"Brother Fei?"
"Uncle Chen told me you went home?"
Even though he had calmed down and had held back his tears when he first learned the truth, Lin Qingyan couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat when he heard the man's familiar, deep, and cold voice.
His throat tightened, a lump forming in his throat, and he remained silent for several seconds. Gu Fei asked him what was wrong, and Lin Qingyan forced himself to speak in a calm voice, suppressing his emotions:
"It's nothing. My mom hurt her leg. I'm going home to check on her. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"Yeah?"
"Yes, it really is. It's getting late. Brother Fei, you've had a tough business trip, you should get some rest."
The boy's meaning was clear; he didn't want to continue the conversation. Gu Fei was silent for two seconds before replying, "You should go to sleep early too. Good luck tomorrow."
"Okay, goodnight, Fei-ge." After hearing Gu Fei's reply of goodnight, Lin Qingyan quickly hung up the phone. He looked up at the ceiling and forcibly held back his tears.
Gu Fei was still away on a business trip, and Lin Qingyan didn't want him to know about it or worry him.
Hearing no movement from inside the room, Zhou Yuelan anxiously stood guard at the door. She paced back and forth a few times before tentatively saying, "Xiao Yan, it's getting late. Why don't you go to sleep first? Mom will let you out when you wake up."
No one answered, but her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, then went into the bathroom, closed the door, and answered the call, speaking in a low voice, afraid that the people in the room would hear.
"Hmm... I did everything you said. He can't come out of the room, so don't worry."
"If you still have time, could you meet with your mother? She wants to see you."
The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a young man, sounding somewhat impatient and dismissive: "I'm very busy lately, let's talk later. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
——
The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the sky was beginning to lighten, Lin Qingyan, who had only slept for a few hours, got out of bed, quickly washed his face, and then pushed open the door and went out onto the balcony.
He had a way to get out. His brother's room had a small balcony, and outside the balcony was a rather large tree very close to it. This was the second floor, not very high from the ground, so he could climb down the tree.
He also did things like climbing trees when he was a child.
I haven't climbed in a long time, so I'm a bit rusty.
In the early morning, while the nearby residents were still asleep, the branches of the roadside trees trembled gently, the sound of which was particularly clear in the quiet morning. A slender boy hugged a thick branch and carefully climbed down.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on his fair forehead, his pale lips were pursed nervously, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged slightly, which were particularly noticeable on his fair and delicate skin.
It'll be soon, it'll be soon...
With about a meter to go, Lin Qingyan silently cheered himself on, but his foot slipped and he fell to the ground before he could even scream.
"..."
Sure enough, I'm still out of practice.
It didn't hurt or itch when I fell, except the ground was a little dirty.
Lin Qingyan patted the dirt off his white T-shirt, but the dirt was wet, and the more he patted, the dirtier it got. He sighed helplessly and walked into the street covered in dirt.
After receiving Zhou Yuelan's call last night, he rushed over without even having dinner, but he didn't expect this outcome. Now he is so hungry that he can barely walk, and a complex mix of disappointment, anger, and grievances wells up inside him.
At this time of day, there were few vehicles and pedestrians on the streets, but the breakfast shops along the street were open, steaming and emitting a fragrant aroma. Lin Qingyan couldn't help but swallow.
He wanted to eat, but he had no cash on him, his phone had run out of battery and shut down last night, and there wasn't even a charger in his brother's room, so he couldn't use online payment.
Lin Qingyan stood at the entrance of the breakfast shop, wondering whether he should go over and borrow a charger from the owner. He was focused on the steaming, freshly baked, white and plump buns and did not notice the car parked on the road next to him.
A black Maybach.
The back window of the car was half open, revealing half of the man's handsome face. His long, deep eyes were fixed on the boy not far away, who was standing at the entrance of the breakfast shop, looking longingly at the freshly steamed buns.
His clothes looked a bit dirty, and his short black hair was slightly messy, making him look like a stray kitten.
Gu Fei recalled the night he met Lin Qingyan on the street half a month ago, just like now, except that he had two steamed buns then, but now he didn't even have any.
He opened the car door and quietly walked behind the boy. "What are you looking at?"
Lin Qingyan could hardly believe his eyes. How could Gu Fei suddenly appear here? He took two steps back in surprise and stammered, "Mr...Mr. Gu, what brings you here? Weren't you away on a business trip?"
He saw him off in person yesterday.
As he got closer, Gu Fei could see the boy's appearance more clearly. He glanced at him and saw that the boy's fair face was covered with some dust, there was sweat on his forehead, and dark circles under his eyes. His T-shirt and pants were covered with even more mud.
Gu Fei frowned slightly. How could this kid have gotten himself into such a mess after only one day of his absence?
Lin Qingyan noticed his reaction and realized that he must look terrible, so he quickly straightened his wrinkled T-shirt. He hadn't showered last night, so he hadn't changed his clothes either.
He nervously lowered his head and sniffed himself. Did he smell bad? Did he? Did he really smell bad? He did smell a little…
Seeing the boy's incredibly conflicted expression, Gu Fei couldn't help but chuckle. "Stop smelling it, it doesn't stink." He raised his hand and placed it on the boy's fair face, gently wiping away the dust with his fingertips, and asked casually, "Hungry?"
Lin Qingyan nodded shyly, then glanced back at the steamed buns behind him. He spoke softly, his gentle voice soft and clear: "Brother Fei, my phone is dead. Could you buy me two steamed buns?"
Gu Fei resisted the urge to buy the entire steamed bun shop.
He said "wait" and went into the shop. When he came out, he was carrying not two buns, but two large bags of buns and two cups of soy milk.
Lin Qingyan: "...Why did you buy so much?"
Gu Fei said in a flat tone, "I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I bought two of each."
"..." Alright, Lin Qingyan followed Gu Fei into the car with questions and trepidation. Just as he was about to speak, Gu Fei handed him a bag of steamed buns, "Eat first and then we'll talk."
Lin Qingyan swallowed his words. He was indeed very hungry and didn't care about his image. He took a steaming hot custard bun and ate it in big bites.
Gu Fei inserted the straw and handed him the warm soy milk.
"It's a little hot, eat slowly."
The boy paused, nodded with a soft "hmm," then lowered his eyes and silently finished the steamed bun in his hand. He then drank a few sips of soy milk, and his stomach finally felt warm and full.
His heart, wounded and disappointed as if plunged into winter, finally showed signs of springing back. The man beside him was a complete stranger, yet he rushed over from out of town overnight for him.
Yet his closest family members hurt him time and time again with those high-sounding reasons that sound like they were trying to fool a fool.
Lin Qingyan had been holding back her emotions since last night, but now, in this quiet morning, in the cramped carriage, next to Gu Fei, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst out.
When the boy cried, it wasn't the kind of loud, heart-wrenching sobbing. He simply lowered his head slightly, and large, hot tears silently streamed from his eyes, accompanied only by soft sobs and choked sobs.
Even her crying was suppressed, for fear of disturbing others. Little did she know that this made her look even more pitiful and aggrieved, causing onlookers' hearts to ache as well.
Gu Fei had no idea what had happened to the child in front of him to make him cry so pitifully and helplessly. For the first time, he felt completely at a loss.
The child's cheeks were streaked with tears that he couldn't stop. His eyes were red from crying, his long, thick eyelashes were wet with tears, his mouth was trembling from crying, and his thin shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.
Almost instinctively, he pulled Lin Qingyan into his arms, silently and gently stroking the boy's head and then his back.
Warm tears soaked the fabric of his shirt.
Lin Qingyan didn't feel a sense of belonging when he stepped into the house, but now, nestled in the man's arms, that feeling instantly filled his heart, like a small boat sailing on a vast ocean finally returning to its harbor, or a weary bird returning to the mountains and forests.
He buried his face in the man's chest, and unconsciously reached out to hug the man's strong, muscular waist. He cried for a while before stopping, then felt ashamed and didn't even have the courage to lift his head. He said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble..."
She was given a second chance at life, and she cried like a child.
Lin Qingyan, you're getting more and more useless as you get older.
Gu Fei lowered his eyes, and the boy's reddened ears came into his view. He called out "Yan Yan," cupped the boy's cheeks in his hands, and made him look up. Looking into those peach blossom eyes that were misty and red from crying, he asked, "Do you still remember what I told you?"
Gu Fei said, "If anyone bullies you, you must tell me, okay?"
His words seemed to have some kind of magic; Lin Qingyan's mind went blank for a moment, and then she blurted out the whole story: "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you the truth last night... My mom lied and said she fell, and tricked me into coming home..."
After hearing the whole story, the man's calm eyes gradually darkened, and an unnamed fire burned within him. He said in a deep voice, "So, how did you get out?"
Lin Qingyan: "...climbed down from the tree outside the balcony."
Upon hearing this, Gu Fei's forehead twitched slightly.
He looked the boy up and down again, and what he saw made him realize that there was bright red blood on the boy's left ankle, flowing down his calf.
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