Rebirth
On the way back to Qu'an City, Chen An began to check his mobile phone frequently. There was no message from Jiang Li all day, and he didn't know what he was doing.
The old woman's words touched him. Perhaps the seed of pity had been planted from the moment he saw his own shadow in Jiang Li.
He didn't know whether it was right to investigate Jiang Qiuyi, nor did he know how to tell Jiang Li if the truth was really as he guessed... Would he tell Jiang Li?
The phone on the passenger seat suddenly lit up, and Chen An stopped by the roadside to answer the call.
"Boss, we did find out about Jiang Qiuyi, but there is a different way out than what we found before."
Chen An learned from the old woman that Jiang Qiuyi had few relatives. She had never seen her family visit her during holidays, and neither had Jiang Haojing's relatives. During a previous conversation with Jiang Qiuyi, she had noticed she didn't seem to have much of an impact on her family, which led the old woman to suspect Jiang Qiuyi had been trafficked by Jiang Haojing. She nearly called the police. Later, she learned that Jiang Qiuyi had once been in a girl group. While not a big hit, it at least proved she wasn't abducted.
"Jiang Qiuyi actually passed away so early!"
Chen An frowned, "How early?"
"About eighteen or nineteen years old," Bai Shuo said. "Jiang Qiuyi, whose native place was Huyu Town, Fengyang County, Heyang Province, had been in poor health since childhood and suffered from heart disease. At the age of nineteen, she suffered a sudden heart attack and died despite medical treatment."
He looked through the information again and confirmed the photo. "Is this the person? I sent you the photo. Take a look. I think she looks the same as Jiang Qiuyi now."
Chen An clicked on the photo. The face in the photo was exactly the same as Jiang Li’s mother Jiang Qiuyi. So it was Su Jinyou who replaced the dead Jiang Qiuyi?
"I found the introduction that the artist company gave to Jiang Qiuyi at the time and discovered that the identity they gave Jiang Qiuyi was fabricated."
It has been basically confirmed through investigation that Su Jinyou stole Jiang Qiuyi's identity. After coming down from the floating island, Su Jinyou lost her memory and continued to live as Jiang Qiuyi.
"Boss, so... Jiang Li is really the Su sisters' child?"
Chen An warned, "Don't tell anyone about this, especially Jiang Li."
"I understand!" Bai Shuo paused for a moment and said, "Boss, you're actually worried that the people behind the website will come after Jiang Li, right?"
Without waiting for an answer, Bai Shuo continued, "Peng Yue, as part of the website, targeted Anna, who had been abducted and trafficked, and accidentally brought up Su Jinyou. Following her lead, it was easy to find Jiang Li. Well, Jiang Li is truly pitiful. Her mother was abducted, and she herself grew up in domestic violence. Even now, with Su Jinyou's passing, she hasn't been able to see her family again."
It was rare for Chen An to be in a low mood.
Dark clouds were floating in front of us, in large patches. It was going to rain. The car started again and drove back to the city.
The weather in the city was very good, with clear skies, and it was already afternoon when we drove back.
Just as he was about to push the door, Chen An suddenly stopped at the door for a moment, took a deep breath, and then heard laughter from inside the room.
"You're back."
On the sofa, the boy sat cross-legged, and while concentrating on watching TV, he took the time to glance at him.
Chen An didn't respond, but his eyes followed him as he stood up. Jiang Li was wearing white long-sleeved shirt and long pants, but the cuff of his right hand holding the popsicle was pushed up halfway. He opened the refrigerator door and handed him an ice cream.
Chen An took it and found it was a very ordinary small pudding.
Jiang Li walked back to the sofa and sat down, pulling the pillow over and saying, "I went to the supermarket this morning. The ice cream is at the bottom of the refrigerator. Next time you want some, just get it yourself."
He didn't know what program was playing on the TV, but it actually made Jiang Li laugh out loud. After laughing for a while, he realized that Chen An hadn't said a word since he entered the room. So he paused the program, turned around and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Chen An suddenly realized that he was too tense. Without an opportunity, Jiang Li would not think of those bad things for no reason. Now his abnormality was the stimulus, and he didn't want Jiang Li to think of those things.
He smiled and put the key on the table. "Nothing, just working non-stop and feeling tired."
Jiang Li felt relieved and responded casually, "It's normal. I thought you were used to it."
"I'm almost used to it, but the feeling of having someone at home and not being at home is still different. Before, when you were not around, I could stay at the bureau 365 days a year. Now that you're here, it seems different. I'm always thinking about you."
Maybe it was because he was too relaxed, but Chen An leaned on the sofa and spoke in a daze. After he finished speaking, he could feel the unusual feeling in their relationship.
He stared at the boy's back. The boy's back, which was originally trembling with laughter, suddenly stopped moving. Jiang Li was obviously frozen.
After a while, the boy turned around and said, "Do you know that what you said sounds like a confession?"
Chen An blinked, his face full of "I didn't mean it".
Jiang Li rolled his eyes at him and pointed at him with his popsicle, "Be careful with what you say and do, be careful with what you say and do!" The joy in his heart disappeared immediately and he continued watching TV.
Chen An looked at his back. Just as the old woman said, he was very thin, with a thin back that had nothing but scars. His arms had no flesh and small bones that looked like they would break with a little force.
After a summer vacation, Jiang Li's hair grew longer, and a small tuft was left at the back of his neck, which looked like a wolf's tail.
Although Jiang Li didn't have eyes on his back, he was very sensitive to gazes. He knew this person was watching him. He was actually never afraid of being watched. In the past, many people at school would stand by the door and stare at him, and he didn't think anything of it. But Chen An's gaze seemed to have a temperature, burning him all over. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he opened his ice cream and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to eat it?"
The latter's eyes didn't even focus on the ice cream. Jiang Li gave up and decided to eat it himself. He took the first bite, and a hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took a bite from his hand, commenting perfunctorily, "It's delicious." He stood up and touched Jiang Li's head, "Don't eat too much."
Jiang Li was stunned. He watched him walk into the kitchen and touched his ear. It was hot.
After a while, Chen An came out of the kitchen again, opened the refrigerator, and asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"
Jiang Li finished his ice cream in a few bites and ran into the kitchen. He had lived here for so long but he had rarely seen Chen An cook. He only cooked noodles occasionally. He was too busy. In fact, they had only eaten together at home a few times.
"Can I order food?"
Chen An thought about it. He didn’t have high requirements for food, but he had eaten at his master’s house for several years when he was in college. Occasionally, his master’s wife would teach him some dishes. The dishes he learned were enough to support him to finish dinner tonight.
"Tell me about it."
Jiang Li asked tentatively: "Cola chicken wings?"
"Okay." Chen An glanced at the refrigerator. "Anything else?"
"Red-braised pork, pig's trotters stewed with soybeans, pork ribs stewed with potatoes, and small cabbage from Youlin..."
Chen An laughed and interrupted him, "Do you think this is a big hotel?"
"Why, no?"
The refrigerator door was closed. Jiang Li watched him walk out and asked, "Where are you going?"
“Buying groceries at the supermarket.”
"Wait for me!"
Today is Saturday and the supermarket is quite crowded. Chen An pushed a cart and went straight to the vegetable section. He actually knows how to cook several of the dishes Jiang Li ordered, but it takes too much time to make this meal. However, since he rarely has time, it's not a bad idea to satisfy a child's appetite.
He bought things quickly when he had a plan in mind. When he finished getting the ingredients with a clear purpose, he found that Jiang Li, who was a few steps behind him, was staring at a certain place in a daze. Following his gaze, he saw a group of students, high school students, still wearing their school uniforms. They were strolling around the snack area. The girls stood on the horizontal bar under the cart, and the boys pushed hard, and the cart slid out with everyone.
"Do you want to play?" Chen An approached him and asked.
Jiang Li glanced at him and said, "I used to see it often when I went to the supermarket. I really wanted to play with it then."
"What now?"
"Now……"
I understand. Hesitation means you want to play.
Chen An decisively pulled him to stand in front of the cart and said to him, "Step on it."
Jiang Li hesitated and asked, "Are you sure? What if it breaks?"
Chen An pointed at the young men next door who had been playing for several rounds and said, "No, you're not much heavier than them."
Jiang Li stepped on it and felt someone circling him from behind. Before he could be distracted, the cart slid out and he also experienced the feeling of the cart sliding.
Chen An controlled his strength very well, and the cart stopped at the end of the shelf. When the cart stopped, Chen An walked towards him and asked, "Is it fun?"
Jiang Li thought it was quite interesting and said with a smile, "It's fun."
Only at this time would he feel that Jiang Li was of the same age as that group of high school students. There was no sadness or pretended maturity on his face, only the childlike innocence and vigor of a teenager.
Chen An pushed him twice more, and Jiang Li spoke up himself.
"I came to the supermarket before and wanted to play this, but I never got to play it."
"Why?" Chen An caught the cart steadily. "No one is pushing it?"
Jiang Li turned to look at him, "No, I think this is too childish and not stable at all."
Chen An was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud.
Jiang Li frowned and glared at him, "What are you laughing at?"
Chen An scratched his nose and said, "You should be childish at your age."
Jiang Li now particularly dislikes him bringing up age as an issue, even if he knows that the other party doesn't mean that. People who are rejected will always find any reason other than that the other party doesn't like them as a shield and refuse to acknowledge the decision of their subjective feelings, so he assumes that one of the reasons why Chen An doesn't like him is the age difference.
"If you keep calling me young, I'll go to the city police station with a megaphone and yell, 'You're 29 and still don't have a girlfriend!'"
"……girlfriend?"
Jiang Li raised his eyebrows and snorted coldly, being extremely arrogant.
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