Ning Hai's daily routine has always been chaotic, and he always comes home in the middle of the night.
The silence of the night seemed to amplify Ning Hai's voice, as if he was synonymous with noise.
The sound of slamming the security door, or the heavy slamming of the door after entering, the sound of kicked-off shoes colliding with the shoe cabinet, and the sound of keys being thrown on the dining table.
These sounds, which are louder than the alarm clock, always wake Wan Qiu up immediately from his sleep.
"At night, when Dad comes home, he will... wake me up, but sometimes, he won't."
If Ning Hai called Wan Qiu, Wan Qiu would immediately get up and go to Ning Hai's side.
But sometimes, Ning Hai would go directly to the room to sleep, and Wan Qiu would just lie down.
Chu Yigui understood.
After Ning Hai returns home, two completely random outcomes will occur for Wan Qiu.
This is something that cannot be predicted, it all depends on Ning Hai's mood.
In Wanqiu's black-and-white world, it is impossible to make any effective judgment on such irregular things.
Wan Qiu chose to stay awake, listening to Ning Hai's voice, and waiting for Ning Hai's instructions.
And the act of 'playing' will also produce random consequences depending on the situation.
Some parents hate their children playing all the time, while others would like their children to play. This is the same as "Ninghai's mood", which cannot be predicted by Wanqiu.
Wan Qiu's approach to random events is to treat them as if they were something that might happen, and to prepare for them seriously and diligently.
For example, as long as he is not asleep, he can respond immediately to Ning Hai's actions.
For example, as long as you don't indulge in playing, you won't be disliked by your parents.
Chu Yigui was silent, thinking, and staring.
In front of him, the fragile and sensitive Wan Qiu was timidly watching the unpredictable things.
"Brother, do you like pineapples?" Chu Yigui said.
Wan Qiu could taste the pineapple in his mouth, sweet and sour with a strong aroma, and the rich juice flowed into his mouth when he bit it...
Wan Qiu's memory of fruits has always been relatively clear.
Taking Wan Qiu's reaction into account, Chu Yigui asked, "Does your mouth hurt when you eat pineapple?"
Chu Yigui’s words came as a surprise to Wan Qiu. After thinking about it, he seemed to remember that he did feel pain.
It feels prickly, not very painful, but uncomfortable, as if the tongue has an invisible crack, which makes people concerned.
Wan Qiu nodded.
"When you eat pineapple, it will cause pain." Chu Yigui tapped his lips with his slender fingers. "Will brother not want to eat pineapple because he is afraid of the pain?"
Wan Qiu shook his head. Although it would hurt, it wasn’t too painful and it tasted good.
"After you eat the pineapple, it will punish you." Chu Yigui paused, waiting for Wan Qiu to understand before saying, "If the pain is not unbearable, you can continue, right?"
Wan Qiu looked at Chu Yigui and felt that it seemed like this, but also like it wasn't.
It was a strange metaphor, but what Chu Yigui said was absolutely correct. Wan Qiu nodded blankly, acknowledging Chu Yigui's logic.
"Then try a few more times." Chu Yigui said, "Whether you feel more happiness or more pain, it's like eating a pineapple."
Wan Qiu blinked, tears of fear welling up in his eyes. He was not afraid of pain, he just didn't want to be punished.
When he was punished, everyone was unhappy.
"Wan Qiu, Ning Hai is gone." Chu Yigui tried to calm Wan Qiu down, "Now they are our new parents."
Wan Qiu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and under the bright lights of the night, the light was reflected, but it could not penetrate into the dark pupils.
Wan Qiu was afraid.
However, under Chu Yigui's hard cultivation, the seeds of trust in Chu Yigui gradually took root in the soil, revealing tender green shoots, and ignorantly exploring the world.
The tiny leaves nodded, agreeing with the hard-working gardener.
Wan Qiu washed his hands and he was full.
But next to him was placed a freshly cut apple.
Wan Qiu has always been a little impatient with fruits.
"Did mom hold your hand well today?" Chu Yigui seemed to have finished the conversation and was just chatting casually this time.
"No." Wan Qiu answered honestly.
"Were you scared when you let go?" Chu Yigui thought for a moment and then changed his words, "What was it like?"
Wan Qiu thought hard, trying to find words that could express his thoughts at the time: "Gray... no sound, can't see many things... can't move... can't do anything..."
Chu Yigui knew that Wan Qiu's adjectives all expressed "fear".
"But..." Wan Qiu unconsciously touched the bracelet on his wrist. The loose bracelet looked a bit abrupt on his thin wrist.
Wan Qiu pursed his lips slightly, and under the bright incandescent light, his not-so-obvious smile was clearly visible.
"You said that this can help you find me, and I haven't lost it." The small bracelet gave Wan Qiu a sense of security. "You said that you can find me even without the bracelet."
These two sentences became the tranquilizer that calmed Wanqiu's emotions.
The thought that he would never be abandoned again stabilized Wan Qiu's precarious nerves regarding being abandoned.
will be found.
Someone will find him.
Such thoughts are extremely precious to Wan Qiu.
The simple, hard-to-capture moment of blooming Epiphyllum suddenly blossomed before Chu Yigui's eyes in the middle of the night. It was fleeting, but it left a moment of stunning beauty.
Chu Yigui watched, not missing any details.
Therefore, I am attracted by the details.
He taught Wan Qiu to smile, but he didn't expect to receive excellent homework from his students on such an ordinary night.
Chu Yigui consciously covered half of his face with one hand and looked away.
Excellent students can make teachers feel a sense of accomplishment, but sometimes they can also put pressure on them.
For example, now.
Chu Yigui's mood could no longer remain as stable as usual, and showed a subtle ups and downs.
——
Chu Jianshu, who was about to return to the bedroom after coming out of the study, saw the light in the kitchen suddenly turned off.
In the darkness, he saw Wan Qiu come out of the kitchen and return to his room around the corner.
Chu Jianshu lowered his head and saw that Chu Yigui was not in a hurry to leave.
He returned to the living room and picked up the thick foreign book again, but just stood there stiffly.
Chu Jianshu could only see Chu Yigui's back but could not see his expression.
Chu Jianshu couldn't guess what happened between the two children.
Chu Yigui seemed to have noticed the movement. Chu Yigui turned around and saw that he was still the excellent and calm child that Chu Jianshu was familiar with.
"Yigui." Perhaps because it was late at night and he hadn't spoken for a few hours at work, Chu Jianshu's voice was lower than usual. "Are you interested in talking?"
It was too late, and Chu Jianshu was not wearing his formal attire during the day. His silk black home clothes looked a bit softer under the light of the night, making him less stiff than he was during the day.
Chu Yigui went to the kitchen and poured a cup of tea for Chu Jianshu. The gentle tea fragrance filled the living room, soothing the darkness.
"I've been busy with Wan Qiu's affairs recently, and I haven't had a chance to talk to you." Chu Jianshu went to see Chu Yigui in the dim light, "Thank you for your dedicated help during this period of time."
"Helping my parents is what I should do." Chu Yigui replied.
Chu Jianshu also knew what kind of answer he would get from Chu Yigui, so he didn't pay much attention to such a polite response.
"Yigui, how many years have you been in this family?"
"This year is the seventh year." Chu Yigui said.
"Has it been so long?" Chu Jianshu was a little emotional. "Although you are an adopted son, you are more like my child. You are excellent and motivated. You meet all my requirements for a child. You are really impeccable."
Although Chu Jianshu stopped, Chu Yigui did not answer immediately.
Chu Jianshu smiled bitterly, "Maybe I'm getting older and my perspective on things is different. After I brought Wan Qiu back, I felt that maybe I was too harsh on you."
Chu Yigui smiled and said, "It's good enough for my brothers and me that Dad thinks this way now."
Chu Jianshu did not answer immediately, but picked up the teacup. The aroma filled his mouth, making Chu Jianshu feel more relaxed.
This is a calming tea, specially selected by Chu Yigui.
"Yigui, when I adopted you, I did not hide anything from you and gave you the name Yigui. Do you also have a lot of grievances?" Chu Jianshu did not want to hear Chu Yigui's polite words this time, so he looked directly into Chu Yigui's eyes.
Chu Yigui received the serious signal and thought for a moment: "It was indeed a little uncomfortable at the beginning."
Chu Jianshu remained silent. Chu Yigui's words were not very confident. It seemed that he was saying "I don't care now", and it also seemed that he was saying "I'm used to it".
"But now, you are not a substitute for us," said Chu Jianshu.
At this time, Chu Jianshu raised his eyes and saw Chu Yigui smiling, very gently and seemingly somewhat happy. Under the dim light, it looked much more real than in the daytime.
"No matter whether I am not used to it or not, I am really grateful to my parents for adopting me." Chu Yigui said.
Chu Jianshu put down the teacup. The slight collision sound of glass and porcelain broke a little bit of stickiness in the slowly flowing atmosphere.
"Yigui, you are our child, you have the right to express your dissatisfaction." Chu Jianshu said seriously, hoping to get a good look at Chu Yigui's true thoughts, "Are you dissatisfied with us?"
Chu Yigui shook his head without any hesitation: "Dad, I am not lying to you."
Chu Jianshu knew very well that Chu Yigui was close to them, or closer to them than Chu Zhang and Yang Ze.
This kind of closeness played a greater role in comforting Yang Xiaoyu than as a son, as Chu Yigui did.
He has always been growing up according to their expectations for their children.
The reason why Chu Jianshu adopted Chu Yigui was because this child was unique among children of the same age.
"Yigui, I have a question." Chu Jianshu decided to speak out the things that he had been thinking about all along, "Why didn't you tell us anything during those few hours you were at Ning's house when Ning Hai and Ning Qiaozhen came home?"
Chu Yigui was silent.
Instead of answering the question immediately, this silence made Chu Jianshu realize something.
Chu Yigui knew that Wan Qiu was injured and also knew what happened at that time. But Chu Jianshu wanted to know why Chu Yigui chose not to say it.
However, this silence did not last long. Chu Yigui spoke up: "I acted on my own initiative in this matter. I am really sorry."
Chu Jianshu didn’t listen to the apology, but asked, “Yigui, I want to know what you are thinking about?”
Chu Yigui lowered his eyes, and his tone became much calmer: "I just feel it's not suitable."
"Not suitable, what?" Chu Jianshu asked thoroughly.
"Dad hopes that my brother can completely sever his relationship with his adoptive parents, and he won't change his mind no matter what happens."
Chu Jianshu could not refute Chu Yigui's words. It was indeed true. Even after seeing Wan Qiu's injuries with his own eyes, he did not regret it.
"Mom is in bad condition. What would happen if I knew this in advance?" Chu Yigui closed his eyes, as if he could already see the situation after failure.
Will Chu Jianshu finally decide to obey Yang Xiaoyu and try to influence Wan Qiu again in the future, or will he simply suppress Yang Xiaoyu? The two people have different opinions but endure and continue.
No matter which one it is, it is definitely not a good decision.
No matter which one it is, it is not fair to Wan Qiu.
Chu Yigui chose to conceal it from the beginning, so that this dilemma did not exist at all.
Chu Jianshu is very cruel.
His position and status will not make him good.
Wan Qiu's connection with his adoptive parents cannot be cut off. Given the greed of the adoptive parents, it is completely foreseeable how much impact this will have on Wan Qiu's future.
Wan Qiu was very stubborn and trusted Ning Qiaozhen without any doubt.
Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai can use this little handle to firmly control Wan Qiu, which will hurt Wan Qiu and pose a threat to the Chu family.
Chu Jianshu would not allow this to happen.
What's more, as time goes on, no one can predict what Chu Jianshu will do, and what Ning Hai and Ning Qiaozhen will do.
Chu Jianshu didn't speak for a long time.
After he understood Chu Yigui's idea, he suddenly realized that this was not so much Chu Yigui's own judgment, but rather the "most predictable" judgment made by Chu Yigui after comprehensively considering the current situation.
Chu Jianshu still thinks that Chu Yigui is an excellent child.
But now Chu Jianshu's ideas are gradually wavering, and he realizes that his influence on his children is not entirely positive.
After truly coming into contact with Wan Qiu again, this strange feeling of collapse continued to exist.
Now after hearing Chu Yigui's thoughts, Chu Jianshu truly saw through Chu Yigui how cold he was in educating his children.
Chu Yigui grew up the way he wanted, but now he actually doubts whether the direction of his education is correct.
"What... do you think of Wan Qiu?" Chu Jianshu asked after a long time.
The silence in the middle of the night is more unbearable than that in the daytime.
Chu Jianshu waited quietly for Chu Yigui's answer, and he brought up the topic directly.
Chu Yigui's attitude towards Wan Qiu is enough to show whether he resents what he and Yang Xiaoyu did to him.
Chu Jianshu vaguely felt that he seemed to have become less strong in a short period of time.
The more he looked at Wan Qiu and Chu Yigui, the more he realized how much he had lacked consideration as a father.
When Chu Yigui's voice appeared, Chu Jianshu was unusually nervous.
"I feel for my brother..." Chu Yigui lowered his eyes. He could only see the shadow of his eyelashes under the dim light, but not his emotions. "It's just... I can't let it go."
Chu Jianshu thought of every possibility, but he didn't understand what "can't let go" meant.
But Chu Yigui's words stopped abruptly here. No matter how long Chu Jianshu waited, he could not get any further news.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I may not be able to express myself well right now." Chu Yigui was the first to break the silence, making the silence between father and son less oppressive. "But maybe it's not as complicated as you think."
Chu Jianshu sighed: "If you have anything to say, Dad will listen to you."
"Thank you." Chu Yigui smiled, "Since finding my brother, my father has become much more humane."
Chu Jianshu said with a straight face: "It seems that I am not very humane."
Chu Yigui laughed, a laughter that was clear in the darkness but not loud.
It seems that now under the dim light, there is a warm and loving parent and child having a comfortable conversation.
Chu Jianshu asked Chu Yigui to go to sleep and watched Chu Yigui leave.
The tea on the table had become warm, but Chu Jianshu did not want to leave.
He has always been very satisfied with Chu Yigui. Whether it is to Chu Zhang or Yang Ze, Chu Yigui is his very complacent child.
He always thought that he was standing on a high wall, looking down at his children and controlling everything about them.
But now Chu Jianshu realized his arrogance.
Chu Yigui is like an iceberg sinking in the water. Standing on the high wall of the ice field, he will never know how much of the iceberg is hidden beneath the water surface and how much he can see.
Or maybe Chu Yigui himself doesn't know.
Chu Yigui returned to his room, closed the door, washed up quietly, and went back to bed.
It was as if this sudden conversation had not brought any changes to him.
Just lying on the bed, Chu Yigui opened his eyes.
What does he think of Wan Qiu?
Even Chu Yigui himself could not give a clear answer.
But he would always think back to that night when Wan Qiu opened the closet and he saw Wan Qiu's eyes under the barely visible light from the opposite building.
He was wounded, and his blood was darker in the night, staining the innocent man with sin.
Only those eyes were clear, transparent and empty.
But at that moment, he was wrapped in Wan Qiu's eyes, and the only person those eyes were looking at was him.
It's just him.
In his dreams and in his spare time, those eyes appeared in his mind all the time, lingering and becoming clearer and clearer.
——
Yang Xiaoyu has been very happy these days.
Her third son, Wanqiu, is very cute. Although he doesn’t talk much, he always does cute things.
But Yang Xiaoyu has also been in some pain these days.
She dropped all her work to look for Wan Qiu, and now she only wants to spend all her time with Wan Qiu. But now the work there is always urgent.
"Why are you urging me? Can you no longer work if you leave my company?!" Yang Xiaoyu received a call during breakfast time and threw his chopsticks in anger. "I told you I'm very busy. Don't these people understand what busy means?!"
Wan Qiu subconsciously looked at his angry mother, as if he was trying to find a reason to be angry in order to appease her.
But Wan Qiu was also very clear that work matters were not something he could interfere with.
"You can go back and deal with it. We are taking care of Wan Qiu." Chu Jianshu said. Yang Xiaoyu spends almost all his time with Wan Qiu, and the time they can spend with Wan Qiu is basically squeezed to zero.
"But I haven't spent a long time with my baby. What if he forgets me during this period of time?" Yang Xiaoyu was really worried and didn't trust Wan Qiu's memory.
"Wan Qiu was not that fragile before..." However, Chu Jianshu did not continue.
But everyone present knew what Chu Jianshu meant. Even if Wan Qiu didn't have Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai by his side, he could still live with his own abilities and could still be so persistent towards Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai.
Yang Xiaoyu rubbed her long curly hair with her fingers: "It's really annoying. I'll take the baby with me."
Chu Jianshu frowned, "Wan Qiu is not very familiar with this place yet. It will be very confusing to go to a more unfamiliar place."
Yang Xiaoyu looked at Wan Qiu. Wan Qiu was sitting quietly in his seat, not even touching the breakfast on the table.
Chu Jianshu said again: "If necessary, I can take Wan Qiu to the company, but..."
Yang Xiaoyu raised his eyes with an unfriendly expression, wanting to hear what Chu Jianshu had to say.
Chu Jianshu, who was already used to his wife's bad temper, continued, "Yigui is still on summer vacation. He can look after Wanqiu during this time. If that doesn't work, the housekeeper can help take care of him."
Butler Bai on the side bowed respectfully, obviously willing to take on this task.
Yang Xiaoyu turned his head to look at Chu Yigui.
There is no doubt that Chu Yigui and Wan Qiu have always gotten along well.
But it seems that Chu Yigui doesn't care much about taking care of Wan Qiu.
Wan Qiu, who was at the center of the incident, did not understand what was being discussed.
Everyone spoke very quickly, so he could capture even less information.
Wan Qiu only knew that what was being discussed now concerned him, and he began to feel anxious unconsciously.
"Yigui, do you have any suggestions?" Chu Jianshu suddenly turned the topic to Chu Yigui.
"Maybe I should give my brother some time to himself." Chu Yigui's tone was always slow, and Wan Qiu could always understand Chu Yigui's meaning more clearly. "If my brother was alone, he would have his own ideas."
Yang Xiaoyu was silent for a few seconds.
During this period of time, Wan Qiu has been by her side, but he has always been following her pace.
Even though Yang Xiaoyu thought he was doing something Wan Qiu would like, he didn't know whether Wan Qiu was really willing to do so.
But just as Chu Yigui said, Wan Qiu has his own ideas.
For example, he once chose to make a living by picking up garbage, and he would contribute to his family by doing housework.
And now it cannot be denied that the work there really needs her.
Yang Xiaoyu has been reluctant to leave, hoping that Wan Qiu can feel a sense of belonging here as soon as possible.
But perhaps leaving himself for a while would allow Wan Qiu to have more time to think on his own.
Here, you don’t have to worry about whether Wan Qiu will be bullied, can’t afford to eat what he wants, or can’t do anything.
Yang Xiaoyu held Wan Qiu's face and saw that Wan Qiu's eyelashes were trembling slightly, which was a sign of uneasiness.
"Baby, mommy will be away for a while, is that okay?" Yang Xiaoyu also knew that Chu Jianshu and Yang Ze would take good care of Wan Qiu if she was away for a while, but she was still somewhat reluctant to let go psychologically.
"Yeah." Wan Qiu responded.
However, Yang Xiaoyu smiled bitterly.
Wan Qiu answered this question by looking into her eyes. His agreement was not an expression of his own opinion, but a reading of her certainty that she must go.
"Baby, mommy will be back soon to watch cartoons with our baby." Although Wan Qiu was watching cartoons next to her during this period, she was working remotely.
Wan Qiu didn't understand why he had to go out to work and mention himself.
He has no necessary connection with the work, but the work is more important than him.
There is no need to hesitate about this, why doesn't mom want to go?
For Wan Qiu, no matter where his mother is, as long as she comes back eventually, she will come back here.
Then he has nothing to fear.
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