The Deepest Color of the Night

Outside the window, the dusk is gorgeous, music is heard from a distance, and the fountain splashes crystal-like light on the green grass.Fang Jin walked through the long, empty corridor and stood in front of the study door.

He raised his hand, and before he could touch the thick dark brown peach wood door, he heard a familiar voice from inside: "Come in."

Fang Jin stared at the warm wood grain on the door, pushed the door open and walked in after a while.

Gu Mingzong was leaning on the leather swivel chair behind the desk, his expensive suit jacket was unbuttoned, and his two long legs were resting casually on the edge of the table.He turned over a page of the hardcover bronzing cowhide poetry anthology in his hand, and lazily read: "Castacoldeye, onlife, ondeath, horseman, passby—"

"President Gu," Fang Jin said with a bow.

Gu Mingzong asked lightly: "What do you think of this sentence?"

The mahogany door closed behind him, and the faint voices of people in the distance suddenly disappeared.There was only the ticking of the grandfather clock in the study, otherwise there was silence.

Fang Jin swallowed saliva into his parched throat.

"I thought you preferred the line: 'Heartsarenothadasagift, butheartsareearned'."

"—People's hearts can only be won by people, not gifts." Gu Mingzong laughed, folded the book and threw it on the table: "Come here."

Fang Jin walked to the large desk step by step, while Gu Mingzong leaned deeply in the swivel chair, looked him up and down with lazy and sharp eyes like a resting lion, and said after a while: "You're thin. How did Gu Yuan treat you?" Sample?"

"...Young Master is very strict with his subordinates." Fang Jin said, each word went around in his brain before it came out: "Probably because he has very high self-demand, it is inevitable that he is also strict with his subordinates. "

Gu Mingzong didn't take it seriously: "It should be like this, but it's true that he doesn't hurt people."

"No, I'm not saying..."

Gu Mingzong raised his hand to stop him, then opened the drawer and took out the beautifully printed gift slip, and threw it to him: "Your."

Fang Jin knew it would be like this.

There is an antique stand next to the antique-style floor clock, and on the wall is an exquisitely framed horizontal couplet, which is written in a thin gold script with the words "Government, people and harmony".Although due to the relationship between age and wrist strength, the strokes and strength of the strokes are a little weak, but the shadow of the thin and crisp strokes has emerged.

Fang Jin still remembers that when he was writing this picture, he was wearing white cotton pajamas, holding a pen, and stood attentively in front of the Chengxintang rice paper in the late Qing Dynasty; He couldn't forget an iota.

It is the look of admiring a flower, a painting, or simply looking at a beautiful bird in a cage.

After the four words were written, Gu Mingzong seemed very satisfied, so he put them away immediately.After a while, I would like to come back again and found that it has been framed and hung on the wall.

This is almost a picture that laymen think it is good at first glance, but insiders can see the moisture.However, there is no inscription or signature, and most outsiders think it was written by Gu Mingzong himself. There is no other comment except "Mr. Gu is really elegant!" "Good calligraphy!" Most of my works, plus ten years of further study, are comparable to Huizong's old works.

Fang Jin wanted to say that I haven't really written much in the past few years, and the congratulatory gift is placed with me, if the elder and younger see it, wouldn't it be more suspicious.However, after thinking about it, he swallowed the words again, and said: "Thank you. But this time I am here, there is actually another thing I want to ask of you."

Gu Mingzong signaled him to say.

Fang Jin took out the card holder from his trouser pocket, opened it and took out the Citibank unlimited black card, and gently pushed two fingers along the table in front of Gu Mingzong.

"I would like to ask you to take this back, because I am now working in the company of the young master, and my monthly salary is enough to support my life. It is useless to keep this secondary card..."

Fang Jin's voice was steady, but he could feel his palms getting slightly wet.If Gu Mingzong reached out to touch it at this time, he would immediately find this abnormality.

But Gu Mingzong didn't do that, he didn't even lift his eyelids:

"Let it go."

Only then did Fang Jin breathe a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart, feeling as if a huge boulder had been lifted from his heart.

Gu Mingzong laughed, didn't say anything, just changed into a more comfortable posture: "I knew that Gu Yuan would bring you back this time, after all, he pushed away nine of the people I sent to the subsidiary before. , you are the only fruit left, and being nice to you is tantamount to showing weakness to me. What? How do you feel when you come back?"

Fang Jin hesitated and said, "I saw Madam Chi outside just now."

Gu Mingzong was not surprised: "What did she say?"

"Madam Chi didn't say anything in front of the two young masters, Gu Yuan and Gu Yang. Later, when I met alone in the auditorium, she asked me if I was in good health and who I was with now."

Gu Mingzong said "Oh", "Did she mention her niece?"

"No--"

Fang Jin paused suddenly, thinking of the man in front of him who used to kill three birds with one stone, an incredible thought popped up in his mind: "Could it be that you did it on purpose..."

Gu Mingzong put his legs back on the ground, sat upright and said with a smile, "Come here, let me see if you've lost any weight."

Fang Jin was terrified, and after a while, he walked over slowly, walked around the desk and stood in front of Gu Mingzong.At this time, the sun was setting outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window, and the afterglow dyed the sky golden red; Fang Jin was standing sideways, but it happened to be in the shadow of the angle between the antique clock and the desk, and he looked very thin. trembling slightly.

Gu Mingzong stared at him with a smile, as if waiting for something.The two looked at each other for a moment, and Fang Jin finally knelt down by the tall armchair and put his hand on Gu Mingzong's strong knee.

This gesture reveals an irresistible surrender amidst the meekness.

There was originally a lazy look in Gu Mingzong's eyes because everything was under control, and it was difficult to be interested in anything, but it changed slightly at this moment.He condescendingly looked at Fang Jin for a while, and then stretched out his hand to caress that cold and delicate chin: "What did you say I meant?"

Fang Jin's Adam's apple slid up and down, but he didn't make a sound.

"I intentionally pressed the timing and carried her mother and son around so that she would see you following Gu Yuan. Then she would think that even you and I were able to send him to help him. This kid is really different from what he used to be now. Forget it, I should rush to put eyeliner on him; then she will give up my almost impossible goal and recommend my niece to Gu Yuan..."

Gu Mingzong seemed to find it very interesting, and continued: "And Gu Yuan is born with a rebellious mind, so he will definitely refuse. Chi Wanru is different from Gu Yang, who is kind and forbearing. She is a person who will never give up until she achieves her goal. Gu Yuan In the end, I can't help but pinch her..."

His strong fingers ran down Fang Jin's neck, caressed the bright and warm collarbone, and then penetrated into the bottom of the clothes, as if playing with a very delicate, precious and fragile porcelain.

The neckline of Fang Jinbai's shirt has been loosened by two buttons, he took a breath, and suppressed the slight tremor at the end: "But why are you doing this—"

"Because Gu Yang himself doesn't dare to fight with his elder brother." Gu Mingzong said leisurely: "He is too tactful and lacks courage. After being caught by Gu Yuan, he only knows how to give money to women to seek peace; I am very dissatisfied with the clumsy method, it is like two children playing house in kindergarten."

It turns out that he is aware of the open and secret struggles between the Gu family brothers these days!

A chill rose in Fang Jin's heart, but in contrast, a certain nerve in his body gradually trembled and tensed under the more and more wanton touch, so that even his breathing began to be unsteady.

"I'm telling you so that you can protect yourself wisely and be an assistant honestly. Do a job, get a salary, and don't be swept away by the tail of the storm." Gu Mingzong leaned over Fang Jin's ear, smiled and said: "Look, It pays to stay out of the way."

When he said the last few words, his breath was on the sensitive auricles. Fang Jin suddenly grabbed Gu Mingzong's wrist. And glowing bluish white.

Gu Mingzong turned his head to look at him, and saw that Fang Jin's temples were drenched with sweat, and his hair showed a soft and oily black; while his cheeks were as white as soaked in water, so innocent and ready to be slaughtered, as if he was finally killed A small animal that has nowhere to go under the butcher's knife.

"..." Fang Jin slowly turned his face to meet his gaze, as if the begging expression in his eyes had been washed away by water, he whispered after a while, "I...I have to go back later..."

Gu Mingzong patted his face with a smile, then straightened up and looked down at him, saying, "Take it off yourself."

·

A wind blows in the dark shadows, wiping the cold earlobe and sweaty neck, as if countless small and sad human voices are swept by the wind, and disappear in the dark and cold corner of the building in an instant.

The young Fang Jin sat on the steps, tears streaming down her immature cheeks.But he didn't dare to let go of crying, so he had to barely hold back his sobs, because of excessive choking, he would burp from time to time.

"who are you?"

Fang Jin raised his head, and there was a little boy in a jersey standing in the backlight under the steps.

"...Who are you? Why are you crying?"

Fang Jin wanted to speak, but was interrupted by sobs, so he shook his head.

The little boy stepped forward suspiciously, and stared at Fang Jin condescendingly for a while.He looks like he is only eleven or twelve years old, but he is much taller and stronger. He probably has never seen Fang Jin with such a snow-white tearbag. After a while, he carefully poked Fang Jin's face with his finger: " Hello? What's the matter with you?"

"..." Fang Jin continued intermittently, "I...my parents...dead...dead..."

The little boy was silent for a while and said, "My mother died too."

He sat beside Fang Jin, and took out a neatly folded white handkerchief from his trouser pocket: "Here, here you are."

Sobbing, Xiao Fang Jin took it and wiped her face, but she wiped more and more tears, and soon soaked the whole handkerchief.The little boy was dumbfounded, and shook his head, "You little girls just cry a lot. Why are you here? Who let you in?"

"I'm not...I'm not a little girl...They want to sell me into this house..."

"Ah?" The little boy showed an exaggerated expression: "When will our family buy a little girl?"

"I'm not a little girl...Wow!..."

The little boy stared at Fang Jin's wet and beautiful tender face without blinking his eyes, and said in disgust: "If you are so ugly, you still cry, and you will be even uglier if you cry again. My name is Gu Yuan, what's your name?"

Fang Jin whimpered, Gu Yuan?

He is that Gu Yuan? !

Suffocating fear instantly enveloped Fang Jin's whole body. His heart almost stopped beating, and he even forgot to breathe. His first reaction in the chaos was to jump up and run like a rabbit.

"Hey!" The little boy was shocked: "Where are you going? Come back!"

Fang Jin jumped down the steps and ran desperately into the distance, and heard the little boy roaring behind him: "Hey! Give me back the handkerchief! It's my mother's handkerchief!"

Fang Jin didn't even dare to turn his head. He seemed to hear footsteps behind him, like a little boy chasing after him.But he was so scared, he had never run so fast in his life, only heard the sound of the wind whistling past his ears, and then he stumbled.

The sense of weightlessness came suddenly, as if falling from a cliff into a bottomless abyss.

"……what!"

Fang Jin sat up suddenly, his chest heaving violently.

The inner room was lit with orange-yellow dim light, Gu Mingzong sat on the other side of the big bed, facing the laptop without raising his head: "What?"

"..." Fang Jin suppressed his breath and said hoarsely, "No...it's nothing, I fell in a dream."

The inner room of the big study can be regarded as one of the most private places for Gu Mingzong in the whole manor, because when he was young, he often worked until early in the morning and rested here directly, so the decoration is very luxurious and exquisite, and the matching bathroom, cloakroom, and tea room are all available .

The room in the circular building is extremely spacious, and the bedside lamp is only on the side of Gu Mingzong, so most of the space is shrouded in darkness, and the thin white quilt is piled up on the bed sheet, showing a kind of warmth Clean pale yellow.

Gu Mingzong's typing on the keyboard stopped, and he raised his hand to make a gesture.

Fang Jin leaned over slowly, Gu Mingzong pressed the back of his hand on his sweaty forehead for a while, felt his pulse behind his ear, put down the computer and went to the tea room.After a while, he came back with half a cup of hot water and motioned for Fang Jin to drink it up: "You have a fever."

Only then did Fang Jin feel dizzy and feel uncomfortable palpitations.

"A low-grade fever caused by emotional agitation and overthinking does not need to take medicine." Gu Mingzong said again, "Just sleep and you will be fine."

Fang Jin drank the hot water in one gulp, feeling his heart palpitations gradually stabilized.He turned his head to look at the mobile phone on the bedside table. It was already three o'clock in the morning, and more than 20 missed calls were displayed on the screen.

He was stunned, took it over and saw that it was all Gu Yuan, and the records of incoming calls continued until after two o'clock, he must have been looking for him all night.

"You don't need to call back," Gu Mingzong stared at the computer screen and said, "You can't live without the assistant, it's not weaned."

Fang Jin's heart moved, but it didn't show on the surface at all: "However, there may be something urgent to ask me..."

"What's the matter with him? Gu Yang invited him out to a sideshow tonight."

Of course Fang Jin knew what Gu Yang meant by "sideshow", paused his fingers for a moment, then put the phone back on the bedside table as if nothing had happened, and only listened to Gu Mingzong's order behind him: "Give me that tablet in the drawer. "

Fang Jin opened the drawer, and there was indeed something similar to a tablet computer inside.Gu Mingzong took it, and did not shy away from Fang Jin. He entered the four-digit password in front of him. After turning on the computer, an electronic writing screen was displayed on it; he signed a name on the writing screen with the other end of the pen, and then prompted After the handwriting verification passed, a window popped up on his computer, indicating that the purchase order had been sent.

"What is this?" Fang Jinqi asked.

"Recently, I signed a contract for the purchase of shares in the company, and asked the master account to transfer money." Gu Mingzong said lightly: "It's none of your business, go to sleep."

A trace of doubt flashed across Fang Jin's mind for a moment, as if he smelled some kind of uneasiness subconsciously, but when he was about to delve into it, the feeling disappeared without a trace.

——That actually comes from his instinct, which has been cultivated by men like Gu Mingzong for so many years, and has a keen sense of smell and premonition for crises.

Fang Jin lay on the soft and snow-white pillow, trying to connect all the erratic unease again, but he became dizzy as soon as he started thinking, and the dizziness caused by the low-grade fever made him very distracted.He closed his eyes, and felt that Gu Mingzong reached out to tuck him in the corner of the quilt, and then the bedside lamp flicked off.

The room was finally plunged into darkness.

·

Just as Fang Jin expected, Gu Yuan did look for him the whole night.

At the reception, when Gu Yuan first found out that Fang Jin had disappeared, he only thought that he was looking for a place to eat.But in the middle of the reception, Chi Wanrufei pulled him to introduce her niece from her natal family. Gu Yuan was impatient and wanted to find Fang Jin to save the scene, but he couldn't find it at this time, so he became a little irritable.

At the end of the reception, he was invited out by Gu Yang. At that time, he kept calling Fang Jin, but no one answered.Finally, at two o'clock in the morning, he came home smelling of alcohol. He tried to pat on the door of Fang Jin's room, but there was no answer, and the last call was unsuccessful, so he dropped his phone and fell asleep on the big bed.

Gu Yuan woke up the next morning, went downstairs and sat at the breakfast table with a heavy face, only to see a typical western breakfast in front of him - bread, bacon, fried eggs and roasted tomatoes, and a large cup of fragrant hot latte.

Gu Yuan has studied abroad for many years, this is actually his usual breakfast template.But last night, Gu Yang was desperately drunk, and when he woke up in the morning, he didn't have the sour bamboo shoots and old duck hangover soup prepared by Fang Jin, which made Gu Yuan's unhappiness that had fermented for a whole night almost show on his face.He put the knife and fork on the snow-white tablecloth, turned his head and asked the housekeeper, "Where's Fang Jin?"

The housekeeper dared not speak.

Gu Yuan's sharp eyes caught the strangeness in his expression, and doubts arose in his heart. Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly heard Gu Mingzong's cold voice from behind: "You can't eat without an assistant, can you?"

Gu Yuan looked back, and saw Gu Mingzong coming in from the door of the restaurant, followed by Chi Wanru, who had already dressed up and walked gracefully, a few steps behind him.

"..." Gu Yuan stood up and said calmly, "Father."

Gu Mingzong looked his eldest son up and down, but without saying anything, he pulled out his chair and sat down.

For Gu Yuan, this is actually the most disgusting situation, because Chi Wanru is beside him.Gu Mingzong reprimanded him much more than Gu Yang since he was a child, and every time Chi Wanru was by his side, he would subtly follow with a few words of eye drops.

People who grew up in aristocratic families have a strong talent for this kind of insidious language. Gu Yuan has learned to understand the wit in other people's words without a teacher since he was seven or eight years old.But although Gu Mingzong didn't bother to pay attention to Chi Wanru, Gu Yuan couldn't turn against her in front of his father, so he was always disgusted, so he could only find an opportunity to secretly prank Gu Yang later.

Gu Yuan was ready to take another move, but to his surprise, Chi Wanru remained unusually silent today, and immediately followed him to sit at the bottom of the dining table.

...Is your play right?

Gu Yuan was cutting the bacon, and glanced to the side from the corner of his sharp eyes.I saw that although Chi Wanru's makeup was exquisite, her face didn't have much color on her face, and her side was faintly stiff, unlike the image of the recently proud Gu Jiazhun as the head of the house; moreover, the corners of her mouth were tightly pursed. People seem to be deliberately avoiding the illusion of something.

There was never anyone talking at the Gu family's dining table. Gu Yuan had something on his mind, so he quickly finished eating and got up to say goodbye, and strode out.

Gu Mingzong held a coffee cup in one hand, and read emails on his mobile phone in the other, until Gu Yuan's figure had completely disappeared at the end of the corridor outside the restaurant, before he said calmly, "What do you want to ask?"

Chi Wanru stopped immediately with the hand holding the knife and fork.

In just a few seconds, countless conjectures flashed through her mind, and all of them were wiped out in her throat.It took a while for her to decide her sentence, and she asked as calmly as possible: "I just thought... just now I happened to meet you when I came down from upstairs, and then I came to the restaurant with you. It's really a coincidence."

Gu Mingzong's tone was not even the slightest turmoil: "I waited for you on purpose."

Under normal circumstances, Chi Wanru should feel happy, but now there is an indescribable coldness rising along her limbs and bones: "Is it for showing to the young master?"

"I think too much, for everyone to see."

Gu Mingzong finally pressed the phone, and looked at her with a gracious and interesting smile.At that moment Chi Wanru almost saw her reflection in his deep eyes, but she knew it was a very pale face.

"Fang Jin is in good health, so follow me." Gu Mingzong answered the two questions she asked Fang Jin at the reception last night one by one, and then said with a smile: "Thank you for your concern, but you remember this matter is rotten in your stomach."

"..." Chi Wanru took a deep breath, and it took a long time to hear her own calm voice: "Got it."

·

Gu Yuan walked quickly through the corridor, passed his own door without stopping, and went straight to the next door and took out the key.

The subordinates he and Gu Yang brought back lived next door to their respective bosses, so they could gather at any time for a meeting to discuss how to be shady, and how to create opportunities to step on their brothers in front of their father.Gu Yuan brought very few people this time. Fang Jin lived in the small bedroom next to him. When he came back drunk late last night, he knocked on the door, but no one answered. Fang Jin probably didn't come back to sleep at all.

So when Gu Yuan went out of the restaurant, he went directly to the butler and asked for the key. He opened the door and saw that the bedroom was empty, but there were a few replacement clothes scattered on the bed.

"Fang Jin?" Gu Yuan frowned, turned around and saw that the bathroom door was open, Fang Jin was soaking in the steaming bathtub, his expression was full of astonishment.

Gu Yuan: "..."

Fang Jin opened his mouth and closed it, and then closed it again. After repeating several times, he made a weak sound: "The doorbell...is outside."

Gu Yuan asked back: "Why don't you close the bathroom door when you take a bath?"

"..." Fang Jin had no words to answer, subconsciously sank into the bathtub full of hot water, only showing the parts above the neck.

In fact, it was nothing at all. Once when Gu Yuan was taking a shower in the company's gym, he even called Fang Jin to send him new underwear.But now seeing Fang Jin's subtle and subconscious movements, Gu Yuan suddenly had a very strange feeling rising from the bottom of his heart, as if he was not at ease anywhere, and even had a feeling of turning his eyes away from that bare neck. impulse.

This is too ridiculous, he thought.Fang Jin is not a little girl, so there is no need to be so weird.

Gu Yuan simply leaned against the door, crossed his arms, looked down at Fang Jin in the bathtub and asked, "Where did you go last night?"