Chapter 2708 Influence

Gao Yang understood what had happened; he just refused to admit it.

Covering his eyes with his left arm, Gao Yang leaned against the side of the bed and sat down on the floor. He sobbed in a low voice and, holding the phone, said, "Hammer, the teacher, he..."

Hammer let out a sorrowful sigh over the phone, then he sighed and said, "This day... it’s finally come after all. Ram, stop crying. A Black Demon can bleed but cannot shed tears. Don’t cry."

Gao Yang sobbed and said, "I’m not Ram right now, I’m Gao Yang!"

Hammer let out another long sigh, then he spoke in a hollow, desolate voice, "I am a staunch materialist, Gao, I am a staunch materialist!"

Gao Yang didn’t know what Hammer meant by that, and he didn’t want to discuss materialism with Hammer right now. Thinking of the dream he had just had, Gao Yang only felt even sadder, and he couldn’t help crying again.

Hammer said softly, "I’m a staunch materialist, but...the Captain just came to see me."

Gao Yang stopped sobbing. He said in a low voice, "What did you say?"

"I was sleeping, and then I saw the Captain. He said he was leaving. I said I’d go with you, but the Captain said he was sorry and then he disappeared. I woke up and felt something was very wrong..."

Gao Yang took a long breath and, choking up, said, "He went to say goodbye to you, Hammer. He went to say goodbye because he felt sorry for you, and you’re the only one he could still apologize to. He told me about it, he told me about it..."

Hammer sighed softly and said, "To abandon those who must be abandoned—what’s there to be sorry about? That’s how we’ve always done it, always."

"But with the others he never had the chance to say sorry, Hammer. Making the decision to abandon someone doesn’t mean he felt good about it."

Hammer sighed softly again, then he said in a low voice, "Ram, go see your teacher. I’m going to hang up. Goodbye."

Hammer hung up. Gao Yang let the satellite phone slip from his hand, then covered his face with both hands and began sobbing again.

Gao Yang was savoring that sentence Yarebin had just said to him—the one and only sentence.

So long. It’s an English phrase; its literal meaning is "this long," but it can be understood as "goodbye." If literally translated into Chinese, it should be "it ends here."

When two people who are close are going to be separated for a long time and won’t see each other, you can use "so long" instead of "goodbye."

My son—literally, "my son." It can also be used to mean "my child," but "my son" is the only formal usage.

Goodbye, my son.

That was the only sentence Yarebin said in Gao Yang’s dream.

But this sentence can also be understood as "it ends here, my child."

Still, Gao Yang preferred to understand Yarebin’s farewell in the first sense.

Why didn’t Yarebin speak Russian but English instead? Because Gao Yang could now speak Russian well enough, but he wasn’t very clear on some slang. If Yarebin used a Russian pun to say goodbye to him, Gao Yang might not have understood.

Was it a dream? Was it really just a dream?

Replaying that sentence he had just heard, Gao Yang felt a bit dazed.

Right then, Joseph said softly, "Boss, Boss, what’s wrong with you?"

Gao Yang wiped his face. He sniffed, rubbed his face roughly with his hand, braced himself on the bed and slowly stood up, then muttered, "I’m fine."

Joseph stood in front of Gao Yang and said quietly, "Boss, I’m very sorry. Please restrain your grief. Your teacher left with happiness and comfort. He left with a smile."

Gao Yang nodded lightly, took a few deep breaths in a row, then said in a low voice, "I know. I’ll be fine, Joseph. I’m a bit scattered right now. If there’s anything I overlook, remind me."

Joseph nodded, then opened his arms and hugged Gao Yang. While hugging him, he said softly, "I’m very sorry. Please pull yourself together. You still need to handle Mr. Yarabin’s funeral. You must pull yourself together."

After gently patting Gao Yang a few times on the back, Joseph let go of him, then picked up Gao Yang’s phone from the floor and said quietly, "Should we notify the others?"

Gao Yang took the phone and said in a dazed voice, "Yes. I’ll notify the Black Demon people. You help me notify the others. And, Joseph, help me think what needs to be done now. I want to go see the teacher. I want to see him again."

Staggering, Gao Yang went back to Yarebin’s room. Looking at Yarebin lying on the bed as if asleep, he knelt by the bed, took one of Yarebin’s hands, and laid his head on it.

This time Gao Yang didn’t cry. After quietly kneeling by Yarebin’s bed for a while, he raised his head and said, in a slightly hoarse voice, "Please watch over me. Please continue to guide my future path, my teacher."

After saying this softly, Gao Yang stood up, took another look at Yarebin’s smiling face, then strode out of the room.

Taking a deep breath, Gao Yang picked up the phone. The first person he called was Glewatov. Very soon, when Glewatov answered the phone—

He had thought he was calm enough, strong enough, but when he heard Glewatov’s familiar voice, Gao Yang still couldn’t help choking up again, then he said in a low voice, "Glewatov, the teacher is gone, just now. I’m sorry."

Glewatov was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "You’re not allowed to cry! Seeing you cry will make him unhappy!"

Gao Yang held his breath, wiped his tears, then said quietly, "I won’t cry. Glewatov, come over if you can. I’m afraid I won’t handle this well."

Glewatov said in a deep voice, "I can’t get away. I’ve already started working. If I leave my post for a funeral, the Captain will definitely kill me. He said that funerals, this kind of pointless thing, are absolutely not an excuse for leaving your post, no matter whose funeral it is."

After speaking slowly, Glewatov’s voice went slightly off as he said, "He’s your teacher. You take care of his funeral. If I have time, maybe I’ll come. Maybe..."

Glewatov hung up. Gao Yang stared blankly for a moment, then he called Tarta.

When Tarta answered, Gao Yang said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Tarta, your Captain, my teacher, he just left us..."

Tarta was silent for a long time, then finally said quietly, "Has this day finally come? Was he...in pain when he went?"

"Very peaceful. He left with a smile. He looked like he was just sleeping. We’re in Sochi, Tarta. I want you all to come and see the teacher off on his last journey."

Tarta’s voice trembled as he said, "I’ll pass the word to everyone, but we’re very busy. If we put aside our proper work because of a funeral, this kind of pointless thing, the Captain will definitely kill us. I’m very sorry. We probably won’t be able to attend the funeral. Please, on my behalf, on our behalf... Forget it, leave it at that..."