Luan Qiaoqing was 14 years old when she came to Song Shu. She had a buzz cut and was very unruly. She liked to make eyes at people and her clothes jingled a lot. She was even more of a gangster than the little girl in No. 2 Middle School.
This was the first time Song Shu had met a girl like this.
——Luan Qiaoqing thought so too.
Maybe it was the magic of blood and genes, but Song Shu looked and behaved a bit like Luan Qiaoqing's mother Bai Ge. Especially when Luan Qiaoqing looked into the eyes of this sister who was two centimeters shorter than her, she always felt like she was back in her childhood with a strict mother.
Oh, Song Shu is still as expressionless as her mother.
So Luan Qiaoqing was not afraid at all of her aunt Bai Song, who always smiled gently and cared about her, but when she saw this cousin who stared at her silently and without emotion for the first time, she felt scared from the bottom of her heart.
The leg that was almost raised to the top of the head was put down awkwardly.
"Qiaoqiao, this is your sister Song Shu. This is the cousin that mom mentioned to you on the phone. Her name is Luan Qiaoqing. You can just call her Qiaoqiao."
Luan Qiaoqing rolled her eyes in her heart, thinking that "Qiaoqiaoqiaoqiao" was so ugly and she didn't want to be called such a disgusting name.
Then Luan Qiaoqing raised her head, her mouth half open, and just met the girl's emotionless black eyes.
The words got stuck in my throat and I choked them back.
What a coincidence... What a coincidence.
Song Shu looked at Luan Qiaoqing quietly for a few seconds, then nodded slowly, "Okay."
"Mom will arrange for Qiaoqiao to transfer to the junior high school of No. 2 Middle School. As a big sister, you must take good care of Qiaoqiao in school."
Song Shu was silent for a few seconds and looked at Luan Qiaoqing again.
Being scrutinized again, Luan Qiaoqing straightened her back unconsciously: "..."
Song Shu nodded, "Okay."
"Then you guys can play at home. Mom still has to go to the company. Call her if you have anything, okay?"
"Um."
"… "
Watching Bai Song leave, and thinking that she would be alone with this strange cousin for an unknown period of time, Luan Qiaoqing felt for the first time a deep reluctance to part with this overly gentle aunt.
But it didn't work.
Once the door was closed, only two little girls were left in the huge apartment.
Luan Qiaoqing gritted her teeth. She felt that she had to show her strength to her peers and overpower her cousin. Then she could…
"Playing with the Rubik's Cube?"
"Huh?" Luan Qiaoqing didn't follow the sharp turn and looked confused.
"this."
Luan Qiaoqing looked down, and then saw Song Shu took out a Rubik's Cube with densely packed grid blocks from his backpack.
Luan Qiaoqing: “…”
Even the way this sister plays the Rubik's Cube is different from that of normal people.
Song Shu seemed to see Luan Qiaoqing's retreat, "This is not difficult at all, you see."
Luan Qiaoqing really read it.
After looking at it for about three minutes, when I was so dazzled that I could hardly distinguish the six colors, I heard a "click" in my ear.
A restored sixth-order Rubik's Cube swayed in front of her eyes, revealing her cousin's delicate, beautiful, expressionless face.
“See, it’s simple, right?”
Luan Qiaoqing: “…”
This sister is a pervert and she wants to go home.
Luan Qiaoqing really ran away.
When Bai Song left that morning, he gave Song Shu and Luan Qiaoqing some pocket money each, so that the two of them could go to the amusement park together and go shopping hand in hand after playing.
Luan Qiaoqing expressed deep disgust at the idea of holding hands, but Song Shu glanced at her.
Luan Qiaoqing was silent for two seconds, then she obediently raised her hand to take the money and politely thanked him, "Thank you, Auntie."
"Qiaoqiao is so good."
Qiaoqiao was in tears.
But then she suddenly realized something - she already knew her father's new address, but she never had the time or money to go there. Now it seems that she has both.
Luan Qiaoqing began to have some ideas.
After arriving at the playground, Luan Qiaoqing found that there were a lot of people, which was a good opportunity for her to run away. She rolled her eyes and pulled Song Shu, "Sister, my stomach hurts, I need to go to the bathroom." While speaking, Luan Qiaoqing put her hand on her stomach and pretended to rub it.
"I'll accompany you." Her sister said expressionlessly.
Luan Qiaoqing choked, "No, no, I can go by myself. Sister, please wait here for me, I will be back soon!"
After saying this, Luan Qiaoqing was about to run away, but was stopped.
She looked back guiltily. Song Shu stared at her quietly for two seconds, nodded slowly, and let go of her hand.
"Be careful on the road."
"… "
Luan Qiaoqing was so scared that she turned around and ran away.
After she ran a long way, she looked back and saw that the girl who was two centimeters shorter than her was still standing in the crowd, looking quietly in her direction.
Song Shu was fifteen or sixteen years old at that time, and had already grown into the shape of a little beauty. Many boys passing by were looking at her openly or secretly.
However, she seemed to see no one and was only looking in this direction intently.
Luan Qiaoqing suddenly felt a little guilty.
But she still wanted to go home. She thought that if she had the chance in the future, she would still be willing to accompany her cousin to the amusement park to play.
Going shopping hand in hand... is not impossible.
Luan Qiaoqing took the money Bai Song gave her, ran to the entrance of the amusement park, hailed a taxi, and went straight to her father's new address.
Over there was a high-end residential area, with neatly arranged small buildings, and the exteriors were painted elegantly and beautifully. It was Luan Qiaoqing's first time here, and she was a little scared, but she still walked in with courage.
After struggling to find her father's new home according to the house number, Luan Qiaoqing looked at the beautiful little villa and small gate in the yard, took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell on the metal door outside the yard.
After a while, the door on the inner steps opened, and a woman's figure appeared.
"Who is it?"
“…!”
Luan Qiaoqing squatted behind the bushes beside the door. She hugged her knees and opened her eyes blankly, trying to recall the person she had just seen.
That was her new mother. She knew that she didn't like her and she didn't like her either. But before she came back, she thought about it and decided that she could endure it for her father.
but…
Why is that aunt’s belly protruding
Before Luan Qiaoqing could figure out the problem, she heard a familiar male voice coming out from behind the bushes, with a hint of reluctance and blame.
"Didn't you say I should drive? You're still pregnant, be careful."
"I heard a sound and couldn't help it."
"No, there are so many steps here. If you or the baby gets hurt, how sad I will be."
"You're the only one who can talk."
"Come, let me talk to the baby..."
"Oh, stop it. I just saw someone outside."
"Really?... No one is here. I thought you must have heard it wrong again. Let's go. It's so hot outside. Don't let the baby get too hot..."
"… "
The sound faded away.
With a final “bang”, the sweet words between the family of three disappeared, leaving only silence outside the door.
Luan Qiaoqing squatted behind the bushes.
She squatted until her legs and feet became numb and she lost all feeling. She squatted until the sky outside gradually darkened. She squatted until the heavy raindrops hit the floor tiles in front of her, leaving water spots of different shapes.
Luan Qiaoqing finally stood up by supporting herself on her knees.
She saw the light in the window with thin curtains not far away, and the figures of a man and a woman were snuggling in the window. The light in the room was very warm.
She raised her head.
The other small buildings and rooms had lights on one after another. This is probably what the "thousands of lights" mentioned in the book mean.
But the book doesn't say that the people who see the lights of thousands of houses are standing outside the door, it will rain heavily, and the sky outside will be dark and gloomy.
Among the thousands of lights, not a single one had anything to do with her.
…
Luan Qiaoqing was soaked like a drowned rat.
She didn't know where she was going. The rain was so heavy that the sky and the earth were all white. Pedestrians hurried past her, and few were willing to hesitate to look at the soaked child.
Luan Qiaoqing could only wander around blindly until she reached the outside of this high-end community.
There was the only 24-hour convenience store next to the door. Luan Qiaoqing felt her pocket, wondering if they would still accept her wet money.
She looked up and then froze in the rain.
Stiff as a fool.
Like a fool, I could see it from the reflection in the convenience store glass.
What made her look like a fool was the reflection of a pretty girl sitting on a high stool in the convenience store rest area, swinging her legs with an expressionless face.
The girls saw her too.
The girl jumped off the chair, pushed open the door of the convenience store, then stopped under the eaves and waved at her.
Luan Qiaoqing's first reaction when she came to her senses was, how short must her sister be to be able to swing her legs while sitting on a high stool
Her second reaction was to look at that face that had no emotion but made her feel friendly and at peace, and she exclaimed "Wow" and rushed forward.
——She thought the whole world had abandoned her.
Turns out not.
Fortunately... No.
Luan Qiaoqing hugged Song Shu, who was two centimeters shorter than her, and cried with snot and tears. Although the person she was hugging didn't make a sound or struggle, Luan Qiaoqing still felt that all her grievances had a vent:
"Mom, Dad has other children! He doesn't want me anymore! Wow--"
Passersby who were hiding from the rain turned their heads to look over here, and looked at the two teenagers as if they were two idiots.
Song Shu was much quieter and calmer, so she noticed it. But she didn't say anything, just sighed softly in her heart.
She recalled that year in the Qin family's small building.
The father who embraced Song Ruyu with a smile on his face, the father who coaxed his child affectionately, the father who left only disgust and the most hurtful coldness for her...
Song Shu gently touched the wet head of the girl who was hugging him.
"Then we don't want him either."
Let us abandon those who have failed us.
From that day on, Luan Qiaoqing had more complicated emotions towards Song Shu. If I had to describe it, it would probably be a mixture of love and hate.
The love comes from the care and comfort from a sister that Luan Qiaoqing has never experienced before, even though that person has no expression.
As for hate...
Luan Qiaoqing still remembers that after she cried until she was out of breath, she asked Song Shu in confusion while sobbing why she didn't get wet even though she followed him.
Then Song Shu calmly took out an umbrella from his bag and slowly opened it beside her who was soaked like a drowned chicken.
"The weather forecast says it will rain today."
"… "
Looking at the girl's delicate and emotionless face, Luan Qiaoqing had never realized so deeply that her sister was probably a devil.
Luan Qiaoqing finally entered Q City No. 2 Middle School where her devilish sister was studying.
No. 2 High School is a provincial key high school with a high ranking and is well-known throughout the country. It is filled with top students, but Luan Qiaoqing's grades... it's better not to mention them.
So when Luan Qiaoqing entered the junior high school and found Song Shu's name on several occasions among the outstanding student representatives commended by the school, she would always think of the afternoon when they first met, when she was dominated by the fear of the Rubik's Cube with so many grids that it gave her claustrophobia a seizure.
Because the difference in their academic performance was so great, Luan Qiaoqing never told anyone that the beautiful and smart girl in the second year of high school was really her sister.
She kept this secret very carefully.
Until an "accident" happened -
Luan Qiaoqing has always believed that an excellent and qualified little girl should have a rich emotional history. Since kindergarten, she has been enjoying having boyfriends.
Perhaps it was due to the excellent genes of the Bai family that a shaved head did not hinder Luan Qiaoqing's "glorious" love life.
Then Luan Qiaoqing suffered the first Waterloo in her life at No. 2 Middle School.
The day after she successfully held hands with a fair-skinned little boy, she was blocked at the classroom door by a group of little girls.
They threatened each other and set a time and place for a "duel" - this was their usual procedure.
Considering that the other party had more people and more power, Luan Qiaoqing felt that it would be a bit embarrassing to go alone, so after thinking about it, she sent the time and place to Song Shu again.
Before leaving for school at noon, her deskmate took advantage of no one's attention and said to her with a pale face: "You are done. You don't know where those girls come from."
Luan Qiaoqing thought he could fight five people at once, and he was not afraid at all. "Who could he be?"
"They found a foster brother in the high school department. That man is Qin Lou's follower!"
"Qin Lou, who is it?"
"You don't even know Qin Lou, so why are you still hanging around in No. 2 Middle School?"
Her desk mate glared at her with disdain and contempt, then with eyes full of love she recounted the legendary story of this senior from Qin Lou.
But at the end, my deskmate solemnly warned me: "If Brother Lou really went, you should apologize and admit your mistake. Although I didn't see him, I heard from others that when he gets crazy, he is not a normal person. All the teachers in the school are afraid of him."
"Okay, okay, I got it..."
Seeing that the time was almost up, Luan Qiaoqing didn’t want to stay any longer, so she said goodbye to her desk mate and rushed to the battlefield.
The place where they "matched" was in the southwest corner of the school, where there was a small sports field behind the multimedia classroom building.
This sports field is on the underground floor, about three or four meters lower than the ground level of the entire school.
It was almost lunch time and the students all headed to the cafeteria in the northeast corner, where there was almost no one.
When Luan Qiaoqing arrived, she saw those little girls standing under a tree. Next to them was a boy from high school, who should be the "brother" her deskmate mentioned.
The brother saw that Luan Qiaoqing came alone and laughed angrily. He turned around and asked the little girls, "Didn't they say she brought people with her? She was just a girl and she tricked me into calling Brother Lou over to play with us?"
After saying that, he turned his head towards the platform.
"Brother Lou, I'm sorry, my schoolmates are just fooling around..."
Following the voice, Luan Qiaoqing turned her head and noticed that there was another person under the shade of the tree.
The boy in the white shirt was sitting on the three or four meter high platform, swinging his slender legs. When he heard the voice, he put down the book in his hand and raised his eyes. His facial features, outlined by the light and shadow under the shade of the tree, were extremely handsome, with the streamlined thin lips, the straight white nose, and a pair of dark eyes.
Luan Qiaoqing had never seen such a handsome boy.
But the boy was not very kind.
He glanced at her coldly, looked away, closed the book in his hand, and threw it at the boy who spoke.
"I can't recite "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" anymore and I won't be able to see Little Clam today. Did you come here on purpose to harm me?"
The boy smiled awkwardly and took it. "No, Brother Lou, I will never waste your time next time. Please continue to recite it. Continue to recite it."
Luan Qiaoqing thought that the world was full of wonders. This was the first time she had seen such a studious bad boy. She just didn’t know what the “little clam shell” he was talking about was…
“Qiaoqiao.”
"!" Luan Qiaoqing felt a chill on her back when she heard this calm voice. She turned her head quickly and shouted out in a hysterical reaction: "Sister!"
"… "
The shout was quite loud, attracting the attention of several people on the stage.
The air suddenly became quiet.
It was the first time that Luan Qiaoqing saw a very obvious expression on Song Shu's face—the girl looked in a certain direction behind her and slowly frowned.
"Have you finished reciting "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow"?"
"… "
This was obviously not a question to her.
Luan Qiaoqing turned her head to look over.
Then she saw the boy who had amazed her stand up without her knowing when.
The unexpected incident caused those dark eyes to not have time to suppress their emotions -
He looked at the girl who was frowning quietly beside Luan Qiaoqing, and the emotion in his eyes at that moment was almost fanatical.
Her desk mate was right, this boy was indeed a lunatic.
Luan Qiao was thinking.
Because if I had to describe this look and expression...
Like an addicted patient.
It was an irrepressible desire.