Liu Ercui and Qi Feng booked five tables at the restaurant to entertain their relatives and friends.
Liu Ercui was wearing a red suit, and Qi Feng was also wearing a suit.
The two of them standing together looked quite well-matched.
Wang Xiaogang didn't come, but asked Qin Hanshu to give him a gift.
At the children's table, Peipei was unusually quiet, and left halfway through her meal.
Seeing this, Zhou Chi followed.
Peipei squatted by the roadside, staring blankly at the passing traffic.
Seeing Zhou Chi approach, she called out, "Little Chi, little brother."
Zhou Chi retorted, "I'm in high school, you're in junior high, and I'm even taller than you now, so you can't call me 'little brother' anymore."
Zhou Chi finally started growing taller this year and is now a head taller than Pei Pei.
Peipei said, "Then you were born after me, so you'll always be my younger brother."
Zhou Chi felt uncomfortable upon hearing the word "younger brother," but he didn't know why he felt uncomfortable, since he hadn't felt anything when he was a child.
He subconsciously skipped over the question.
"What are you doing out here? Don't you want your mother to marry Uncle Qi?"
Peipei shook her head without hesitation, "No, Uncle Qi is very nice."
Zhou Chi: "Then you're not happy."
"I'm not unhappy, I just feel a little... I don't know how to describe this feeling..."
Peipei thought for a moment and said, "My older brother is dating someone, and his future sister-in-law said they would live separately after they get married. Now that Mom is also married to Uncle Qi, is she going to live with Uncle Qi? Will I live alone from now on? What if there are ghosts at night? I'm scared."
Zhou Chi said, "There are no ghosts in this world."
Peipei didn't say anything. Regardless of whether there were ghosts or not, she was afraid of living alone.
Zhou Chi added, "Even if Aunt Cui lives with Uncle Qi, she will still take you with her. You are still a minor, and she has a duty to support you."
Peipei: "..." She felt that this kind of comfort was a bit strange.
"Hey, your mom's looking for you." A dark-skinned, tall, thin boy stood at the door and called out.
Zhou Chi asked, "Who is he?"
Peipei pouted and said, "Qi Lang, Uncle Qi's son."
Qi Lang is two years older than her. He missed school when he was young, but now they are in the same class.
At school, Qi Lang was a troublemaker and had poor grades; he was a typical problem student.
Peipei and he always kept their distance and never spoke to each other at school.
Peipei felt that Qi Lang probably didn't like her either. Whenever he had to talk to her, he was too lazy to even call her by name, like right now.
Peipei responded, and Qi Lang turned and went back.
"Let's go in." Peipei took Zhou Chi's hand.
The two were close since childhood. Even after they stopped being neighbors, their mothers had a good relationship, and they often played together, not feeling that there was anything wrong with their behavior.
As they passed by Qi Lang, he glanced at their clasped hands, then casually looked away.
After getting married, Liu Ercui did not move to Qi Feng's place, but the two bought a new house together.
Huo Zhenduo built a batch of houses for export. Qin Hanshu bought two as investments, and Liu Ercui also bought two, one for her eldest son's wedding and one for herself.
It's a large four-bedroom apartment, and both Peipei and Qilang have their own rooms.
Although they now live under the same roof, Peipei and Qilang still avoid communicating with each other as much as before.
In July, Zhou Chi took the college entrance examination.
He applied to Peking University without hesitation, after all, it was the highest capital city in the country.
Soon, I received my acceptance letter.
Qin Hanshu and Zhou Weiguang had no objections, but Zhou Sheng complained sadly, "Brother, are you really willing to leave us? If you want to study medicine, Jiang University's medical school is very good!"
Zhou Chi pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "So what if we're reluctant? How can we stay in our parents' arms forever? Zhou Sheng, separation is a lesson we all have to learn in life."
“That’s true, but your behavior is too cold-blooded.” Zhou Sheng turned to Qin Hanshu and said, “Mom, you’re right, aren’t you? He doesn’t seem to have any reluctance at all. If it were me, I would definitely hug you and cry my heart out.”
Zhou Chi: "...sowing discord."
Zhou Sheng made a face at Zhou Chi, "Go away, and I'll take Mom and Dad to my side. They'll only love me from now on."
Zhou Chi: "...childish."
Zhou Sheng added, "Sister Peipei is going to be taken away too, and you won't even have any friends left!"
Zhou Chi: "......"
Hearing this, Qin Hanshu asked Zhou Chi, "It's been a long time since Peipei came to our house. Did you tell her about going to university in Beijing?"
Zhou Chi wasn't very sociable and had never brought any close friends home. The only close friend Qin Hanshu knew of was his childhood sweetheart, Peipei.
Zhou Chi shook his head. "He hasn't said yet."
Qin Hanshu said, "You two are good friends, you should have told her sooner."
Zhou Chi nodded silently.
When he first filled out his college application, he had no other thoughts but to pursue his ideal university.
But now that he has received his acceptance letter and is confirmed to be leaving the city, he suddenly has a strange feeling that he doesn't want to tell Peipei.
He didn't know how to describe the feeling; saying he was reluctant to part with it didn't seem quite right either.
Peipei learned from Liu Ercui that Zhou Chi was going to study at university in the capital.
She found Zhou Chi and asked, "Why didn't you tell me you got into Peking University? Did you not want to share this good news with me?"
Zhou Chi was taken aback, then shook his head, "No."
Peipei smiled and took out the gift she had prepared: a green woolen scarf.
Knitting scarves and gloves became popular among the girls in the class, and Peipei followed suit. However, she didn't have much talent for it and kept missing stitches. She had to knit and unravel many times before she could finally knit a presentable one.
"I heard it's quite cold in the capital. You can wear it in winter."
Zhou Chi took the scarf, and his heartstrings were suddenly touched.
"Peipei, what university do you want to go to in the future?"
Peipei glared at him. "Are you deliberately being sarcastic? With my grades, of course I'll take whatever exams I can get into."
“It’s not sarcasm…” Zhou Chi felt like he had so much to say, but at the last minute he didn’t know what to say.
It wasn't until much later, when Zhou Chi saw Pei Pei often accompanied by another man, that he understood what that inexplicable feeling he had back then was.
It was fear, fear that because of his long absence, the empty seat next to Peipei would be taken by someone else.
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