grateful
He didn't know much about the Song family, but Qin Yalin, with her flamboyant personality and tendency to make a scene that everyone in town knew what she wanted, must have told her parents, who spoiled her rotten, the moment she discovered Lin Xi.
If the Song and Qin families were to become aware of Lin Xi's existence, the scope of the problem would be enormous...
Just as I was deep in thought, someone suddenly patted me on the shoulder.
Wen Xubai suddenly came to his senses, turned his head, and saw an unexpected person.
Xia looked at him expectantly, and the moment she saw his face, her two round eyes lit up. She exclaimed happily, "It really is you! The person from the noodle shop last time!"
Wen Xubai suddenly realized that he had arrived in front of the noodle shop without even noticing.
I was a little surprised myself. I've gotten used to walking this way lately, and I was just distracted and not looking where I was going, and suddenly I found myself here again.
Since he was already there, he could only smile and reply, "Hello."
Xia exclaimed excitedly, "That's wonderful! I've finally seen you again!"
Wen Xubai asked, somewhat puzzled, "You... is there something you need?"
"Thank you so much for what happened last time! I've been wanting to thank you properly, but I didn't know your name or where to find you... I asked Brother Zui a few times at first, but he said he didn't know where you lived either..."
The little girl pouted, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Wen Xubai thought back for a moment, and it seemed to have happened almost a month ago. At that time, he had just met Qi Zui and they were not very familiar with each other. He had not yet moved to Huaihua Lane, so it was normal that he did not know.
So he smiled slightly and said, "My name is Chen Che."
"Chen Che..." the girl thought for a moment, tapping her chin, "Then I'll call you Brother Che!"
The little girl had a round face and looked quite young, probably just over twenty years old. She even had two small dimples when she smiled.
"Brother Che" smiled and nodded, not bothered by the form of address.
Seeing that the other person was a kind person, Xia was even happier, and unconsciously moved a little closer to the other person while talking.
"Brother Che, thank you so much for last time at the noodle shop. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know what would have happened to me after those drunkards..."
At this point, Xia's eyes revealed a hint of fear, and she even shivered, as if she still had lingering fears about what happened last time.
Let alone a woman, even a man would find it hard not to be scared if he were alone in a small space with three drunkards, let alone a young girl like Xia who is just starting out.
Wen Xubai comforted him, "It's okay. You shouldn't stay in the store alone at night anymore. Get some other employees with you, or ask the boss to let you switch shifts." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Getting Qi Zui is also fine."
His imposing stature of 1.88 meters should still be enough to intimidate people.
Xia nodded seriously, "Yes! Ever since that incident, Brother Zui has always insisted on staying until after I get off work. Even if he's not home, he always makes sure I lock the door and call him anytime!"
At this point, she suddenly became worried and said, "I heard from the neighbors last time that someone was injured and you were taken to the police station! Brother Che, are you alright?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Xubai was stunned for a moment before he finally reacted and said, "I... I'm not injured. Isn't it Qi Zui who's injured?"
He assumed Xia knew, since they worked together every day and did physically demanding jobs at the noodle shop. With such a severe injury, Xia couldn't possibly be completely unaware.
But seeing the other person's bewildered expression, he suddenly began to doubt his own judgment.
The two stared at each other for a long time before Xia stomped her foot and said angrily, "Fine, I knew it! Brother Zui is always like this! He doesn't say anything when he's injured, he doesn't say anything when he's wronged, he smiles even when customers are being difficult, and he pretends to be fine even though he's in so much pain!"
The girl spoke quickly, rattling off a string of words that startled Wen Xubai.
With a slight frown, Wen Xubai asked, "Has Qi Zui always been like this?"
“Yeah!” Xia said indignantly, “Zui Ge is always like this! He likes to silently shoulder everything, afraid that others will worry! It’s one thing to only tell his mother good news and not bad news, but he does the same to us!”
When Qi Zui's mother was mentioned, Xia Xia suddenly covered her mouth, as if realizing she had said something wrong, and quickly patted her mouth.
When she met Wen Xubai's questioning eyes, she stammered, "I know what happened to Zui Ge's family recently... God is so unfair! Qi Zui is such a good person, why is he always plagued by such misfortune..."
"always?"
"Yeah, Brother Che, didn't you know? When Zui was little, he lived with his mother all the time, but Aunt Qi always drank. When she was drunk, she would hug Zui and cry, saying things like 'I'm sorry, I was wrong'... Then one time, she even drank so much that she had a stomach hemorrhage and passed out at home in the middle of the night. She forgot to turn off the stove, which caused a fire. It was Zui who went from house to house crying and begging for help, and a few neighbors came and took Aunt Qi to the hospital. That's how she barely survived..."
"But..." Xia lowered her head, "but my brother's little dog was burned to death..."
"A puppy?" Wen Xubai was somewhat surprised.
Xia nodded and gestured to show him the size, "A little white dog. Our boss said it was this size back then, and the eldest brother picked it up from the roadside."
Xia seemed puzzled. "I don't know why, but Zui Ge's mother seems particularly afraid of him making friends. When he was little, she never let him get too close to other children, and she was often mentally unstable; you could always hear her yelling. Over time, the other children in the alley stopped wanting to play with Zui Ge..."
"After that accident, when Zui Ge buried the puppy, he held its body and cried for a long time. Plus, Aunt Qi's health wasn't good, and she couldn't manage it anymore, so she relaxed her restrictions on him... But later, Aunt Qi's illness worsened, to the point where she was hallucinating. To save money for medical expenses, Zui Ge started working in his teens, even fighting with local thugs. Later, he dropped out of school, making his social circle even smaller..."
The little girl seemed to feel indignant on Qi Zui's behalf. By the end, she had even gotten angry herself, and she crossed her arms and said unhappily, "I know it's not easy for Aunt Qi to raise a child alone, but this... isn't it too unfair to Brother Zui?"
Each word reached Wen Xubai's ears, striking his heart. For some reason, the suffocating feeling from before surged up again...
He knew that the people in Huaihua Lane were a diverse and complex group, and Lin Xi was afraid that Qi Zui had too many friends and would one day come into contact with people related to the Wen family… Even though the probability of this happening was almost impossible, she was still afraid…
In fact, for her, Qi Zui's existence was a nightmare, a constant reminder of the crimes she had committed...
Guilt, fear, doubt... How can a person who lives in constant terror not go insane?
Wen Xubai lowered his eyelashes slightly, unaware of how pale he looked. It was Xia who first noticed his pale face and was startled.
"Brother Che, Brother Che, are you alright? Why do you look so pale?" Xia waved her hand in front of him with a worried expression.
Wen Xubai suddenly realized what was happening, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by a familiar voice behind him.
"If you have a bad stomach and run around without eating breakfast, how can your complexion look good?"
Xia's eyes lit up immediately: "The best!"
Wen Xubai turned around abruptly and saw Qi Zui standing with his hands in his pockets, his handsome brows revealing displeasure as he looked at him meaningfully.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Wen Xubai lowered his head somewhat guiltily.
Qi Zui was even more displeased when he saw him like this. He was about to say something when Xia interrupted him first.
"Brother Zui, you've finally arrived! You haven't come for so long, and you didn't even send a message. The boss and I were almost worried to death!"
The little girl was genuinely worried about Qi, afraid that something might happen to him.
Qi Zui noticed it too, and grinned, saying, "It's okay, isn't your brother Zui standing right here?"
As he spoke, he opened his arms and spun around, giving Xia a 360-degree, three-dimensional view of the words "It's okay".
"Tell the boss not to worry, I'll come back to work in a couple of days after I finish moving."
"No rush, no rush. The boss said you can come back anytime once you've adjusted!" Xia quickly waved her hand.
Since the original house was gone, they naturally had to move. The little girl didn't find it strange, but Wen Xubai looked up in surprise.
“That’s right.” Qi Zui looked at him and smiled, “We can’t rest for too long, we still have families to support, right?”
He said this to Xia, but he was looking at Wen Xubai as he spoke.
"What are you doing here?" Qi Zui looked directly into his eyes. "Didn't you say you were going to work?"
Wen Xubai looked away somewhat guiltily and made up a reason on the spot: "I came to move some things."
Qi Zui was somewhat puzzled, "What are you moving?"
"Didn't you say you were moving? Well, I need to bring my things back with me, right...?"
Qi Zui's eyes lit up instantly: "You agreed to live with me?!"
Wen Xubai nodded slightly.
Now that things have been said, there's nothing he can do if he doesn't agree.
Remembering that Xia was watching them from the other side, Wen Xubai suddenly felt a little embarrassed and quickly increased the distance between them.
Overwhelmed by joy, "Mr. Qi" failed to notice anything amiss and continued to approach.
He fled, he chased... He fled, he chased...
Xia looked at the two people who were about to retreat to the convenience store next door and finally couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you... friends?"
Just as Wen Xubai was about to speak, Qi Zui grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from refuting.
Qi Zui smiled at Xia and said, word by word, "Boy-friend."
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