Chapter 108 is both a voyage and a journey home.
funeral parlor.
When Zhu Fan arrived, Luo Shuixin had already been cremated.
Fang Qibai looked at Fang Qizhou, who was waiting listlessly, and said, "I took it upon myself to send a message to Zhu Fan."
The girl, covered in morning frost, ran toward Fang Qizhou.
Fang Qizhou's stagnant black eyes lifted, and his sharp, cold features softened slightly.
Fang Qibai put his cold hands into his pockets.
Fang Qizhou ignored him, and he didn't care. He took out a cigarette case, walked a short distance, and lit a cigarette between his fingers.
The phone in my pocket kept vibrating until it ran out of battery and shut down.
Even from a distance, he could hear Zhu Fan and Fang Qizhou talking.
When Zhu Fan heard Fang Qizhou ask her how she got here, she held his cold hands and looked into his deep black eyes.
"If Fang Qibai hadn't messaged me, were you not planning to tell me?"
Fang Qizhou cupped her hands, which were covering his, in his large palm. "It's still early. I want you to sleep a little longer."
He planned to tell Zhu Fan after she woke up.
Zhu Fan's lips moved slightly.
Fang Qizhou was too calm.
Calmly made her sad.
Fang Qizhou hugged Zhu Fan, resting his chin on her shoulder, in a completely relaxed posture.
"Does not feeling sad make me seem cold-blooded?"
Zhu Fan couldn't see Fang Qizhou's expression, but she could hear his hoarse voice.
She shook her head vigorously, "Fang Qizhou, you're not cold-blooded, not at all."
She reached out to touch his face, her fingertips brushing against his lips, which were cool and dry.
"Fang Qizhou, you still have me. I will always be with you."
She noticed that Fang Qizhou's clothes were thin, grabbed the shirt on his arms, and looked up: "Why are you wearing so little?"
Fang Qizhou glanced at his clothes. "I'm not cold."
When he received the call from his aunt, he got out of bed, grabbed some clothes, put them on, and went out.
Zhu Fan remembered that Fang Qizhou's coat was in her car, and wanted to go to the car to get it for him.
Fang Qizhou didn't let her move.
His eyelids drooped, and he listlessly released all his strength, holding Zhu Fan and closing his eyes for a while in the sunlight.
Zhu Fan supported him steadily, gently patting his back.
"If you're sleepy, lean against me and take a nap."
-
Luo Shuixin's funeral was very quiet.
In the forest cemetery, Zhu Fan placed the fresh flowers, still wet with morning dew, in front of the tombstone.
"Uncle Fang, please accept my condolences."
Fang Zeheng's hair turned completely white in just two days.
His fingertips landed on the tombstone, and he turned back to smile gently at the little girl.
The son stood beside the little girl, still with that indifferent and languid demeanor, but now with more patience. When he looked at the little girl, a gentle glint appeared in his otherwise hardened brows.
He has been grieving these past two days, and his little girl has been by his son's side the whole time.
Thinking about the upcoming trip, he asked, "Xiao Fan, would you like to go with Uncle Fang and Xiao Zhou to visit the fishing village where Aunt Luo grew up?"
Zhu Fan nodded into the deep, quiet eyes of the man above her.
Fang Zeheng separated two portions of ashes from the urn in Luoshuixin, scattering one portion in the mountains and forests.
There was another reason he wanted to send her back to the fishing village where she was born and raised.
Luo Shuixin had no friends; her parents worked as fishermen in the village year-round. In their old age, their bodies, weakened by years of exposure to seawater, suffered from severe organ failure. They were constantly plagued by various ailments.
The two elderly people passed away one after the other five years ago.
-
The fishing village is located in Tangxian Town, Lingwen City, Z province.
In recent years, thanks to investment and development by wealthy businessmen, the fishermen of Xiaoruo Village are no longer trapped on the island.
With the government's assistance, the fishermen have gone from being impoverished and struggling to make a living to being prosperous in every household.
Every year, many people come to the fishing village for tourism and vacation.
This land has become lively and prosperous.
The mayor, who had accompanied Fang Zeheng from the city all the way to Xiaoruo Village, wanted to board the fishing boat with Fang Zeheng, but Fang Zeheng stopped him.
Fang Qizhou took Zhu Fan onto another fishing boat.
Seeing that his son was unwilling to travel on the same boat as him, Fang Zeheng smiled and looked at the little girl, "Xiao Fan, the scenery on the island is beautiful, you two have a good time exploring. I will return to Xiao Ruo Village before dark."
Zhu Fan nodded to Uncle Fang.
The mayor stood respectfully at the port. "Mr. Fang, I have someone waiting here. Dinner will be arranged in the city. Is that alright with you?"
Fang Zeheng waved his hand at him, "No need to make a fuss, I have my own arrangements for tonight."
Zhu Fan could no longer hear Uncle Fang and the mayor's words after the fishing boat set sail.
Many fishing boats were moored on the sea.
The fishing boat rocked, and she was unsteady on her feet, trying to find a foothold.
The next second, she was pulled into Fang Qizhou's warm and strong embrace.
She bumped her forehead directly into Fang Qizhou's chin.
Fang Qizhou placed the back of his hand against her forehead to prevent her from bumping it.
Zhu Fan lost her balance as soon as she let go, so she hugged Fang Qizhou's waist again.
The salty sea breeze, carrying the sweet fragrance of the girl's hair, swirls into your breath.
The fishy smell he hated was dispelled by the sweet fragrance.
He wrapped his long arm around Zhu Fan's waist and said, "Hold on tight and don't let go. Stand firmly."
Zhu Fan looked up and was captivated by the scenery in the distance.
"Fang Qizhou, look at the sunset."
Fang Qizhou followed her fingertips and looked at the sky dyed red by the clouds and the huge setting sun.
He looked down at Zhu Fan in his arms, whose eyes were bright and whose fair and clean face was tinged red by the setting sun.
"Do you like it here?"
Zhu Fan nodded vigorously, "You don't like it?"
"like."
He liked wherever Zhu Fan was.
When we returned to the port, it wasn't completely dark yet.
Zhu Fan was held in Fang Qizhou's arms the whole time on the boat, so she didn't feel cold.
She shivered from the cold as soon as she got off the boat.
The warmth from Fang Qizhou on her hands vanished instantly.
Fang Qizhou pulled her hands inside his coat and warmed them with his stomach.
The abdominal muscles under his hands were clearly defined.
Zhu Fan sniffed. "Fang Qizhou, you've caught a cold. If you don't want it to get worse, don't put your hands on my stomach."
It's too cold.
When Fang Zeheng returned to Xiaoruo Village, this was the scene he witnessed.
The son wouldn't let the little girl take her hands off his body, afraid she would get cold.
He looks fierce, but his eyes are gentle.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Uncle Fang return and looking at them, and she pulled her hand back even tighter.
Fang Qizhou looked at her puffed-up cheeks and wrapped his right hand around both of her hands.
He wrapped her hand in his pocket and put it inside his clothes.
With both of Zhu Fan's hands stuffed into his right pocket, he could only walk sideways like a crab.
Fang Qizhou pinched her puffed-up cheeks.
Zhu Fan gritted his teeth: "Fang Qizhou, if I could spray ink like an octopus, I would definitely spray it all over your face."
Fang Zeheng gazed at his son and the little girl, a clear and bright smile on his face. He walked in front of them and led the way, "Xiao Fan, Xiao Zhou, I bought some seafood from the fishermen. I'll cook for you tonight."
-
They had dinner at the house where Aunt Luo used to live.
This house is the most beautiful and best house in the fishing village.
It's well-maintained and very clean, but it lacks any human presence.
Zhu Fan watched Fang Qizhou take his cold medicine, then looked at Uncle Fang painting outside.
Fang Zeheng gazed at the sea in the night sky, then picked up his paintbrush and palette knife.
On the canvas, two small white sailboats sway gently on the azure sea.
It is both a voyage and a journey home.
"Xin'er, we're going home."
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