Back at the apartment, Le Xi was still under the influence of the medication, fast asleep on the bed with her head on her arm. Qi Hui stood by the door for a long time, arms crossed, before slowly walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at Le Xi's sleeping face. He was wearing a pinkish-purple striped short-sleeved shirt and white trousers. Perhaps because of the color of the shirt, his face looked flushed, his lips slightly pouting, and his eyebrows furrowed, as if he had suffered some injustice. He probably had a conflict with someone before coming; his clothes were askew and wrinkled, revealing his fair waistline. Qi Hui sighed, gently walked to the wardrobe, and took out a new set of pajamas. Then he sat back down, picked up Le Xi, and gently changed his clothes.
I bought the clothes myself shortly after arriving in L city, and they fit quite well. Besides the clothes, I also bought daily necessities, including shampoo, which I personally selected from Lexi's favorite brand.
Le Xi nestled obediently against Qi Hui like a large, soft plush toy, his body still limp, almost all his weight resting on Qi Hui. Qi Hui lifted Le Xi's arm and tucked it into his sleeve, then the other hand. Le Xi's head slowly tilted back, and Qi Hui caught his waist, pulling him against his chest. The fluffy head rested against Qi Hui's neck, tickling him. Qi Hui chuckled softly, remembering many years ago, when that little baby stood by the bedside waiting for him to dress him, just as obedient, letting him do as he pleased. Even two years ago, that child was adorable and well-behaved. His eyes shone brightly when he looked at him, as if stars had accidentally fallen into those beautiful, lake-like eyes, those eyes seeing only him, his gaze following only him.
There was a small scar on his left chest, near his armpit. Qi Hui paused, then reached out and carefully touched the scar. The materials Yang Jingyu had sent Qi Hui through the detective agency regarding Le Xi included all the details of Le Xi's hospitalization. So this scar must be from her heart surgery. Did it hurt a lot back then?
I always thought that by working hard and striving, I could give him a better life, but the final result was completely different from what I imagined. My Lexi, my baby, you've suffered so much, haven't you? How can I ever make it up to you?
Is it too late now?
Qi Hui gently laid Le Xi down, pulled the blanket over him, smoothed the messy hair on his forehead, and then kissed him. This kiss, more than a year later, suddenly gave Qi Hui a very warm feeling, a feeling that rose from the depths of his heart along his veins, screaming uncontrollably at the tear ducts in his eyes.
Qi Hui straightened up, looked at Le Xi sleeping soundly on the bed again, his fingers lingering on her face. After composing himself, he slowly stood up, walked to the door, turned up the air conditioner temperature by two degrees, and then went out.
"Click," the sound of the door closing echoed in the quiet room. The person on the bed slowly opened their eyes, revealing a pair of clear eyes in the dim light.
Le Xi tiptoed out of bed, still feeling weak, but much better than before. He quietly changed his clothes, then used the table for support to stand up, landing gently with each step, carefully minimizing any noise. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the door, pressed his ear against it, and carefully tried to discern the sounds outside. The sounds were faint, seemingly coming from the kitchen. He closed his eyes to catch his breath, then gripped the doorknob with both hands.
The door opened easily, and Lexi held his breath, listening to the sounds outside. The noise was still coming from the kitchen, so he slowly pushed the door open, gripping the wall for support as he hurriedly, yet cautiously, walked towards the front door. The house was huge, and the front door seemed to be on the other side of the world. His hands and feet trembled uncontrollably, and his heart pounded wildly. Lexi gritted his teeth and made it to the doorway, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Baby, what are you doing here?" Qi Hui's voice came from behind. Le Xi pulled her hand away from the doorknob as if she had been electrocuted, turned around and looked at Qi Hui warily.
"Why are you out without shoes? How are you feeling?" Qi Hui walked towards him, but as he took a step forward, Le Xi shrank back a fraction. Qi Hui stopped and looked at him in surprise, his wide eyes narrowing as he saw the clothes Le Xi had changed into. Le Xi knew that was a sign of danger.
"I need to use the restroom," Lexi said, trying to make her voice sound less nervous.
"The restroom isn't over there." Qi Hui reached out to help him, but Le Xi timidly shrank back, closed his eyes, and lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong and was afraid of being punished, seeing the family rules. The hand that was halfway out stopped awkwardly halfway, and then fell limply to his side.
"I locked the door, you can't open it." The slight anger in his voice betrayed Qi Hui's helplessness.
Why is it that we once trusted each other, and even though we were separated by thousands of miles, we were able to stick to our beliefs and hold on to that relationship, but now it has become unrecognizable?
Lexi hid in the bathroom, locked the door, and crouched by the door, trembling. Brother, brother... she had dreamt countless times, imagined how she would react to seeing him. She thought she had let go, that she could be at peace. But why was she still so pathetic? Why, why, why?
"Baby, you've been in there for half an hour," Qi Hui said calmly, standing at the door. He reached out to open the door, only to find it locked from the inside. He shook his head and smiled. "Come out quickly. Otherwise, I'll come in."
"Click," the door opened from the inside, and Le Xi stood in the doorway, holding the door open with her hand, looking wary. If Qi Hui took a step forward, she would immediately close the door.
"Come out and get ready for dinner. Come on..."
"I want to go back," Lexi interrupted.
"Go back? Go back where?"
"I want to go back to school, I want to go home."
"Go home? Ha, baby, are you kidding me? This is your home." Qi Hui looked at him leisurely with his arms crossed.
"I... I rent a place at the school, and I want to go back."
"I've already decided to terminate your lease on that apartment. The conditions are terrible, and it's inconvenient for you to live alone."
"Brother, what exactly do you want to do..." Le Xi said weakly.
"..." Qi Hui was about to speak when he was completely taken aback by Le Xi's words. After a long silence, Qi Hui finally composed himself and said softly, "Let's not talk about this now, come and eat. You've been sleeping for almost a day without eating anything."
After saying that, Qi Hui reached out to help him out, but Le Xi didn't appreciate it. He shook off Qi Hui's hand and backed away, but he slipped and fell flat on his face. He also knocked over a shelf, and towels, shower gel, shampoo, and all sorts of bottles and jars clattered down on him. Bottles with open caps fell, spilling all sorts of creams and lotions, white and yellow, all over him, quickly turning his clothes into a colorful mess.
Le Xi rubbed her aching head in frustration, a strange sadness welling up inside her. She had told herself to stay calm, she knew she could…
A strong force lifted Le Xi up, and after a dizzying moment, Qi Hui hoisted him onto his shoulder and carried him into the bedroom. Le Xi started kicking wildly, but Qi Hui held his ankle firmly, immediately immobilizing him. Qi Hui kicked open the bedroom door, threw Le Xi onto the bed, and then took out a nightgown from the closet and threw it over.
"Change your clothes and come out for dinner." Qi Hui's tone was becoming increasingly irritated.
"I want to go back!" Le Xi shouted defiantly, getting out of bed and preparing to run away.
“Baby.” Qi Hui hugged him from behind, gripped his arm tightly, and said in a low voice, “Don’t keep testing my patience, okay? Stop making a fuss, I need to have a serious talk with you.”
cold war
Eggs, bacon, milk, and sandwiches. Qi Hui couldn't cook. He fiddled around in the kitchen for a long time, originally wanting to make something Le Xi liked, but in the end, these were the only things that were presentable. Helplessly, he came out of the kitchen and saw Le Xi barefoot, ready to run away.
It wasn't that he wasn't angry, but seeing Lexi's wary and timid appearance, the anger that rose in his heart was forcibly suppressed.
"Come on, have some." Qi Hui pointed to the food on the table. It didn't look very appealing, but it was still a token of his affection. He had once thought about learning to cook so that they could live together and he could take good care of him, do all the housework, and raise him to be plump and happy. But before he could even learn to cook, things changed.
Why aren't you eating the eggs? Don't you like them?
Why aren't you drinking milk?
"Drink slowly, don't choke."
"Alright, alright, don't force yourself if you can't eat." Qi Hui looked at Le Xi, who kept hiccuping, with a sigh of relief. He stood up, poured him a glass of warm water, handed it to him, and gently patted his back to help him catch his breath. Le Xi's shoulders and back were still so thin; it was unimaginable how someone so frail could face those cruel things alone.
"Baby, I'm sorry," Qi Hui said softly. He had never said those three words to anyone before, and even now, uttering them felt difficult. But could saying those three words undo the damage? Would it even be of any use?
A long silence followed, a silence so suffocating it felt like something unsettling was lurking in the air, making both of them acutely uncomfortable.
"Later, I kept looking for you. But..."
"Later," everything can be summed up in just two words, but the cruel truth remains. Perhaps this has become a chasm separating the two, one that cannot be filled, crossed, or escaped.
“Zhao Junwei is bankrupt. Now he’s just a janitor. I’ll make him pay for all the harm you’ve suffered.”
"I've already renovated Grandma's grave. When can we go back and visit her together?"
"Do you like the major you're studying now? Do you have a preferred school? If so, I'll try to find a way for you to transfer, or we could go back to City C and study there, okay?"
"If you like it here, let's stay. By the way, I bought a shop in the city, and it's all renovated. You can take care of it from now on. You like tailoring, right? I've already prepared all the tailoring tools for you, everything you need."
...
No one agreed.
I forgot how it started.
Maybe it's just for you.
There is a feeling
Suddenly I realized
I have fallen deeply in love with you
It's really simple.
Love is so deep that even darkness and darkness don't matter.
Unable to decide right from wrong
No regrets for following him day and night for love.
"That crazy person is me..."
The ringing of the phone became an opportunity to ease the awkward atmosphere. Le Xi ignored the deep restraint on Qi Hui's face, quickly ran into the bedroom, and pulled the phone from her pocket. She glanced at the number; it was Shi Lu. For a moment, she felt a sense of disorientation, as if it were all just a dream, and when she woke up, everything was back to normal. Her brother was still in America, still with that man, standing tall and admired by all. She herself was still that daydreaming seamstress, making clothes by feel, running her shop, and teaching children her craft. Shi Lu was still that absent-minded foreign language teacher, occasionally sneaking into her classroom to peek at her, and after class, the two of them would run off to the backstreet for skewers, getting so spicy they lost all sense of direction.
Why did you come back? Why did you come knocking on my door? You thought you were hiding yourself well, but you were just deceiving yourself.
"Hello?" Le Xi sniffed and spoke in a casual manner.
"Le Xi? Where have you been all day? Why did you run off without saying a word? You've been playing hide-and-seek!" Shi Lu's concerned voice came from the other end of the phone.
"No, I... I ran into an acquaintance, and we went out together. Don't worry." Le Xi smiled, thought for a moment, and continued, "I probably won't be back tonight. Um... well, it's his first time in L City, so I'm going to show him around."
"Oh, then be careful tonight, don't wander around too late, okay?" Shi Lu advised.
"Okay, I know. Don't wander off either." Lexi smiled knowingly.
"What?! How dare you say that to me!" Shi Lu shouted, and you could almost picture him jumping up and down yelling through the phone. "And another thing! Don't drink anymore, you know? If you get drunk again, you'll have a headache again."
"Okay, I won't drink anymore." Le Xi felt her eyes were stinging, so she reached up and rubbed them. Why were tears falling?
"Crack!" There was a sound of something breaking outside. Le Xi paused, said goodbye to Shi Lu, and hung up the phone. When she walked out of the room, she saw Qi Hui staring blankly at the mess on the dining table. Seeing Le Xi come out, he immediately regained his calm demeanor: "My hand slipped, and I accidentally broke the plate. It's okay, you can continue making your call."
Qi Hui felt as if he were calming an uneasy puppy. The puppy stared at him warily with its big, dark eyes, ready to run away at the slightest hint of danger, disappearing under the sofa and never to emerge again. So he had to remain calm and handle things gently, otherwise the puppy would bristle and look around in terror.
After dinner, Qi Hui went to the study to look at documents, leaving Le Xi in the living room. It was much better for him to be alone than for the two of them to be in a room together, making him nervous and unsure of what to do with his hands.
The document had been sitting in front of him for at least half an hour, but Qi Hui hadn't read a single word. The ashtray on the table was overflowing with cigarette butts, and the entire study was filled with smoke, like a fire scene. Qi Hui sighed, stood up, and opened the window to let in some fresh air. Outside, the city lights flickered, shining brightly in the darkness. Back when he was in university in this city, he often received calls from Le Xi just before lights out. In the noisy dormitory, his classmates would shout and yell, but the whole world seemed to consist only of Le Xi's voice, soft and filled with joy and anticipation through the phone. He would say, "Brother, I miss you." He would say, "Brother, when are you coming back?" He would say, "Brother, I love you."
The child who once said "I love you" now looks at him with fear.
How can I avoid making people sad?
But what should we do?
Qi Hui gently opened the study door. A mirror in the entryway offered a view of the living room. The television was on, playing a boring variety show. The dim lighting cast a lonely shadow on Le Xi, curled up on the sofa, across the carpet. The TV presenter was telling pointless jokes, with bursts of laughter occasionally echoing in the background. The person on the sofa seemed unaffected by the laughter, simply maintaining her position to prove her presence.
Qi Hui went into the bedroom and brought out a blanket. He deliberately coughed at the living room doorway to get Le Xi's attention, then walked to the sofa and squatted down: "It's chilly at night, cover yourself with the blanket. If you're sleepy, go to the bedroom to sleep."
Le Xi, leaning on the sofa armrest, buried his head in his arms when he heard Qi Hui approaching, refusing to look at him. When the blanket was pulled over him, he shifted slightly, proving he was awake, but still wouldn't look at Qi Hui. Qi Hui hesitated, then reached out to touch his head and ruffle his hair, just like he used to do when Le Xi was angry and throwing a tantrum. A touch to his head and a hug would smooth out his furrowed brow, and a kiss on his forehead would make him blush with shyness.
She reached out and touched his soft hair. Feeling that his little head didn't resist, she gently ruffled it, pulled the blanket up a bit, carefully tucked it in, and quietly watched him.
This injured little animal, do you know how much I love you?
After a while, Le Xi raised her head, her tired eyes meeting Qi Hui's. She sighed and closed her eyes again. The soft groan startled Qi Hui for a moment, then he reached out to pick her up: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Le Xi shrank back, wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, and shook his head. Qi Hui grew anxious and, ignoring Le Xi's struggles, pulled him off the sofa, reaching out to check his forehead temperature: "You don't have a fever, so where does it hurt? Tell me quickly, okay?"
Le Xi kept her head down and remained silent. Helpless, Qi Hui stood up and made a phone call. Then he sat silently beside Le Xi, anxiously watching her bury her head in the blanket. He wanted to smoke, but just as he put a cigarette in his mouth, he angrily rubbed it out with his hand.
The cruelest thing is to reopen old wounds.
The doctor arrived quickly, followed by Yang Jingyu. When Le Xi saw Yang Jingyu, she gave him a strange smile. Yang Jingyu paused, returned the smile, but felt a chill run down his spine.
"How did your talk go?" Yang Jingyu asked impatiently as he sat down on the sofa after entering the study.
"It's alright," Qi Hui said calmly.