Due to the influence of his grandfather and mother, Qi Cong has been practicing calligraphy since childhood. Because he started practicing early and did it often, his character writing was basically finalized in junior high. Later, no matter how his handwriting changed, it was just adding some personal habits to his already fixed writing.

Now, on the envelope and brochures spread out in front of Qi Cong, it was clear that the characters written in “suicide note ” were obviously different handwriting.

The characters of “suicide note” on the envelope were written with excessive force. The shape of the letters was rigid and the structure was scattered. It looked like it was written by some novice practicing calligraphy. 

In the two characters of ” suicide note” written on the brochure, he made a deliberately effort to write, but the font was round and the structure was perfect. The turning point of the pen was flexible and elegant, and the regular script retained a very strong personal style. 

Qi Cong frowned.

Handwriting was something engraved into a person’s muscle memory. Even if a person lost their memory, their writing shouldn’t be this different. Looking at the strength and the stroke direction of the words “suicide note” on the envelope, it didn’t appear perfunctory because he was about to commit suicide, but instead it had a serious and solemn taste.

Something was wrong.

He picked up the envelope, turned it over and opened it, pulling out the letter inside. 

A large number of words appeared in front of him and Qi Cong frowned again after one glance.

Before that, he thought it was just a special case that the writing on the envelope was unfamiliar to him, but the words on the letter shattered his thought.

With a quick scan, he found at least seven or eight structural problems with the characters, which he thought were very strange to him. No matter if it was a habit of using the pen or writing space, there was no trace of his personal shadow. 

This was not just a matter of retrogression in handwriting. 

He read the contents of the letter again, and his face wrinkled from disgust.

Is this a suicide note or a love letter? The whole letter was expressing love to Jiang Zhaoyan, with words of sadness and lingering, without even mentioning Qi Yin and Lin Hui. Was this letter really from him?

There was a knock at the door.

Qi Cong returned to his senses, suppressed his thoughts for the moment and stuffed the letter back into the envelope. He covered it with the brochure, and got up to open the door.

Shen Jia stood outside the door with a notepad and a pen. After Qi Cong opened the door, Shen Jia first looked sideways at the room next door where Qi Yin and Lin Hui lived. Then he placed the notepad and pen in Qi Cong’s hand and lowered his voice. “Brother Cong, let me help you settle your accounts. In the past three years, banking businesses and payment software have changed a lot. I’m afraid you won’t figure it out by yourself. “

Qi Cong nodded and let Shen Jia come in.

They sat cross-legged on the bed as Qi Cong took out all the cards from his wallet, lined them up, and then took out his mobile phone and turned it on.

The phone screen did not lit up. 

Shen Jia leaned over and said, “It was left alone for several days. There should be no battery left.”

“Give me a minute.” Qi Cong got up, took out the charger, charged the mobile phone, and turned it on.

A phone call immediately came in, the caller name was –  “Zhaoyan”.

Qi Cong paused. He looked at the screen for two seconds, connected the call and put the mobile phone to his ear.

“Is that what you call goodbye? Why don’t you turn off your phone and try acting again?” A nice, low male voice came out from the phone, with a hint of anger. “Qi Cong, how many more times do you have to pretend to commit suicide? Would you please stop messing around? I told you, I’m not trying to kick you out of the company. I just want to change your position. The R & D department is too important and you can’t – “

This questioning made Qi Cong immediately confirm that Jiang Zhaoyan was indeed as Shen Jia said, not a good man. “Jiang Zhaoyan?” he interrupted in a cold voice.

The phone became quiet for two seconds, then the tone suddenly slowed down. “I know you are angry that I hide it from you and Xia -“

“Cut the crap,” Qi Cong interrupted Jiang Zhaoyan again. “I really said goodbye to you forever. Go away.”

Jiang Zhaoyan raised his voice. “What did you say- ?” 

Beep

Qi Cong hung up the phone, then pulled Jiang Zhaoyan’s number into the blacklist before turning around.

Shen Jia jumped excitedly. “Brother Cong, you were so handsome just now! Good job! That’s how you should treat scum. Just kick him out! “

Qi Cong held on to the headboard of his bed, as he barely escaped being thrown down by Shen Jia. His expression softened as he reached out and pulled Shen Jia off him. “All right, let’s settle the accounts.”

The two of them sat down again on the bed. Qi Cong was responsible for calling the bank to check accounts while Shen Jia was responsible for recording it.

He hadn’t known until he checked, but he was still shocked when he learned that Qi Cong had nine credit cards in total under his name. The total debt of all these cards in total added up to 980,000. Basically, all the credit cards were maxed out. In addition to the cards, Qi Cong also borrowed money from some shopping platforms and payment software.

What make Qi Cong even more afraid and angry, was that the day before Qi Cong committed suicide, he downloaded seven or eight loan apps and borrowed more than 160,000 in total, and placed an order for a luxury watch for Jiang Zhaoyan. The receiving address for the watch was Jiang Zhaoyan’s company.

According to the chat records between Qi Cong and the watch brand’s customer service, this watch was a birthday gift that Qi Cong bought for Jiang Zhaoyan.

Qi Cong squeezed the card in his hand.

Shen Jia looked worried. “Brother?”

“Nothing.” Qi Cong let go of the card. “Can this order be canceled?”

Shen Jia hurriedly nodded, “Yes, the customer service said that this watch needs to be transferred from abroad so the delivery would be relatively slow. I just checked. The watch you bought hasn’t been shipped yet, so you can cancel it directly. ” 

Qi Cong’s expression became a little better. “Then cancel it.”

A quarter of an hour later, the money from the purchase was returned to Qi Cong’s account by the system. Qi Cong used that money to pay off the debts with the loan apps and uninstalled them.

After another half hour, the accounts were finally sorted out thoroughly. With the money spent in installments on various shopping platforms, Qi Cong owed more than 1.43 million yuan in total. (about $202,900)

Shen Jia put down his notepad filled with all kinds of numbers and looked at Qi Cong. He hesitated to speak. 

Qi Cong was calmer than Shen Jia thought he would be. He didn’t try to be brave and didn’t ask for help. Instead, after collecting the cards from the bed, he said, “Jia Jia, can you lend me 1.5 million first? I want to clear my debts first and then cancel these cards and accounts. After paying off the debt, I want to rent a house for my parents so that they can live more comfortably. I promise, I will earn money and return the money back to you as soon as possible. ” 

“No problem, I’ll transfer the money to you now!” Shen Jia hurriedly pulled out his cell phone. 

After receiving Shen Jia’s money transfer, Qi Cong insisted on writing an IOU of 1.5 million for Shen Jia. Then he made an appointment with Shen Jia to go to the banks to pay off and close his accounts tomorrow. 

It was already late when they finished these tasks, so Qi Cong got up and sent Shen Jia back to his room. Before Shen Jia went inside his room, Qi Cong suddenly asked, “Why did I try to kill myself? One day I was taking out loans to buy a gift for Jiang Zhaoyan, and the next day I committed suicide. Something must have happened between. ” 

Shen Jia stopped and looked back. He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Jiang Zhaoyan got engaged to the youngest son of the Anxia family, who is an interior designer.”

Qi Cong was stunned. “Engaged? Is it the Anxia I know? “

“Yes, it’s the former partner of your family company, the Amber Design Company.” 

“…” Qi Cong pursed his lower lip hard and asked, “What does Jiang Zhaoyan do?”

“Smart houses. Brother Cong, Jiang Zhaoyan’s company has developed entirely by sucking the blood of you and your family’s company. “

After seeing Shen Jia off, Qi Cong  returned to his room. He stood by the bed, looked at the pile of cards he had just put away, and swore in a low voice. 

 

…

 

Qi Cong spent two days settling his accounts, renting a house and moving before Lin Hui went to work at his old friend’s educational institution.

His newly rented house was near the workplace of Lin Hui. It had two bedrooms and a living room, with a large balcony. It was relatively new in decoration and came complete with household appliances. Although it was not comparable to their small villa where the Qi family lived originally, it was much, much better than the old house where Qi Yin and Lin Hui were before.

Although he owed a lot of money, Qi Cong was not going to let that hurt his parents. After moving houses, he went to the supermarket and bought a lot of daily necessities for Qi Yin and Lin Hui. He bought several sets of clothes, and even bought a set of skin care products for his mother.

Then he bid farewell to Lin Hui and Qi Yin at the dinner table.

Lin Hui frowned, “Are you leaving tomorrow?”

Shen Jia, who had buried his face in his meal, also raised his head when he heard these words. He wanted to speak, but he just choked on his food and burped.

Qi Cong quickly poured Shen Jia a glass of water and replied, “Well, Jia Jia has been in Haicheng for so long and missed a lot of work in Beishi, so it’s time to go back.”  

Shen Jia quickly swallowed his food and said hurriedly. “I didn’t–” 

Qi Cong looked at Shen Jia. “You answered several calls behind my back today, and I even heard some people scolding you on the other side of the phone.”

Shen Jia stalled and said without much confidence, “That was my agent, he has a bit of bad temper.” 

“Also I also want to start working as soon as possible. It’s never a good idea to just sit back and do nothing.” Qi Cong looked at Qi Yin and Lin Hui again. “Mom, Dad, I have been under your protection for so many years, and it’s time for me to go out.”

Lin Hui wanted to speak, but was stopped by Qi Yin. She smiled at Qi Cong and said, “Go if you want. Mom is waiting for you to find your own happiness.”

The matter of leaving was settled.

After dinner, Qi Cong and Shen Jia went together to do one last thing before leaving Haicheng – to return to Qi Cong’s rented apartment and pack his luggage.

Shen Jia was embarrassed as he said while driving, “Brother Cong, I think uncle bought a lot of meat and vegetables. He obviously wants to replenish your health. I also think it’s better for you to take care of your body first. “

“I want to start making money as soon as possible.” Qi Cong adjusted his seat belt and looked at the heavy traffic ahead. “I don’t want to be left behind by the times.”

Shen Jia glanced at Qi Cong’s quiet profile. He opened his mouth, but decided not to speak in the end.

By the time they arrived at the apartment it was completely dark. It was also dinner time. The elevator was crowded with the residents who came back for dinner or went downstairs to get takeout. Shen Jia pressed his hat nervously and hid behind Qi Cong for fear of being recognized.

In the past two days, when they were outside, Shen Jia looked like this when they walked in crowded places. Qi Cong felt it was funny and said in a low voice, “You look more suspicious this way”

“It’s better to look suspicious than to be recognized and chased.”

The elevator arrived and Shen Jia hurriedly walked in with Qi Cong.

The elevator soon filled and the door closed. The smell of food filled the elevator and no one spoke.

“Eh, has the poster changed?”

Qi Cong didn’t know who said these words, as the people in the elevator became agitated. He looked at the poster on the right side of the elevator. Then several of the quiet till now sardines become excited.  

“It’s Gu Gu!”

“I can’t believe they changed the poster to ‘Heaven Asked’. Who changed it? Is that okay?” 

“Is ‘Heaven Asked’ coming out?”

“Yes, I don’t know what kind of person set the release date for September 1st. Choosing the same day as the start of school.”

The crowd buzzed, and Qi Cong looked sideways at the elevator poster. 

It was a poster with a bleak overall style. In the endless gobi desert, a dilapidated dirt house stood alone on the top of a slope. There was a flag flying on the roof and a man with black hair and a sword was standing on the top of the flagpole. He was tall and had an awe inspiring temperament. A black hood covered most of his face, and only a slight curve of his chin could be seen.

Qi Cong eyes widened slightly.

This chin…

“Brother Cong? Brother Cong? We are here.” Shen Jia gently poked Qi Cong’s back.

Qi Cong returned to his senses and saw that the elevator door was open. The other people in the elevator were looking at him. He apologized in a low voice, then exited with Shen Jia.

The elevator door closed and kept going up.

Shen Jia stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.  “That was close. Just now a girl was staring at me and wanted to rub against me. She almost scared me to death.”

Qi Cong’s mind was full of chin lines and he couldn’t help asking, “The poster in the elevator just now…”

“Qi Cong!”

A male voice suddenly interrupted Qi Cong, making him look in the direction of the sound.

A tall man with sharp and handsome facial features, wearing a black suit even on such a hot day stood at the corner of the corridor. His face was filled with impatience as he asked, “Why did you change the apartment code?”

Edited by: Antiope1

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