Duan Qizhao was watching with fear.
Jiang Xun's back was straight, his lips were pursed into a thin line, his eyes were red, and the watery light illuminated by the fluorescent lamp hung on the tips of his eyelashes and trembled again and again.
Duan Qizhao has never seen Jiang Xun look like this, it seems like it is really about to break.
His shoulders were shaking, and he was sitting there in a small ball, with the hair all over his body exploding, but there was no anger in his eyes, only a kind of confusion and sadness that made people dare not look directly.
Duan Qizhao silently moved half a hand towards him, finally stretched out his arm, hesitated for a moment, and gently placed it on Jiang Xun's back.
Jiang Xun raised his eyes suddenly.
The pair of red eyes looked directly at the director, and the corners of his mouth pulled up into a smile.
"Director," his voice was hoarse, "Don't you want to record the interview? Let's start."
The director put the file bag back into the bottom of the equipment box and zipped it to the end.
She didn't ask what Jiang Xun wanted to do. She could probably guess it, but unexpectedly she didn't dissuade her. She just made a gesture to Old Zhao and the radio guy.
Old Zhao picked up the camera again and focused the lens on the boy on the sofa. The radio guy moved the boom half a meter forward and said OK to the director.
The director raised three fingers and pinched them one by one.
Three, two, one.
The red light comes on.
Jiang Xun looks straight into the camera.
The eyes were still red, but the chin was slightly raised, as if he was looking at a far away place behind the camera, somewhere where he was sure someone must be watching.
"Shen Wangjing."
The crisp and bright sound penetrated all the rustling equipment noise in the living room. Duan Qizhao on the side held his breath for a moment after hearing that name.
"Do you think you are doing me a favor by carrying everything?" Jiang Xun leaned forward, her beautiful face almost facing the camera, and her eyes were burning with fire.
"You left me on the top of a mountain, told me to forget about you, and then ran away with a cane until no one was left. Do you think you are particularly great? You are particularly responsible?"
He paused and laughed.
"Fart."
"I only give you three days. Within three days, you stand in front of me in person. If you want to explain, I will give you a chance to explain. If you want to do it, I will accompany you."
"But if you don't come within three days, you will never see me again in this life. I will do what I say, you know."
Duan Qizhao gasped next to him and watched helplessly as Jiang Xun jumped off the sofa after saying the cruel words and turned to look at the director.
"Okay, I'm done. This segment must be broadcast. If you dare to cut it for even one second, I will block you at the door of your studio."
The director raised his head from behind the monitor, took a deep breath, and said, "No cutting."
Jiang Xun nodded with satisfaction, grabbed the half-eaten box of fried chicken from the coffee table, and went upstairs with bare feet.
Duan Qizhao jumped up from the ground, caught up to the stairs and stopped again. He looked back at the director, who waved his hand to him, and he immediately ran up the stairs three steps at a time.
The living room was quiet for a moment. The radio guy squatted on the ground to collect the cables and said in a low voice, "Director, if this episode is really broadcast, it will be a hot topic."
The director didn't answer, so she dragged the playback on the monitor to the beginning and watched it again from the beginning.
In the picture, the young man with red eyes spoke cruel words to the camera, his chin was raised high, his voice was crisp and bright, and every word he said was like a knife - stabbed at the ears of that unknown person, and also stabbed at himself.
Three days, he gave Shen Wangjing three days.
And will Shen Wangjing come--
The director's heart was heavy, and no one dared to bet on the answer to this question.
-
At the same time, Shen Yuxing, who was in his room, put his mobile phone to his ear, and the receiver beeped for the fifth time before he was picked up.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Aunt Liu, it's me, Shen Yuxing." He leaned against the wall, unconsciously picking at the edge of the phone case with his fingertips, "Has my brother contacted your family recently?"
"Xingxing," the nurse's voice became softer, "Your brother has never come back, nor has he called. But don't worry, Grandpa Shen has been in good spirits these days, and he even ate half a bowl of porridge yesterday."
Shen Yuxing lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment.
The nurse probably thought that the child was worried about his grandpa, so he rambled on and reported some daily routine - Grandpa Shen had sunbathed in the sun this morning, the new nurse Xiao Zhou's cooking was more to the elderly's taste than her, and the town's canteen had a new kind of soft bread that Grandpa Shen liked to eat.
"By the way," the nurse suddenly remembered something, "Yesterday I went to the town to withdraw money, and there was another remittance on the banknote. As before, I called on time every week without leaving my name."
Shen Yuxing's fingers picking at the phone case stopped.
"One every week?"
"Isn't that right? Starting from the week your brother was discharged from the hospital, he will not miss a week."
The nurse paused and asked curiously, "Do you think it was your brother who remitted the money? But why didn't he come back? You could have called him, so quietly -"
"Aunt Liu," Shen Yuxing interrupted her, "Which city did the remittance come from?"
"I didn't notice this. I'll ask the people at the credit union for you next time I go to town."
Shen Yuxing thanked him and hung up the phone.
He turned the phone over and clasped it in his palm.
Since the day his brother disappeared, a sum of money has been transferred to the card he applied for his grandfather every week, which is just enough for his grandfather's medicine and the wages of two caregivers, with more than enough.
The remittances arrive every week and the people are still there.
As for where he was, what he was doing, and why he didn't come back - he couldn't ask these things, and even if he asked, he wouldn't have an answer.
His brother has always been this kind of person, he will carry it on his own if the sky falls, and he won't say anything if he can't carry it.
It was like this when I blocked an ax for him when I was a kid, it was like this when I was buried under the mine for six hours, and it's still like this now.
Since Shen Wangjing disappeared, Shen Yuxing has not reacted as violently as Jiang Xun, and has not even shed a tear in front of anyone.
He went to class as usual, went to the cafeteria as usual, and did his duties as usual. He looked no different from before.
Only after turning off the lights at night, he would adjust the brightness of his mobile phone to the lowest level and look through the old photo of Shiban Village in the photo album over and over again.
In the photo, Shen Wangjing is standing under the jujube tree, with the skylight hitting him from behind. The outline of his brow bone is very hard, the corners of his mouth are pursed, and he is not looking at the camera.
Shen Yuxing suddenly remembered what Shen Wangjing said to him on the phone before going to the mine - "I will work in the mine for a while. The wages are high. If I save enough, I can go there Capital City."
He asked Shen Wangjing why he came to Capital City to save money.
Shen Wangjing didn't answer, but Shen Yuxing guessed that his brother was saving money so that he could stand on Capital City's territory and not face the boy with bright eyes empty-handed.
But he probably had enough money to come to Capital City, but he refused to show up.
Brother, what are you hiding from?