Young Prime Minister, a Hermit - Chapter 96
Xu Lie sighed, took out a photo from the inside pocket of his trench coat. It showed a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old with delicate features and an undeniable childishness: "Could you help me find this person? His name is Lin Jiaqi."
As Xu Lie spoke, he flipped the photos over and pointed to the three words on the back of the photos, repeating them again: "Lin Jiaqi".
"Wait!" Lu Xiu flipped back the photo that Xu Lie had reversed, carefully examining the person in it. After a long while, he frowned and said, "Although there's a big difference in age, I think I've seen this person before. Perhaps a customer of mine..."
"What?!" Xu Lie was taken aback, his voice trembling. "What did you say?!"
Lu Xiu scratched his hair, a gesture that should have been unseemly but looked sexy on him: "Besides, I think I've seen the name Lin Jiaqi before. Anyway, all the customers in my shop have their names registered, so I can just look it up."
"Where is the register?" Xu Lie stood up abruptly, and Lü Xiu squinted at his slightly pale face in surprise.
"Where is the register!" Xu Lie asked again in a volatile tone that wasn't a question, and there was even a sense of impending doom in the air.
Lu Xiu slowly stood up, glanced at him, and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen you so out of control."
The moment Xu Lie frowned and his whole body turned icy cold, he smiled and said, "The registration book is at the front desk, of course. Come on, I'll take you there!"
Before Lü Xiu could finish speaking, Xu Lie had already rushed out. He could only call out helplessly from behind, "Hey! You don't have to be in such a hurry! I've only caught a glimpse of that name once in a while, I'm not sure if it's him... Besides, it was last month, he doesn't come here often..."
Lu Xiu's voice faded amidst the curious glances from the people in the nearby private room. He sighed helplessly, rushed to the front desk, and saw a handsome and noble-looking man snatching the registration book from the waiter's hand with a very unrefined manner and flipping through it himself.
"Hey! This is this month's report, how come his name is in it? Wait a minute, I'll get it for you..."
"Thud—" The registration book suddenly fell onto the bar. After a moment of stunned silence, Xu Lie picked it up and handed it to Lü Xiu, asking, "Where is this private room?"
His voice was almost entirely filled with a cautious, even fearful tremor. His slender fingers were stiff, and Lu Xiu could see the blue veins flowing with blood beneath the delicate skin of his hands.
For a moment, Lü Xiu almost worried that the blood under those blue veins might stop flowing.
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Chapter Twelve: Reunion
Chapter Twelve: Reunion
Life is like a drama, we come and go in a hurry. Who once said: From the beginning, we knew there would be an end.
Xu Lie rushed into the wooden room, which was twice the size of the private room he had just been sitting in, almost without any regard for his image. The room was still warm from the guests' presence, and most of the food had been eaten, with only some filling noodles remaining on the plates.
He arrived a step too late. Xu Lie closed his slightly burning eyes. He could be late, but he absolutely could not miss it again.
"Lu Xiu, may I meet the waiter who served the food in this private room?"
Lu Xiu paused for a moment, then said, "Of course."
Ten minutes later, Xu Lie walked onto the street. The cold air and the crowded streets had nothing to do with him; his mind was solely focused on searching, searching, and searching again. Every word the waiter had spoken in French echoed clearly in his mind.
"Two men and two women, three of them were relatively young, but one of the women looked to be in her forties. The tall man was wearing a black leather jacket and had a rather refined appearance. The young woman was wearing a dark blue turtleneck when she was sitting in the shop. But the most eye-catching one... was definitely the man in the wheelchair... He seemed to be asleep; I never saw him open his eyes once..."
Lu Xiu stopped Xu Lie as he was about to rush out of the store: "You're actually looking for that woman, aren't you?"
He looked at him knowingly and asked, "Is he someone very important to you?"
Xu Lie flashed him a bright smile: "She's my wife." Then he dashed out of Blue Cheers like the wind.
Lu Xiu remained rooted to the spot, captivated by his friend's radiant, surprised smile, tinged with sadness and loneliness, which dazzled his eyes in this beautiful season and city.
On the bustling street, where everyone wore smiles, Xu Lie didn't run. He simply took off his coat and hung it on his hand, walking through the crowd in just a thin wool sweater.
No one noticed when Galan and the others left, let alone knew which direction they were heading. He could only rely on his intuition, choosing a direction and walking desperately forward. Every hundred meters, he would stop a passerby and ask, "Have you seen those three people pushing the wheelchair?"
He didn't even have time to describe what the three people looked like, because he didn't have time. If he went the wrong way, he would have to turn back, so even a second to catch his breath was a luxury.
"Pushing a wheelchair?...Yes, I just saw them walk in that direction...Yes! In the direction of the Christmas tree."
Overjoyed, Xu Lie kept saying, "Thank you... Thank you!..." He forgot which language he should use and started running instead of walking.
The cold wind felt no pain or chill on his face; his heart was pounding. Just the thought of being in the same city, on the same street as Galan filled him with an overwhelming joy tinged with bittersweetness.
To avoid bumping into the crowd, Xu Lie chose to walk on the far right of the road. The brightly lit shops, adorned with colorful Christmas lights, dazzled his eyes. In his heart, he kept repeating: "Galan! Galan! Where are you? Why can't I see you yet?"
"Bang—" Unable to stop in time, he bumped into a woman who had just stepped down a flight of stairs. The woman stumbled and slipped backward, but did not let out a panicked scream.
Xu Lie quickly reached out and grabbed her, pulling her right hand, which was covered by a thick wool glove, with one hand and supporting her waist as she visibly lost her balance with the other. The large glove unsurprisingly came off, and Xu Lie hurriedly put it back on her, then quickly said, "I'm sorry," and walked past her.
Xu Lie moved forward as if performing a mechanical movement. He wasn't running, but he walked faster and with more effort than if he were running. Almost instinctively, he was reminding himself to be fast! Fast! He couldn't miss it. Then, sluggishly, as he ran, he recalled the girl from just now.
The girl was dressed very bulkily, in a thick pink coat, a fluffy scarf, fluffy gloves, and a fluffy hat, wrapped up like a rice dumpling.
The girl's hands were small, and her fingertips still retained a delicate yet cold touch. The oversized gloves made her palms appear even smaller and her wrists even thinner.
Xu Lie's pace slowed down, a kind of intuition and excitement sprouting in his heart.
The girl's body stiffened slightly as he put the gloves on her...
The girl's dark blue sweater was faintly visible beneath her pink coat...
"Galan!" Xu Lie exclaimed inwardly. That person was Galan! That girl was actually Galan!
He slammed on the brakes and ran back the way he came. His heavy breathing, rapid heartbeat, and unsteady steps were all his own. Xu Lie silently repeated Garan's name in his heart.
He hadn't decided what to say to her first words, what expression to wear, or whether his disheveled appearance would make her look down on him… He hadn't thought of anything, but he knew clearly that he wanted to see Galan, he wanted to see his wife, whom he loved most and only, desperately.
Xu Lie stopped behind the three hazy figures pushing the wheelchair. Ahead was a small villa with a dark red main color, which looked ancient and beautiful under the bright moonlight, though not perfect.
The snow in front of the villa had not yet been cleared, and it crunched underfoot. Xu Lie stopped behind the three figures, panting with his hands on his knees, his trench coat still hanging on his elbows.
“Ga...Lan…” Xu Lie gasped for breath, uttering each word of this name, which, though only six months apart, felt like a lifetime of longing.