Luo Chi couldn't hear, so he spoke slowly.
Ming Weiting looked into Luo Chi's eyes. He was worried that the atmosphere would seem too serious. He wanted to touch Luo Chi's hair, so he raised his hand and waited inquiringly.
…
When Luo Chi woke up again, he was able to give less reaction than any previous time.
When Luo Zhi was carried back to the cruise ship from the beach, her reaction to external stimuli was already very weak. But as long as you speak patiently a few more times and slowly, you will still be able to get a response.
At that time, Luo Zhi could still understand the simplest instructions.
Although his consciousness was hazy and his hands and feet seemed so heavy that he couldn't lift them at all, as long as he recovered a little strength, he could slowly move on his own.
He seemed to be trapped in a very far and deep sea, but he could still refract some faint light and shadows, causing the last tiny ripples on the water surface.
Then the ripples were gradually torn apart and swallowed by the night, and the water surface finally calmed down bit by bit.
…
Luo Chi opened his eyes quietly, his gaze blank and nowhere to look.
"I bought your painting and I paid the bill."
Ming Weiting retracted his raised hand and slowly explained to him: "I heard you play the guitar a long time ago, and I started to like you since then."
He's really not a qualified fan.
If he had good enough expressive ability, he could describe to Luo Chi more accurately what he saw on the beach that night many years ago.
There were a lot of people gathered around the bonfire, a lot of people were clapping their hands, and people were walking barefoot on the beach.
In fact, that was not enough. The fire should have been surrounded by so many people, it should have been surrounded by even more people more lively, and there should have been countless people who liked him.
They should smile at him, greet him and wave at him from afar, and come over to bump shoulders and hug him generously.
It's time to touch him affectionately.
The boy on the beach was holding a guitar. The quiet and gentle moonlight and the evening breeze were holding him together. The tune coming out of the guitar was warm, bright and crisp.
The waves rose and fell, washing over the rocks. People's laughter, loud applause and whistles continued. He just stood there, as if he saw an endless sea of light sprinkled with sparks.
Ming Weiting knew that Luo Chi couldn't hear now, but he still subconsciously lowered his voice and told him these things bit by bit.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be a good fan of yours."
Ming Weiting said softly: "I came a long time late. I should have told you that I loved you a long time ago."
He held Luo Chi's hand, which was soft and cold, lying motionless in his palm.
Ming Weiting told him everything.
At the one hundred and ninety-seventh heartbeat, Luo Chi finally began to realize that he was talking to himself, and his completely out-of-focus vision slowly gathered together with difficulty.
…
Just this process seemed to have rapidly consumed the little energy that was left.
Luo Chi's gaze still looked dazed. He only stayed on that face for a moment before his eyelashes trembled and slowly fell down exhausted.
The moment his eyelashes closed, Luo Chi's chest palpitated slightly, and then he suddenly struggled to open his eyes.
"It's okay, there's nothing urgent." Ming Weiting immediately stopped talking and reached out to dim the lights. "You can rest if you're tired."
He thought his tone was not good, so he practiced it a few more times in his mind and revised it: "If you are tired, you should take a good rest."
Luo Chi still had his eyes open.
Ming Weiting hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand and gently touched his hair.
This body has been emptied, but some deep-rooted habits still seem to remain.
Ming Weiting just tried to touch the top of his head gently with the back of his hand, and Luo Chi's body tensed up without warning, his breathing became rapid, and his spine became stiff in an instant.
Those unconscious struggles seemed to overflow from deep within the body. He almost fell to the ground, and as his body slid down, Ming Weiting reached out and hugged him in time.
Luo Chi couldn't bear to see this posture no matter what he said. Ming Weiting was afraid that he would hurt himself, so he could only use his arms and shoulders to hold him and control Luo Chi's struggling body.
The body he held was so thin that even the spine was bony, like a dead leaf that was too cold to be warmed, and the rapid, heavy breathing brought out a wheezing sound from the lungs.
Luo Chi simply couldn't muster the corresponding physical strength, so his struggle faded in an instant. However, the cold and pale fingers were still instinctively curled up, groping in vain, as if trying to find something to protect themselves.
"It's okay, there's no danger here." Ming Weiting stepped back a little so that Luo Chi could see his mouth shape, "No danger."
Ming Weiting looked at him: "There will be no more danger from now on."
Luo Chi's face was pale, and the confusion in his eyes was even thicker. I don't know if he understood what he said.
Ming Weiting no longer touched him with his hands, but just held Luo Chi back in his arms. He grasped his cuffs with his palms and used his arms to slowly soothe Luo Chi from top to bottom on his back.
He kept repeating this action until his back, which had been tense to the point of cramping, relaxed again.
Luo Chi relaxed little by little in his arms and stopped struggling.
Ming Weiting waited until the breathing in his arms became completely even. He loosened his arms slightly, and Luo Chi fell lightly along the exit. Ming Weiting subconsciously reached out to hold him, and then raised his hand to stop his head from bending backwards.
This time, Luo Chi did not respond to his touch. His eyes were half closed, and he seemed to have fainted from complete exhaustion.
"Good night." Ming Weiting said softly, "Huo Miao, good night."
Ming Weiting held him carefully and put Luo Chi's body back on the bed steadily and gently, waiting for him to close his eyes and covering him with the quilt again.
He bent down to straighten the edge of the quilt for Luo Chi, turned off the bedside lamp, and turned around.
Ming Lu outside the door spoke at the right time: "Sir."
Ming Weiting didn't want to say anything he shouldn't say in front of Luo Chi. He shook his head slightly, turned around to make sure Luo Chi was asleep, and walked out of the room lightly.
Ming Lu closed the door behind him, took two steps back, and looked at the coldness in Ming Weiting's eyes.
"Two children of the Luo family were lost. One came back soon, and the other was lost for three years."
After confirming his attitude, Ming Lu has arranged for people to investigate more targeted details: "No one in the Luo family dares to investigate what happened in the past three years."
Ming Weiting held a cigarette in his mouth and leaned back against the wall: "No one dares?"
“Yes,” Minglu said, “I just know that he must have suffered a lot.”
Luo Chi was not found by his family. He collaborated with another female student who was also abducted to start a fight. He took the opportunity to escape and call the police, and managed to escape on his own.
The police still have the complete case record from that time and the injury assessment.
The injury assessment was very detailed, so detailed that even Minglu, an outsider who had nothing to do with the case, felt a chill down his spine when he read it.
The Ming family's main power is on the high seas. In these areas that are not subject to any sovereign jurisdiction, there are of course many chaotic forces that are shady and are no strangers to even the most shockingly cruel methods.
…
But it would be ridiculous for a ten-year-old child to remain indifferent to these injuries.
Ming Lu did not talk much about this matter. He just took out the injury report and the criminal record and handed them to Ming Weiting, and continued: "The Luo family spent a lot of money to let the child who was found be raised in the hospital for several months..."
Ming Weiting frowned: "Give it back to them."
Minglu didn't mean this. He was stunned for a moment before he answered dumbly, "Yes."
"Sir, these things have only been checked out once, and the signatory is Ren Shuangmei."
Ming Lu looked at the information in his hand and reminded him, "There is nothing left."
No one in the Luo family has ever seen these things.
They sent the child they found to the hospital and took good care of him for a few months. When he was brought back, at least all his external injuries had healed, but he was a little thinner than other children of the same age and slightly shorter in stature.
…
Since the injuries have healed, naturally no one will pursue the past anymore.
Ming Weiting picked up the two file envelopes and tested the thickness of the contents inside.
He lowered his eyes, his fingers stopped on the sharp edge of the document bag, and slowly pressed twice.
Ming Weiting's voice was very light: "Luo Chengxiu hasn't seen it either?"
"He was abroad at the time, discussing a very important business deal that concerned the Luo family's core business. If something went wrong, it could lead to a chain of collapse of several pillar companies."
Minglu answered objectively and truthfully: "We talked for about three months."
It is difficult to tell clearly whether Luo Chengxiu's extreme lack of patience towards Luo Zhi is due to the precarious business situation that has been encountered almost everywhere in the past three months.
There are a lot of irrational anger, like "finding a son" and "the business situation taking a sharp turn for the worse", which should not have any absurd connection at all.
...In short, Luo Chengzheng was busy dealing with the business world. After receiving the news, he spent some money and sent his found son to the hospital for three months.
Then Luo Chengxiu returned to China and the family became restless again, so the child's name was hastily changed to "Luo Zhi" and soon after was hastily sent to the Ren family.
Those three years were tacitly skipped over and no one mentioned them again, as if they had never existed.
Ming Weiting slowly turned the two file bags in his hands.
He looked out the porthole in the corridor: "What kind of business is so important?"
"Metal futures and shipping." Minglu said, "So far, they are still the bulk of the Luo family's capital flow."
"Which route should we take?" Ming Weiting said casually, "Let's ask the nearest port to detain him."
Minglu lowered his head: "Yes."
Ming Weiting tucked the briefcase between his elbows and took out a shell ornament from his pocket.
I heard that if you want to be a fan, you should give gifts. Handmade ones are the best and the intention is the most sincere.
But he was not good at handicrafts, and this kind of thing was really not presentable. It was crooked and had a lot of glue overflowing.
Ming Weiting adjusted its position little by little, but it was always far from what he expected.
Minglu stood aside so as not to disturb him. Ming Weiting had no intention of leaving or going back to his room to find Luo Chi. He just slowly adjusted the ornament.
Luo Chi doesn't remember him now.
Ming Weiting didn't care about this. They could keep getting to know each other again and he could keep introducing himself.
He was just worried that a stranger like him, in a completely unfamiliar environment, would make Luo Chi feel uneasy.
The experiences of those three years still haven't let Luo Chi go, and they would wrap around his bones coldly in his dreams. The fangs pierced into the flesh, oozing venom that spread along the blood vessels, and the bright red snake tongue poked out in every inconspicuous corner.
Luo Chi didn't feel scared.
He's just learned this method. The lost seven-year-old Luo Chi and the ten-year-old Luo Zhi who was thrown into a corner by her family were both still standing clearly at that moment, without being taken away by anyone.
With the accumulation of memories of being pushed away time and time again, and the death of the only person who took care of him, Luo Chi no longer believed that he would be protected.
Since there is no protection, you can only rely on yourself to protect yourself.
If you find a needle, pull it out; if you find a glass, break it and hold the pieces; if you are in an unfamiliar place, you must stay awake and don't sleep when there are strangers around.
Ming Weiting finally broke the shell.
He took the failed handmade ornament and tried again and again to put it back together along the crack.
Minglu said softly, “Sir.”
Ming Weiting stopped trying.
He handed the completely broken ornament to Minglu, raised his head and closed his eyes.
Failed again.
Minglu cleaned up the traces and returned to him.
Ming Weiting leaned against the wall, his dark eyes condensed into ice, and he could no longer control his fierce expression: "So you don't dare to look?"
Are the people in the Luo family afraid to even look at those things?
Don’t you dare to contact? I didn’t dare to see what kind of purgatory Luo Chi had escaped from, so I simply pushed Luo Chi into another bottomless abyss.
How could there be such an ignorant son? At the age of seven, he still doesn’t know that he should not lose himself. If he is lost, he is lost. But he actually comes back to cause trouble.
Don't dare to admit this idea? They dare not see the ridiculous ugliness and meanness of selfishness hidden under the high-sounding words, so they try their best to make the evidence that proves their meanness disappear from their sight...
"Talk to Patriarch Luo."
Ming Weiting said, "If you want the goods on the ship, let's make a deal."
Ming Weiting closed his eyes. This was not the high seas. He couldn't tie these people up and take them to the sea to fish for sharks, nor could he do anything extreme.
He is a fan of Luo Chi now and will always be one in the future. Luo Chi must be clean.
Therefore, Luo Chi’s fans must also be clean.
Sooner or later, Luo Chi will no longer have the surname Luo and will no longer have any relationship with this family. By that time, that fire can play guitar on all the cruise ships and beaches, can paint in any style, someone will definitely say "like" to him a thousand times, and he will never be in any danger again.
Sooner or later, Luo Chi will be able to wake up from his bed relaxed, stretch comfortably, and then roll up in his quilt to take a nap.
So it’s time for someone else to haunt those nightmares.
"Doesn't he like being put in solitary confinement?" Ming Weiting said, "The Ming family also has a solitary confinement room. Please ask him to sit there every night."
"Since you take business so seriously, why not sacrifice some sleep time and have some tea?"
Ming Weiting lowered his eyes and straightened his sleeves: "I won't do anything illegal to him. Find someone to talk to him..."
Minglu suddenly coughed.
As the steward of the Ming family, Ming Lu has always been prudent and steady, and knows when to act and when to retreat, so such strange situations rarely occur.
…
Ming Weiting frowned slightly, subconsciously looked in the direction Ming Lu indicated, and suddenly stopped talking.
He took some time to suppress the piercing coldness and walked to the door that Minglu had slightly opened.
Luo Chi woke up again.
Ming Weiting silently twisted the knuckles of his index finger.
If Luo Chi's current state of consciousness was normal, it would be much easier to deal with. The instinctive fear of not knowing where he was when he first woke up would be immediately suppressed by Luo Chi himself.
…
But Luo Chi himself was now trapped in confusion, not knowing where he was.
He watched the situation in the room quietly.
The person on the bed didn't know how long it took, but he supported himself and sat up little by little, leaning against the wall to adjust his breathing.
Luo Chi really couldn't rest completely at ease with him here.
"It's okay, I'll try to make him adapt."
Ming Weiting said softly: "I will learn to make him feel at ease."
"It would be better if I change the room into one that he is familiar with." Ming Weiting lowered his head and checked the data stored in his mobile phone. "I will say good night to him every day. If he can accept it--"
Minglu pushed open the door and reminded softly, "Sir."
Ming Weiting was stunned.
His eyesight was very good, so even standing at the door, it was not difficult for him to confirm Luo Chi's situation.
Luo Chi's eyes were as black as ink and as clean as if they had been washed with water, but they were still empty and blank, with no focus to settle on.
Luo Chi didn't seem to be looking for it either.
He just leaned against the wall quietly. He was too tired and this movement had left him with no strength left, but he still kept his eyes open.
There was nothing in front of Luo Chi, but he still looked at that place and slowly made the mouth shape.
Luo Chi looked at the place where Ming Weiting was originally sitting.
Luo Chi didn't know that there was no one there anymore.
He struggled and stumblingly imitated the shadow sitting there, opening his mouth several times, and the sound of air flowing out of his throat.
Luo Chi replied him, good night.
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