Chapter 77
Li Qingyao pushed Xie Rongcheng and walked to the plank road by the lake. The wooden boardwalk is a winding path that extends into the lake amidst the tall reeds and then bends back to the shore.
Xie Rongcheng: "Do you mind if I smoke?"
"I don't mind. Did the doctor allow it?"
Xie Rongcheng smiled: "If you don't let me, I will still smoke."
Li Qingyao also laughed. Xie Rongcheng took out a cigarette box from his pocket. It was not the cigars or imported cigarettes seen in TV dramas, but authentic local Xiangcheng cigarettes. He lit one and put it in his mouth, squinting his eyes in enjoyment and said, "This will give me more strength. Please help me up."
Li Qingyao hurried forward and helped him stand up. It was just as he said, there was no problem with walking, he just felt weak.
"May I?" He raised one arm and motioned for her to take it. Li Qingyao remembered that this man was not only a key university student in the 1980s, but also learned a gentlemanly demeanor in Hong Kong. She gladly took his arm, supporting his body at the same time, and they walked slowly forward.
"Has Xie Xinrui adapted to Hong Kong now?" she asked.
Xie Rongcheng was very satisfied that she changed her name to address her adopted daughter, which meant that she understood the meaning of the name.
"Luna is great. In fact, in Hong Kong, people usually call her by her English name. If you meet her one day, you might as well call her that." He said with a smile, as if he had forgotten that the person in front of him was a policeman, or perhaps he no longer cared.
But how should he put it? What does it mean to adapt to a new life? Judging from Luna's grades when she first entered that aristocratic high school, or her feelings about her new life, it was natural that she was not able to adapt. Other subjects are okay, but English is particularly lagging behind, and the practical project experience and abilities are far behind. Surrounded by people who were born and raised in Hong Kong and were the sons of officials and businessmen who looked down on others, Xie Rongcheng had some face, but not much.
But if we talk about Luna's ruthlessness and fighting spirit, she is very adaptable to the new environment, and it can even be said that she quickly excels. Xie Rongcheng remembered that in the first six months after Luna arrived in Hong Kong, the lights in her room were never turned off before 2 a.m. He didn't advise her to rest, nor did he care.
Since she was not good at spoken English, Luna asked him to help her find a foreign teacher to teach her every day. Since she lacked social practice skills, she silently observed her classmates, learned from them regardless of the ridicule and cold eyes of some people, and asked Xie Rongcheng for advice, absorbing everything like a sponge. By the second semester, she could already plan a scientific research or social activity project fluently in English and arrange all aspects of people and things perfectly and properly - Xie Rongcheng didn't even know where she got to know so many people and found so many resources for her to coordinate.
A year later, Luna graduated with excellent grades and was admitted to the best university in Hong Kong.
"She adapted really well." Li Qingyao praised. She really understands and appreciates Luna's energy. Because she had similar experiences before, she was determined to fight to the death. Maybe in a sense, she and she are the same kind of people. But Luna has a harder time than her.
"It wasn't all smooth sailing." Xie Rongcheng sighed, "She experienced school bullying, but she never told me. Later, when there was a big fight, I was invited to the school and learned about it."
Li Qingyao was silent. Subconsciously, she no longer wanted to hear about any unpleasant experiences Liu Tingmei had.
Unexpectedly, Xie Rongcheng saw her expression and smiled: "Don't get me wrong. That time, it wasn't someone else who bullied her, she fought back too hard. You are a kind child, just like your brother."
This was the second time he mentioned his brother, and Li Qingyao looked at him.
Xie Rongcheng still clearly remembers the scene he saw when he arrived at the school that time.
Those girls all had bruised faces and noses, disheveled hair, dirty clothes, and looked timid. His Luna also had a wound on the corner of her mouth, but it was much lighter than theirs, and she even looked relaxed and calm.
Xie Rongcheng suddenly became happy.
The teacher interrogated the girls and asked them what had happened and who started it first. Luna didn't say anything either, and glanced at the girl who was the leader of the other party. Xie Rongcheng recognized the girl. Her father was a high-ranking official and was always arrogant. But today, the girl was distraught and said, "We...we heard that she was from Luna Continent and had practiced Kung Fu, so we asked her to teach us a few moves. There was no conflict, it was just a joke. MissHu, please don't worry about it."
This is complete bullshit.
But no matter how the teacher asked, the girls insisted that everything was fine. Finally I had to give up.
On the way home, Xie Rongcheng asked, "How did you do it?"
Luna seemed very thirsty. She drank a large bottle of sugar-free sparkling water before answering, "Your fitness coach Jony knows how to fight. I ask him to teach me for two hours every week and practice for an hour every night. Those idiots have been bullying me for a while. Today I used a trick to lock them in the dark auditorium, subdued them one by one, and tortured them. I know which parts of the body can be very painful, but the injuries are almost invisible from the outside; I also know which parts of the body can be tortured so that they can't speak."
Xie Rongcheng was silent for a while and said, "Their family is not someone you can easily mess with. How can you keep silent even though they have suffered such a huge loss?" He probably couldn't do that.
Luna smiled and said, "I told you my dad is Xie Rongcheng. If you dare to sue the teacher, as long as you can't kill me this time, I will definitely kill you next time. I'm not afraid of going to jail. Anyway, I don't really want to live. They were scared and cried."
…
After telling this story, Xie Rongcheng's expression was calm and gentle, as if he saw the stubborn and cold-blooded adopted daughter across the lake, and also saw her full of pain and the simple kindness that could never return.
Li Qingyao remained silent.
"In her second year at university, she carved a few names on the side of her desk in her room: Luo Long, Qian Chengfeng, and Liu Huaixin. I found out and asked her who these people were. She said they were people who had hurt her. I asked her if she hated her parents and whether she would take revenge on her family. Do you know how she answered?
She was very calm at the time and said that her parents gave birth to her and raised her. Although they were not good to her, they supported her through high school and never deprived her of food and drink. It was indeed an accident that I slipped from the roof. She didn't have to do anything, the couple would make a mess of their lives on their own. Without her, the family of three would have no hope in life and things would only get worse. And she never met them again, and they were even. ”
"Look." Xie Rongcheng laughed sarcastically, "Luna is actually still a kind person at heart. She has let go of everything she can. If it were me when I was younger, I would definitely take revenge on my parents for causing me to be like that. I think, before she encountered those things, she may never have held grudges. Unless she really can't get over it, no matter what, she will keep it in her heart and take revenge regardless of the consequences."
Li Qingyao said, "She is extremely naive, but also extremely stubborn. Did she tell you what those three people did to her?"
"She didn't say it, and I didn't ask. There's no need to ask. Three upright, middle-aged men get a girl who has lost her intelligence and is stunningly beautiful, and they can make huge profits from her every night. What would that be like? What would they do to her? I don't want to ask, and I don't want to listen."
Li Qingyao let out a long sigh and looked up. They had reached the farthest point of the wooden plank road deep into the center of the lake. In front of them was an open expanse of water. Clusters of lush aquatic plants dotted the lake, making it a vast gray-green. A black bird spread its wings and flew by, making a clear, low cry. The sunlight shines through the mist onto the vast water, casting a faint luster.
"She also carved a name in the most hidden place on the corner of the table. I discovered it by accident." Xie Rongcheng looked at Li Qingyao with his eyes full of vicissitudes and compassion. "It's Li Jincheng. That was the first time I saw this name."
Li Qingyao was moved: "My brother...did she say..."
Xie Rongcheng shook his head: "She also wants to find him."
Li Qingyao didn't know what he felt in his heart, so he swallowed it and asked again, "That night, the night my brother disappeared and she escaped, did she ever mention what happened?"
Xie Rongcheng still shook his head.
Li Qingyao let out a sigh of relief, but he was still very upset and slammed his hands heavily on the railing. She silently said to herself, Li Qingyao, calm down. You are on a mission, and the most urgent thing is to find out what happened to Liu Tingmei.
We will meet again.
We will see each other soon.
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