[20]
Chi Qiu thought that Lu Ming was angry, so he put down the bowls and chopsticks tremblingly, helpless, and didn't know how to answer the conversation. He imagined that if he were Lu Ming, and he found out that his partner had an "unspeakable" secret with others, and tried to lie, he would definitely feel jealous and feel sad.
Chi Qiu's face was full of sadness, and he was completely out of the mood to eat noodles: "Lu Ming, you misunderstood."
"Misunderstanding?" Lu Ming didn't understand, what misunderstanding
Only Chi Qiu pursed his lips and became serious: "There is something that I have never had the chance to tell you, and you have never asked me."
Seeing this, Lu Ming sat up straight.
He knew that when Chi Qiu was nervous, his hands would be squeezed together.
Lu Ming seems to have known this habit a long time ago. But when did he know it, Lu Ming couldn't remember. Maybe it was the spring when they met ten years ago, maybe it was the moment when he just returned to China and met Chi Qiu again.
But he felt that the things he couldn't remember must not be important.
The clock on the wall was ticking, Lu Ming raised his eyes and saw Chi Qiu's beautiful eyes "watching" him tenderly. Even Chi Qiu's soft lips fell into his eyes.
Chi Qiu said: "Brother Ning is kind to me because I helped Yan Chen when I was a child, and I lost my right eye at that time." After speaking, he smiled bitterly, "It's a kidnapping case."
Lu Ming moved his fingertips and closed his hands. Afterwards, he listened to Chi Qiu's words without moving.
"The kidnapper... took me away as Yan Chen."
Chi Qiu swallowed, and confessed to Lu Ming, but he didn't know that Lu Ming had already known about it.
Before Lu Ming returned to China, he investigated all information about Chi Qiu.
He is clear about every major event of Chi Qiu since he was a child, including the accident when Chi Qiu was 11 years old—
...
fourteen years ago.
Chi Qiu has just turned 11 years old and is in the fifth grade of Xingxi Experimental Primary School.
His half-sister Chi Xia is three years younger than him, she is in the same class as Ji Yanchen, and she is in the second grade at Xingxi Experimental Primary School. That year, Chi Xia was a lively and mischievous age, always clamoring to go to the playground to play.
Chi Lanyan is often busy with company affairs and rarely takes care of the siblings at home. Therefore, most of the tasks of taking the children out were done by Chi Qiu's stepfather, Lin Yuming.
Lin Yuming is a man with a relatively silent personality. He was Chi Lanyan's former senior in college, and now he remains as a teacher in the school.
He has a reticent and introverted personality. Except for Chi Xia and Chi Lanyan, he often has a serious look, which makes Chi Qiu a little afraid of him.
However, Lin Yuming did not have a hard time with Chi Qiu. Maybe it's just because this is not his own child. With his old-fashioned personality, he didn't know how to get close, so he kept an appropriate distance.
Occasionally, he would take the initiative to give Chi Qiu tutoring according to Chi Lanyan's wishes, helping him overcome the subjects he was not good at, so that Chi Qiu's grades in the grade were always in the top three.
Chi Lanyan's original intention was to make the two of them get closer, but unexpectedly, it was self-defeating. In Chi Qiu's heart, gradually, he regarded Lin Yuming as a strict teacher, not a "father".
Young children always have a kind of awe of teachers, let alone teachers who live together.
For this reason, every time Lin Yuming takes Chi Qiu and Chi Xia out to play, Chi Qiu often appears restrained. But in order not to worry the busy Chi Lanyan, Chi Qiu seldom refuses.
After all, Chi Xia at that time still liked Chi Qiu very much, and would often show off to her classmates that she had a brother who was good at studying and good-looking.
Her tablemate Ji Yanchen was very dissatisfied. Speaking of her brother, Ji Yanchen felt that her brother was the best and most handsome.
The two couldn't stop arguing, and when Chi Xia got angry, she took Ji Yanchen home, and dragged Ji Yanchen, who was a head taller than herself, to see her proud brother.
The little girl wore double ponytails, pointed at Chi Qiu angrily, and yelled at Ji Yanchen: "Did you see, my brother is the most beautiful! My mother said that the child stars on TV are not as tall as my brother!" It’s so beautiful! I’ll show you the certificates and trophies in my brother’s study later~”
Ji Yanchen snorted, and glanced at Chi Qiu, who was covered with a face, and his attention was instantly attracted by his pair of clear eyes.
Under the sun, the front yard of the villa is covered with green grass, and there is a hint of apricot blossom fragrance blowing in the wind. Chi Qiu was wearing beige home clothes, and the whole spring was busy in his eyes.
"Hi, I'm Chi Qiu, Xiao Xia's older brother, and welcome to our house to play."
"You, hello! I'm Chi Xia's deskmate, and my name is Ji Yanchen! I'm about the same height as you, so I won't call you brother..."
Chi Qiu couldn't help laughing, his eyes were crooked and shone with light.
He said, "But I didn't ask you to call me brother?"
Ji Yanchen scratched his head foolishly, embarrassed by Chi Qiu's nice voice.
Compared to his elder brother Ji Feining who is in charge of everything and is like a "big boss". Chi Xia's elder brother looked like an apricot blossom on a branch, he smiled when a gust of wind passed by.
So lovely.
Ji Yanchen also smiled: "You don't look like a brother at all." In his simple mind, how could there be such a gentle and good-tempered brother in the world
After coming and going, Ji Yanchen began to come to Chi's house to do homework frequently, and came to Chi Qiu for this reason.
Since the two families had business dealings, Chi Lanyan and Ji Feining didn't do much to stop them. Especially Ji Feining, after learning that Ji Yanchen's grades started to improve, he also encouraged Ji Yanchen to go to Chi's house to play more.
The three children of similar ages quickly became good friends who talked about everything. Even when Chi's family went to the playground, Ji Yanchen had the cheek to insist on going with them.
The accident happened in this playground.
On this day, the sky is gloomy.
There were very few tourists in the amusement park, and a heavy rain was approaching. They followed Lin Yuming in a coffee shop and waited for the driver at home.
Lin Yuming ordered a cup of coffee and a cup of sweet milk for each of them.
The three children were not interested in the bitter coffee smell in the store. After drinking the milk, one by two lay on the window, looking at the dense dark clouds in the sky.
Chi Xia pouted and walked in front of Lin Yuming. She was in a bad mood. She rubbed her eyes and lost her temper: "Dad, I want to eat ice cream."
Lin Yuming hugged Chi Xia in his arms, and looked at the time on the watch: "Your mother just bought chocolate-flavored ice cream yesterday, and it's all in the refrigerator, go home and eat."
Chi Xia's mood was as dark as the sky, she said aggrievedly: "I want to eat right now! We agreed to take me to play today, why is it still raining... Dad, I really want to cry."
Lin Yuming, who has always doted on his daughter, had no choice but to get up when he saw Chi Qiu who was squatting in the corner of the coffee shop with Ji Yanchen and watching the cats.
He was worried about letting his three children wait for him in this coffee shop.
So, he begged Chi Qiu, who was already in fifth grade: "Go out and turn right and keep going. There is a canteen. Go and buy three ice creams." He didn't realize that his tone of voice was exactly the same as he usually said to students.
Chi Qiu looked at the weather outside and hesitated.
However, Lin Yuming has long regarded him as an adult, and handed Chi Qiu an umbrella as a matter of course: "It didn't take five minutes in the past, I have to watch your sister and Yan Chen."
"I..." Chi Qiu turned his head, glanced at the gloomy sky, and blinked his eyes hesitantly.
If it was Chi Lanyan, she would definitely not let Chi Qiu go to buy ice cream in this weather.
Lin Yuming asked: "Can you do me this favor?"
"En." Chi Qiu pursed his lips, unable to refuse. He obediently took the umbrella and ran out of the coffee shop in a hurry.
Unexpectedly, Ji Yanchen didn't know which tendon was cramping, and suddenly ran out cheerfully. Lin Yuming hastily yelled to stop it, but it was too late, Ji Yanchen was like a monkey who had no choice but to move, how could he see the shadow
...
The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and the piano music played in the coffee shop merges with the noisy rain.
Chi Xia waited for the ice cream and yawned big.
Ten minutes later, a gust of wind blew. The sharp raindrops slammed into the glass windows, fierce as thunder, breaking the warmth of the coffee shop under the warm lights.
Lin Yuming counted the time, realized something was wrong, and looked at the dense raindrops with fear. He got up and borrowed an umbrella from the store, took Chi Xia's hand and walked to the door, glanced at the heavy rain, and turned around again.
He asked the shopkeeper if he could babysit for a while.
The shop owner was reluctant at first, after all, it is not easy to look after children, and if something happened, he couldn't tell clearly. Fortunately, Lin Yuming's attitude was sincere, and after repeated pleas, the owner reluctantly agreed.
This back and forth was delayed for another five or six minutes.
Lin Yuming opened the door and held up the umbrella. Just as he took a step, he heard Ji Yanchen's weak cry.
Unlike in the past, Ji Yanchen, the mischievous ghost, seemed to be listless, trembling all over. He stood in the rain, and the raindrops washed the tears on his face, mixed with light blood, and flowed onto the dark ground.
Chi Qiu didn't come back with him.