“My wife wants a divorce…” he said expressionlessly.
"Just for this? But then again, why did she want a divorce? You were even willing to jump off a building for her, and she's still not satisfied?"
The man who jumped from the building glanced at her occasionally and said, "She complained that I didn't care about my family, didn't spend time with her, and didn't help our daughter with her homework."
I said, "Then you should spend time with her..." I suddenly slapped my thigh and said, "I know, you son of a bitch, you've got someone else on the side."
The man who jumped showed anger and said in a deep voice, "I love her very much. The reason I don't have time for her is all for the sake of this family. I'm a man, I need to earn money!"
I nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, that's your woman's fault. You should talk to her nicely."
The man who jumped from the building said tragically, "I originally planned to earn enough money to be with her. Once I had enough, we wouldn't have to do anything; I could spend every day with her, helping my daughter with her homework—but who knew I'd be so unlucky! I lost money in futures, stocks, and funds. I just can't understand it. The other day, I bought my daughter a little rabbit, and it ended up biting someone else's husky, costing me over 2,000 yuan..."
I couldn't help but laugh, but seeing his serious expression, I quickly straightened up. Seriously, what kind of rabbit was that? A Tibetan Mastiff in rabbit skin?
I asked him, "How much money did you lose in total?"
“Over 6 million,” the man who jumped gave a bitter laugh. “At least I had money before. But now, I’ve lost my career, my family, and my wife. I’m an unlucky man who neglects his family. I’m just a burden; who treats me like a human being?” His face grew paler as he spoke, and finally, in despair, he waved his hand. “Thank you for talking to me.” He resolutely turned around, looking down at the crowd below, the soles of his feet already touching the edge of the building, half of him suspended in mid-air. The people below cheered excitedly.
Seeing that things were going wrong, I pressed the call button on the phone. A line of small print appeared on the screen: "I really wanted to apologize to Xiaohong before I left, but alas, jump..."
Just as he bent his leg to jump, I coldly said, "Don't you want to apologize to Xiaohong before you leave?"
My voice wasn't loud, but it was like a powerful anesthetic. He froze, then turned to look at me in shock, asking in a trembling voice, "Who are you? How do you know Xiao Hong?"
I deliberately spoke slowly and deliberately, saying, "Anyway, it's very easy for you to die sooner or later, so what does it matter? Why don't we chat a little longer?"
He wasn't listening to what I was saying at all; he just kept asking me, "How do you know Xiaohong?"
I could only laugh it off and say, "Because I know Xiaohong. We were drinking together yesterday and she was talking about you. She said that as long as you apologize to him in person, she can forgive even the biggest mistakes."
The man who was about to jump gave a bitter laugh: "You fooled me. You don't know Xiaohong at all. She's only 8 years old, she's my daughter." As he spoke, he took two more steps to the side and looked down.
However, I noticed his legs were starting to weaken. That's how people are; from the initial spark of the will to die to actually doing it, there's only one peak. This kind of courage can only go straight up and down; it can't fluctuate in waves. Now that he'd failed his first attempt, his resolve was wavering, his courage was waning, and it seemed he had no intention of jumping for the time being.
I said, “Look, your daughter is only 8 years old. Why don’t you wait 10 years before you die? By then, she’ll have grown into a beautiful young woman, and a bunch of bad boys will be eyeing her. She won’t care about you anymore; she’ll find you annoying. If you die then, she won’t blame you; she might even be grateful to you from the bottom of her heart. Although she might cry a few times when she sees your head smashed to pieces, she can use that as an excuse to snuggle in her boyfriend’s arms. Maybe the day you die will be the day your daughter gets taken down, and she can celebrate your anniversary while also commemorating her own virginity…”
My words left the man who was about to jump stunned. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, saying with a wry smile, "I initially thought you were a negotiation expert for the police, but now I can confirm that you aren't."
I said, "Would you like to hear my story?"
The man who jumped from the building said weakly, "You must have made up a story that's even more tragic than mine."
I yelled angrily, "Bullshit! Do you need to make this up? I only make a little over 1,000 a month, and my father-in-law is complaining that I don't have a car or a house and is still demanding a dowry of 50,000 yuan. I'd accept marrying a goddess, but damn it, my wife is uglier than you. Who's worse off between us?"
The man who was about to jump off the building chuckled, then shook his head, thinking about his current situation, and said, "Life isn't easy for any of us."
Is that not easy? And I haven't even told him that I'm his ancestor yet.
I said, "Pah, stop with the 'we' stuff. Until communism, landlords and tenants will always have irreconcilable conflicts. Even if you lose money again, your stock and fund investments will still be worthless, right? You should still have 50,000 yuan left—I don't have any."
The man who was about to jump was reaching into his pocket. I said, "What, are you planning to leave me an inheritance so I can keep jumping?"
The man who was about to jump off the building chuckled dryly and took out a pack of cordyceps cigarettes, lighting one. I yelled, "Damn it! A guy who's so down on his luck that he's about to jump off a building is smoking better cigarettes than me—give me one."
The man who was about to jump to his death tossed over a cigarette pack and said with a faint smile, "Brother, thanks."
Seeing that he was gradually calming down, I knew I'd given him enough of the drastic measures; now it was time for some simple porridge and cabbage to soothe his stomach. I said, "You know best why you jumped off the building. Was it because your wife wanted a divorce? Don't pretend to be so devoted. So what if you lost money and your backbone isn't as upright as before? Come to think of it, wasn't it all about saving face? You used to have some capital to act cool, but now you've lost everything, and you feel ashamed to face your family and friends back home, right?"
The man who jumped off the building sighed and said, "Now that you've revealed this, I realize you're right about everything."
I stood up and sat down next to him. This time, he didn't resist at all. I said, "Nobody here knows you. Brush yourself off and go. If it weren't for the 'cooperation' of the crowd in not calling the police for you, you would have been charged with disturbing public order. You'd be detained for at least two days, or at least given a lecture. Go home, buy some groceries on the way, cook dinner with your wife when you get home, put your daughter to sleep, and then be affectionate with your wife. Sleep well and you'll be a fine man tomorrow."
The man who was about to jump listened with tears in his eyes, smoking a cigarette. He took one last look at the crowd below, who were scattering in disappointment, and whispered, "Brother, you're a good person."
I stood up first, but he was still sitting there. My expression changed and I said, "What, you still want to jump?"
The man who was about to jump looked at me pitifully, stretched out his hand, and said, "Could you help me? My legs are weak..."
I picked him up, brushed the dirt off his pants, and led him downstairs. When we were almost at the building entrance, he suddenly stopped and said, "Wait, brother." He quickly pulled out a small notebook, wrote down a number on it, tore it off, and gave it to me, saying, "Once you're out of this door, you're my benefactor. From now on, no matter where you are, day or night, look for me anytime."
I put it in my pocket, looked outside, pushed him into the crowd, and said, "Let's go."
The man who jumped from the building quickly disappeared into the crowd and vanished without a trace.
I sat back in the car, panting and wiping away sweat. Xiang Yu, still resting his arm on the car window, looked at the dispersing pedestrians and said, "Saving people is more tiring than killing them, isn't it?"
Li Shishi glared at him and said to me with boundless admiration, "Cousin, you're amazing! What did you say to him?" I smiled but didn't answer.
This was the first serious thing I did with my mind-reading phone, instead of just aimlessly spying. I never imagined that a single sentence would cost me a life.
Of course, I'm also very happy to have saved the man who was about to jump off the building—finally, there's no more traffic jam!
Then we drove straight to Grandpa Zhang Bing's house, like wild dogs that had broken free of their reins (notice that this is the second time this book uses this metaphor).
Zhang Bing's grandfather's house was on the second floor. The old district committee building had been the seat of the district government from the founding of the People's Republic of China until a few years ago. However, the younger generation of leaders developed a new district committee building that was quiet yet surrounded by mountains and water. As a result, the old district committee building's functions and location plummeted. Now, it's been squeezed out of people's view by several commercial buildings, much like a disgraced minor official being oppressed by a wealthy nouveau riche. The district committee dormitory has thus become a retirement home for retired cadres.
We walked into the gray-blue staircase, the walls on both sides peeling and cracking, revealing the solid cement underneath. Li Shishi knocked on the door, and the old nanny opened the first door, immediately seeing Xiang Yu. She took a step back in fright, as if she had seen a god. Li Shishi greeted her with a smile: "Auntie, don't you recognize me? I'm Zhang Bing's friend, I just came by this morning."
The nanny looked at Li Shishi and said, "Yes, aren't you Xiaonan? Bingbing said you're her good friend." She glanced warily at me and Xiang Yu, then hesitated and said, "These two are..."
It seems the caregiver is very vigilant, which only shows that she is very responsible. Nowadays, cases of robbing elderly people living alone are common.
Li Shishi introduced us as her cousins, saying they were just passing by and visiting Grandpa Zhang Bing. Only then did the old nanny hesitate before letting us in. Moreover, I felt that she did this not because she trusted us, but because she thought that old security door wasn't worth Xiang Yu kicking down, so she might as well be straightforward and take the plunge.
The old nanny was truly relieved when she saw that we didn't show our gray tails and sharp teeth as we entered the house. As she led us to the bedroom, she said, "Grandpa just slept for a while."
On the bed, an old man with white hair lay. A towel was draped over his stomach, his hands were neatly placed on his lower abdomen, and his eyes were slightly open, with his eyeballs moving rhythmically. Apart from that, his whole body remained still.