Chapter 6: Ringing the Bells "Past"
Chapter six
Chen Qiudu's brain exploded with a buzzing sound, and his hands and feet, which were huddled in the quilt, stiffened.
He opened his eyes and saw Xu Zhuye lying lazily in a rocking chair beside him. He raised his eyelids with interest and looked into his eyes.
Chen Qiudu's face remained calm as he leaned against the corner of the bed, avoiding his gaze with his sidelong glances.
"You knew I was awake?"
"Of course, I'm not that fool as Wen Jiangchu."
Xu Zhouye lay flat on the rocking chair, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers rhythmically, as if he was amused by Shen Qiudu's reaction.
"You look scared?"
Chen Qiudu ignored this question, "So, what you and Wen Jiangchu said just now were actually said to me, right?"
"Yes and no."
"I just wanted to tease you at first, but after seeing Wen Jiangchu's reaction, I really meant it."
Xu Zhouye stopped the rocking chair with his foot and then stood up. His height of nearly 190 cm blocked out most of the sunlight in the room.
He slowly walked towards Chen Qiudu, but stopped at the last moment, leaned over and picked up the bell that Chen Qiudu had casually placed beside the bed, staring at it intently.
He was silent for a long time. Shen Qiudu knew that his attitude towards him was not good, and he was unwilling to put his face in the cold butt. The atmosphere suddenly became stagnant.
"Do you want to leave?"
Xu Zhouye spoke suddenly with a stern face, his eyes darkening.
"Actually...I can help you."
Chen Qiudu curled up the fingers at his side and turned his head away without saying a word.
Suddenly, a bell rang softly. Chen Qiudu frowned, fearing that Wen Jiangchu would rush in the next second.
Xu Zhouye chuckled, "Don't worry, he's busy now and can't hear anything."
He raised his eyes to look at Chen Qiudu, with a strong sense of aggression in his eyes, and said frivolously, "I know what you are thinking, but don't think that we can't do anything to you just because you don't speak."
"Your background has been thoroughly investigated since Wen Jiangchu found you."
"Have you ever wondered why Wen Jiangchu told you the news of the slum fire after lying about being an orphan? He knew you were lying to him a long time ago, but he just didn't care."
"But your current situation is no different from that of an orphan."
There was a sting in Xu Zhouye's words, as if he wanted to deliberately provoke Shen Qiudu.
After hearing this, Shen Qiudu began to review what had happened in the past few days in his mind.
Only then did he realize that although Wen Jiangchu seemed to be listening to what he said seriously, in fact, he was the one being led by the nose by him, and all his weaknesses were exposed unknowingly.
He always gently took on all his emotions and lies, making Chen Qiudu think that he had successfully deceived him, but in the eyes of others, he was like a clown, complacent about his lies full of loopholes.
"Actually, I didn't understand at first why Wen Jiangchu wanted to keep you. You're a burden, a cripple, a liar, and you might not get anything out of it in the end."
"But then I thought about it and realized maybe he's just too nice. We grew up together, and he was often scammed."
"Once he saw a lame old man begging in the rain, so he gave him all the cash he had. The next day, he saw him driving a new car on the street with a beautiful woman."
"In middle school and high school, I was often kidnapped because I was too trusting. Because of my good personality, many people came to be his friend, but in reality, they only wanted to cry to him and borrow money, and then they would run away after lending him money."
"He's like the silly son of a landlord. Rich, simple, and overly sentimental. And this is the first time he's seen someone like you, so it's so new to him that he keeps you around to take care of you."
Chen Qiudu's throat seemed to be constricted by a sticky liquid, and he couldn't utter any rebuttal.
He listened calmly to Xu Zhouye revealing the pale truth, feeling his skin exposed to the air getting colder little by little.
Along with the heart.
"Do you think I'm right?"
Xu Zhouye always maintained a gentlemanly smile, looking forward to Shen Qiudu's reaction.
But Shen Qiudu did not do as he wished. Not only did he not get mad or angry, but he was too calm.
In fact, Chen Qiudu had already thought of these reasons in his mind, so when someone said them out loud, he felt nothing inside and even felt fortunate that his guess was correct.
He relaxed his body, leaning against the soft back of the bed, lowering his eyes to stare at the bell in Xu Zhouye's hand, and said in a flat tone: "So after saying so much, how do you want to take me away?"
Xu Zhouye's smile froze for a moment, and he simply didn't bother to pretend anymore. He lowered his eyes and said, "Not yet. He's watching you closely, and the Song family is also very active."
Hearing this, Chen Qiudu sneered disdainfully, "So everything you said just now was just nonsense. You still can't take me away."
Xu Zhouye was embarrassed by Chen Qiudu's ruthless words, and his face darkened. "I will send you back when your parents are home safely."
"Why are you helping me?"
Xu Zhuoye expressionlessly threw the bell in his palm, which Wen Jiangchu cherished so much, into the trash can without hesitation. He watched it being gradually buried by the garbage and stained with the dirty, rotten and moldy smell, and forced a smile.
"Because I'm his friend, I certainly don't want to see him dragged down by irrelevant people."
"Everything he cares about should be like this bell."
Chen Qiudu frowned, feeling panicky in his heart.
Xu Zhouye's words were so strange, they didn't make sense and there was something very wrong.
Xu Zhouye hid his ferocious smile deep inside. He was trembling slightly, too excited to control himself. He seemed to sense Chen Qiudu's probing eyes and then returned to normal, still maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor.
"Then it's settled."
"Chen Qiudu, when the time comes, I will take you away."
"I really can't wait to see what Wen Jiangchu will be like after you disappear."
After Xu Zhouye left, Chen Qiudu stood up and squatted next to the trash can. His eyes fell on the bell inside and he muttered, "Psycho..."
Anyone who believes him is a fool.
Chen Qiudu pursed his lips, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, quickly picked up the bell, and quickly ran to the sink to rinse it with water.
He kept rubbing the stains on the bell with his fingertips until his fingertips became red and swollen and numb from the pain.
The mirror reflected Shen Qiudu's slightly pale face. The clothes he was wearing were specially picked out from his wardrobe by Wen Jiangchu for him. However, his size and frame were too small, so Wen Jiangchu's clothes could only cover his calves.
His frail body was like a weak snail that found a huge shell, which seemed to be able to protect everything. However, if it moved a little bit, the shell would fall off, putting his life in danger again.
Chen Qiudu put the washed bell back in its place and opened the door to find the villa empty. His eyes were drawn to the photo wall again, and he made his way down the stairs, one step at a time.
Just as his hand reached through the glass to reach Wen Jiangchu's face in the photo, Uncle Liang's voice rang out behind him.
"This is the day the young master was accepted into the university."
Uncle Liang walked to Chen Qiudu's side and sighed, "Time flies so fast."
Chen Qiudu did not respond, but only looked at the boy in the photo, who was smiling warmly and brightly, with the willfulness and ambition unique to that age.
He stared at it for a long time before speaking: "It's different from now."
Uncle Liang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Chen Qiudu deeply and asked knowingly, "What's different?"
"here."
Chen Qiudu's hand slid across Wen Jiangchu's smile in the photo, "The smile is different."
Chen Qiudu had seen Wen Jiangchu smile before, but compared to the photo, he looked hollow and pale.
Uncle Liang sighed dejectedly and looked around the cold and lonely room. "It must be very lonely living in this room alone. How can you be truly happy?"
Chen Qiudu frowned. There were countless people on the photo wall who loved Wen Jiangchu, and their love was almost seeping out.
Is it because he is an adult that he is left here alone?
"Where are his parents?" Shen Qiudu asked subconsciously.
Uncle Liang's cane tapped the ground a few times, like an old man's heavy sighs. He sat on the sofa, his eyes wet.
"Three years ago, Ah Chu was studying in Chicago. On his birthday that year, his family secretly flew to Chicago on a private plane to give him a surprise birthday."
"But unfortunately they encountered a plane crash and all of them were gone."
"Since then, Ah Chu is the only one left in the entire Wen family."
In an instant, Chen Qiudu felt as if he was being pulled down by some invisible hand. A corner of his heart was empty, his ears were ringing, and he could not hear any sound.
The bleak truth lingered in his mind, sweeping across the calm sea surface and sending out a silent tsunami in his eyes.
"Are they all...gone?" His voice trembled and fell.
No wonder——
No wonder Wen Jiangchu didn't expose him but cried when he heard him lie and claim to be an orphan.
No wonder he tried his best to help him save his parents.
No wonder he could only focus on him for so many days.
Because he knows how heavy and depressing the grief brought by the death of a loved one is.
So he took such good care of him because Wen Jiangchu thought they shared the same suffering?
Shen Qiudu didn't understand, he fell into endless doubts and speculations.
"Well, I was going to go that time, but the Wen family took my mobility issues into consideration and let me stay, so I escaped."
"Later, Ah Chu inherited all of the Wen family's wealth. You probably have no idea how rich the Wen family is, right?"
"Let's put it this way. Back then, the old man of the Wen family was one of the imperial soldiers. Everyone in the Wen family was an S-class Alpha. Even today, when the imperial generals see the old man, they have to greet him."
"Also, the reason why Suzhou City became Suzhou City is because Ah Chu loved going to the Suzhou River when he was a child. He alone is enough to influence the entire Suzhou City."
"It's just that now... Ah Chu is the only one left in the Wen family. His strength is not as strong as it used to be, so the Song family and others are eyeing him covetously."
"Achu has sacrificed a lot in these three years, and like you said, he has changed a lot."
"But the only thing that remains unchanged is that he is still kind, otherwise he wouldn't have saved you without hesitation."
As if not wanting to make the atmosphere solemn, Uncle Liang deliberately changed the subject and forced a smile.
"Achu is off to deal with the fire. He'll be back soon."
"You can move around the house as you please."
Uncle Liang walked away in a hurry, dragging his old body tremblingly, leaving behind his helpless and depressed back alone.
The intermittent sound of the crutch, like layers of undulating waves, hit Shen Qiudu's heart.
Chen Qiudu looked at the man next to Wen Jiangchu in the photo wall. Apart from the one who looked similar, the remaining one should be Uncle Liang.
But at that time, Uncle Liang's legs were still fine.
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