Chapter 204 Public Welfare Graffiti
Pei Qinyue clenched his fists unconsciously.
This young master, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, witnessed such a poor living environment for the first time.
He suppressed his shock, afraid to show any expression that would embarrass the grandfather and grandson.
"Nannan's parents originally worked in the city," Grandpa's rough fingers stroked the yellowed family portrait on the wall, "They said they would take us to live in town after they got their wages..."
His voice choked with sobs. "Then something went wrong at the construction site... the foreman ran away, and the compensation hasn't been paid yet..."
The five-year-old girl sat quietly in the corner, holding a tattered rag doll in her arms.
Xia Lili noticed that there wasn't even a decent table in the room, let alone picture books or toys for children of appropriate age.
She squatted down and asked softly, "What do children usually do at home?"
"I'm helping Grandpa dry herbs," the little girl replied softly, "and counting mushrooms..."
It turned out that because the house was too remote and her grandfather was illiterate and could not handle the paperwork, the little girl had not been able to go to kindergarten until now.
"Don't worry," Xia Lili said, holding the old man's rough hand with red eyes, "You can move into the new house tomorrow, and the children can go to school."
Afterwards, she, Li Qihan and Pei Qinyue pooled all the cash they had and handed it to the old man.
However, the old man waved his hands repeatedly: "Master, you have already helped a lot."
He pointed to the vegetable patch and chicken coop outside the house and said, "We have hands and feet, so we won't starve to death."
The evening breeze blew through the cracks in the wooden house, blowing the crumbling family portrait on the wall.
Xia Lili and the other two looked at the old man's hunched but straight back and left with mixed feelings.
The winding mountain road returned to calm under the cover of night. The municipal construction team had cleared away the fallen boulders, leaving only a few fresh tire marks crisscrossing the road surface.
Pei Qinyue opened the door of his silver sports car and tilted his head towards Xia Lili: "Get in."
Li Qihan suddenly stepped in between the two of them and said, "She comes with me."
"Lili came here in my car." Pei Qinyue raised his eyebrows.
"I'm worried about her going with you." Li Qihan's tone was calm but unquestionable. "She vomited the last time she rode in your car."
Xia Lili raised her eyebrows in shock when she heard this. She had just complained to Li Qihan about her experience in the racing club when she visited the vegetable market this morning, but she didn't expect him to remember it.
"That's because of that guy Song Kai..." Pei Qinyue was about to defend himself.
"Facts speak louder than words." Li Qihan interrupted directly, turned to look at Xia Lili, his eyes calm and steady: "Let's go, get in the car."
After he finished speaking, he walked straight to a seized black modified sports car, smoothly opened the door and got into the driver's seat.
The car body shone with a cold luster in the moonlight.
Xia Lili smiled apologetically at Pei Qinyue and said, "Master Designer, I'd better go with Captain Li."
When going up the mountain today, Pei Qinyue's car made her dizzy.
"You prioritize women over friendship!" Pei Qinyue was furious. "He might not be able to handle this modified sports car."
Li Qihan had already fastened his seatbelt. He continued to check the dashboard without looking up, saying casually, "The police force conducts mountain road driving tests every month. This level of modification is nothing."
As soon as Xia Lili fastened her seat belt, Li Qihan started the car.
He was wearing a police uniform, with his collar buttoned meticulously to the top button and his cuffs slightly tightened, revealing the bulging veins on his wrists.
He was clearly driving a wild, modified sports car, but he exuded an ascetic coldness, as if even this steel beast was subject to his control.
The car started, and Li Qihan's driving style was completely different from Pei Qinyue's - Pei Qinyue wanted to make the tires scream when driving, but Li Qihan could make this aggressive sports car as docile as a tamed cheetah.
The power is sufficient but not abrupt when accelerating, and it is so smooth when braking that one can hardly feel the inertia. Even the side tilt when cornering is precisely controlled within the most comfortable range.
"Captain Li, have you ever driven a sports car before?" Xia Lili couldn't help but ask.
Li Qihan's gaze remained fixed on the front, his tone calm, "My father loved collecting sports cars. After my parents had an accident, those cars were sold by my relatives."
Xia Lili was stunned and immediately realized that she might have touched upon his past, so she quickly fell silent.
The car was silent for a moment, with only the low hum of the engine as the sound. Xia Lili glanced at Li Qihan's profile - he had deep brow bones, a high nose bridge, and a clean jawline, which made him look particularly cold and stern in the night.
Somehow, her heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Xia Lili suddenly thought of something and said, "Captain Li, aren't you taking a day off this afternoon?"
Li Qihan steered the wheel with one hand and said calmly, "Yeah."
"I'm not too sure about you."
After a pause, his ears turned slightly red as he added, "I'm afraid you can't handle it."
"Why can't I handle it?" Xia Lili's eyes widened in dissatisfaction. "The Song family's parents treat me like a living god now!"
"You're really amazing," Li Qihan praised her, a rare compliment. His eyes swept over her puffed-up face, and after a pause, he added, "But you're different from those fortune-tellers. You're actually saving people."
Xia Lili's eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers proudly: "Of course, I've never failed to predict the fate of a person~"
In the darkness of the night, the sports car was parked steadily in front of the traffic police brigade.
Li Qihan completed the handover swiftly and headed towards the familiar black Land Rover in the parking lot. Xia Lili trotted after him and heard him say, "Let's go back together."
As the night deepened, the streetlights in the police compound cast a warm glow.
As Xia Lili reached the bottom of her dormitory building, she ran into her neighbors, Uncle Chen and Aunt Lin, who were strolling along. The two elderly people, arm in arm, walked slowly but steadily. When they saw Xia Lili, kind smiles immediately spread across their faces.
"Lili, are you back?" Aunt Lin greeted with a smile. Her eyes fell on Li Qihan beside her, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, you came back with Xiao Li?"
She touched Xia Lili's arm mischievously, "Is Xiao Li your boyfriend?"
"Of course. I've lived in the compound for so many years, and I've never seen Xiao Li send anyone home."
Xia Lili's ears burned, and she quickly waved her hands: "No, no! We just finished a case, and we all live in the police compound, so this is convenient for us~"
Aunt Lin smiled knowingly and without asking any more questions, she enthusiastically took Xia Lili's hand and said, "Lili, are you free tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is a day off, what's wrong, Aunt Lin?"
Uncle Chen took over the conversation and said in a gentle voice, "Look, tomorrow we are taking the children from the welfare home to the construction site."
Seeing Xia Lili's eyes widen instantly, he quickly explained, "Don't get me wrong, we're doing some charity graffiti. The construction site fence needs beautification, and the person in charge specifically contacted the welfare home and said that they would let the children come and paint, and they would also donate supplies to the welfare home."
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