Chapter 62 Chapter 62 From now on, our ashes will be buried together...

Yanping went through a period of very chaotic public security.

Missing children, fraud and robbery, theft and fighting...

In short, the frequent accidents have caused panic among the people. After a home invasion and murder case, every family installed anti-theft windows and anti-theft doors, and parents with children will pick up and drop off their children to school no matter how busy they are.

At this time, children who have no parents to pick them up and take care of them become "outliers".

Some children seem innocent but their deeply hurtful malice is infinitely magnified. They gather together to discuss and laugh at classmates who are not picked up by their parents, saying that they are poor creatures who are not loved by their parents.

Xu Lemian, who was still in elementary school, unfortunately became one of them.

When he needed care and concern the most, his mother and her boyfriend at the time, who was also his sister's father, were in a good relationship, so the three of them moved to the city, leaving him behind to depend on his grandmother.

My grandmother has a limp and it is difficult for her to plant flowers and plants, let alone pick him up and drop him off personally.

Xu Lemian, who was in his teens, was not very sensible, but he was subconsciously very resistant to letting others know that he had a younger sister. He did not like to talk about his mother with others, and he did not want everyone to see his lame grandmother.

It was a relief for him that no one answered the call.

In order to avoid being asked about his family situation, he would come in late and leave late every day, so that when everyone left, they would not notice that he was going home alone.

To get from school to home, Xu Lemian has to walk a very long and remote mountain path.

During the day, this path is so deserted that it seems as if it has been forgotten by the world. It is even more eerily quiet after nightfall. Sometimes you may wait for a whole day and still not see a single car.

One day in December of that year, he was delayed due to duty, and after school he was embarrassed to refuse his friend's invitation, so he had dinner outside. When he set out on the way home, the night had already wrapped everything around him tightly.

Xu Lemian was used to walking on this road, and usually didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But at the end of the year in the deep winter, the sky got dark earlier and earlier, and it was inevitable to feel creepy walking alone on this gloomy path.

Fortunately, there was a student from the junior high school next door who was returning late and was walking the same route as him. Xu Lemian followed him silently the whole time, and the panic in his heart was slightly relieved. He also looked at the "senior" in front of him curiously.

The senior was very tall, half a head taller than him, but in such a cold day, he was still wearing a worn-out school uniform jacket from autumn and winter. His shoulders were squeezed by the heavy straps of his schoolbag, and one could even see his bony back and forth through his clothes. His two trouser legs swung back and forth in the wind like dead leaves, as if there was nothing inside.

He should have known that someone was following him, but he never turned back or chased the person away. He silently blocked the wind for this strange brother.

The two walked slowly along the path, and it was so quiet that only the sound of footsteps echoed in the air.

Just as Xu Lemian was thinking about whether to go forward and say hello, suddenly a strong light shone on them from the field.

He cried out in pain, but before he could complain, the boy in front of him jumped off the path and ran into the pile of dry grass.

Xu Lemian covered his eyes and looked over there through his fingers——

It turned out to be a car that was overturned in the ground.

The car was upside down with all four wheels, and it must have been lying there for a long time. The beam of light was calling for help from the passers-by who had finally arrived.

Xu Lemian subconsciously took two steps forward, but hesitated when he jumped.

This piece of land has been barren for a long time, who knows if there are poisonous snakes or insects? Anyway, the brother has already jumped down, so he can't help much.

Xu Lemian turned around and took two steps, but the road ahead was still very long, the view was getting darker and the wind was getting colder.

...Let’s wait for that person to come back and then go together.

He squatted on the roadside with his neck hunched, picking wild flowers to relieve his boredom. He waited for a long time, his legs almost numb, and finally the figure came back.

"you--"

"Hello, could you please come over and help me?"

The boy's pale face looked a little scary in the night. Although he was in adolescence when collagen was most abundant, his cheeks looked a little sunken.

Xu Lemian hesitated and said, "I don't think I can help."

"It's very simple. Just help lift the door." The boy spoke very slowly, or was not very experienced. He must not communicate with people often. He tried to explain, "Someone is trapped. I can't remove the door and pull them out."

But I can’t remove it either.

Xu Lemian pursed his lips, looked at his dirty trouser legs, and said, "I'm afraid of insects and snakes."

The boy opened his arms: "I'll carry you over, you just need to help me hold the door."

At this point, Xu Lemian couldn't refuse anymore, so she had to reluctantly hug his neck and be carried to the center of the field.

The boy was different from what he imagined. He looked thin, but he was actually very strong. He could jog with him in his arms without even breathing hard. His flying hair smelled of fresh shampoo and was very dry.

Xu Lemian asked curiously: "Do you live far away?"

"Yeah." The boy was a man of few words. He felt it was impolite to answer, so he added, "It's still more than three miles to my house."

"Ah...it's farther than where I live." Perhaps because he met someone who shared the same suffering as him, Xu Lemian felt better for some reason.

Without waiting for any further questions, he was let go.

"Please lift this here."

Xu Lemian turned his head and saw a pool of blood, and screamed in horror.

"Don't be afraid, they are all fine." The boy saw that he was disgusted by the dirt, so he took off his coat, leaving only the clothes inside, "Use this to lift them, your hands won't get dirty."

Xu Lemian bit his lower lip hard and reached for the coat with trembling hands.

The car door was heavier than he thought. He ran out of energy in less than three minutes and hurriedly urged, "Hurry up!"

"The back seat is a little stuck, hold on a little longer..." The boy paused, "a little longer."

He felt a sinking sensation on his back, the weight of the car door pressing down on his back.

Xu Lemian's arms ached, and he unconsciously relaxed his strength and put the car door on him for leverage.

But he himself seemed to be unaware of this "subconscious" behavior, and kept urging: "Is it done? Is it done?"

"Okay, you can let go now."

A person with blood-stained hair was carried out. He looked about the same age as a boy, with his eyes closed, and was obviously in a coma.

He was put down, and they both fell to the ground, almost hitting Xu Lemian's feet.

Fortunately, Xu Lemian reacted quickly and dodged.

The boy's back felt a burning pain, probably from being pressed by the car door and leaving bloody marks.

He panted and looked inside the door: "Uncle, you..."

"Take him away first, don't worry about me." The driver couldn't move. The sharp and deformed car bodies were all around him. The space was squeezed into a ball. He couldn't breathe and spoke with great effort. "Hurry up, he's almost bled out!"

"...Okay, I'll come find you later." The boy gritted his teeth, carried the unconscious patient on his back, and looked down, "You——"

The little brother, who was half a head shorter than him, opened his arms, waiting to be hugged.

“…”

He swallowed back the words he hadn't said and picked the person up with one hand.

The combined weight of the two people in front and behind him was nearly 200 pounds, which almost broke his back. If there was a third person seeing this, he would definitely think that they would fall to the ground in the next second.

But Xu Lemian was sent back to the ground safely. She looked up at the boy, who was still carrying the patient steadily and walking forward quickly.

"Let's go, I want to take him to the hospital, and you can go home." The boy said, "Thank you for your help."

Xu Lemian rarely received "thank you" and was a little happy to hear this: "Luckily I'm here!"

The boy nodded slightly and took steps so fast and big that others had to jog to keep up with him.

Xu Lemian ran only two steps before he was out of breath and said, "Can you slow down?"

"He can't wait." The boy said, "There's someone in front, you..."

"I'll go to the hospital with you." Xu Lemian kept thinking of that "thank you" and decided to be a good person to the end. "You go find someone to save the uncle, and I'll take care of him."

It's always good to have one more person to help. The boy didn't hesitate: "Thank you for your help."

Thank you again.

Xu Lemian happily watched him leave, not noticing his trembling calves and arms.

When the patient returned to the general ward from the emergency room, his eyelids trembled restlessly and he finally regained consciousness.

Xu Lemian wanted to chat with this person for a while, but heard the people in the next bed discussing medical expenses.

He stopped suddenly and thought, will he be asked to pay for the medical expenses later?

Unfortunately, the half-dead person on the bed actually spoke, his voice was so rough that it was impossible to tell his true tone: "You sent me here?"

Xu Lemian thought that if it weren't for him today, he wouldn't have survived at all, and nodded proudly: "Yeah!"

Seeing that he looked confident and didn't seem to be faking it, the man closed his eyes and nodded: "What's your name?"

"Xu - uh..." Xu Lemian remembered what his mother said when she was arguing with his grandmother, that a disabled person would drag down the entire family. He hurriedly stopped talking, fearing that he would recognize him. "The teacher said that good deeds should not be named! Um, my mom urged me to go home. I'm glad you're okay. I'm leaving first!"

To Xu Lemian, this incident was just an insignificant episode.

He didn't know that the thin boy ran all over the town looking for help all night, accompanied the uncle until the early morning, sent the man back to the hospital, and went home to take out all his pocket money, which he paid for their medical expenses.

When his father, who was frustrated at work, found out about this, he beat him with a belt. He was already feeling unwell from a cold and developed a high fever at night, which lasted for two days. He almost died.

Xu Lemian told Xu Pei about this. As an old acquaintance of Chi Zhengbing, Xu Pei instantly knew who the boy his son met was.

She secretly went to the hospital and learned that the injured boy was not seriously injured, but the uncle was not so lucky. When he was sent to the hospital, his left leg had already been necrotic, and after waking up, he developed cognitive impairment and dissociative amnesia symptoms.

From the nurses and doctors, Xu Pei learned that the uncle was the driver of the boy's family, and the car that overturned was an Audi. Although it was not a luxury car like Maybach, Bentley or Rolls-Royce, it would probably cost a small million including the interior.

The person who has a driver at home should have an important identity, right?

She was cautious and walked around the hospital a few more times, asking a few nurses and doctors about the situation. She deliberately revealed the news that "her son saved them and they have been worried about him ever since." She did not reveal her identity in an attempt to cover up the truth, and left after making her presence felt.

A few years later, a strange account really added them and said that it was expressing gratitude for what happened that year. It didn't say anything else and just transferred money without chatting. It seemed that apart from repaying the favor, it didn't want to have any other interaction with them.

Xu Pei had not told Xu Lemian the man’s true identity before. Xu Lemian had forgotten the man’s existence for a while and enjoyed this “reward” with peace of mind.

But Xu Pei told him about this not long ago, and he felt a little panicked for some reason.

He did help, and he felt no guilt in accepting this "reward", but Chi Ke should have also received a share. Now he was asked to give half, but he really did not have the money.

Fortunately, Chi Ke didn't find out...

Wait a little longer, wait a little longer, when he has money in the future, he will return the money that belongs to Chi Ke. He is just borrowing it temporarily now.

And that person is his last hope after leaving Leng Yunting.

No matter how much he likes Leng Yunting, he still has his own dignity!

Xu Lemian sat alone in the box, fiddling with his fingers anxiously and glancing at the closed door every few seconds.

The lights inside are dim, which makes people feel safer than the magnificent hall. The sound insulation is also very good, so good that one cannot hear the footsteps outside, and one has no foreboding of the end of the wait.

Finally, when all the dishes on the table had cooled down, the door lock opened with a click.

Xu Lemian stood up immediately: "Hello, I am——"

The sound stopped abruptly.

His pupils suddenly shrank and he looked at the person who came in horror. After the other person took a step forward, he suddenly leaned against the wall, and the legs of the chair made a harsh "sizzling" noise on the ground.

"Why is it you?!"

Compared with his fancy dress, Chi Ke was dressed as simply as before.

The left side of his black shirt without cufflinks was casually tucked into his belt. His pants and belt were also black. Only the belt buckle and the shiny leather shoes shone faintly under the light.

His expression was indifferent as he took two slow steps forward. The sound of his shoes hitting the ground was even and gentle, but to Xu Lemian's ears it sounded like a countdown before the execution.

Xu Lemian had never been so panicked before. He counted his steps and in less than five steps, he rushed to the door.

Chi Ke raised the corner of his lips, did not stop, threw a document on the table, turned around and watched the show with his arms folded.

Hearing the dull thud of documents hitting the table, Xu Lemian's heart was trembling and his palms were covered in sweat. It took him several attempts to open the door lock.

Dazzling light came in through the crack in the door. He was filled with joy and relief, and he couldn't wait to open the door.

"Mr. Xu."

Li Xiuming stood at the door, looking down at him quietly.

Xu Lemian's breath was choked, and he clenched his hand on the door lock so hard that he accidentally broke the nail of his index finger.

This is……

What's happening?!

"Mr. Xu, what's wrong?" Li Xiuming took a step forward with concern.

Xu Lemian stepped back subconsciously.

It was this retreat that gave Li Xiuming the opportunity to enter the room and locked the door of the box.

"I forgot to introduce myself," he said. "I am always grateful for the helping hand you extended to me back then. It's been such a long time since we last met, I don't think you recognized me."

"It's you?!"

He is Leng Yunting's friend, so the reason he didn't send money before was not because he noticed something, but because he knew he was no longer short of money?

Xu Lemian suddenly turned his head and stared at Chi Ke who was standing calmly beside him.

"Ah, Mr. Chi was just discussing business with me, so I asked him to come over for dinner." Li Xiuming made a "please" gesture, "Mr. Chi is not an outsider to me, and this is not something that needs to be concealed. Mr. Xu should not mind, right?"

Just eating together?

Didn't you discover something?

Doesn't he know yet?

Xu Lemian stared blankly at the documents on the table. He watched Chi Ke put his hand on it, raised his fingers and tapped twice casually, and his heart trembled violently.

"I... don't mind." Xu Lemian said word by word.

"That's good." Li Xiuming passed him by and pulled out a chair for Chi Ke. "I didn't expect the food to be served so quickly. It's already cold. Bring another portion."

Before Xu Lemian could even say "OK", Chi Ke shook his head: "No need, we have something else to do later, and we can't eat much."

"That's true." Li Xiuming nodded to Xu Lemian and apologized, "Sorry, we only have fifteen minutes to give you."

Xu Lemian sat down stiffly: "It doesn't matter, I... don't have much appetite."

"It's my fault for not hosting you well. Please let me treat you formally next time." Li Xiuming pushed a plate of sea urchin over. "We didn't get to chat for long in the hospital. Mr. Xu hasn't changed much over the years. He's always been so thin."

Xu Lemian smiled awkwardly. The last thing he wanted to mention now was "what happened back then."

He just wanted to get the plane ticket and check and leave here quickly, and didn't want to recall the past at all!

Maybe that was the plan at first, but now...

He glanced at Chi Ke obliquely.

This person didn't react when he heard that he was a fellow villager from Yanping. He probably doesn't remember that incident, right?

Probably, you won’t remember it, right?

Li Xiuming said, "I never had the chance to catch up, so I went back to Yanping and walked the route from the scene to the hospital. It's such a long distance, I was curious about how you got me there."

Xu Lemian hesitated and said, "There was a kind-hearted person who helped at that time."

"Why haven't I heard you mention it before?" Li Xiuming was surprised. "Do you remember who it was?"

Xu Lemian didn't dare to look into Chi Ke's eyes: "I can't remember clearly."

"What a pity." Li Xiuming said it was a pity, but his face was still indifferent. "If you remember, you must tell me."

It was not known whether the air-conditioning was on in the room, but Xu Lemian was breathing heavily due to the heat, and the back of his clothes were soaked with sweat. She did not understand why he kept bringing up what happened in the past, so she had no choice but to start a conversation.

Whether there was a second person or not, he saved his life, didn't he?

Why do you have to insist on asking about the existence of the second person?

Just when he was getting too anxious to hold back, Li Xiuming finally changed the subject: "I can help you leave here, but I can't give you the money you want for now. We second-generations are not as rich as you think, and I'm an unpopular illegitimate child. I can't just take out tens of millions. I'll support you when I have cash in hand after a while, okay?"

No, there is no way.

Xu Lemian couldn't find anyone else to turn to for help.

Unless there are other kind people willing to help him.

He couldn't help feeling disappointed and regretful as he watched Chi Ke eating beef in silence the whole time.

It would be great if Chi Zhu was still the kind and generous senior.

Li Xiuming ate a few bites and was about to leave. Xu Lemian wanted to follow him but was stopped by Chi Ke.

"Boss Leng will finish the meeting and come to the villa in two hours. You'd better come back with me now."

Xu Lemian's neck made a stiff "creaking" sound: "I, I can take a taxi myself."

He doesn't want to stay with Chi Ke for even a second now!

"You'd better come with me. I let you out. If you run away, I can't bear the responsibility." Chi Ke opened the door, half of his face hidden in the darkness, his expression was gloomy, "Please come in."

Xu Lemian clenched his upper and lower teeth together and took strong steps.

As the two passed each other, Chi Ke whispered, "Xu Lemian."

Xu Lemian's legs went weak and he almost fell to his knees.

Chi Ke grabbed his collar without lowering his head and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No." The collar was grabbed so tightly that Xu Lemian could hardly breathe. "I just didn't get enough rest. I'm so tired today."

"That's right." Chi Ke let go of his hand, letting him hold the door awkwardly, and said lightly, "If you have done nothing wrong in your life, there is really no need to be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door in the middle of the night."

Xu Lemian's eyes turned red, and he was overwhelmed with grievance: "What does Chi Zhu mean by this? Of course I haven't done anything to let anyone down!"

It was just his bad luck that he was not found by Li Xiuming. It was not his fault!

Didn't he help at that time? Without his help, could Chi Ke have saved them all by himself? !

He just took his own share and didn't ask for it on behalf of this person!

"That would be the best." Chi Ke's smile did not reach his eyes. He ignored his anger that broke out for no reason, walked past him, waved for a taxi, "Go back, Young Master Xu."

The three words "young master" were bitten off with extra meaning.

Chi Ke sent Xu Lemian back to the villa and went straight to the hospital without even getting out of the car.

He took off his glasses and his vision instantly became blurry.

The bustling night scene of the city turned into scattered points of light in his eyes. Through the glass window, those buildings suddenly became very far away and out of reach.

He remembered what Li Xiuming said.

[My brother knocked me out and threw me into the trunk. The driver, the owner of the WeChat account, was on a business trip with another person. They were bribed to abandon me on the way, but the driver changed his mind. He took me out of the trunk and put me in the back seat, intending to find a good family to adopt me in a village. He had an argument with the person he was traveling with, and they were so busy arguing that they didn’t look at the road, and the car flipped over.]

[I was supposed to die, no one would come to save me.]

[If no one had helped me pay for the medical expenses for the next few days, I would have really died. That amount of money was not a small amount for anyone at the time.]

[I once suspected that the man was not Xu Lemian, but all the witnesses and evidence I found told me that it was him. I went to the hospital and the police station, but the police told me that the person who reported the case was a middle-aged man, and that the middle-aged man had passed away. The driver at the time still refuses to recall the car accident... Chi Ke, do you know? The second person I vaguely saw seemed to not exist. It was just my illusion at the time. ]

When Chi Ke heard this, he didn't know the ins and outs of the matter.

But from the few words Xu Lemian just said, he basically understood the truth.

His mood swings have always been calm, and he rarely has so-called strong "impulses".

But just now at the dinner table, he almost couldn't help but overturn the table.

"Master," Chi Ke suddenly said, "I'm sorry, please change the route."

He reported the address of the original owner's home.

He hadn't been back for a long time, and this place was exactly the same as when he first came here, even the arrangement of the furniture hadn't changed.

The original owner's time stopped at this moment.

Before moving out, he had put dust covers on the furniture, and now there was a layer of dust on the floor. The moonlight shone through the windows, and the whole room was white, like an early snow in September.

Chi Ke walked into the room, leaving a few light footprints on the ground, which finally made the room look less empty.

He touched the neatly made bed and his palms were cold.

This was probably the only difference from when he first arrived.

I had just opened my eyes and could clearly feel that the bed was still warm.

If he had never come, if he had taken it for granted that he had lived in his own way using this identity, who would still remember "Chi Ke"?

He and the original owner had never met each other before, but they were inseparable. This unbreakable thread would always emerge at some point, leaving a bitter taste in one's mouth.

Chi Ke tidied up the house, swept the floor, and left quietly.

It's like it never happened.

The community was under renovation. He walked along the rugged concrete road and picked up a leaf that had fallen in the middle of the road.

Seeing the yellow marks on the leaves, Chi Ke suddenly realized that a midsummer was leaving.

The sound of cicadas had disappeared long ago without anyone noticing, and the rustling of leaves on the trees was not the sound of cicadas, but the sound of the autumn wind.

It's almost the end of the year again.

Some things should come to an end.

He threw the dead leaves into the trash can and walked quickly towards the exit.

His eyes fell on a bright red spot on the street, and Chi Ke raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

"Su Jinmian and Li Xiuming both sent me messages just now. I learned something. You didn't reply to my message, so I guessed you might be here." Ji Qian leaned on the red supercar and tilted his head.

Chi Ke was helpless: "I really can't get rid of you."

Some things don't need to be said explicitly, they can understand each other's meaning.

"Get rid of me? Have you ever had this thought?" Ji Qian said viciously, "Don't even think about it. I tell you, our ashes will be buried together from now on!"

Chi Ke sneered, knowing that he had brought up the topic of "death" on purpose.

Ji Qian knew him very well. If he felt depressed and unhappy about something, the first thing he would think of was not to escape, but to face it.

The moment when it is mentioned frankly is also the moment when the darkness becomes the past.

Ji Qian's words were not about the words themselves, but Chi Ke still replied: "Okay, it just saves the money for a cemetery. Where do you want to live?"

"That will happen decades later. Don't worry. We can consider the location then." Ji Qian smiled and stretched out his hand, "Come and hug me first."

Chi Ke obediently handed over his hand and rested his chin on his shoulder.

Ji Qian lowered his head and took a deep breath, and said with emotion: "Ah... the breath of a healthy living person."

Tsk, divine gold.

Chi Ke broke away before attracting more attention and took the man into the car to talk: "I can probably guess what Li Xiuming said to you, what did Su Jinmian tell you?"

When talking about this, Ji Qian shyly hit his shoulder and said, "Husband, although we haven't made it public, it seems that many people know that you are my husband~"

Chi Ke: “.”

Chi Ke: "Let's talk business, stop making trouble."

Ji Qian lifted his chin with his fingertips, with the expression of a playboy: "Do you want to know? Guess? There will be a reward for your guess~"

Chi Ke was not angry, but asked, "What reward?"

Ji Qian smiled evilly: "You can make a request for the reward, anything is fine. If you can't guess it, you have to agree to one of my requests."

"Okay." Chi Ke was afraid that he would go back on his word, so he spoke quickly, "Did Su Jinmian come to you to tell me that Xu Lemian is her biological half brother?"

Ji Qian: “…”

I am most afraid of the air suddenly becoming quiet.

Ji Qian performed the smile disappearing trick on the spot: "You cheated, didn't you?"

This is weird, how did you guess this?