Chapter 301 He Surrendered (2/2)

Lin Su told Chang Baji that her last time contacting Qin Sheng was last night, after he went home. Chang Baji thought it over and then called Gu Qingyang, who had been driving for Qin Sheng these two days and might know where he was. Gu Qingyang was surprised when he received the call. He was waiting for Qin Sheng at the gate of Golden Coast this morning, but he had not met him yet. He sent a message to Qin Sheng but got no reply. He thought Qin Sheng might be occupied with some business. Gu Qingyang didn’t call Qin Sheng either for fear of disturbing him, and just waited there.

Receiving the call from his Senior Uncle, Gu Qingyang said directly, “Senior Uncle, I sent Brother Qin home then I went home last night. I arrived where he lives at seven o’clock this morning, but haven’t met with him yet. If he’s not home, I have no idea where he is either.”

Above all, the only possibility left was his home in the Golden Coast. As Gu Qingyang said, if Qin Sheng was not home, then nobody could tell where he was. Hangzhou was such a big city, with millions of people living in. It was far too easy for someone to disappear into thin air and nobody could find him or her.

So Lin Su and Chang Baji both drove to the Golden Coast respectively.

Lin Su and Chang Baji almost reached the Golden Coast at the same time. Lin Su was, obviously, deeply worried about Qin Sheng. She met Chang Baji and asked anxiously, “What happened to him these days?”

Chang Baji, of course, could not tell her the truth of that incident. So he tried to hide it and said, “I was not in the city recently. I have no idea either.”

So Lin Su turned to Gu Qingyang and asked, “Qingyang, do you have any idea?”

“I don’t know. Last night, when I sent Brother Qin home, I didn’t find anything different.” Gu Qingyang shook his head. He thought there was something wrong with Qin Sheng because of the beautiful woman, his first love, that he met yesterday. Of course, Gu Qingyang should never tell Lin Su about this, or it might cause a “family conflict”.

Lin Su frowned helplessly. Now, the only thing she could do was take Chang Baji and Gu Qingyang home and check whether or not Qin Sheng was home.

They opened the door and found nobody in the sitting room or the bedroom. Chang Baji went to check the study and then found that the door was locked. He was greatly relieved then, realizing that Qin Sheng had to be inside.

“Is he in there?” Lin Su asked and frowned. She saw Chang Baji’s face.

Chang Baji told her, “The door’s locked. He must be inside.”

Lin Su made up her mind and then went to knock on the door. She asked, “Qin Sheng, are you in the study?”

But nobody answered. She knocked again and asked, “What’s wrong with you? You’re scaring me.”

Before Lin Su finished her words, Qin Sheng opened the door.

When the door opened, Lin Su and Chang Baji were both totally relieved. But Qin Sheng looked terrible, with disheveled hair, a dirty face, and empty eyes. The study was in a mess with a disgusting smell of wine and cigarettes.

“Why are you all here?” Qin Sheng was trying to pretend to be normal. No matter what had happened, he would never let Lin Su know about it and get worried.

Lin Su was almost angry and said, “Why are we all here? Ask yourself. You turned off your phone and nobody could find you. We were worrying that you might have gotten into some trouble.”

“I’m cool. I was thinking about something. As for the phone, I think it might need to be charged.” Qin Sheng showed a smile and seemed to be all right.

Lin Su was suspicious, but since there were other people there, she just said, “Well, don’t do it again. You really scared everybody.”

Qin Sheng saw the worry on Lin Su’s face and saw Chang Baji’s anxiety and concern. Now he was more sure that he had made the right choice.

“OK. I got it. I’m hungry now. I haven’t eaten anything since last night,” Qin Sheng said as an apology and touched Lin Su’s hair.

Lin Su felt satisfied now and said, “I’m going to do some cooking.”

After Lin Su left, Qin Sheng said, “Qinyang, take a rest in the sitting room. Lao Chang, I have something to talk to you about.”

Chang Baji and Qin Sheng entered the study and closed the door. It was messy inside with cigarette butts here and there and two empty bottles of Chinese white wine. It was obvious that Qin Sheng had spent a night struggling with something.

“That thing… I’ve already made my choice,” Qin Sheng said. He opened the window for ventilation. “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“So, is this the reason why you did all these things last night to corrupt yourself?” Chang Baji asked in a sarcastic voice. Now he understood why Qin Sheng’s phone was off—he was escaping from reality.

Qin Sheng said nothing. It was silent in the study.

Chang Baji continued to say, “Do you know what being mature is? Being mature means compromising. You have to compromise with someone or something sometimes. I know you have your own principles and personality. But those who want to live in this society have to adjust themselves to the environment. This is the golden rule of living, or the game rule of this world. It might be hard to learn how to stoop and stand erect at one time. At least, you should let the thing go after it happens. If you can’t make it even for this small thing, then how can you fight with the unexpected difficulties in the future? Only some people can lower their head and stoop to their enemies. But if one can do this, then what didn’t kill him will make him stronger.”

Chang Baji rarely gave a long lecture to others. But he had complex feelings toward Qin Sheng and he didn’t want to see Qin Sheng be beaten to death by cruel reality.

Chang Baji’s words delighted Qin Sheng little by little. Qin Sheng thought that Chang Baji was right. He was lucky enough to survive this time. But if he trapped himself in a cage of past failures, how could he confront the next one?

“Do you know lungfish? It is actually an amphibious animal. It can breathe in the water with its gills and on land with its lungs. If it lived in a place with nothing, it can eat and drink nothing, staying in the mud but still living for a few years. You’ve overcome a couple of storms. You should know this. Those things that didn’t kill you will make you stronger,” Chang Baji said, his voice becoming even firmer.

If Qin Sheng still could not let it go after hearing his words, then Chang Baji would be totally disappointed with Qin Sheng and he might leave. It was the worst result for someone to lose his confidence and ambition.