It was still drizzling outside. Zhao Yuan raised the torch in his hand and the fire swayed in the fine rain. The two of them put on their clothes. Lin Wenxi's clothes were now dry but Zhao Yuan's clothes were still soaked. Only then did he recall that Zhao Yuan had placed his clothes in front of the campfire and his behind.
Lin Wenxi touched the lapel of his clothes to try and wring it dry. Zhao Yuan looked at him like he was a complete idiot.
Out of the blue, Lin Wenxi grabbed his torch and placed it in front of him to illuminate the way. Zhao Yuan got dressed and chased after him. "I think we're still get soaked in the rain walking the trail. Let's speed up."
Lin Wenxi laughed. "The saying goes that, 'Flowers are blooming on your way home, so enjoy them while ambling along' but look at you. You won't even let me catch a break."
"The only thing blossoming now is rainwater. What's there to be happy about?" While tugging Lin Wen
Lin Wenxi woke up early the next morning. He was just stretching his back when he got such a bad fright that he straightened his back. What he saw were none other than a furious-looking Lin Ziwei, a teary-eyed Huang Xiya, and a steely, expressionless Hong Xuan. "No!" Lin Wenxi blurted out. "No, how could we only have one day? How could our reunion last only one day?!" "You don't look ill!" Lin Ziwei sneered. Zhao Yuan stood behind her and gave Lin Wenxi a meaningful look. Lin Wenxi immediately understood what he meant. "I was feeling under the weather when I met my university classmate. That's why I decided to come here and rest." "Then why didn't you inform your Uncle Hong Xuan over the phone? Are you so ill that you can't even make the call?" Lin Ziwei asked coolly. "After ending the call, I felt dizzy and had to lie down for a day. I'm only feeling better now," Lin Wenxi said. He was
When Lin Wenxi's car drove past the former compound of the countryside government office, he loudly insisted on getting down. "I want to take a look! Just a look!" Lin Wenxi yelled. "What's there to see?" Lin Ziwei's voice rose alongside his anger. Lin Wenxi swiftly lowered the window and poked his neck out. In a moment of desperation, Hong Xuan pulled up by the road and steadily stopped the car. After the car was unlocked, Lin Wenxi threw the door open and flew out of the car so quickly that his father couldn't grab him in time. "What's going on, Hong Xuan?" Lin Ziwei asked, easing his tone. "Brother Wei, I watched this kid grow up. His happiest childhood days were all spent here. Besides, the building will be demolished soon. Let him take a look so he can have something to remember it by," Hong Xuan answered. "You've become sentimental." Lin Ziwei was unhappy. "Heh. Wenxi sometimes ca
Zhao Yuan lost the mood to enjoy the beautiful early autumn scenery in the countryside. He sped past Liu Lanhua and Cao Damiao and returned home. Lin Wenxi's calls had become his daily sustenance. "Are you up?" he asked. "Yeah." "Did you sleep well last night?" "Not bad. What about you?" "I… slept pretty well too. Have you ate?" In reality, Zhao Yuan had been suffering from frequent bouts of insomnia ever since he came home. "Yeah. What about you?" "I've eaten too. What did you today?" "Reading… some stuff." In reality, Lin Wenxi was reading his new university's brochure on admissions, rules, regulations, schedule, and so on. Lin Ziwei gave little explanation of these things and made him settle the rest. Days later, Zhao Yuan finally reached the end of his patience. "Is someone watching your home…?" he asked. "My mom
"State your condition," Zhao Yuan said in a low voice. "Be my boyfriend. And I want you to stop all forms of communication with Lin Wenxi!" Chen Wanxin said. "Impossible!" Zhao Yuan said. "Then it's impossible for me as well!" Chen Wanxin replied coolly. "Wanxin, I have nothing but gratitude for you. I thought of many ways to repay your kindness but it's not something like being your boyfriend. A relationship that exists only in name has no meaning whatsoever! Why will you slowly reduce the affection between us into dust? We're at least good friends, aren't we?" Zhao Yuan said sincerely. "To me, you being my boyfriend in itself is the meaning of everything!" Chen Wanxi retorted loudly. "The 'boyfriend' title is the most meaningless one in the world," Zhao Yuan said. "I'll make sure that the title will become meaningful." Chen Wanxin chuckled softly. "So is that a yes or a no?"
After packing his luggage and ordering bus tickets, Lin Wenxi was off. "Remember not to come home often. Better yet, don't come home at all!" Lin Ziwei said solemnly. "Hm." Lin Wenxi nodded but thought that it wasn't a bad idea to visit Zhao Yuan's home for Chinese New Year instead of his own. "I'm saying that you should avoid Yangzi County as much as possible!" Lin Ziwei emphasized. It was as if he could see through his son's thoughts. Lin Wenxi nodded silently. When his bus was about to leave Yangzi County, he sent one final text message to Zhao Yuan: "I'm thankful to you." The reply: "I hope it's not too late." While he was still reading the text message, another person was receiving a phone call. Hong Xuan's face darkened after the call and his grip tightened on his Nokia phone, causing the keys on the device to pop out of their sockets nearly. Confused, Lin Wenxi stared solemnly at
During the feast that Zhao Yuan threw, the bustle and joy of the new semester became water under the bridge. Lin Wenxi couldn't believe his ears when he heard Zhao Yuan declare that he was dating Chen Wanxin. His former girlfriend had now become his current girlfriend. Chen Wanxin repeatedly toasted her friends as a way of accepting their congratulations. In an instant, she became the center of attention of the feast. She was as lovely as the spring flowers blossoming in the ravine. "Aren't you going to toast me, Wenxi?" Chen Wanxin smiled. "I remember clearly what you once told me." "Why… aren't you celebrating with Zheng Kai?" Lin Wenxi asked. "Well, initially we weren't able to arrange this feast but Zheng Kai took charge and got things settled. I've already expressed my thanks to him. Moreover, the skilled pianist I invited will arrive in a moment. The pianist will add to our enjoyment." Smiling, Chen Wanxin raised her wine
"Zhao Yuan! How dare you leave!" Chen Wanxin hastily adjusted her cotton shawl and ran out of the room, crying foul. Zhao Yuan was sitting on the sofa. He ignited his lighter with a snap, lit up a cigarette, and exhaled a long and deep breath of smoke. "Wanxin, I don't think a boyfriend has the duty to sleep with his girlfriend," he said coolly. "I'm not forcing you to…" Chen Wanxin said softly. "I'm not willing. I'll sleep on the sofa from now on," Zhao Yuan replied emotionlessly. "You!" Furious, Chen Wanxin walked back to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. For a long time, she couldn't placate her indignation. When she woke up the next morning, she found Zhao Yuan long gone. She considered this to be a small confusion in her overall plan. Her plan was to cook a frog in the boiling water but she had been too hasty last night. After pondering over this issue, she finally got an answer. It was ano
"The university counselor has arranged Guo Liang to live in my dormitory and asked me to live here." Gu Xi said timidly. "That little bastard is so smart?" Zheng Kai beat the bed. "You don't welcome me?" Gu Xi asked. Zheng Kai stopped talking. Zhao Yuan once again jumped from the upper bunk and said, "It seems that it is necessary to make plans for a long-term fight." He then rolled to Lin Wenxi's bed. "Wang Xiang, are you serious?" Chen Wanxin almost shouted in a hoarse voice. "Yes." “He does that every night?” "Yeah, before Gu Xi came to the dormitory, brother Yuan only slept on his upper bunk, but now he sleeps on the lower bunk every day." Wang Xiang said with a smile. He then hung up the phone. Chen Wanxin answered Luo Yang's call. "Tell Zhang Dong that Lin Wenxi came back to the campus." Chen Wanxin said coldly.
Chen Yuanxi watched the videos attentively on the bed. Chen Yuanxi watched the first video. A gentle man gently bent over to put the clothes on the boy's quilt who was lying on the bed. The boy turned over in a daze, and put his arms around the man's neck with a happy smile on his face. The man kept the posture of leaning down for fear of waking up the boy on the bed until the boy's hands slipped, and fell outside the quilt. Then the man held the boy's hands, put them in the quilt, and tightly held him in the quilt. He lowered his head, and whispered something. After a while, the man got into the quilt, hugged the boy from behind, and his face was close to the boy's back... At that time, Chen Yuanxi could smell a strange smell in the room. Even the forensic said it was estrus-spurred medicine. At that time, how could Zhang Dong restrain himself and protect Chen Yuanxi? How could he guarantee that Chen Yuanxi and he could safely leave under the pressure of
The prison in the small town. Chen Yuanxi and Mo Qian were arranged to meet in a separate room. "Unexpectedly, uncle Hong Xuan and Zhang Dong worked together, and they could only make Luo Yang was sentenced to death. You can still wait for further investigation," Chen Yuanxi said with a smile, "Old friend, long time no see." In front of Chen Yuanxi, Mo Qian, once rich and glorious, was still wearing his glasses of silver frame, whose both sides had been badly worn. In prison, he had no chance to silver it. "Are you here to say goodbye to me?" asked Mo Qian. "No, I'm here to let you say goodbye to yourself," said Chen Yuanxi. "What should I call you?" asked Mo Qian. "Chen Yuan Xi." "We can't go back. So if you have anything to say, just say it." "I'll give you a chance to tell me the story between uncle Hong Xuan and you. I'm afraid no one will listen to it. I
On the marshland, the foundation had been newly laid. In a short time, there would be many houses standing here. Chen Yuanxi came there and sat down quietly, imagining how Zhang Dong fell under the gun of Hong Xuan that night. Chen Yuanxi could not understand why Hong Xuan was so cruel to Zhang Dong before he died. He thought about it and suddenly thought it through. "Because he shouldn't love me. He loves me, so his life has to pay the price." "If I were a girl, maybe Hong Xuan would have hijacked him to help us." But then he fell into a deeper confusion. "Zhang Dong, why were you so stupid that you would rather die? Why didn't you choose to agree to uncle Hong Xuan? You need to be flexible when it's urgent. There would be a solution in the future! You have learned from me for more than two years, but you're still as upright as Zheng Kai!" Chen Yuanxi smiled bitterly and madly. He was lying in the s
When they walked out of the door together, Chen Yuanxi suddenly asked, "Do you think I really love Zhao Yuan?" "Why did you suddenly ask such a question?" Gu Xi said, "You two have experienced so much together. All of us can see that you love each other." "What about Uncle Hong Xuan and my father?" Gu Xi shook his head and said, "He and your father are brothers. They have heroic spirit and don't stick to trifles. But you and Zhao Yuan..." "Uncle Hong Xuan can die for my father, and I can do anything for Zhao Yuan. Isn't he in love with my father?" asked Chen Yuanxi. "Except for love, there are many other emotions among people that can make them live and die together," said Gu Xi. "Then Zhao Yuan and I may not be in love." Chen Yuanxi said thoughtfully. "Wenxi, you are just making excuses for yourself! Did you fall in love with someone else?" asked Gu Xi. "I don't know. Eve
Hong Xuan was walking in a daze in the wild. He thought he might have killed the wrong person this time. The video sent by the liaison suggested that Zhang Dong and Wenxi had kissed each other across the bulletproof glass, which made him furious! What made him angrier was that he heard that Zhang Dong had been wearing rings on both hands all day long, which were sent by Wenxi! "I've warned him not to mislead my son! My only son!" The moon was bright and peaceful, but his eyes were full of bloodshot. He knew that Zhang Dong was a man of righteous ardour and was not afraid of death, but he did not expect that Zhang Dong's words before he died would make him lose his mind for a moment. He knew that prisoners in the prison sometimes had to go out to carry out their tasks to expiate their crimes. Among those people, there must be Zhang Dong. He had videoed his testimony against Mo Qian, as well as some evidence that could be searche
The men's prison in the small town. "How many years will you stay in the prison?" Chen Yuanxi tried to smile at Zhang Dong. "It's not clear yet. I think it will be eight years. That's enough. When I go out, I'm only 40 and only one tenth of my life will have passed. Besides, I'm sure my sentence will be commuted." Zhang Dong smiled easily. Chen Yuanxi was amused. He scolded while wiping tears, "You fool, how long do you want to live!" "I'll stay with you for 360 years before I dare to die," said Zhang Dong. "It wasn't you who took photos of me for Mo Qian, did you?" Chen Yuanxi said with a smile. "If you really don't doubt it, you won't ask me." Zhang Dong kept silent for three seconds and said with a smile, "After more than two years with you, I have been more or less smarter." Hearing that, Chen Yuanxi kept silent. "I knew it later. In order to create a realistic effect,
Chen Yuanxi was going to go back with Zhang Dong, but Zhang Dong stood still, and several policemen came. Chen Yuanxi turned around and looked at Zhang Dong with doubts, who was standing among a group of armed police. Chen Yuanxi looked at Zhang Dong with a smile. Zhang Dong was tall and powerful. Among these armed police, he was a Triton of the minnows and his temperament as a soldier was no worse than theirs. But why did not he come to Chen Yuanxi? Zhang Dong smiled and said, "Yuanxi, I can't accompany you any longer." Chen Yuanxi looked at Zhang Dong in disbelief, who was standing alone by the huge and solemn front door of the prison. It was dusk, and the lights had gone on. Zhang Dong's face was covered with lights of different colors, which covered up his real expression. "Why?" asked Chen Yuanxi. Zhang Dong said with a smile, "I surrendered myself, so that I won't be sentenced too severely. When I'm judged,
Chen Yuanxi saw Hong Xuan's red and swollen eyes. "I won't interfere in your affairs with Yanyan, but I hope you will at least follow Ziwei's second will and live a good and safe life. As for you, Zhang Dong, if I know you lead Wenxi to the wrong way, no matter what you helped me, I will not let you go!" Chen Yuanxi understood Hong Xuan's meaning and asked him what he wanted to do. "There are still a few thieves who haven't been caught. After catching them, I'll go back where I came from!" Hong Xuan laughed and strode away. Chen Yuanxi rushed forward and hugged Hong Xuan. "Dad... can you not leave... can you stay at somewhere and live... you have the ability to live, don't you?" Chen Yuanxi cried in a sad voice. "I should have died more than eight years ago, Wenxi. Your father and I are sworn friends. We should go through thick and thin together..." Hong Xuan said in a trembling voice.
Two months later, Beijing. The summer has come. Zhang Dong dragged out an air water tank and set up a small swimming pool in the room. Chen Yuanxi was naked and immersed in the water. He remembered that Captain Cao had been telling him from the small town that people of the Mo Family had been caught one after another, but the one who often provided clues was He Fu, the major fugitive who had killed three people several years ago. Captain Cao had asked about the identity of He Fu several times, but Chen Yuanxi said nothing. "It's enough. You're so tired. Come here," said Chen Yuanxi. Zhang Dong took off his vest and rolled down. They had playing in the water for a while, and did not notice the sound of the door opening. When Hong Xuan came in, Chen Yuanxi was lying on Zhang Dong's body, pouring water on his head, and washing his hair. When they saw Hong Xuan, they immediately stopped, looking like chi