HR Chapter 32

At first glance, one might mistake him for Bai Ze, but upon closer inspection, the person in the photo has a gentle smile and a sunny disposition, unlike Bai Ze, who always has a hint of melancholy between his brows. Zhu Yan craned his neck for a look but didn’t say anything. Bai Ze carefully scrutinized the person in the photo, who resembled him eighty percent. This was the father he had yearned for in his thoughts for many years. It turned out that he looked so much like him, but there were still differences. He lost the remaining twenty percent in his father’s smile and the peace between his eyebrows.

Bai Ze covered his eyes with the photo, and two lines of tears quietly flowed down from the corners of his eyes.

“Mom, I want to see a movie.” Hearing the young boy’s request, the woman forced a smile: “If you want to watch one, have someone buy a disc.”

“Mom, I want to go to the cinema. Mom, do you know what a cinema is like?” The young boy looked at the woman with anticipation. The woman looked away, unable to bear it, and suppressed her inner anxiety, saying: “Mom knows. Mom will take you later, okay?”

“Then it’s a deal. Will you take me on my birthday this year?” the young boy asked happily, not noticing the woman’s dark expression and the dark circles under her delicate eyes.

The woman hadn’t slept for days. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to sleep, but she simply couldn’t.

Lu Qingshuang hugged a small tin box, sorting through the movie ticket stubs accumulated over the years. There were only twenty-six in total, and not a single one was from when his mother accompanied him. The first person to accompany him to the cinema was his very gentle patron. It wasn’t on his birthday either. His birthday was spent on the run after being forced into the red-light district, and it was made up for a long time later.

Lu Jianwei accompanied him twice. If tonight was included, it would be the third time.

Putting away the small tin box, Lu Qingshuang lit a cigarette and slowly smoked it. Maybe this was the last time someone would be willing to accompany him to the cinema. He glanced at the clock on the wall. There was still half an hour left. He wondered if that person would still be waiting at the door like the previous two years.

Time passed quickly. Although for Lu Qingshuang, this half hour felt like a year, it was undeniable that it passed quickly.

As soon as the time arrived, Lu Qingshuang couldn’t wait to go out. He slowed down his pace as he reached the door, opened the door as usual, and then saw the figure standing in the moonlight. In an instant, his eyes couldn’t help but heat up, as if something blurred his vision. He raised his hand to wipe his eyes and walked to Lu Jianwei’s side.

Lu Jianwei patted him on the shoulder and put his arm around him as he walked towards the car that had been waiting for a long time.

Tonight’s movie was wonderful, but because it wasn’t a weekend, there were relatively few people. He ate two buckets of popcorn, one more than usual. When he left, he even bought a bucket to take away. Lu Jianwei was very accommodating to him. Lu Qingshuang even suspected that if he confessed what he had done today, he might be forgiven.

When buying popcorn, he ran into the person he least wanted to see, Lu Qinyuan. He had seen the young boy beside him once before, named Jian Qilu, or rather, Si Cheng Qilu. Lu Qinyuan had a slender and upright figure. Although the young boy was a head shorter than Lu Qinyuan, his legs were long, making him appear extremely tall and slender. The two of them standing there looked very harmonious. Lu Qingshuang thought with a bit of envy, they were pleasing to the eye.

Xiao Qi was also looking at Lu Qingshuang, only to feel that this person was indescribably beautiful, possessing the femininity of a woman and the masculinity of a man, a rare and unattainable flower that combined yin and yang.

Seeing the two people looking at each other without speaking, Lu Qinyuan took the initiative to introduce Xiao Qi: “This is the one I told you about, named Lu Qingshuang.”

Hearing this name, Xiao Qi gave Lu Qinyuan a strange look, then continued to stare at Lu Qingshuang, and said after a while: “Hello, my name is Xiao Qi.”

“I know.” Lu Qingshuang nodded and said to Lu Jianwei, “I have a few words I want to say to Xiao Qi. I’m worried that brother won’t agree. Father should also have something to say to brother, right?”

Lu Jianwei hmm’d and walked to the roadside barbecue stall, sitting down on a stool. Lu Qinyuan’s mind quickly jumped through several guesses, and he sat down across from Lu Jianwei with a natural expression. The position he sat in was directly facing Xiao Qi and Lu Qingshuang, so he could see their movements clearly, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying through a few tables.

Neither of the father and son ordered anything nor spoke. Lu Jianwei’s gaze was lowered, landing on the sunglasses beside his hand. Through the reflection of the sunglasses, he could see a blurry image. Lu Qinyuan propped his chin with one hand, paying attention to Xiao Qi and Lu Qingshuang, occasionally glancing at Lu Jianwei, mentally on high alert.

Unlike that table, Xiao Qi and Lu Qingshuang were getting along harmoniously. Lu Qingshuang ordered some grilled skewers and two glasses of beer. The popcorn bought at the cinema was also opened. The two ate and talked.

Xiao Qi had drunk beer before, but he couldn’t get used to it. The taste of the grilled skewers was too strong, so he put it down after eating a few bites and only ate popcorn. He wasn’t familiar with Lu Qingshuang and didn’t have much to say. He couldn’t possibly ask Lu Qingshuang, “I heard you’re even more miserable than me. Let’s compare who’s more miserable.”

Xiao Qi had nothing to say, but Lu Qingshuang seemed to have a lot to say, even feeling like they had met too late.

“Today is Bai Liushen’s death anniversary, Bai Ze’s birthday.” Lu Qingshuang said something unrelated to himself, took a sip of beer, skillfully lit a cigarette, and took a deep puff: “In the past, there were three famous figures in Shang Ning City: Smiling Guanyin, Black Wolf, and Bai Wuqu. Bai Wuqu was the youngest of them and died the earliest.”

“The year Bai Wuqu died, he left behind a child, who was vivisected from the mother’s body. The mother died from excessive bleeding. The child was dissected out and was simply unbearable to look at, but no one was willing to give up this little life. Uncle Cheng even changed his career to study medicine for this child. He was very smart, simply a genius in the medical field, and quickly obtained several medical honors. In the country, the most famous and authoritative place, the place all medical students dream of studying at, is the Si Cheng family’s research institute in Shang Ze. Uncle Cheng must also have had this as his goal. With his intelligence, it took Uncle Cheng three years to obtain the qualification to enter the research institute, and he also signed a confidentiality agreement when entering the research institute.”

“The specific agreement is only known to the parties involved and the Si Cheng family. But since Uncle Cheng went to the research institute, there has been no news. Two years later, the news received was of Uncle Cheng’s death.” Lu Qingshuang didn’t know what he was thinking of, heavily exhaled a puff of smoke, and his voice was also a bit erratic: “Cheng Du, known as Smiling Guanyin, never smiled again since then.”

Xiao Qi had heard about this incident several times from different people. He was very curious: “Didn’t the Cheng family cause trouble for the Si Cheng family?”

“There wasn’t even a corpse. Whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, it’s up to the Si Cheng family to decide, right? Besides, that fire didn’t just kill Uncle Cheng alone.” Lu Qingshuang snorted disdainfully and continued: “At that time, Xiao Bai was raised by Lu Jianwei. He was only five years old and in very poor health. He had asthma and was just a sickly person. A little cold or fever could almost take his life. In order to let Cheng Du get out of the shadow of his brother’s death as soon as possible, Lu Jianwei sent Xiao Bai to Cheng Du’s family to raise. Cheng Ruoyu and Xiao Bai were the same age. In theory, Xiao Bai should have been the younger brother, but he was dissected out early and became the older brother.”

“Recently, Cheng Du has been very busy. After working with inside contacts to get you out, he was busy for a while, but in the end, it didn’t work out.” Lu Qingshuang smiled: “Do you know who you’re waiting for?”

Xiao Qi stared at Lu Qingshuang for a long time and nodded heavily: “I’m not confused yet.”

Lu Qingshuang seemed to have expected Xiao Qi’s answer and couldn’t help but glance at him, a trace of indescribable envy flowing in his eyes. He smiled bitterly: “I only found out later. The Cheng family brought you out and immediately sent you to Lu Qinyuan’s bed. They can’t even protect a person, really useless. The Cheng family doesn’t like me, calling me a whore, a male prostitute, a slut every time. Only Uncle Cheng treated me well, but he was rarely at home. I could only see him once a year. You are someone Uncle Cheng liked, so I naturally hope you can live well.”

“Do you want to leave? Look, this is an opportunity. I’m confident I can guarantee you escape Lu Qinyuan’s control. I will find someone to pick you up in time. Do you want to consider it?” Lu Qingshuang’s eyes were sincere, without a hint of hypocrisy.

Xiao Qi raised his face and smiled slightly: “He said he would come to find me, and I have to wait for him.”

“He tells you to wait and you just stay where you are and wait? Can you afford to wait, can he afford to wait?” Lu Qingshuang interrupted urgently: “Soon your identity will no longer be a secret. It won’t be long before the Si Cheng family comes to Lu Qinyuan to demand you. How will you choose then, how will Lu Qinyuan choose, have you thought about it? No matter who gets this choice, there won’t be the best option, unless you’re not there, then everything can be justified.”

“I have my own judgment, I don’t need anyone to make decisions for me. If what you said is true, I will definitely receive the news earlier than you, and I believe Ah Lu has already made arrangements.” Xiao Qi seemed to be moved, his voice slightly paused: “Maybe you’re right, we can’t afford to wait. I still want to go out and take a walk, but I hope Mr. Qingshuang understands that you are just an excuse for my departure. There is no transaction between us.”

“I won’t hide it from you either, you need to go out and take a walk, and I need you to go out and take a walk. Otherwise, Uncle Cheng’s efforts will be wasted, then what’s the difference between you living in a different prison.” Lu Qingshuang emphasized: “I respect Uncle Cheng, and I’m also really considering it for you.”

“I thank you on behalf of Fifth Brother, and thank you for your concern for me.” Xiao Qi picked up the beer in front of him and raised it: “To you.”

The two glasses clinked, and Xiao Qi drank most of it in one gulp, licking his lips and saying: “The sooner, the better. I think the weather is good today, suitable for running away. Consider it, I owe you a favor.”

Lu Qingshuang smiled: “Then thank you.”

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Qi suddenly snatched Lu Qingshuang’s popcorn and ran, his speed surprisingly fast. Even though Lu Qingshuang was prepared, he couldn’t help but be shocked. He was hiding his strength so well! He was stunned for a moment, then instinctively pulled out his gun and pointed it at Xiao Qi, shouting: “Don’t run! Otherwise…”

But then there was a “bang,” and a bullet pierced through his wrist.