Wei Qian was simply afraid of Wei Zhiyuan.
Wei Qian was never the type to flee from problems altogether. He always found ways to face them, given that since childhood, if he didn't handle things, no one else would.
But no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with a convincing solution to persuade himself. He had no choice but to continue thinking, feeling like his head was about to explode.
Fortunately, it seemed like Wei Zhiyuan also noticed. Since the day they returned from the pond, he stopped constantly bothering Wei Qian. He had his own things to attend to, sometimes leaving the house, sometimes locking himself in his room to work or attend online meetings. Yet somehow, Wei Qian felt that the boy's presence, while not as overt, had become omnipresent!
Wei Zhiyuan's eyes were relatively large in the crowd. They seemed ordinary when open, but when he smiled, they had a hint of peach blossom charm. His gaze could sweep over a large area, substantial and often focused on Wei Qian.
Sometimes gentle, sometimes focused... all of that was bearable. What was unbearable was when Wei Zhiyuan came out to fetch water or snacks; it would remind him of things he shouldn't think about. At these times, his gaze became very explicit, almost bordering on lewd.
Finally, after a weekend of "rest," Wei Qian felt like he had been on edge the whole time.
He finally made it to Monday, sneaking off to the company early in the morning. This workaholic, almost psychotic, felt relieved and refreshed looking at the various reports piled on his desk, as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.
As Wei Qian headed to the Monday morning meeting, he couldn't shake off his annoyance: What was he afraid of? What did he have to feel guilty about?
Lost in thought, suddenly, a dazed-looking person walked towards him, almost colliding with him.
Wei Qian focused and realized it was Ma Chunming. He couldn't help but snap, "Did you just finish smoking up? What's with this appearance?"
Ma Chunming naturally had a long melon-seed face, with a pointed nose and protruding cheekbones. His large eyes and double eyelids, along with a slight exophthalmos, didn't quite fit the public's aesthetic standards. However, he usually had a smiling face, which at least made him seem like a friendly monkey. But now, with his hair standing on end and a pale complexion, red eyes making the protruding eyes even more pronounced, he looked like a big-headed, slender-necked ET.
Ma Chunming gave him a resentful glance, successfully sending shivers down Wei Qian's spine, already tormented by a weekend of scrutinizing gazes. Then, with the solemnity of a mourner, Ma Doctor said to Wei Qian, "Morning, Director Wei."
"..." Wei Qian replied, "Morning to you too."
Ma Chunming's gaze was vacant as he passed by, lost and desolate.
His risk management advisor and executive vice president, Comrade Ma Chunming, was someone who deeply loved his work. Dr. Ma always remembered how hard it was for him to get this job initially. Making it to his current position felt like winning the lottery unexpectedly, so he cherished it dearly and was always diligent.
However, during this morning's meeting, he remained silent from start to finish, appearing extremely absent-minded. When Wei Qian asked about the risk management arrangements for the week, calling his name twice, Ma Chunming didn't even hear. It wasn't until San Pang, sitting opposite him, threw a paper ball at his forehead, startling Dr. Ma's soul back into his body, that he noticed there were still so many foolish humans around him.
Ma Chunming: "Ah... I... I don't have anything to add."
Wei Qian raised an eyebrow, "Did I ask you to add anything?"
Ma Chunming looked bewildered, and the manager from the risk management department sitting beside him quickly spoke up to report on the work, managing to cover up the situation.
Wei Qian gave Dr. Ma a warning look, not confronting him then and there, but leading him to his office after the meeting.
Sitting behind his desk like a boss, Wei Qian lit a cigarette, his eyes half-closed as he coldly asked Ma Chunming, "Doctor, let me ask you, was today's meeting about sleepwalking?"
Ma Chunming stood by the side, not daring to lift his head to speak.
After all, he was an old subordinate of many years. Seeing him in such a pitiful state, Wei Qian couldn't help but feel a bit of human sympathy, so he softened his tone slightly and said, "If there's something going on at home, you can go deal with it first. Taking a couple of days off is not a big deal."
At this moment, Ma Chunming suddenly spoke, stumbling over his words, "Am I considered successful in my career?"
Wei Qian: "Huh? What's this about?"
Ma Chunming staggered to find a chair, slumping into it heavily, and began lamenting like Xianglin Sao, "You pay me such a high salary, let me handle so many things. Sometimes I even have this illusion that I'm very successful, but what's the use? I still end up being abandoned, no matter how hard I try, I'll still be abandoned."
Wei Qian: "..."
He forgot to bring the cigarette to his lips as he listened.
As Ma Chunming spoke, tears streamed down his face like rain, his expression torn apart, but his voice didn't break into sobs; instead, it choked up with grievance.
Wei Qian: "Oh, did you have a fight with your wife? Is it because I always make you travel, affecting your marital relationship?"
Ma Chunming couldn't hold back any longer. With both elbows on his knees and hands covering his face, his body slumped down, collapsing, "We dated for three years, and we've been married for over two. I know she's beautiful and comes from a good family background. I'm a bit unworthy of her, but over these years, whatever she wanted, I provided for her. She just wanted to devour people's hearts, and I could even slice mine open for her to fry..."
"Please, find a less disgusting way to put it," Wei Qian wrinkled his nose, feeling a bit queasy hearing this.
Ignoring Wei Qian's remark, Ma Chunming continued, "But why would she cheat on me behind my back?"
Wei Qian was shocked, "What? How do you know? Did you see it?"
Ma Chunming wiped his tears, "I saw it with my own eyes. Didn't I just accompany the business partner back from out of town last night? I arranged their accommodations and escorted them to the hotel. I saw her walking hand in hand with another man into the hotel. She didn't know I had returned yesterday... I... I stood outside the hotel all night."
He sniffed, showing signs of a cold.
"Wait a moment, I have some cold medicine," Wei Qian rummaged through his drawer and handed him a few packs of cold medicine. "You stood outside the hotel all night? Damn, while they were having sex, you were watching the door — are you insane?"
Even in such a situation, this man still managed to say such heartless and cruel words. Ma Chunming couldn't help but sob uncontrollably, utterly heartbroken.
Wei Qian waved his hand and extinguished the cigarette, "Alright, tell me, what do you plan to do? Divorce? Sue her? Or what? Have you identified who this scumbag is messing with someone else's wife? Should I have someone investigate?"
"That's not the point at all!" Ma Chunming's voice rose, "I don't care who that person is! I've only loved this woman in my entire life, knowing I'm not good enough for her, so I don't mind giving her all my heart while she only gives back a fraction. But how could she trample on someone else's sincerity like this?"
"Trample on someone else's sincerity" — those words seemed to be a bee's sting, lightly pricking Wei Qian's heart.
He couldn't help but think of Wei Zhiyuan.
Wei Zhiyuan's transition from passionate to deep emotions, which Wei Qian couldn't accept, also vaguely stirred a few fears within him — like a child who is usually not well-liked and has no presence, suddenly being the center of attention and feeling anxious.
To give an inappropriate metaphor, a person who has been starving for years suddenly being forced to eat two pieces of bloody bread. Despite his moral objections and reluctance, he would treasure them and not casually discard them.
Ma Chunming: "Why did you keep me around back then? Because I look like a monkey, amusing to watch? I'm utterly useless."
Wei Qian was jolted back to reality by his outburst, still somewhat absent-minded, he dryly comforted him, "Alright, it's not your fault. Stop being so hard on yourself."
Ma Chunming sensed his attempt at comfort, knowing that Wei Qian could refrain from kicking someone who's down and offering this level of consolation was already quite good. So, with a bleak smile, he said, "Thank you."
But then the smile vanished, leaving only despair, "You won't understand us losers. Being abandoned feels like being completely invalidated. I don't hate her, it's not about hurting my male pride, I... I just can't find my own sense of existence..."
After saying this, Ma Chunming stood up unsteadily, "Director Wei, I'm taking two days off."
Wei Qian sensed something more in his words and quickly said, "Hey, wait, come back!"
But Ma Chunming seemed truly numb, as if dead inside, and left his office like a walking corpse.
Wei Qian had no choice but to call Xiao Fei on the internal line, "Get someone... um, like Mr. Ma's assistant, to keep an eye on him these two days. I have a feeling this might be a prelude to him buying a rope to hang himself."
After a while, Xiao Fei knocked on his office door, holding a coat, "I've arranged for someone to watch Mr. Ma."
Wei Qian stared at the item in her hand for a moment, "Isn't that my jacket?"
"Yeah, it was just delivered by Xiao Yuan, he said the temperature will drop in the afternoon." Xiao Fei hung the coat on the door, "Haven't seen you wear it in years, I almost didn't recognize it."
As she spoke, she retrieved a tea bag from the drawer, skillfully took Wei Qian's cup, and brewed him a steaming cup of tea, "I heard about Mr. Ma's situation. His wife seems quite heartless. For some people, love is like an advanced replica of childhood family relationships. Suddenly losing it feels like being abandoned by parents as a child. Just thinking about it is unbearable."
Wei Qian: "… Children being abandoned by their parents? How does that relate to anything?"
Xiao Fei shrugged, "Of course, not everyone feels that way, but there are indeed some people who have such emotions. Maybe it's because their feelings are genuine. After being together for a long time, they tend to rely heavily on each other, desperately trying to please each other like clumsy children or eager puppies... Mr. Ma has such a good temper, I can't help but feel sorry for him. He's always bustling around his woman, thinking all his efforts outside are for her, but she doesn't care at all and just kicks him away."
She spoke vividly, and Wei Qian couldn't help but visualize a scene in his mind: Ma Chunming standing stiffly at the hotel entrance on a chilly autumn night, shoulders hunched, like a bamboo pole swaying in the wind and rain...
Suddenly, the protagonist of that scene changed in his wandering thoughts, replaced by Wei Zhiyuan.
Wei Qian suddenly jolted and asked Xiao Fei, "Where is he?"
Xiao Fei: "Who?"
"Xiao Yuan?"
"He went home. I saw him chatting with someone from the investment department before he left, seemed to be about that game investment, then he said you hate being disturbed, so he didn't bother you."
Wei Qian waved her off, letting her leave.
He couldn't bear to look at the materials in front of him anymore. The words floated in front of his eyes, unable to focus. Wei Qian leaned back heavily in his chair, covering his face with one hand.
"Xiao Yuan, where are you..." he muttered weakly in his heart, eventually ending with a sigh that echoed endlessly.
He was overwhelmed with sorrow.
As the frost descended, the maple leaves turned red.
Wei Qian stood with his hands in his pockets, blending into the crowd of people on an autumn outing in the outskirts of the city, waiting for Wei Zhiyuan, who was eagerly taking photos everywhere.
To this day, he couldn't figure out why he agreed to come. It seemed to stem from Ma Chunming and Xiao Fei, those two bastards seemed to have conspired together, intentionally or unintentionally poking at his heart, making him feel like he owed Wei Zhiyuan every time he saw him.
Later, when Ma Chunming didn't end up seeking death and returned to work, it seemed like he had talked things out with his wife, and the two were planning to divorce. San Pang was busy arranging for him to find a lawyer and handle the separation.
Ma Chunming himself was completely out of it, looking listless all day long.
Every time Wei Qian saw him, he couldn't help but imagine Wei Zhiyuan. The vague sense of fear and guilt he initially felt gradually became heavier and heavier.
So, when Wei Zhiyuan said he wanted to go to the countryside to see the autumn leaves, Wei Qian thought to himself, "Is he just full and bored?"
But hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, "Okay."
As the sound of a bell from a temple halfway up the mountain echoed in his ears, a four or five-year-old girl ran past him from underfoot, saying in a childish voice, "Far up the cold mountain, the stone path slants."
Seeing Wei Qian glance at her, the little girl hopped in place a few times, not shy at all, as if showing off her abilities. She giggled and shouted at him, "The frost-kissed leaves are redder than February flowers!"
"What a little rascal, quite clever with words," Wei Qian thought, forcing out a fake smile and blowing out a smoke ring. Yet, in his heart, there was a deep sigh of anguish, "This is just fucking humiliating!"
Walking side by side, they hiked to a temple nestled in the mountains. It was then that Wei Qian remembered, this seemed to be the place where Boss Bear became a monk.
Wei Zhiyuan indeed played the part well, bowing and offering incense as if it were a standard routine, attracting other worshippers to imitate him eagerly. However, Wei Qian paid no heed to this. He stood aloof with his hands behind his back, waiting for Wei Zhiyuan with the demeanor of a senior.
Perhaps a monk thought this benefactor was too disrespectful, too lazy even to go through the motions of reverence. Approaching Wei Qian, he bowed and said, "Benefactor, you are destined. Why not draw a divination stick?"
Wei Qian shook his head.
The monk kindly insisted, "Today, divinations are free for those who are destined. Please, draw one. It won't hurt."
The young monk was persistent, and Wei Qian, already quite bored, ended up drawing one almost playfully. The divination stick bore four lines of poetry that seemed neither here nor there.
The young monk's expression turned pale upon seeing it. "Oh dear, benefactor, this is a very bad omen!"
Wei Qian sighed inwardly. He knew this was coming.
The young monk continued, "This indicates a year of misfortune. There may be bloodshed in the near future. May Buddha have mercy! Benefactor, it's fate that brought us together today. I will do my utmost to help you avert disaster..."
Wei Qian cut him off coolly, "How much?"
The young monk, seeing Wei Qian's straightforwardness, smiled and said, "A blessed amulet for safety and peace costs 50 yuan. It wards off evil, attracts wealth, and ensures the health and safety of your family. It's a versatile item. Would you like one?"
Wei Qian pointed behind him and said, "You, turn around and walk straight."
The young monk sighed and intended to persuade this 'benefactor' who valued life over wealth. But Wei Qian didn't waste time. He dialed a number, "Xiong Yingjun, where are you? Get to the main hall—yeah, I'm at your temple. What kind of kids are you recruiting here? Are they trained to scam familiar faces?"
Xiong Yingjun, upon hearing this, hurried over. He no longer sold tickets but played the role of a "high monk," chanting sutras and blessing visitors every day.
He's now as round as a ball, having secretly broken countless rules and regulations.
The venerable Xiong Yingjun scolded the inexperienced novice Xiao Xin, then invited the two familiar faces into his meditation room. He glanced at Wei Zhiyuan, appearing somewhat startled. Finally, he shook his head cryptically, saying, "This is bad."
Wei Zhiyuan found him quite amiable, "Brother Xiong, you gave me a lot of guidance back then. Thank you. I will come back to fulfill my vows in the future."
Old Bear waved his hand, sighed, and lamented, "The millennium tortoise and the thousand-year fox have become enlightened. They have yet to take shape when first seen, but in the blink of an eye, they have passed their tribulations... Ah, sins, sins, such virtuous deeds."
Wei Zhiyuan smiled and remained silent, as if engaging in a Zen dialogue with him.
However, Wei Qian frowned, "Can you guys speak normal language?"
Old Bear looked at him irritably and expelled him from the sanctity of the Buddhist temple, "Ignorant worldly people, I told you long ago that our views don't align. Hurry, roll back to your mundane world with your 'sanitary napkins.'"
Who would have known that day would turn out so bizarrely?
Perhaps some humans truly are shape-shifters, uttering words that either work wonders or bring misfortune with a mere utterance.
Wei Qian sat in the passenger seat, flipping through Wei Zhiyuan's camera. Something felt off to him as he flipped through the various pictures of maple leaves—some decorating a tree or scattered on the ground in fiery red hues—but all featuring people, especially himself.
Wei Qian wasn't fond of being photographed; he found it odd to see himself from that angle.
There were shots of his silhouette, profiles gazing up at the mountainside, and he wondered when these were taken without his notice. The skill level was quite high, resembling a photo album.
Among them was a close-up: one leg propped on a stone step, eyes squinting slightly, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth as sunlight kissed his face, while he watched a little girl frolicking on the ground, her feet barely touching the earth.
The timing of the candid shot was extremely fortunate, capturing that fleeting micro-expression on his face as if someone, holding their breath, had been watching him through the lens for who knows how long, just to accurately capture such a vivid moment.
"I like this one the most," Wei Zhiyuan said. "I'm planning to print it out and carry it with me, to look at every night before bed."
Wei Qian glanced up at him.
Wei Zhiyuan revealed that blunt and profound expression again, whispering, "Keep it for spring dreams."
Wei Qian was speechless. With his mouth that could sell sand in the desert, he had ten thousand retorts guaranteed to make the other party flee with their tail between their legs. They all paraded through his mind, but he found none suitable. In the end, he could only continue to stare blankly at Wei Zhiyuan.
Wei Zhiyuan chuckled. "I was kidding—bro, fasten your seatbelt."
Wei Qian didn't say anything but complied. The issue of whether the person in the passenger seat wore a seatbelt always went through cycles of checking and loosening. If it weren't for Wei Zhiyuan's reminder, he wouldn't have buckled up on his own.
Later, he realized that such disciplined safety awareness was indeed necessary.
Because just as Wei Zhiyuan was driving through an intersection, a car, for some inexplicable reason, recklessly darted out from the side and collided head-on with a car traveling in the lane next to theirs. It was quite coincidental that the model and color of that car were exactly the same as Wei Qian's.
The struck car flipped over on the spot and veered toward them. Wei Zhiyuan sharply turned the steering wheel, and the intense friction and impact ensued. The left side window shattered into pieces, debris flying everywhere. Most of it was blocked by Wei Zhiyuan, who leaned to the side.
Wei Qian, on the other hand, emerged unscathed, while Wei Zhiyuan's arm and the back of his neck were covered in various sizes of bloodstains.
This time, it truly turned into a bloodbath.