“Tick-tick-tick!”
Blood dripped from Qiuqiu's cheek in a streamline shape onto the clean floor.
Yu's father was standing nearby, watching his daughter in agony. Only a parent can understand that feeling.
"I asked you to sit down." An Qiqi sat aside, her pretty face calm and her voice quiet.
Father You's face turned red, he slammed his hands heavily on the table, and bent down to sit back in his chair.
An Qiqi turned her head and looked at Qiuqiu, her eyes sharp.
Qiuqiu held the knife tightly and said in a trembling voice: "Isn't that enough?!"
An Qiqi didn't reply.
"Okay, don't you just want to vent your anger? I'll help you!" Qiuqiu's expression was both terrified and crazy. He held the knife in his right hand and stabbed his cheek again.
"puff!"
In a fit of excitement, Qiuqiu cut open the left side of his cheek with a knife, revealing the skin and flesh, and his nose was deformed by the tip of the knife.
"Is it okay?!" Qiuqiu asked roaringly.
An Qiqi still didn't respond.
“Puff!”
Qiuqiu stabbed himself for the third time with his eyes closed. The left side of his cheek was completely ulcerated, and blood was oozing from his nostrils and nose. Teeth could be vaguely seen in the blood hole visible to the naked eye.
Blood was flowing all over the ground. Qiuqiu was limp and sat on the ground. "I was wrong... Please forgive me! I beg you, I really don't know what to do... Otherwise, you tell me how many times I should stab myself, so that you can vent your anger and hatred. Can you tell me a number?!!"
Qiuqiu's emotions really broke down. She actually no longer had the courage to stab herself with a knife.
An Qiqi looked at her and slowly stood up: "Do you think I hate you?"
"No... isn't it?" Qiuqiu said with disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes.
An Qiqi looked at her and said in a trembling voice, "You, Wang Ying and I have known each other for almost twenty years. We grew up together and shared joys and sorrows together. I naively thought that besides my family, you were my closest relatives. Even when I was frustrated in society, there were many things I couldn't tell my parents, but I could tell you. So, for me, just talking about hatred is too thin. Unfortunately, my previous life was a complete failure. I lost everything I cared about in almost a month. It wasn't until Wang Ying wanted to kill me and until you framed me in the police petition that I really grew up."
Qiuqiu stared at her blankly, his bloodshot eyes filled with tears.
"Do you think I'm taking revenge on you?" An Qiqi looked at her: "I really hope I can still have this kind of emotion, but unfortunately, my mind is full of reason now."
Qiuqiu looked shocked, as if he didn't understand this sentence at all.
An Qiqi paused: "Watching you stab yourself three times has nothing to do with hatred, venting anger, or revenge. I am the daughter of An Zecheng, and my family situation is very complicated. Today, you stabbed me and said a few nice words, and I didn't react at all. Then tomorrow anyone can use me to threaten my parents! You are my best friend, the worse your ending is, the more scared those people who are eyeing you will be! They will know that once they fail, they will pay an unimaginable price! "
Qiuqiu stared at An Qiqi blankly, speechless.
"When I was in Bana City, I had more than a dozen guns pointed at my head. After going through all that, how can I still talk about hatred?" An Qiqi picked up his backpack: "I don't hate it anymore..."
After that, An Qiqi pointed at You's father and said, "I've estimated your family's assets. I want 10 million. If you pay, your daughter won't have to go to jail for the rest of her life. With this amount, you won't go bankrupt. At most, you'll just feel a little pain."
Father You clenched his fists and after a long pause, he replied, "Sure, I'll give it to you!"
An Qiqi turned around and left without even looking at Qiuqiu who was slumped on the ground.
…
afternoon.
An Qiqi took a military vehicle and arrived at the door of a barber shop in Longkou District.
This barber shop is not big, only about 60 to 70 square meters inside and out. The haircutters are a father and son. They once followed Zhou's troops and came to Longcheng through the great migration from southern Shanghai.
There aren't many customers in the barber shop, and its decor and furnishings have the flavor of Shanghai during the Republic of China period.
This place holds some memories of An Qiqi. When she was dating Gou Liuzi, the latter often came here to get a buzz cut.
At that time, An Qiqi was eating snacks and sitting next to Liuzi, looking at her phone and bickering with him. Her life was carefree, happy and warm.
"Boss, give me a haircut." An Qiqi shouted with a smile.
"Please take a seat!" The old master came out and greeted softly.
The bright sunshine shone in from outside. After washing her hair, An Qiqi sat obediently on the chair, looking at herself in the mirror quietly.
The old master came over with a pair of freshly sharpened scissors and slowly began to style her hair.
…
In the evening, around five o'clock.
An Zecheng sat at home smoking a cigarette. After listening to the guard's account of what happened, he frowned and said, "You deserve it! There is no right or wrong in this matter, only the price! Go ahead."
"yes!"
The guard left and headed outside.
An Zecheng flicked the ash off his cigarette, turned his head to look at his wife beside him and asked, "What do you think of Qiqi?"
"I'm a little confused about her now." Yu Zhen shook her head: "The current situation is so tense, she must not be allowed to return to Washington. Originally, I planned to let her find a school in Longcheng to study and kill time, but she doesn't seem to be willing to do so and doesn't want to talk about it."
An Zecheng sighed: "Alas, I have influenced the child."
"There's nothing we can do about it." Yu Zhen took a sip of tea: "What I mean is..."
"Dad, Mom, I'm back!"
An Qiqi's clear voice sounded, and she walked in from outside with a smile on her pretty face.
An Zecheng looked up and was stunned. He saw that his daughter's long black hair had been cut off... and turned into short hair that reached her ears.
A breeze blew in from outside, and An Qiqi's hair fluttered. She smiled and asked, "Dad, Mom, how is it? Does it look good? Do you look a lot fresher?"
An Zecheng was silent, his eyes full of heartache.
"It looks good." Yu Zhen replied with a smile: "It's also easy to take care of it this way."
"Hehe, I think so too." An Qiqi trotted to his parents, put down his backpack and said, "I have something to discuss with you."
"What's the matter?" An Zecheng looked at her and asked.
An Qiqi pursed her lips and said, "I want to join the army and apply for a formal military academy."
When the couple heard this, they were both stunned.
The brutal experience in a short period of time made An Qiqi reborn from the ashes, just like the phoenix cub, who had to experience the baking of the hottest flames and endure all kinds of pain before he could finally spread his wings in the blue sky...