No one had expected Lu Congzhi to admit that he was jealous of Song Xiuzhu.
He was stubborn, unwilling to concede defeat, and fiercely proud, with arrogance in his very bones. He wasn’t the sort of person who should feel inferior to anyone.
Wen Rui stared at Lu Congzhi, feeling as though he were looking at a stranger.
Lu Congzhi exhaled a thin stream of smoke and said slowly and calmly, “Song Xiuzhu, I was jealous that you ate meat every day, because I went hungry every day. I was jealous that you never had to work, because the institute staff beat me with sticks if I didn’t. I was jealous of your endless spending money, the pens and notebooks you never ran out of, the candy and snacks you couldn’t finish, and all the clothes and shoes you could ever want. I had none of those things. If I’d been an idiot—”
He pointed at his temple and continued, “If I hadn’t been able to see the hypocrisy and unfairness, I wouldn’t have envied you. If I hadn’t known that everything you had was something I could have had too, I wouldn’t have envied you.”
He paused.
Yu Binbin and Zhou Ming listened in stunned silence, their expressions gradually changing. Lu Congzhi and Song Xiuzhu were both orphans, both raised in the same welfare institute. Why had they been treated so differently?
There was nothing wrong with the director? Bullshit!
There was something terribly wrong with her!
Wen Rui took a deep drag on his cigarette, his heart aching in a thousand tiny places. Back when he’d volunteered at the institute, all his attention had been on Song Xiuzhu. Seeing that Song Xiuzhu lived well, he’d assumed all the children must be living the same way.
He’d made an enormous mistake! How shallow his younger self had been. He’d been so immersed in his own suffering and confusion that he couldn’t see the darkness around him. He’d gone there to help those children, but in truth he’d done nothing at all.
Lu Congzhi looked straight into Song Xiuzhu’s guilty, shifting eyes and said, “But I can’t help it. I saw everything clearly. I knew that what you took should have belonged to every one of us. You monopolized resources meant for all of us, and you have to admit that. The director abused her power for personal gain and committed criminal dereliction of duty, and you have to admit that too.”
Song Xiuzhu couldn’t admit it. He shook his head. “I’ll say it again. If you’re accusing the director of being a criminal, you need evidence. How did she abuse her power? Where was the dereliction? A few words out of your mouth have no legal force.”
Lu Congzhi pulled his wallet from his trouser pocket, took out a photograph, and tossed it onto the table. “Your father was the director’s first love. Here’s a picture of them together, bought from one of their old university classmates. One hundred percent authentic. She doted on you like her own child. When you had a fever, she looked after you personally. Tang Hu ended up disabled because of her negligence. If that isn’t abuse of power for personal gain, what is?”
Song Xiuzhu stared at the photograph in astonishment.
The man in the picture resembled him so strongly that anyone could tell they were father and son. The director gazed at his father affectionately, with one arm around his waist. Their relationship was obvious.
“Fuck! That’s disgusting!” Yu Binbin slammed his hand on the table. “If you want to raise your lover’s kid, take him home and pay for him yourself! You leave him at the welfare institute to eat and live off the state, and you even steal resources from the other orphans? What the hell do you call that? Fuck, that’s digging away at the foundations of socialism!”
Zhou Ming looked at the photo, then at Song Xiuzhu, and a flash of contempt crossed his eyes.
Wen Rui also looked toward the tabletop. Song Xiuzhu hurriedly covered the photograph with his hand, trembling with fury. “Lu Congzhi, is digging into my private life really so entertaining?”
Lu Congzhi shot back, “You know I hate the director, yet you keep bringing her up in front of our classmates and poking at my wounds. Is that entertaining to you?”
Song Xiuzhu had no answer. He regretted it. He should never have kept putting Lu Congzhi down just to feed his own sense of superiority. He should have stayed as far away from Lu Congzhi as possible.
Seeing that Song Xiuzhu had fallen silent, Lu Congzhi chuckled and added, “If you think it’s entertaining, then so do I.”
Song Xiuzhu could no longer withstand the attack. He needed to end this discussion quickly, so he stood up and said, “I don’t want to discuss the past with you. I never had any part in those things, and Tang Hu’s disappearance wasn’t my doing. Your hatred of me is completely unfounded.”
Lu Congzhi shook his head slightly. “I have my reasons.”
Song Xiuzhu’s heart tightened. “What?”
Lu Congzhi looked at him, his voice icy. “My dislike of you has a reason. Song Xiuzhu, you’re far too skilled at manipulating people. The rest of us called her the director, but you insisted on calling her Director Mom. You were flaunting your position, because you thought you ranked above us other orphans.”
“We were unwanted stray kids, while you were the director’s child. The moment you called her ‘Mom,’ you separated yourself from the rest of us into two unmistakable classes.”
“At New Year, you were responsible for serving us food. At the tea gatherings, you handed out sunflower seeds, peanuts, and candy. You weren’t being hardworking. You were showing us that you controlled the institute’s resources.”
“When we ran up to you holding our bowls, begging for a few extra pieces of meat, your smile held the smug pleasure of knowing you could control us. You used the power to distribute resources, and the authority you borrowed from the director, to dictate the lives of over three hundred orphans. If you told them to go east, none dared go west. Their only choice was to put you on a pedestal.”
“I’ll admit it: you’re a genius. It’s as if you were born knowing how to exploit and rule over other people.”
“But I refuse to accept it. I believe that in a place like a welfare institute, every child who’s lost their parents is equal. The state has given us that right. I won’t accept your exploitation and domination. I won’t accept your system of dividing us into classes. That’s the real reason I despise you. Do you understand?”
Lu Congzhi’s gaze sharpened. He said each word distinctly. “Song Xiuzhu, there’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you: we live in a new society now, and in this society people aren’t allowed to devour one another.”
Those words were devastatingly heavy, carrying more meaning than anyone could readily absorb.
Who could have imagined that Song Xiuzhu, so gentle and kind, generous and eager to help others at school, had behaved like that at the welfare institute?
Yu Binbin imagined himself in those children’s place and immediately felt sick.
“Fuck, we were all orphans! Who the hell made you better than anyone else? What the fuck were you showing off for?”
Song Xiuzhu’s pale face flushed crimson. He’d never imagined that Lu Congzhi, hiding in some corner, had seen through all his petty calculations. The man was frighteningly calculating.
He wanted to defend himself, but suddenly remembered that Wen Rui had volunteered at Sunshine Welfare Institute and knew about those things too.
With a start of dread, Song Xiuzhu couldn’t help looking at Wen Rui.
Wen Rui smoked slowly, his handsome face expressionless and his eyes very dark. He recalled how, after school, a crowd of children would gather around Song Xiuzhu to carry his schoolbag, put on his slippers, and fetch his coat.
He remembered holidays when the children crowded around Song Xiuzhu, speaking ingratiatingly and holding up their empty bowls.
The scenes he’d once found heartwarming had now changed meaning entirely. What had looked like kindness, innocence, diligence, and popularity turned out to have been carefully calculated.
Wen Rui was now on full alert. His brows drew together.
From that one tiny change of expression, Song Xiuzhu knew Wen Rui’s opinion of him had turned unfavorable.
Defending himself was useless. He could only strike back. Song Xiuzhu sneered. “Lu Congzhi, you say you don’t believe in class distinctions. You don’t oppress other people. You treat everyone as an equal. Then tell me, why is Yu Binbin your dog?”
Yu Binbin pointed at his own nose in astonishment.
Fuck, since when had he become a dog?
Lu Congzhi couldn’t help laughing softly. He pulled Yu Binbin over and kissed him on the cheek.
Wen Rui’s eyes flickered, then he silently closed them and sighed inwardly. These straight guys. There’s no helping them…
Casually shoving Yu Binbin away, Lu Congzhi said lazily, “Binbin told me his father was about to go bankrupt. In thirty-eight-degree heat, I stood on the roadside in a thick suit to intercept Davis for him. To give his family’s factory a chance to recover, I traveled all over Dongguang in ten days until the soles of my shoes wore through. I gave him my bank card and the PIN and told him to spend whatever he liked. I started a company with him and guaranteed a million-yuan loan for him. If the company goes bankrupt, I’ll shoulder the responsibility alone. If I have one piece of meat, I’ll make sure he gets the tenderest bite. You call that oppression? Class division? Treating someone like a dog?”
Song Xiuzhu couldn’t answer any of the three questions.
Lu Congzhi waved dismissively, bored. “If you say it is, then I suppose it is.”
Song Xiuzhu felt as though he couldn’t breathe. He genuinely hadn’t imagined that Lu Congzhi would treat Yu Binbin so well. He’d casually guaranteed a million-yuan loan. Wasn’t he afraid Yu Binbin might run off with the money?
There was nothing but envy in Zhou Ming’s eyes as he looked at Yu Binbin. That wasn’t merely a roommate. That was a brother in everything but blood.
Wen Rui had long known what sort of person Lu Congzhi was, so none of it surprised him.
Yu Binbin was almost in tears. He threw an arm around Lu Congzhi’s neck and planted several fierce kisses on his cheek, making loud smacking noises.
“Brother Lu, you’re so good to me! You’re my real big brother!”
Lu Congzhi shoved him away in disgust. “Get lost.”
Yu Binbin went along with the shove, falling backward and yapping softly, “Woof, woof, woof! I’m Brother Lu’s dog.”
Song Xiuzhu: “…”
No words could describe his humiliation at that moment.
But Lu Congzhi had no intention of letting him off. He went on slowly, “Song Xiuzhu, you’re too fake, too hollow, too selfish. You grab every advantage you can and then act aggrieved. You always want to stand above everyone else, yet you’re so good at keeping up appearances that no one notices.”
“I know your true nature too well. Frankly, the idea of starting a business with you leaves me uneasy. I’m afraid you’d sell me out, and I’d still be counting the money for you.”
“If Wen Rui hadn’t sincerely invited me, there’s no way I’d step into this pit with you there. A dog that bites doesn’t bark, and a poisonous snake makes no sound. That describes you perfectly.”
“So let me say it plainly today: I will never get along with you. From now on, if you leave me alone, I won’t touch you. But if you bring your welfare-institute tricks into the company and use the public authority entrusted to you for private gain, I’ll fucking take you down, and I won’t hesitate.”
This was the entire point of tearing off the mask. Surely, after hearing all that, Wen Rui would finally be wary of Song Xiuzhu and keep his guard up around him?
It was in poor taste to badmouth someone behind his back. If Lu Congzhi was going to destroy someone he disliked, doing it to his face was much more satisfying.
Song Xiuzhu shook with rage.
Lu Congzhi turned to Wen Rui, his voice carrying a warning. “And you too, class monitor. If you put personal relationships above company interests the way the director did, I’ll call a board meeting and have you removed. I didn’t become the second-largest shareholder to sit here as decoration. I’m here to help lay the foundations of this company’s empire.”
Wen Rui suppressed every complicated emotion on his face and gazed deeply at the sharp-tongued young man. Suddenly, he gave a low, delighted laugh.
“Lu Congzhi, inviting you into the company was the wisest decision I’ve ever made.”
Song Xiuzhu whipped his head around to stare at him in disbelief.