Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Who told him to love him. ...
Cen Xue's life was turned upside down.
Xu Zhongqiang’s death is relatively easy to investigate.
The autopsy, along with testimony from other neighbors, showed that Xu Zhongqiang often got drunk and acted recklessly, sometimes violently assaulting others. The conflict surrounding Cen Xue's college education was no secret among them, and Cen Xue was a minor.
This is more troublesome.
Being a minor and having no household registration will involve a tangled web of past events. The early household registration system was imperfect and mainly relied on manual self-registration. However, Cen Xue's case is not an isolated one. I heard that there were also people who applied for ID cards and household registrations half a year ago, and they were all in their thirties or forties when they came.
But the policy is different now, even newborn babies can apply for ID cards.
When Cen Xue went to college, she would still apply for an ID card for various matters, but the name on it would only be "Xu Lin".
By some strange coincidence, his frank confession allowed him to regain his name, Cen Xue.
To verify Cen Li's true age, the police even requested an interview with the police station in the small county town where Cen Li eloped, questioning people who knew her at the time. An elderly woman testified that she had delivered a baby girl over a decade earlier. She had noticed Cen Li's childlike face, yet she was pregnant, and she had kept an eye on her. Cen Li gave birth at home, and she had even helped cut the baby's umbilical cord.
Cen Xue's life story finally came to light.
Yan Zijiao's role is to make these processes run more smoothly and produce results faster.
But there was only one thing that didn't go well.
About Xu Lin’s body.
We must find the person alive or the body dead. It is basically certain that Xu Lin drowned, but the recent heavy rain has raised the water level and the river is turbulent. The salvage personnel hired by Yan Zijiao could not find any trace on the other side of the urban village.
"Then expand the scope. If you have colleagues you can recommend, please ask them to help. I will double all the expenses."
Cen Xue has been seeing Yan Zijiao frequently lately.
He seemed to be instructed by Yan Yanfei to help Cen Xue solve all the current problems.
He did it meticulously, including the house he lives in now, Cen Jing's psychological counseling, and following up on all aspects. He also asked Cen Xue to call him to inform him if there were any changes.
After a few visits, Cen Xue became very familiar with his number.
At the same time, Yan Zijiao has to handle work remotely. For example, now, after just finishing a phone call with the fishing team, he starts to handle other things on the computer.
The living room where Cen Xue lives is equivalent to his office area.
Why did Yan Zijiao try so hard to help?
Is it just because he obeys Yan Fei so much?
Cen Xue knew that Yan Zijiao had already decided to help him before Yan Yanfei appeared.
Hearing the noise, Yan Zijiao looked up from his laptop and met Cen Xue's gaze, who was a few steps away. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingertips, where an indentation had already appeared. Then he patted the sofa next to him and said, "Come and sit down."
Yan Zijiao is considered Cen Xue's benefactor.
Cen Xue sat over.
"Have you considered what to do next?" Yan Zijiao asked.
Cen Xue lowered her head, as if she was very interested in her fingers. "After everything here is over... I might go to grandma's house with mom."
"Not bad," Yan Zijiao nodded. "What about school? What are your plans?"
Obviously, it's past the start of school.
Cen Xue did not report. The school called to inquire about it. After a quick inquiry, they realized that there was no way to resolve it in the short term, so they only suggested that he take a year off and report with the new class next year.
A very all-inclusive solution.
But Cen Xue understood that with Yan Zijiao's help, it wouldn't take a year.
So are you just waiting to start college life for the rest of your life?
It seems that it is not what I expected.
As the saying goes, first time is new, second time is familiar. The school is good, but when Cen Xue looked back, he realized that no one told him how to consider the geographical location, the school's comprehensive conditions and suitable majors when he applied for admission. At the time, all he thought about was that it just needed to be far away from home... Now it seems that this school is not the best choice.
If he could enroll in school as planned a year later, Cen Xue's first reaction would be reluctance.
After hesitating for a while, Cen Xue said that she wanted to go to her grandmother's house to repeat a year.
Yan Zijiao pondered for a few seconds and nodded: "Okay, I'll help you find some more reliable repeat classes."
Cen Xue: "...No need for this!"
The rejection was a bit too quick, and Yan Zijiao glared at him.
"What I mean is—you've helped me enough," Cen Xue explained. "I'm embarrassed and don't know how to repay you. Anyway, Ms. Yan won't investigate that thoroughly..."
Now, not only did he refuse to repeat the grade, he also politely declined all the subsequent offers.
Cen Xue was sincere. He owed too much and was afraid that he could not pay it back.
"My aunt's advice is one thing, and I also want to help you."
Yan Zijiao closed the computer, stood up, and watched Cen Xue look up as he moved.
He patted Cen Xue's head, said a few words, and left.
Left Cenxue standing there with eyes wide open.
"Do you know that you can unconsciously give off a look that makes you look easy to bully? But I don't want to bully you. It's very rewarding to make your demeanor firm."
For the first time, Yan Zijiao said such frivolous words in front of him.
For a moment, Cen Xue was so flustered that she wondered if he and Yan Pei were the same kind of people. But after careful consideration, it seemed that they were completely opposite.
After repeating a year and going to college, she met a roommate with a wide range of tastes. Only then did Cen Xue realize that it was just Yan Zijiao's preference.
*
The naughty Xu Lin who ran away was finally found.
It took a lot of time and effort, and I had to use the ruthless hook - once used, the integrity of the body can hardly be guaranteed.
When called for identification, Cen Xue stood in front of Cen Jing.
The drowned bodies were not only ugly, but also disgusting and terrifying. If it had been a few days later, we would probably have seen the giants floating on the water.
But Cen Xue didn't feel any resistance at all.
It's just an indescribable feeling of confusion.
No matter what, losing two family members in the family in a short period of time is not a pleasant feeling. Cen Xue suddenly hated the continuous rain, as if it had taken Xu Lin's life, but he knew clearly that no one could take responsibility for the accident.
...Just venting my anger.
Wiping her face hastily, Cen Xue said, "It's him."
Cen Jing burst into tears. She had recently received psychological counseling and her condition had improved a lot, but she still couldn't accept the death of her own son.
The police and funeral home staff have long been accustomed to this scene. Due to the special cause of death of the body, it will be cremated soon.
Cen Xue was the one who picked up the ashes.
It was at this time that he quietly left behind a part of Xu Lin. No one could tell which part it was. It was an irregular particle of the same size as the pebble named "polar bear tooth", and the color was also similar, clean grayish white.
Yan Zijiao had come up behind him at some point, holding him with his broad, strong hands, and whispered, "My condolences."
Perhaps she was a little tired, so Cen Xue leaned against his shoulder.
He sniffed, the reality of Xu Lin's death coming at him like a tsunami. He suffocated with some fear, yet tightly grasped the silver bottle pendant on his necklace, feeling that Xu Lin was still by his side.
From now on, when he returns home, no one will bother him to coax her.
No one asked him to sing childish nursery rhymes or read those silly picture books that he had heard a hundred or eighty times.
Yan Zijiao patted him gently on the back, like a baby sleeping. Cen Xue didn't feel relieved at all, but she remembered that he had also coaxed Xu Lin to sleep in this way, whispering to him before bed: "I'm going to college. Do you know what college is? It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Anyway, as long as I finish my studies, I can take you and Mom out to play. Are you happy?"
A boy's innocent fantasy about the future.
Xu Lin cheered softly. He was very well behaved and knew to speak quietly after turning off the lights. She covered her mouth and asked him: Will you finish reading tomorrow?
Cen Xue laughed and thought for a moment: Close your eyes and then open them again, as if you were sleeping, and count… When you count to a number you don’t know, I will come back.
However, Xu Lin now closed his eyes and could never open them again, and turned into dust.
Cen Xue covered his face with his hands, tears streaming down from between his tightly closed fingers. He only remembered that he had troubled Yan Zijiao for a long time that day.
But the unchanging scent of perfume on Yan Zijiao reminded him of rainy days countless times.
After moving to H City, perhaps subconsciously avoiding him, Cen Xue never contacted him again, even though she was extremely familiar with his cell phone number.
After settling down at her grandmother's house, Cen Xue studied hard for another year and was admitted to a better university that was more suitable for her.
But things are unpredictable, and later by chance he entered the Fu family.
In my later memories, Fu Rouyun was like a marshmallow, sticking to me and being everywhere.
As for Fu Rouyun now——
"Brother," he held the umbrella for Cen Xue and dragged his arm, "The rain is getting heavier, let's go back, I beg you!"
*
Fu Rouyun ran all the way back and forth.
Given Yan Pei's past record, he was very worried that Cen Xue would be taken advantage of. Wouldn't that make him angry, sad, and being taken advantage of?
Just as I went back to the car to get an umbrella, the rain started to get heavier.
Fu Rouyun was holding an umbrella in vain. He felt the resistance was too great when he ran with it open, so he simply rushed forward in the rain. With a step of his long legs, he could cross several big slopes in minutes. Fortunately, he had good physical strength and explosive power.
When he ran to the gate and the cemetery stairs, he saw Yan Pei standing blankly in the rain.
"Where's my brother?!"
Fu Rouyun shook him and looked around. Yan Pei didn't react for a long time, as if he had received a great shock.
His face was swollen from the scratches from the broken rose thorns, and had lost its color under the rain, giving it a soaked and rotten grayish-white look.
Fu Rouyun frowned and asked in a different tone, "Where's Cen Xue? Where did he go?!"
Yan Pei finally got it.
He blinked, his face full of discomfort, covered his mouth and bent down to vomit, coughing heart-wrenchingly, and burning acid water went up and down his throat.
All those chaotic memory details and sequences were arranged neatly and the picture became clear.
Yan Pei felt that he was not normal at this moment. It was not right to be in a daze, and it was not right to be too clear-headed.
He pulled his hair, wiped the rain off his face, and laughed inexplicably.
Fu Rouyun took a step back: "What's wrong? Are you crazy?"
"Aren't you asking about your brother?" Yan Pei's words were filled with madness, and he was so light and unsteady, "He went up to see the person he cherishes most."
Fu Rouyun was convinced: "Psycho!"
But at least he gave him a direction. When he passed Yan Pei, he deliberately bumped into his shoulder and brushed past him. The latter staggered a few steps and leaned against the doorpost.
It is not easy to find people in the rain, especially when there are trees planted between the tombs, which block the view.
Fu Rouyun searched row by row, but he found Cen Xue when he was two or three rows away.
When he came to his side, Fu Rouyun's first reaction was that Cen Xue was about to break.
There is a kind of fragility that I dare not touch easily.
But when he looked closely at Cen Xue's face, there was only rain, no trace of tears.
But the rain was about to crush his shoulders.
...Why?
Fu Rouyun found that he knew nothing.
Although he and Cen Xue were shoulder to shoulder and could hug each other with just his arms, he had a bad feeling that if he didn't do something, the distance between them would grow farther and farther.
I touched Cen Xue's hand and it was icy cold.
If I continue like this, I might... no, I will definitely get sick.
So he begged, "The rain is getting heavier. Let's go back. I beg you!"
"Didn't you say you wanted to tell me a secret? Let's go back and tell it, okay?"
Cen Xue turned her head and looked at him.
Raindrops hung on Cen Xue's drooping eyelashes, swaying precariously.
Fu Rouyun's anxious movements slowed down, and then he saw Cen Xue pointing at the tombstone in front of them and saying, "This is my brother."
Brother…? Brother? !!
Although I don’t know why Cen Xue suddenly has a brother.
But Fu Rouyun stopped and stood at attention again: "Hello, brother-in-law! First time meeting you..."
He looked left and right.
He looked down at his umbrella again.
Anyway, he and Cen Xue were both soaked, so it didn't matter if the rain didn't protect them.
There are three bouquets of flowers in front of the tomb, but it can be seen that they have been there for some time. They are a little dry and withered, and look even more pitiful in the rain.
After thinking about it, Fu Rouyun opened his umbrella and gave the only umbrella to the three bouquets of flowers to block the merciless wind and rain.
As he stepped forward to put down his umbrella, he subconsciously looked up and saw the photo and inscription on the tombstone clearly.
This brother doesn't look like Cen Xue at all.
The photo shows a boy, about seventeen or eighteen, with a bright smile, but his spirit and demeanor seem somewhat at odds with his appearance, resembling the innocence of a child. The color treatment has diminished many details, but his large, round eyes stand out.
Fu Rouyun suddenly thought that he had the same eyes.
They are somewhat similar, although I don't want to admit it. If he is also so foolishly happy, his expression is somewhat similar.
Mr. Fu always said that his smile was like he was showing off his family's wealth.
Yan Pei's words, which were considered provocative, replayed in his ears:
'Don't you wonder what this person thinks of you?'
'You're not interested in who he's looking at through you?'
'Do you think you're any better than a dead man?'
Now it seems like a series of clues pointing to an answer.
Fu Rouyun stopped and felt like sighing.
Does Cen Xue think that he is somewhat similar to her brother?
Just as this idea was about to come to mind, Cen Xue hugged him from behind. Fu Rouyun was caught off guard and was shaken a little by the impact.
This was the first time that Cen Xue showed such obvious...dependence on him.
Fu Rouyun was flattered, and immediately his heart was divided into two camps. One camp was crying like the weather, heartbroken to death -
It turns out that even if I was a stand-in, it wasn't for love.
It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. He cried to numb himself. It’s just that he loved someone and then stopped loving her. He can bear it.
But the other faction urged him to stand up straight and bear Cen Xue's fragility and everything.
He held Cen Xue's hand, and the person behind him pressed against his back, as if listening to his heartbeat.
Cen Xue's words came through with a subtle vibration: "Ruyun... I want to apologize to you for this matter."
Fu Rouyun sighed.
He kicked away the one who was wiping tears in his heart, and said, "Get up! Now is not the time to be pessimistic."
He turned around, hugged Cen Xue, and said, "It's okay."
Who told him to love him?
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