Early the next morning, Frank invited a professional tailor to custom-make a suit for him; it was clear that he was in a very bright mood.In contrast, Charlie's mood was terrible because he called George and discovered that George was just enjoying life, having given no thought to any solutions, merely demanding that Charlie stick to their agreement.Frank keenly surmised that George Willis's father must also share the same name, that is, George Willis I, and he believed that George would certainly tell his father.Charlie countered that they had agreed not to tell their parents. Facing such a naive Charlie, Frank mocked, "If you don't say anything now, you'll end up working at a convenience store in Oregon for the rest of your life." But Charlie didn't believe it at all."There are two types of people in this world: those who take responsibility and those who look for a backer. A backer is better."Frank used the Thanksgiving dinner as an excuse to convince Charlie to stay, and then brought Charlie with him to his older brother's house.Frank hadn't told his older brother Willie that he was visiting at all, which terrified Willie's family; clearly, this uninvited guest was unwelcome.Sure enough, during the meal, Frank rambled on about his affairs, while everyone else remained silent. The atmosphere was so awkward that Charlie could barely stand it, and then Willie's son, Randy, exploded. Randy spoke disrespectfully to Frank and ripped open everyone's old wounds, completely ruining the Thanksgiving dinner.Charlie tried to stop Randy but was also dragged into it, and Randy revealed Frank's past experiences.Frank had been slated for promotion to general several times, but each time his straight-talking mouth ruined the opportunity. Finally, because he was drunk on the job, he accidentally pulled the pin of a grenade during a live-fire exercise, which was what caused Frank to go blind.Looking at the lost and lonely Frank, Charlie knew that Frank actually wanted to find the warmth of a family, but unfortunately, he failed. No one in this family welcomed him, not his brother Willie, not his nephews, nor the Ross family who had taken him in.After creating a scene, Frank took Charlie back to the hotel.After a quiet night, Charlie woke up the next day to see Frank assembling his pistol, which made Charlie realize that Frank's talk of suicide might be real.Charlie took out the phone number Mrs. Ross had left for him, intending to notify her, but Frank snatched the paper from Charlie's hand and swallowed it straight away.This angered Charlie, and he wanted to leave it all behind and go home, but Frank softened his stance. "All I need is one more day. I know New York well, but occasionally I need someone to point me in the right direction. How about it, Charlie? Give a friend one more day?"Charlie softened too. He demanded that Frank hand over the pistol, but Frank was completely unwilling, so Charlie had to take a step back and take Frank's ammunition instead.Frank was dismissive of Charlie's persistence. "You have a conscience? I'd forgotten, Charlie, a conscience! To tell, or not to tell? To obey the rich young masters? To let this blind bastard die? Conscience? Charlie, when were you born, the age of the Knights of the Round Table? Haven't you heard? Conscience is dead! Grow up!"Facing Frank's roar, Charlie was speechless.Frank took Charlie into a hotel to enjoy afternoon tea, where they met a young woman. Frank took the initiative to bring Charlie over to strike up a conversation, and Frank invited the young woman, named Donna, to dance a tango.Donna nodded and agreed. Even though Frank was blind, he led Donna gracefully around the dance floor as if there were no obstacles at all; his steps were light, overflowing with passion, exceptionally wonderful, fluid, and indescribably marvelous.The enjoyment, restraint, tenderness, and happiness on Frank's face overflowed in his every movement, and even Donna blossomed with the most beautiful smile.Watching this scene, Charlie's eyes misted over with a thin layer of moisture, and he broke into a brilliant smile. Many in the audience were amazed, and this brief tango was destined to become a classic; those breathtaking, exquisite steps left a deep imprint on their minds.After the song ended, Donna was quickly taken away by the man she had been waiting for, and the radiance on Frank's face dimmed in an instant.That night, Frank enthusiastically booked a high-class call girl and walked elegantly and cautiously toward his haven of tenderness. Meanwhile, Charlie, waiting in the car, called George again and found that Frank's words had come true; George really had told his father, and had even given a bunch of high-sounding excuses. George was going home now to discuss a solution with his father, which left Charlie extremely disappointed.However, Frank seemed very disappointed upon returning from his haven of tenderness. The next day, the usually vibrant Frank didn't get up early, but instead lay around decadently until the afternoon, which worried Charlie greatly. Even when Charlie told Frank about George, Frank couldn't muster any energy. Frank even proactively suggested that Charlie leave, offering to pay for his plane ticket. Frank knew that he would ultimately be alone, with no one able to stay by his side.Charlie realized that Frank was despondent and could end his life at any moment. So, in a moment of quick thinking, Charlie asked to take Frank out for a drive, which finally got Frank to perk up.At the car dealership, Frank found a way to convince the salesman to let them take a red Ferrari out for a spin. Thus, Charlie, who had no driver's license, drove the Ferrari away from the dealership. But Charlie's cautious driving style clearly couldn't satisfy Frank's need for adrenaline. Helplessly, Charlie drove to the vicinity of the Brooklyn Bridge, an isolated area with few vehicles or pedestrians, and then Frank sat in the driver's seat.After sitting in the driver's seat, Frank finally perked up. He started to accelerate, accelerating continuously, pushing the Ferrari's speed to the limit. Not even satisfied with straight-line driving, he even attempted a drift turn. Although Charlie was terrified and uneasy, the thrilling adventure finally made Frank smile again.Watching this scene, the audience in the movie theater was almost scared to death; one could imagine Charlie's heartbeat in the passenger seat. But the speeding caused Frank to be pulled over by a police car. However, with the person in the passenger seat having no license, and the person in the driver's seat not only having no license but also being blind, such a critical situation made one break into a cold sweat. Yet, the calm and collected Frank pulled off a deception, not only avoiding detection of his blindness but also successfully passing the Patrol Officer's inspection, causing the Patrol Officer to turn and leave. This ability was truly admirable.But after leaving the driver's seat, Frank completely broke down. He crossed the road, knocked over trash cans, and even wanted to urinate right on the side of the road, finally falling in a sorry state into the green belt. After returning to the hotel, Frank sent Charlie away, put on his military uniform, and prepared to commit suicide by shooting himself.But when Charlie reached the hotel lobby, he sensed the Lieutenant Colonel's intention and returned. Charlie tried to persuade the Lieutenant Colonel to hand over the pistol, but the stubborn Lieutenant Colonel was unwilling, even threatening to kill Charlie and then commit suicide himself. Helpless, Charlie had to risk using force, attempting to grab the Lieutenant Colonel's gun, which led to a physical altercation between the two.At this moment, all emotions erupted completely.Frank roared angrily at Charlie, but this time Charlie didn't back down. He still confronted him toughly, "You messed up, so what? Everyone makes mistakes, you should keep moving forward, right?""What moving forward!" The Lieutenant Colonel's hoarse and fierce voice interrupted Charlie's words, roaring angrily, "I haven't had a life for a long time! I live in darkness! Do you understand?" The Lieutenant Colonel's roar was like that of a wounded beast, "I live in darkness!"Charlie's eyes were misted with moisture, but he still refused to give up. "Then give up! Go ahead and wallow in self-pity... because I'm going to give up too." Charlie's young face was filled with a fearless light, his eyes firmer than ever before. "You're right, I'm done for, we're all done for, there's no hope. So that's it, just do it! You just... fucking pull the trigger! You pathetic blind man!"Charlie's words caused the Lieutenant Colonel's complexion to turn gray bit by bit; he couldn't say anything. Charlie dealt another fatal blow, "Pull the trigger!""Get ready, Charlie!" The Lieutenant Colonel raised the pistol in his right hand.Charlie was breathing rapidly, but his words remained firm, in stark contrast to his expression. "I'm ready!" But the fear of death caused his eyes to mist over with a thin layer of moisture.The Lieutenant Colonel sensed Charlie's wavering, "You don't want to die!""Neither do you." Charlie also saw through the Lieutenant Colonel's heart; this was the first time since he had been with the Lieutenant Colonel for so long that he was truly standing on equal footing to talk to him."Give me a reason." The Lieutenant Colonel was still unwilling to let go."I'll give you two." Charlie thought for a moment, pursed his dry lips, "You can dance the tango, and you drive a Ferrari better than anyone I've ever seen."This actually made the Lieutenant Colonel heave a sigh of relief unexpectedly, but he still said, "You haven't seen anyone else do these two things before, right?""Give me the gun." Charlie remained persistent, unwilling to back down.Charlie's firmness finally made the Lieutenant Colonel waver. He held the gun unsteadily and said in a low voice, "Oh, what should I do, Charlie.""If you get tripped up, just keep on tangoing." The moisture in Charlie's eyes gradually gathered into tears, swirling in his eyes, and his eyes began to turn red."Are you asking me to dance, Charlie." The Lieutenant Colonel finished saying this softly, and then began to hum gently, "'You never thought of dancing away, while your heart longed to stay'..." His left hand gradually loosened Charlie's collar.Released, Charlie's tears could no longer bear their own weight and slid down, out of relief for having survived, and also because the Lieutenant Colonel had finally regained his reason and truly given up the idea of suicide. Charlie didn't want to cry at all, but the tears just kept falling, making his eyes look clearer than ever before.Frank was persuaded by Charlie and gave up the idea of suicide, perhaps only temporarily, but this was at least a step forward. Looking at the exhausted Frank, whose meticulous hairstyle had lost its shape, this Lieutenant Colonel was no longer strong or overbearing, just a lonely, solitary old man longing for companionship.
