Chapter 41 Late Night Home Visit
On the day of the parents' meeting, Lin Yun noticed Xia Liang standing alone in the library porch.
This happened purely by chance.
If he had not been thinking about his daughter's studies after the parent-teacher meeting and had not glanced in that direction when passing by the library, he would never have realized that Xia Liang would be leaning there alone, with a gloomy expression that was completely different from usual.
It was that scene that made him decide at that time that he must find time to get to know Xia Liang's situation better.
After all, he had only known Xia Liang for a month as Cuiqiao, but he vaguely realized that there were many strange things about this child.
His subtle attitude when they first met at the electronics street; his personality that was completely different from the school's reputation as described by Lin Xiaolu; his hesitation when he claimed to have run away from home; and his lonely expression when he was alone at the parents' meeting...all these concerning behaviors seemed to point to a certain fact: Xia Liang's relationship with his family did not seem optimistic.
That's why today happened. Taking the excuse of a study session, Cuique decided to go to Xia Liang's house to take a look.
Xia Liang's home is also in Xizhao District, in an old community located on the edge of the third ring road. It is said to have been built more than 20 years ago.
She didn't want to fly, so Kuizi didn't ask and followed her silently. The two walked into the gate of the community, and after turning a corner, they could see a row of weathered six-story residential buildings.
The distance between buildings is not small, and the housing structure is relatively old. It seems very suitable to install an external elevator outside the building, which is also more convenient for maintenance? Looking at the rows of buildings, Delphinium couldn't help but have distracting thoughts, and then shook his head to drive these messy thoughts out of his head.
Walking along the corridor into a residential building, the two soon arrived at Xia Liang's home.
"Come in."
Xia Liang opened the door, pressed the light switch at the entrance, and gestured to Cuique: "No one is wearing these slippers at the door, so just pick one at random, young senior."
Delphinium looked down at the ground and found that just as Xia Liang said, there were several pairs of slippers of different sizes neatly arranged at the door.
No one at home? This scene made her feel suspicious, but she didn't say anything and just nodded to Xia Liang.
After changing shoes and walking into the living room, the whole picture of this house came into view: the space inside is not large. Although it is a common three-bedroom and one-living room, the total area is relatively small. The decoration and furniture in the house are a bit old, but it is cleaned very well and the objects are arranged neatly, so it gives people a sense of simple warmth.
The only strange thing is that, I don’t know if it has something to do with living habits, but in this house, Delphinium hardly sees any household appliances.
Not only were there almost no white appliances, there was no TV in the living room. There was a TV cabinet against the wall directly opposite the sofa, but there was only a vase on the cabinet top.
In addition, this layout makes the house feel somewhat lacking in popularity, or in other words, it lacks the breath of life.
If there were no human voice, the whole house would be silent, with only a slight buzz from the fluorescent light on the ceiling of the living room.
"Would you like some tea?" Xia Liang asked with a smile as he walked to the tea cabinet in the restaurant.
"No thanks." Delphinium responded casually, still looking around.
"So you're just tired and planning to rest?"
Xia Liang blinked and said, "You should take a shower before you rest, right? It may take some time to boil the water."
"It's not that urgent..." Delphinium seemed absent-minded.
"Where do you want to sleep?"
She was interrupted by Xia Liang before she finished her words: "There is an empty room left, and the bedding inside has been washed and changed, but if you want to sleep with me, that's fine too?"
"I'm more used to sleeping alone."
"Eh? Now that we're here, why don't we sleep together? I actually really want to sleep with you, young senior."
"Don't bother, I just want to stay for one night."
"Then I'll go to the single room and prepare the bed?"
"No need for this for now."
"Ah, how about you sit down first?"
"...Xiao Jin."
Interrupting Xia Liang's barrage of questions, Cuique looked at her calmly and asked bluntly, "Is there no one else in your family?"
With just one sentence, Xia Liang fell into silence.
Rather, the reason why she kept asking questions and even interrupted Delphinium to try to change the subject was a form of evasion. She had already guessed what Delphinium might ask next, but she just kept evading it and didn't want to mention it.
Xia Liang's smile remained unchanged, but it no longer looked natural. After a long silence, as if he had accepted his fate, this businesslike smile finally collapsed and turned into a helpless: "No."
"Not here means..." Delphinium couldn't help but frown.
"Not here means not here. They are not in this house and will never come back." Xia Liang said lightly.
She looked at Delphinium with a complicated expression, and Delphinium looked at her silently. The buzzing sound of the light above her head was still there, which was a bit annoying.
"call--"
Not long after, Xia Liang looked away and sat down on the sofa. He let out a long sigh, as if he had let go of some burden, and asked, "Young senior, you came here, did you really want to confirm this?"
"That's right." Still pondering the meaning of the word "absent", Delphinium answered without hesitation.
"Why did you notice it?" Xia Liang turned his head to look at her, "Is it because of the conversation we had in Xiaolu's living room before?"
“Not exactly.”
Delphinium also walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down along the armrest: "Compared to that conversation, the main reason is that you seem lonely."
"lonely?"
Reaching out to touch his cheek, Xia Liang was a little dazed at first, and then he showed a self-deprecating smile: "Why is it loneliness... Is it really that obvious?"
"Just think of it as an adult's intuition."
Delphinium lowered her eyes and passed on the topic: "After all, we are already companions, so I feel that I should know you better. I hope you don't feel offended."
Xia Liang is now undoubtedly a member of the Fangting City Magical Girls Team. In theory, everyone should let go of their guard and become more united. However, Lin Xiaolu is unilaterally hostile to Xia Liang, so there is no progress in their relationship.
Delphinium originally thought that she was from the older generation and that it was best to let the children solve these relationship problems themselves. However, as the situation became increasingly serious, she realized that it was not a wise move to continue to ignore it, so she had no choice but to take action herself.
Now that you have chosen to take action, you must go deeper to understand the real answer.
"…Young Senior, your statement is too cunning."
Listening to Cuiqiao's explanation, Xia Liang's smile turned bitter again: "If you put it that way, I have no choice but to answer, right?"
She leaned against the sofa, her expression dazed, and then closed her eyes: "However, I also think that the young senior and Xiaolu are both trustworthy people, and I shouldn't keep this kind of thing in my heart."
"Then please don't take it too seriously. Just treat it as a pastime and listen to my story."
She slowed down her tone and spoke with some nostalgia: "This is indeed my home. It was once the place where my family of three lived, but now, I am the only one left here."
"My father is dead." Xia Liang slowly raised his head, "My mother is in prison."
Her words made Delphinium's eyes gradually widen.
The fluorescent lights above my head were still bright, but at that moment, even the annoying sound of electric current disappeared briefly.
After another pause, Xia Liang tilted his head to look at Cuique and said in a hoarse voice: "The reason is that she killed my father."
(End of this chapter)
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