The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

Captain Li: "That's your right."

"You don't have to worry about anyone's opinion, and you don't have to have any concerns."

Zhang Heng's mind went blank.

right?

This word was too distant and too luxurious for him.

"You don't need to answer right away." Captain Li took back the document. "Go back to work first, and think about it carefully when you have time."

"This is my contact information. You can call me anytime, anywhere, for anything."

He handed me a card.

"Remember, it's anything."

Zhang Heng walked out of the conference room in a daze.

It all felt like a dream.

No, I wouldn't even dare to dream of such a dream.

Zhang Heng lowered his head slightly, looking at his hands: "Do I really deserve all of this?"

The outdoor office area has returned to normal.

At least on the surface, that is true.

The sound of keyboard tapping rose and fell, but if you listened carefully, you would find that the rhythm was chaotic.

Those people were typing away on the keyboard, but ever since Zhang Heng came in, they hadn't typed a single punctuation mark correctly.

Zhang Heng returned to his workstation, but hadn't even settled into his seat yet.

The female colleague next to him, who usually ignored him, suddenly moved her chair closer to him and handed him a shiny, washed apple.

"Zhang Heng...have an apple, it's very sweet."

Her smile was warm and sweet.

Zhang Heng stared blankly at the apple, without reaching out.

The female colleague's hand was hanging in mid-air; she didn't know whether to pull it back or not, and she was extremely embarrassed.

Finally, the lunch break bell rang.

People in the office got up one after another and headed to the cafeteria in twos and threes.

Usually, Zhang Heng was the last to arrive, and he would quietly appear after everyone else had finished getting their food.

But today, those people didn't move until he couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. Immediately, several people surrounded him.

"Zhang Heng, let's go eat together?"

"Yeah, yeah, the cafeteria seems to have braised pork today! Let's hurry and grab a good spot!"

Their enthusiasm was so fake it was suffocating.

Zhang Heng felt a churning in his stomach.

He shook his head and sat down again.

The smiles on their faces froze for a moment, then they awkwardly dispersed and left in groups.

Once the office was completely empty, Zhang Heng got up and walked alone to the cafeteria.

He got his food and, as usual, found the most secluded corner to sit down.

But today, this corner is no longer peaceful.

Everyone in the cafeteria was glancing at him with a new kind of gaze, a mixture of awe and curiosity, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Whispers continued, but the content was completely different from that of the morning.

Just then, a harsh voice came from not far away, not too loud, but loud enough for half the people in the cafeteria to hear.

"Tch, what's so great about him? So what if he has a good dad?"

"If it weren't for his dead father, would he even deserve to sit here in this job that he bought for 30,000 yuan?"

The speaker was a troublemaker from another department. He had gone to a meeting in the morning and had just returned when he heard about the "big news" from the data department. He was feeling resentful.

The moment the words were spoken, the entire cafeteria fell silent.

Everyone looked at the outspoken guy in horror.

Zhang Heng suddenly tightened his grip on the chopsticks.

The phrase "a job bought for 30,000 yuan" was like a poisonous thorn, piercing his heart, which had just begun to muster a sliver of courage.

However, before he could react...

Two tall, dark green figures appeared at the entrance of the cafeteria at some unknown time.

They were two soldiers under Captain Li.

One of the soldiers walked straight toward the arrogant troublemaker with a blank expression.

The troublemaker also saw them, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"I...I didn't say anything...I was just joking...right, Zhang Heng?"

The soldier ignored his explanation, walked up to him, and without saying a word, simply pointed to the door.

"Comrade, you are suspected of provoking trouble and defaming the family of a martyr, so please come with us."

Cold words, devoid of any emotion.

The troublemaker immediately went soft, his trouser legs trembling like leaves.

"I was wrong, I was really wrong, I talked nonsense, I was just being a smart aleck..."

He was lifted up by two soldiers, one on each side, and dragged directly from his seat, spilling his food all over the floor.

The entire cafeteria was completely silent.

Everyone watched this scene with bated breath, not daring to breathe.

Zhang Heng is now someone you really shouldn't mess with.

Zhang Heng sat in the corner, watching the direction the man was dragged away, his heart pounding wildly.

this......

Are they... protecting me?

After finishing get off work in the afternoon, Zhang Heng walked out of the logistics park gate.

He didn't rush home, but carefully savored this moment of beauty.

The sunlight felt warm and comforting on my face.

The sun today seems no different from yesterday, but the feeling is completely different.

He recalled an analogy.

I feel like moss that lives in a dark corner all year round, damp, humble, and unable to see the light.

Today, someone brazenly lifted the stone slab that was blocking his head, letting a beam of scorching sunlight shine down without warning.

At first, it stings and feels uncomfortable.

But after the sharp pain subsided, what remained was an unprecedented, unfamiliar...warmth.

A kind of warmth that he couldn't help but crave.

As he walked home, for some inexplicable reason, for the first time he didn't look down at his toes.

He tried to lift his head and straighten his back.

Streets, pedestrians, buildings in the distance...

The whole world was presented to him from a completely new perspective.

Kind of scary.

But it's also... kind of novel.

Under a nearby tree, a bird was circling around something.

Zhang Heng rushed over and chased the bird away, only to discover that it was a cicada pupa.

"How come there are cicadas here?"

He carefully picked up the cicada pupa and placed it safely into a crack in the wall.

Watching the cicada pupa struggling to crawl deeper into the depths, Zhang Heng laughed and then cried.

......

When he opened the door, his mother was busy in the kitchen.

"You're back?" the mother replied casually, carrying dishes out of the kitchen.

When she saw Zhang Heng, the plate in her hand paused in mid-air.

She carefully examined her son from head to toe.

"Xiao Heng," his mother said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice, "did something... happen to you today that made you happy?"

Zhang Heng stood at the door, looking at his mother's familiar face, etched with the marks of time.

All the chaos, shock, fear, and unfamiliar warmth of the day surged into my heart at this moment.

His throat felt tight and his nose felt sore.

"mom."

He spoke, his voice trembling slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of.

"They...still remember my dad."