flames
"Did you see that?"
Jiang Qing kept her eyes fixed on the front.
Lin Nanyan retracted his hand, strode after her, and looked in the direction the girl pointed. "I see."
Jiang Qing placed the knuckles of her index finger on her lips, a gesture of thinking.
"Do you feel like something's wrong?"
Lin Nanyan carefully looked at the person in front of him and finally concluded, "The clothes and hairstyle have changed."
"Oh, no..." Jiang Qing shook her head. Her eyes scanned carefully from top to bottom, trying to know where the vaguely strange feeling in her heart came from.
"They've left," Lin Nanyan lowered his head and reminded the girl in front of him, "Do you want to follow them?"
Jiang Qing immediately said: "Yes!"
She pulled Lin Nanyan and followed carefully.
"I've discovered that my tracking skills are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Maybe I can become a private investigator in the future."
Lin Nanyan: "That's great, I can be a legal expert."
Jiang Qing's knife-like eyes instantly swung out, "Did you see my eye roll? No need to thank me, it's a free gift for you."
Lin Nanyan smiled and said, "I'll take it."
The two of them sneakily became the little tails in the crowd that couldn't be shaken off, following the person in front of them further and further away.
Jiang Qing grabbed the corner of Lin Nanyan's clothes and looked around. "Why do I feel that it's a bit eerie?"
In a corner on the edge of the city, abandoned wood is piled up in piles, the exposed nails are covered with spots of rust, the red brick walls are empty, and the sound of wind passes through the concrete pillars.
In the dark night, everything is hidden in the darkness and cannot be seen clearly.
Jiang Qing raised her head and looked ahead. "What is she doing here?"
"This is an abandoned building. It's likely no one has lived there for many years," Lin Nanyan said, withdrawing his gaze from observing the surroundings. "At this time and in this place, there must be something that needs to be done."
"What must be done..." Jiang Qing murmured.
In a trance, my peripheral vision caught a glimpse of some bright colors.
She patted Lin Nanyan uncertainly, "Does that look like a flame?"
Lin Nanyan held his breath for a second, "It's fire."
In the darkness, orange tongues of fire rose out of nowhere, a little light that was particularly dazzling in the night.
Jiang Qing and Lin Nanyan looked at each other for a moment, then turned around and ran madly towards the light source.
At this point, he didn't care about being exposed anymore. Lin Nanyan turned on his phone's light to illuminate the girl's feet. "There are wood nails all around, be careful."
Jiang Qing nodded in agreement, her mind in a mess.
Seeing this, Lin Nanyan took Jiang Qing's hand and led her across through a safe route.
In the darkness of the night, the two held hands, with only a small patch of light beneath their feet illuminating the way ahead.
Their skin touched, their bones touched, with a reassuring strength and the familiar warmth between them, and Jiang Qing's fingertips curled slightly.
She looked up at the building and the dark shadow standing quietly in front of the window flashed by, leaving only the blazing light.
At this moment, Jiang Qing's heart sank to the bottom.
Lin Nanyan pushed open the door to the second floor. There was no one in the room anymore. Only the fire in the center was still burning tirelessly, with tongues of flame stretching out wantonly. The shadows of flames were climbing and surging on the wall.
The air in the room grew thinner, smelling of fireworks, like burning paper and fabric.
The boy's action of pushing the door is frozen.
The scene before him was far beyond his expectations, and more importantly—
He turned around and saw the girl behind him standing there in a daze, her pupils dilated, a fiery red light reflected in her beautiful round eyes, and shock deep in her eyes.
Jiang Qing was so shocked that she was almost speechless, "This, this is..."
"This is a gift for you," Mina put the thing in her hand on the coffee table, "Do you like it?"
The gorgeous chandelier illuminates the entire living room, and the spotless floor can reflect people's shadows. Two people stand facing each other.
"If you called me here just to say this," Ye Meiyan lowered her eyes, "then you are really boring."
After saying that, she turned around and was about to leave.
Mina sat on the sofa and relaxed, watching the girl's back, and said in a long tone, "Why don't you open it and take a look?"
Ye Meiyan stopped in her tracks.
Mina: "You might regret it."
This tone... Ye Meiyan turned around and her eyes fell on the brown file bag on the coffee table.
"What are you doing again?" She raised her eyes and stared straight at the girl who was doing whatever she wanted.
"No," Mina spread her hands. "Don't think so badly of me. I promise you'll thank me this time."
Ye Meiyan pondered for two seconds, walked forward, and picked up the thick file bag.
Mina: "Look at your outfit, did you just finish exercising?"
Ye Meiyan paused in opening the document envelope and looked up. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"Playing basketball is tough, isn't it? I used to be able to do moves effortlessly, but now I'm trying my best to hone them over and over again, but I can't reach my previous level anymore," Mina sighed and shook her head. "It's not a pleasant feeling."
Ye Meiyan's hands tightened for a moment, and fine wrinkles appeared on the flat surface of the paper.
"I said it a long time ago, people's talents will disappear." Mina stood up and poured a glass of juice with elegant movements.
"God has given people a little bit of life. If you don't seize it, it's gone. It's too late to regret. This is the punishment for children who don't cherish time and talent."
"Uncle Ye wants to raise you to be an artistic and elegant lady like your mother," she said, her eyes gently glancing at the diamond beads on the girl's wrist as she handed the cup over. "Since you've decided to follow Uncle Ye's wishes and be a good girl, why are you rebelling now and asking for trouble?"
Ye Meiyan looked at the bright red juice right in front of her, the reflective glass illuminating her eyes.
She raised her hand and slowly took the cup, holding it tightly.
Mina smiled, turned around and poured herself a glass of juice.
"I've said this many times," Ye Meiyan raised her eyes, her eyes shining brightly in the bright lights, "Mina, we are no longer children, but you don't seem to take it to heart."
The sound of water hitting glass paused for a moment, then sounded again.
"I know exactly what I'm doing, but you," Ye Meiyan asked calmly, "do you understand what you're doing?"
Mina turned around with a smile on her lips, "What do you want to say?"
Ye Meiyan didn't dodge or evade, "You are no longer my friend, so stop interfering in my life under the banner of doing good for me."
"Also, my dad never forced me to make choices."
Mina suddenly exerted force in her hand, and the glass left a deep red mark on her fair palm.
She raised her head and drank the bright red drink in her hand. "Open the file bag first."
Ye Meiyan was slightly startled, and her hands moved faster.
With a hissing sound, the crack became larger and several photos fell out.
Ye Meiyan's gaze froze instantly, glued to those scenes that were either familiar or unfamiliar.
Mina: "I heard that you've been getting close to Jiang Qing and Jiang Qing recently, and you even followed that guy called Qingyun."
Ye Meiyan picked up the photo and looked up, "Are you investigating us?"
"I'm just curious," Mina brushed her misty blue hair, "and you guys have been acting really strange lately."
"There's no reason, no logic, and your behavior is bizarre," she took a few steps closer and whispered in Ye Meiyan's ear, "You've changed so much, it's hard not to be suspicious."
"So," she pulled away, "I found something interesting."
Jiang Qing's pupils dilated as she stared blankly at the scene in front of her.
The walls are covered with portraits, densely posted in every corner.
No matter how the background changes, the subject of each portrait is the same person, whether sitting or lying down, laughing or angry, alone or with friends, vivid and full of vitality.
Familiar brushstrokes, familiar colors, familiar painting style, full of artistic atmosphere.
If it weren't for this strange scene, if the person in the painting wasn't her, if she hadn't seen these portraits before, Jiang Qing would also applaud this rich, colorful, and emotional work of art.
Her eyes swept across the lower right corners of each piece of paper, all of which were signed with the same person's name.
——Jiang Qing.
Lin Nanyan frowned and looked at each portrait. Most of them were set in school, and a small part were set outside of school.
Jiang Qing recorded almost every moment of Jiang Qing's emotional fluctuations and every behavior one by one, and amplified the emotions with artistic techniques. The painter's brushstrokes are warm, rich, and almost fanatical.
He couldn't help but think of the portrait he had seen under Li Qingyun's bed.
I originally thought it was an accident, but now it seems that it is just the tip of the iceberg.
In the dim bedroom, a night light was turned on. Li Qingyun lifted the bed sheet and slowly took out the things under the bed.
The white paper is framed with glass on the inside, and the paintings are of different styles, including butterflies, landscapes, and portraits.
Li Qingyun picked up one of the paintings. The person in the painting was chatting and laughing with someone. She was smiling brightly, and even her hair was flying, telling the girl's happiness.
His eyes were fixed on the signature in the lower right corner, and his thumb rubbed it over and over again through the glass.
After a long time, he picked up his cell phone.
"I thought you wouldn't contact me again." The voice from the other end of the phone was faint, and no emotion could be heard.
Li Qingyun interrupted: "You will never get what you want."
"It seems," Li Liang couldn't help laughing, obviously not caring much, "my cooperation with Yuexuan has to end."
Li Qingyun curled his lips and said in a cold voice, "She has been lying to you."
Li Liang's face changed slightly, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on his phone. "What did she lie to me about?"
"That golden lock," Li Qingyun said with a malicious smile, "the golden lock you have been looking for."
Although he knew that Li Qingyun did it on purpose, Li Liang couldn't help but ask, "Where?"
"Where is the golden lock?"
He will always remember the golden locket his father took off from his neck when he was taken away that day.
Even his only wish was cruelly taken away.
He wanted to come back, always wanted to.
That was originally his thing!
Li Liang suppressed the sadness that was sweeping over him and said, "Your conditions."
"No conditions."
Li Qingyun repeated, "Li Liang, no conditions."
"If you really want it," he said, "go dig up grandma's grave."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
With a loud bang, Li Liang felt dizzy for a moment, his hands and feet were cold, and his grip loosened. The phone fell to the ground with a crisp sound and then disappeared into the darkness.
In the silence, a short, tearful syllable suddenly came from the air.
"ha--"
"Hahaha--"
Li Liang laughed so hard that he bent over and tears came out of the corners of his eyes.
As if enduring great pain, he slowly arched his body and fell to the ground.
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