Lu Sheng and Lao Zuo were upstairs.
Upstairs was Lao Zuo's room. Lao Zuo rarely came to the store. He loved to play, had a bohemian personality, did not play by the rules, and was particularly casual and sentimental. He came to the store to give them, the employees, a day off. In his words, young people should enjoy life.
"I heard that there is a beautiful girl in our store recently, Ah Sheng, why don't you explain it to me?"
Lao Zuo is thirty-one years old this year and looks less than thirty years old. He looks young in his mind. He doesn't like being called too old. Those guys just call him Lao Zuo, knowing that he won't get angry, and they are used to being casual with him.
Lu Sheng sneered, it must be that big-mouthed monkey who said that, he said: "My tenant."
Lao Zuo handed him a cigarette and teased: "Why did I hear that you still carried that girl? Or did you take the initiative and fall in love?"
Lu Sheng's eyes dimmed, falling in love? Ha.
He lit up a cigarette, the flame flickered twice, and smoke slowly floated out of his mouth, he whispered: "No, she is here for tourism, she will go home after the trip, we are not from the same world."
Lao Zuo also guessed a little from his expression, Lu Sheng had never had any intimate behavior with women before, let alone taken the initiative, he was moved. Lao Zuo
advised: "If you really like her, tell her earlier, how can she know if you don't tell her, I heard from Fatty Monkey that the girl seems to like you too and stays in the store every day for you, maybe she is willing to settle down on the island for you in the future."
Lu Sheng laughed at himself: "Dating a girl while in debt, Lao Zuo, that's not love, that's fucking immoral."
Lao Zuo paused, because Fatty Monkey described it too beautifully, and almost forgot Lu Sheng's current situation.
He owed hundreds of thousands of yuan for medical treatment. His father was suffering from cancer and was still undergoing chemotherapy in the hospital. He needed imported medicine every day. He was busy making a living. He worked part-time during the day to earn money and went to the hospital to take care of his seriously ill father at night. Dating a girl like Luan Yan would be considered high-end for other people, but it was a luxury for Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng flicked the ash from his cigarette, and the self-mockery on his lips did not diminish. He was already covered in mud and could not drag anyone down. His Yanyan should be clean and find a man with similar family background and higher education so that he could have enough time to accompany her, pamper her, and take care of her.
She deserved the best of everything in the world, and she should not be with someone like him.
After finishing a cigarette in silence, Lao Zuo gave up the idea of persuading him and said, "Just ask me if I can help you. Uncle Lu has always been very good to you. Ah Sheng, don't be so formal with me."
Lao Zuo felt quite sad when he said this. He grew up eating at many people's houses. He used to envy children like Lu Sheng who had a happy family. He was smart and handsome since he was a child. Neighbors said that he would definitely have a bright future. But no one expected that his mother would suddenly fall ill two months before his college entrance examination and die not long after. His father fainted in grief and was soon diagnosed with cancer. He stayed in the hospital and never came out again.
It seems that no one can ever have a perfect life. There are always more or less regrets in reality. No one can avoid or stop the arrival of accidents.
Lu Sheng twisted the butt of his cigarette and said, "He has been more energetic recently. Go see him when you have time. I won't say more.
I have to go to the hospital."
Lao Zuo was not a rich man, and he had been very kind to him. He had the highest salary among all the employees, and Lao Zuo helped wherever he could. If Lao Zuo hadn't helped him, he wouldn't know where he would have been today. Lao Zuo didn't want him to go the wrong way and didn't want him to sell himself for money. He knew it in his heart.
After the two of them finished chatting, Lu Sheng went downstairs.
Fang Manlin was sitting downstairs, and Luan Yan had disappeared. Lu Sheng was upstairs, and he didn't know what had happened downstairs, nor did he know that Luan Yan had been there.
He walked past Fang Manlin and didn't intend to have too much communication with her. Fang Manlin said, "The girl just now was here. She came to see you, and I chatted with her for a while."
Lu Sheng stopped and said, "What did you talk about?"
"Your family affairs. "
Fang Manlin spoke and acted openly, and she was not afraid of letting Lu Sheng know what she had done, but unfortunately, the expression she expected did not appear on Lu Sheng's face. He was still so calm and did not react at all. He looked at her coldly, as if what she had done was not even a joke.
Fang Manlin was unhappy again and said, "Don't you want to say something? "
Lu Sheng didn't want Luan Yan to know about his family affairs. No one would want to show his embarrassing side to the person he likes, but he was not afraid.
There was no reason, he just believed Luan Yan.
Lu Sheng made a clear distinction between likes and dislikes. Fang Manlin was not as pleasing to the eye as a passerby. He ignored Fang Manlin and walked out with big strides. Anyway, Lao Zuo was in the shop, and Lao Zuo would naturally deal with her if she caused trouble.
...
The hospital and the tattoo shop were not far away. It took about ten minutes to walk there, and Lu Sheng arrived at the hospital quickly.
The air was full of the pungent smell of disinfectant. In fact, staying in the hospital is not good for the patient's mood. The patient in the same ward with his father has passed away. Staying in such a place, facing death every day, a good person like Lu Sheng feels depressed, let alone his father.
Lu's father was the only one in the ward. Lu Sheng said he wanted to hire a nurse, but he didn't let him. He usually called a nurse during the day because they were close. Lu Sheng would run to the hospital whenever he was free every day, going back and forth between the tattoo shop and the hospital.
"Dad. "As soon as Lu Sheng entered the room, he tried his best to pretend to be relaxed.
Lu's father opened his eyes. The pain from the illness made him unable to stand up. When he was diagnosed, the disease was in the late stage. He has been constantly rescued since he was admitted to the hospital, changing different treatment plans, and chemotherapy over and over again. Now his eye sockets are sunken, like a layer of human skin on a skeleton.
"Dad, let me push you downstairs for a walk. "Lu Sheng helped his father up and said.
The sun shone brightly, and the surrounding grass and trees were green and full of vitality, which gave people a little breathing space compared to the lifeless ward.
Perhaps knowing that one less look would be one less, Father Lu stared at his son silently. He was not like this before. He had many friends in school, and he would laugh mischievously and cheerfully. He was outstanding in everything and was the most dazzling boy among all the students.
He became too calm. He was forced to grow up overnight, forced to drop out of school, and shoulder all the burdens of the family. At his age, he should have studied in college. With his excellence, he could have been admitted to a prestigious university. He would have a better life and live the life he wanted.
If he hadn't gotten this disease.
Lu's father wanted to give his son a grand graduation banquet. In a few years, he would bring his favorite girl home. The two families would discuss the marriage and how to raise the children after marriage. Life might be a mess with constant trivial matters. Even this ordinary and vulgar life was a luxury in their eyes.
It was he, as a father, who harmed his son.
Father Lu closed his eyes with guilt and said weakly, "Don't treat it."
Lu Sheng thought that the new patient's family was irritated by giving up treatment. He said, "The doctor said that the situation is much better, and you are in good spirits recently. Why don't we change the ward and not live in that room anymore."
He knows his own body. Father Lu shook his head and said, "Give it up. This is a bottomless pit. I don't want to treat it anymore. This way you can go to college again. It's enough for me to live to this age. You still have a long life. You can't spend it all on me."
Father Lu turned his head. No one could see the other's expression, but he sincerely felt the helplessness of life. Lu Sheng was silent for a long time and said, "But you are my father."
Everyone knew rationally that there was no need for treatment. It's not that no one had advised Lu Sheng, but this was his father who had lived with him for 19 years and had been the best father to him since he could remember.
He was his only relative in this world.
Lu Sheng no longer had a mother, and he couldn't be without a father.
Father Lu knew, so he endured the pain of chemotherapy with strong willpower. He woke up after several rescues. He didn't want to leave him alone, but death was right in front of him. The powerlessness of watching himself step by step towards death, the longer he delayed, the heavier this powerlessness became.
Father Lu didn't continue to talk. He stopped the topic but made the final plan in his heart. He said with a weak breath: "You are not allowed to sell any of your mother's paintings. You must keep those paintings that she treasured most when she was alive. Don't lose them."
Lu Sheng promised: "I have kept them all. I won't lose them."
Father Lu nodded: "Push me back."
The more vivid the scenery, the more it can contrast with his own gloom. He is about to reach the end. Looking at this world again will only deepen his attachment.
Father Lu didn't want Lu Sheng to stay with him in the hospital. After he got sick, he was in endless pain every day. He couldn't eat anything and couldn't sleep. He didn't want his son to see how painful he was. He knew how sad Lu Sheng would be when he saw that scene but couldn't do anything. His life was like a handful of sand tightly grasped in his hand. No matter how hard he tried, he could clearly feel it slipping away, slipping away from his fingers bit by bit.
After arriving at the ward, Father Lu found an excuse to drive Lu Sheng out. Lu Sheng couldn't say anything to his father and was afraid of making him emotional, so he just said he would come back later.