During the weekend, Zhi Qi went home.
Her home is in Dongcheng District, some distance away from the university town. Zhiqi didn't ask her family's driver to pick her up, but took her car back early in the morning.
It was almost two hours' journey, and when we arrived home at around nine o'clock, Zhiqi entered the gate code to enter, and the room was completely silent.
When she took off her shoes, it happened that Mei Ran came down from the stairs. The woman in silk pajamas should have just woken up, her fluffy hair was not coiled up as meticulously as usual, and her eyes were sleepy.
Seeing Zhiqi, she immediately woke up.
"Baby? When did you come back?" Mei Ran quickly walked downstairs to Zhiqi, with surprise in her eyes: "Why don't you tell mom so that Uncle Liu can pick you up."
Uncle Liu is the driver at home.
"No need, it's troublesome." Zhiqi muttered, walked to the sofa and sat down: "I'll be back when I have nothing to do on weekends."
"You still know how to come back, little heartless." Mei Ran hurriedly asked the nanny at home to bring over the cold bird's nest in the refrigerator, but she couldn't help complaining: "You haven't come back for almost a month this time. Are you busy?"
Hearing this, Zhi Qi almost choked on drinking the bird's nest, a trace of guilt flashed across her drooping eyebrows.
In fact, this month, she is really not as busy with her studies as before. During this period of time, she is just... used to 'chasing stars'.
Zhiqi gave a vague 'hmm'.
"I bought a lot of things for you during this period, clothes and electronic products, and I will take them back later."
Ever since Mei Ran became familiar with 'online shopping', her greatest joy is shopping every day, especially buying all kinds of new clothes, accessories, and electronic products for Zhiqi—and not buying double-standard items for Zhiyu.
She only treats her daughter as a little princess and her son as a porter.
Mei Ran said confidently: "If you don't come back today, I still think about having your brother send you there in two days."
…
Zhi Qi couldn't help being a little dumbfounded, and drank the bird's nest slowly.
"Don't bother brother." She said obediently, "I'll just take it back myself."
In fact, most of the things that Mei Ran bought her were of no use to her, many of them were gathering dust under the bed in the dormitory, but she was willing to buy them, and Zhi Qi didn't want to spoil her mother's interest.
Besides, now that these things have a 'useful place', some of them can be given to Jiang Qi.
For example, Kindle can be used for him to read scripts, and wireless earphones can be worn by Jiang Qi, and there are applewatches that she can’t use, so she can send them over for Jiang Qi to use...
Zhiqi finally understands why so many fans frantically send gifts to their favorite 'idols'.
She also really wants to 'take care' of Jiang Qi, it's best to contract him for everything according to her own aesthetics.
Zhiqi was a little amused by her own idea.
And it seems to be in line with Zhiqi's thoughts, the big TV in front of the sofa is playing the entertainment channel of Lin Lan's local TV station, and there is news about Jiang Qi in it by coincidence—
The host talked endlessly: "Jiang Qi, a new young student who became famous recently because of "Watching the Sky", was scrambled by major companies to sign a contract some time ago, but recently it is rumored that he has signed with 'Dust Ding Entertainment', and The next movie is the new movie directed by Qu Heng recently... "
Accompanied by the clear voice of the host, several photos of Jiang Qi secretly taken by the paparazzi flashed back on the TV.
The boy was wearing a hat, half of his side face exposed under the obscure light had sharp and delicate lines.
Zhi's living room was suddenly silent.
It's really because the name Jiang Qi is not only meaningful to Zhiqi, but everyone in the Zhi family is too familiar with him.
Zhi Qi listened dumbly, unconsciously clenched the fingers holding the porcelain bowl, and hardly dared to look back at Mei Ran's expression.
Because she was afraid to see disgust on a woman's face.
Zhiqi knew that before the age of seventeen, Mei Ran and Zhiming Lin had no objection to her dating Jiang Qi, after all, the young man was her "savior".
But in the sophomore year of high school, everything changed. Zhiqi didn't know if her parents thought the same way as her brother now—they thought that Jiang Qi, who had been in prison, was 'dangerous and scary'.
After a while, Zhiqi heard Mei Ran sigh slightly.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you about this before, but I forgot about it later." Mei Ran stared at the screen, her voice was faint, and she couldn't hear any emotion: "This child is now a star."
Zhiqi's nails sank into her palm unconsciously, not knowing how to reply.
"Qiqi." Mei Ran asked calmly, "Do you still have contact with Jiang Qi? Have you met?"
Zhiqi didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to... To tell the truth.
But sometimes, silence is actually tantamount to acquiescence.
"Qiqi, look at me." Mei Ran forcefully turned the girl's face away, her clear and plain face was serious: "So it's fine, you like Jiang Qi, and your father and I don't object, but the premise is In the absence of a crime he committed, he now…”
"Mom, he didn't commit a crime." Zhiqi's voice trembled a little, and he looked at the woman stubbornly with black eyes: "You know, he didn't commit a crime."
Seeing that her daughter seemed about to cry in the next second, Mei Ran was a little dumbfounded for a while.
The woman pursed her lips, and told Zhi Qi an obvious fact: "Manslaughter is also a crime."
The information revealed by Mei Ran's evasive words made Zhiqi's pupils shrink sharply.
What happened four years ago, no one has been willing to tell her what happened in the whole process, and it has always been vague and trying to cover up. Even after Jiang Qi's accident, Zhi Minglin and Mei Ran directly transferred her to another middle school, and brutally cut off the possibility of her having contact with Jiang Qi. Later, Zhiqi finally tried his best to find out Jiang Qi's only relative, but his uncle Jiang Shi didn't say anything...
The connection between her and Jiang Qi was cut off abruptly, so that Zhi Qi has been "kept in the dark" for so many years.
Zhiqi understands the painstaking efforts of her parents to let her study hard without distractions, but that doesn't mean she can condone their self-assessment.
Back then, Zhiqi didn't oppose or fight against it? It's just that for a seventeen-year-old girl, everything she does is futile.
Until today, Zhi Qi finally couldn't help asking: "What crime did Jiang Qi commit?"
She really wanted to know what happened back then, and the reason why she didn't ask Jiang Qi was because she was afraid that it would bring back bad memories for him.
But facing Mei Ran who seemed to know all the truth about the cause and effect, Zhiqi really couldn't help it.
"I don't know the specifics." Mei Ran sighed, with complicated eyes: "It's just that the result of the police verdict was 'excessive defense and indirect homicide', so it can't be that he was wronged."
Zhiqi felt a 'thump' in her heart, pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Qiqi, promise mom." Mei Ran held Zhiqi's tender hand, her eyes were wide open, her voice was slightly trembling: "Stop contacting Jiang Qi, please? I am very grateful to him for saving you back then. The whole family is also very grateful, but, it's just that he is a dangerous person."
"Even if he hasn't committed a crime and been in prison, you can tell from his eyes that Jiang Qi is not an ordinary boy."
All parents in the world probably just want their children to be safe and sound, and to live a life free from disasters and troubles.
A boy like Jiang Qi seems to be incompatible with the keywords of 'happiness, peace', Mei Ran really can't convince herself to relax, even though she clearly knows that Jiang Qi is actually kind to their family.
But if she needs her 'repayment', Mei Ran is willing to use money, or everything else... except Zhiqi, even if Mei Ran knows that her daughter actually likes that dangerous boy.
But can a moment of enthusiasm be worth the long and steady years
The living room where the sun shines in in the morning is warm, but Zhiqi's heart feels cool as if covered with a layer of frost and snow.
The girl sniffed, thinking, as expected, Mei Ran was prejudiced against Jiang Qi, but...
"Mom, you're wrong." After a while, Zhi Qi broke away from Mei Ran's hand and smiled slightly: "Jiang Qi is not a dangerous person."
"I've seen him and he's still just as good."
She may doubt that the stars are torches, that the sun moves, that the truth is a lie.
But Jiang Qi would never hurt her, Zhi Qi would not doubt this.
Staying at home till the afternoon, actually broke up with Mei Ran.
When Zhiqi returned to the dormitory with a large box of things in her arms, Meng Chunyu was applying a facial mask when she saw her tense voice and asked vaguely, "Baby, are you home?"
Every time Zhiqi came home, she brought a box of things with her, Meng Chunyu got used to it after three years.
... and also used to waiting for the little fairy to feed her.
"Yeah." Zhi Qi smiled, took out a bag of 'Internet celebrity snacks' from the box and threw it to Meng Chunyu.
Mei Ran is willing to place an order for everything she sees, especially likes to buy her snacks, but Zhi Qi has a small appetite and doesn't like most things.
Then she cheered exaggeratedly at Meng Chunyu, and slowly sorted out the things in the box.
Zhiqi was petite, and when she crouched next to the box and curled up into a ball, she was barely as big as the box, she looked like a poor hamster—then stretched out her two paws.
The little girl sorted out the earphones, watches, and the kindle that had accumulated dust in the box, and planned to give them to Jiang Qi next time.
Meng Chunyu on the side was so cute by her appearance, subconsciously took out his phone and 'clicked' to take a picture.
Zhiqi heard the movement, raised her eyes and stared over.
"Good boy." Meng Chunyu tore off the mask and was finally able to speak freely, and immediately jumped over to Zhiqi to share her 'masterpiece' with her, admiring: "This one of yours is so cute."
Under the dim light of the mobile phone screen, a girl with long hair was squatting beside the box, her arms and legs were slender and tight, and half of her profile face with her head slightly raised was delicate and soft.
The structure of the whole photo is very "atmospheric", like an old photo quickly printed out by Polaroid.
Zhiqi looked at it, and suddenly said, "Send it to me."
Then she sent it to Jiang Qi.
Returning to the car after finishing work in the evening, Jiang Qi clutched his aching stomach, and when he got back to the car, he saw this WeChat message from Zhi Qi.
Just a picture of a girl.
After staring blankly for a while, the boy finally relaxed his frowning eyebrows, and smiled softly.
The photo sent by Zhiqi is like food for the soul, the stomach pain after not eating for a day seems to be less so, Jiang Qi people seriously saved this photo of the girl in the album.
The first photo in his cell phone album.
—A hamster-like, cute girl.