Chapter 4 Sleepwalking 2
Aunt He Pei looked at me and continued, "You are our Luo's first friend, and I know he is sincere to you. So, Yunhao, you must help me to support him more. I don't want him to become like his father."
Looking at Aunt He Pei like this, I felt a little sad. I could only nod my head vigorously and said, "I know. I promise you that I will not let Chen Qiaoluo go astray."
When I got home, I saw my dad waiting anxiously in the living room. When he saw me, he immediately rushed over and hugged me. Just when I was confused, I heard him say, "Daughter, you scared me to death. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw your door was open and your phone was left at home. I thought something happened to you."
I was stunned, and then I remembered that I left in such a hurry that I forgot to bring my phone with me. Thinking of everything Aunt He Pei told me at Chen Qiaoluo's house, I suddenly felt that all parents in the world are great.
Take my dad for example, he didn't even ask me where I was going so late at night, he was just worried that something might have happened to me.
Thinking of this, I was moved. I reached out and hugged my dad back, saying with some tears in my eyes, "Dad, thank you."
Thank you for loving me so much, thank you for tolerating all my emotions and willfulness.
Hearing what I said, my dad freed his hands to rub my hair and said with a smile: "Silly boy, what are you talking about? Why should you say thank you to your own father?"
I stopped talking and just hugged him tighter. I thought how lucky I was to be his daughter.
"Okay, okay, you're already this big and still acting like a spoiled brat to your dad." Dad let go of me and said, "You must be hungry. I'll make you a bowl of noodles. After you finish eating, go to bed quickly. You have classes tomorrow."
"Um."
I nodded vigorously and followed him to the kitchen to watch him fry eggs and cook noodles for me.
After a while, a bowl of hot plain noodles was placed on the table. Dad was not in a hurry to go to bed, but sat aside and waited for me to finish eating before cleaning up.
I took a bite of noodles, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Dad, is Mom still in touch with you?"
He seemed to be surprised that I would suddenly mention my mother. He was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Why do you suddenly ask this?"
"Nothing." I lowered my head and was silent for a long time before I said, "Something happened just now that made me think a lot. I think, maybe I shouldn't hate her so persistently. After all, she is the one who gave me life."
In the past, I didn't want to talk about my mother. After all, she was the one who abandoned me and destroyed our family. But after seeing what happened to Guyu and Chen Qiaoluo, I suddenly felt that hatred and not hatred are just a matter of one thought. I don't want to hate someone so infinitely in my limited life. Such a life is too tiring.
After hearing what I said, my dad was stunned for a while before he suddenly laughed and said, "Our daughter has really grown up. She has become so sensible."
Yes, I have grown up. I understand what it means to cherish the people around me, and I also understand what it means to be grateful.
Since that night, Aunt He Pei's words have been engraved in my heart. I started to drag Chen Qiaoluo to the library to prepare for the final year of high school. But Chen Qiaoluo always looked uninterested. I knew he had something on his mind, but no matter how I asked, he never revealed anything.
Gigi Lai said that she saw Chen Qiaoluo with some people from society after school. At first I didn't believe it. After all, he had turned back and I didn't believe he would repeat the same mistake. I smiled and told Gigi Lai that she must have seen it wrong. Chen Qiaoluo went to work in a fast food restaurant after school every day. But Gigi Lai didn't believe it. She even swore that she definitely didn't recognize the wrong person and said that she would take me with her after school to prove that what she said was not a lie.
I couldn't persuade her, so after school I went with her to the street where she said she saw Chen Qiaoluo. It was a street in the city that was notoriously unsafe, and I always avoided it.
As soon as Li Zi and I walked there, several men whistled at us. Li Zi hid behind me in fear and said, "I saw Chen Qiaoluo when I passed by here after school yesterday. He was walking with a tall and strong man."
"You must have seen it wrong." I still insisted on my inner trust in Chen Qiaoluo and said to Li Zi, "Look, it's so messy here. It's not good for two girls to stay here. This matter has passed. I think we should go back first."
After I finished saying this, I pulled Li Zi over and was about to leave when I saw Chen Qiaoluo appear here. He was holding a cigarette, and the man next to him was wearing a thick necklace, with a fat head and big ears, and he didn't look like a good guy. I was shocked, and a feeling of betrayal quickly swept over me.
Just when I stood there, not knowing what to do, Chen Qiaoluo also saw me. There were too many emotions flashing in his eyes, but before I could even catch them, they returned to calmness.
He walked towards me and asked, "Hello Zhu Yun, what are you doing here?"
I stared into his eyes for a long time before I said desperately, "Chen Qiaoluo, you lied to me."
I thought we were best friends and that there would be no secrets between us, but I never expected that deception would happen in an instant. I said, "Didn't you say you were working at a fast food restaurant after school? Tell me, why are you here? And who is that man?"
My loud questioning made many people look at me, including the man who was walking next to Chen Qiaoluo before.
Seeing this, Gigi Lai pulled my hand from behind and whispered worriedly, "Hello, Yun, there are so many people watching us here."
I gritted my teeth and said nothing, just staring at Chen Qiaoluo.
The man who was not far away also came over and asked Chen Qiaoluo, "Aluo, what are you doing?"
Seeing him coming over, Chen Qiaoluo immediately put on a smiling face and said to him, "It's okay, Brother Lei Zi."
Seeing him like this, I felt a little bit of disbelief. Is this still the Chen Qiaoluo I know? Why can't I understand this person in front of me?
I grabbed Chen Qiaoluo's hand and said coldly, "Come back with me."
I once promised Aunt He Pei that I would help Chen Qiaoluo no matter what. Now seeing him falling into depravity again, how can I not fulfill my promise to Aunt He Pei?
Seeing me like this, the man named Lei Zi also noticed me. I saw his eyes sizing me up for a long time, and gradually a malicious smile appeared on his face.
I felt a little uncomfortable with his gaze, so I turned to Chen Qiaoluo and said again: "Chen Qiaoluo, come back with me."
But before he could say anything, the man named Lei Zi spoke first. He clicked his tongue twice and said, "A Luo, this is your girlfriend. She is so beautiful. It's not good to come to a place like this so late at night."
The tone of his voice made me frown. Before I could open my mouth, I heard Li Zi say to me in a frightened voice, "Hello, Yun, can we go back?"
This place is full of gossip, and Gigi Lai has nothing to do with it. Hearing her say this, I was a little shaken, but I still held Chen Qiaoluo's hand and refused to give in.
I promised Aunt He Pei that I would not watch him fall into such depravity no matter what.
Time seemed to stand still. Chen Qiaoluo reached out and pried my hand away. He looked at me with cold eyes. He said, "Hello, Zhu Yun. You can go back now."
"Yes, Yun, ok, let's go back first." Gigi Lai also echoed behind me.
I looked at my empty left hand and suddenly felt extremely lonely. However, maybe I should trust Chen Qiaoluo again, maybe things are not as bad as I imagined.
I raised my head and looked at him, but he spoke again: "Go back."
This time, there was a hint of pleading in his eyes.
I pursed my lips and looked at him for a long time, then without saying a word, I pulled Gigi Lai and went back the way we came.
And I could still vaguely hear Lei Zi's voice behind me. He said, "Ah Luo, why did you let your girlfriend leave? Now that you're here, let's have some fun together. Am I going to eat her?"
Such words made me clench my fists.
