Chapter 267 Mr. Shen and Wutong in the Park
When Xia Lili opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on her bed at home.
She sat up in surprise. Didn’t she fall asleep in the helicopter?
The tip of my nose moved and I smelled the aroma of food coming from outside the room.
Xia Lili rubbed her eyes and came to the living room. Xia Lintian was making soup in the kitchen and Chang Yue was setting the table.
Seeing Xia Lili wake up, Chang Yue hurriedly called out to her daughter with concern: "Lili, you woke up just in time. Come over for dinner!"
Xia Lili sat down at the dining table, tilting her head in confusion: "Mom, how did I get back?"
She blinked suspiciously, "I remember I was on the helicopter before I fell asleep."
Chang Yue's face lit up when she heard that, and she lowered her voice mysteriously, "Captain Li carried you back. You were sleeping so soundly at that time."
She gestured, "We couldn't wake you up no matter how hard we tried in the car, and Captain Li was in a hurry to get back to the bureau, so he just carried you upstairs."
Xia Lili's face flushed instantly, and she stammered, "Really...really?"
Chang Yue reached out and gently tapped her daughter's forehead, unable to help laughing: "I actually hope it's fake!"
She described it vividly, "Your father and I saw you sleeping soundly on Captain Li's back."
"Both hands clutched onto his shoulders tightly and refused to let go."
"In the end, it took both of us to get you down."
Chang Yue shook her head, feeling both angry and amused. "You even scratched her neck, leaving a long red mark. We felt really bad about it, so we specially invited Captain Li to our house for dinner this weekend to make amends."
Xia Lili's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, and her voice rose an octave: "So, Captain Li really agreed to come to our house for dinner?"
"Yes," Chang Yue nodded with a smile, "I'll be here this Sunday."
After hearing this, Xia Lili looked incredulous and her eyes widened.
"Girl, you must be exhausted these days."
Xia Lintian came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming bowl of old duck soup. A kind smile appeared in the corners of his eyes. He carefully picked up a fat and tender duck leg and put it into Xia Lili's bowl.
Xia Lili's eyes lit up, and she raised her chin and said proudly, "Luckily, I got a lot of bonuses!"
Chang Yue put down the chopsticks in his hand and opened his eyes wide in surprise: "So amazing."
His tone was full of pride.
Xia Lintian rubbed his hands and looked at his daughter expectantly: "Have you been able to rest recently?"
Xia Lili picked up the bowl and took a big sip of the fragrant and rich duck soup, squinting her eyes in satisfaction: "Sure, you can take a break anytime."
"How about we go fishing in the park tomorrow?"
Xia Lintian suddenly sat up excitedly, and said like a child presenting a treasure, "The Yunze Park near our home has been renovated. I heard it's very beautiful now, with great landscaping and greenery. You can even have open-air barbecues."
Fishing...Xia Lili wrinkled her nose when she heard these two words, and a trace of resistance flashed across her face.
But then he thought about being able to relax with his parents, and nodded readily: "Okay!"
She pulled out her phone and checked the weather forecast, then shook it happily: "The weather will be nice tomorrow, let's leave tomorrow morning!"
The next morning, the sun shone gently on the lake in Yunze Park.
The driver took the family of three to the park entrance. There were few visitors on a weekday morning, with only a few silver-haired elderly people taking a leisurely stroll or sitting in groups of three or four around a stone table playing chess.
Xia Lili and her family found a secluded meadow by the lake and settled down.
Xia Lintian and Xia Lili worked in perfect harmony to set up the barbecue grill, while Chang Yue carefully spread out the picnic mat and neatly arranged the fresh fruits, exquisite snacks and iced fruit tea.
Xia Lintian sat calmly on a folding chair, with his fishing rod slanted on the shore, humming a leisurely tune from time to time.
Chang Yue flipped the food on the grill, and the tempting aroma filled the air. She couldn't help but get closer and smell it: "This butter smells so good."
Xia Lili sat holding the fishing rod for half an hour, and the water surface remained motionless.
She curled her lips helplessly, looked at her parents, and after confirming that it was "safe", she quietly took out the drawing board and small stool she carried with her, ready to look for creative inspiration in the park.
Xia Lili wandered aimlessly in the park and unknowingly walked into a forest of plane trees.
Under the mottled shadows of the tree, an old man sitting in a wheelchair was staring at the sycamore tree in a trance, his eyes deep and distant.
The old man looked very old, with a hunched back and a look of sickly weakness.
His skin was as pale as paper, with wrinkles of varying depths, covering it like dried orange peel, bearing the marks of time.
There were still several surgical incisions and intubation scars on the exposed skin of the neck, which showed that he had undergone many major surgeries.
Although there are many elderly people in the park, this is the first time Xia Lili has seen an old man as frail as this one.
She couldn't help but wonder, this old man must be ninety years old.
Xia Lili followed his gaze.
He was staring at a sycamore tree.
This sycamore tree looks tall and strong, and it seems that the forest is several decades old.
Xia Lili's extraordinary eyesight allowed her to see inconspicuous insect holes on the tree trunk and a small amount of sap flowing out.
This tree seems to have attracted a lot of insects and the infestation is quite serious.
Xia Lili thought the composition and light and shadow of the scene of the old man looking at the sycamore tree were very good, so she bravely stepped forward with her drawing board.
Xia Lili asked politely: "Grandpa, can I draw you and this tree?"
As she approached and said this, a man who looked like a bodyguard suddenly walked up to the old man and looked at her warily.
After listening to this, the old man looked up at Xia Lili and nodded.
With a hard throat, he said, "Thank you."
Xia Lili was confused. "Why are you thanking me?"
The old man said slowly: "This sycamore tree was planted by my lover..."
"She was one of the earliest garden designers in the country..."
"It's been twenty years since I left..."
Xia Lili suddenly realized. When she just entered the park, she saw the words written on the renovated history wall that Yunze Park was built in the 1970s.
No wonder the old man looked at the tree with such a deep gaze, it turned out that it was planted by his deceased wife.
The bodyguard listened to the conversation between the two with his ears perked up, and heaved a sigh of relief, then quickly stepped forward.
He said to the old man with a stern face, like a principal scolding a student: "Mr. Shen, if you encounter such a dubious person, you must ignore him!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Xia Lili warily, "Who knows what evil plans they have."
When Xia Lili heard the name "Mr. Chen", she immediately felt that this old man was of great importance.
Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes and leaned towards the bodyguard tremblingly: "What did you say——?"
He looks like an old naughty boy with hearing loss.
The bodyguard took a deep breath and repeated word by word, "I said! Don't pay attention to these indecent strangers!"
The old man frowned and leaned forward, "Ah? What did you say—?"
The bodyguard's face almost turned green: "No! Pay attention to! A stranger!"
"What?" The old man looked confused.
bodyguard:"......"
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