know... I haven't been to his house yet... Mom, is there something shameful hidden in his house!? Or is it you, I like you..."

I was sitting in the shadows, with another car between us, so they didn't notice me.

Mason Fang helped the woman into an electric purple sports car, carefully adjusted the height of the seat back for her, then walked around to the driver's seat and got in the car.

After a while, the sports car roared like a beast, reversed, stepped on the accelerator, and disappeared in the parking lot like the wind.

I put down the cigarette only when I could no longer see the car and walked back into my golden years.

The box was still lively, but the singer had changed to Tony Wei.

A soul-stirring song "Start Over Again" moved the three people who were beaten like pigs to tears and they kept clapping.

I sat next to Lili and took the initiative to talk to her: "Do you know Mason Fang? He also works here."

"Mason Fang?" Lili looked confused.

I thought about it and changed his name: "He is called Sasha here."

"Oh, Brother Sha." Lili looked at me with a subtle change in her eyes, "Are you his friend, or... a guest?"

"Not really a friend, but do you know the Xingwang Pawnshop on the other side of the street? I'm the manager there. He's been pawning things there a lot lately, so we got to know each other." I said with a smile, "I was just outside getting some fresh air when I saw him helping a beautiful woman drive away. Do you know that beautiful woman?"

"That should be his latest financial sponsor. I heard that she is the daughter of the owner of a pharmaceutical company. She is very rich." Lili's face was full of envy.

When I heard that she was the daughter of the boss of a pharmaceutical company, I had some doubts, but now I am 100% sure. The one who just clung to Mason Fang was his beautiful, rich and beautiful girlfriend whom I had seen before beside Brandon Sheng'ou.

"I heard she has a fiancé?"

Lili smiled nonchalantly: "How many of the people who come here are serious singles? They just spend money to have some fun, but they won't do anything for real."

That may not be the case. If someone gives a watch and diamonds to someone, it is obvious that he is obsessed with the person and may be in love with him.

Brandon Sheng'ou, ah, Brandon Sheng'ou, you have come to this day.

I started laughing and Lili looked at me in confusion.

I raised my glass of mineral water to her and said, "I'm happy for Sasha. I wish them a long and happy life together."

Her face looked even more confused. I ignored her, stood up, grabbed Tony Wei's microphone, and sang "A Thousand Years of Waiting", which was met with boos.

Saturday is the anniversary of my father’s death. I haven’t visited his grave for ten years. My mother can’t go this year, so she asked me to go as well.

Before I went, she specifically told me to go in the afternoon. I asked her why, she paused, said with a stern face that Brandon Shenggou would go in the morning.

In fact, I had guessed it a long time ago, because he was never absent on my father's death anniversary.

On the anniversary of his death, I got up early, went to the market to buy flowers, wine and food, and took the bus to the cemetery.

I thought I had arrived early enough, but unexpectedly Brandon Sheng'ou arrived earlier than me.

My father's tomb is indoors, and it is a wall burial. In the square hall, the sunken niches cover three walls and reach the ceiling. Two electronic candles are lit in each niche, and a bunch of pale plastic flowers are offered.

When the family members want to pay tribute, they put their things under the niche, and someone will take them away later. There are also two benches in the middle of the square hall for relatives and friends to pay tribute.

When I arrived, I saw Brandon Sheng'ou sitting on one of the benches with his back to me.

On the ground in front of him, beneath the niche facing my father, was a bunch of small white and green daisies.

I stopped immediately and didn't move forward. I even hid behind the wall for fear of being discovered by him.

Brandon Sheng'ou sat there for a long time without moving. If it wasn't so difficult to doze off in that position, I would have thought he was just feeling sleepy because he got up too early.

The morning breeze was chilly, and a breath of air would create a white mist in front of my eyes. But when the sun shone through the shadows of the trees and fell on me, I would feel a brief warmth again.

The yellow leaves danced in the wind, and the shadows on the ground became mottled.

The branches and leaves trembled slightly, and finally, Brandon Sheng'ou seemed to be moved by the wind and began to move. He took out a cigarette case from his windbreaker pocket, lit a cigarette, and placed it next to the bouquet of flowers on the ground.

White smoke rose up. He waited for a moment, then stood up, as if preparing to leave.

I stopped hiding and walked out from the corner.

He just turned around and faced me.

There aren't so many unexpected encounters, they are all deliberate. A sentence I read somewhere came to my mind.

"Brother, you're here." I curled my eyes and smiled at him.

He put his hands in his windbreaker, his eyes not even on me, and walked away with big strides, brushing past me.

As he passed me, I grabbed his arm.

He raised his hands to break free, as if it was an innate instinct, and didn't allow me to touch him for more than three seconds.

For a moment, we were all a little stunned.

I curled my fingers, clenched them into fists and put them in my pockets, while taking a big step back to keep a safe distance from him.

"I just want to ask you, have you ever received any letters I sent you over the years?"

Over the past ten years, I have written him many letters, but not a single one has received a response.

From hope, to anger, to pleading, to giving up, the first three steps took me five years, and the next five years were a long process of giving up. I still sent a letter every three months, but I no longer hoped for a reply.

In the last year, when I knew my mother had a terminal illness and would not live long, I stopped writing any letters.

When I ask him now, I’m not blaming him or for any other reason, but just want to resolve a thought that has been on my mind for many years.

"A letter?" He straightened his sleeves. "I received it."

My eyelashes trembled: "Then you..."

Have you seen it?

He seemed to have seen through what I was going to ask, and answered very straightforwardly: "I haven't read it, I threw it all away."

My heart, which had been beating so fast that it roared, calmed down again. Faced with this expected answer, I thought I would not be disappointed.

I overestimated myself.

"I think so." I lowered my eyes and stared at his shiny shoes, my smile a little bitter.

The hem of his windbreaker swayed slightly, and he raised his foot to leave.

"Brother..." I called him.

This time he did not stop and walked towards the cemetery gate without looking back.

Looking at his back, I couldn't help but sigh, as if I could never call him back.

"Be nice to your girlfriend!" I shouted at him.

It was not until Brandon Shengou’s figure disappeared at the end that I turned around with my things to see my father.

After placing the bouquet of flowers, wine and food on the ground, I bowed three times towards the alcove and then sat down on the bench.

"Dad, long time no see." He crossed his fingers in front of him, and his thumbs kept making repeated circles. "I'm not a good son. If you want to scold me, you can hit me. You can vent your anger when we meet in the future. I'm sorry for you. I let you and my mother down. I know, I know everything..."

I closed my eyes and fell into darkness.

"But I just can't accept it."