Lu Yanting took a deep breath, his expression becoming somewhat solemn, and slowly said, "Do you remember when the Han family brought him home, he was tightly clutching this slingshot in his hand?"
Hua Xiao seemed to have been awakened, slapped his forehead, and said in a daze, "That's right, it seems like that happened! I remember it was the middle of summer, and he was wearing an ill-fitting pair of shorts and a vest with several holes in it. Uncle Han wanted to take him to buy clothes, but he refused no matter what, and just huddled in the corner, holding this slingshot tightly in his hand!"
At this point, Hua Xiao couldn't help but sigh deeply, filled with emotion: "No wonder..."
After saying that, he looked at Qiu Mang with some worry, "This thing is so important to Han Feng, what if Qiu Mang...?"
Lu Yanting's gaze then fell on Qiu Mang, his eyes resolute. "Don't worry, she won't!"
"I haven't finished speaking yet, how did you know what I was going to say?" Hua Xiao pouted, somewhat dissatisfied.
“No matter what you’re trying to say, Qiu Mang is definitely not that kind of person!” Lu Yanting replied firmly.
"Okay, okay! She's great, she's great in every way! I'm really impressed!" Hua Xiao smiled helplessly.
Qiu Mang sat down, and Xu Jingyan handed her a bottle of water. "You must be exhausted! Have some water!"
Qiu Mang took the water and drank a few sips.
Xu Jingyan exclaimed, "I didn't expect you to be so amazing! You even defeated Han Feng. You know, Han Feng has loved playing this since he was a child, but not many people dare to compete with him."
Qiu Mang smiled, but there was some weariness in her eyes. "I won by sheer luck."
After saying that, Qiu Mang put the water down. "I need to use the restroom first! Do you know where the restroom is?"
Xu Jingyan pointed in a direction, and Qiu Mang nodded her thanks.
Standing in front of the sink, Qiu Mang stared at the slingshot for a long time. Every mark on it seemed to have traveled through time and space, crashing straight into her vision.
She gently stroked it, and tears finally streamed down her face.
Over the years, Zhang Guihua's resentment towards her stemmed not only from the fact that she was a daughter, but also from the fact that when she and Qiu Ze were out together, human traffickers disliked her because she was a girl, so they only took her younger brother.
"You're such a waste of money! Even human traffickers wouldn't want you!"
"Where's Aze? Give me back my Aze!"
"You jinx! You've taken my Aze away!"
Her mother's curses still echoed in her ears, each sound like a sharp blade, piercing her body and leaving her wounded.
As a child, Qiu Mang could only kneel helplessly on the ground, her thin body trembling.
She felt deeply wronged but had no way to defend herself, since Aze had indeed been snatched away while playing with her. Faced with Zhang Guihua's overwhelming rage, she chose to silently endure it without uttering a word.
Now, I saw Aze again and knew that he was doing well. He was now a rich young master with loving parents and a sister who seemed cold but cared about him.
A bitter smile played on her lips, but she was genuinely happy for him. So be it, let this secret remain buried deep in her heart forever, and never disturb his peaceful and happy life now.
Thinking this, Qiu Mang seemed to have made up his mind. He gently put the slingshot into his bag, then bent down, turned on the tap, scooped up a handful of cold water, and splashed it on his face, trying to wake himself up.
With a creak, the bathroom door was slowly pushed open. Qiu Mang's face was covered in water droplets, and before she could even see who was coming, she felt a warm and firm embrace against her back.
Immediately afterward, a pair of strong hands gently encircled her slender waist. Qiu Mang's body stiffened instantly. Just as she was about to struggle, a deep and magnetic male voice sounded in her ear: "It's me..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man's warm lips gently touched her cheek, his breath lingering on her ear. Qiu Mang felt a jolt of electricity run through her body, her legs went weak, and she almost fell into the man's arms.
Qiu Mang bit her lower lip, trying her best to stay awake.
This man knew every sensitive spot on her body and always managed to so easily tease every nerve in her body.
She pushed the man away forcefully, shouting, "What are you doing? This is your home!"
Lu Yanting chuckled softly. "You know this is my house, right? I'm usually the one who goes to you. Now, you've come to my door on your own. Doesn't that mean you miss me?"
Qiu Mang's face flushed red. "No! I was just... um..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man's lips covered hers again, forceful and domineering, leaving her no room for resistance.
Qiu Mang clenched his fists and kept pounding his chest, but the man easily grabbed his wrists and lifted them high above his head.
In an instant, the world spun around her, and she was pinned against the wall, her back pressed against the cold surface, while in front of her was a man's burning embrace. Qiu Mang felt as if she were trapped between two extremes of ice and fire, her heart pounding like a drum, her reason on the verge of collapse.
With great difficulty, Qiu Mang turned her head and, using all her strength, finally broke free from the man's lips. Gasping for breath, her eyes wide, she glared at the man before her: "What are you doing! This is the restroom; anyone could walk in at any moment!"
Lu Yanting then slowly released her, lightly licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue, his eyes full of teasing and amusement, "What are you afraid of? You came to my house to see me, didn't you?"
Qiu Mang was both embarrassed and annoyed. She turned to face the mirror and hurriedly straightened her disheveled clothes, muttering, "I told you, it was Xu Jingyan and your sister who called me here!"
"You come just because they tell you to? It's your own body. If you don't want to come, who can force you?" Lu Yanting retorted calmly, arms crossed.
"You..." Qiu Mang was speechless for a moment, too angry to speak.
The man smiled wickedly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Let me guess, is there some other purpose behind your visit today? Since Xu Jingyan sent you, it must be related to her, right? Since it's related to her, are you trying to set us up? Did you two plan this all along by the grape trellis, deliberately leading me there to create an opportunity for her and me to be alone?"
With his plan exposed, Qiu Mang immediately felt awkward and turned his face away in a flustered manner, as if he had nothing to say: "Since you already know, then... then I have nothing to say."
But as soon as she finished speaking, Qiu Mang seemed to suddenly remember something, straightened her back abruptly, and questioned me with a righteous indignation: "How dare you say that to me? Didn't you also lie to me? When we were playing the game just now, you could have let Xu Jingyan help you squeeze the balloons, why did you have to choose me?"
Also, why are our balloons so hard to pop? It always embarrasses me so much. And, even though they're the same balloons, why do yours and Xu Jingyan's pop so easily with just a light touch? Can you honestly say you didn't do it on purpose?
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