Chapter 11: Choices I
No one thought that this heavy rain would continue to fall, where is the summer thunderstorm, thunder rolling, lightning constantly streaked across the sky, dazzling light illuminated the night of the city. The rain kept dripping and washing the city, but no matter how violent the storm came and how long it lasted. The city will use its modern plan to drain the rainwater out and keep the streets free of standing water. The rain tried its best to wash away the city's sludge, but it was blocked by reinforced concrete, which was colder than the rain.
The blue butterfly shines brightly, a little bit of brilliance, and it is even brighter in the rainy night. A burst of blue light rushed into Zhang Yongzheng's body, and he fell into the rain slope. The rain was dripping down on his face, and he didn't feel anything, and his clothes were already soaked. The blue butterfly slowly fluttered its wings and landed gently on his forehead, and the blue brilliance was still circulating.
The night was silent, but the rain did not stop, and the sky remained dark. In this city, not many people can look up at the bright moon that often hangs in the sky. It won't be tonight, the dark night sky, but you can see patches of black clouds, they gather, they roar, they are arrogant. Exerted all his strength to pour layers of heavy rain on this city that stands on both sides of the Huangpu River. They are crying again, they are talking again, they are reminding people to remember their kindness, and they are reminded of their terrible power. But the city is surrounded by walls and entrenched in sewers. How can you care about the rain talking, let alone the madness of the rain, everything is living comfortably under the light.
The rain continued until the morning, dark clouds hung in the sky, looking darker than the evening sky, a few muffled thunders, lightning flashed across the distant sky, and the rain gradually faded. Summer mornings are noisy, and everyone is hoping that the rain will stop. But the rain seemed to be awkward again, the thunder resounded through the sky, and the black clouds became more intense, threatening to swallow up the whole city, and it seemed to overwhelm and destroy the city's high-rise buildings. A few bolts of lightning lit up the sky, and a torrential rain poured in, and another baptism of rain. The black clouds did not disperse, but gathered more and more, as if the sky was about to fall, and the wind was fierce, and the rain continued to crash against the city. There is more and more water on the roads, people are finally feeling the power of the rain, such a heavy rain has been falling, the streets will be waterlogged, the roads are more likely to be flooded, now is the time to test the city, it is the time to test the human construction of such a city. The torrential rain continued, and it was a day at a time, and there was no intention of stopping. There was some water on the roads, and the water in some rivers in the city rose a lot, but the drainage system crisscrossed by the city's underground people reflected their value at this time, collecting the rainwater together and eliminating it all, so that the whole city only had traces of rainwater, but there was no time for the rainwater to stay.
Rain drenches every tall building in the city, every street in the city, every ground in the city. But every interior in the city is clean, there is no trace of rain, and people are resting comfortably in their rooms. In every mall, the lights are flashing, the goods are dazzling, and people are having fun in the mall. Rain wants people to remember its power, and in such a city made of concrete, all that changes is that there are fewer people on the streets, more cars coming and going on the roads, fewer people outside, and more people indoors and shopping malls.
The rain felt tired, boring, and the storm didn't stir up the city at all. A gust of wind blew, and the dark clouds, which were originally black and oppressive, dissipated in a blink of an eye, and the torrential rain stopped in an instant. It stopped so abruptly, without the slightest warning, that a ray of sunlight shone down on the city's tall buildings. A powerful storm passed, the rain stopped as it approached dusk, and people secretly celebrated the victory, and the city easily weathered the onslaught of the rainstorm. However, they did not know that such a rainstorm was in the field, but it was just a bath in the field, and then it flowed into the earth and became one with nature. But in such a city, it is strange to think that rain has become superfluous, but it has become the public enemy of the city. Could it be that the rain will bring a crisis to such a city, or that people are not secure enough in the first place, no matter how strong their castles are, they are very resistant to everything from outside, which may be the fault of people's selfish hearts.
When the sun was about to set, a few rays of the city turned a little red. The city becomes lively, the people in the city become active, and the vehicles in the city become more arrogant. It was already dusk, but there were more and more people on the streets, one after another, crowds of people, and every corner of the city was full of people. It's incomprehensible, dusk is supposed to be the most comfortable and peaceful time, the time when people enjoy food happily. In such a city, they can't see it, is it that they want to celebrate the cessation of the heavy rain in this way, do they want to celebrate the victory of the city in this way?
When night came, the moon crept up the branches and slowly hung up to the sky, but it was blocked by the tall buildings, and its silver-white brilliance was obscured by the lights of the city. In such a flowery big city, the nightlife has just begun, and no one has gone back to pay attention to the bright moon that has accompanied mankind all the way. As the night slowly deepens, a cool breeze blows away the heat that has gathered in the city, trying to make it cooler. Zhang Yongzheng was still lying on that rooftop, the moonlight shining on his body, a faint brilliance, fluctuating, but there was a taste of becoming an immortal. I opened my eyes leisurely and saw the moon the size of the basin, but the surroundings were foggy, and the bright moon I had seen in the mountains and forests before was not comparable at all. Where is the moon so clear, so bright, so noble.
Zhang Yongzheng stretched out his right hand to grab a ray of moonlight, and then felt how ridiculous he was, when did he become so sad, not at all like his own character. Looking at the clear night sky again, I didn't expect that I would fall asleep deeply in the storm, but fortunately the sky became clear in the second half of the night, otherwise I would have had a serious illness. I really slept tired and desolate, and my whole spirit got up, jumped up, patted the dust on my body, and laughed at myself: "When did I feel so unbearable, I was really fragile, I better go back to my room to rest, this small body can't stand it." "Leaving the rooftop, there is no trace of life here, as usual, no matter day or night, no matter the heavy rain, no matter the sun shining, no matter the cold wind, no matter how hot it is, it is the same place, maintaining a layer of unchanged color.
The alarm clock in the early morning sounded in silence, noisy, noisy, and roaring, like a prompting judge, driving the little ghosts to report to the Hades Palace, and they could not be late. Zhang Yongzheng picked up his mobile phone disappreciatively, isn't it Sunday, how could the alarm clock ring. When I saw the phone, I was quite frightened, today is Monday, "I'm going, what's the situation." "Strange scream, how can this be, the phone is broken, pick up the phone again, take a serious look at it or Monday, how did you spend Sunday, did you sleep on the rooftop all night, then this sleep is really long. I hope that after this sleep, the world will still be the same, the country will still be as prosperous, the city will still stand by the sea, and everyone here will still live as before. I should think too much, how can this world, this motherland, this city, and the people here change because of sleep.
I don't know if there has been any change for others, but Zhang Yongzheng himself has changed, but he doesn't know it yet. When I came to the company, many colleagues were already sitting at their work stations, reconfirming that today was Monday, and that their Sunday was spent in sleep without any consciousness. Squeezing all the way to the subway, the body that should have been a little tired, but this time I felt extra energetic. Sitting on the work chair, it was soft, but it felt a little prickly in the ass. Takahashi still walked to his own territory with a big belly like that, and began to work on today's regular meeting, and the other people also appeared one after another, all of them were no different from before, and everything was the same as before. Zhang Yongzheng tried to take a deep breath and slowly spit it out, the whole body was like a weight off, much easier, the seat became softer, and there was no feeling of pricking the butt when sitting on it, which was somewhat comfortable. This is just the beginning, is everything really the same, this is impossible, yesterday lucky people, hope to still have good luck today, yesterday was an unlucky person, hope today can go to shit luck. Who could have predicted that today's events would have changed. Zhang Yongzheng's expectation that there will be no change today is like a person hiding under a black umbrella, expecting everything to be the same in his heart of escape. What's more, today is Monday, not the arrangement and planning of this week's work tasks, and the saddest thing is that there will be a taekwondo competition again today.
Sure enough, when the weekly meeting was held, Takahashi began to embarrass Zhang Yongzheng and asked him to stand up and publish what he had learned in the company in the past three weeks. But in the past few weeks, he has been following two photojournalists every day, running away with a shelf, and rarely learning about editing, if Zhao Shumin hadn't taken the time to teach him some, he really wouldn't have done anything. Such a study report will definitely be criticized by Editor-in-Chief Zhang, and it is both threatening and intimidating. But Gao Qiao said: "Xiao Zhang, this is just coming to the company, it takes time, but the learning is a little slow, I will step up the time to urge him when I go back, editor-in-chief, you can rest assured." Gao Qiao's relief from this situation, Editor-in-Chief Zhang nodded with satisfaction. Now Zhang Yongzheng hates his last taekwondo match a little, if he hadn't made him a little clown, he wouldn't have targeted such a newcomer everywhere. This can be regarded as Zhang Yongzheng's mistake, at work, people who are not his own have to let him go. Soon if it is a vote for the position of deputy editor-in-chief, Takahashi is in a hurry. After the afternoon work, in the taekwondo competition, Zhang Yongzheng was taken out again for sparring, not so much as sparring, but as a sandbag. can only use taekwondo, Zhang Yongzheng was once again severely repaired by Takahashi, but Takahashi was not satisfied, but said in front of Mr. Liao, "What have you been doing in the past few weeks, Xiao Zhang?" Last time, Mr. Liao taught the spirit of daring to fight and learning with all his strength in taekwondo, but you didn't practice it. Taekwondo will not do anything for a few weeks, is it not taking Mr. Liao's words as a deaf ear. Zhang Yongzheng only now understands that it was not the last time he made a fool of himself, but for the election of the deputy editor-in-chief, he would definitely not vote for him, and if he wanted to drive him out of the company, he could really do anything for his own future. Mr. Liao's face was a little unhappy, this newcomer is really not good, it is inevitable that he will be criticized by the editor-in-chief, and even give cruel words, next time this situation occurs, he will fuck me out.
Zhang Yongzheng realized that the first step out of society was real, there were no superfluous feelings, and only his own interests were in his eyes. Not caring about other people's affairs is really a bit of a taste of death for those who stand in my way, but this is not a fair battle, but a variety of hidden arrows behind the back, which cannot be guarded against. I don't feel tired in my body, but I don't want to walk a step when I'm tired. Although I got off the subway, I didn't want to go home, I didn't want to go back to the cage of seven or eight square meters of freedom, and the snow-white walls on all sides trapped the bright red heart. There is no one to talk to you, and no one to listen to you tell you about your experiences and sufferings. I don't know which supermarket to go to buy a bottle of beer and drink a sip of alcohol, maybe it can really relieve my worries. A sip of cold wine poured into the hot body, and there was no pleasant feeling. It's really a glass to dispel sorrow and sorrow, and then there is no better way but to continue drinking.
I don't know how long I have been walking, in the bright lights of Shanghai, where is my home, where can I find a trace of my own temperature. Discouragement, depression, distress, sadness, all the negative emotions are all concentrated these days, and maybe only one drunken time can be resolved. The night is getting deeper and deeper, and there are fewer and fewer people on the streets of this city that is known as the city that never sleeps. The real darkness began to descend on the city, and Zhang Yongzheng was still walking alone on the streets, holding the bottle of beer that still had a lot left, walking a few steps and taking a sip, his steps were already a little staggering, and he had no intention of going back. Unconsciously walked to an alleyway, and in a daze I heard a 'help' and took a few steps back. The small alleyway was full of darkness, and there was not a single light to be seen, and two demons with huge black bodies and two red eyes appeared inside, opening their foul-smelling mouths and sticking out their poisonous tongues to lick their prey.
Zhang Yongzheng rubbed his eyes, this will see clearly, it turned out that a woman was forced here by two men, and it was obvious that she was robbed. The two men sensed that someone was watching, and raised a fierce face, "I don't want to live anymore, still watch, hurry up and get out of me." β
If Zhang Yongzheng said anything before, he would have to go up and fight with the two gangsters, but today he doesn't have this mind, his own affairs are enough to be sad for himself, and he is really in no mood to care about other people's affairs. Raise your steps and prepare to leave, this is really not the place you should ask.
A sneer came, "I don't have the courage to watch it here, it's really a coward who won't let me get away." β
A not very serious insult, but it aroused the anger that Zhang Yongzheng had suffered these days, squinted and saw the pleading eyes of the woman in the middle, woke up for most of the time, shook his head a little dazed, and dropped the steps that he was just about to take. Turning around, he put the bottle of beer on the ground and walked deeper into the alleyway. A man laughed fiercely and spit out a cold language, "I didn't expect there to be such a hot-blooded young man in these years, boy, today I will let you know the consequences of wanting to be a hero." In his right hand, he took out a shiny dagger.
Zhang Yongzheng didn't know if it was because of drinking or because of anger, he was full of courage, and when he saw this blood-shining dagger, he didn't feel a trace of fear. Step by step, the man roared, and the long dagger stabbed at the body. Zhang Yongzheng's eyes condensed, and he saw that the other party's speed was too slow, and he was completely playing back in slow motion. Grabbing the man's arm, he grabbed it gently, but heard a 'boom-', which was the sound of bones breaking. Then there was a scream, and the man knelt on the ground with a hideous face, roaring like a pig. Zhang Yongzheng was startled, this wine woke up completely, quickly let go of the hand that grabbed the other party's arm, and looked at it in disbelief, how could he have such great strength, although he had practiced martial arts with his grandfather when he was a child, but this kind of power was too incredible. The other man looked disbelieving, put down the woman in his hand, took a step back, and roared a little timidly: "You demon, what the hell do you do." β
Zhang Yongzheng's face was full of confusion, looking at the person lying on the ground screaming, and looking up at another man, his eyes revealing fear. Looking at his hand, a trace of blood remained on his hand. This is the blood that flowed out when he crushed the opponent's arm just now, and the stench of blood made his eyes dazed, and his stomach rolled up, almost vomiting. Another man, seeing Zhang Yongzheng's expression, clearly felt that it was very likely that he was not injured by letting his companion fall just now. Give yourself a big shout and pounce. Zhang Yongzheng didn't even raise his head, slapped it out with his backhand, hit the wall and fainted.
The woman stood up in fear and whispered, "Thank you, Iβcan I go?"
Zhang Yongzheng was awakened by the woman's voice, raised his head and replied in a wooden voice: "Of course you can go." Then I saw two people lying on the ground, one had fainted to the ground, and the other was still screaming heartbreakingly. Looking at his hands that were suddenly full of strength, his father's face and a few words to himself suddenly flashed in his mind: 'If you suddenly find that your body has changed, and you feel that your body is superhuman, you can open this box.' The pure black box, the box with no opening at all, didn't expect that now it was time to open.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yongzheng was no longer in the mood to stay here, and his mind was full of the black box. Rushed back to the house at a trot, I don't know how many people I bumped into along the way, no apology and no words. It's like clinging to a kite string that flies away when you're lost. Finally, I went back to my room that was white on all sides, found the black box, and took it out. Looking at it like that, like a black whole, I can't see a single gap, and I don't know how to open it. Zhang Yongzheng put his hands on it, and with a slight sound, a gap opened in the middle of the black box and opened it by himself. There was no glitter or silver glitter inside the box, and a wooden mask with a blue butterfly printed on it, a black robe neatly stacked underneath, and a red envelope under the wooden mask. Zhang Yongzheng picked up the wooden mask, and on the black envelope, four words appeared 'Yong'er pro-Qi'. This is written by grandpa to himself, in the whole family, as long as grandpa calls himself Yong'er alone, everyone else calls him Zheng'er.