I loved you so deeply

Chapter 45 Life and Death (5)
He put Gu Jin on the bed, grabbed her ankles to take off her shoes, and then pulled off the jacket covering her face.

From the beginning to the end, Gu Jin didn't wake up.

He sat on the small sofa and stared at her, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, thinking she was pretending to sleep.

But looking at it, Pang Zheng felt something was wrong.

Gu Jin's cheeks were very red, and his breathing was a little heavy.He took off the cigarette and touched her forehead with his hand, and it was a little hot as expected.

Pang Zheng threw the cigarette aside, and suddenly smiled helplessly.

For three days and two nights, traveling from City B to Beijing to Hong Kong and then to Cape Town was like a dream.

Tan Yu sent him a message saying that your daughter-in-law was living a lively life in Africa and was about to run away with a mustache. He was in a meeting at the time, and his hands shook when he took out his phone and saw the photo.

In the photo, Gu Jin was wearing a white T-shirt, next to the man with the beard and long hair, the two of them were standing in the sunset of Cape Town, talking sideways.He suppressed the excitement in his heart, and calmly replied to Tan Yu: "Where is it?"

Tan Yu said, can the tens of millions of dollars owed to you be written off in one stroke, the research laboratory is currently in short supply...

He said double for you.

Then he set off overnight. Because of the relationship with the ocean-going fleet, he prepared all the documents and materials for going to Africa, and secretly asked others for help under the banner of Pang Lei.Pang Zheng couldn't describe his feelings along the way, he was afraid that he would go and she would not be there, he was afraid that there were others around her, he was afraid of all kinds of things from her.

So he waited on the boat, and he knew that she would definitely come.

until finally meeting her.

It's really hypocritical. Pang Zheng reached out and touched her face. Didn't he live like a dragon and tiger along the way? He looked at the photos in her camera, and every smile was like a flower. Now when he comes, she will be sick He is sick, like an obedient kitten, and he has lost the sharp-tongued momentum he used to have.

Gu Jin's breathing was hot, because she tilted her head and pressed her cheeks, her lips were slightly parted, and her sleeping posture was very much like a baby after a full meal.Pang Zheng moved his hand to her two plump lips and stroked gently, she whispered, wrapping his fingertips unconsciously.

Pang Zheng shook his hand.

At this time, there was a knock on the door.

Pang Zheng withdrew his hand and opened the door with a calm expression.Lei Xi was standing at the door, and when he saw the door opened, he looked in warily to make sure that Gu Jin was fine, and then said, "I've troubled you enough today, and Hu Peng and I don't want to occupy your place anymore." Dormitory, if you are not busy, it will be dawn soon, let's go to the deck to chat?"

Pang Zheng closed the door softly: "Okay. But she has a little fever, I have to find a doctor for her first."

There is a doctor on board.

Lei Xi hurriedly said: "There is a local girl named Sana in our company. It is fine for the doctor to let her take care of her. After all, they are all girls. You are a big man, so it is inconvenient."

inconvenient?
Pang Zheng stared at Lei Xi for a while, then licked the corner of his mouth with the tip of his tongue, and smiled meaningfully.

Gu Jin slept for a long time this time, and when he woke up again, it was already broad daylight.She lay in the cabin and opened her eyes. The small room of seven or eight square meters was empty except for her. Outside the window was bright sunlight and noisy sounds. There was a cup of steaming water and a few boxes of capsules beside the bed.

Gu Jin thought that he had boarded the boat that Leixi rented.

She sat up, bowed her head, feeling lost in her heart.Subconsciously, she always thought that there was someone beside her, and he was familiar with the smell and body temperature of his body. He had a cold face with her, and even lost his temper. He said that you can really make a fuss.

I don't know why I fell ill, and I was fine all this way, Gu Jin licked her dry lips, put on her shoes, and planned to go out to see the situation.

Unscrewing the door of the cabin, Gu Jin realized that the boat was different from what he had imagined. It was impossible to see the end at a glance, and it was definitely not the one they rented.

There were also boatmen in orange clothes carrying things in the aisle, back and forth, yelling softly.Standing in their orderly and busy line, Gu Jin looked even more like a different kind.

She looked around and asked the closed doors of the opposite rooms, "Sana?"

No one responded.

She called again: "Leixi? Hu Peng? Are you there?"

Still no response.Gu Jin took out her mobile phone, looked for the numbers of Lei Xi and Sana, and walked out.There were many forks in the cabin, and she had no sense of direction, so after turning two turns, Gu Jin was lost.

It seemed that all hatches were the same, and there was no one to be seen at a glance. She called out a few more times, but no one responded.

Gu Jin started to panic a bit, she looked back in a daze, there was only a narrow path, the one she had walked when she came in just now.

After a long time, she cautiously called out a name: "Pang Zheng?"

Still no response.

Gu Jin felt sore eyes for no reason, lowered his head and quickly opened the address book, his fingers were fast and anxious, because it was a local card in South Africa, there were not many people in the address book, Gu Jin found the word "Lei Xi", just now About to press it down, suddenly, a hand stretched out from the room on the right side of the cabin, dragging her in.

Gu Jin leaned against the door, and there was a muffled sound when his back collided with the door.Pang Zheng stood in front of her, with a hand on her shoulder.He was very close to her, with his warm breath on the tip of her nose, and asked her in a low voice, "Looking for me?"

He changed into a set of gray sportswear, which was clean and refreshing, as if he had been waiting here for a long time.

Gu Jin's eyes were red, she turned her head to avoid his gaze, and said calmly, "Who is looking for you."

The meowing sound was so subtle that it was almost inaudible outside the door, but he did hear it clearly. She was calling "Pang Zheng" softly and tentatively.That "Pang Zheng" sounded like the unconscious murmur she had woken up many nights before, she said Pang Zheng, I was thirsty, she said Pang Zheng, did I roll the quilt away again?She said Pang Zheng, get up, it's going to be too late.

She always called him by his first name and last name, as if she knew these two words at her fingertips, and called him with confidence.

She was still holding the phone in her hand, and it was parked on the Lacey interface in the address book. He took it over and started to look through the things inside.

Gu Jin was furious and struggled to kick him: "Give it to me!"

Pang Zheng seemed to have never heard of it, so he put a hand on her forehead, and then took a step back to distance himself from her.He has long hands and long feet, no matter how Gu Jin grabs him, he can't touch him, he barks his teeth and claws.

There are only a dozen people in the address book, the traveling companions, the airport information desk, the hotel owner, her mother, Yin Bailu, except him.Pang Zheng felt very sarcastic: "Yin Bailu told me that you sent her a photo. I didn't believe it at first, Gu Jin, you know to visit your mother, and you know that you can contact Yin Bailu when you are happy. You have covered everything, why don’t you know to reply to my message?”

He handed the phone to her, and opened the WeChat interface. There were dozens of his unread messages on it, at different times and dates, but the same two words: "Where are you?"

For half a year, there was no news.

Pang Zheng held back his breath and stared at her: "If you want to separate from me so much, you can't see each other forever?"

Gu Jin stopped struggling and lowered her eyes: "Is Bai Lu alright?"

Pang Zheng smiled shortly: "Very good, I opened a restaurant and became the proprietress."

Gu Jin still asked: "Then what about uncle and auntie? Are they all right?"

Oh, even my parents didn't call me anymore.

Pang Zheng said leisurely: "It's also very good. I got promoted and moved to live in Beijing."

He deliberately said it lightly, what he meant was that without you, Gu Jin, everyone is living a very good life, better than before.

Gu Jin stopped asking, Pang Zheng let go of her, and threw the phone on the table at the door, she picked it up, and silently put it back into the pocket of her jeans.Because of her illness, her face was a little pale, and her eyes appeared extraordinarily large.

She licked her lips again, her eyes were wet because of the fever, always like a puddle of water in her mouth, Gu Jin looked up at him by the door.

Her hands were behind her back, her fingers were twisted together, and there was a faint hope in her eyes that made it impossible to see: "What about you? How are you?"

He turned his head, awkward and blunt: "It couldn't be better."

Gu Jin asked back, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised: "Then why did you come to Africa?"

"Think I'm here to see you? Or do you think I'm here to pick you up?" He leaned on the back of the sofa behind him and asked sarcastically, his expression suddenly became pitiful, "So confident?"

The hope in Gu Jin's eyes was instantly extinguished, she blinked her eyelashes, and breathed slowly.

He stabbed her in the heart without haste: "The ocean-going fleet has received an order to export medical equipment to Africa. I will escort the ship. It is a coincidence that I ran into you."

Gu Jin straightened up from the door panel, and did not continue this topic: "Have you seen Lei Xi? I can't find them."

Pang Zheng pointed to the door with a cold expression: "Go out and turn right, go straight, and you're in the restaurant."

Gu Jin said, "Thank you."

She turned around and touched the doorknob, it was cold, she thought for a while, then turned her head again: "Pang Zheng."

"Ah."

"Where are you going next?"

He meant something: "Wherever the boat goes, I will go there."

Gu Jin nodded, and said to him seriously: "Africa is a mess, you have to be careful, don't hold the phone in your hand, and don't bring too much money with you. A few days ago at the pier, Tan Yu gave me a box of medicine , said it can prevent high-risk malarial influenza, if you see him, remember to ask him a little bit."

Pangzheng was silent.

Gu Jin added: "Before, the mobile phone signal was not good, and I often didn't check it once a week outside. Every time I received your message, I might already be in another place. I will go with them at the next stop." Cape of Good Hope."

Pang Zheng remained silent.

After waiting for a while, Gu Jin saw that he did not speak, so she closed the door gently and left.

Everyone in the restaurant was eating, and when they saw Gu Jin coming, they asked her to sit down.

Professor Zhang had a smile on his face: "It's rare to meet a noble person. He is willing to let us rest for a night. Knowing that you are sick, he specially asked the chef to make a sick meal. Come over and eat. After eating, we set off."

Gu Jin sat down next to Sana, and Lei Xi was opposite her, and glanced at her: "Fever gone? Can I leave today?"

"I can go, it's fine."

In front of everyone were milk and bread, but in front of Gu Jin was a bowl of fragrant porridge.The chef is a fat middle-aged man wearing a tall chef hat. When he saw Gu Jin coming, he wiped his hands and came out to greet him kindly: "Our boss specifically explained that there are sick people and the conditions on the ship are limited. , please bear with me if I didn't do it well."

Gu Jin took a sip of the congee, it felt like what her mother made when she had a cold, it was light, warm and soft, with an aftertaste of rice fragrance.She put her head down and finished eating in one breath, and thanked the chef politely.Before leaving, the fat chef took out a few white rabbit milk candies from his pocket and gave them to her to eat.

Gu Jin followed Lei Xi and the others to disembark with their luggage.

She doesn't look sick at all, she can carry luggage, tell jokes, chat with Hu Peng to make them laugh, and use her thinking that is different from ordinary people to make Lei Xi half dead.

After leaving here, she was that lively Gu Jin again.

All the way south, ready to go.Sitting in the viewing cabin on the first floor, Gu Jin gave Lei Xi a thumbs up: "You can go."

Lacey steered, smiling: "Wait a little longer."

Gu Jin asked, "Who are you waiting for?"

Lacey pointed out the window, beckoning her to look: "Wait for him."

In the sun, Pang Zheng was wearing a gray sportswear with half sleeves, cropped pants, slippers, exaggerated sunglasses, and a huge hiking bag, grinning at them on the shore.

Smiling arrogantly and proudly.

That smile was for Gu Jin alone.

Gu Jin understood, where the boat he was talking about was going, and where he was going, it was this boat.

He said that wherever she went, he would go there.

With black smoke rising from the stern, the ship headed south, toward the Cape of Good Hope.

The compass pointed to the north at twelve o'clock at noon, and the automatic driving direction was set. Lei Xi handed over the rudder to Hu Peng, and went to rest on the second-floor terrace deck alone.

The sky is clear, the sun shines brightly on the sea, shining golden light, making people lazy.

On the deck, Pang Zheng was sitting cross-legged and smoking, his slippers were thrown aside by him, and his feet were bare.

Lacey walked over and sat down next to him.

The cockpit was stuffy, and he was sweating profusely, being blown by the sea breeze, which made him feel much more comfortable.Pang Zheng handed him a cigarette, shook the fire and brought it to him.

Lacey clasped his hand, lowered her head and lit it.

The taste of this smoke is different from the Yellow Crane Tower and Yuxi they usually smoke. It is light, not choking, and has a simple fragrance of shredded tobacco, which is a high-quality product.He took it off and looked at the cigarette holder, but there was no sign.

He put it back to his mouth and took two more puffs, then sighed: "Can you arrive at three o'clock in the afternoon?"

Pang Zheng looked down at his watch: "Almost."

Lacey smiled: "Your watch is not bad."

Pang Zheng turned his wrist and withdrew his hand: "My wife gave it to me."

Lacey nodded, freeing up one hand to fiddle with the camera, occasionally aiming at a certain position on the sea to click the shutter.Pang Zheng asked him, "How long have you been in this business?"

"Over 20 years."

Pang Zheng returned to him exactly what he said about himself yesterday: "Excellent."

It was a little windy at noon, and the boat was swaying with the waves. Sana was vomiting outside the fence on the first floor because of seasickness. Gu Jin stood beside her, holding water and towel thoughtfully, and patted her back.

Both men turned their gazes to the fence below, and looked at the figure in unison.

"When she first started with us, she suffered a lot," Lacey said.

Pang Zheng: "Have you suffered a lot?"

"Yes, a lot of bitterness." Lacey's voice was mellow, with the magnetism unique to his age, "We met at the Nairobi airport. At that time, she was like a squeamish lady, dragging suitcases, wearing sportswear, I want to go to the Masai Mara to watch the great migration of animals, so I followed me and asked timidly, can I join you?"

Pang Zheng couldn't help drawing that picture in his mind: she was carrying a bag and pulling a suitcase, wandering around the airport aimlessly, and then saw Hope's eyes full of anticipation and innocence.

Lacey continued: "She has asked this question. What can we say? They are all Chinese. The borders of Africa are so chaotic. It is impossible to let her run around by herself. At first, I was afraid that she would not adapt, so I said A lot of things to scare her, but she agreed without even thinking about it."

Pang Zheng stared at the gentle and thin back and chuckled: "Yes, this is her."

When you know what's going on, you just stab your head in, and you don't look back if you don't see blood.

Lacey also smiled: "The first day when she squatted in the woods to take pictures of elephants, she was bitten by a poisonous mosquito. She didn't tell us at first, and we didn't know about it until after nine o'clock in the evening after the shooting. She came to me in a sneaky way and asked me if there was any medicine that could be rubbed. Insects are poisonous in Africa, and who knows if it was bitten by mosquitoes. It was hot again, and she was given medicine, and she soaked the needle in alcohol to let the blood out, and she was alive and kicking again the next day."

Lei Xi observed Pang Zheng's expression, and continued: "And photographing rhinos and zebras in Nakuru, you have to nest in the mud, the water is too cold for me as a grown man, let alone the smell. She took care of Professor Zhang, and specially chose a place with deep water, her face turned pale within two hours, and when she returned to the hotel at night, she was so uncomfortable that she didn't even eat, and curled up on the bed for several hours."

Pang Zheng flicked the cigarette ash and lowered his head.

He never knew before that Gu Jin was so tolerant, able to endure everything he knew or didn't know.She doesn't talk or tell you how deeply she's hurt.

She never, will not give you any chance to turn your head and feel sorry for her.

After Sana vomited, Gu Jin helped her back, fearing that she would be exposed to the sun, so she covered her head with his own skin clothes, and her arms were white and thin under the sun.

The two men disappeared from their sight.Lacey asked calmly, "You like her?"

Pang Zheng generously admitted: "I like it."

Lacey asked again, "Did you like it before you came to Africa, or after you came here?"

"Before."

Lacey stopped asking, he understood.In Pang Zheng's eyes, he saw what he had seen in Gu Jin's eyes.

It was a kind of paranoia that could not be explained in words, but it was a very strong and specific emotion.

That's why Lei Xi once gave up on Gu Jin.

The boat was getting closer and closer to the Cape of Good Hope, and a few nautical miles away, you could even see the small protruding headland.

"I used to be tempted by her, and I also had the idea of ​​'handling her off' halfway."

Pang Zheng crushed the cigarette butt for a moment, and then he crushed it harder: "Thank you."

"Thanks for what?"

(End of this chapter)