"I have been looking for you for fifteen years. In the sixth month after you were taken away, the dean took us on a trip and I got lost. But I don't want to go back. A place without Qiange is like a cold cellar, without any warmth. Qiange, have you ever felt warm during the days when you left me? Have you ever thought about me?"
Yu Anjiu said with a moved expression.
Lin Fangke shamelessly squeezed into Qiange and Xia Kong's life circle.
Everyone knew that his target was Qingyou, except Qingyou himself who pretended not to know.
During the summer vacation after graduating from the third year of junior high school, Qiange and Xiakong both received admission letters from the best high school in B. The gift Qiange wanted to ask Jiang's mother for was to visit Fu'an Orphanage.
Qiange hesitated for a long time before expressing this request, and lowered her head, not daring to look at her mother.
"Are you going alone?" Without the expected rejection, Jiang's mother looked at her gently and asked.
Qian Ge quickly shook her head: "Xia Kong, come with me, Mom, I promise you, I'll just take a look and come back."
Mother Jiang stood up and walked around the room, as if she was packing something. As she packed, she said, "I know you miss your friends over there. I still remember when I brought you back, you kept repeating someone's name, but I haven't heard you mention it again in all these years. With Xia Kong here, Mommy is relieved. The round trip to Fu'an Orphanage takes twelve hours. If you come back on the same day, it will be too rushed. Mommy will prepare something for you. You and Xia Kong can stay there for one night and come back the next day."
"Mom..." Qiange called out these two words vaguely, her eyes feeling a little sour.
Xia Kong had said long ago that Jiang's parents were good people. They had always treated Qiange as their own daughter, but Qiange did not dare to treat them as her own parents.
Suddenly, there was a little person hugging her gently from behind. Mother Jiang paused, then smiled: "What's wrong? Qiange."
"Thank you, Mom."
Qian Ge said.
Mother Jiang patted the back of Qiange's hand lovingly without saying anything, her endless tenderness was all hidden in that silent beat.
Qiange and Xiakong set off for Town C.
It takes six hours by bus from City B to Town C. Xia Kong and Qiange carried schoolbags filled with snacks and money.
Xia Kong held Qiange's hand and walked through the crowded station.
"Qian Ge, don't let go, follow me closely."
"Hey, Qian Ge, stop crowding me."
Xia Kong whispered in Qiange's ear: "Be careful with your bag, the money is in it."
Qiange nodded ignorantly, protecting the schoolbag on her back.
After finally squeezing onto the shabby bus, Xia Kong threw his schoolbag on the window seat and pulled Qiange in.
The person who was squeezed shouted loudly: "Hey, two little kids, what are you squeezing?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Xia Kong apologized while pushing Qiange to sit next to the window, and then he sat close to her.
The crowded carriage was very stuffy. Xia Kong's face was flushed and he reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Qiange turned and looked at Xia Kong with a faint smile on her face.
"By the way, Xia Kong, we will go back tomorrow. You won't be scolded by Uncle Xia, right?" Qiange asked worriedly.
Afraid of being rejected by Uncle Xia, Xia Kong only left a note telling his family that he was going to Town C, and then decisively took Qiange away.
"Don't be afraid. I've become immune to being scolded." Xia Kong smiled brightly.
Qian Ge held Xia Kong's hand and said, "If Uncle Xia scolds you, I will drag you into my room. If Uncle Xia hits you, I will stand in front of you."
"Don't be such a pessimist. What if what you said is right and my parents really beat and scold me? What should I do then?"
Qiange quickly covered her mouth and blinked her clear big eyes.
Xia Kong smiled, revealing his white teeth.
The wheels bumped along the uneven ground, causing the car body to shake.
The weather in July was extremely hot and humid. The sun had a tiring power and Qiange was made drowsy by the sun.
"Qian Ge, take a nap." Xia Kong said in a low voice.
"Yeah..." Asaka answered dazedly, leaning tiredly on Natsuro's shoulder.
Xia Kong was also very sleepy, his eyelids kept fighting each other, but he didn't dare to sleep because he had to look after Qiange and their bags.
Qian Ge fell into a deep sleep during the bumpy ride and had a dream without realizing it.
In the dream, she was still seven years old and still living in Fu'an Orphanage.
The yard of the orphanage was covered with green grass and there was a swing on the grass. The other children were very bossy and occupied the swing, so Qian Ge often couldn't play on the swing.
At that time, Anjiu, who was older than everyone else, rolled up his sleeves, ran under the swing, pointed at the group of children and said, "How long have you been playing? Let others play for a while!"
Anjiu is tall and has a strong aura, and everyone is afraid of him.
The children were so scared that they scattered like birds and beasts. Anjiu turned back and waved to Qiange: "Qian Ge, come here!"
Qian Ge walked forward timidly. An Jiu pointed at the swing and ordered, "Hurry up and sit on it. I'll push you!"
Qiange didn't dare.
Anjiu picked up Qiange in one stride, carried her to the swing, and said, "Hold on tight, hold on to your hands."
Qian Ge was so scared that she quickly grabbed the rope of the swing. Seeing that she was like a frightened kitten, An Jiu smiled: "Qian Ge, don't be afraid. Hold on tight. I will just push it down a little."
"Yeah." Qiange shrugged and nodded.
Behind her, Anjiu gently pushed Qiange's back with his palm, and Qiange's body slowly swayed with the swing.
Qiange opened her eyes wide in surprise, watching the scenery in front of her passing by in an arc, one high and one low, and she smiled happily.
Anjiu pushed it higher unconsciously, and Qiange seemed to have grown a pair of wings and flew into the white and soft clouds.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light before her eyes, and Qiange was standing in a deserted orphanage. Everything in front of her was dilapidated. There was no one in the orphanage, and it was desolate and silent.
"Brother Anjiu..." Qiange muttered Anjiu's name vaguely, sweating profusely, and her heart beating nervously.
As if falling into a bottomless abyss, Qiange kicked her legs and woke up as if frightened!
The carriage was still noisy, but hotter, and although the windows were open, not a single breath of air came in.
Qiange's head felt heavy, with another head stacked on top of it.
Xia Kong also fell asleep.
Qiange wiped the sweat from her forehead, and then her empty hands made her heart suddenly hang in the air again.
Where's her schoolbag? Where's her schoolbag?
Qiange quickly raised herself up, and Xia Kong also woke up because she had lost her support.
"Xia Kong, Xia Kong!" Qian Ge called out to Xia Kong in panic, "Schoolbag! The schoolbag is gone!"
Xia Kong lost all desire to sleep. He subconsciously looked at his schoolbag. The bag was still there, but it had deflated because he had held it too tightly.
What was missing was Qiange’s schoolbag.
"Qian Ge, don't worry, I'll look for it." Xia Kong quickly stood up and lay on the ground to look under the seat.
No, there is no Qiange’s schoolbag.
"Xia Kong, what should we do?" Qiange was a little panicked. In her schoolbag were the food and money prepared by her mother, but now they were gone!
"Is it a beige schoolbag?" Seeing the two children looking anxious, passengers in the same carriage looked over and someone asked with concern.
"Yes, a beige schoolbag, just like... the same as his." Qiange pointed to the schoolbag in Xia Kong's arms.
"Someone took it away and got off the bus at the previous stop. No one knew it was yours," said the passenger.
Was it taken away? In other words... was it stolen?
Xia Kong hugged his schoolbag tightly, staggered to the front of the car, and said to the driver: "Uncle, uncle, someone just stole our things, please stop, stop, we need to call the police."
"It's the middle of nowhere here, why call the police? The person has already left and we can't catch him." The driver showed no intention of stopping the car.
There is no surveillance in the car, so theft is common and the drivers are used to it.
"But..." Xia Kong turned his head to look at Qiange. Qiange was lying on the seat, looking at him helplessly and pitifully.
"It's been an hour since we got off the bus. The person must have disappeared long ago." Another passenger on the bus said.
"Where are you going, kids?" asked the passenger.
Qian Ge answered obediently: "C Town..."
"Oh, that's quite far. Do you have relatives in C Town?"
"No……"
"It's okay!" Xia Kong quickly interrupted Qiange, sat back in his seat, and said to the aunt, "It's okay, we have relatives in Town C, we are going back to visit grandpa."
Having said that, he turned around and comforted Qiange: "It's okay Qiange, there are only some food and some money in that schoolbag anyway. When we get off the bus, grandpa's house has everything." While saying this, Xia Kong winked at Qiange.
When two minors travel far away, they should be wary of strangers. Qian Ge understood what Xia Kong meant and nodded.
For the rest of the journey, neither Qiange nor Xia Kong dared to sleep . They stared with wide eyes and guarded Xia Kong's schoolbag closely.
When they arrived at Town C, as soon as they got off the bus, Xia Kong took Qiange's hand and went to a deserted place and put the schoolbag on the ground.
"Qian Ge, do we need to take a bus to Fu'an Orphanage?" Xia Kong asked.
Qian Ge said: "It's too close to take a car, and it's a little far to walk, but it doesn't matter, we can walk."
"Yeah." Xia Kong counted the change in his hand and said, "Then the money I have here is enough for us to use. I'll first take out the fare for tomorrow's trip home." As he said that, Xia Kong took out a few bills and stuffed them under his insoles.
Qian Ge burst out laughing, but then said guiltily: "I'm sorry, Xia Kong, I've caused you trouble."
"What are you talking about? As long as I'm here, nothing is a problem. Qiange, are you hungry? We'll go to the orphanage after dinner." Xia Kong said with concern.
Qian Ge shook her head: "I'm not hungry, let's go to the orphanage first."
"Okay, let's go now." Xia Kong took Qiange's hand again and asked Qiange to lead the way to the orphanage.
The C Town Station was a half-hour walk from the orphanage. Because the weather was too hot, Xia Kong bought two popsicles. They walked and ate, stopping here and there, and it took them a full fifty minutes.
After finally arriving at the orphanage, I found that it was more dilapidated than before.
Qiange suddenly remembered the dream and started to feel scared.
Standing outside the iron gate of the orphanage, looking at the few children inside, Xia Kong asked: "Did you see? Which one is Anjiu?"
Qian Ge shook her head.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in front of her. Qiange became excited and waved her hands and shouted, "Aunt Dean, Aunt Dean!"
The woman with more wrinkles on her face looked back in surprise and walked over to him in confusion: "Who are you?"
Qiange said: "Auntie, I am Qiange, the Qiange who doesn't like to talk the most!"
As if she remembered something, the headmistress slapped her forehead and said, "Oh! It's Qian Ge!"
She quickly opened the door and let Qiange and Xiakong in. Then she looked at Qiange carefully and said with emotion: "Qiange has grown up! Auntie almost doesn't recognize you anymore."
"Auntie, I'm back to see you. I also brought things for my younger brothers and sisters." Qiange motioned to Xia Kong to get the things.
Xia Kong took out some stationery from his schoolbag and handed it to the dean, who took it and said with emotion: "Qian Ge, it's amazing that you still remember this place."
"Of course I remember this place. This is where I grew up." Qian Ge said, looking around. "By the way, Auntie, where is Brother Anjiu?"
At this point, the dean's face darkened and she sighed.
"What's wrong?" Qiange had a bad feeling in her heart.
The director shook her head, took Qiange and Xia Kong in and sat them down, saying, "Qian Ge, you may not know this yet, but An Jiu became very unhappy after you left. In September of the year you left, I took the children out to play, and An Jiu, An Jiu disappeared and never came back..."
"What?" Qiange and Xia Kong opened their eyes wide and looked at the dean in disbelief.
Qian Ge rushed over, squatted in front of the dean, grabbed her hand, and asked, "What do you mean missing? Aunt Dean, where is Brother Anjiu?"
The director sighed: "Anjiu, that child, wanted to find you so much. In fact, after Anjiu disappeared, we also looked for him for a long time, but we couldn't find him. Anjiu is very sensible, and he also remembers the address of the orphanage. I think he left the orphanage on purpose..."
"Why?" Qiange's eyes blurred. "Why leave? He knew clearly that once he left here, I wouldn't be able to find him..."
The dean helped Qiange up and said, "I thought he might have gone to look for you, but now that you're here, I know he must not have found you."
"Then where will he go? Will he be in danger?" Qiange asked nervously.
That year, An Jiu was only ten years old. Where could he go at the age of ten?
The dean shook her head, she also knew nothing.
Qiange lowered her head, tears falling to the ground one by one. Xia Kong walked up to her slowly, hugged Qiange's shoulders, and didn't know how to comfort her: "Qiange... Qiange, Anjiu is so good to you, he must be blessed by heaven, nothing will happen to him."
"But if I look for him again in the future, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Maybe... maybe I will never find him..." Qiange raised her head, her face covered with wet tear marks.
Xia Kong's heart tightened. At that moment, he realized how important Anjiu was to Qiange.
Anjiu is the person Qiange has been thinking about for eight years, and in the future, she may think about him for even longer.
Qiange didn't find Anjiu, so the director asked them to stay in the orphanage. Qiange was in a trance all night.
The next day, they took a bus back to City B, and Qiange was still in a trance.
When they returned to the courtyard, Qiange's condition improved, however, it was because of the deafening shout of Xia Kong's father!
"Xia Kong! You little bastard! You ran away without saying a word!" As soon as he saw Xia Kong and Qiange enter the yard, Xia's father picked up the long knife he used to cut bamboo strips and stood up.
Xia Kong was startled and turned around and ran out.
Seeing this, Qiange also ran after Xiakong.
When he got to the door, Father Xia threw away the long knife in his hand, replaced it with a stick, and chased after him without stopping, cursing as he chased: "You little bastard! Stop right there! I'll beat you to death! You don't work, you don't cook, you don't even close the door! You just ran away!"
Seeing that Father Xia was about to catch up, Qian Ge shouted, "Xia Kong, run! Hurry up!"
The voices of Xia's father and Qiange could be heard throughout the alley, and the neighbors came out to watch the fun.
"That old Xia, beat the child again."
"Being beaten every day, this child is really pitiful."
"Uncle Xia! Uncle Xia..." Qian Ge couldn't outrun Xia Kong or Xia's father, so she had to stop, turned around and hugged Xia's father, begging, "Uncle Xia, it's all my fault. I begged Xia Kong to take me away. Uncle Xia, don't be angry, don't hit Xia Kong."
"Get out of the way! You're a girl, why are you hugging me? Get out of the way!" Father Xia yelled at Qiange while swearing.
Qiange hugged Xia's father's waist tightly and refused to let go.
Father Xia grabbed Qiange's arm and threw her aside. Seeing this, Xia Kong, who turned his head to observe the situation, ran back and said, "Dad, Dad, don't hit Qiange!"
Xia Kong rushed to Qiange and was picked up by Xia's father and dragged towards the courtyard.
"Xia Kong..." Qiange saw Xia's father dragging Xia Kong away, and hurriedly got up and took a shortcut back to the courtyard.
"Dad! Mom! Xia Kong is going to be beaten again!" Qiange shouted loudly. Father and Mother Jiang, who were making lunch in the kitchen, heard the noise and ran out, just in time to see Father Xia dragging Xia Kong into the courtyard.
"Old Xia, what are you doing again!" Jiang's mother asked anxiously!
"No one can stop me today!" Xia's father said fiercely. He threw Xia Kong into the house, closed the door and started beating and scolding him.
From the room came Xia Kong's crying and the occasional bang of a stick hitting the furniture.
"Dad!" Qian Ge cried anxiously, "Hurry up and save Xia Kong!"
Father Jiang took a look at the courtyard, picked up the long knife dropped by Father Xia, raised the long knife to smash the glass window of Xia's house, and climbed in from above.
"Old Xia!" Father Jiang pushed Father Xia away, snatched the stick from his hand, and said, "If you hit me again, I'll call the police!"
In fact, the police had been called before, but after Xia’s father was scolded by the police and detained for a few days, he would return to his old ways.
"Do you have to worry about the affairs of my Xia family?" Father Xia glared at Father Jiang.
Father Jiang opened the door and pointed a stick at Father Xia: "If you hit the child, I have to control it!"
Jiang's mother and Qiange took this opportunity to pull out Xia Kong who was hiding under the table, and quickly brought him into the Jiang family.
Father Jiang was so angry that he threw the stick away, went home and locked the door.
They could still faintly hear Xia's father yelling and cursing outside, but they no longer cared about that.
The Jiang family surrounded Xia Kong, but Xia Kong touched his forehead and smiled, "It's okay, I didn't get hit."
But he was clearly crying just now.
"Xia Kong." Qiange squatted down and reached out to hold Xia Kong's arm, but Xia Kong pulled his hand away with a grin and turned his head to the side.
Qiange looked at Xia Kong's arm. There was a small bulge on the skin. It looked like he had just been beaten.
Mother Jiang hurried to the kitchen and took a hot towel to apply to the swollen area on Xia Kong's arm.
"I'm sorry, Xia Kong, it's all my fault." Qiange said self-reproachfully.
Xia Kong shook his head and smiled: "I said, it's okay, it's just a minor injury, it will heal soon."
Qiange lowered her head slightly, looking a little depressed, firstly because she didn't find Anjiu, and secondly because it was her own fault that caused Xia Kong to be injured.
"Qian Ge, have you found your partner?" Jiang's mother turned the hot towel over and asked.
Xia Kong looked at the dejected Qiange, winked and shook his head at Jiang's mother. Jiang's mother understood what he meant, so she didn't ask any more questions and pulled Jiang's father to the kitchen to continue cooking.
"Qian Ge." Xia Kong called out to Qian Ge and said, "Don't be sad, we still have a lot of time, we can slowly look for An Jiu."
Qian Ge shook her head and said softly, "It doesn't matter. Brother Anjiu is very smart and has a strong ability to survive. He had a serious illness before and we all thought he would die, but he survived in the end. So I believe that even if he is not in the orphanage, he can live well. Xia Kong, I'm just worried about you. I will never be so reckless and hurt you again."
A warm current flowed through Xia Kong's heart. He touched Qiange's head and said, "Qian Ge, don't blame yourself. You know, I should thank you, because it is because of you that I have hope for life."
Qiange raised her head, her eyes shining brightly. They looked into each other's eyes. Somehow, they became more and more in sync with each other, and their feelings for each other grew deeper and deeper.
Anjiu was not found, but Qiange’s life had to go on.
They were entering high school and were about to turn sixteen. At the age of sixteen, Xia Kong encountered the first nightmare of his life.
Qingyou had long wanted to visit Qiange and Xiakong's courtyard house. Qiange said that if Qingyou liked the courtyard house, she could stay with her for one night and sleep in the same bed. Of course Qingyou was happy to do so.
But after school that day, Qiange and the other two returned to the courtyard. When they walked to the door, they saw a police car parked there.
Police officers came in and out, and then brought out two people, both of whom were handcuffed.
After seeing the two people clearly, Xia Kong was stunned and lost control. He ran over and shouted, "Dad! Mom!"
Jiang's mother, who had just left the house, grabbed Xia Kong and said, "Xia Kong, don't go over there."
"What happened? Why did you arrest my parents? Why?" Xia Kong was impatient and struggled to shout.
"Xiao Xia, go in quickly." Xia's mother winked at Xia Kong, but was soon pushed into the police car by the police.
The police put Xia's parents into the police car and drove away.
Xia Kong broke free from Jiang Mu and ran after the car, shouting. However, he could not catch up with the speed of the car and finally stopped at the entrance of Huaishu Lane.
Xia Kong gasped for breath and watched the police car turn into a tiny speck of dust.
Confused, Qian Ge turned to Jiang's mother and asked, "Mom, what happened?"
Jiang's mother sighed and said, "The police said that Xia's parents borrowed illegal high-interest loans, couldn't pay them back, and accidentally killed the debt collector. So the police came to arrest them."
"What?" Qiange and Qingyou looked at each other in disbelief.
"Then what about Xia Kong?" Qiange said.
Mother Jiang shook her head: "The debt of Xia's parents will not fall on Xia Kong. After all, Xia Kong is a minor. But I don't know how long Xia's parents will be imprisoned."
Qian Ge's heart was in a mess. This happened too suddenly.
Although Xia's parents were alcoholics and made friends with some bad people outside, Qiange never thought that they would do anything illegal.
Qingyou, who was standing by, turned around and looked in the direction Xia Kong ran away, feeling a little worried.
After a while, Xia Kong's figure appeared around the corner again. Qing You took a breath and shouted, "Xia Kong."
She and Qiange ran over to greet Xia Kong, however, Xia Kong was like a zombie, thinking that it was all just a dream.
If it is a dream, he will wake up. Even though his parents are not good to him, he hates them in his heart. However, he does not want to see his parents go to jail.
Mother Jiang said, "Qian Ge, bring him in."
So, Qiange and Qingyou each took one of Xia Kong's hands and brought him to the Jiang family.
Xia Kong sat on the sofa in a daze, while Qiange and Qingyou stood aside, looking at each other.
After a moment, Xia Kong murmured, "Is there really such a thing as retribution? Is this...their retribution?"
Qiange and Qingyou didn’t know what to say and could only stay by his side in silence.
Mother Jiang prepared the meal silently, brought it to the table, and said, "Qian Ge, ask Xia Kong and your classmates to come for dinner."
Qiange nodded, walked over and pulled Xia Kong's sleeve, but Xia Kong didn't move.
"Xia Kong..." Qiange leaned over and called him.
Xia Kong said absentmindedly: "They deserve it, they really deserve it..."
"Xia Kong." Qiange became worried.
Mother Jiang walked over, pulled Qiange aside, and sat in front of Xia Kong. She put her arm around his shoulders like a loving mother and said, "Xia, you have to be good. You can live in Aunt Fang's house from now on. We have watched you grow up since you were a child, so you are half of Aunt Fang's son. Aunt Fang told you that if parents make mistakes, they have to correct them. It takes some time for them to correct their mistakes, so you have to be patient and they will be back soon."
Xia Kong is already sixteen years old. He knows that his parents must bear legal responsibility if they break the law. Jiang's mother said this just to comfort him. He knows it all.
However, Xia Kong still didn't speak. Jiang's mother sighed, let Qiange and Qingyou eat first, and left Xia Kong's food in the pot.
However, Xia Kong hadn’t eaten at all. Not only that, he hadn’t slept all night and didn’t go to class the next day.
After school, Qiange was worried about Xia Kong, so she trotted back to the courtyard, only to find Xia Kong sitting under the locust tree outside the courtyard, staring at the sky in a daze.
The locust tree is so big that it takes several people to hug it. In summer, the branches and leaves of the locust tree will be particularly lush.
Qian Ge walked over, sat next to Xia Kong, and said, "Xia Kong, you didn't go to school today, and everyone is worried about you."
"I'm fine." Xia Kong said lightly.
Qian Ge reached out, held Xia Kong's hand, and comforted him, "Xia Kong, don't be sad, you still have me, I can wait with you."
Xia Kong turned his head, lowered his eyes, and looked at Qiange silently.
Can she accompany him? No one can accompany someone for a lifetime.
"Don't you believe it?" Indeed, there was disbelief in Xia Kong's eyes.
Xia Kong turned back, still looking at the sky, and said: "Qian Ge, thank you, but a lifetime is too long, and the future is too far away. No one can accompany someone for a lifetime."
"Xiakong." Qian Ge shook her head, leaned closer to him, and said, "I know what you mean, but please believe me, look -" She pointed at the sky he was looking at, "When you look up at the sky, the place you can see is the farthest place you can see, but it is not the farthest place in the world. Xiakong, no matter how far apart you and I are in the future, as long as you look up, you will know that we are under the same sky and I am very close to you."
Xia Kong's eyes slowly lit up with a warm glow. He stared at Qiange without blinking and asked, "The same sky..."
"Yes!" Qian Ge nodded and smiled. "I know that there are too many possibilities in the future. I may not be able to be by your side all the time, but as long as you are willing, I will always be your best friend and closest family member. As long as you need me, I will rush to your side immediately."
Xia Kong looked at Qiange with a faint smile in his eyes. Although he felt lost, confused and helpless, as long as Qiange was by his side, all the haze seemed to be blown away by the wind, and the sky welcomed the long-lost clearness.
With Qiange around, he felt so safe and happy.
Xia Kong returned to school and everyone treated him kindly.
The Jiang family vacated a room for Xia Kong to live in. Although the Xia family could still be habitable, it was too lonely for Xia Kong to live there alone without his parents around.
From that time on, Qiange and Xiakong went in and out together, ate together, and fought for the TV remote control after dinner, just like a family.
During the Spring Festival of the first year of high school, Jiang's mother gave Qiange and Xiakong a mobile phone each. It was not expensive, just over a thousand yuan, as their New Year's gift.
On New Year’s Eve, Lin Fangke invited everyone to go out and play, and then they exchanged each other’s phone numbers and QQ numbers.
With convenient means of communication, some people are in frequent contact with each other, for example, Lin Fangke and Qingyou, and Qingyou and Xiakong.
It is known to all classmates that Lin Fangke has a special liking for Qingyou, but how Qingyou feels about Xia Kong is probably only known to her.
On the weekend, Qingyou invited Xiakong to her house. Her parents were not at home, leaving her alone to look after the store, which was quite boring.
In fact, she also invited Qiange, but Qiange was out with Jiang's mother and couldn't come.
Xia Kong had been to Qingyuefang before, but he just took a look.
Today, Qingyou was alone in the store and told Xia Kong a lot of knowledge about porcelain.
For example, what kind of soil and stone are needed to burn what kind of porcelain, what is the most suitable temperature for burning porcelain, how many types of glaze are there on the surface of porcelain, and what is the meaning of the patterns on the porcelain body.
Qingyou talked incessantly, and Xia Kong followed behind Qingyou with his eyes wide open, like a little follower.
"Qingyou, you are amazing. You know so much about porcelain." Xia Kong praised sincerely.
Qingyou smiled, her beautiful eyes narrowed into a crescent shape: "I just learned a little bit from what I have seen and heard. My father's master is really good. He is the best master in Jingdezhen."
Jingdezhen, Dehua and Liling are the porcelain capitals of China. Since Yuan's father was learning his craft in Jingdezhen, why did he come to City B where the porcelain culture is not very strong?
Regarding this question, Qingyou said: "My mother is from City B, so we returned to City B. Jingdezhen makes good porcelain, and we sell good porcelain here. Besides, City B is a relatively large city in China, so there are naturally more people who know how to appreciate and love porcelain."
"I see." Xia Kong nodded.
Qingyou said to Xiakong happily: "Xiakong, come with me."
Qingyou brought Xiakong to his bedroom. Outside the bedroom window was a lush green. A porcelain wind chime was hung on the window. When the wind blew, the notes and bells of the wind chime tinkled.
Xia Kong walked to the window and looked out. The view here was really good. He could even see the tall locust tree outside the courtyard.
The locust tree sprouted new buds, and the summer sky watched them tenderly.
"I often come here to look at the scenery outside." Qingyou came to Xiakong, put his hands on the window sill, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the spring breeze blowing on his face. "Whenever I feel bad, I just need to take a look here, look at the top of the locust tree, look at the blue sky, and watch the white clouds being blown by the wind and floating slowly. At that time, all my bad moods disappear."
"Qingyou, do you also have times when you are in a bad mood?" Xia Kong turned around and asked.
Qingyue nodded: "Of course, everyone has bad moods sometimes."
It turns out that people who look happy and fulfilled every day can also have bad days.
"So," Qingyou raised her head and met Xiakong's gaze, "Xiakong, if you ever feel bad, you can climb to a higher place. That way, you can see farther and feel that we are actually very insignificant in this world, and there is nothing worth being sad about."
Xia Kong was very smart. He knew what Qingyou meant. He smiled lightly and said, "Qingyou, thank you, but please don't worry, I am doing well."
Qingyou looked at him. The bright sunlight fell on Xiakong's face, and the fine hairs on the tip of his nose were coated with a layer of light, giving him a hazy beauty.
He opened his lips slightly and said, "Because last year, someone told me that no matter how far away we are in the future, we will always be under the same sky, and she will come to me whenever I need her."
Xia Kong's words were gentle and affectionate. Qingyou listened to them, but unconsciously put away her smile.
She couldn't laugh, so she could only turn her head and look at City B outside the window.
In the bedroom, it was so quiet that even a needle dropping could be heard. Qingyou felt a pain in her heart. Although Xia Kong's words were very normal, she still felt a pain in her heart.
"Yes..." If she didn't say anything, it would be very awkward, right? Qingyou hesitated and said, "Qian Ge said that, right?"
"Yeah!" Xia Kong still had a smile on his face and did not notice Qingyou's mood change.
Qingyou closed her eyes and forced herself to smile: "I really envy you and Qiange. You have such a good relationship. Unlike me, I don't have any special friends since I was a child."
"Well, so I always feel that I am lucky to have met Qiange." Xia Kong said, and then said, "But, Qingyou, you have us now. Qiange and I are your best friends."
"Hmm..." Qingyou lowered her head slightly and reached out to put the long hair that had fallen down behind her ears. "I know, so I cherish it very much."
Suddenly, I recalled the scene of our first meeting. The hurried boy ran around the corner and bumped into me accidentally. At that time, Xia Kong was wearing a white vest and navy blue shorts. She was thin, fair-skinned, and her eyes were like stars.
That collision also quietly touched Qingyou's heart.
Time slips away slowly, and no one asks about the ripples that happened in the past.
Until one day, Lin Fangke happily followed Qingyou, Xiakong and Qiange to the rice noodle shop to eat free rice noodles.
The rice noodle shop is not big, with ten rectangular tables for four people. Qiange and his friends sat at a table against the wall. In the corner sat another group of boys of the same age as them, and the rest were nearby residents.
While waiting, a boy in the corner suddenly raised his head. His ears were full of earrings and his hair was dyed a strange red. When he saw Xia Kong, he suddenly smiled contemptuously: "Oh, why do you look so familiar? It turns out you are from the Xia family. Oh my, your parents are in prison, and you still have the mood to eat rice noodles here."
This sentence made everyone look over here. Qian Ge frowned and was about to seek justice for Xia Kong, but Xia Kong held her down with his hand. Xia Kong said, "It's okay, don't worry about them."
The man with the earrings ate a mouthful of rice noodles and continued to laugh as if no one was around: "Wow, that's amazing, amazing. It's really amazing to have such a pair of parents."
"Oh my god, that's amazing, amazing. People who can say amazing are really amazing." The voice came from Lin Fangke. The man with earrings was a gangster outside the school, and Lin Fangke was a gangster inside the school. They were the same, and neither of them would admit defeat when it came to mocking others.
"Tsk, who was it? Turns out to be Lin Fangke who hates good students. What? Now you don't hate good students, but hang out with them instead?" The man with earrings finished his rice noodles, leaned against the wall with his legs crossed, and looked at Lin Fangke.
"Then do you want to come?" Lin Fangke asked in a mean way.
The man with the earrings rolled his eyes at him and said, "I won't go. After all, it's unlucky for people to live in prison with their parents."
"Stop talking about your parents being in prison all the time." Qiange couldn't help but stood up angrily and looked directly at the man with earrings.
The man with the earrings quickly sat up straight and said with a smile, "Hey! Are you speaking up for your lover?"
After these words were spoken, Qiange and the other three frowned and stood up.
The man with earrings and his companions all stood up, watching a "war" about to break out!
"What? You wanna fight?" The man with earrings stared at them viciously.
"Bah!" Lin Fangke spat, "You are shameless. You only know how to make fun of others behind their backs. How can you still survive in the underworld like this?"
"You..." The man with the earrings was so angry that his face turned blue after being scolded by Lin Fangke. His younger brother was in front of him, how could he lose face like this? So, the man with the earrings stepped onto the stool, picked up the teacup on the table and threw it at him, "You are looking for death, Lin Fangke!"
With a "bang", the teacup broke into pieces on the ground, and bright red blood flowed down Lin Fangke's forehead.
Lin Fangke didn't expect the man with the earrings to start hitting people. He stood there in a daze, unable to recover.
Seeing that Lin Fangke was being beaten, Xia Kong and the other two immediately picked up a long bench and protected Lin Fangke.
The man with the earrings shouted in frustration: "Brothers! No matter whether you are male or female! Beat them up!"
The earring man's subordinates rushed forward and started a fight with Xia Kong and the others.
Lin Fangke closed his eyes, shook his head, knocked his dizzy head, and then opened his eyes again, only to see that the gentle Qingyou and the well-behaved Qiange were also in the melee, being pushed and stumbled.
"Damn it... Damn it! How dare you bully Qingyou! How dare you bully my classmates!"
Lin Fangke shouted and rushed into the battle. No matter who the opponent was, he kicked, punched, and bit him with his teeth. The rice noodle shop was suddenly in chaos. Only the shouting and the sound of smashing and smashing could be heard.
As a result, these injured kids were taken to the police station and were scolded by the police.
Because the kids were smart and admitted their mistakes sincerely, and because it was indeed the man with earrings who started the fight, the police did not make things too difficult for Xia Kong and the others.
After coming out of the police station, Xia Kong, Qiange and Qingyou were afraid of being scolded if they got home because they were injured, so they didn't dare to go home.
Lin Fangke patted his chest generously and said, "Come to my house!"
Lin Fangke's house is super big, standing in the villa area of ​​City B. Lin Fangke's parents are not at home, but there are several servants in the house.
The servants called Lin Fangke "Young Master Lin". When Lin Fangke brought Xia Kong and the others in, he told the servants not to tell his parents about his injury.
"Lin Fangke, your house is so big..." Qiange looked at the luxurious villa and couldn't believe it.
Lin Fangke said proudly: "That's nothing. If you want to come over in the future, you can come over anytime. Just tell Aunt Li and the others that you are my friends. By the way, let's go to my room first. I still need to clean the wound on my face."
Lin Fangke took them to his bedroom, which was three times the size of Qian Ge's bedroom. Aunt Li brought the medicine box over soon. Lin Fangke opened the medicine box skillfully, took out iodine to wipe the wound, and asked everyone to wipe it.
"You have a wound on your face. What are you going to say when you go back?" Qingyou was a little worried.
Lin Fangke turned around and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, just say you were playing games at a classmate's house and accidentally got hurt, and put a Band-Aid on the wound. As long as they don't look closely at the wound, they won't know where the injury came from. I used to do this all the time!"
Qingyou burst out laughing and said, "Lin Fangke, you are really unexpected."
Lin Fangke chuckled, a blush appearing on his face.
Qiange and Xia Kong looked at each other and immediately understood why the blush appeared.
In fact, it was thanks to this fight that Lin Fangke was able to truly integrate into the circle of Xia Kong, Qian Ge, and Qing You. From then on, B City High School had a group of four inseparable people.
However, the man with earrings who started the "war" was not a good person, or there was a reason why he provoked Xia Kong.
The reason was seen by Qiange and Qingyou a week after the fight.
At that time, Qingyou was not feeling well during her menstrual period, so Qiange accompanied her to the hospital. When they came back, they met the man with the earrings.
"Qian Ge, look, isn't that the guy who fought with us last time?" Qing You spotted the man with earrings and pulled Qian Ge's sleeve to show her.
Qian Ge looked over and saw the man with the earrings acting sneaky, as if he was going to do something bad.
"What is he doing?" Qiange stared at him closely.
"I don't know. Is he going to do anything bad? Qiange, do you want to go and take a look?" Qingyou asked worriedly. What should they do if the man with the earrings still wants to cause trouble for Xia Kong?
Qian Ge nodded, took Qingyou's hand, and said, "Let's follow him."
So, on the street, the two girls secretly followed a strange man and came to the old town of City B.
The old town is inhabited by lower-class people. There are no security guards and only a small community, so anyone can come in and it's quite chaotic inside.
Qian Ge and Qing You followed the man with earrings here, but saw him chatting with another man. The man was tall, with short hair as black as the night, and he looked quite decent in his clothes.
They were talking about something, but Qiange and the others couldn't hear clearly.
Suddenly, the man with his back to them tilted his head and frowned.
However, even if she only saw the other person's profile, Qian Ge's heart almost stopped beating!
That profile looks so familiar... I seem to have seen it somewhere.
But where?
Why can’t you remember it?
As soon as she saw that profile, Qiange's heart started beating wildly, as if many dense nets were encircling her heart, and then those dense nets were constantly tightening.
That profile...
That profile...
"Brother Anjiu..." Qiange called out the name stupidly.
Qingyou, who was listening at the side, asked, "Qian Ge, what are you talking about?"
"Anjiu, Brother Anjiu..." Somehow, her eyes were covered with mist. Qiange sobbed softly, wiped away her tears, opened her eyes again, but the man with earrings and the strange man were gone.
"Anjiu!" Qiange called out and ran out, but the man was no longer in the old city!
Qiange didn't dare to conclude whether he was Anjiu, but the profile of the person was so similar, even though they hadn't seen each other for almost ten years.
However, Qinge could not forget Anjiu's thick eyebrows and eyes.
"Qian Ge, what's wrong with you?" Qing You ran out, not understanding Qian Ge's reaction just now.
Qian Ge looked at the narrow old town, wiped her tears, and whispered, "It's okay."
"Forget it, Qiange, let's go back." Qingyou said when he saw Qiange was not in good condition.
Qiange nodded and followed Qingyou out of the old city. As she left, she kept looking back at the old city.
Was she really seeing things? That wasn't Brother Anjiu, he just looked a bit like him?
Maybe she really missed Anjiu too much?
I don’t know why, but Qiange always has an intuition that Anjiu is in City B.
Before being taken away by the Jiang family when she was a child, Qiange told Anjiu that the Jiang family lived in City B. If Anjiu was really looking for her, he would definitely come to City B.
However, what Qiange didn't expect was that it would take her so long to find Anjiu.
Moreover, it was found six years later, when she was twenty-two years old.