Chapter 50
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After teaching for more than three years, Qi Yan has never encountered anything disgusting, and she still thought so two days ago. But reality slapped her hard.
On the day she was called to talk by the principal, Qi Yan promised against her will in the office that she would keep her mouth shut, not to tell anyone about it, and even forget her identity as a witness. The same goes for Yang Qing, the girl didn't sleep all night and was going to see a psychiatrist.
At the same time, the parents of the students who jumped from the building came in with an old man desperately crying and shouting at the school gate, holding up a banner. The old man sat on the ground, the security guards only dared to reprimand and threaten him, but did not dare to touch him.
Then later...
The parents made a fuss at the school gate for a day, and were invited into the principal's office, and they stopped making trouble the next day. The class teachers strictly forbade the students in their own classes to discuss the matter, and the reporters who wanted to interview were always stopped outside the door. At first, the outside world had different opinions, but finally came with a unified conclusion: the girl could not bear the pressure of studying and committed suicide.
There are a lot of voices on the Internet saying "the children of today are fragile and hypocritical".
In less than three days, the matter was handled cleanly, and the insignificant splash soon calmed down. Life remained the same, and the teaching order remained the same.
Both High School and Junior High School
It's just that the mathematics teacher in Class 2 and Class 7 suddenly changed, and Xu Shoukui was no longer seen in the campus. She didn't know what happened or where he was going, and there was no teacher in the office to talk about it, as if it had never happened.
Sometimes, Qi Yan thought that what she saw that day was a hallucination.
Did a student really jump off the building?
Did she really die in front of her?
Those resentful eyes, the bright red blood all over the ground, could it be her mental disorder, a memory picked out from a horror movie?
That day when Qi Yan went back to her parents' house, Ms. Lin asked what was going on. She looked at her mother's worried face and nervous expression, and suddenly wished to hear some more nagging that bored her. She moved her lips, showed the best acting skills in her life, and smiled brightly.
"Mom, it's okay. Children are under a lot of pressure in their studies, don't think about it."
Ms. Lin's well-maintained daffodil-like face wrinkled into bun folds, and she turned on the nagging mode:
"Nowadays, children are all treasures. They can't be touched. They are pampered and spoiled. They will be under pressure when they grow up, they will have to compete for high school and college entrance examinations. In the far future, they will have to join the society, and there will be a lot of suffering. Will they jump off a building at every turn?"
"Mom, didn't I also get spoiled?" Qi Yan said with a smile.
Ms. Lin frowned and waved her hand: "What your father and I gave you is respect, can it be the same as those parents who only spoil?"
"..."
"Your dad and I never quarreled in front of you. No matter how annoying things were outside, we never went home to vent our anger. When we had no money, we never emphasized that we were poor in front of you, and we never asked you to remember how good we are and you owe us. Let me ask you, which few parents can do this?"
As Ms. Lin spoke, her tone couldn't help being narcissistic, she pursed her lips, and was a little unhappy because she was misunderstood by her daughter and felt wronged.
"Those psychologically fragile children are usually spoiled. Let me use an analogy, like a canary in a cage. It looks very precious. It eats and drinks, but in fact it is tightly tied. Everywhere is suffocating..."
Makes sense.
Qi Yan nodded thoughtfully, smiled and hugged her dear old mother. But Ms. Lin didn't give up, she must seize the opportunity to make a move.
"Is the homeroom teacher of the student who jumped off the building okay? Oh, it's really bad luck to have such a thing happen. I saw online that it was caused by the homeroom teacher, some are saying that the student was scolded by the math teacher. The math teacher is also bad luck."
"Yan Yan, be careful. You can take care of the children in your class. But if you can't control of them, let them be. They are not our own children. Protect yourself, understand? Things happen every day, as long as you stay there, Mom will worry to death."
Ms. Lin hugged and kissed her daughter. Tuanzi became unhappy, stretched out a paw to grab her arm, and meowed twice.
It was ignored.
Qi Yan patted Ms. Lin's shoulder comfortingly, with a stiff smile: "I know, I will pay more attention."
In the past, she was most annoyed to hear her old mother say these things, three sentences could be worth ten sentences, but now she couldn't think of any words to refute. She was a little tired, her brain hadn't recovered yet, and the fiery temperature in her heart had dropped a little, and she couldn't exert any strength.
She thought she should learn to be a deaf-mute.
Qi Yan asked the school for a week off and rested at home.
She lives in 901 and sleeps with Lu Zhiqiao at night. She thinks she is honest and behaved, but every morning when she wakes up, either she is in Lu Zhiqiao's arms, or Lu Zhiqiao is in her arms. Their hairs would be entangled, their breaths mixed, they became each other's pillows, and they adapted very well.
Lu Zhiqiao is busy with work and cannot be with her all the time, but she tries to get off work on time every day, and occasionally the two of them buy vegetables and cook together then pick up their daughter from school.
Just like a happy family of three.
Warmth and companionship are good medicines to heal the trauma in her heart. Qi Yan obviously feels that she is in a much better state. When she closes her eyes, she will no longer think of those scenes.
Weekend morning, Lu Zhiqiao had to work overtime, and Qi Yan stayed at home with her "daughter", cleaned up, and then went shopping. At about eleven o'clock, Lu Zhiqiao came back, and the two of them cooked together.
"I always feel that Niu Niu is a bit abnormal recently."
She put on the newly bought apron and glanced at the second bedroom, the door was always closed.
Qi Yan paused, walked around behind her, lowered her head and tied the belt for her, hesitated for a while and said, "Actually, I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but...it's not too serious, I haven't thought about how to tell you, who knew I'd ran into…"
A hand covered her mouth.
Lu Zhiqiao frowned, and lightly reprimanded: "Don't think about it."
With warm palms and thin soft lips pressed together, Qi Yan subconsciously pouted and kissed secretly, Lu Zhiqiao immediately let go of her hand and gave her a sidelong glance. She grabbed that hand back and covered it again, and smiled obediently: "I didn't, I already forgot."
"Is there something wrong with Niu Niu at school?" Lu Zhiqiao turned her face away and arranged the ingredients with one hand.
Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Qi Yan let go, "The last time you were on a business trip to Norway, I found that she was reading romance novels on her mobile phone, online articles and the like, and I wanted to tell you in time, but I was afraid that you would be distracted from work, so I decided to wait." She picked up the potatoes and peeled them.
"Then I found out that she also reads similar books, comics, etc..."
"Where did those come from?" Lu Zhiqiao frowned, "I never bought it for her."
She thinks that unhealthy books can most likely get addictive and affect her daughter's studies. She absolutely did not let Lu Wei read them. For this reason, she often uses cleaning as an excuse to go to her daughter's room to look for them quietly. She was sure that there was none at home.
Qi Yan smiled helplessly: "Maybe she borrowed it from her classmates. It's normal for little girls to pass them around. It was the same way when I was studying. I even wrote one in the notebook myself."
"Does she read it in class?"
"Not in my class, but in other classes...I go on patrol occasionally, and I don't see her reading one in class." Qi Yan recalled carefully, and while talking, she had already peeled the skins of two big potatoes. She took the chopping board and kitchen knife and shredded the potatoes.
Lu Zhiqiao's brows did not relax, her face was a little ugly, she pursed her lips tightly and said nothing.
Qi Yan glanced at her sideways, knowing that she was anxious again, so she quickly comforted her: "Children her age... hiss!"
A sharp stabbing pain came from her finger, she subconsciously dropped the kitchen knife with a clang. She looked down at her hand and saw blood gushing out on her index finger, staining the unshredded potato slices with bright red spots.
At that moment, Qi Yan froze, the glaring scarlet smeared in front of her eyes, she was caught off guard and thought of a certain scene, but before she could see clearly, Lu Zhiqiao grabbed her wrist and moved closer to her, her eyebrows furrowed even deeper.
"..."
Her lips twitched, but didn't speak, she grabbed Qi Yan's hand and went out to the living room, and found normal saline and band-aids from the medicine cabinet.
Qi Yan stared at her frowning eyebrows, and the tension in her usually indifferent black eyes. For a moment, she forgot everything, and a warm current flowed through her heart. She felt both funny and helpless.
It was just a little broken skin, nothing much.
"This is just a small cut, it's okay, I'll do it myself." Qi Yan stretched out her other hand to take a cotton swab.
Lu Zhiqiao patted her hand away and said in a low voice, "Don't move!" Then she picked up a cotton swab and gently wiped off the blood on her index finger. The wound was exposed, it is not deep, but not shallow. The length is almost across the fingertips and it is still bleeding.
Qi Yan didn't dare to move anymore, the corners of her mouth couldn't help curling up.
Qiao Qiao is so fierce.
But she likes to see her fierce.
After treating Qi Yan's wound, Lu Zhiqiao tore off a band-aid to cover her index finger, and said softly, "Don't chop vegetables, leave the kitchen to me." Then, she packed up the medicine box, put it in the cabinet, got up and went back to the kitchen.
Qi Yan refused to listen. Even if she isn't doing anything, it's better to be with Lu Zhiqiao in the kitchen. She hurriedly followed in, and before Lu Zhiqiao's eyebrows frowned, she rushed over and hugged her: "I won't chop vegetables, I'll just accompany you."
She said so, but still helped. She turned on the faucet with one hand, washed the vegetables, loaded the dishes, wiped the counter and so on.
When Lu Zhiqiao was cooking, Qi Yan hugged her from behind, her soft warmth clung to her, and their scents intertwined and lingered, but Zhiqiao still kept pursing her lips, her brows and eyes were indifferent, Qi Yan was puzzled for a while, and carefully pecked the tip of her ear, she whispered, "Qiao Qiao?"
"Um?"
"Uh, what did you mean when you said you thought Niu Niu was abnormal?" Qi Yan casually brought up a topic.
It turns out that she chose the wrong topic. Lu Zhiqiao's brows, which had finally been relaxed, were distorted again, and the thin wrinkles were uncomfortable to look at. She said softly: "Nothing, I just feel that she is not as clingy to me as before, and she didn't greet me when I got home."
Her thoughts were interrupted by Qi Yan, and she lost interest.
Just now, this woman accidentally cut her hand, and bled a little. Her mind buzzed for a few seconds, and she became very nervous, and suddenly remembered the scene of being bitten by a snake in the rainforest. It seemed that they switched positions and relationships, but their moods were exactly the same, but she knew that her nervousness was nothing compared to Qi Yan's that day.
Feeling irritable, she secretly scolded Qi Yan for being so stupid that she can injure herself just by doing a simple task like cutting the vegetables.
"I thought it was something..." Qi Yan smiled briskly, and comforted her: "At her age, she's becoming more self-conscious, it's normal, little girls will grow into big girls slowly."
Lu Zhiqiao hummed in a low voice, and put half a teaspoon of salt in the dish.
She was originally talking about her daughter, but now she lost her thoughts for some reason, her head was filled with secret thoughts, she was quite sad but she couldn't think of a reason.
Does she also like Qi Yan?
As soon as the thought came, Lu Zhiqiao panicked, her arm shook, and the spatula hit the dish heavily.
Reliance and liking are two concepts, which are easily confused. If she regards her psychological dependence on Qi Yan as liking, wouldn't it be unfair to Qi Yan? That would hurt Qi Yan too.
Qi Yan was too kind to her, so good that sometimes she couldn't resist, so it turned into dependence, which was reasonable.
"What's wrong?" Qi Yan held her arm.
"I'm okay." Lu Zhiqiao smiled and changed the subject, "I'm going out this afternoon." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Qi Yan to ask, she subconsciously added: " I'm going to the orphanage with Zilong and give some things, I'll come back about four or five o'clock."
Qi Yan's arms went stiff, and a figure of a man appeared in her mind. She raised her brows and muttered, "You call him so dearly..."
She just found out.
Lu Zhiqiao thought that if she took the initiative to explain clearly, she would be able to avoid this person's nonsense. Her way of addressing someone also became a problem. She had no choice but to explain: "It's because he's a close friend so I call him that way."
"Aren't we close?" Qi Yan snorted sourly, "You still call me by my full name."
"Then what should I call you?"
She doesn't like being called Teacher Qi. Now, she doesn't like to be called by her full name. Should she just use a nickname? Lu Zhiqiao thought.
A gust of hot air abruptly fluttered by her ears, warm and seductive. Qi Yan's soft and charming voice, sounded sheepish, "Call me Yan Yan."
Lu Zhiqiao shivered and froze for a moment, her back straightened, and the spatula in her hand pressed into the dish and stopped moving. The sudden silence, the sizzling sound in the frying pan, the humming sound of the range hood, became extremely chaotic.
"Quick, say something and I'll listen, huh?" Qi Yan kissed her ear and smiled.
"Don't make trouble."
"I'm not."
Lu Zhiqiao frowned slightly, turned away her face, and said in a low voice, "I think Qi Yan sounds nice..." After speaking, she casually stir-fried the dishes a few times, and when she saw that it was almost done, she turned off the fire and went to get a plate.
Dejection flashed from Qi Yan's eyes.
In turns out, their relationship has not reached that point, and these past days, it was all her own illusion.
Qi Yan's smile froze slightly, but fortunately Lu Zhiqiao's back was facing her, so she couldn't see her expression. She quickly adjusted, pretending to be relaxed and said: "Hmph, do whatever you want."
After a nap, Lu Zhiqiao went to "Angel Island" with Wen Zilong. Qi Yan escorted her all the way downstairs to the gate of the community, and as expected, she saw the McLaren waiting outside.
Wen Zilong took the initiative to say hello to Qi Yan, but she only responded politely, grabbed Lu Zhiqiao's hand and sent her to the car, then said a little louder: "Come back early, I'll wait for you to eat at home."
Lu Zhiqiao: "..."
The man glanced at Qi Yan, and then at Lu Zhiqiao, whose ears were a little red. He seemed to understand something, and his gaze was meaningful.
….
There were a lot of gifts this time, the two stayed in the orphanage for a while, and it was almost four o'clock when they came out. On a whim, Wen Zilong proposed to have afternoon tea together.
"My friend opened up a new store, how about we visit to support it?" He has gentle eyes and a warm and steady voice.
Lu Zhiqiao hesitated a bit. Looking at the man's weathered eyes, she suddenly felt confused. Like the strange feeling when she was cooking at noon, as if she was going around in circles and looking for an exit.
"Okay, let me tell my friend." She nodded, subconsciously took out her phone, and opened WeChat.
"Teacher Qi?"
She paused with her fingertips: "Yes."
Then continued typing.
Making it clear where she is going, who she's going with, and why she is going, with a few sentences of explanation attached. This short text is the longest message she has ever sent to Qi Yan.
The moment she sent it, Lu Zhiqiao suddenly came back to her senses and froze.
Is it necessary for her to explain in such detail?
Before she could think carefully, Wen Zilong opened the car door and let her get in. She shook her head, put away her mobile phone, and sat in the passenger seat of the sports car...
The store is located on a commercial street, with noisy surroundings, but was very quiet inside. The decoration style is literary and retro. It is divided into two floors, and there are fewer people on the first floor. Wen Zilong made a phone call before going in. The two of them had just stepped through the door when they saw a man in his early thirties who looked like an artist with pigtails, greeting him warmly. She guessed he was the store owner.
"Brother Long, your girlfriend?" The other party winked.
Lu Zhiqiao was about to open her mouth to deny it, but Wen Zilong shook his head for a second, with a slightly serious expression: "No, just a friend, don't make jokes."
"Okay, okay, I'm really sorry."
The boss put his palms together and apologized to Lu Zhiqiao, she smiled and said it was okay.
Because they were friends, Wen Zilong let her do whatever she wanted, and led Lu Zhiqiao to the private room on the second floor with ease, ordered for her, and sat down quietly. No one spoke, Lu Zhiqiao's eyes wandered, but Wen Zilong was watching her. It was not until the waiter brought coffee and snacks in front of the two that the latter broke the silence.
"You're in love."
In an affirmative tone.
Lu Zhiqiao came back to her senses, met his insightful eyes, her slender eyelashes trembled, and her lips twitched: "Why do you say that?"
"It feels like your eyes are richer, fuller, and... more gentle than before." He smiled.
The first thing that came to mind was Qi Yan.
Lu Zhiqiao panicked for a moment, with an unnatural expression on her face, she denied it: "No. You know I'm very busy, so I don't have time to fall in love."
"You're in the period of confusion."
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Yes."
"The serious kind."
"Very serious."
"..."
People were coming and going outside the transparent glass window, and there was a lot of traffic. Lu Zhiqiao looked away and landed on a certain point without focus. She didn't know what she was looking at.
An unidentifiable song is playing in the speaker, like French, German, or maybe a language of a small country. The soft female voice is very full, sometimes low, presenting the imagination of a blue sky and the sea.
The sea is vast, just like her endless worries.
Wen Zilong looked at her quietly, with a gentle smile on the corner of his mouth all the time, it was like this for everyone, it never changed, his whole body was as gentle as a spring breeze, unhurried.
"I--"
Lu Zhiqiao opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat again. She turned her gaze back, stirred the coffee in her cup with her head down, and seemed to be talking to herself: "What is it like to like someone? Or... what will become of it?"
"The answer is simple."
"Um?"
Lu Zhiqiao stopped holding the small silver spoon, raised her head, and saw Wen Zilong pick up her mobile phone, and turned the screen to face her: "It's how you look like now."
Their location is near the window, the light is very strong, and the large mobile phone screen is like a mirror, clearly reflecting Lu Zhiqiao's face.
Her face has soft contours, well-drawn lines, a smooth and full forehead, slightly raised eyebrows, eyes like apricot stones, a tearful mole, a beautiful nose with a bit of sharp edge, and plump lips, her face full, looking like a kind and gentle person.
Lu Zhiqiao had never observed her face so carefully before.
In the past, her eyes were as pale as water, clear and cold, but now they are more lively, as if shedding skin, peeling off the cold temperament, revealing the original appearance inside.
She has really changed.
….
At five o'clock in the evening, Lu Zhiqiao returned to the complex.
Her long and slender shadow stretched under her feet, and the sky was full of golden and red rays of light behind her. She thought about it and thought the scenery was beautiful, so she took out her mobile phone to take a picture and looked at it carefully.
Remembering that she had a package to pick up, she put away her phone and walked towards the post station.
There are several small tricycles at the gate of the post station, and it is the last hour to pick up the package. Lu Zhiqiao silently recalled the pick-up code in her heart, and when she entered, she saw Qi Yan standing at the table, bending over, filling out a delivery form.
On hand is an ID card.
Lu Zhiqiao reported her pick-up code, then took a step forward, Qi Yan was taken aback when she turned around following the voice, and raised her brows: "You're back?"
"What are you sending?" She asked without answering.
Inadvertently glanced at the ID card in Qi Yan's hand, seeing the date of birth, she was stunned.
May 7, 1991...
Same day as Niu Niu.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
After teaching for more than three years, Qi Yan has never encountered anything disgusting, and she still thought so two days ago. But reality slapped her hard.
On the day she was called to talk by the principal, Qi Yan promised against her will in the office that she would keep her mouth shut, not to tell anyone about it, and even forget her identity as a witness. The same goes for Yang Qing, the girl didn't sleep all night and was going to see a psychiatrist.
At the same time, the parents of the students who jumped from the building came in with an old man desperately crying and shouting at the school gate, holding up a banner. The old man sat on the ground, the security guards only dared to reprimand and threaten him, but did not dare to touch him.
Then later...
The parents made a fuss at the school gate for a day, and were invited into the principal's office, and they stopped making trouble the next day. The class teachers strictly forbade the students in their own classes to discuss the matter, and the reporters who wanted to interview were always stopped outside the door. At first, the outside world had different opinions, but finally came with a unified conclusion: the girl could not bear the pressure of studying and committed suicide.
There are a lot of voices on the Internet saying "the children of today are fragile and hypocritical".
In less than three days, the matter was handled cleanly, and the insignificant splash soon calmed down. Life remained the same, and the teaching order remained the same.
Both High School and Junior High School
It's just that the mathematics teacher in Class 2 and Class 7 suddenly changed, and Xu Shoukui was no longer seen in the campus. She didn't know what happened or where he was going, and there was no teacher in the office to talk about it, as if it had never happened.
Sometimes, Qi Yan thought that what she saw that day was a hallucination.
Did a student really jump off the building?
Did she really die in front of her?
Those resentful eyes, the bright red blood all over the ground, could it be her mental disorder, a memory picked out from a horror movie?
That day when Qi Yan went back to her parents' house, Ms. Lin asked what was going on. She looked at her mother's worried face and nervous expression, and suddenly wished to hear some more nagging that bored her. She moved her lips, showed the best acting skills in her life, and smiled brightly.
"Mom, it's okay. Children are under a lot of pressure in their studies, don't think about it."
Ms. Lin's well-maintained daffodil-like face wrinkled into bun folds, and she turned on the nagging mode:
"Nowadays, children are all treasures. They can't be touched. They are pampered and spoiled. They will be under pressure when they grow up, they will have to compete for high school and college entrance examinations. In the far future, they will have to join the society, and there will be a lot of suffering. Will they jump off a building at every turn?"
"Mom, didn't I also get spoiled?" Qi Yan said with a smile.
Ms. Lin frowned and waved her hand: "What your father and I gave you is respect, can it be the same as those parents who only spoil?"
"..."
"Your dad and I never quarreled in front of you. No matter how annoying things were outside, we never went home to vent our anger. When we had no money, we never emphasized that we were poor in front of you, and we never asked you to remember how good we are and you owe us. Let me ask you, which few parents can do this?"
As Ms. Lin spoke, her tone couldn't help being narcissistic, she pursed her lips, and was a little unhappy because she was misunderstood by her daughter and felt wronged.
"Those psychologically fragile children are usually spoiled. Let me use an analogy, like a canary in a cage. It looks very precious. It eats and drinks, but in fact it is tightly tied. Everywhere is suffocating..."
Makes sense.
Qi Yan nodded thoughtfully, smiled and hugged her dear old mother. But Ms. Lin didn't give up, she must seize the opportunity to make a move.
"Is the homeroom teacher of the student who jumped off the building okay? Oh, it's really bad luck to have such a thing happen. I saw online that it was caused by the homeroom teacher, some are saying that the student was scolded by the math teacher. The math teacher is also bad luck."
"Yan Yan, be careful. You can take care of the children in your class. But if you can't control of them, let them be. They are not our own children. Protect yourself, understand? Things happen every day, as long as you stay there, Mom will worry to death."
Ms. Lin hugged and kissed her daughter. Tuanzi became unhappy, stretched out a paw to grab her arm, and meowed twice.
It was ignored.
Qi Yan patted Ms. Lin's shoulder comfortingly, with a stiff smile: "I know, I will pay more attention."
In the past, she was most annoyed to hear her old mother say these things, three sentences could be worth ten sentences, but now she couldn't think of any words to refute. She was a little tired, her brain hadn't recovered yet, and the fiery temperature in her heart had dropped a little, and she couldn't exert any strength.
She thought she should learn to be a deaf-mute.
Qi Yan asked the school for a week off and rested at home.
She lives in 901 and sleeps with Lu Zhiqiao at night. She thinks she is honest and behaved, but every morning when she wakes up, either she is in Lu Zhiqiao's arms, or Lu Zhiqiao is in her arms. Their hairs would be entangled, their breaths mixed, they became each other's pillows, and they adapted very well.
Lu Zhiqiao is busy with work and cannot be with her all the time, but she tries to get off work on time every day, and occasionally the two of them buy vegetables and cook together then pick up their daughter from school.
Just like a happy family of three.
Warmth and companionship are good medicines to heal the trauma in her heart. Qi Yan obviously feels that she is in a much better state. When she closes her eyes, she will no longer think of those scenes.
Weekend morning, Lu Zhiqiao had to work overtime, and Qi Yan stayed at home with her "daughter", cleaned up, and then went shopping. At about eleven o'clock, Lu Zhiqiao came back, and the two of them cooked together.
"I always feel that Niu Niu is a bit abnormal recently."
She put on the newly bought apron and glanced at the second bedroom, the door was always closed.
Qi Yan paused, walked around behind her, lowered her head and tied the belt for her, hesitated for a while and said, "Actually, I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but...it's not too serious, I haven't thought about how to tell you, who knew I'd ran into…"
A hand covered her mouth.
Lu Zhiqiao frowned, and lightly reprimanded: "Don't think about it."
With warm palms and thin soft lips pressed together, Qi Yan subconsciously pouted and kissed secretly, Lu Zhiqiao immediately let go of her hand and gave her a sidelong glance. She grabbed that hand back and covered it again, and smiled obediently: "I didn't, I already forgot."
"Is there something wrong with Niu Niu at school?" Lu Zhiqiao turned her face away and arranged the ingredients with one hand.
Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Qi Yan let go, "The last time you were on a business trip to Norway, I found that she was reading romance novels on her mobile phone, online articles and the like, and I wanted to tell you in time, but I was afraid that you would be distracted from work, so I decided to wait." She picked up the potatoes and peeled them.
"Then I found out that she also reads similar books, comics, etc..."
"Where did those come from?" Lu Zhiqiao frowned, "I never bought it for her."
She thinks that unhealthy books can most likely get addictive and affect her daughter's studies. She absolutely did not let Lu Wei read them. For this reason, she often uses cleaning as an excuse to go to her daughter's room to look for them quietly. She was sure that there was none at home.
Qi Yan smiled helplessly: "Maybe she borrowed it from her classmates. It's normal for little girls to pass them around. It was the same way when I was studying. I even wrote one in the notebook myself."
"Does she read it in class?"
"Not in my class, but in other classes...I go on patrol occasionally, and I don't see her reading one in class." Qi Yan recalled carefully, and while talking, she had already peeled the skins of two big potatoes. She took the chopping board and kitchen knife and shredded the potatoes.
Lu Zhiqiao's brows did not relax, her face was a little ugly, she pursed her lips tightly and said nothing.
Qi Yan glanced at her sideways, knowing that she was anxious again, so she quickly comforted her: "Children her age... hiss!"
A sharp stabbing pain came from her finger, she subconsciously dropped the kitchen knife with a clang. She looked down at her hand and saw blood gushing out on her index finger, staining the unshredded potato slices with bright red spots.
At that moment, Qi Yan froze, the glaring scarlet smeared in front of her eyes, she was caught off guard and thought of a certain scene, but before she could see clearly, Lu Zhiqiao grabbed her wrist and moved closer to her, her eyebrows furrowed even deeper.
"..."
Her lips twitched, but didn't speak, she grabbed Qi Yan's hand and went out to the living room, and found normal saline and band-aids from the medicine cabinet.
Qi Yan stared at her frowning eyebrows, and the tension in her usually indifferent black eyes. For a moment, she forgot everything, and a warm current flowed through her heart. She felt both funny and helpless.
It was just a little broken skin, nothing much.
"This is just a small cut, it's okay, I'll do it myself." Qi Yan stretched out her other hand to take a cotton swab.
Lu Zhiqiao patted her hand away and said in a low voice, "Don't move!" Then she picked up a cotton swab and gently wiped off the blood on her index finger. The wound was exposed, it is not deep, but not shallow. The length is almost across the fingertips and it is still bleeding.
Qi Yan didn't dare to move anymore, the corners of her mouth couldn't help curling up.
Qiao Qiao is so fierce.
But she likes to see her fierce.
After treating Qi Yan's wound, Lu Zhiqiao tore off a band-aid to cover her index finger, and said softly, "Don't chop vegetables, leave the kitchen to me." Then, she packed up the medicine box, put it in the cabinet, got up and went back to the kitchen.
Qi Yan refused to listen. Even if she isn't doing anything, it's better to be with Lu Zhiqiao in the kitchen. She hurriedly followed in, and before Lu Zhiqiao's eyebrows frowned, she rushed over and hugged her: "I won't chop vegetables, I'll just accompany you."
She said so, but still helped. She turned on the faucet with one hand, washed the vegetables, loaded the dishes, wiped the counter and so on.
When Lu Zhiqiao was cooking, Qi Yan hugged her from behind, her soft warmth clung to her, and their scents intertwined and lingered, but Zhiqiao still kept pursing her lips, her brows and eyes were indifferent, Qi Yan was puzzled for a while, and carefully pecked the tip of her ear, she whispered, "Qiao Qiao?"
"Um?"
"Uh, what did you mean when you said you thought Niu Niu was abnormal?" Qi Yan casually brought up a topic.
It turns out that she chose the wrong topic. Lu Zhiqiao's brows, which had finally been relaxed, were distorted again, and the thin wrinkles were uncomfortable to look at. She said softly: "Nothing, I just feel that she is not as clingy to me as before, and she didn't greet me when I got home."
Her thoughts were interrupted by Qi Yan, and she lost interest.
Just now, this woman accidentally cut her hand, and bled a little. Her mind buzzed for a few seconds, and she became very nervous, and suddenly remembered the scene of being bitten by a snake in the rainforest. It seemed that they switched positions and relationships, but their moods were exactly the same, but she knew that her nervousness was nothing compared to Qi Yan's that day.
Feeling irritable, she secretly scolded Qi Yan for being so stupid that she can injure herself just by doing a simple task like cutting the vegetables.
"I thought it was something..." Qi Yan smiled briskly, and comforted her: "At her age, she's becoming more self-conscious, it's normal, little girls will grow into big girls slowly."
Lu Zhiqiao hummed in a low voice, and put half a teaspoon of salt in the dish.
She was originally talking about her daughter, but now she lost her thoughts for some reason, her head was filled with secret thoughts, she was quite sad but she couldn't think of a reason.
Does she also like Qi Yan?
As soon as the thought came, Lu Zhiqiao panicked, her arm shook, and the spatula hit the dish heavily.
Reliance and liking are two concepts, which are easily confused. If she regards her psychological dependence on Qi Yan as liking, wouldn't it be unfair to Qi Yan? That would hurt Qi Yan too.
Qi Yan was too kind to her, so good that sometimes she couldn't resist, so it turned into dependence, which was reasonable.
"What's wrong?" Qi Yan held her arm.
"I'm okay." Lu Zhiqiao smiled and changed the subject, "I'm going out this afternoon." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Qi Yan to ask, she subconsciously added: " I'm going to the orphanage with Zilong and give some things, I'll come back about four or five o'clock."
Qi Yan's arms went stiff, and a figure of a man appeared in her mind. She raised her brows and muttered, "You call him so dearly..."
She just found out.
Lu Zhiqiao thought that if she took the initiative to explain clearly, she would be able to avoid this person's nonsense. Her way of addressing someone also became a problem. She had no choice but to explain: "It's because he's a close friend so I call him that way."
"Aren't we close?" Qi Yan snorted sourly, "You still call me by my full name."
"Then what should I call you?"
She doesn't like being called Teacher Qi. Now, she doesn't like to be called by her full name. Should she just use a nickname? Lu Zhiqiao thought.
A gust of hot air abruptly fluttered by her ears, warm and seductive. Qi Yan's soft and charming voice, sounded sheepish, "Call me Yan Yan."
Lu Zhiqiao shivered and froze for a moment, her back straightened, and the spatula in her hand pressed into the dish and stopped moving. The sudden silence, the sizzling sound in the frying pan, the humming sound of the range hood, became extremely chaotic.
"Quick, say something and I'll listen, huh?" Qi Yan kissed her ear and smiled.
"Don't make trouble."
"I'm not."
Lu Zhiqiao frowned slightly, turned away her face, and said in a low voice, "I think Qi Yan sounds nice..." After speaking, she casually stir-fried the dishes a few times, and when she saw that it was almost done, she turned off the fire and went to get a plate.
Dejection flashed from Qi Yan's eyes.
In turns out, their relationship has not reached that point, and these past days, it was all her own illusion.
Qi Yan's smile froze slightly, but fortunately Lu Zhiqiao's back was facing her, so she couldn't see her expression. She quickly adjusted, pretending to be relaxed and said: "Hmph, do whatever you want."
After a nap, Lu Zhiqiao went to "Angel Island" with Wen Zilong. Qi Yan escorted her all the way downstairs to the gate of the community, and as expected, she saw the McLaren waiting outside.
Wen Zilong took the initiative to say hello to Qi Yan, but she only responded politely, grabbed Lu Zhiqiao's hand and sent her to the car, then said a little louder: "Come back early, I'll wait for you to eat at home."
Lu Zhiqiao: "..."
The man glanced at Qi Yan, and then at Lu Zhiqiao, whose ears were a little red. He seemed to understand something, and his gaze was meaningful.
….
There were a lot of gifts this time, the two stayed in the orphanage for a while, and it was almost four o'clock when they came out. On a whim, Wen Zilong proposed to have afternoon tea together.
"My friend opened up a new store, how about we visit to support it?" He has gentle eyes and a warm and steady voice.
Lu Zhiqiao hesitated a bit. Looking at the man's weathered eyes, she suddenly felt confused. Like the strange feeling when she was cooking at noon, as if she was going around in circles and looking for an exit.
"Okay, let me tell my friend." She nodded, subconsciously took out her phone, and opened WeChat.
"Teacher Qi?"
She paused with her fingertips: "Yes."
Then continued typing.
Making it clear where she is going, who she's going with, and why she is going, with a few sentences of explanation attached. This short text is the longest message she has ever sent to Qi Yan.
The moment she sent it, Lu Zhiqiao suddenly came back to her senses and froze.
Is it necessary for her to explain in such detail?
Before she could think carefully, Wen Zilong opened the car door and let her get in. She shook her head, put away her mobile phone, and sat in the passenger seat of the sports car...
The store is located on a commercial street, with noisy surroundings, but was very quiet inside. The decoration style is literary and retro. It is divided into two floors, and there are fewer people on the first floor. Wen Zilong made a phone call before going in. The two of them had just stepped through the door when they saw a man in his early thirties who looked like an artist with pigtails, greeting him warmly. She guessed he was the store owner.
"Brother Long, your girlfriend?" The other party winked.
Lu Zhiqiao was about to open her mouth to deny it, but Wen Zilong shook his head for a second, with a slightly serious expression: "No, just a friend, don't make jokes."
"Okay, okay, I'm really sorry."
The boss put his palms together and apologized to Lu Zhiqiao, she smiled and said it was okay.
Because they were friends, Wen Zilong let her do whatever she wanted, and led Lu Zhiqiao to the private room on the second floor with ease, ordered for her, and sat down quietly. No one spoke, Lu Zhiqiao's eyes wandered, but Wen Zilong was watching her. It was not until the waiter brought coffee and snacks in front of the two that the latter broke the silence.
"You're in love."
In an affirmative tone.
Lu Zhiqiao came back to her senses, met his insightful eyes, her slender eyelashes trembled, and her lips twitched: "Why do you say that?"
"It feels like your eyes are richer, fuller, and... more gentle than before." He smiled.
The first thing that came to mind was Qi Yan.
Lu Zhiqiao panicked for a moment, with an unnatural expression on her face, she denied it: "No. You know I'm very busy, so I don't have time to fall in love."
"You're in the period of confusion."
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Yes."
"The serious kind."
"Very serious."
"..."
People were coming and going outside the transparent glass window, and there was a lot of traffic. Lu Zhiqiao looked away and landed on a certain point without focus. She didn't know what she was looking at.
An unidentifiable song is playing in the speaker, like French, German, or maybe a language of a small country. The soft female voice is very full, sometimes low, presenting the imagination of a blue sky and the sea.
The sea is vast, just like her endless worries.
Wen Zilong looked at her quietly, with a gentle smile on the corner of his mouth all the time, it was like this for everyone, it never changed, his whole body was as gentle as a spring breeze, unhurried.
"I--"
Lu Zhiqiao opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat again. She turned her gaze back, stirred the coffee in her cup with her head down, and seemed to be talking to herself: "What is it like to like someone? Or... what will become of it?"
"The answer is simple."
"Um?"
Lu Zhiqiao stopped holding the small silver spoon, raised her head, and saw Wen Zilong pick up her mobile phone, and turned the screen to face her: "It's how you look like now."
Their location is near the window, the light is very strong, and the large mobile phone screen is like a mirror, clearly reflecting Lu Zhiqiao's face.
Her face has soft contours, well-drawn lines, a smooth and full forehead, slightly raised eyebrows, eyes like apricot stones, a tearful mole, a beautiful nose with a bit of sharp edge, and plump lips, her face full, looking like a kind and gentle person.
Lu Zhiqiao had never observed her face so carefully before.
In the past, her eyes were as pale as water, clear and cold, but now they are more lively, as if shedding skin, peeling off the cold temperament, revealing the original appearance inside.
She has really changed.
….
At five o'clock in the evening, Lu Zhiqiao returned to the complex.
Her long and slender shadow stretched under her feet, and the sky was full of golden and red rays of light behind her. She thought about it and thought the scenery was beautiful, so she took out her mobile phone to take a picture and looked at it carefully.
Remembering that she had a package to pick up, she put away her phone and walked towards the post station.
There are several small tricycles at the gate of the post station, and it is the last hour to pick up the package. Lu Zhiqiao silently recalled the pick-up code in her heart, and when she entered, she saw Qi Yan standing at the table, bending over, filling out a delivery form.
On hand is an ID card.
Lu Zhiqiao reported her pick-up code, then took a step forward, Qi Yan was taken aback when she turned around following the voice, and raised her brows: "You're back?"
"What are you sending?" She asked without answering.
Inadvertently glanced at the ID card in Qi Yan's hand, seeing the date of birth, she was stunned.
May 7, 1991...
Same day as Niu Niu.
After teaching for more than three years, Qi Yan has never encountered anything disgusting, and she still thought so two days ago. But reality slapped her hard.On the day she was called to talk by the principal, Qi Yan promised against her will in the office that she would keep her mouth shut, not to tell anyone about it, and even forget her identity as a witness. The same goes for Yang Qing, the girl didn't sleep all night and was going to see a psychiatrist.At the same time, the parents of the students who jumped from the building came in with an old man desperately crying and shouting at the school gate, holding up a banner. The old man sat on the ground, the security guards only dared to reprimand and threaten him, but did not dare to touch him.Then later...The parents made a fuss at the school gate for a day, and were invited into the principal's office, and they stopped making trouble the next day. The class teachers strictly forbade the students in their own classes to discuss the matter, and the reporters who wanted to interview were always stopped outside the door. At first, the outside world had different opinions, but finally came with a unified conclusion: the girl could not bear the pressure of studying and committed suicide.There are a lot of voices on the Internet saying "the children of today are fragile and hypocritical".In less than three days, the matter was handled cleanly, and the insignificant splash soon calmed down. Life remained the same, and the teaching order remained the same.Both High School and Junior High SchoolIt's just that the mathematics teacher in Class 2 and Class 7 suddenly changed, and Xu Shoukui was no longer seen in the campus. She didn't know what happened or where he was going, and there was no teacher in the office to talk about it, as if it had never happened.Sometimes, Qi Yan thought that what she saw that day was a hallucination.Did a student really jump off the building?Did she really die in front of her?Those resentful eyes, the bright red blood all over the ground, could it be her mental disorder, a memory picked out from a horror movie?That day when Qi Yan went back to her parents' house, Ms. Lin asked what was going on. She looked at her mother's worried face and nervous expression, and suddenly wished to hear some more nagging that bored her. She moved her lips, showed the best acting skills in her life, and smiled brightly."Mom, it's okay. Children are under a lot of pressure in their studies, don't think about it."Ms. Lin's well-maintained daffodil-like face wrinkled into bun folds, and she turned on the nagging mode:"Nowadays, children are all treasures. They can't be touched. They are pampered and spoiled. They will be under pressure when they grow up, they will have to compete for high school and college entrance examinations. In the far future, they will have to join the society, and there will be a lot of suffering. Will they jump off a building at every turn?""Mom, didn't I also get spoiled?" Qi Yan said with a smile.Ms. Lin frowned and waved her hand: "What your father and I gave you is respect, can it be the same as those parents who only spoil?""...""Your dad and I never quarreled in front of you. No matter how annoying things were outside, we never went home to vent our anger. When we had no money, we never emphasized that we were poor in front of you, and we never asked you to remember how good we are and you owe us. Let me ask you, which few parents can do this?"As Ms. Lin spoke, her tone couldn't help being narcissistic, she pursed her lips, and was a little unhappy because she was misunderstood by her daughter and felt wronged."Those psychologically fragile children are usually spoiled. Let me use an analogy, like a canary in a cage. It looks very precious. It eats and drinks, but in fact it is tightly tied. Everywhere is suffocating..."Makes sense.Qi Yan nodded thoughtfully, smiled and hugged her dear old mother. But Ms. Lin didn't give up, she must seize the opportunity to make a move."Is the homeroom teacher of the student who jumped off the building okay? Oh, it's really bad luck to have such a thing happen. I saw online that it was caused by the homeroom teacher, some are saying that the student was scolded by the math teacher. The math teacher is also bad luck.""Yan Yan, be careful. You can take care of the children in your class. But if you can't control of them, let them be. They are not our own children. Protect yourself, understand? Things happen every day, as long as you stay there, Mom will worry to death."Ms. Lin hugged and kissed her daughter. Tuanzi became unhappy, stretched out a paw to grab her arm, and meowed twice.It was ignored.Qi Yan patted Ms. Lin's shoulder comfortingly, with a stiff smile: "I know, I will pay more attention."In the past, she was most annoyed to hear her old mother say these things, three sentences could be worth ten sentences, but now she couldn't think of any words to refute. She was a little tired, her brain hadn't recovered yet, and the fiery temperature in her heart had dropped a little, and she couldn't exert any strength.She thought she should learn to be a deaf-mute.Qi Yan asked the school for a week off and rested at home.She lives in 901 and sleeps with Lu Zhiqiao at night. She thinks she is honest and behaved, but every morning when she wakes up, either she is in Lu Zhiqiao's arms, or Lu Zhiqiao is in her arms. Their hairs would be entangled, their breaths mixed, they became each other's pillows, and they adapted very well.Lu Zhiqiao is busy with work and cannot be with her all the time, but she tries to get off work on time every day, and occasionally the two of them buy vegetables and cook together then pick up their daughter from school.Just like a happy family of three.Warmth and companionship are good medicines to heal the trauma in her heart. Qi Yan obviously feels that she is in a much better state. When she closes her eyes, she will no longer think of those scenes.Weekend morning, Lu Zhiqiao had to work overtime, and Qi Yan stayed at home with her "daughter", cleaned up, and then went shopping. At about eleven o'clock, Lu Zhiqiao came back, and the two of them cooked together."I always feel that Niu Niu is a bit abnormal recently."She put on the newly bought apron and glanced at the second bedroom, the door was always closed.Qi Yan paused, walked around behind her, lowered her head and tied the belt for her, hesitated for a while and said, "Actually, I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but...it's not too serious, I haven't thought about how to tell you, who knew I'd ran into"A hand covered her mouth.Lu Zhiqiao frowned, and lightly reprimanded: "Don't think about it."With warm palms and thin soft lips pressed together, Qi Yan subconsciously pouted and kissed secretly, Lu Zhiqiao immediately let go of her hand and gave her a sidelong glance. She grabbed that hand back and covered it again, and smiled obediently: "I didn't, I already forgot.""Is there something wrong with Niu Niu at school?" Lu Zhiqiao turned her face away and arranged the ingredients with one hand.Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Qi Yan let go, "The last time you were on a business trip to Norway, I found that she was reading romance novels on her mobile phone, online articles and the like, and I wanted to tell you in time, but I was afraid that you would be distracted from work, so I decided to wait." She picked up the potatoes and peeled them."Then I found out that she also reads similar books, comics, etc...""Where did those come from?" Lu Zhiqiao frowned, "I never bought it for her."She thinks that unhealthy books can most likely get addictive and affect her daughter's studies. She absolutely did not let Lu Wei read them. For this reason, she often uses cleaning as an excuse to go to her daughter's room to look for them quietly. She was sure that there was none at home.Qi Yan smiled helplessly: "Maybe she borrowed it from her classmates. It's normal for little girls to pass them around. It was the same way when I was studying. I even wrote one in the notebook myself.""Does she read it in class?""Not in my class, but in other classes...I go on patrol occasionally, and I don't see her reading one in class." Qi Yan recalled carefully, and while talking, she had already peeled the skins of two big potatoes. She took the chopping board and kitchen knife and shredded the potatoes.Lu Zhiqiao's brows did not relax, her face was a little ugly, she pursed her lips tightly and said nothing.Qi Yan glanced at her sideways, knowing that she was anxious again, so she quickly comforted her: "Children her age... hiss!"A sharp stabbing pain came from her finger, she subconsciously dropped the kitchen knife with a clang. She looked down at her hand and saw blood gushing out on her index finger, staining the unshredded potato slices with bright red spots.At that moment, Qi Yan froze, the glaring scarlet smeared in front of her eyes, she was caught off guard and thought of a certain scene, but before she could see clearly, Lu Zhiqiao grabbed her wrist and moved closer to her, her eyebrows furrowed even deeper."..."Her lips twitched, but didn't speak, she grabbed Qi Yan's hand and went out to the living room, and found normal saline and band-aids from the medicine cabinet.Qi Yan stared at her frowning eyebrows, and the tension in her usually indifferent black eyes. For a moment, she forgot everything, and a warm current flowed through her heart. She felt both funny and helpless.It was just a little broken skin, nothing much."This is just a small cut, it's okay, I'll do it myself." Qi Yan stretched out her other hand to take a cotton swab.Lu Zhiqiao patted her hand away and said in a low voice, "Don't move!" Then she picked up a cotton swab and gently wiped off the blood on her index finger. The wound was exposed, it is not deep, but not shallow. The length is almost across the fingertips and it is still bleeding.Qi Yan didn't dare to move anymore, the corners of her mouth couldn't help curling up.Qiao Qiao is so fierce.But she likes to see her fierce.After treating Qi Yan's wound, Lu Zhiqiao tore off a band-aid to cover her index finger, and said softly, "Don't chop vegetables, leave the kitchen to me." Then, she packed up the medicine box, put it in the cabinet, got up and went back to the kitchen.Qi Yan refused to listen. Even if she isn't doing anything, it's better to be with Lu Zhiqiao in the kitchen. She hurriedly followed in, and before Lu Zhiqiao's eyebrows frowned, she rushed over and hugged her: "I won't chop vegetables, I'll just accompany you."She said so, but still helped. She turned on the faucet with one hand, washed the vegetables, loaded the dishes, wiped the counter and so on.When Lu Zhiqiao was cooking, Qi Yan hugged her from behind, her soft warmth clung to her, and their scents intertwined and lingered, but Zhiqiao still kept pursing her lips, her brows and eyes were indifferent, Qi Yan was puzzled for a while, and carefully pecked the tip of her ear, she whispered, "Qiao Qiao?""Um?""Uh, what did you mean when you said you thought Niu Niu was abnormal?" Qi Yan casually brought up a topic.It turns out that she chose the wrong topic. Lu Zhiqiao's brows, which had finally been relaxed, were distorted again, and the thin wrinkles were uncomfortable to look at. She said softly: "Nothing, I just feel that she is not as clingy to me as before, and she didn't greet me when I got home."Her thoughts were interrupted by Qi Yan, and she lost interest.Just now, this woman accidentally cut her hand, and bled a little. Her mind buzzed for a few seconds, and she became very nervous, and suddenly remembered the scene of being bitten by a snake in the rainforest. It seemed that they switched positions and relationships, but their moods were exactly the same, but she knew that her nervousness was nothing compared to Qi Yan's that day.Feeling irritable, she secretly scolded Qi Yan for being so stupid that she can injure herself just by doing a simple task like cutting the vegetables."I thought it was something..." Qi Yan smiled briskly, and comforted her: "At her age, she's becoming more self-conscious, it's normal, little girls will grow into big girls slowly."Lu Zhiqiao hummed in a low voice, and put half a teaspoon of salt in the dish.She was originally talking about her daughter, but now she lost her thoughts for some reason, her head was filled with secret thoughts, she was quite sad but she couldn't think of a reason.Does she also like Qi Yan?As soon as the thought came, Lu Zhiqiao panicked, her arm shook, and the spatula hit the dish heavily.Reliance and liking are two concepts, which are easily confused. If she regards her psychological dependence on Qi Yan as liking, wouldn't it be unfair to Qi Yan? That would hurt Qi Yan too.Qi Yan was too kind to her, so good that sometimes she couldn't resist, so it turned into dependence, which was reasonable."What's wrong?" Qi Yan held her arm."I'm okay." Lu Zhiqiao smiled and changed the subject, "I'm going out this afternoon." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Qi Yan to ask, she subconsciously added: " I'm going to the orphanage with Zilong and give some things, I'll come back about four or five o'clock."Qi Yan's arms went stiff, and a figure of a man appeared in her mind. She raised her brows and muttered, "You call him so dearly..."She just found out.Lu Zhiqiao thought that if she took the initiative to explain clearly, she would be able to avoid this person's nonsense. Her way of addressing someone also became a problem. She had no choice but to explain: "It's because he's a close friend so I call him that way.""Aren't we close?" Qi Yan snorted sourly, "You still call me by my full name.""Then what should I call you?"She doesn't like being called Teacher Qi. Now, she doesn't like to be called by her full name. Should she just use a nickname? Lu Zhiqiao thought.A gust of hot air abruptly fluttered by her ears, warm and seductive. Qi Yan's soft and charming voice, sounded sheepish, "Call me Yan Yan."Lu Zhiqiao shivered and froze for a moment, her back straightened, and the spatula in her hand pressed into the dish and stopped moving. The sudden silence, the sizzling sound in the frying pan, the humming sound of the range hood, became extremely chaotic."Quick, say something and I'll listen, huh?" Qi Yan kissed her ear and smiled."Don't make trouble.""I'm not."Lu Zhiqiao frowned slightly, turned away her face, and said in a low voice, "I think Qi Yan sounds nice..." After speaking, she casually stir-fried the dishes a few times, and when she saw that it was almost done, she turned off the fire and went to get a plate.Dejection flashed from Qi Yan's eyes.In turns out, their relationship has not reached that point, and these past days, it was all her own illusion.Qi Yan's smile froze slightly, but fortunately Lu Zhiqiao's back was facing her, so she couldn't see her expression. She quickly adjusted, pretending to be relaxed and said: "Hmph, do whatever you want."After a nap, Lu Zhiqiao went to "Angel Island" with Wen Zilong. Qi Yan escorted her all the way downstairs to the gate of the community, and as expected, she saw the McLaren waiting outside.Wen Zilong took the initiative to say hello to Qi Yan, but she only responded politely, grabbed Lu Zhiqiao's hand and sent her to the car, then said a little louder: "Come back early, I'll wait for you to eat at home."Lu Zhiqiao: "..."The man glanced at Qi Yan, and then at Lu Zhiqiao, whose ears were a little red. He seemed to understand something, and his gaze was meaningful..There were a lot of gifts this time, the two stayed in the orphanage for a while, and it was almost four o'clock when they came out. On a whim, Wen Zilong proposed to have afternoon tea together."My friend opened up a new store, how about we visit to support it?" He has gentle eyes and a warm and steady voice.Lu Zhiqiao hesitated a bit. Looking at the man's weathered eyes, she suddenly felt confused. Like the strange feeling when she was cooking at noon, as if she was going around in circles and looking for an exit."Okay, let me tell my friend." She nodded, subconsciously took out her phone, and opened WeChat."Teacher Qi?"She paused with her fingertips: "Yes."Then continued typing.Making it clear where she is going, who she's going with, and why she is going, with a few sentences of explanation attached. This short text is the longest message she has ever sent to Qi Yan.The moment she sent it, Lu Zhiqiao suddenly came back to her senses and froze.Is it necessary for her to explain in such detail?Before she could think carefully, Wen Zilong opened the car door and let her get in. She shook her head, put away her mobile phone, and sat in the passenger seat of the sports car...The store is located on a commercial street, with noisy surroundings, but was very quiet inside. The decoration style is literary and retro. It is divided into two floors, and there are fewer people on the first floor. Wen Zilong made a phone call before going in. The two of them had just stepped through the door when they saw a man in his early thirties who looked like an artist with pigtails, greeting him warmly. She guessed he was the store owner."Brother Long, your girlfriend?" The other party winked.Lu Zhiqiao was about to open her mouth to deny it, but Wen Zilong shook his head for a second, with a slightly serious expression: "No, just a friend, don't make jokes.""Okay, okay, I'm really sorry."The boss put his palms together and apologized to Lu Zhiqiao, she smiled and said it was okay.Because they were friends, Wen Zilong let her do whatever she wanted, and led Lu Zhiqiao to the private room on the second floor with ease, ordered for her, and sat down quietly. No one spoke, Lu Zhiqiao's eyes wandered, but Wen Zilong was watching her. It was not until the waiter brought coffee and snacks in front of the two that the latter broke the silence."You're in love."In an affirmative tone.Lu Zhiqiao came back to her senses, met his insightful eyes, her slender eyelashes trembled, and her lips twitched: "Why do you say that?""It feels like your eyes are richer, fuller, and... more gentle than before." He smiled.The first thing that came to mind was Qi Yan.Lu Zhiqiao panicked for a moment, with an unnatural expression on her face, she denied it: "No. You know I'm very busy, so I don't have time to fall in love.""You're in the period of confusion.""Have you ever been in love?""Yes.""The serious kind.""Very serious.""..."People were coming and going outside the transparent glass window, and there was a lot of traffic. Lu Zhiqiao looked away and landed on a certain point without focus. She didn't know what she was looking at.An unidentifiable song is playing in the speaker, like French, German, or maybe a language of a small country. The soft female voice is very full, sometimes low, presenting the imagination of a blue sky and the sea.The sea is vast, just like her endless worries.Wen Zilong looked at her quietly, with a gentle smile on the corner of his mouth all the time, it was like this for everyone, it never changed, his whole body was as gentle as a spring breeze, unhurried."I--"Lu Zhiqiao opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat again. She turned her gaze back, stirred the coffee in her cup with her head down, and seemed to be talking to herself: "What is it like to like someone? Or... what will become of it?""The answer is simple.""Um?"Lu Zhiqiao stopped holding the small silver spoon, raised her head, and saw Wen Zilong pick up her mobile phone, and turned the screen to face her: "It's how you look like now."Their location is near the window, the light is very strong, and the large mobile phone screen is like a mirror, clearly reflecting Lu Zhiqiao's face.Her face has soft contours, well-drawn lines, a smooth and full forehead, slightly raised eyebrows, eyes like apricot stones, a tearful mole, a beautiful nose with a bit of sharp edge, and plump lips, her face full, looking like a kind and gentle person.Lu Zhiqiao had never observed her face so carefully before.In the past, her eyes were as pale as water, clear and cold, but now they are more lively, as if shedding skin, peeling off the cold temperament, revealing the original appearance inside.She has really changed..At five o'clock in the evening, Lu Zhiqiao returned to the complex.Her long and slender shadow stretched under her feet, and the sky was full of golden and red rays of light behind her. She thought about it and thought the scenery was beautiful, so she took out her mobile phone to take a picture and looked at it carefully.Remembering that she had a package to pick up, she put away her phone and walked towards the post station.There are several small tricycles at the gate of the post station, and it is the last hour to pick up the package. Lu Zhiqiao silently recalled the pick-up code in her heart, and when she entered, she saw Qi Yan standing at the table, bending over, filling out a delivery form.On hand is an ID card.Lu Zhiqiao reported her pick-up code, then took a step forward, Qi Yan was taken aback when she turned around following the voice, and raised her brows: "You're back?""What are you sending?" She asked without answering.Inadvertently glanced at the ID card in Qi Yan's hand, seeing the date of birth, she was stunned.May 7, 1991...Same day as Niu Niu.
