Chapter Six: South of the Southern City, the Cold Moon Shines on the Chill of Autumn
“Uncle, you and Aunt don’t need to worry about my father’s matter. We have already found a legal team that can take on this case.”
Yunyao poured freshly brewed tea for her uncle and aunt, and then tactfully revealed what she had been thinking about all the way.
He had made up his mind; he couldn't drag his uncle's family down with him.
“I know your good intentions, Uncle and Aunt, and I am truly grateful. However, as ordinary people, we cannot get involved in Dad’s case; we can only leave it to the lawyers.”
Upon hearing this, the uncle frowned. "Ayao, you're just a child, still in school. How did you find a lawyer willing to take this case? This is a big case."
“Uncle,” Yun Yao forced a smile, looking at Qin Rao who was sitting calmly to the side, and said in a casual tone, “Qin Rao helped, we should thank her.”
"Besides, Uncle, I'm already eighteen years old, an adult, not a child anymore. You and Aunt don't need to worry about me too much."
It was as if she was still the child who could hold her uncle's hand and go buy snacks back then. Yun Yao rarely acted coquettishly towards her uncle.
The aunt and uncle laughed, "Okay, we know. Ayao has grown up and is a big boy now."
The warm scene in the three-person room made Qin Rao turn her eyes away indifferently.
She looked down and took out a high-end women's cigarette from her bag, but didn't light it; she just held it in her hand and played with it.
But then Yun Yao's uncle and aunt suddenly thanked her.
"Ms. Qin, thank you so much for helping us in our time of need. My family and I have been living abroad and rarely come back, so we haven't heard Xiaoxiao and the others mention you. If you ever need our help in the future, we will definitely do our best to help you."
Qin Rao scoffed inwardly: My "timely help" wasn't free.
She tossed the cigarette back into her bag, looked up at the gentle and unassuming couple, and smiled, "No need to be so polite, it's just what I should do, nothing at all. Sister Xiaoxiao helped me a lot back then too."
The uncle nodded gratefully and said, "But we absolutely must repay Miss Qin for the lawyer's fees. My wife and I brought some money with us this time..."
"No need," Qin Rao interrupted the man directly, looking at the boy with a playful expression. "Yun Yao has already given it to me."
Yun Yao was taken aback. Seeing the confusion in his uncle's eyes, he could only reply, "Yes, Uncle, you forgot? I still have a large sum of money left to me by my grandparents and mother. You and Aunt can rest assured."
"Well, I'm not entirely at ease either," the uncle said, ruffling the boy's hair as he turned to face Qin Rao, his sister's old friend.
“Ayao is a good child in every way, except that he is too sensible. He is still young, and with his father's situation, I am really worried! His aunt and I knew that coming here might not be of much help, but my husband and I have discussed it and decided that it would be best if Ayao came with us to R country later, so that his aunt and I can take good care of him. Otherwise, it would be really not appropriate for the child to be left alone in the country.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Rao forced a fake smile and nodded in agreement, though she was inwardly quite displeased.
The sweet fruit that's almost within her grasp—and someone wants to snatch it away from her? Dream on!
She looked at Yun Yao, hinting meaningfully, "Oh? Yun'er, are you going with your uncle? Actually, I just heard from the lawyer today that your father's case might be scheduled for trial soon..."
Yun Yao recalled the lawyer's call he received that morning. He took a deep breath and turned to his uncle and aunt, saying, "Uncle, Aunt, I appreciate your kindness. But Nanhang is where I grew up. Even if Dad goes to jail later, it's still in the same city. I want to stay here so I can visit Dad anytime."
The boy lowered his eyelids, his long eyelashes casting delicate shadows. "And no matter how many years it takes, I want to wait until the day my father comes out and we can reunite."
Qin Rao smiled; she knew that this beautiful little deer had decided to walk right into her trap.
After comforting his uncle and the others, Yun Yao glanced at Qin Rao and saw that the woman was staring at him with intense eyes. She smiled and tapped her phone with her finger.
Yun Yao understood what she meant, and nodded stiffly with her lips pursed.
Qin Rao left, and her uncle and aunt also wanted to go out to inquire about her father's affairs. Yun Yao couldn't stop them, but instead, the couple stuffed a bunch of R country specialty chocolates into his hands and told him to wait for news at home.
The door closed, as if shutting out all the liveliness and noise.
The boy's joy at reuniting with his family faded like ripples on water.
No one knew that her father's pleas in the visiting room still echoed in Yun Yao's ears.
He couldn't abandon his father; he had to save him.
He has lost his maternal grandparents and his mother; he cannot lose his father as well.
The boy's eyes were filled with sorrow and melancholy, and his heart was heavy and burdened.
He knew he had to make a shameful decision, to break his own dignity, to sacrifice his soul and flesh, and to embark on a rugged, unknown, and dark path, bearing the shadows that constantly assailed him like a tide...
He didn't know where the future would lead, but at this moment he had nowhere else to go.
Just then, the phone rang...
...
In the following days, in addition to taking care of Yun Yao's daily life, her uncle, despite Yun Yao's objections, dragged his injured leg and, together with her aunt, tried to find connections and inquire about information.
They also spoke with the legal team Qin Rao had hired. The lawyers, without batting an eye, told them that Yun Yao's father's case had made progress; he would most likely be convicted as an accomplice and sentenced to a maximum of ten years. Hearing this news, the uncles were somewhat relieved.
However, just before the trial was about to begin, an unexpected incident occurred at the uncle and aunt's home in Country R.
Their youngest daughter had an accident at school, was injured and fell into a coma, and urgently needed someone to rush back.
The uncle was worried about his youngest daughter, but he was also concerned about Yun Yao, so he asked his aunt to go back first, while he would stay in China until Yun Yao's father's case was officially sentenced.
That day, Qin Rao visited again. Her uncle warmly welcomed this benefactor who had always helped them.
During their conversation, the uncle talked about his experiences working in Country R. He is now a truck driver, but he had previously worked as a hired sailor and a forest ranger...
Seeing Qin Rao's interest in his fishing experience in R country, her uncle couldn't help but feel happy. He remembered a rare dried octopus tentacle specimen he had brought back from R country, which was kept upstairs in Yun Yao's house, and he enthusiastically wanted to find it and give it to Qin Rao.
Watching his uncle walk away, Yun Yao sighed inwardly. He felt guilty for having to hide the truth from his uncle, and confused about how he would face them in the future.
He was still in a low voice when a hand with brightly colored, exquisitely flamboyant red nail polish lifted the boy's chin without any room for doubt.
"Baby, you haven't even glanced at me since I came in," came the woman's flirtatious voice.
Yun Yao met Qin Rao's burning gaze, glanced nervously towards the second floor, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see his uncle.
The boy lowered his eyes, gently took Qin Rao's hand and removed it, and said in a low voice, "There will be plenty of time later. My uncle is still at home now."
Qin Rao grasped the boy's hand in return.
Such a beautiful pair of young hands, as if they had been repeatedly polished by a craftsman with warm jade, even the curve of the nails exudes a rounded delicacy.
The finger bones resembled bamboo joints sculpted from fine porcelain, drawing a slender arc from the wrist bone to the fingertip, the outline of the finger joints like the veins of an orchid leaf outlined in light ink in a meticulous painting.
She played with the boy's evenly shaped and fair fingers as if admiring some extremely precious jade, ignoring his slight struggles.
Qin Rao feigned a sigh and said, "I was truly blinded by lust this time! Everyone else pays upon delivery, but I paid first and haven't received any benefit yet!"
Her slightly upturned phoenix eyes glanced sideways at the boy, and she chuckled softly, hintingly, "Darling, aren't you going to say anything?"
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the quiet little balcony outside the living room, and she leaned down to whisper a few words to the boy.
Upon hearing this, Yun Yao's eyes widened slightly. On his jade-like face, his earlobes first flushed a light red, which then spread to his cheeks, and even his eyebrows seemed to be stained with rouge.
In Qin Rao's eyes, the boy's embarrassed and annoyed appearance was like a peach blossom awakened by the morning dew on a branch, making her heart surge.
She thought to herself that it wasn't so bad to have someone around; she could even experience a different kind of excitement.
What could be more wonderful than making such a boy tremble in her hands?
This was the culinary feast she had longed for.
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