The unscrupulous system forced me to frantically test the small black room

Tao Zhi lay on the sofa for a long time but didn't see Gong Cheng come to work, while his desk was already piled with work documents.

This was obviously a very strange thing for Gong Cheng, who was loyal to his duties and always came to work.

It was almost lunchtime and Tao Zhi still hadn't seen Gong Cheng coming. Finally, he couldn't help but jump up from the sofa and left the office. Tao Zhi found the female employee in charge of attendance and asked her, only to find out that Gong Cheng had taken a leave today.

Ask for leave?

Even if Mars is about to hit the Earth, Gong Cheng will probably finish his work before Mars hits.

Tao Zhi pouted and sent a message to Gong Cheng.

He tapped on the keyboard for a long time and typed "Why did you ask for leave?" Then he hesitated for a moment and deleted it completely.

After thinking about it, I sent the message "Where have you been?"

Tao Zhi looked at the message and waited for Gong Cheng's reply. In the past, Gong Cheng would reply immediately, but this time he did not reply for a long time.

Tao Zhi and others became annoyed and tried to watch videos to divert their attention, but they were so impatient that they couldn't help but click back to the chat page to take a look after watching only two videos.

Just when Tao Zhi was getting a little impatient, Gong Cheng's news popped up.

"On the Nancheng Mountain." Gong Cheng said.

Tao Zhi was a little confused after reading the news. Nancheng Mountain, as its name suggests, is a mountain. There is nothing on the mountain except a bunch of tombstones. Why did Gong Cheng go there?

"Why are you going there?" Tao Zhi asked.

"Today is my mother's death anniversary." Gong Cheng replied.

When Tao Zhi saw these four words clearly, his pupils contracted for a moment and he felt a pain in his heart.

"Positioning." Tao Zhi replied.

After sending the message, Tao Zhi frowned and waited for Gong Cheng's message to pop up, but it was another round of waiting. Seeing that Gong Cheng didn't reply to him, Tao Zhi thought that he didn't want to see him now.

Tao Zhi waited for three minutes without any response, picked up his coat on the sofa and walked out, called out to the female employee to ask for leave for him, then hurriedly took a taxi to Nancheng Mountain.

On the way, Tao Zhi stopped the driver, got off the car, bought a big bunch of sunflowers at the flower shop, and then got back in the car.

There was a pop-up message on the phone, it was Gong Cheng sending his location.

The driver drove away after dropping Tao Zhi off. Tao Zhi looked at the stairs in front of him, sighed, and resigned himself to climbing up while holding the sunflower.

When Tao Zhi finally finished climbing the stairs sweating profusely, he walked a few steps in the direction of the location and saw the forest of tombstones. There were endless tombstones as far as the eye could see.

Gong Cheng, dressed in a black suit, stood quietly among the tombstones, his lips tightly pursed, his eyes dull and lifeless. He just stared at the tombstones in front of him with loneliness. The silence enveloped Gong Cheng like a tide.

The wind from the forest blew up Gong Cheng's hair, adding to the sadness.

Tao Zhi's heart sank, and his steps became heavy as he walked over with the sunflower in his arms. When he walked behind Gong Cheng, Tao Zhi did not say anything to disturb Gong Cheng, and Gong Cheng did not turn back when he heard Tao Zhi's footsteps.

Tao Zhi bent down and placed the sunflower in his arms in front of Li Yunrong's tombstone, and stood quietly beside Gong Cheng.

"How do you know my mother likes sunflowers?" Gong Cheng asked.

"When I went to the hospital before... forget it, I bought it blindly." Tao Zhi changed the subject.

Gong Cheng reacted after hearing this and realized that it must be his mother who mentioned this to him when his husband would secretly go to the hospital to visit and take care of his mother.

Tao Zhi's eyes fell on the black and white photo of Li Yunrong. The woman in the photo had a faint smile on her face, and her eyes were full of tenderness.

Tao Zhi couldn't help feeling bitter.

I had promised her so much, but in the end I still broke my promise and hurt Gong Cheng so much.

She probably doesn't want to see her own.

The only thing to be thankful for is that Gong Cheng is developing more and more outstandingly according to the trajectory in the novel, and his brilliance is becoming more and more dazzling.

As destined, he will stand on a high platform and receive blessings and admiration from the world.

And this stain of mine will finally be washed away soon.

Tao Zhi suddenly noticed that the tombstone looked a bit old. It didn't look like it had been moved here just recently, but rather like it had been exposed to the wind and sun for quite some time.

Tao Zhi's heart trembled when he thought of a possibility.

Tao Zhi glanced at Gong Cheng, his throat feeling a little dry.

"Were you back three years ago?" Tao Zhi asked.

Gong Cheng responded with an almost inaudible "hmm".

After a few moments of silence, Gong Cheng spoke.

"My mother said that even if I die, I want to be buried in the soil of my own country," said Gong Cheng.

Tao Zhi also fell silent, he understood everything in his heart.

When Gong Cheng was abandoned by himself and went abroad, the Gu family arranged for Gong Cheng's mother to go with him. However, she was already beyond medical treatment at this time and died of illness not long after going abroad, leaving Gong Cheng alone and helpless.

Gong Cheng, who was already confused, clumsily handled his mother's funeral by himself, imitating the adults' way, and then traveled thousands of miles back to his own country with his mother's ashes for burial.

When Gong Cheng was in the most pain and needed me the most, I was still doing some insignificant and childish things because of a broken heart.

Tao Zhi lowered his head, his heart torn by emotions.

"Sir." Gong Cheng called out in a gentle voice.

This voice of "Sir" sounded very much like the one in those days, and the strings in Tao Zhi's heart were plucked in an instant, causing ripples.

Tao Zhi raised his head and looked at Gong Cheng. At this time, Gong Cheng's eyes were a little red and wet, but his eyes were full of tenderness.

"Actually, I went to see you secretly three years ago," said Gong Cheng.

Tao Zhi's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He said nothing and just waited quietly for Gong Cheng's next words.

"I was in a daze after burying my mother, and by the time I came to my senses, I had already walked to your villa."

"I saw you lying on a lazy chair in the yard, basking in the sun, with the little Baka jumping and playing beside you."

"You are still as carefree and carefree as before. It doesn't matter whether I am here or not."

"I was hiding outside the fence and secretly watching you, and I was thinking, what a slut I am."

"Even though I know you don't want me anymore, I still subconsciously want to see you when I feel the most helpless. I want you to hug me and comfort me like before."

"I even fantasize that if I walk towards you crying now, will you hold me in your arms and tell me that you regret it and that you find that you still love me."

"But I am too weak. I don't even have the courage to beg for mercy from you."

"I'm afraid that my crying will bore you, and that my prayers will be met with your sarcasm."

"At that time, I knew very well that you didn't love me anymore."

"I didn't dare disturb your sweet dream, just like I was carefully protecting my ridiculous dream."

Gong Cheng spoke slowly and calmly, as if he was just narrating a trivial matter, rather than accusing or venting about Tao Zhi's abandonment.

Upon hearing this, Tao Zhi clenched his fists and lowered his head, suppressing the sadness in his eyes.

I was in a daze during the period after the breakup, and life seemed to be dark.

All the time I feel like I am sinking in dark, cold water, constantly struggling and suffocating, but I cannot drown and find rest in it.

Only sleeping and getting drunk could relax my tense heart a little.

Only when my consciousness was hazy did I dare to rush towards the invisible figure regardless of everything, and then cried out "I'm sorry" over and over again in a hoarse voice.

Perhaps at that time, if I missed Gong Cheng to the extreme and saw Gong Cheng appearing so helpless in front of me, I would really lose my mind and hug him in my arms.

"But now I've woken up from my dream and found that reality is not as bad as I imagined."

"At least now I don't have to miss you day and night like before, and I don't have to hope that you still love me."

"Now, I know the answer."

Gong Cheng paused as he spoke, lowered his eyes and looked at Tao Zhi in front of him, letting his deep affection overflow without trying to hide it.

That deep affection fell into Tao Zhi's eyes, and his heart began to panic, and his breathing became uncontrollably rapid.

Tao Zhi involuntarily took a step back, keeping a certain distance from Gong Cheng, and pretending to be calm on his face.

"What's the answer?" Tao Zhi's voice trembled.

Gong Cheng said nothing, but felt torn in his heart as he watched Tao Zhi retreat.

The answer is about you still love me. Gong Cheng thought.

Gong Cheng opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Tao Zhi spoke up to stop him.

"Stop talking, I don't want to know." Tao Zhi said anxiously.

You obviously already know the answer, Gong Cheng thought to himself.

Gong Cheng followed Tao Zhi's wishes and did not say anything else. He just tacitly kept this already public and transparent answer in his heart.