Xie Zhao immediately held Cheng Yaoyao's hand and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, does the letter say what the illness is?"
Cheng Yaoyao shook his head: "No, he just said that Dad fell ill before the transfer. Why would he be transferred when he was fine? Could it be..."
The more Cheng Yaoyao thought about it, the more confused she became. At this moment, she clearly realized that Father Cheng was a very important support for her in this world, and she had unknowingly regarded him as her father.
Xie Zhao held her hand tightly and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild. If it was really a big deal, you should have sent a telegram instead of a letter."
Xie Zhao's palm was warm, as if there was an endless supply of power coming from it. Cheng Yaoyao regained some of his rationality: "Yes... yes."
Cheng Yaoyao forced herself to calm down and read the letter again. The letter was from Cheng's father, saying that he was originally going to be transferred to the northwest, but fell ill while handling the resignation handover. These few sentences were said lightly, and then the subject suddenly changed, telling Cheng Yaoyao in detail that he had opened three bankbooks for her in the bank, which contained the money left by her mother and the money that Cheng's father had saved for her since she was a child. These words were full of the meaning of entrusting an orphan to someone else, so Cheng Yaoyao was frightened and cried when he saw it just now.
Xie Zhao picked up the envelope and looked at the date, saying, "This letter was sent half a month ago."
Grandma Xie said hurriedly, "Yaoyao, don't worry. It's been half a month, maybe your father's illness has been cured."
Cheng Yaoyao said with red eyes: "I want to go home."
Xie Zhao stared at Cheng Yaoyao suddenly, his lips moved, and he was speechless for a moment.
Grandma Xie hugged Cheng Yaoyao distressedly and said, "Poor thing, don't worry, don't worry."
Cheng Yaoyao lay listlessly in Grandma Xie's arms, with fear and helplessness in her eyes. She was so beautiful that the look on her face made anyone want to hold her tightly in his arms and keep her for themselves.
If something really happened to her father, I would be her only support in this world...Xie Zhao was frightened by his own dark thoughts and broke out in a cold sweat, then he cursed himself for being shameless.
Xie Zhao stood up suddenly, picked up his coat and put it on. Grandma Xie raised her head and asked, "Yaoyao is already like this, you still want to go out?"
Xie Zhao said, "I'll take my sister into the city and call home."
Cheng Yaoyao came back to his senses and said, "Yes, there is also a phone call!"
Grandma Xie said, "Okay, go now!"
Cheng Yaoyao changed her clothes and hurriedly packed a small package. Xie Zhao looked at the package in her hand, and Cheng Yaoyao explained: "If my father has something to do, I will go directly to the train station!"
Xie Zhao said nothing, took the package from her, and the two of them set off immediately.
Grandma Xie chased to the door and said, "It rained yesterday, so be careful on the road. Yaoyao, no matter what the situation is, you must not worry, okay?!"
Even after the two of them had gone far away, Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were still standing at the door, staring at them from afar.
It rained heavily yesterday. The tractor rumbled along the mountain road, splashing large amounts of mud and water. The tires were covered with a thick layer of yellow mud.
When they arrived in Lin'an, the rain was getting heavier. Xie Zhao held an umbrella for Cheng Yaoyao, and when they hurried to the post office, Xie Zhao was soaked. Cheng Yaoyao was protected by Xie Zhao, so he was clean.
It was raining heavily, the light was dim in the post office, and the worker with a big braid was dozing off. Suddenly, two people came in, covered in rain, and scared her.
The braided man said unhappily, "Call or send a telegram. The price is written on the wall!"
Cheng Yaoyao said anxiously: "I'll make a call!"
Thanks to the heavy rain, there was no one in the post office today. In the past, you would have to queue up to make a phone call. Cheng Yaoyao picked up the phone and said to the operator on the other end, "Cheng Zheng from the Research Institute!"
After waiting for a long time, a middle-aged man's voice finally rang out from the other end: "Hello? Is this Yaoyao?"
The voice came from thousands of miles away, mixed with the crackling sound of electric current, but it still couldn't stop the care in the voice. When Cheng Yaoyao heard this voice, his nose was sore and he sobbed: "..."
Cheng's father on the other end chuckled, "Yaoyao, why don't you say anything? Are you still angry with dad? It was dad's fault last time. It was your first time to leave home and go to such a far place, but dad scolded you and didn't send you off. Can you forgive dad?"
I don't know if it's because I inherited the memories and emotions of the original owner, but Cheng Yaoyao burst into tears. It was obviously because of my stubbornness and willfulness that I failed my father's efforts, but he not only didn't blame me, but he took all the blame on me and asked me to forgive him.
Xie Zhao reached out and wiped the tears from Cheng Yaoyao's face, held her drooping fingertips, and asked her with his eyes: "Sister?"
Cheng Yaoyao shook his head and moved his lips, finally breaking through the defense line in his heart and shouting, "Dad..."
"Hey, my dear daughter, don't cry." Cheng's father's voice was also a little excited, and he smiled and said, "Daddy's little princess is not pretty when she cries."
Cheng Yaoyao burst out laughing, and her crying and laughing appearance made Xie Zhao even more confused. She said into the phone: "Dad, aren't you sick? What? Are you well? I don't believe it, I want to go back to Shanghai to see you. Ah!"
Cheng Yaoyao felt pain in her fingers, and felt that Xie Zhao was squeezing her fingers so hard that he seemed to be breaking them. She pressed the microphone to her chest and angrily asked Xie Zhao, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Xie Zhao's voice was hoarse. "Is your father okay?"
"Well, my father said he was discharged from the hospital." Cheng Yaoyao showed a bright smile and said, "I won't tell you yet!"
Cheng Yaoyao picked up the phone and put it to his ear, chattering with his father again. After saying the first word "Dad", Cheng Yaoyao had no psychological barriers at all. His father spoke in a loving tone, and every word was filled with doting and concern, which soon aroused Cheng Yaoyao's admiration.
Father Cheng said, "Dad is really fine. He took the initiative to apply for the transfer, but he fell ill a while ago and it has been put on hold. The earliest it can be transferred is next year."
Cheng Yaoyao said angrily, "You shouldn't have gone in the first place! You just got out of the hospital, how could you run to such a far place right away? You should stay here and recuperate. Did you eat the mushroom sauce and dried starberry that I sent you?"
Listening to his daughter's coquettish but caring words, Cheng's father said cheerfully, "Okay, okay, Dad will listen to you. I've eaten all the food you sent me, and I've also listened to you and quit smoking. But as for drinking, Dad can't quit!"
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "Okay, since you've performed so well, I don't have to quit drinking. I brewed a few bottles of wine and I'll send them to you."
Father Cheng said: "Daddy's little princess is getting more and more capable!"
The father and daughter talked for a long time, and Cheng's father reminded them, "Dad is really fine now, you don't have to rush back. Shen Yan will return to Shanghai at the end of the year, and then you and Nuonuo can come back with him, and we can have a good New Year together."
It seems that this is what Cheng's father intended. If Cheng Yaoyao asks for leave now, she won't be able to stay for a few days. It's better to go home during the Chinese New Year, so she can stay for a few more days. But she has already agreed to spend the Chinese New Year with Xie Zhao this year...
Cheng Yaoyao thought about this and hummed. His father said carefully, "Yaoyao, no matter what Nuonuo says, she is still your half-sister. During the Chinese New Year, the whole family should spend it together."
Here it comes again, it's this sentence! Whether in this life or the previous life, my father likes to use this sentence to put pressure on me. She wants to treat Cheng Nonuo as her sister, but does Cheng Nonuo think so?
Cheng Yaoyao raised his eyebrows, swallowed his words because his father had just been ill, and said, "Okay, I get it."
Father Cheng asked again: "Yaoyao, do you have enough money? Is there anything you want? Dad will send it to you from Shanghai."
Cheng Yaoyao said bluntly: "I want a radio. The countryside is too boring."
Father Cheng smiled and said, "Okay, if the little princess wants it, Dad will definitely get it for you!"
Cheng Yaoyao hung up the phone and sighed. Her father was like this in her previous life. Every time she had a quarrel with her step-sister and step-mother, he would buy her a lot of flashy things or write her a huge check.
In the past, she only thought that her father wanted to use money to silence her, but today she suddenly understood her father's feelings - he just wanted to make her happy. Her father was holding a scale, with her and her stepmother and stepsister on the two ends of the scale. Her father stood in the middle, and he was in a dilemma.
After thinking this through, the anger that had been pent up in Cheng Yaoyao's heart for many years finally dissipated. Cheng Yaoyao hung up the phone, and Da Braid said, "Three dollars and seventeen cents!"
In those days, long-distance calls and telegrams were not cheap, and everyone was racing against time to finish what they were talking about. It was rare to see someone like Cheng Yaoyao holding the phone and talking endlessly. Dazhunzi didn't know that this behavior was called "talking on the phone for a long time" in later generations.
Cheng Yaoyao didn't even frown as he reached into his small purse. A hand in front of him handed over a five-yuan bill. It was Xie Zhao.
After receiving the change, Xie Zhao turned to look at Cheng Yaoyao: "Are you leaving?"
Cheng Yaoyao nodded happily: "Yes."
The two of them held their umbrellas and walked back into the rain. The rain splashed everywhere, and the wind blew on their faces, making them feel cold. Cheng Yaoyao was in a hurry to go out, wearing only a thin pink shirt, and approached Xie Zhao, feeling a little cold. But Xie Zhao's arms were as hard as iron, without any warmth.
The rain on the ground was about to flood over her ankles. Cheng Yaoyao walked carefully through the water, her snow-white and slender instep soaked in the water, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to act coquettishly and ask Xie Zhao to carry her on his back, but it was a pity that this was in the city. It was not until Xie Zhao suddenly stopped that she raised her head.
The sign of "Lin'ancheng Railway Station" is right in front of me. It rained heavily today, and there were few people in the waiting hall of the railway station, and the ground was wet.
Cheng Yaoyao's peach blossom eyes widened slightly, but she saw Xie Zhao handing her an umbrella and said, "You go in to avoid the rain, I'll go buy the tickets."
"Huh?" Cheng Yaoyao took the umbrella, the handle still carrying the warmth of Xie Zhao's palm. She looked at Xie Zhao's tense jaw and wrinkled brows, and she didn't react until Xie Zhao turned around and walked towards the ticket window.
Xie Zhao thought she was going back to Shanghai? Cheng Yaoyao's eyes turned and he had the idea of teasing him.
Xie Zhao came back after a while, holding the train ticket: "There is another train back to Shanghai at 1:30."
"Oh." Cheng Yaoyao said, "Then wait a little longer."
The two found a row of chairs and sat down. Cheng Yaoyao took the ticket and looked at it. There were two tickets: "Why two?"
Xie Zhao said, "I'll take you there."
Cheng Yaoyao asked, "But what about the things in the village?"
Xie Zhao said hoarsely: "I'll take you home and come back soon."
"Oh." Cheng Yaoyao tapped the ground lightly with his toes: "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon." Xie Zhao managed to say this after a long time.
Cheng Yaoyao blinked, looked at him and said, "And then?"
Xie Zhao's dark eyes were filled with countless emotions, and he only said softly: "By the Mid-Autumn Festival, the melons you planted will be ripe... I'll keep them for you."
Cheng Yaoyao almost laughed out loud, turned his head away quickly, and said, "But I don't know if I can come back."
Xie Zhao's speech immediately quickened: "So long? Didn't your father recover?"
Cheng Yaoyao said: "But I am worried. I have to take care of Dad for a while. Besides..."
Cheng Yaoyao dragged out his voice, looked back at Xie Zhao's anxious eyes, and said, "Maybe I won't come back."
Xie Zhao said decisively: "Impossible!"
"My father found some connections and helped me get a medical retirement when I go back this time." Cheng Yaoyao said seriously, "If everything goes well, I won't come back."
"..." Xie Zhao's aura suddenly became stronger, like a volcano shaking faintly under the iceberg, and the blue veins on his neck were faintly visible.
Cheng Yaoyao covered his mouth and laughed secretly, then said: "Hey, why are you ignoring me?"
Xie Zhao's jaws tightened, and he said nothing. Cheng Yaoyao looked at him, sulking with himself for a long time, and said, "I'm hungry, I want to eat steamed cakes."
Xie Zhao reacted this time. He stood up and walked out without even looking at Cheng Yaoyao.
"Stupid... You're so angry and you didn't even say a word to me." Cheng Yaoyao held his chin, wondering whether he should be angry with him for a while longer. But when he saw Xie Zhao disappearing in the wind and rain, his heart suddenly became soft and sweet, "...Xie Zhao, you big idiot."
The curtain at the entrance to the train station's waiting hall was suddenly lifted, letting in a burst of cool, rainy air. The few passengers in the waiting hall couldn't help but look up, only to see a tall, handsome young man walking in dripping wet.
An old lady sighed and said, "Young man, it's raining so hard and you don't even hold an umbrella. Be careful of catching a cold!"
Xie Zhao had a blank expression on his face, his eyes roaming around the waiting hall. Suddenly his expression changed, and he pulled the person next to him and asked, "Where is the girl who was sitting here just now?!"
The man was dozing off when he was startled. He stared at the evil spirit in front of him: "Which... which girl?"
Xie Zhao said: "The one in the pink shirt!"
Someone immediately said, "He just left and got on the train."
Xie Zhao turned around and rushed into the platform. It was raining heavily and there was a white mist on the rails. The train was carrying the travelers away and there was no sign of Cheng Yaoyao.
Is she gone?
The big rain blew in from the platform and hit his face. Xie Zhao seemed to be completely unconscious, as if a piece of his heart had been dug out. These days, they were together day and night, whispering in each other's ears, and he thought Cheng Yaoyao was willing, but in the end it was all wishful thinking.
Xie Zhao pinched his palm tightly with his fingernails, and he didn't even notice the red color dripping down from between his fingers.
Suddenly, someone patted me on the back: "Why are you here?"
Jiaodi's voice was as sweet as honey. Xie Zhao turned his head suddenly, which scared Cheng Yaoyao. Cheng Yaoyao asked, "Why do you look so ugly?"
"You..." Xie Zhao started to speak, only to find that his voice was hoarse: "Where did you go?"
If it wasn't so dark, Cheng Yaoyao would have noticed that Xie Zhao's eyes were too hot and his expression was a little strange. She raised the money in her hand and said, "I'll return the ticket."
Before Xie Zhao could speak, she took the initiative to explain: "My father is well now and doesn't want me to go back to Shanghai. I was just teasing you."
The agitated aura on Xie Zhao's body gradually subsided, a ray of red appeared in his narrow eyes, his clenched palms slowly loosened, and rain and blood dripped down along his fingertips.
Cheng Yaoyao saw that he looked unhappy, so she pulled his hand coquettishly and said, "Let's go back."
Cheng Yaoyao suddenly uttered a "hmm" sound and raised his hand to cover his nose: "What's that smell..."
Xie Zhao brought the blood drop from his fingertip to Cheng Yaoyao's eyes. Cheng Yaoyao was startled and dodged to the side, gasping for breath.
"Your palm is bleeding...you, you bandage it up." Cheng Yaoyao turned his back, took out a handkerchief and threw it to him.
Even with the wind and rain blowing at her, Cheng Yaoyao could still accurately distinguish the surging pure masculine energy. Xie Zhao's aura was particularly aggressive today, causing her legs and feet to go weak. If it weren't for the rain that diluted the blood, she would have been embarrassed on the spot.
Xie Zhao looked at her thoughtfully, raised his hand to let the rain wash away the blood on his palm, and bandaged the wound with a handkerchief.
Cheng Yaoyao then turned around and rebuked him with a rosy face: "You are too careless!"
Xie Zhao hummed: "Go home."
Cheng Yaoyao even stretched out his hand: "Where's the steamed cake?"
Xie Zhao reached into his arms and pulled out an oil-paper package, opening it layer by layer. The white and tender steamed cake emitted a burst of hot steam, and the sweet fragrance filled his nose.
The way home was muddier than the way here. The rear tractor had its canopy sealed with tarpaulin. Cheng Yaoyao sat in the back and didn't notice it. He held a steamed cake bigger than his face and ate it. The steamed cake was steaming hot and had countless honeycomb-shaped holes. If you pressed it with your fingers, it would bounce back. It was soft and spongy in your mouth, with the sweet taste of white sugar.
Cheng Yaoyao looked through the gap in the oilcloth and saw Xie Zhao sitting in the driver's seat with his back to her, his hands on the steering wheel. The muscles from his neck to his back were firm and smooth, with drops of water constantly rolling down.
Cheng Yaoyao puffed up her cheeks. She had apologized, but Xie Zhao ignored her all the way. This was the first time Xie Zhao ignored her for such a long time.
Just as he was thinking, the car suddenly shook and stopped. Cheng Yaoyao was wondering when Xie Zhao lifted up the curtain behind him.
A puff of mist mixed with the smell of grass and trees blew in his face, but behind Xie Zhao was an unfamiliar forest. This was not the way back to the village.
Cheng Yaoyao asked, "What's the matter?"
Xie Zhao was standing with his back to the light, so Cheng Yaoyao couldn't see his expression clearly, but he could feel the strong aura of aggression and the faint trace of bloodiness in him.
Cheng Yaoyao realized belatedly and became frightened. He stepped back and said, "Xie Zhao... I've already apologized to you... Ugh!"
The curtains fell, and raindrops hit the oilcloth from all directions, making a continuous sound like falling beads on jade, isolating this small world from everything around it.
Cheng Yaoyao's back was against the cold and hard crossbar, and in front of her was Xie Zhao's hot breath. Xie Zhao's nose rubbed against hers, intimate as usual, and his tone revealed a hint of indescribable meaning: "Sister, you are so naughty."
"I... I was wrong." Cheng Yaoyao admitted his mistake immediately without any hesitation, "I shouldn't have lied to you. Please forgive me."
Xie Zhao chuckled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He said seriously, "I'm really angry. What do you think we should do?"
Xie Zhao's voice was as resonant as metal and stone, and fell into Cheng Yaoyao's ears with heat. Cheng Yaoyao's ears suddenly felt hot, and his toes curled up tightly.
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