Lili was stunned for a moment. Looking at the skinny young man in front of her who was smiling but had an unusually determined gaze, she sighed quietly and nodded helplessly. Since she had abandoned the child when he needed a mother's love the most, it would be difficult for her to correct him when his character had already formed.
The lunch atmosphere became dull. Zhang Lisheng hastily ate a few mouthfuls and planned to go upstairs to continue his experiment. Right at that moment, his phone rang again.
It was George who called this time. The noisy black young man shouted as soon as Zhang Lisheng picked up the phone, "Lisheng, are you home? You're free this afternoon, right? Come look for me at Dan Souza Butcher Shop, I'll bring you to a great place and meet someone you've never seen before."
"George, is your brother back from his trip?" Zhang Lisheng asked in high spirits.
Ever since the young man returned from the Amazon, he had been troubled by the cryptic words like 'bookmark' and 'book' that Tubalin mentioned. He wanted to look for his genius brother who was also studying 'bookmark' according to George. Never had he thought that the lonely young man who rarely left home would coincidentally go on a long journey and disappear without a trace.
"I'm not telling you now, buddy. Anyway, come look for me right now. Oh yeah, I'll wait for you, hurry!" George said in an annoying tone and hung up the phone.
Zhang Lisheng said 'hello hello …' twice in vain and put his phone in his pocket. He hesitated for a moment and eventually left the house with his backpack.
Braving the cold wind, he jogged all the way to the public parking lot not far from his house and drove his Navigator to Dan Souza Butcher Shop.
The roads in New York City were congested during the weekend. Zhang Lisheng finally parked his car on the road near the butcher shop after stopping for over an hour.
Somebody knocked on his car window all of a sudden just when he was going to get out of the car, "Buddy, open the door now, it's freezing outside."
It was George who was standing outside the window. Zhang Lisheng opened the door and could not help but say to his best friend who was rushing into the passenger seat, "George, are you frozen? You shouldn't be waiting at the butcher shop when it's cold."
"It'll be too late if I wait at the butcher shop. Listen buddy, you're lucky today.
I'll show you the way, let's go to a delicious pizza shop, there're two beautiful girls waiting for us there. "
"After listening to your last words, I felt that it wasn't your brother who returned to New York. But even if I guessed it, I still came to see you with the slightest hope.
George, can you stop playing such boring and childish games? I understand your good intentions, but … "
"Stop butting, Lisheng. The girls are waiting for us. Let's go!" George shouted excitedly. Then, he started to sing an impromptu rap, "Yo yo, yo yo yo, the street in front is colorful …"
"Shut up, George. It's best not to call me next time unless you have a good reason," Zhang Lisheng shouted angrily and started the car.
Under George's guidance, Zhang Lisheng drove around the streets of New York for a long time. He finally heard his best friend say, "We're here. Pull over, it's here." He then stopped the car by the side of the road.
The wind was chilly when he got off the car. It was past two in the afternoon, the warmest sun seemed to have no warmth at all. Zhang Lisheng stomped his feet and saw George shouting all of a sudden, "Hurry, hurry, it's that Uncle John's Steak Pizza Shop across the street!" He ran across the road and rushed into a fast food restaurant.
"Sh * t, even if I want to live a normal life now, it's too extravagant to waste my time on such a ridiculous thing." Zhang Lisheng frowned as he looked at the bearded American uncle driving a fat cow on the pizza shop's signboard. He sighed and walked across the road while mumbling to himself.
As soon as he pushed the door open and entered the shop, a gush of warmth greeted him. The young man shuddered in satisfaction and turned his head to look around. He immediately saw George sitting at a seat near the window in the pizza shop, baring his white teeth and waving at him.
Beside the black youth sat a short girl with braces and a blonde girl with blue eyes, delicate facial features, and a high nose bridge.
Zhang Lisheng was stunned for a moment and walked to sit across George. He looked at the beautiful blonde girl sitting across him without saying a word.
"How's that, buddy? I can tell from your eyes that you're not regretting now, am I?" George said proudly, "I'll go order, what do you guys want to eat?"
"I've had lunch at home.
Ms. Maddie, I can't believe you're still in contact with George after the prom. I didn't expect to see you again. "
"Hey Lisheng, you can't be so rough when you talk to a girl. It's Lina who's been in contact with Maddie lately. They're very good friends now.
Lina learned a lot from Maddie … "George was stunned hearing Zhang Lisheng's tone. He said with a rare serious expression on his face, which was rare for him.
"George, don't blame Mr. Lisheng. There's something you don't know. Can I talk to him alone?"
"Oh sh * t, you guys have a story that I don't know about!" What Maddie said made George recover his cheeky expression in shock. "I'm sorry buddy, I've obviously underestimated your ability. I can't believe that apart from carrying me to the Amazon, you actually carried me and Maddie behind your back as well … Okay, stop pinching me Lina.
I'll leave with you right now. We'll stay far away from each other. "
He ran out of the pizza shop with his girlfriend as he spoke.
Zhang Lisheng said expressionlessly as he watched his best friend walking away from the window, "Ms. Maddie, I really can't figure out why you're still looking for me. Don't tell me that you don't think the reward I gave you that night was enough?"
People hated people who didn't know how to be satisfied. The young man did not seem to be angry but in reality, he might not live to see the sun the next day as soon as the girl gave a wrong answer.
"Of course not, I've heard the fable of the fisherman and the goldfish since I was young. As an ordinary person, I …" Maddie said in excitement, "I … I called you a few times but you didn't pick up, I …"
"Stop beating around the bush. Can you just tell me what's the matter?"
Maddie fell into silence for a while and said with difficulty, "I think you must've noticed that I broke the promise I made that night and cashed the $2,000 cheque that you gave me …"
"I didn't. Please get to the point, okay? My time is limited," Zhang Lisheng said calmly.
His calm and condescending attitude was actually more hurtful to one's self-esteem than arrogance. However, due to the fact that she felt guilty, the girl could not refute him at all. She could only endure the humiliation and said, "Mr. Zhang Lisheng, I-I'm family is in trouble. I'm really at my wit's end, so I had no choice but to cash the check you left behind …"
"I thought you tore the cheque when you were scolding me."
"I … Ha, whatever you say, whatever you say. I've always been looked down on since I was young.
No matter how hard I work and how motivated I am, I'll … I'll still be different from other kids in the end.
Just because of my parents, I'm born to be inferior … "
Zhang Lisheng fell into silence when he saw Maddie becoming a little hysterical. After a while, he said again, "You really seem to be in trouble?"
"What? What did you say? Are you trying to laugh at me? Come on, I'm planning to go to the East Side to stand on the streets anyway. Many girls I know have done that too …" Maddie said in a trance.
"I'll leave right away if you're still acting like this. If you want my help, tell me the whole story."
The young girl was taken aback. She took a few deep breaths and slowly calmed down. Then, she told an old and tragic story. It was nothing more than her father suffering from a serious illness and his life was in danger. There was only a slim chance of survival.
"Doesn't the US have universal medical insurance?"
"However, there are hundreds of thousands of cancer patients who die every year in public hospitals. In private hospitals, as long as the surgery is performed in time and the postoperative treatment is guaranteed, the annual mortality rate is less than 30% even if it's a late-stage cancer.
As for cancer, as long as you survive the first year, you'll have a higher chance of survival. "
"Really? Is that so?" Zhang Lisheng thought about it and said, "But it's not strange. Since it's free medical treatment, it's inevitable that there'll be some discounts.
That's why you're forced to think of me. "
Maddie nodded speechlessly.
"Ms. Tina, I'm not a savior, and we're just in a slightly complicated employer-employee relationship …"
"Mr. Lisheng, I-I was born in the blue-collar area of New York. I-I know a lot and I can do anything.
I'm begging you, it's only 50,000 dollars. You can buy a car for that amount of money. Now, you can have everything I have as long as you give me 50,000 dollars … I can promise you anything as long as you can save my dad.
I'm begging you! I'm begging you! I'm begging you! "
Zhang Lisheng's heart jolted. He looked at the girl carefully and said all of a sudden, "Promise you anything? This is a promise that can't be easily said, especially when you're talking to a wizard."
"I-I know, but I'm willing, I'm willing to swear."
"There's no need to swear." The young man fell into silence for a while and took out a check from his pocket. He wrote a check and placed it on the table. "If you're really determined to promise me anything, you can take this check away.
Remember, you'll be my servant after you take it away. You'll have to listen to everything I say in the future and think about it carefully before you make a decision. "
Maddie stared at the cheque on the table that was covered with light green patterns on a white background. It was written with a signature pen that said 'Fifty Thousand'. It was the cheque that she had been yearning for, but she could not take it no matter what.
She knew very well that this check that could save her father's life was like a devil's contract. Taking it would be equivalent to signing her name on the contract.
By then, this ordinary-looking skinny young man in front of her would naturally have the ability to make her unable to violate this' contract 'forever.
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