Although Liu Jun was tired, sleepy, and weak, his whole body ached, and he couldn’t lie down normally—he could only sleep half-sitting, making his rest extremely unsettled. In his dreams, he seemed to return to his childhood when he loved sports and fighting, with his mother always gently wiping away the sweat and dirt from his exhausted play, tucking in his blanket, and moistening his parched lips with cotton. Liu Jun found joy in suffering, stretching one dream long and full. Half-awake, he didn’t want to open his eyes and return to reality. Only when the nurse came to change his dressing did he reluctantly open his eyes. Liu Jun saw that the person carrying out the water basin was that detestable Aunt Fu. Why her again? Did his father have no one else to use? But why did Aunt Fu always remind him of his mother?
Liu Jun was helpless, only able to watch as nurses came and went, Aunt Fu left and returned, until only he and Aunt Fu remained in the hospital room. He stared at Aunt Fu, unwilling to speak but also not wanting to avoid her. Under Liu Jun’s relentless gaze, Aunt Fu became flustered and restless, awkwardly declaring: “Your father sent me here.” But facing Liu Jun’s unyielding stare, her expression stiffened, and she added: “I only learned afterward that I did wrong and shouldn’t have hurt you. You’re a good person.”
“So you admit to leaking my test data?”
“I’m sorry. At first I thought your father wasn’t much good anyway…”
“What inevitable connection is there between my father not being much good and you stealing test data? Were you acting as heaven’s agent of justice?” Liu Jun said this, then thought of Yu Shanshan revealing Yang Xun’s Shi Yiji secrets to him—he hadn’t felt anything was wrong at the time. So, how should one define justice versus betrayal? Using each person’s internal moral compass?
“How your father is, it’s not convenient for me to tell you…”
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you stay close to gentlemen and away from petty people?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have that many choices. My son still depends on me to get into Shi Yiji. If I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t work in your father’s house any longer than necessary.”
“Since you’re being so frank, let me tell you—what you stole was completely the result of my labor. You directly harmed me. Then Shi Yiji used this to steal my patent and used their power to suppress my rights defense. Look, this is why I’m lying in this hospital bed today. You indirectly harmed me again. I ask you, what face and courage do you have to stand before me?”
“It’s this serious? But my son said he only wanted to learn an approach.”
“Is this your defense to me, or an excuse you’re making for yourself? You know in your heart, don’t you? I’ll be frank with you today, too—when the weak confront the strong, the outcome is my current situation. I beg you to stop hovering in front of me. You’re triggering my criminal psychology.”
“But I have no choice. I’m your family’s housekeeper.”
“Scoundrel.” Liu Jun could only close his own eyes—out of sight, out of mind.
But Aunt Fu’s expression changed dramatically. “I’m not. Because it’s you, I feel sorry for you, so I’m being honest with you—honest people don’t do shady things. I also know these words are inappropriate. But compared to your father, I’m much better.”
Liu Jun was so angry that his chest heaved violently, further aggravating his rib pain. Unable to understand Aunt Fu’s logic and defeated again by his body’s severe pain, he could only close his mouth after closing his eyes—if he couldn’t provoke her, he could avoid her.
But soon, the room’s silence only highlighted the commotion in the corridor outside. Liu Jun listened irritably to the outdoor clamor, trying to calm his emotions by identifying the sounds outside. After a while, his newly turned-on phone rang. He painfully lifted it and saw Yu Shanshan’s number on the screen. Yu Shanshan asked if he had been attacked, if it was related to Yang Xun—she regretted giving Liu Jun information about those two foreign companies. With Aunt Fu present, Liu Jun could only answer in English. He prevented Yu Shanshan from visiting him at the hospital at this time, as being seen and suspected by Yang Xun wouldn’t be good. Liu Jun’s English wasn’t as fluent as his German, making his speech halting and extremely difficult, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
However, the hospital room was a public area where patients had no privacy. Three public security officers who rushed in through the door interrupted Liu Jun’s phone call. Just as Liu Jun was pondering how to respond to inquiries about the attack, the officers questioned Aunt Fu instead, then took her away on charges of violating commercial secrets. Liu Jun watched all this dumbfounded, seeing Aunt Fu’s face, already pale from his questioning, become even paler, seeing the panicked glance she cast at him as she was forcibly taken away. He was speechless.
Soon, another middle-aged woman entered with a note from Liu Shitang, saying she was the new housekeeper come to care for Liu Jun. Everything might seem orderly in Liu Shitang’s eyes, but Liu Jun couldn’t quite understand it. Only after more than two hours, when Liu Shitang had some free time, did he call to tell his son that he couldn’t easily let Aunt Fu off with insufficient evidence just once—he was willing to be patient, seeking new opportunities to deal with Aunt Fu and especially her precious son together. Unexpectedly, now that he needed to swallow his pride and cooperate with Yang Xun, he threw Aunt Fu out as a condition for cooperation, and Yang Xun cooperated. Caught along with Aunt Fu was her precious son. Yang Xun could easily push responsibility onto Aunt Fu’s son. Regardless of the verdict, even just a few months in jail would be enough to make the mother and son suffer.
Liu Jun couldn’t help but think of his warning to Aunt Fu just moments before—when the weak confront the strong, the outcome often ends in the weak’s defeat. Unfortunately, he had been proven right. He was filled with mixed emotions but dared not think deeper. He especially dared not analyze his father’s behavior.
Fortunately, Yang Li soon came to visit him right after work. The weather had turned cold, and Yang Li wore a beige coat with a large turned-down collar, looking very nostalgic. But Yang Li and Liu Jun faced each other speechlessly. Yang Xun had told Yang Li with a cold smile early that morning that nothing in the world couldn’t be settled. Yang Li hadn’t expected Liu Jun to be so spineless, but this also gave her courage to visit him. But once they met, they had nothing to say. She sat silently for a while, then left silently. Soon, Shi Yiji would introduce a management talent—originally a vice president of a foreign company, also pursuing an MBA while working, with forward-thinking ideas and decisive actions. Yang Li would enter Shi Yiji’s finance department to assist. The first step, naturally, was relocating Shi Yiji’s city factory to the suburbs. Forward Factory was naturally among those to be relocated. But Yang Li didn’t tell Liu Jun any of this—at this point, what was there left to say?
Liu Shitang rushed over immediately, not even having time to grab a quick dinner outside. Seeing his son’s complexion slightly better than in the morning, he dared to feel relieved. To comfort his young and impatient son, Liu Shitang used his patience with small people like Aunt Fu as teaching material to educate his son, people endure constantly, temporary endurance is nothing, and ultimate victory belongs to only two words: strength. He told his son to look forward and not be discouraged.
Liu Jun helplessly listened to his father’s lecture. He wished no one would mention the word “Yang”—he had already used “endurance is a skill” to numb himself, and what he needed most now was for no one to remind him of his memories. But Liu Shitang was truly excited at this moment, complexly pained yet excited about Forward Factory’s sale. No matter how Liu Jun hinted, it was useless. Liu Shitang had finally lost his beloved Forward Factory today, and now his son was the only one he could confide in. But he couldn’t mention his sense of loss in front of the son who had decided to sell Forward Factory, so he could only release his verbal diarrhea through endless “endurance theory.” During this time, Qian Hongming called, and, learning Liu’s father was present, said he’d come tomorrow instead, not interrupting Liu Shitang’s high-spirited discourse.
But in the end, Liu Shitang couldn’t help saying: “A’Jun, from today forward, the Factory is gone, and your father is retiring to his hometown. Everything depends on you from now on. The planned new factory name can’t use the word ‘Forward’ anymore. Have you thought of a new name? If not Forward, what should it be called? Is there something similar?”
When Liu Shitang said this, it carried deep loss and nostalgia. Even Liu Jun, who had been bombarded to the point of extreme annoyance, could hear and see it. Liu Jun involuntarily uttered two words: “Soaring.” Liu Shitang forced a smile: “Good, good, this is even faster than Forward. Yes, studying abroad wasn’t for nothing. When the father hands things to the son and the son does better, that’s when life has hope, isn’t it? Each generation stronger than the last—father is very happy, happy even to be eliminated.”
Liu Jun’s head wasn’t sharp today, but he still hurried to comfort his father: “Dad, don’t talk about retirement. At least you still need to handle domestic sales—I can’t manage it. Okay, there’s a lot I can’t manage. If you retire, I’ll be lost. Don’t bother me—let’s not talk work these few days. My brain is blood-deprived. Dad, tell me stories. I need to rest.”
“Ah, tell stories?” But Liu Shitang’s expression had already quickly softened.
“Yes, Astro Boy, Mole’s Story, Transformers—anything’s fine, as long as you don’t bother me anymore.”
“Good, good, good. Dad won’t bother you.” Liu Shitang finally smiled. How could he tell these stories? He used to chase his son away from watching TV. “Dad will tell you stories about domestic sales. You should know about them too.”
“I won’t listen to work stuff.”
“You should listen—they’re interesting, much more interesting than your Astro Boy.”
Neither father nor son mentioned Aunt Fu again. She disappeared silently, just like her usual footsteps. If it had been before, Liu Jun might have felt pity in his heart and tried to make his father go easier on her. But he was lying in a hospital bed now—circumstances had changed, and today he hadn’t thought of anything.