During our chats over this period, I gradually shared with the Fatty everything I had discovered here. When he heard about my finding the young man’s photo, he suddenly became very excited, and I felt a little smug as a result. It turned out that he still had some passion inside him, or rather, the positive side of him had been revived; he just wasn’t willing to admit it yet.
At first, I thought this way, but as I continued talking to Fatty, I noticed that his excitement seemed a bit off. From his tone, it seemed that he wasn’t interested because of what I had said, but rather he appeared to have picked up on something from my words, lost in thought and doubt.
“What are you pondering?” I asked him. “Tsk, tsk, you’re talking and eating mud snails at the same time?”
“There really isn’t such a thing here. I, Fatty, listened to what you said and felt something was off. But maybe I’m overthinking it.”
“What do you mean something’s off?” I asked. “Nothing happened here. Although it’s not as humid and comfortable as Banai, it’s not worse than where you are, so don’t make it sound like I’m particularly ignorant.”
“That’s true. Our family’s Tian Zhen is a fresh and refined young man, a delicate official who blossoms like a water lily, spreading the spirit of Lei Feng wherever he goes. Not comparing West Lake to Banai, but saying that Matuo is like a mother. The Buddha says: the Leifeng Pagoda will eventually collapse.”
“Where the hell did you come up with all this nonsense?” I was angry. “Public phones here are expensive, can you say something heartfelt? Stop rambling about this crap.”
“It’s definitely not crap. I haven’t thought about your second brother in a long time; there are indeed reasons for this. Just listen to me.”
“Your second brother is the one who’s crap,” I retorted. Fatty chuckled and said, “Alright, listen to me. You returned from Nepal and passed through Matuo, right?” I nodded, and then realized he couldn’t see me, so I said, “Yes.”
“Why did you leave from Matuo after coming back from Nepal? Are you a bird that flies back from Nepal and stops for a bit in Matuo? You were there for business, and what you brought wasn’t bulk goods. You should have taken a more convenient route around Matuo or flown directly back from Nepal.”
“I was just a bit bored and wanted to take this route,” I replied.
“Did the people around you let you go? You know that going to Matuo is quite troublesome, and from what I know of you, you wouldn’t have such an idea. You currently have a fear of long nights and many dreams; going to Matuo doesn’t align with your way of doing things.”
I nodded, realizing he was right. The fear of long nights and many dreams was a side effect of all the things I had been through. I always felt that once I stopped or took a break from something, it would be ruined by others. So I no longer acted on impulse but instead pursued high efficiency and shortcuts.
“Think about it, how did you get to Matuo? There must have been many things happening that subtly influenced your decision.”
I recalled and said, “It wasn’t that complicated, actually. When we were at the border, we took a black route to avoid taxes. The person who guided us across the border was a tour guide from Matuo, and he told us about Matuo. Then our vehicle broke down on the way, and we were in quite a predicament, waiting for a long time before we managed to catch a ride to Matuo.”
“The car must go to Motuo and cannot drop us off specifically; it will let us down if it sees other cars on the way. I was chatting with the tour guide the whole time, and somehow I decided to come to Motuo.”
“Do you think this is fate?” the胖子 (Fatty) said after hearing this. “Think about it again, how did you happen to see the photo of the young man?” After he said this, I suddenly understood what he was getting at, and my heart skipped a beat. I heard Fatty say, “There aren’t that many coincidences in the world. Even if the young man really stayed in Motuo for a long time, how could it be so coincidental that he was drawn and hung up somewhere you could see? Do you think this is a TV drama?”
“Are you saying—this was designed by someone else? He used the portrait of the young man to keep me here? Is there some kind of conspiracy?”
“You think the matter is settled and you’ve relaxed. If it were the old you, with your cautious nature, you definitely wouldn’t overlook this point.” Just as I felt a chill in my heart, Fatty suddenly said, “Naive, you’ve fallen into a trap. Congratulations on leveling up to the square of naivety—both naive and squared.”
“Shut the hell up.” I felt a bit depressed. “What should I do now? Leave immediately?”
“Absolutely not. There are only a few useless people around you. Now that you’ve fallen into their trap, their plan is in progress and very stable; you’re not in much danger. However, if you suddenly act like you’ve seen through their plan, they will definitely use a second plan to keep you here, and you might not have that much freedom anymore.
Just stay calm and give me the address; I’ll rush over as quickly as possible.”
“Are you deciding to come out of retirement?”
“You’ve already reached the ‘square of naivety.’ Before you get squared away, I need to come and save you.” Fatty’s voice was very calm. “Besides, this matter is also related to me; if you get squared away, I might be next.”
I felt warmth in my heart, and the slight panic I had just experienced disappeared. I gave him the address, knowing he could probably get here in a week at the fastest, and then I hung up the phone.
Looking around, I suddenly realized that the atmosphere here was no longer so relaxed and pleasant; instead, it felt eerie and ghostly. I couldn’t tell if it was just my psychological effect or if it had always been this way; I had just been too relaxed earlier to notice.
发表回复