Chapter 117 Returning to Qingyang
In the afternoon, while Wen Jiu was resting by the window, she received a message from Li Yue saying that she wanted to go to the temple for a visit.
“Okay,” she replied happily.
Zhou Yanchuan looked at the person sitting on the sofa swinging their legs, and brought over a fruit plate. "What's making you so happy?"
"Yueyue said we can go to the temple in the mountains this afternoon."
"Temple?" Zhou Yanchuan used a skewer to stick a piece of watermelon and fed it to the girl's mouth. "Didn't you not believe in that?"
"Maybe as we grow up we'll find there are many things we just can't do, so we can only hope for divine protection."
Zhou Yanchuan scoffed, his tone arrogant: "You'd be better off begging me than hoping for a god."
"Then I beg you."
He raised an eyebrow slightly: "What do you want?"
“Hmm,” Wen Jiu tilted her head, seemingly genuinely thinking about it.
Zhou Yanchuan wasn't in a hurry. He fed her fruit while waiting for her answer.
The girl had a habit of talking even when she hadn't eaten, but this time she mumbled something indistinctly.
Zhou Yanchuan leaned closer: "What?"
The person repeated it again, but still remained vague.
He pinched her cheek: "You can talk properly after you finish eating."
But the girl just kept chewing and chewing, and didn't say anything after she finished eating.
He smiled and was about to ask another question when the other person suddenly leaned in and kissed his lips.
Then, seeing his bewildered expression, she laughed triumphantly on the sofa.
Zhou Yanchuan looked at her for two seconds, then smiled and, without giving her a chance to react, grabbed her slender ankle and pulled her into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered his head to kiss her.
*
As we descended the mountain, it suddenly started raining again, the misty rain shrouding the temple in clouds.
Xie Tinghe drove Shen Shiran back to the city first, while the rest of the group went to the temple together.
Despite the bad weather, the incense in the temple was still burning brightly, and the chanting of sutras in the Buddhist hall rose and fell.
Raindrops streamed down the eaves, and Wen Jiu stepped out from under the umbrella held by Zhou Yanchuan. She looked at the Buddha statue in front of her and silently prayed for him.
He Shixu was making a phone call under an old banyan tree when he saw the figure in the distance and his eyes narrowed slightly.
There were many people coming and going today, but the girl still attracted attention standing there.
Wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, dressed simply to the point of being plain, with her hair tied low and head bowed, her hands clasped together, she truly looked like she was asking for something.
He scoffed, finding himself ridiculous for inexplicably thinking about a little girl.
Besides, she's his girlfriend, who's a few years younger than him and has a younger brother.
He Shixu looked away and whispered to the person on the phone, "Book me a plane ticket to Hong Kong."
*
"What are you asking for?"
On the way back, Zhou Yanchuan looked at the person next to him and asked, "It's a secret." The girl winked at him and said, "It's a secret."
He smiled, wanting to ask again, but seeing the weariness in the other person's eyes, he said, "Go to sleep for a while, I'll wake you up when we get to school."
"good."
Wen Jiu responded, and her phone suddenly vibrated in her palm. She looked down and saw another unfamiliar number from Qingyang.
She frowned slightly.
Zhou Yanchuan noticed that the man's expression was off and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
“Recently, I’ve been getting calls from unknown numbers in Qingyang. A couple of days ago, one number called several times but I didn’t answer. When I called back, no one answered.”
Wen Jiu told him about this strange thing.
Zhou Yanchuan frowned slightly, took the still-vibrating phone from her hand, and held it to his ear to answer the call.
"Hello."
Wen Jiu looked up at him.
After that initial sound, Zhou Yanchuan didn't say anything more except for a simple "hmm," but he didn't hang up the phone.
Her eyes were slightly tense, and for some reason, there was a hint of unease. She opened her mouth to speak, but heard him say, "Yes, I'll take her back now."
The call was hung up.
She looked at him: "What's wrong?"
Looking into the girl's clear eyes, Zhou Yanchuan felt a tightness in his chest and his throat felt suffocated more than he had imagined.
The only saving grace is that I answered that phone call myself.
"We need to go back to Qingyang."
"Back to Qingyang? Has something happened?"
"Wen Chengyu".
"What's wrong with him?"
Zhou Yanchuan's eyes showed reluctance.
Seeing his hesitation, Wen Jiu vaguely sensed something: "Did you go out gambling again, or...?"
He knew he'd have to tell her sooner or later, and despite his heartache, he didn't let anyone continue guessing. He simply tightened his grip on her shoulder a little more: "He had an accident."
"Something happened? Are the injuries serious?"
"Dead."
Wen Jiu's expression froze.
In a state of extreme shock, a person may unconsciously repeat what they hear. She murmured, "Dead?"
Zhou Yanchuan hugged her tightly: "The police said it was an accidental death, let's go back first."
"Zhou Yanchuan," the girl seemed not to have heard him, but asked again softly.
"You mean Wen Chengyu is dead?"
"Um."
After hearing those words, Wen Jiu felt as if she had been in a very long dream.
She first went back to Qingyang with Zhou Yanchuan, and then went to the police station to identify the body. The morgue was pretty much as she had imagined: cold, clean, and filled with the strong smell of disinfectant.
She gazed silently at the corpse lying on the stainless steel bed, covered with a white sheet.
After an unknown amount of time, he slowly raised his hand.
Who's inside?
"The deceased's daughter."
"This little girl doesn't look very old, how come she's so calm after her father died?"
The two young policemen outside were talking in hushed tones, occasionally glancing at the boy standing behind the girl.
Both of them looked quite young, yet they were both excessively calm.
Zhou Yanchuan stared at the hand reaching to lift the white cloth; she was trembling uncontrollably.
If she had previously harbored doubts about whether there had been a mistake, when the white cloth was lifted and she saw the face with its eyes tightly closed, Wen Jiu's tears immediately fell.
She didn't know what she was sad about, but looking at the person who had suddenly fallen silent, her heart felt like it was being submerged in cold water, heavy and painful, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
One after another, the stones hit the back of my hand without making a sound or making a sob.
She didn't even realize she was crying until Zhou Yanchuan reached out to wipe her tears. Only then did she belatedly realize that she had cried because of Wen Chengyu.
The next thing to do was to arrange Wen Chengyu's funeral. Wen Jiu directly found a funeral company and handed everything over to them.
Over the years, Wen Chengyu has offended all his relatives. When they mention him, they avoid him at all costs, fearing that the second thing they'll say after greeting him is to ask for money.
A few people showed up at the funeral, and all they said was, "Please accept my condolences."
There's no need for sorrow or celebration; she's too happy to be sad.
But even broken bones are connected by tendons; blood ties are a mysterious thing.
Even though Wen Jiu felt she hated this person to death, looking at the photo in the mourning hall still made her feel suffocated.
Zhou Yanchuan looked at the girl who was still kneeling in front of the mourning hall after all the people who came to pay their respects, and walked over.
He knelt down beside her.
"Xiao Jiu".
"Um."
Zhou Yanchuan looked at the person who obediently answered him but didn't even raise his eyes, and his throat bobbed, feeling extremely sore.
He restrained his emotions, looked at her quietly for a while, and then said, "Let me take you somewhere."
Wen Jiu was a little slow to catch what Zhou Yanchuan said, and she looked up at him, but her eyes were still empty.
After pausing for two seconds, perhaps remembering that she didn't want him to worry, she said softly, "Okay."
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