Liar
“Brother, actually, my company is in pretty good shape right now. The factory, the machines, and the workers are all in place. We’re just short of a little… Haha, as long as you’re willing to put in a little, you’ll be my biggest shareholder, without a doubt! The factory will definitely get back on its feet. I’m not someone who likes to brag. My factory was doing quite well before. It only stopped operating because the overall environment was bad, because of some external factors… In short, little brother swears here today, as long as I can turn things around in the future, you’ll be my great benefactor, Brother. I’ll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life. Once the company starts making money, it’ll be like I’m making money for you, Brother. How about it?” Peng Dong waited earnestly for a word from Liu Sizhao. As long as he agreed, his company would be saved.
The furnishings in the first-floor living room had not changed much compared with ten years ago. Peng Dong remembered that there had been a lot of redwood furniture in the living room back then, and those pieces were all still there. But many postmodernist paintings had been added to the walls, all clusters of colors and lines that were impossible to make sense of. It was easy to see from this that Liu Sizhao did not like the aesthetics of the older generation. He could even be said to have gone completely against them. He could have cleared away everything he did not appreciate, but he had not. He had merely let the living room take on this kind of mixed style.
Peng Dong hoped he would be just as broad-minded when it came to human relationships. Everyone in their circle had known one another since childhood. All those years of friendship had been for this very moment, to save a life when it was needed. That was why he had even brought Madeline along. The two of them had started dating when they were fifteen or sixteen, and they had broken up and gotten back together more times than anyone could count. After all these years, both her family and his own were showing signs of decline, and that very decline had instead bound the two of them a little more tightly. If each of them had been living wealthy and contented lives, they might not necessarily have stayed together. When a great storm comes crashing across the sea, people are more willing to trust someone from the past.
“Brother Sizhao, please consider us. Xiao Dong will definitely keep his word today, not the slightest bit careless about it. I’ll keep an eye on him! We’re engaged already. All that’s left is to hold the wedding. It’s just that he can’t let go of the factory. He’s been running around every day trying to sort it out. Brother Sizhao… I’m really begging you.” As Madeline spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened.
As if tapping piano keys, Liu Sizhao lightly tapped the armrest of the wooden chair. The deep red wood took on a lustrous, oily texture in the afternoon sunlight.
“You two actually managed to find this place…” Apart from a few trusted confidants, no one knew where he had gone. Only old acquaintances like Peng Dong and Madeline could find their way here.
“I told you on the phone. I’ve already given up my authority, but it seems you don’t believe me. According to procedure, you should go and talk to the people at Yusheng Group. Wouldn’t that be better?” His expression turned serious. “By rights, I shouldn’t even be listening to you talk about these things. It’s unreasonable both in public and in private. Yusheng Group isn’t some second-rate family business that doesn’t know how to conduct itself. The way decisions are made there isn’t even a matter of the Liu family having the final say. How could I decide the investment direction on behalf of so many shareholders?”
Who would believe that he had relinquished his authority at twenty-eight? Peng Dong felt that Liu Sizhao simply did not want to concern himself with whether he lived or died. This man had always made only the “correct” decisions, never decisions based on personal relationships. Peng Dong knew his style well enough. Only decisions that maximized profit were “correct.” From the smallest things, like splitting up and streamlining the supply chain, to the biggest, like mergers and restructuring among the companies beneath them, when had he ever shown mercy? When something needed to be cut off, he had never hesitated.
Madeline asked timidly, “Brother Sizhao, now that you’ve left, who will manage the company?”
“The person has already been chosen, but he’s not mature enough yet. He’s currently gaining experience down below.”
The moment Liu Sizhao finished speaking, Madeline burst into tears. “Could it be… that it’s come back?”
When Liu Sizhao was in his teens, he had suffered a serious illness. It had taken Uncle Liu an enormous amount of effort and every means he could think of. It was only after they found someone willing to donate bone marrow that he recovered.
Peng Dong’s heart jolted. So that was what had happened. That explained everything…
Liu Sizhao’s life afterward seemed unaffected by that serious illness. Everything had gone smoothly for him, all the way through. His education was impeccable, he had achieved success at a young age, and hardly anyone outside knew that he had ever suffered that illness.
They had almost forgotten about what happened back then, too. Only a sensitive woman like Madeline would have made the connection.
“Yes. It’s come back. Will you spread the news?” he asked. “If you do, the stock price will fall the next day.”
At a time like this, he could actually still smile. Peng Dong and Madeline looked at each other, utterly at a loss for words. Back when he had first fallen ill, when his condition was not yet serious, he would even show up every weekend, appearing at the little Western-style house. He had seemed completely normal then. No one had expected that he was ill at the time.
There was no way they could bring up the matter of asking him to invest anymore. The eldest Liu brother had suffered a relapse and had been forced to come to the mountains to recuperate. Who could possibly bring themselves to ask him now?
Madeline cried and cried. Even Peng Dong managed to squeeze out a few tears, urging the eldest Liu brother to rest well. Good people would be blessed by Heaven. He would definitely recover.
“It’s not that I’m heartless and unwilling to help you. It’s just that there are rules and regulations everywhere, and I can’t casually make an exception for someone. The future and development of the group are in the hands of the decision-makers. If I make the wrong decision, it will inevitably drag down the employees below. Xiao Dong, coming to me isn’t a shortcut. If your company has the strength, they’ll invest in you.”
At that moment, the front door was knocked three times, and someone walked into the Liu family’s little house from outside. The woman wearing a straw hat had a paper bag filled with peaches and pears in her arms. She walked straight through the hall, only nodding once as she passed Liu Sizhao. “I’ll put them in the refrigerator in the kitchen.”
That offhand remark explained everything.
Third Auntie had told Zhuyu that she should take care of Sizhao a little. He had helped her last time, so half the fruit should go to him. Zhuyu had sent Liu Sizhao a message before coming over.
She did not feel there was anything more she needed to say, no need for concerned questions or repeated pleasantries. She did not like that sort of thing, and she felt that Liu Sizhao did not want to listen to so much pointless talk either.
Madeline stared at her in surprise the whole time. Once she entered the kitchen, Madeline hurriedly turned back to Liu Sizhao and said, “That’s the person we were telling you about just now. She sells pears along the road. Then she demanded an outrageous price, five hundred yuan a jin, and even said that she was the owner of the mountain. She was obviously just making up a reason to jack up the price, saying it was because Xiao Dong didn’t finish eating the pears…”
But Liu Sizhao remained completely unfazed. “Peng Dong must have said something offensive. This mountain really does belong to her family.”
Now even Peng Dong felt that something was off. Not only did Liu Sizhao know this woman, he was actually taking her side.
Zhuyu came back out carrying a glass bowl filled with washed fruit. “Where’s the peeler? I didn’t see one in the kitchen.”
Peng Dong had watched Liu Sizhao all day, and for the first time, he made a big movement. He actually stood up and took the plate of fruit the woman handed him with both hands. “I know where it is.”
Since he knew, Zhuyu left it at that. She glanced at the couple without saying a word.
By the time Liu Sizhao found the peeler and was about to personally peel and cut up the fruit on the plate, Peng Dong had already pulled Madeline along and hurriedly said their goodbyes.
Who would dare sit there and calmly eat fruit he had peeled for them? They could not afford to accept such a grand gesture. Besides, they had offended the wrong person today. That woman who sold fruit clearly had some kind of relationship with Liu Sizhao, perhaps even that kind of relationship…
Zhuyu took off her straw hat and sat on the sofa, watching Liu Sizhao peel the fruit one piece at a time. He was very good at it. Sometimes he could even peel the skin without breaking it.
“When Aunt Zhou was too busy to get away, as long as I was here, I was the one who peeled all the fruit. Did you know that?”
She rested her chin on her hand, watching him deftly cut the peach in half and divide it into small pieces.
“I didn’t know before. Now I do.” He stuck toothpicks into the pieces of fruit and held them out to Zhuyu. “All right, then you don’t have to thank me now. I didn’t thank you before either, so now we’re even.”
Zhuyu blinked and made a new request. “Really? Do you have Greek yogurt, or condensed milk? I’m used to pouring those over the pieces of fruit.”
Liu Sizhao thought about it, intending to search the refrigerator for something. “There definitely isn’t any Greek yogurt. As for domestic yogurt… there might not be any either.”
“I was joking.”
He was being so gentle and civilized now, abandoning the young master mannerisms of the past. Zhuyu thought it might have something to do with age. Once people reached a certain age, they more or less learned to put on a bit of a respectable front.
After all, there was nothing about her that anyone could gain from.
“Those two told you what happened this afternoon, right? I won’t bother defending myself. Anyway, the moment I open my mouth, I’m bound to say nothing nice about them.” Zhuyu folded her arms, rolling her eyes again when she mentioned them.
Now that Liu Sizhao was no longer acting like the eldest young master, she still had that young lady’s temper. For some reason, she was not afraid of letting him see this sharp and cutting side of herself. He had already seen her true face at the convenience store at midnight. There was no point pretending to be gentle and demure now.
“They did. I also told them that I paid fifty yuan for those pears, because you don’t exactly like me either.” He watched Zhuyu’s indignant expression with interest.
“My Third Aunt, my dad, they both like you. If they found out I charged you fifty yuan a jin, they’d curse me to death…”
“But if I let you choose, you’d definitely want to charge me fifty yuan a jin, wouldn’t you?”
You already know, so why ask? Zhuyu restrained the urge to say it aloud.
“You said your illness had relapsed… You were joking about that too, right?” Seeing how relaxed his expression was, Zhuyu felt that the statement obviously sounded like a lie. Those two were simply too slow to see through it.
Liu Sizhao took a sip of black tea. “It’s true that I was sick before, when I was seventeen or eighteen. Don’t you remember how pale I always looked back then? Normally, I stayed in the hospital. When I was feeling a little better, I would come back here.
“Just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, a disease that lives in the blood, even if it is suppressed once, may not necessarily fail to come back a second time. It’s all part of the laws of nature.”
Zhuyu stopped chewing and spoke slowly. “You’re joking, right?”
“All of us have to follow the rules.” Liu Sizhao shrugged.
“Is it serious?” She lowered her voice involuntarily. “Will… you die?”
Liu Sizhao lowered his voice as well, imitating her. “What, it’s not you who’s sick. What are you afraid of?”
Seeing how unserious he was being, she became certain of her guess again. “Hmph. Then you’re a liar.”
“You’re right. I do lie quite often.” Liu Sizhao put down his silver fork and looked at her with a faint smile.
“For example?” Zhuyu deliberately picked only the soft peaches to eat.
“For example…” Liu Sizhao thought for a moment. “For example, just now. I could invest in Peng Dong’s company, but I don’t want to. As a chemical company, their technology is already outdated, and they haven’t kept up with the latest developments. Besides, places like Vietnam are developing very well these days. There are plenty of factories there that are cheaper than theirs. It’s bad enough that their company has no strength left to carry on. Peng Dong’s personality is even worse. He’s ambitious to the point of vanity and stubbornly self-important. When faced with difficulties, all he can think of is speculation. He has no resilience whatsoever. Even if I put my money in, it would only be throwing it away.”
Zhuyu’s expression did not change. She continued eating the pink-and-white pieces of fruit, offering not a single thought on this somewhat serious topic.
She merely thought to herself that Dad’s plan was not going to work. Liu Sizhao was simply that kind of person. He would never make a decision involving money out of consideration for an old relationship. Even if an old acquaintance he had known since childhood begged him desperately and wept in front of him, he would not yield an inch. His heart was just as hard as it had been before.
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