0037 037 Only a vast expanse of white snow remains in the world.
It's like the ending of a romance movie, where the male and female protagonists, having finally resolved their inner conflicts, reunite before sunset. The female protagonist always rushes towards the male protagonist who reaches out to her, and they happily twirl around in the sunset, the sunlight stretching their shadows long and thin.
Qi Shuyao finally let out the breath she had been holding in. She jumped up and pounced on Qi Yu, hanging on him.
Qi Yu was knocked back half a step by the impact. He steadied himself and caught her steadily, turning her around with him. The girl's long hair swung in the air, forming an arc, and hung happily on his back.
"Shall we go home?"
"good."
In a new two-story building less than two kilometers from the hospital, Pei Youwen climbed onto the window and looked down at the bare tree trunks. Behind him, Madam Pei sat on the sofa, complaining over and over again.
“Son, you must take care of yourself. Look at your father. He left so carefree, but he left us with such a mess. He was corrupt and broke the law everywhere. We had to hide and be cursed because of him. I sold all the houses we had before. They were my dowry, my only thing to live on!”
After days of scolding, his son finally showed some reaction. He still didn't turn around, but asked in a hoarse voice,
"Is there really no money left in the family?"
“Where is the money? All the money he embezzled was confiscated by the state, and all the valuables in the house were taken away. The only thing that was left was the courtyard that I brought from my parents’ home. Do you know how much I hoped you two weren’t related when you went to get the DNA done with that child? Why do I always have to encounter these kinds of things? I’ve lived in my courtyard my whole life. Now that I’m old and can’t even walk properly, I have to move to such a dilapidated place. The smell of the renovations hasn’t even dissipated yet.”
Madam Pei, who had been rambling on and on, looked at Pei Youwen by the window, who remained motionless and did not turn around. She sobbed, but raised her hand to wipe away the tears she had forced out, and leaned back on the sofa to relax completely.
The butler walked in from outside; he was now the only one in charge of things at home. He quietly approached Madam Pei and whispered something in her ear.
"We still haven't found the girl's whereabouts. She disappeared the day after she received the money."
Madam Pei watched her son's retreating figure, gave the butler a wink, and then spoke to Pei Youwen.
"You don't need to stay home with me anymore. Go out and do whatever you want."
He heard it, but he didn't move or respond.
It seemed as if everything was resolved overnight. The foreign businessman never bothered the Qin family again, Qin Zhuohan returned to school, Pei Youwen obediently continued teaching children to draw, and Tu Mi recovered day by day in the hospital. She didn't want to see Xu Mei, and she truly didn't appear again.
Winter arrived quickly, and Jingyang was blanketed in snow. Qi Shuyao stayed indoors, while Tu Mi opened the window and reached out to catch the snowflakes. The pretty snow petals landed in her palm, but when she withdrew her hand, they quickly melted into a puddle.
The ward was very warm, unlike the underground, which was extremely cold.
She gradually learned to recognize dates and now she also recognizes winter.
"It turns out that winter is when I start to shiver."
"Not necessarily, sometimes it can be very cold in the summer."
"What?"
Qi Shuyao especially liked seeing her with that bewildered expression. When she wasn't smiling, she was like a goddess statue carved in marble. Her features looked very gentle, but people didn't dare to get close to her. Only when she smiled or was puzzled did she look like a child, making people want to reach out and rub her.
That's what she thought, and that's what she did. She pressed the little girl's round head into her arms, rubbing her plump cheeks with both hands. The smooth skin and soft touch made her reluctant to let go.
Tu Mi was very well-behaved and never got impatient when her face was rubbed. She lay down on Qi Shuyao's lap and flipped through the literacy book that Qi Shuyao had brought. She now knew many, many characters and had even learned to write Yao Yao's name, but they both tacitly avoided mentioning her own name.
On a weekend morning, Qi Shuyao, who was still lazing in bed, was dragged out of bed by Qi Yu and carried to the washbasin. Still half asleep, she was given a razor and asked to shave him.
"I can't, I'm afraid I'll break the skin on your chin."
"I'll teach you."
Qi Shuyao's legs were spread apart, and the man's slender waist squeezed in. His pants were cold, his back was cold, and he held her wrist against the stubble on his chin. It was clear that he was the one using force, but he deliberately kept her hand between them.
"Your hands are so cold."
"Then help me cover it up."
His other free hand deftly slipped inside her skirt. The bottom of the skirt still carried the warmth of the blankets and her body temperature. The warmth enveloped his hand, dispelling any lingering sleepiness she had.
"Where did you go so early in the morning? Why did you run out in the cold outside?"
"Little ancestor, look at the time."
The Qi family has been living in this seaside manor for almost a year now. The only difference between the new house and the previous villa is its size. All the rooms are several times larger. One bathroom alone contains a series of small cubicles for various purposes, including an indoor swimming pool, a small hot spring, and a sauna. Naturally, there are also several clocks hanging on the wall. She squinted at the colorfully decorated clock face opposite her and couldn't believe that it was already afternoon.
"Ah... my precious holiday is over again this morning. It's all your fault. You wouldn't let go of me last night, but this morning you got out of bed and ran off without even getting tired. My back still hurts."
"Let's take a bath to relax."
Qi Yu's room connects to the second and third floors. On the open-air platform on the third floor, there is a larger indoor hot spring. It is located high up and cascades down in a winding manner, connecting to the small hot spring connected to his room's bathroom. Soaking on the second floor, you can also see a small waterfall from inside the room, which is very enjoyable.
Qi Shuyao was carried into the hot spring again. The warm water instantly enveloped her, relieving the soreness in her waist. She leaned against Qi Yu, resting her head on his soft chest muscles, and drifted off to sleep again.
The man mischievously breathed into her ear; both of them had very sensitive ears, and the fine hairs on their ears stood up, causing them to curl up their shoulders.
"No, it itches..."
Having spared her ear, Qi Yu's hand reached for her leg, which was draped over his knee. Her legs were slender and long, feeling like dough when kneaded in his hand, yet muscular and well-defined when she bounced. He loved kissing her legs, always leaving a trail of marks. Taking advantage of the fact that her skin was completely covered in winter, he kissed her layer upon layer.
Qi Shuyao leaned back comfortably, letting her legs be arranged in various positions. She simply turned her head to gather her hair to one side and asked him,
Do you know who Tu Mi's father is?
Qi Yu paused, and the calluses on his fingertips left a red mark on the inside of her thigh, which took a long time to fade.
"I should, I should be able to guess who it is, but this person can no longer be found, and no one recognizes him anymore."
“She needs to have a name, she can’t keep using that nickname.”
She used to think that using nicknames as code names only happened in the old days, but she never thought that such a thing would happen to her. Every time she talked to Tu Mi, she would deliberately skip the name. Every time she read those two words, it felt like a knife was being stabbed into her chest.
"It's up to her to decide this matter."
"well……"
Ever since learning about this absurd affair, Qi Shuyao has often sighed. Many people think that her father is omnipotent and can solve any problem, and that her life is without any worries. But when she actually faces a problem, she can do nothing.
The snow at the end of the year was particularly heavy, piling up small mountains on both sides of the road. In the past, she would have definitely rolled around in the yard to build a snowman. Although she still smiles all day, she has lost interest and energy in many things.
On the last day of the year, Tu Mi asked Xiao Lan to deliver a message: she said she had fully learned to recognize the date and that the year was about to end, so she had prepared a gift for her.
When Qi Shuyao arrived at the hospital, she unwrapped the several layers of paper and found a three-dimensional cartoon calf. Tu Mi pointed to the cartoon calf playing on TV and showed it to her.
"I've been looking at this a lot lately, and this little calf is so cute, so I drew it and am giving it to you."
"Thank you, he's so handsome."
Qi Shuyao brought her new winter clothes and many pretty dresses. Now that her legs are getting better, she can walk with crutches. She will definitely look good in those dresses.
She also ordered a set of sapphire jewelry that perfectly complements her skin tone, which she can give to her when it arrives.
But before the jewelry could be delivered to her home, Tu Mi was quietly taken away from the top floor of a private hospital where outsiders and unauthorized personnel were prohibited from entering.
Qi Yu sent people to search for a long time, but they didn't leave a single clue. She was like a dream that the father and daughter had, and now that the dream was over, nothing was left.
Qi Shuyao has been pondering a question lately: why do her friends always seem to disappear without a trace? First it was Xu Chaoyi; although they've reconnected, they're practically strangers now. Then it was Song Yusheng, who remains completely out of touch. And now, with Tu Mi, she truly seems like a leaf that drifted in during the yellowing autumn season, only to vanish again in the winter when no green remains, leaving behind a cartoon calf with wide eyes and a strange grin.
Qi Yu felt that Qi Shuyao would be greatly affected this time, so he tried his best to play with her and make her happy. Although he didn't keep any pets like cats or dogs at home, he brought out the lambs he kept in the backyard in the dead of winter and made them stand downstairs bleating at her. The lambs that were born in the summer had grown up a lot and looked more and more beautiful than the last.
Qi Shuyao leaned out of the first-floor window, opened it, and stretched out most of her body. Her palm touched the lamb's soft, damp wool covered in snowflakes. The lamb raised its head and licked her palm with its warm little tongue.
She was wearing a thin sweater and leaning against the window. Qi Yu, worried she'd get cold, came over and took her hand. She paused for a moment, then smiled at him, swinging her arm.
"Dad, you're so childish."
Her smile was exactly the same as when she first moved here a year ago, untouched by the world's hustle and bustle, making her seem like an otherworldly fairy against the backdrop of the white mountains.
"Come in quickly! You're such a big person, why are you running around playing in the snow? Look how obedient I am, I never run outside on snowy days."
Qi Yu entered the house, and Qi Shuyao went up to him and the maid to help him brush the fine snow off his shoulders. She then took his hand and handed him the invitation.
"The last auction before the new year, an antiques special, are you going or not?"
"This means we've found a target."
"Of course, with the money ready, I'm about to show off my skills."
She slapped the invitation on Qi Yu's chest, skipped away, and the stairwell was filled with her laughter.
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