Chapter 23 Chapter 23 [Miss, is this not...
"Hmm," Lin Qianyuan said, feeling unwell. He had no interest in chatting with him. After waiting for a few seconds without him saying anything, Lin Qianyuan lowered her umbrella and prepared to leave.
"By the way," she suddenly turned back, forcing a smile despite her discomfort, "thank you for what happened last time."
Lin Jihui smiled nonchalantly, "You're welcome."
After all, she was right, the man was scolding him.
From the moment they first laid eyes on each other as children, Lin Jihui sensed that Lin Qianyuan was of the same kind. Hearing that Madam Lin was planning to take her back, he thought it was a good idea, quite interesting.
Uncle Chen looked up the stairs from time to time, and only when Lin Qianyuan appeared safely in his sight did he feel relieved.
Uncle Chen knew Lin Jihui.
Before serving Miss Song, he served another lady, Lin Jihui's mother.
The woman, born with a frail constitution, later died suddenly. Lin Jihui was present at the scene and appeared to be in great shock. But on the day of the funeral, Uncle Chen noticed the child, who had just cried, lowering his head, his lips slightly raised, as if smiling.
Uncle Chen's skin crawled with goosebumps. Looking over, he still saw tears streaming down the child's face. He told himself he must have been mistaken. Even so, seeing Lin Jihui again now still terrified him.
In comparison, Lin Qianyuan looked much more approachable, so Uncle Chen smiled and called her, "Miss Lin."
Lin Qianyuan glanced over unintentionally, not understanding what he was laughing at. She sat in the car with a listless look on her face and closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep.
Uncle Chen scratched his head and saw that she looked unusually bad today. He turned up the temperature and obediently sent her back.
Lin Qianyuan returned home, took her medicine, and went back to sleep. Unlike the previous night, this sleep was restless. Her dreams were full of strange and bizarre things, one after another, but the only constant was Song Wenci staring at her.
Thin eyebrows and crescent eyes are omnipresent in her life.
Lin Qianyuan sat up and stared blankly at the wall. After a long time, she confirmed that she was dreaming.
Lin Qianyuan threw back the quilt and stepped into the attic. In the cabinet next to the desk were numerous glass bottles. She picked one up and toyed with it carelessly. Then, she suddenly let go. The bottle fell to the floor, shattering everywhere.
"Lin Qianyuan, do you like this?"
She was like this at the time, sitting numbly at the desk. Song Wenci bent down and put his arm around her shoulders affectionately.
Lin Qianyuan nodded lightly.
Song Wenci smiled and said, "Let Mom take a look at this, okay?" She put a little pressure on her shoulder and asked, "Why don't you say anything?"
Lin Qianyuan froze and whispered, "Okay."
Song Wenci picked up the lilac-colored glass bottle on the desk. The bottle was round, with a mouth shaped like a lotus leaf. Lin Qianyuan filled it with water, which shimmered in the sunlight.
"It's so beautiful," Song Wenci exclaimed.
Lin Qianyuan looked up at the sound, and the man who was still smiling exchanged glances with her. Then, Song Wenci's fingers that were pinching the bottle mouth loosened in an instant.
Mauve glass fragments mixed with cold water splashed everywhere, soaking the white carpet in the attic.
There was no trace of emotion on Lin Qianyuan's face, as if he was used to it. His eyes stared straight at Song Wenci with a look of defiance.
Song Wenci leaned over and raised her hand to tuck the loose hair on her forehead behind her ears.
Lin Qianyuan couldn't bear it and avoided her hand.
Song Wenci smiled, not looking annoyed, and continued to stretch out her hand to complete the action.
"Do you still like it now?" she asked.
"Lin Qianyuan," Song Wenci looked into her eyes, smiled at first, then spoke slowly with a slight warning: "I think I told you not to like anything."
"How could you forget again?"
"This means you have a weakness again. Others will use it to take advantage of you." She stroked her long hair and smiled softly, "How can you live?"
"Why do you like it?"
Song Wenci murmured to herself, "I hate this word, especially when I hear it from you."
"Lin Qianyuan, how can you like something? How can you be happy? I don't like the way you smile, so don't smile."
Lin Qianyuan squatted down, staring at the broken pieces on the ground in a daze. She reached out and pieced the glass together to form a cheongsam, then turned off the attic light and flicked on the flashlight, then flicked it off and on again.
The amber swan on the desk watched everything silently, and the occasional flash of light illuminated its feathers, making them exquisite and eye-catching.
Lin Qianyuan slept in the studio that night. Various cheongsams were arranged on the canvas, each of which was exactly the same as the one in Song Wenci's wardrobe.
The next day, when Wu Ma was cleaning the attic, she noticed the sky-blue dress lying on the floor. Lin Qianyuan had specially painted it, and even the pattern of the buttons was exactly the same.
Aunt Wu stood there in a daze, then quickly cleaned up.
It was another late night, and a flame erupted in the courtyard of the small building. This time, Lin Qianyuan destroyed the painting with fire. The flames from the tin bucket licked deep into her eyes, burning into her soul. She didn't hide or avoid it, but stood there indifferently, as if she didn't care.
Mother Wu stood in the backyard, staring intently at the rising smoke. Her sister meowed, and she lowered her head, not daring to step into the front yard.
The door to the backyard was pushed open, and Lin Qianyuan came in, wrapped in the cold air of the night. "Do you have Pei Lanqing's contact information?"
She asked suddenly, and Wu Ma subconsciously touched her pocket, took out her cell phone, and searched for it for a long time under Lin Qianyuan's gaze, "Yes."
Lin Qianyuan sometimes did not reply to Pei Lanqing's messages. In order to confirm whether she was at home, he had no choice but to ask Wu Ma.
Lin Qianyuan casually sat on a stone in the backyard, fiddling with the flowers and plants nearby, raised his chin, and said, "Call him."
After hearing this, Wu Ma was completely bewildered. After settling her sister down, she used a pen and paper to ask uncertainly, "Now?"
"Um."
Wu Ma stood before her at a loss. After a long pause, she said, "Young Miss, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
[Teacher Pei should be asleep.]
Lin Qianyuan raised his eyelids and locked his gaze on her face.
Wu Ma put down her brush. She could tell that Lin Qianyuan was in a particularly bad mood. Although she had prayed that she wouldn't be left alone in the studio for long, she had never imagined it would turn out like this.
Wu Ma bit the bullet, picked up the pen and continued writing, "What should I say then?"
Lin Qianyuan pondered for a while, poked the aloe vera with the thorns he had pulled out from the cactus, and spoke a few words to her.
The more Wu Ma listened, the more anxious she became. At the end, Lin Qianyuan asked her, "Do you want to go traveling?"
Wu Ma didn't know what answer she wanted, so she replied ambiguously: "Not bad."
Lin Qianyuan nodded thoughtfully, then she smiled and said, "If Teacher Pei is willing to come for a few days, you can go and play for a few days." After that, Lin Qianyuan tapped her mobile phone, indicating that they could start.
Aunt Wu dialed the phone hesitantly. The person in front of her was as cold and indifferent as usual, and she was even smiling at her just now, but she felt creepy.
Her pale pupils, gleaming brightly under the light, held a calculation, and in the blink of an eye they narrowed slightly, as if she were pondering something again. Thinking of what she was about to say, Wu Ma couldn't smile at all.
The call was quickly answered. Aunt Wu forced a smile and said politely, "Teacher Pei, I'm sorry to bother you so late."
Maybe it was because she was telling a lie, or maybe it was because Lin Qianyuan was looking at her. In any case, Wu Ma instinctively turned her body to the side, thinking about avoiding something.
Lin Qianyuan didn't dwell too much on her lip movements. She turned her head and played by herself.
Lin Qianyuan moved from aloe vera to snake plant, and then from snake plant to Phalaenopsis, which made Wu Ma terrified.
Hearing Pei Lanqing say that she might need to think about it, she didn't hesitate a second and immediately hung up the phone. If she was any later, the green plants in the yard would be in trouble tonight.
Lin Qianyuan stopped what he was doing and looked over. Wu Ma swallowed unconsciously and repeated the story truthfully.
Lin Qianyuan nodded, her gestures showing the leisurely attitude of someone determined to win. "Auntie, where do you want to go?"
Wu Ma didn't have the courage to answer such a question, so she just stood there silently.
Lin Qianyuan lowered his head and thought to himself, "How is Yunnan?"
Wu Ma has recently been following a TV series filmed in Yunnan. Once, she was so engrossed in the TV that she wasn't so scared of her and even exclaimed to her, "Miss, the scenery here is so beautiful."
Wu Ma's first reaction was also Yunnan. She didn't expect that she could actually go there. She was very nervous, but her body kept nodding subconsciously.
Lin Qianyuan admired her expression for several minutes with a smile in his eyes, then threw away the things in his hands and said, "Yunnan is fine then."
Lin Qianyuan stood up and went back.
Wu Ma stopped her and asked worriedly, "But young lady, what about your health? And your younger sister?"
When she was not at home, her sister had no one to take care of her.
After reading these two sentences, Lin Qianyuan turned to look at the cat who was already fast asleep and chose a response, "Someone else."
Wu Ma was relieved and asked again: [But,] She was hesitant for a long time and was not sure whether she could continue.
Lin Qianyuan let go of the door handle, crossed his arms and looked down at her, "Wait another ten seconds."
"..." Wu Ma was sweating profusely. Her heart was beating so hard she couldn't tell if she was nervous for herself or for Pei Lanqing. "Miss, Teacher Pei hasn't agreed yet. What if..."
Aunt Wu didn't dare to say anything. She just wanted to wipe the sweat off her face at this moment.
Lin Qianyuan considerately handed her a handkerchief and said with a smile, "He will come."
Wu Ma nodded blankly, "Oh."
Lin Qianyuan suppressed his smile, pushed the door open and went upstairs.
Wu Ma clenched the green handkerchief in her hand. It exuded a lingering bamboo fragrance, the same as the perfume Lin Qianyuan wore. Wu Ma couldn't help but hold her breath and raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
The next day, Xiaoman stepped into the Pei family yard through a puddle. "Brother Lanqing," he raised his head and shouted towards the second floor.
In the room on the second floor, Pei Dejun heard the commotion and cut to the chase, "Go back early if you can."
"Now that you're older, you're bound to have personal matters to attend to. You don't need to report everything, just let me make sure you're safe."
"Dad," Pei Lanqing smiled and said seriously, "I live in school. I can guarantee your safety."
"Yeah," Pei Dejun responded indifferently.
He looked at him, motionless, knowing that every time he saw him, he would miss one more time. When Pei Lanqing looked up, Pei Dejun looked away again, stood up and said he was going downstairs.
Xiaoman downstairs kept chattering. Seeing Pei Dejun, he ran over happily, "Uncle Pei, isn't Brother Lanqing at home?"
He came to find Pei Lanqing to set off fireworks.
Pei Dejun asked him with a smile, "Why set off fireworks during the day?"
Xiaoman covered his mouth and answered honestly: "Is this reason fake?" But he couldn't find any other reason.
Pei Dejun didn't answer, but pointed upstairs and said, "Just go up and ask, and you'll know."
"Thank you, Uncle Pei."
Soon, Pei Dejun saw Xiaoman coming down the stairs with a depressed look on his face. Pei Lanqing, who was holding his hand, had no choice but to ask for help. Pei Dejun shook his head secretly, indicating that he had no idea what to do, and then went into the house and turned on the TV.
Xiaoman sighed, feeling that Pei Lanqing's winter vacation was too short. He squatted on the side with a sad face, a dark cloud hanging over his head, and had to help others pack their luggage.
Pei Lanqing finally succeeded in dispelling the dark cloud with a box of candy. Xiaoman pulled him, his eyes full of reluctance, "Brother, can I call you later?" His New Year's gift this year was a phone watch.
"Okay," Pei Lanqing nodded with a smile.
Xiaoman was satisfied and waved goodbye to him, "Goodbye, brother."
On the way back to school, Pei Lanqing received three pictures from Xiaoman: one of candy, one of a cat, and one of a strange human face, like a selfie taken at a bad angle.
Xiaoman is a chatterbox. Even if Pei Lanqing doesn't have time to reply to the message, he can still talk for half a day.
Pei Lanqing read the message one by one, replied with an emoji, and then a message appeared on the top of his phone indicating an incoming call.
Lin Qianyuan called him at the right time. "Teacher Pei," she coughed twice and spoke in a hoarse voice, obviously suffering from a severe cold. "Where are you now?"
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Author's words: After a few days of freezing, my collection finally increased by one. I was so excited that I jumped up and wrote an update [hahaha]
It was almost time to go back to school when my mom finally remembered to ask me how I was doing out and about. I said it was all good: I had a great time, slept well, and ate well. The only time I disagreed with my friend was when we saw a poster of Eddie Peng on Chongqing Pedestrian Street and we argued about whose husband it was!
My mom: [Eddie Peng?]
Me: [Yes!]
Mom: [Isn’t this mine?]
My dad, who was silently peeking at the screen in the group chat: [……]
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