The conch was not found.
It's not anyone's fault; it's because Hai Luo was too impatient, too impatient, and too eager to be discovered at a glance.
Although he hid behind the reef obediently, he was afraid of being discovered, so he placed a lot of star lights around him and drew the biggest smiley face on the beach.
Those bright and shining stars were too conspicuous and defenseless, attracting the cold undercurrent hidden in the trench.
A vicious undercurrent rushed up from the bottom of the sea, snatched away the conch, and pushed away the smiling face.
…
Even so, this incident did not lead to any bad consequences.
Of course there won't be any misunderstanding. How could there be any misunderstanding? Luo Chi trusts Aunt Ren more than he trusts himself, and Aunt Ren likes Little Flame more than anything else.
It's just because both of them are too worried about each other and don't want the other to feel uncomfortable or unhappy in any way.
Because I care so much and want to repair all the scars caused by the hardships of life, I naturally have infinite patience and caution.
Aunt Ren stood behind the reef, thinking at the empty beach. Little Flame has encountered too many bad things, so he must still be feeling nervous and not brave enough to say what he wants. He must be patient and not impatient.
Luo Chi curled up in bed, resting his head on his arms, thinking over and over again. Aunt Ren has had too many worries lately. Bringing him home is such a big deal, so of course she has to consider it carefully and fully. She has to wait and not be impatient.
Don't be impatient, take your time, don't be impatient.
Until Aunt Ren suddenly fell ill without any warning.
Aunt Ren was lying on the hospital bed, sighing and flicking the IV tube out of boredom. She finally made up her mind and pulled Luo Chi, who was busy taking care of her, over to her.
...It was not until Aunt Ren nodded his head again and again, asking when all the wishes in the conch would be fulfilled, that Luo Chi suddenly realized with surprise that something must have gone wrong.
He buried the conch, but it never reached Aunt Ren's hands.
Something must have gone wrong.
Luo Chi then realized that something was wrong.
"Little squirrel." Aunt Ren didn't know yet, and tapped his forehead to interrogate him, "Where did you hide the conch?"
When he was first sent to the Ren family, the ten-year-old Luo Chi was easily disturbed. Whenever I receive something I like, I never want to use it and always hide it away.
Aunt Ren was moved by his diligent spirit in hoarding treasures, so she found a tree in the garden and hid a super secret safe for him on the tree.
At that time, Luo Chi would put any good things he had in his arms and quietly run up the tree when no one was around.
Aunt Ren stood under the tree, laughing so hard that her stomach hurt. When she teased him, she deliberately said that she had a little squirrel.
The little squirrel stood still, his heart beating so fast that it almost burst out of his chest.
…
You must not be impatient.
Aunt Ren’s illness must not lead to drastic mood swings.
In those extremely short seconds, Luo Chi had quickly figured out what to do.
The little squirrel buried his head and accepted the scolding obediently. He apologized quietly and said that he loved the conch too much and couldn't bear to bury it in the sand. Also, I can only make one wish, which is too few. I’m afraid it will be wasted, so I keep thinking about it.
Aunt Ren was angry, amused, and distressed. She pinched his face and told him to just stop writing letters and just write a bunch of small notes and stuff them in.
Of course Aunt Ren knew that Luo Chi knew everything, so she simply didn't even make up a story.
Aunt Ren assured him honestly that he could write whatever he wanted, and she would help him turn all the little notes into real ones.
The little squirrel blushed and repented, and swore to hand over the conch within three days.
…
After dark, Luo Chi took care of Aunt Ren until she fell asleep, then ran back to the beach alone and searched the beach thoroughly.
He used a flashlight to search every conch shell he could find on the beach, but every one of them was empty. He thought it had been too long and perhaps the item had been carried into the sea by the rising tide, so he went back and forth near the coast to look for it.
It's been so long, it's normal that I can't find it.
Each conch shell is empty inside, containing only sea water, water plants and wet sand.
The conch that Aunt Ren gave him was lost.
Can’t let Aunt Ren know.
Luo Chi's right leg was out of control again, he tripped and fell into the sea. What I heard the doctor say in the hospital during the day finally came to my mind.
Luo Chi fell motionless into the sea.
Only after all the water vapor in his body had been drained out did he suddenly sit up, wipe the sea water off his face, and gasp for breath.
He shouldn't have made that kind of wish. He should have wished that Aunt Ren would be healthy and live a long life.
How could he forget to wish Aunt Ren a long life?
The conch is lost.
Don’t tell Aunt Ren. Don’t let Aunt Ren know.
Luo Chi was sitting in the sea. He noticed that the tide was rising. He gathered all his strength to stand up, dragging his right leg and struggling to get ashore before the tide submerged him.
"Don't be afraid." Luo Chi taught his right leg, "Don't be afraid."
He pressed the leg hard and whispered to himself, "There is a way."
There is a way to solve everything.
He'll figure it out.
Perhaps he took his advice to heart, because apart from a skin scrape from the fall and a burning pain from being soaked in sea water, his leg had no other problems.
Luo Chi returned to the beach and collected all the conch shells he had thrown away.
He compared them carefully with a flashlight, found the one that most resembled his memory, and took it back to his cabin.
After all, the edges and corners of the conch shell are slightly different. He carefully cut off the slightly different parts with a knife, polished them smooth with sandpaper, and soaked them in water to wash them extra clean.
He also had to take care of Aunt Ren, so he washed himself with hot water, treated his wounds carefully, made himself a hot meal, and changed into comfortable home clothes.
He takes good care of himself, so Aunt Ren will definitely feel at ease.
Then Luo Chi took the conch, sat under the lamp, and made a wish with great concentration.
He stuffed it with little crumpled pieces of paper. I want Aunt Ren to be happy and healthy. I want Aunt Ren to put work aside and have a good rest. I want Aunt Ren to recover quickly and stop worrying about anything.
Luo Chi sat at the table and checked all the notes. He felt that this would not be acceptable to Aunt Ren, so he held the pen again and tried to add a few more things about himself.
...live to be eighty years old.
He hoped that Aunt Ren could live to be 111 years old, so he would live to be 80 years old, and then they could fall asleep together.
Be happy and cheerful.
Finding a lot of people who like me and a lot of happy things makes Aunt Ren feel at ease.
Find the one you like best and bring it back to show Aunt Ren.
Grow up quickly, become an adult quickly, get a driver’s license, and drive with Aunt Ren on a trip.
Learn to drive a boat. It seems that you need a driver's license to drive a boat. Then buy a small boat and take Aunt Ren for a ride on the sea.
Aunt Ren also wants to go skydiving, bungee jumping and deep sea surfing. He was a little afraid of the deep sea, but he could swim along side it, and he thought he would soon stop being afraid.
Luo Chi wrote all night, and the next morning, he ran back to the hospital with the conch.
Aunt Ren leaned against the head of the bed, reading the little notes one by one.
Luo Chi's heart almost jumped out of his throat.
Fortunately, Aunt Ren didn't seem to notice anything unusual about Conch. She just read the notes and happily praised the brand new and best quality surfboard that Luo Chi brought for a long time.
Aunt Ren didn't ask any more questions. She just held Luo Chi in her arms, chatted with her softly, and slowly explained many truths to her little flame.
Aunt Ren said that the most important thing in life is to live happily, not to live long.
Aunt Ren said that sometimes, some things are unreasonable but unavoidable. Then if it happens, it's no one's fault.
Aunt Ren said that the surfboard was so great that she must take it away. She loves the sea the most and wishes she could sleep in it forever.
Aunt Ren told him, Little Flame, you must live well, otherwise she will be sad.
…
The cruise ship was silent in the lights of the harbor.
The wind lifted the curtains a little, and the pale moonlight slid to the bedside.
Luo Chi clenched his teeth in the chaos of unconsciousness. He curled up drowsily and buried himself in the cold moon.
Perhaps he mistook it for sea water. Luo Chi said nothing and just let the water vapor seep out from under his tightly closed eyelashes.
Minglu turned on the oxygen concentrator and whispered, "Sir."
The current situation is not suitable to wake up Luo Chi rashly.
Luo Chi, trapped in the fog, did not care about his body. Although he did not resist treatment, he only took the medicine and got the injections because Mr. Shadow asked him to.
But the memories that were unexpectedly evoked by the conch tonight made him struggle to muster up a little strength in such a chaotic daze, in order to protect the Aunt Ren in his memory from being sad.
...Having such a vivid emotional reaction is definitely much better than that kind of dazed calmness.
Ming Weiting nodded, and he moved more gently, helping Luo Chi to get out of the cold sweat little by little.
Luo Chi was trapped in a dream, his shoulders, back and arms tensed instinctively, but because the strength he could muster in this body was too weak, only a slight tremor could be felt in his muscles and bones.
Ming Weiting wanted to give him a massage to relax him, but every joint of Luo Chi was stiff and his body was very cold, so he couldn't find a place to start.
So he held Luo Chi in his arms, making every part of Luo Chi close to him.
After spending these days together day and night, Luo Chi has become familiar with his scent and no longer resists even when he falls into a nightmare. Before I knew it, the side of my body that was leaning against him began to grow warm and soft.
Ming Lu adjusted the oxygen flow rate, walked over lightly, and handed the mask to Ming Weiting.
Ming Weiting raised his hand and touched the half of Luo Chi's cheek that was leaning on his shoulder with the back of his hand.
Feeling that the temperature there had warmed up, he carefully turned Luo Chi over in his arms, took the mask, and put it on Luo Chi: "Who did this?"
"The son of the Ren family." Ming Lu lowered his voice, "He... probably doesn't know what that is."
Ren Chenbai didn't want to see anyone liking Luo Chi, and didn't want anyone to give Luo Chi gifts.
Minglu even suspected that even revenge for Madam Ren was just a cover - perhaps even Ren Chenbai himself was not aware that it was a cover.
Ren Chenbai was just using this kind of thing as an excuse to destroy Luo Chi with more peace of mind.
He stopped Luo Chi from saving himself, destroyed the things that Luo Chi cared about, and blocked all the kindness around Luo Chi... just to put out the fire that was too hot for him.
Ren Chenbai had probably already fallen into some kind of intense and twisted paranoia. He used all means to deal with Luo Chi and even forgot what his original intention was.
Ren Chenbai probably has forgotten that he initially did these things because he felt uneasy.
He discovered that Luo Chi didn't have to rely on him or the Ren family to survive - he finally realized that Luo Chi could not be hidden at all. The fire attracted attention wherever it went, and it was so bright and hot that it hurt just by looking at it.
Ren Chenbai began to feel extremely uneasy and irritated. He always felt that Luo Chi would leave sooner or later.
Ren Chenbai always felt that Luo Chi would not stay, would not stay in such a boring place, would not stay with someone like him... He destroyed Luo Chi's things in a rage and threw away the gifts that Luo Chi could have received.
But he didn't know that he also threw a conch.
…
Ming Weiting understood what Ming Lu meant.
"The other party has been informed of this matter." Minglu whispered, "He will know what he has done."
Minglu made arrangements before returning to the cruise ship. He lowered his hands and continued, "He was not sent to their hospital. Dean Xun doesn't mind taking in one more patient."
Ren Chenbai’s car could not reach his own hospital, unless someone in the Ren family was still not in his right mind and was unwilling to give up a half-crazy and disabled heir.
...The people in the Ren family are certainly very clear-headed.
Ming Lu checked the message and found that he had received Xun Zhen's reply. He raised his head and said, "Sir, do you want him to wake up?"
"No rush." Ming Weiting said.
Ming Lu was waiting for his instructions, but Ming Weiting stopped talking again.
Ming Weiting lowered his eyes, touched Luo Chi's hair, and put the new conch back into Luo Chi's palm.
He could understand why Luo Chi didn't want Mrs. Ren to know about this at all.
Even if this incident itself was just a coincidence, it happened to coincide with Mrs. Ren's illness, and this coincidence finally turned her fate in the most cold-blooded and cruel direction, with no chance of being compensated or corrected.
If Mrs. Ren had really learned about this while she was ill, no matter how open-minded and optimistic she was, her emotions would have been bound to fluctuate violently - this wish was impossible to achieve at that time.
The head of the Luo family could throw one of his sons away out of sight and out of mind, but he would not tolerate Ren Shuangmei actually bringing the child home and making him a complete member of the Ren family. This would almost be like labeling him as "heartless and ungrateful" and throwing him out to be pointed at and laughed at.
Ren Shuangmei's health is the biggest problem. If she is healthy, no matter how much trouble the Luo family makes, she will retaliate against them without mercy.
According to Ren Shuangmei's temper, she might even deliberately bring Luo Chi to various occasions attended by Luo family members, push Luo Chi to the most dazzling and eye-catching place, and let everyone in the Luo family see how outstanding their neglected child is.
But Minglu had already gone for a check-up, and Ren Shuangmei was diagnosed with aortic dissection at that time. The position is too bad and the risk of surgery is so high that there is almost no chance of luck. I have to stay in bed and rest. The slightest mistake can put my life in danger.
Ren Shuangmei didn't want her family to cry and worry endlessly, so she asked someone to suppress the diagnosis results, but she couldn't hide it from Luo Chi who was taking care of her in the hospital.
It was probably at this time that Luo Chi learned for the first time, without any instruction, to hide a part of himself quickly and extremely covertly.
…
In that state, Luo Chi no longer had the ability to sort out all his memories.
Luo Chi didn't want Aunt Ren to be sad because of that incident, so he could only ask Mr. Shadow to help keep it a secret from Aunt Ren.
Luo Chi didn't know that Mr. Shadow was also there that day.
"I should get off the boat," Ming Weiting said. "There's a good spot behind the reef."
He might catch Ren Chenbai who was making trouble there, tie him up and throw him into the sea, and then put the star lights in order.
The shadow behind the reef is deep, perfect for standing there and watching a bright and dazzling fire.
Ming Weiting had not yet had the habit of getting off the boat. In fact, he could not imagine what kind of development that would be. After thinking quietly for a while, he still held Luo Chi's hand.
Luo Chi’s nightmare seemed to be over.
Not sure if it was because he was too tired or because he felt safe in the familiar atmosphere, Luo Chi slept very soundly and his body relaxed.
Ming Weiting held his hand. He found that Luo Chi had no habit of holding anything in his dreams. That hand was always curled up completely without any strength.
Perhaps it was because, a long time ago, there was nothing left for Luo Chi to hold on to.
The culprit who caused all this still doesn't know what he has done or what he has destroyed with his own hands.
"That person," Ming Weiting asked, "doesn't he have a dream?"
Minglu was stunned for a moment: "What dream do you want him to have?"
Xun Zhen was watching Ren Chenbai personally, so it was not difficult to make Ren Chenbai have hallucinations.
The man's current mental state is already extremely unstable. With just a little stimulation and proper guidance, he can fall into a dream from which it is difficult to wake up on his own.
Ming Weiting held Luo Chi's hand, and then held the conch full of shells together and shook it gently.
The conch shell rustled in Luo Chi's palm.
Ming Lu suddenly realized: "I'll make the arrangements."
...How can we not let the culprit go and see it for himself?
Go into that dream and see with your own eyes how good the future should be - a future that even Ren Chenbai himself would feel extremely happy and satisfied.
What Ren Chenbai wanted with all his heart and effort, even at the cost of destroying Luo Chi, was nothing more than this kind of future.
How it should have been, what should have happened.
The possibility of being completely destroyed by his own hands.
How can you wake up so easily without seeing clearly in your dream?
…
The conch was supposed to be picked up by Ren Shuangmei.
Ren Shuangmei, who picked up the conch, would run over and hold up the little flame.
Luo Chi might have been playing the guitar at the time. He might have been startled, blushed, or stared with his eyes wide open, not daring to move.
Ren Shuangmei would hug the little flame and laugh loudly that her wish had come true. She would take Luo Chi home without saying a word and would tell everyone in the Luo family to get out without any hesitation - Luo Chi would really become a family with them.
People around would clap and cheer loudly, would rush over to touch Luo Chi's head, would praise him for being sensible and smart, and at first glance he was the most likable good child.
The bonfire party will definitely become more lively, and perhaps this liveliness will spread all the way to the nearby pier.
Luo Chi would probably be scalded like a small kettle in Aunt Ren's arms, and maybe even cry because of the intense surprise, as if he had plunged into a whole new life, and then have his nose scratched by Ren Shuangmei while smiling.
But no matter what, Luo Chi will be happy in the end.
Luo Chi would jump to the highest place, would sing loudly without restraint, and would strum the strings of his guitar amid people's laughter and beats - what was there to be afraid of about him?
He was taken home. He was so happy that he wanted to fly.
That would be a completely different world line.
In that world line, that hot, bright color will spread along the sea surface and hit the ships anchored there.
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