musicians of old

Chapter 785 A Really Serious Proposition

"The starry sky above?" Fan Ning was a little surprised while driving. "Well, as long as the weather is good, you can always see one or two stars at night. But if you want to see a sky full of stars, it may be difficult in the city."

But since the other party asked this, Fan Ning still thought about some natural scenic spots in his own province or neighboring provinces.

I also considered places of interest that are farther away. After all, the other party will not only stay in this place, so I can make a recommendation.

"That depends on your planned itinerary. I can take the route into consideration and give you a recommended guide," he said politely.

"No plan."

"No plans? Well, what's the next flight or high-speed train ticket? When will it go and where will it go?"

"I didn't buy a ticket." Ruoyi still answered.

Fanning finally turned his head and looked at her.

He had led an orchestra for two years in school, so his empathy and insight were still very sensitive. He felt a strange feeling when they first met, and it was even stronger now: Miss Ruoyi came alone this year, and was obviously thinner. Although she was very polite, she didn't seem to be in a very good mood. I only saw her smile twice. Once was a smile to greet each other, which was also out of politeness in retrospect. The second time was a somewhat awkward smile of "mistaking Li Bai for Du Fu", and both disappeared the next moment.
No plan, no itinerary.

No luggage.

Yes, this girl didn't even bring any luggage! It was like she just went out for a walk, stuffed a few IDs and bank cards into her bag, and boarded an international flight.
"What has Mr. Esterhazy been busy with recently?" Fanning asked after thinking for a moment.

"He went to jail a few months ago."

"Ah? What happened? Is it serious?"

"There are many charges, including taxation and auditing, cultural relics protection, fair markets and antitrust competition. The amount involved is huge and the trial process is long. If nothing unexpected happens, he will face life imprisonment."

"Bad news." Fanning really didn't expect this. "Generally speaking, this kind of gray-toned crime may have very subtle causes, perhaps involving power and interests. The family should be actively trying to find a solution."

"Maybe the source is within the family." Ruoyi's expression remained calm. "They each have their own interest groups. My dad, although he is very talented, his character and behavior are not necessarily so clean. It doesn't matter. I don't care that much. I can't know, and I don't want to know."

Fanning was speechless for a moment.

Although the two had known each other for quite a long time, this kind of relationship between Party A and Party B was obviously normal, as she was an ordinary person in a foreign country and could not see the true relationship between them as father and daughter, nor did she know the situation of the Esterhazy family.

After learning more about this, coupled with the other party's previous series of abnormal performances, Fanning instinctively had a bad premonition!
"So, is there any good place to see the starry sky above our heads?" the girl still asked softly.

"Want to see the stars?" Fanning murmured as if nothing had happened, but the tendency of his words secretly changed. "If it was a clear night with good weather, I think the roof of my house would be a good choice, but it's almost winter now, let alone in the city, even in the countryside it may not be possible."

"Oh, that makes sense. Maybe the country or region I chose is not right. It's not the right month either." Ruoyi picked up her cell phone.

From the corner of his eye in the right rearview mirror, Fanning noticed that she seemed to be looking at the plane ticket.

"Ms. Ruoyi, can I ask a question?"

"sure."

"Mr. Esterhazy had an accident. Logically, we won't have any contact for a long time. Why did you come here alone to collect the paintings?"

"There is only one year left in the contract, and I don't like to leave any untrustworthy things at the end." Ruoyi said calmly, "Besides, I like this country very much, and the 'Swing' series of oil paintings is really good."

"I see, thank you." Fanning sighed dejectedly.

"You don't seem happy at all. It's strange. This income should be good." Ruoyi's fingers were still sliding on the phone screen.

"It's not that serious. The income is quite good. It's just a matter of money. It's not important in itself. You think so too."

"Yeah, you cried when you drove here, and you broke up with your girlfriend?"

"How did you know that?" Fan Ning was a little stunned. What did he mean by taking over? He had a bad feeling and was going to try to confirm the other person's emotions. "No, it's not that exaggerated. I just got emotional for no reason. Did I run a red light just now?"

"Don't be impatient." Ruoyi found his reaction a little funny. "I know you. You won't become depressed just because of material conditions or emotional changes."

"How do you know?"

"The feeling before."

"Yeah." Fanning said in a drawn-out tone, "That kind of melancholy is actually not melancholy, but desire. Desire often has a relatively clear 'answer'. It is solved when it is satisfied, and it comes back when it is not satisfied. The real melancholy is a deep 'lack'. It is not the absence of 'answers', but it is brought about by 'thinking' itself." "Interesting point of view. So your unhappiness belongs to the latter state?" Ruoyi asked.

Maybe she hadn't realized that Fanning was deliberately going in a big circle.

"It's not that serious for me." Fanning shook his head and smiled. "It's just like I said just now, sometimes I like to think about some propositions over and over again, which easily brings up some not-so-lively emotions. However, I haven't reached the point where I would think about the most serious proposition."

"The most serious proposition?" Ruoyi asked.

"Albert Camus believed that the only serious philosophical proposition is—"

Fanning turned his head to look at her face.

"That would be suicide."

Ruoyi turned off the phone screen.

The conversation between the two stopped like an hourglass that had run out of steam.

The girl looked up at the scenery in front of the windshield and saw that the two rows of street lights on the road kept separating and moving backwards.

"Are we almost there?" she asked.

"About five minutes," Fanning replied.

The car was shrouded in silence again, with only the slight roar of the engine and the occasional ticking of the turn signal.

When the purpose of "confirmation" was achieved, the hotel's destination was getting closer and closer, and Fanning became increasingly anxious.

Even if anyone with suicidal tendencies was discovered and was within his reach, it would be impossible for him to just sit there and do nothing.

What's more, there was a more lively Miss Ruoyi, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, whom he had known for several years, with whom he had followed each other on Instagram, and with whom he had just talked about the German translation of the poetry collection "The Flute of the East".

But now...it's cold.

At the last deserted traffic light intersection, drive 200 meters and then stop right.

The green light flashed.

Fanning could have just stepped on the accelerator a little to get through, but he slowed down a little without leaving a trace, and then watched the green light turn yellow, and then the yellow light turn red.

There are only sixty or seventy seconds left.

Probing further for reasons? Just telling them that “life is good”? These are both extremely bad ideas.

In any case, it is better to avoid leaving her alone.

But at most I can just delay it until the time for you to check in at the hotel lobby. Can I still say that I want to go upstairs with you?
She's not playing with her phone now, so it shouldn't be too abrupt to start communicating again.

It's abrupt so be it.

"Ruoyi, are you sleepy now?" Fan Ning made up his mind and broke the silence.

"I slept all the way on the plane, so I'm not sleepy." The other person looked up at him.

"I'm not sleepy either."

"You slept on the plane, too?"

".No, I'm different, I sleep at concerts."

"Hahaha."

In any case, it was funny that someone like Fanning would go to a concert and sleep, and the girl was slightly amused.

But Fanning thought it might be "politeness".

Then what.
and then?
Fan Ning cursed himself for not considering the connection when he brought up the topic, but now the worst that could happen was that the connection could not be made. He became even more determined:
"Would you like to come back to my house and listen to some records?"