Liang Shi: "..."
She felt there was something hidden in Xu Qingzhu's words, but she couldn't quite figure it out.
"Are you sure you want to eat it like this?" Liang Shi asked her, a little uncertain.
Xu Qingzhu hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder. The warm breath he exhaled sent shivers down the side of her neck. "Can't you do it?"
Liang Shi: "..."
She decided to stop haggling with Xu Qingzhu.
Trying to negotiate with a capitalist who always unconsciously steers the conversation in dangerous directions will only result in her losing everything.
Liang Shi patted her back lightly with a sigh and said in a low voice, "Okay."
//
Liang Shih is also challenging himself today.
She did something she would never have thought of: she held Xu Qingzhu while they ate a meal. Although she didn't eat much, she would occasionally feed Xu Qingzhu while she was eating.
Xu Qingzhu, who is nearing her estrus period, is unexpectedly clingy.
After lunch, Xu Qingzhu snuggled in her arms for a while before leaving.
Although Liang Shi's body was satisfied, he couldn't help but worry.
He repeatedly instructed Xu Qingzhu to stay away from Alphas with strong pheromones, including Sally, Zhou Yi'an, and others, and to always carry inhibitors with her.
After I finished speaking, I asked her if she had brought anything. When I saw that she hadn't even brought her bag, I simply took her to the pharmacy to buy her some inhibitors and also bought her a hot water bottle at a nearby shopping mall.
He then took her to the company building.
As soon as Xu Qingzhu arrived downstairs at the company, she seemed like a completely different person.
His expression was cool and serious. He put the inhibitor into his coat pocket and held a hot water bottle in his hand, but it looked like he was carrying a six-figure bag.
She told Liang Shi to drive slowly and got out of the car. Liang Shi kept looking at her back, thinking she would turn around, but... she didn't.
Sure enough, Xu Qingzhu was not the same person she usually was when she started working.
Liang Shi watched her walk into the building, then raised his hand to touch his lips, looked in the rearview mirror, and saw that his lips were chapped.
...
However, because of lunch, Liang Shi's mood was not as heavy as it was in the morning.
Instead, they were like they'd been injected with adrenaline, simply wanting to rescue Gu Xingyue from that cage.
As for Qi Jiao, all that remains is regret.
She checked the time. Because she and Xu Qingzhu had lingered at the restaurant for a long time, Xu Qingzhu had been sitting on her lap playing on his phone, probably handling business.
Later, seeing that she wasn't eating well, he changed to lying on her lap.
She even took a short nap.
Kindergarten dismisses early because of the bells, and there isn't enough time for Liang Shi to make a round trip to Angel Orphanage. So she simply placed a same-city express delivery order and went to Xinhua Bookstore to buy a bunch of children's books, only one of which was a novel—"The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry".
She slipped the letter Gu Xingyue had given her into her copy of "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" and had the courier deliver it to Gu Zhaoyuan.
At the same time, I called Gu Zhaoyuan and told him about it.
Gu Zhaoyuan asked her how Gu Xingyue was doing.
Liang Shi felt that simply labeling Gu Xingyue as good or bad was no longer sufficient to describe her condition; she could only hope that things would get better in the future.
Gu Zhaoyuan's face fell upon hearing this. "Alright, if there's a chance, please make sure I get to meet her."
“I will,” Liang Shi said. “You should read what she wrote in her letter to you. She hasn’t been doing well lately. The family that adopted her is afraid that she will contact her former relatives, so I don’t dare to arrange for you to meet. It all depends on her own wishes.”
Gu Zhaoyuan expressed his understanding.
After hanging up the phone, Liang Shi let out a breath and then took out Qi Jiao's diary from the drawer.
Each piece is heartbreaking, revealing a deep sense of despair in the words.
However, there are also those who are full of hope.
That's why when Chen Mian is mentioned...
A new girl transferred to our class. She had shoulder-length hair, and while we all wore our hair in high ponytails, she wore it loose. Beneath her black hair was a layer of gray, a color I really liked—like darkness and light overlapping. Her voice was also very pleasant when she introduced herself. Not only that, but her name was also beautiful; it was Chen Mian.
Chen Mian loves to draw. Like me, she's not very talkative. She's not pretty and doesn't stand out in a crowd, but I always secretly observe her.
...
Qi Jiao mentions Chen Mian in her diary from an observer's perspective. She recounts Chen Mian as she sees her and records Chen Mian's daily life.
Qi Jiao said that Chen Mian was a quiet oddball, just like her. Although she wasn't pretty, in Qi Jiao's eyes, she was special.
As long as she sits there, Qi Jiao can only see her.
They didn't interact much at first, but they met in the school library because they wanted to get the same book.
That was the last book in the library, and the two of them got it almost at the same time.
Qi Jiao naturally wanted to give it to her, but when she returned to the classroom, she found the book on her desk, while Chen Mian was sleeping on the desk.
If Qi Jiao possessed a strange, melancholic air, then Chen Mian exuded a wild, unruly roguish charm.
They have no respect for this world.
Many of the things she draws are dark, and many people only think she is melancholic at first glance.
But only Qi Jiao saw the impatience with the world beneath her melancholy exterior.
The next day, Qi Jiao placed a box of imported chocolates in her desk.
During break, Chen Mian took a bite of the chocolate, frowned, ate two more bites, and then put the chocolate on the table.
Qi Jiao, who was bent over the table doing her homework, kept glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. She was scared and uneasy. A moment later, Chen Mian came over with the box of chocolates, threw it on Qi Jiao's table, frowned, and said in a flat voice with an arrogant look, "This stuff is awful. It's really bitter. Don't give it to me again."
Qi Jiao was very upset upon hearing this. She sat in her seat feeling extremely uncomfortable, not knowing what to do.
Her diary entry for that day was also filled with sadness. She said she really didn't mean it, and that the box of chocolates was very expensive, costing four figures.
She even added a line to the diary entry the next morning: "You made me cry all night, you wicked Chen Mian, but I still can't bring myself to hate you."
But the next day, Chen Mian put a box of chocolates and a box of milk candy on her desk. During the break, Chen Mian said to her, "You should eat sweet things, not bitter things. No wonder you always look so sad."
Qi Jiao was in a daze all day because of what she said.
In return, she bought Chen Mian a chicken leg for lunch.
At that time, she was eating alone in the cafeteria, and Chen Mian was also alone.
They ate their meals alone and quietly many times, but Chen Mian sat in her seat for a long time without touching her plate. Finally, she took her plate and went to sit opposite Qi Jiao.
This was the first time Qi Jiao had someone sitting across from her while eating at school.
Chen Mian is not a patient partner. She is taciturn, has a bad temper, and occasionally swears.
But in Qi Jiao's eyes, she was a woman of true character.
Chen Mian is only quiet when she is painting. She has a natural talent for being a painter. Her paintings are imaginative and unrestrained, as if free souls are leaping off the paper.
It was the paintbrush that guided her hand in painting, not the other way around.
Qi Jiao once asked Chen Mian why she liked painting so much.
Chen Mian said it was because she didn't like to talk.
Qi Jiao and Chen Mian were simply playmates, at least that's how Qi Jiao defined it in her diary. She had no other friends, so she could only play with Chen Mian.
Chen Mian occasionally ignored her, and when Yang Jiani appeared, she would quickly walk away even if she saw Chen Mian, ignoring the glances she received.
Whether in doubt or surprise.
In some ways, they are indeed good playmates.
They will abandon each other at different times.
Qi Jiao realized she liked Chen Mian when Chen Mian got closer to a senior student.
That senior was the daughter of Chen Mian's art teacher. She was gentle, beautiful, and had a good temperament. When she talked to Chen Mian, Chen Mian would show a rare shy expression and blush occasionally.
Qi Jiao had only ever seen them walking together from a distance; it was a beautiful and serene sight.
The afterglow of the setting sun enveloped them, an emotion that Qi Jiao would never experience in her life.
Qi Jiao was also seen by Chen Mian spying on Liang Shi. The only person Qi Jiao confided in was Chen Mian.
The first time she drank alcohol was with Chen Mian. After drinking too much, her face turned red, and she whispered in Chen Mian's ear, "I have a younger sister."
She said her younger sister is her half-sister, and that her sister is like a little angel with beautiful light brown eyes, a sweet and adorable personality, and will sweetly call her "older sister".
At this point in the diary, the focus shifts back to Liang Shi.
Qi Jiao said that Liang Shi's personality has changed, and she can protect herself now, which is something to be happy about.
...
Qi Jiao's diary is full of beautiful words, all of which are reserved for Chen Mian and Liang Shi.
After looking through the contacts again, Liang Shi pulled out her WeChat account. She had previously deleted her contacts, so it was very likely that she had already deleted Chen Mian.
She looked closely at her contact list and noticed a profile picture among her many contacts.
A girl in a white dress stood in the hazy moonlight.
This is a very difficult painting to master; a slight mistake can make the color differences look ugly.
But Chen Mian painted it very well; it was almost identical to the one Chen Mian had given her in the original owner's memory.
Her WeChat name is: J.
The "jiao" in Qi Jiao.
Liang Shi interpreted it this way.
She opened the chat window and sent Chen Mian a message: 【Are you there, Chen Mian?】
He called her by her name directly.
A moment later, Chen Mian replied: [?]
A brief question mark is Chen Mian's consistent style.