Forty-five stars
A few bloodshot lines crept into his eyes as he suddenly remembered the bracelet Xu Jianyun had worn during the day, which seemed somewhat similar to his mother's. Furthermore, she had been unusually late this morning, so he didn't believe she was telling the truth.
He clenched his fingers into fists, his face gloomy, and strode down the stairs.
Xu Jianyun was still sitting quietly in the living room at this moment.
Seeing Feng Chibai still wearing the same soaked clothes, the old man was about to speak when he suddenly saw Feng Chibai approaching Xu Jianyun with a sullen face. His usual superficial affection faded away as he forcefully grabbed Xu Jianyun's wrist. His fierce expression startled Xu Jianyun, who yelled, "What are you doing?"
Even the old man scolded him, but Feng Chibai seemed not to hear him. He stubbornly pulled her sleeves down a little, and a silver bracelet appeared in front of him in an instant.
Exactly the same as Bai Ruotong's.
Holding her hand tightly, he gritted his teeth and asked coldly, "Where did you get this bracelet? Did you search my room this morning?"
Xu Jianyun's expression suddenly became flustered after being stabbed, but he dared not admit it. He struggled with his hands and shouted in a shrill voice: "What are you talking about? What do you mean by searching your room? This bracelet I bought is not good!"
"This is my mother's bracelet!"
The moment the words fell, the living room fell eerily quiet.
Even Xu Jianyun was stunned by the roar. He forgot to struggle and quickly recalled what happened during the day.
Because she didn't find any substantial evidence when she went to his company last time, and from her perspective, Feng Chibai didn't seem to know about this matter, so she boldly set her sights on going to his room.
But on weekdays, the old house was crowded with people, but this morning most of the servants had to go to sweep the graves, and Feng Chibai and Lin Tang came down early, so she had the opportunity to sneak into his room and search.
However, as the departure time was approaching, perhaps because the old man had not seen her for a long time, he asked someone to come up and call her. In the empty environment, the footsteps in the stairwell were very obvious.
Fearing discovery, she hurriedly put the items back in place. However, she had taken the bracelet out long ago and left it on the table. In this emergency, someone like her, accustomed to the extravagance of the Feng family and wearing all kinds of jewelry on a daily basis, thought the bracelet was something she had accidentally brought with her. She quickly put it on and hurriedly left his room, not realizing the bracelet didn't belong to her.
But at this moment, she didn't have the courage to admit it. After she came to her senses, she kept insisting, "This is my bracelet."
Seeing that Feng Chibai had no intention of letting her go, Feng Yunjing hurriedly separated the two and shielded Xu Jianyun behind him. After all, she was his mother, and he would always favor her. So he retorted to Feng Chibai, "It's just a bracelet, sold everywhere. Why do you think it belongs to your mother?"
Why?
Feng Chibai sneered and pulled the corners of his mouth, his eyes as cold as if he was looking at a pile of garbage. His voice was light and emotionless: "Aunt Xu, are you at ease wearing the relics of a deceased person? Today is Qingming Festival, aren't you afraid that she will come to find you tonight?"
Xu Jianyun was instantly frightened, as if a bad picture appeared in her mind. She couldn't wait to take off the bracelet and stuffed it into Feng Yunjing's hand, wanting to stay away from this unlucky thing.
But with just this one action, even the blindest people present could understand the whole story.
As long as it had nothing to do with her, Feng Siru was always willing to help make the situation more chaotic. She smiled and said, "If you ask me, shouldn't I apologize to my third brother? Oh, by the way, my third brother went to visit Aunt Bai today, why didn't my fourth brother go with him?"
Feng Yunjing glanced at Xu Jianyun, who was cowering behind him, and knew exactly what Feng Siru was referring to. He felt a lump in his chest and said stubbornly, "Why should I go there?"
Feng Xing snorted and laughed. He had been so angry at the old man's control for a while that he wanted to vent his anger on him. "How dare you ask that? Don't you know it best in your heart?"
Ever since he was little, everyone had been using this incident to pressure him. But it was clear back then that he couldn't even remember it. Feng Yunjing's face flushed with emotion as she spoke loudly, "So, what does her death have to do with me? Did I ask her to save me?! What gives you the right to blame me for all the consequences of this?"
The next moment, a solid fist landed on his face, and the unexpected impact made him take a step back unsteadily.
Feng Chibai's chest was shaking, his emotions on the verge of losing control. He pointed at him and shouted, "Since you are the one standing in front of me now, you have no right to say this!"
He gritted his teeth and even had the tendency to move forward.
But the next second, someone stopped him in time.
Lin Tang gripped his arm tightly. She could clearly feel the strength still lingering in his arm. He was practically ready to throw another punch, disregarding all dignity. So she could only stand in front of him, trying her best to sober him up. Frowning, she whispered, "Feng Chibai, calm down."
Feng Chibai was almost a head taller than her. The moment he lowered his eyes to meet her gaze, a tear fell on her face.
It was rare for her to see the desolation and unwillingness in his eyes, but after all, the old man was present. She couldn't guarantee what would happen if she let him lose control. She could only gently remind him, "Don't be impulsive."
The force that threatened to break free from her grasp gradually subsided, and she instinctively turned to look at the man behind her. The punch had been quite powerful, leaving him with bruises on his face. He was being supported by Xu Jianyun, but his gaze remained fixed on her. Tears welled in his eyes, a complex mix of emotions.
Lin Tang slowly withdrew his gaze and said to the old man in a gentle voice, "Grandpa, I'll take him back to his room first."
There was a huge uproar at home and the old man was feeling bad. He kept calm and nodded to Lin Tang.
After she led Feng Chibai to sit on the sofa, she stood in front of him and leaned over to wipe the tears from his face. She patiently wiped each tear as it flowed. This was the first time she had seen him cry, and she couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
Suddenly, the hand covering his face was held. Feng Chibai raised his eyes and stared at her. His eyes were red and he looked a little pitiful. He said in a low voice: "Lin Tang, hold me, okay?"
Lin Tang hesitated to do as she was told, but just as she was about to touch him, a pair of strong hands grabbed her back. He buried his head in her arms, his breathing noticeable.
Lin Tang's heart trembled, and his fingertips rubbed into his hair. He whispered, "Feng Chibai, I'm not very good at comforting people, but if you have something you want to vent, I can reluctantly be a drifting bottle."
What you say tonight will stay only tonight. Everything will drift away to an unknown distance tomorrow, leaving no trace.
She could feel a spot on her clothes getting damp and hot, and the force on her back was tightening, as if trying to rub her into him.
After a while, he spoke slowly in a deep voice: "Lin Tang, do you know that when I was seven years old, my mother's mental state began to become abnormal."
Unable to bear the distant and ambiguous attitude of her once beloved husband, the long-term cold violence made her miserable and almost on the verge of collapse, so she chose to start forgetting the world, but fortunately, there were still traces of her son in her memory.
"When I was eight years old, she came to pick me up from school one day. Across the street, there was a young child trying to cross the zebra crossing when the light was red. There was a speeding car coming from the front. To protect the child, she just... fell in front of me."
He fell into a deep sleep from then on.
From what had just happened downstairs, it wasn't hard for Lin Tang to guess that the child was Feng Yunjing. But when she heard him speak it out, her heart still tightened.
In fact, Feng Chibai still couldn't really understand why Bai Ruotong did that. But perhaps, it was because of him.
Feng Yunjing was only three years old at the time, and coincidentally, they both resembled Feng Junming. Looking at Feng Yunjing, she vaguely wondered if she'd thought of Feng Chibai, and the moments of mutual affection she'd shared with Feng Junming, and so, in her confusion, she'd mistaken Feng Yunjing for her own son, rushing to protect him without hesitation.
Thoughts return.
Feng Chibai slowly let go of Lin Tang and kept half an arm's length away from her. He raised his eyes and looked at her, his voice choked with sobs: "Lin Tang, how do you feel when you are alone?"
Lin Tang's eyelashes fluttered, a faint smile curved at the corners of her lips. She held his cheeks with both hands and said with some heartache: "Feng Chibai, I'm luckier than you. I've never had it, so I don't think about it. But you have truly experienced it, and it must be very painful to lose it."
Feng Chibai held her wrist, a trace of moisture dripping from the corner of his eye onto her palm. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "That bracelet..."
He hasn't come back yet.
Lin Tang continued, "Go change your clothes first and wait for me in the room. I'll get them back for you."
The lights in the first-floor living room had dimmed, leaving only a dim light in the entrance hall. It seemed as if what had just happened was just an insignificant incident to the others. Now that it was time, everyone went back to their rooms and continued to sleep peacefully.
When I came down, Butler Wang hadn't returned to his room yet. He looked a little anxious. Seeing Lin Tang was like seeing a lifeline. He hurried over to her and said, "Miss Lin, why don't you help persuade the young master?"
Following his gaze, outside the Feng family's gate, Feng Yunjing was sitting alone on the steps with his back to the old house, wondering what he was thinking.
It was almost curfew time, but he was just sitting there, and no one knew when he would come in, or whether he was planning to come in. But after all, without a definite signal, Butler Wang couldn't lock the door.
Lin Tang pursed his lips, stared quietly for a few seconds, and took a bottle of Coke from the refrigerator. Then he walked out the door, handed the iced Coke to him, and asked softly, "Want a Coke?"
Feng Yunjing didn't take it immediately. His eyes were still fixed on the front. He said in a dull voice, "Lin Tang, do you also think it's my fault?"
When he said this, his voice was still trembling.
From childhood on, he'd been subjected to constant scorn because of his identity. Classmates and teachers alike, without exception, treated him as a bastard born into another family. Add to that the unexpected car accident, and it seemed as if, before he'd even fully grasped the world, he'd already been burdened with a mountain of debt.
So, as soon as he regained some sense of judgment, he tried hard to distance himself from this family. After graduating from high school, he never spent a penny of the Feng family's money again. The simple music room was built with the money scraped together by a few young music lovers.
But no matter how far he went, those childhood memories always followed him like a shadow. He couldn't get rid of them.
"I am not qualified to judge who is right and who is wrong from the perspective of a bystander." These words suddenly came to her ears, and Feng Yunjing subconsciously raised his eyes and looked at her in shock.
This was the first time someone didn't start by blaming him without any reason.
His mouth opened and closed, his breathing still lurching because of that sentence. His eyelashes fluttered, and just as something was about to burst out, he took the Coke from Lin Tang's hand and gushed it down.
After a while, the bottle of Coke was empty, and he calmed down. He lowered his head, took something out of his pocket, showed it to her, and asked bluntly, "Is this what you came here for?"
Lin Tang saw the bracelet in his hand clearly and nodded honestly.
But after she got the bracelet, she still showed no intention of leaving. Feng Yunjing asked again: "Aren't you leaving yet?"
Lin Tang took a deep breath and said slowly, "Butler Wang helped me once before, so I have to repay him. But you just drank a bottle of Coke from me. Although I didn't buy it, I ran errands for you, so you owe me a favor. I want to use this favor now. I hope you don't think about it and go back to sleep."
She knew that what she said was very bad, but she couldn't think of any other way at the moment.
Feng Yunjing was stunned when he heard this, and remained silent for a few seconds before he decided to stand up. He curled his lips towards Lin Tang, and although the smile was a little forced, he still said, "In that case, I have to sleep well tonight."
When she returned to the room, Feng Chibai had changed into comfortable clothes. He sat quietly on the sofa, as if he had heard what she said and had been sitting there waiting for her obediently.
She walked up to him and said with a smile, "Hold out your hand."
Feng Chibai said nothing, but did as he was told.
The next second, a cool silver touch wrapped around his wrist. Lin Tang helped him put it on, saying, "Put it on so no one else can take it away."
"I really don't know what you were thinking. You actually had to hide such a beautiful thing in a box and carry it with you. This way your mother would know what you were thinking and bless her son to have his wish come true."
The moment the button was fastened, Lin Tang pulled away a little, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright."
Feng Chibai's gaze followed her closely. After a while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."
Lin Tang put his hands on his hips and replied, "I'm so grateful for your kindness. We're husband and wife, so if you need anything, just let me know. I'm going to take a shower, so don't touch me secretly or you'll cry again."
The lights in the courtyard were off, and outside was completely silent. The rain that had been pouring down during the day had now faded away without a sound.
However, this quietness did not last the whole night. In the middle of the night, heavy rain began to fall again, even heavier than during the day.
Feng Chibai was awakened by the sound of continuous rain and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
The thunder and lightning outside the house did not disturb the sleep of the person next to him. The curtains were not drawn tightly, and a flash of purple-white light filtered through the gap. In this light, he could clearly see the profile of the person sleeping beside him.
The silver bracelet was still around his wrist, and its temperature was assimilated by his body temperature, becoming warm.
Lin Tang's body was slightly curled up, she was lying on her side, with her right arm half bent and stretched to the other side of the bed.
Feng Chibai leaned over, his fingertips gently tracing across her arm. The wound had healed, leaving only a long scar. Suddenly, her breathing became heavier. He slowly moved his fingers upward, covering her cheek, but his movements were gentle, as if he were afraid of shattering a glass ball, not daring to use any force.
Even just looking at her, his body couldn't stop shaking, but he was afraid that the tiny sound in his throat would wake her up, so he tried hard to suppress the sound.
His eyes moistened again. After a few seconds of silence, his heart was filled to the brim with emotion. He impulsively and reluctantly kissed her face carefully.
Then another one.
With every kiss, my body trembles.
The tears that were about to burst out finally flowed out at some point, dripping down her cheeks, all the way down, across her nose, and finally landing on the pillow.
As if finally satisfied, he slowly withdrew his hand, looked at her tenderly for the last time, and whispered, "Sui Sui, good night."
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