Chapter 128 Moving
A people-friendly trail has been built along the river bank.
It was cold and not many people were around. The street lights were scattered across the street, illuminating the wet wooden benches.
Xu Jiqing walked along the riverside, found a chair sheltered from the wind, wiped the water off his clothes with his hands, and put down the cake box in his hand.
Half of the six-inch cake is left.
Su Xia asked the waiter at the hot pot restaurant for a clean small bag, put the small plate and fork in it, tied it to a ribbon, and reminded him several times that mixing black tea into the cream might cause insomnia, and that Xu Jiaojiao would get cavities if she ate too much sweets, so they could put it in the refrigerator and talk about it tomorrow.
He is not afraid of cavities.
In the cold night wind, Xu Jiqing didn't even open the cutlery bag. He used the blunt metal cake knife to eat all the remaining cake in the box.
Swallow the last mouthful of cream.
He stood under the street light for a while, then walked forward street by street until he returned to the home he was not very familiar with.
This is their second move after winning first place in the provincial competition.
The first time, it was not far from the affiliated primary school, the price was relatively reasonable, and the environment was much better than the demolished house. However, I didn’t live there for long before the landlord took advantage of the high housing prices and broke the contract and sold the house.
He found this apartment after taking a leave last night. He spent two hours looking at the house and decided to sign the contract. It is more expensive than the previous rent, but the community has a reliable security guard and you have to swipe your card to enter the gate.
He will be away from home for a long time next, so it's worth buying some peace of mind.
Take out the key and unlock it.
There were cardboard boxes piled up at the shoe-changing area at the entrance. One of the woven bags was deflated, while the other was still bulging. The zipper was not zipped up all the way, revealing a corner of the plastic hanger.
The lights were bright and warm, and there was the sound of running water in the kitchen. Xu Jiaojiao moved a small stool and sat in front of the TV, watching cartoons while washing her feet.
Seeing him come back, I happily called him "Brother".
Xu Jiqing nodded, took off his coat, and went into the bedroom to put his bag.
When she came out again, the little girl was even more excited, her big eyes shining brightly. "Brother, the TV in our new house is so big, and the signal is so good. I watched two episodes of cartoons without interruption."
"Have you finished your homework?"
Xu Jiqing tapped her forehead and said, "You can't watch this episode anymore. Get out now if the water gets cold."
Xu Jiaojiao's round face wrinkled. "But I'm so tired from moving today. Can't I watch one more episode?"
Xu Jiqing glanced at her calmly, "Did you move?"
“I moved a lot!”
Xu Jiaojiao counted on her fingers and told him, "I've folded the clothes and given them to Mom. I also carried all the things on my desk, the pen holder, the desk lamp, and the night light. They're so heavy."
Speaking of her Snow White night light.
In the past, when her brother was at home, he would come over and turn it off for her after a few minutes as soon as he saw her night light was on.
Xu Jiaojiao has learned to be smart now.
I only open it when my brother is not around. I usually treat it as a decoration. I touch it before going to bed and I will have a good dream.
The little girl chattered for a long time before the noise in the kitchen stopped.
"A Qing is back?"
Lin Yuezhen turned around hurriedly, still wearing her rubber gloves, "The landlord hasn't lived here in a while, there's quite a thick layer of dust. I'll fix it right away."
Xu Jiqing doesn't like others to mention his birthday, and he doesn't care about it either.
When I wake up in the morning, I check what vegetables are left from the stall the night before, mix them together and cook a bowl of noodles. After finishing, I go to school.
Sometimes I couldn't resist Lin Yuezhen, so I would just boil a few eggs, roll them on the table while muttering auspicious words, and that would be the end of my birthday.
Today is just the day to move.
After packing the boxes early in the morning, we took the bus. Just as we settled down in the afternoon, Xu Jiqing went out again and didn't get to do anything.
Lin Yuezhen felt a little guilty and turned her head to look at him several times, "Are you hungry, Qing? Mommy will make you a bowl of noodles."
Xu Jiqing shook his head, "I ate outside."
"...That's good. It's good to play with friends more often."
The woman pursed her lips, wiped her hands on her apron, was silent for a moment, and then put her gloves back on.
Ever since she was tricked by Xu Wenyao into traveling to Shanghai last time, she almost lost contact at the train station.
Even though she changed her cell phone number and never contacted her ex-husband again, the rift that had already occurred could not be restored to its original state, and the relationship between mother and son fell to freezing point.
The sound of advertisements from the children's channel could be heard in the living room. Xu Jiaojiao occasionally asked a few questions, and Xu Jiqing answered them patiently, looking very relaxed.
This was the best birthday mood he had ever had in all these years.
Lin Yuezhen didn't go over to disturb her and turned around to continue washing.
She listened with her back turned for a long time, until the ending theme of the cartoon sounded. Xu Jiaojiao reluctantly went back to her room to sleep, and then she thought of asking him about his recent training.
Holding the warm water in her hand, Lin Yuezhen took two steps towards the living room.
On the sofa, Xu Jiqing's cell phone started buzzing.
Could it be...
Lin Yuezhen's face turned pale, she dared not move, and her heart skipped a beat.
Xu Jiqing didn't avoid her.
The lights in the living room were bright white. Xu Jiqing looked thinner than the last time he came home. His fingers were very thin, and his angular cheeks were slightly sunken. "Coach Zhang."
Zhang Jianyuan, Lin Yuezhen knew this person.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn't know much about his prestige and reputation in the competition circle, she just knew that he was a kind-hearted teacher.
Without him, Xu Jiqing would not have been granted special approval to transfer schools, and they would not have come to Jiangcheng with him.
No idea what the other party said. Xu Jiqing stood up without listening for a few words, his face gloomy, he put on his coat and walked out.
The security door is closed.
Zhang Jianyuan's tone was complicated in the receiver, and he didn't know how to start for a moment.
"It's from Ontario. I called more than a dozen times and also received some text messages."
"I went home and slept, so I didn't hear anything. Your wife picked him up after get off work. He seemed drunk and said he was your father. He had been looking for you in Jiangcheng for over a month and couldn't find you. He had no money, so he took a ride back home."
"Now he is alone and helpless, and asked me if I knew where you live now, and wanted to see you."
These words are of course a beautified version.
Needless to say, Xu Jiqing was a rare talent in ten years who was aiming for the national gold medal. Zhang Jianyuan's own child was only one or two years older than Xu Jiqing and was already studying in another place.
He put himself in her shoes and realized that he couldn't bring himself to say those dirty words out loud.
But Xu Jiqing understood.
Many things have long been rooted deep in memory.
Just one or two words at the beginning and the noisy voice was pressed on the play button and rang in his ears again.
He was silent for a long time. "I'm sorry to bother you and your family."
"You can block him now, and if you receive calls from numbers in Ontario in the future, just hang up and don't answer them again."
The night wind picked up again, bringing with it the rain that had started without anyone noticing.
It was different from the drizzle he had experienced on his way home. The sound of the rain hitting the carport was dripping and a bit harsh.
Xu Jiqing stood in the carport downstairs and repeated, "I'm sorry."
Zhang Jianyuan has been teaching for so many years, and he has always seen children getting into trouble at school and parents being called in to clean up the mess. He has never seen the other way around.
The calmer Xu Jiqing's tone of apology, the more uncomfortable he felt.
"I don't mean to blame you."
He sighed, "Teacher Hu told me about your family before, and now your wife is also very worried about you, so she insisted that I make this call."
"I don't know the specifics, so I can't say much, but the winter break finals are only two days away. You should stay in Jiangcheng. Try not to see your dad for now, and don't go back to your hometown. Teacher Hu and I will help you no matter what. If things really don't work out, we'll call the police."
Zhang Jianyuan paused, then asked directly, "Do you have a suitable place to live now?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
